Random Observations

---Everyone’s personal space bubble is a LOT smaller here in Turkey than it is in America. In fact, I don’t even know if the personal space bubble exists in these parts. In general, people are very touchy, and they’re not bashful about getting close to you. I’ve never been a big fan of the European “kiss each side of a person’s cheek” greeting. Usually people just sort of go through the motions and graze each other’s faces, but here people will land 2 big wet ones on me, even the guys. It’s a little jarring at first. When people talk to you, they’ll put their hand on your arm or shoulder without giving it a second thought. And the school kids, they’re all very touchy-feely with one another, too. We’ll watch a movie and they’ll lie down on the floor, some just about on top of one another. They put their heads in each other’s laps and the like, and that’s not something you see in America a lot these days.

---Teaching middle school has brought back a lot of 8th grade East Middle School nostalgia for me. Sort of makes me wish I were back in 8th grade instead of having to be the teacher. I had some wonderful teachers that year- science (Mr. Maher) and social studies (Mr. Weintraub) were really exceptional, and had a powerful effect on me. Out of all the teachers I’ve had- from kindergarten to Harvard- those two are right up there on the short list. I wish I knew how those 2 guys were doing or what they’re up to- I’m curious.

8th grade was also the year for cocoa and classics. Every Friday morning about 8 of us would go in to school early at 7am to drink cocoa and watch really good movies with Mr. Maher in his classroom. I have such fond memories of that group- it was such a unique experience and something I’ll never forget.

But being back in this middle school environment is bringing back a flood of other memories that have lay dormant in the back of my brain for the last 10 years, and now they’re all coming back to me at a furious paste- school projects, field trips, books I read in English class. Middle School’s a rough time for everyone, but there were definitely some good moments mixed in there.

---As some 6th grader was walking into class today, he was compelled to jump up and tap the top of the doorway with his hand, and I started having flashbacks to the 5th grade. For that entire school year, every boy in the class was obsessed with jumping up and touching the top of the doorway as they entered or exited a room. We were all at that height where some of us could do it and some of us couldn’t, and the compulsion spread like a virus.

---I have a 2nd grader named Kerem, who has not come to school once with his hair combed since I’ve been here. The kid has permanent bed head, and it’s apparent that he nor his parents have made any attempt to brush his hair in the morning before school. It sticks up at all these gravity-defying angles (perhaps with the aid of static electricity?), but I think everyone is so used to his hair by now that nobody besides me notices it anymore.