Day 1 Reflection: At YHS

Meet the Erwins

((Tag: James, Day 1 reflection))

For the Rober College Students:

1. Going to church and seeing that stuff.

2. The teachers seem very knowledgeable  on their subjects.

3. The town is very safe: doors aren't locked, there aren't that many police, etc.

4. There are lockers, students go around to different rooms for different courses.

5. The school is too quiet, feels empty, the dress code is more relaxed, people have purple hair!!1!

6. Some have cars because the driving age is much lower, and most people have pets.

7. The courses aren't as challenging as Robert College but every teacher has hospitality for us in their courses. Mr. Borda showed me (Recep) very cool math programs in his Mac!

8. They seem less challenging, there is grade inflation.

9. The part with Mr. Borda

For YHS:

1. Academics are harder in Turkey.

2. I am surprised that our cultures are a lot more similar than I thought they would be.

3. It seems too noisy and crowded for my tastes. Also, too hard.

4. What would a day in your school be like?

5. Maybe having bells would make this school easier to follow.

Day 1 reflection

I have learned a lot about Turkey from Lal. I have learned that Robert
College is a private school and it is very hard to get into. I thought
it was interesting how there are five years of high school instead of
four. I have also learned about all these awesome shopping places that
I am planning on spending a lot of time in when I am in Turkey. I was
surprised with how similar our interests are. It sounds like they do a
lot of same things that we do.

Day 1 Reflection: At YHS

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We both thought that there were many similarities in both of our schools. Robert's College is larger and has a dress code, and the classes are longer here, but otherwise they are very similar. Ali knew a lot more about American culture, films, shows etc. Products are a lot cheaper than in Turkey, almost three times as cheap. Overall, Turkey is a lot more like the US than I thought.

Day 1 Reflection: At YHS

Sinan found the length of classes in YHS too long. He thinks that students would loose focus in a class that long. Surprising Sinan found that the cafeteria was different they it was typically portrayed in American films. He found that homeroom was very similar to advisor group. He thinks that American students are too comfortable in their everyday lives. Similar too school back at Robert College was AP classes, learning about Shakespeare. Different from school in Turkey is the focus on foreign languages and how most everything is in the primary languages. He found that students focus more on exchanges and how he got a lot of attention

Francis has learned that life in Turkey is different in some ways but similar in others. He is excited to experience all of the differences for himself when he travels their to visit. Some impressions of school at Robert College is that classes are a lot harder and envolves a lot more studying. I have already asked SInan many questions but I am sure I will think of many more.

"Day One Reflection: At YHS"

The most interesting part of Bugra's visit as of yet, is meeting Philip. The mall was very cheap in comparison to Turkish prices. It was also somewhat funny how in the food court, a buzzer signaled when the "fast food" was ready. Bugra thinks that people are having fun and learning. The classes seem less oriented to a test. The most surprising thing about YHS is how there are no cameras or security. To his own school, doing labs in science and open discussion classrooms are similar. The greatest difference is that students are more free in dress code, class times, etc. Overall, in school, we are very similar e.g. read the same books, acting for English plays. In Turkey, in a social setting, most people go out and meet rather than congregate at friends' houses.The favorite part of Bugra's day was meeting lots of different people and representing the life and culture of Turkey. From Bugra, Philip learned about the political system of Turkey, the academic differences, and the difference in daily life in a city like Istanbul. For example, the number of major parties in Turkey are four rather than two as in America. There are both advantages and disadvantages to a system that is more tetrapartisan. The most surprising thing about Istanbul is the amount of time it takes to commute from place to place. Robert College differs from Yarmouth the academic level as well as the size and also the sports orientation. For YHS, I would like perhaps more rigorous academics like those at Robert College. 

Day 1 Reflection: At YHS

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Day 1 Reflection: At YHS

Day 1 Reflection: At YHS

For the Robert College Students
 1. Describe the most interesting moments of your day or your visit so far. 
Lunch. 

2.  What are your impressions of  YHS after watching classes all day?

Longer periods, fewer classes per day, informal dress.

3. What surprised you the most? 
 Sandwich bar at lunch.

4.   What things about YHS seem most similar to your own school?

Same classes and American teachers.

5. What things about YHS seemed most different?

Longer periods, fewer classes per day, informal dress.

6. What about the lifestyle of Yarmouth students seems most similar or different than your own? 

More fast food than in Turkey, don't eat pork.

 

7.What about the academics at YHS seem the most similar to the academics at Robert College?

Same classes.

8.  What about the academics at YHS seem the most different to the academics at Robert College?

Longer periods, fewer classes per day, informal dress.

