ECON 102 - What Kids Learn through Osmosis

One of Kelly's excellent home-cooked meals

I figured it was time to start noting more the economics in action that I see around me. ECON 101 was the Ugly Tourist post. This post is for/about my budding economist Brewer. At dinner one night, he asked/begged for some of our coveted and sparsely used grated parmesan cheese (it's quite expensive here in Alanya although other cheeses are everywhere). He also remarked on how often we ate fruit now. On his own, he asked if we did not use the cheese much because some things (like the cheese) are more expensive here and other things (like the fruit) are more expensive at home. I told him he could give this lesson to my students here and now he expects to be in front of the class soon. He probably deserves it! - Alan

Watching Others Exercise

This weekend Alanya had a mini-triathlon downtown and along the beach. It closed the beachside streets, but it was fun to watch while eating along the streets and romping on the playgrounds. Saturday we saw the women bike and on Sunday we watched the men finish with a foot race. A lot of people were out and it was a lot of fun to 'participate'. - Alan

Market to market to buy a fat fig. Home again home again jiggity jig.

Peanuts, limes, apples and yes, those wonderful figs

I am stuffed as I write this, all thanks to the awesome Alanya farmers markets we have discovered. On Mondays, the market is stationed exactly one block from our apartment. Yay!  The last two weeks the kids and I have headed down early, around 9 am (yes that's early for this beach town). Many of the vendors are still setting up then and the crowd is sparse making it easier for the kids to get around on their own and make friends with the vendors. All they have to do is flash a smile and they are showered with free samples of Turkish goodies and Ruby is always especially appreciative.

Dried spices, fruits and other prepared goods.

Local fruits including bananas, strawberries, grapes, limes, peaches, figs, nectarines, kiwis, strawberries, oranges, water and other melons, and pomegranates are everywhere.  Slightly less popular with the kids but no less stunning are the countless fresh greens, vegetables, marinated olives, spices, dried fruits- including those heavenly Turkish apricots - honeys and cheeses.   Many of the varieties are still completely foreign to me so for now I am sticking to what I recognize based on sight (It seems that very few of the vendors speak any English at all). I hope to learn more about the local produce through Nese and restaurants so that we can expand our palate with time.

 



A vendor with her dried herbs

Olives, olives and more olives



Our purchases

Mountain o' strawberries

Ruby admiring some juicy nectarines

Needless to say, The kids and I loaded up this morning and I was rewarded with a lunch of plain yogurt topped with fresh, perfectly ripe nectarines, figs, nuts (cashews, almonds, pistachios and hazelnuts) and honey that Alan bought on their recent school trip to Cappadocia.  Yes, it was every bit as good as it sounds. -- Kelly





Ugly Tourist

It finally happened, as it always does on my travels abroad - THE UGLY TOURIST moment. This one occurred on the way to our beautiful day at Kleopatra Beach (see previous post). Brewer and I were near the back of the crowded city bus, sitting among primarily Turks, when a distinct English "Are all of you Turkish stupid?" resounded through the rear. When no one answered, an elderly European man (at least he was not American this time!) responded to himself with "I guess all Turkish people are stupid" and proceeded to lean over four rows of people to shut their bus windows, assuming - mistakenly - that the non-working A/C was escaping. When one 20-something Turk opened his window back up and responded that this was not his problem, the European began his 'tutorial' of "It is your problem because I'm a tourist. And when you do stupid things, I won't visit and this is a problem for all of you Turks here."

