Moonin' in the South Pacific: Brewer's Turkish School Experiences

Brewer at his OHEP class

All the Georgetown U. faculty and students have been paired with a local host family and, through ours, we have developed a great connection with a local school. My host "sister" Meltem, is on the Turkish equivalent of the PTA at OHEP Koleji, a private K-12 school located in beautiful old town Alanya. The school is secular and places a strong emphasis on learning English as a second language. In fact, students as young as five have a least an hour of English instruction everyday. Older children receive almost 10 hours of English instruction a week.

Brewer and new friends

The school has become a big part of our lives here. They have welcomed us into their world, allowing Brewer to stop by "whenever he wants" to participate in their English kindergarten classes.
We have developed a routine of going every Thursday from 10-11:40 am, which is when they have English instruction that day. Brewer loves interacting with kids his own age and every visit I am treated to the typical turkish hospitality to which I am slowly growing accustomed. In fact the school principal, who speaks no English, almost always stops me and asks me if I have time to join him for cay (tea). Except during our first visit, when Meltem was with us and could translate, I have politely declined, wondering how we would possibly communicate during any such visit especially with Ruby running underfoot.

Kindergarten window

Ruby loves the bathroom

The school itself is nestled into the side of the hill with stunning views of the harbor and brightly painted in orange and white. They teach art and music and even have a chess class. During Brewer's class, I sit in their open air hallway outside the classroom, looking over the harbor and mosque minarets while Ruby plays in their covered playground. Afterwards we walk up the winding, steep, steep cobblestone street/path to Alan's work for lunch. - Kelly