cats

I was fine not having pets when i grew up. I liked animals like i liked children. they were fun for awhile but it was nice to give them back to their parents. Currently I am cat sitting for the two kittens that live downstairs, since i'm teh one who is here for Christmas. Two kittens, cute. but annoying. I come home for my few hour break, I sit at the table (the only place i have a spot to sit) and I'm attacked by kittens. they wont leave me alone. They are clawing at my shirt. I try to give them attention but I also had work to do, plus one of them smells. They are quite annoying I must say.

Today I finished my first class, they were an intense class, I started with them,after they kicked out the first teacher. I had my good nights and bad nights with them, but overall a great class. One of the girls made cake and brought it tonight, then I practiced with them for the test. After I said my goodbyes, i went to the teachers room to finish my paperwork, one of the turkish teachers called to me and said i had students looking for me. I went out and there were three of my students waiting for me to go out for a beer. Fun guys. we sat and practiced both languages. These were three of my favorite students. Very hard workers, not neccesarily the best ones, but entertaining. Two of them were the ones who always came to class drunk. They asked me lots of questions about my life in America. They were comparing prices of things,, and my favorite line was this " Christy, what kind of car did you have. what did you pay.. this is what it is in turkish, very expensive." Student" yeah cars very expensive so thats why i have a horse." (horse in turkey is like having a horse in chicago=ridiculous)I realized that he wasnt being sarcastic, because that had come up in class a few times. He was a very entertaining quite student. After our beer then insisted they take me to starbucks. I insisted they were crazy and that I wouldnt sleep tonight. So here i am one the morning blogging because I had starbucks. Note to the Americans, turks dont know the word No. We got our coffee to go, and started walking. At this time it was two male studnets and me, and they insisted to walk me to my door b/c it was midnight and I shouldnt walk alone. What great guys. During the last two classes, the differences between American men and Turkish men have come up. I have noticed a complete opposite. In turkey where i feel a lot safter a guy wont let me walk home alone. In america where the liklihood of me getting mugged is higher, a guy will easily let me walk home after my persistence.

The other week i went out to dinner with 8 of my turkish female students and my American friend Russ, The girls insisted on paying and when russ got up to go to the bathroom the girls freaked out. They told me that Turkish guys always pay and they were worried that russ would do that also ( Russ and i snickered as we both knew neither of us had the money to pick up a 10 person tab) i think its interesting how this culture still accepts teh fact that men take care of the women. When I was in cambridge i remember having a discussion with Bennas housemates about dates and weather a guy should pay. I remember feeling very old fashiioned when I insisted that a man should pay for a date. I hate that in America, there is that awkwardness, yes the girl offeres to pay or to split but the male is a MAN and pays. I guess our feminist friends have changed our luck.

I got a lot of warnings when I was looking to come here. "Christy they dont treat women the same there" Yes, there are many times where I am frustrated about the role of women, but many times its refreshing to know that I am treated like a "woman" I dont have to be good at sports, I dont have to be competitive to get a males approval. It is ok to be feminine, I am still respected. Not " woman make me a sandwich" but i will make you a sandwich because I would like to serve you.

I'm not sure if any of this makes sense, it is late for me, and I've had lots caffinee/sugar. However, my original post was going to be this: class one finished, i did it. Life is good. I am still trying to figure out my life after English time