It was a car-crash scenario for me for two reasons. First I wanted to stay out of the situation and look straight ahead, but it was difficult not to turn around to gawk and to try to figure out WHO was this guy? Second, and more importantly to me, it raised nightmares about people's understanding of economics. I have been an economics professor for 15 years now and have taught supply and demand to a lot of students. I spent the rest of that bus ride considering how 'demand' in that important concept is perceived. And don't get me wrong: I try to practice what I teach. (Ex - our Alanya beaches are studded with beach hut establishments that offer chairs, food and drink. On our first afternoon in Alanya, we ran to put our toes in the sand. A worker of Beach Hut #9 cheerfully offered chairs and an umbrella for free if we ordered something from the grill. We offered a polite 'no thanks' and he extended the offer for any day - a common practice here we now understand. But days later Kelly sat down on a chair there and was gruffly told by a different employee to pay or vacate, and it did not matter if we ordered anything. Suffice it to say that we are now very good and loyal customers of Beach Hut #10 and they will receive our four months' worth of expenditures).

But this European tourist seemed to take 'demand' to an entirely new level, assuming all Turks should worship his patronage, and most noticeably voicing this aloud not to business owners, but to random nearby Turks. I kept pondering: is this how most people perceive supply and demand? I certainly expect (and hope) not for my own students. Economic theory comes from a great history of philosophical and ethical study, and I try to make sure that is emphasized. But what about those who have only a cursory (or no) academic exposure to the concept of 'demand'? I pondered whether I could write a next economics textbook (that would actually sell) instead advocating the concepts of supply and choice. But that was short-lived (for now). Our family had arrived at Kleopatra Beach and it was time to rinse away my memories of the Ugly Tourist in the beautiful and friendly waters of the Turkish Mediterranean Sea. - Alan

Kleopatra Beach

Tuesday afternoon, when Alan got home from school, we slathered on the sunscreen and took a 20 minute bus ride to Kleopatra beach on the other side of town.  There, gorgeous cliffs, topped by a 14th century castle, tower over the beach making for one very breathtaking view.  Definitely right up there with Ipanema and Vieques in terms of wow factor for me.  The waves were huge too (at least that day) but they broke right at the beach making for blue blue water but no surfing or swimming for the tiny tots.  No rocks on this beach either, most likely I suspect as a result of the crashing waves.  The kids were content though to play in sand while Alan and I took turns in the sea.  Then we walked up to a beach hut for a dinner of cheeseburger, fries, kabob sandwiches and Efes (for the adults) all while watching the sun set against the cliffs and castle. We took the bus back, cleaned up and hit the sack.  Definitely not bad for a weeknight.   Of course, the next morning, as I typed this post at the local playground, the kids were equally happy to collect slimy snails for us to take home as pets.  Sigh.  I allowed two, Heidi and Boss.  Here's hoping they escape their "home" on the balcony soon. - Kelly

Visiting with Old Friends

When we visited Ankara, we were able to visit two nights with a former colleague Volkan Cetinkaya, his wife Candice and their two children. Volkan was an economics professor for several years at Transy with me before eventually returning to his home country of Turkey to be an advisor to the Minister of Health in the capital of Ankara. Of course, the entire Cetinkaya family showed us tremendous Turkish hospitality, and it was great being able to visit face to face again. Thanks Volkan and Candice! - Alan

Date Night

Last Friday night Kelly and I were treated to a two-hour date night after GU professor Betsi graciously offered to watch the kids for a few hours. We headed out to a nearby beach hut where we could enjoy a comfortable couch, the sounds of waves, views of the castle lit up down the beach and a few rounds of the Turkish beer Efes. This past week, we also noted the anniversary of me asking Kelly to marry me all those 'many' years ago. Alanya was a great place to celebrate that moment! - Alan

Marriage proposal overlooking gorge at Kelly's dad's farm

Getting Settled in Alanya

We arrived in Alanya on Sept 5 and only now am I beginning to feel a bit settled.  I've been smacked with culture shock in this little town of about 100,000 but not for the reasons you'd think. After almost two weeks in Istanbul and Ankara I was just starting to grow accustomed to the headscarves, the ever present calls to prayer, Turkish tea and coffee and all the attention showered on my two blonde children only to land now in a Mediterranean beach tourist town. I know that it is not really the case, but on the surface it seems that Turks are the minority here. Swedes, Germans, Russians and other fair-skinned folks are everywhere, basking in the Turkish sun.  Tourist restaurants, bars and trinket shops are EVERYWHERE.   Headscarves are rare and I've only heard the call to prayer a couple of times.  More than once we have been mistaken for Norwegians and outside of our Georgetown group I haven't met a single other American.  

In my first days here I am struck with how open the locals are.  Perhaps it is because the local livelihood depends upon it or perhaps it is because Turkey is so close to more liberal European cultures or maybe it's just their nature, but I've seen pork on menus, topless sunbathers and plenty of excess alcohol consumption-all things I would not expect to see in Turkey, where over 90% of people are Muslim.  In one family at the beach yesterday, one woman was in a long-sleeve, long pant swimsuit while another woman in the same group was in a bikini.  Then, the woman fully covered breast-fed her baby - right there at the beach.  Discreetly, of course, but still, not what I would have expected.  There I was in a string bikini but I never breastfed my babies in public, much less at the beach.

Looking forward to getting to know Turkey more . . . -Kelly

History Revisited

To me, another great historical marker that I visited with the class was the Anatolian Civilizations Museum in Ankara. It is the history professor Bryan's new favorite museum he has ever visited, if that tells you anything. The museum was incorporated into an ancient bazaar that dates back to the 1400s originally. It won the European Museum of the Year Award in 1997. Inside were interactive exhibits as well as tons of actual artifacts dating back to the Hittites and Phrygians of 4000 year ago. These life-size stone reliefs were part of the city walls at one point, and there was an entire room of them; it was very impressive! In my opinion, many Westerners (including myself) know the history of 'our' making. But this museum showed how much of civilization really took hold here in Turkey.

Alan

Kids' Days

The kids have REALLY been enjoying their time here in Alanya so far. They don't seem to mind the small apartment at all, although we see that they have a lot less personal space here. Kelly has now taken them three times to a hotel pool one block away (I visited this morning for the first time with them). It's not up to the Mendiondo pool standard, but it has a small shallow area for the kids, and it's 'free' as long as you purchase food from the hotel restaurant. But the kids really still enjoy their playground time, just like in Kentucky. We just found a park playground around the block yesterday although the kids really enjoy a pirate-themed playground a five-minute bus ride down the beach. Because it is so warm (even hot), we have gone to the beach everyday so far, usually in the late afternoon. Contrary to Kentucky, it feels the hottest in the morning here, plus the tide is currently lower in the afternoons so Brewer can practice his 'swimming' more in the sea, ride my back out beyond the 'breaking' waves or karate-chop the breakers at knee level. At first, we thought no-fear Ruby would continue to walk back to the US on the sea floor, but now she has become quite content to sit in the sand at the water's edge and play in the sand, pebbles and water for hours on end. How could the kids not like this arrangement - at least so far?
Alan

Fancy Night

This weekend capped our first week of classes, so the some VIP locals hosted an incredible beachside buffet for our group (faculty, staff and students) as well as the host families for our students. Hopefully there will be enough willing families left to host our family as well. The food was some of the best we have had so far, with so many options, plus wine and beer to boot. This soiree was held at a beach on the other side of the peninsula that we had not visited yet. But we found out that the bus can take us there, so we definitely see some visits in the future. The beach is similar to ours, but there is a playground right off the beach and the view is incredible!

Accomodations

Ankara hotel

For the first nine days of this trip, we were housed in a 'family' hotel room in either Istanbul or Ankara. This was a new experience for our family, to be sure. In one small room, we had a double bed for us, a twin for Brewer and a space for a pack-n-play for Ruby, all within toy-chucking range of each other. The Ankara hotel was nicer; the six-day Istanbul hotel was fine (it had goldfish in the hotel lobby the kids could visit everyday) but was even smaller and not as nicely adorned. Any remaining floor space was covered with our four-month luggage pile, thus the need to eat snacks and to create art wherever possible as seen in the other two pictures. This also meant that we all had to go to bed at the same time because Ruby was not sleeping if she could see others awake (although occasionally we could check emails in the bathroom). Generally we compromised at a 10pm bedtime. All things considered, the sleeping worked out fairly well because we were exhausted anyway, but it did make it very difficult for Kelly to entertain the kids in that small of a space during the day while I was with the class - thus the need for infrequent but valuable green space.

Our second-floor apartment in Alanya is vastly superior. It has two separate bedrooms and a living room/kitchen area. So now we can have the more normal schedule of putting Ruby to bed first, then Brewer and then us in a separate room whenever we want. Our bedroom and the living room are air-conditioned, but the kids have not had problems sleeping so far. The kitchen is small, but it has a large refrigerator and a four-burner stove. The bathroom has a washer and we have a balcony for hanging the laundry to dry. The floors are all tile which makes cleaning a little easier. The greatest plus is that we are only two blocks from the Mediterranean Sea which has allowed us to go swimming every day so far (and we've heard the weather may cooperate for us through the end of October). The greatest negative is that our location also puts us in a heavy tourist district and directly above a restaurant that often turns to a disco pub after hours. So we may have to start going to bed early with the kids so that we have a better chance of falling asleep before the bass tunes start rattling the bedroom windows. Seriously, one night when the DJ kept cranking the tunes after midnight for some Scandinavian grandmothers doing the Macarena with the waiters, I had to get dressed and go downstairs for the 'talk' - not that it helped immensely. But heavy tourist season is supposed to last only another month, so we try not to complain too much with the easy beach access.

Alan

Crazy Old

Of course in the craziness of the first week or so here, we did not really have time to post much at all about our time in Istanbul. Our wonderful host, Nese, planned an amazing and jam-packed tour of antiquities and history within this incredible city. Many days we left around 9am and oftentimes did not finish dinner and return to the hotel until close to 9pm. Alan traveled with the class on these tours everyday (except one) so there was much to see. The class had a super knowledgeable guide lead us around the Hagia Sophia on the first day. Its unique history and the artistic and architectural prowess shown is awe-inspiring (at least to us). It is incredibly beautiful and these pictures do not do it justice at all! Most of you know that we spend a lot of time and effort trying to maintain and recreate our home in Lexington that dates back to 1832. But when you visit something like this monument to the past (which dates back to 537), it reminds you that places are obviously worth preserving and that it's oftentimes WAY too easy to get tied up in worrying about mundane details of the present. Will post more such past pictures and explanations as our days progress.

First Day of Class

Today was my first day of class and I taught Environmental Economics. It is held for an hour and a half after lunch on Mondays and Thursdays. My other class, Global Trade, will be taught in a three-hour marathon session on Wednesday mornings. Fridays are for class travels. So my 'off' day will be Tuesdays when I can hang with Kelly and the kids some and prepare for the rest of the week.

I think the class went very well. I emailed the students over the weekend to read the first chapter and to research a news article online about environmental economics issues to present briefly to the rest of the class. It was not a huge assignment but it was their first weekend at the beach in Alanya . Everyone had completed the assignments and presented an issue that was germane to their home state. We had a good discussion and it made me even more excited to be a part of this learning community.

Plus we all were finally able to visit our classroom villa high up on the hill. It is open to the sea air (except the one classroom has A/C - so nice) and has multiple areas to hang out or study, including a balcony with the beautiful view pictured here. We shared a homemade lunch together within the villa before my class. Basically it was really nice! And then I trekked down to the harbor to catch a bus back to the apartment for the first time. So no problems so far!

Alan

How We Got Here

Now would probably be a good time to explain how this adventure started in the first place. Let me start by saying it involves academics and kids, so you can imagine the planning process was a significant one. Almost two years ago, my interim Dean at Transylvania University, Kathleen Jagger, forwarded to me a Dean’s listserv posting for a visiting teaching fellowship at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. For almost 20 years, Georgetown has run a fall semester abroad for its students within Alanya, Turkey. Two Georgetown faculty apply to go, and one visiting faculty member is always invited. With Kelly’s blessing, I applied for that position for three main reasons: 1) I had never been to Turkey and that’s where an adventure starts; 2) it’s a living-and-learning community where the students and faculty interact regularly and a lot during classes, lunches and dinners and weekend travel tours and that really interested me; and 3) I knew that I would interact with high-performing Georgetown students and that was necessary for me for committing to an entire semester abroad.

I applied through a teaching packet and several interviews and found out five months later in February 2013 that I was chosen as the teaching fellow! What that meant was that I would still be considered a full-time faculty member at Transy during this semester, but Georgetown would fund my replacement through an endowment while I taught in Turkey. This was great news, but also bittersweet because I would be gone from the US and my family for four months. Later that year, in September, I applied for a semester-long sabbatical from Transy to continue my curricular and research work with service learning. I found out in March 2014 that I had received approval and funding for that research starting in January 2015. So now I would not officially be teaching at Transy for the entire 2014-2015 year. By May of this year, after enough Georgetown students had signed up for the semester abroad to know that it would not be cancelled, Kelly and I took a little time to decide that this would be an opportunity that we could not pass up as a family. So we withdrew the kids from their preschool and daycare programs, and Kelly gave her notice at work that she would be using a one-year hiatus to travel with me and the kids as part of my combined fellowship and sabbatical. And now the four of us are into our second week in Turkey – to return home right before Christmas!

Alan

Sorry we are so late in getting the blog started.  Acclimating to life in a very small hotel room with two small kids on the other side of the world has been hectic and tiring.  Alan is largely with the students so I am mostly on my own with Brewer and Ruby and thus, have little down time.  The pictures here are with my I-phone.  We will try to do better about regular updates and better pictures once we get to our apartment in Alanya. A few tidbits from our initial days:

1.  Traveling across the globe sucks.  We arrived in Istanbul late Thursday night after about 19 hours of travel time.   It was as bad as it sounds, for me at least.  The kids did shockingly great.  Only in the last leg did they hit a wall, literally falling asleep in our arms.

2.  Turkish is hard.  We are staying in a largely Turkish part of the city and so fewer people speak English.  Considering that the Turkish language bears absolutely no resemblance to English (it is not a romance language) even words commonly understood by most in my other travels present problems.  It literally has taken me three days to master "Hello" - "merhabah."   As you can imagine, these barriers are amplified when I have two impatient kids in tow.  Saturday though, I discovered that in a neighboring area, near the blue mosque, English was more common, so the kids and I have been taking the 15 minute tram ride there to eat and visit parks etc. 

3.  I cannot overemphasize how friendly people here are.  We are constantly being stopped so that passersby (men, women, even kids) can pat the kids' heads or cheeks.  People routinely ask to take Ruby's picture -  Even people that you wouldn't expect to be in to babies.  For example, the 20-something year old male bartender at the restaurant we went to tonight wanted a picture with her.  Funny.  Ruby seems to be adjusting to this attention quite well.  She's turned into quite the ham.

4.  Istanbul is huge, but at least from what I have seen, quiet.  The people here are reserved, not loud or boisterous.  The tram ride is actually quite relaxing, everyone is so calm.  I am constantly sushing the kids thinking that everyone must think they are crazy.

5.  Our favorite place to hang out thus far has been Gulhane Park, the former garden of a palace.    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%BClhane_Park.   They have a playground and lots of space for the kids to run and play.  Plus on the edge they have a fantastic café that overlooks the Bosphorus Strait. Here are a few pictures from there:  (1) my first pot of Turkish tea, overlooking the Bosphorus Strait; (2) The kids, hanging at the café; and (3) Me, demonstrating how I manage the kids solo .

More to come soon.  I promise. -Kelly