9.  What was the favorite part of your day?

Lunch.

For the YHS Students:
 1. What have you learned so far from talking with your Turkish guest?

More about Muslim religion, food restrictions (pork), family life and family meals in Turkey.

2. What has surprised you the most?

How similar their interests are to ours'.

3.  What impressions do you have so far about how their school is either similar or different from ours?

It is more formal (dress, food, etc.), most likely because it is a private school.

4. What questions do you still have for your host student?

Um, just about what they do in their free time, and what their impressions are of the United States.

5.  Is there anything that you learned from your exchange students that might “fit” well for YHS (a program, a class activity, a schedule change)?

Not really, I think that the biggest differences between our schools are based on the fact that YHS is a public school and not private.

Day 1 Reflection: At YHS

Hacer:

The most interesting part so far has been meeting Olivia and eating and preparing the lobster for the dinner. A lot of the students know about the issues that have been going on in Turkey such as the Syrian conflict which was surprising and impressive. The school system and teaching style is really similar. One major difference, is that Robert College is a lot bigger than YHS. It takes a lot longer for me to get to school than it does here. It seems like they eat more sugary foods in the U.S., but they also do more sports. The curriculums in the two schools are extremely similar. At RC, we aren't allowed to eat in classes, but it's fine at YHS. 

Olivia:

There are a lot more people in Istanbul than here. It causes a lot of traffic when students are going to school. Turkish students have to take tests to get into different schools. A lot of refugees from Syria have been coming to Hacer's home town and people have been helping them with clothes and food. For school, they have to wake up around 5 am because of the traffic problems. It seems like Robert College is more like a university than a high school. A lot of the students are more independent than we are here because some live alone in the city. There is an ASL program that incorporates art, sculpture, and literature into a class in English. It would be interesting if we tried something like this for our foreign languages. 

Day 1 Reflection: At YHS

For the Robert College Students

 1. English class with Tommaso- because people were acting out and playing games 

2.  So much technology! and discussion in class. People interact a lot. 
3. Ice cream in the cafeteria!  and there are no bells here! and people wear anything they want! 
4. Lap top program in the younger grades in Turkey 
5. Everybody knows each other here!  and there are exchange students for a whole year. 
6. people take time to eat breakfast and have more free time 
7. both discussions in class and people are open minded 
8.  less rules -here you can eat in class and people use phones 
9.  lunch breaks with host student (even though they were short!) 

For the YHS Students:

 1. I have learned about all the things that are different and similar. and the little things I take for granted or like the fact she had never had peanut butter and jelly sandwich before! Its a small example but it shows the little things everyone is unaware of!

2. How many languages and how good at them you all are! 
3.  Language is so much more important in their school. They start a lot younger learning languages and it is enforced. It is embarrassing that America doesn't value teaching languages more
4.  I have asked her so many already!  I don't know what more there are to ask that will equal actually experiencing life in Turkey.  
5.  More language requirements!!  more interest in culture. 

Day 1 Reflection:

The most interesting part of my day was when we went ice skating yesterday. That's not something we usually do in Turkey and I never thought that it would be this much fun but I felt really good afterwards. What surprised be the most was again about sports, the members of the field hockey team had a picture of their jerseys on their lockers. I thought that was really cool. I learned that YHS gives laptops to their schools which is similar to my school. And also classes and subjects are really similar. What's really different is how students are really relaxed during classes, they can easily eat and drink.
I think our lifestyles are also really similar, we listen to the same type of music and eat the same type of food. But what's really different is the driving age. I think it's really cool that our hosts are able to drive. Academics were really similar to ours as I mentioned before, but they were doing the things we did in 9th grade (freshmen year) in Sophomore and Junior.
Favorite part of my day was of course the breaks. I really liked the method of getting the food.

Day 1 and 2 photos

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Amy Sanders
Social Studies Teacher
Yarmouth High School
286 West Elm Street
Yarmouth, ME 04096
Please note new email address:
amy_sanders@yarmouthschools.org

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Kapner/Turkay Day 1 Reflection: At YHS

My favorite part of the day was AP French class and I found it interesting how long the classes were, in Turkey each classis only 40 minuets and there are no bells to mark the end of a class. Overall I found the experience interesting and educational. 

Day 1 Reflection: At YHS

Hilal:

What surprised you the most?

Freshmen asked if we know what Twitter and Facebook are.

What things about YHS seem most similar to your own school?

The material and lessons are similar.

What things about YHS seemed most different?

Length of the periods is longer at Yarmouth.

Lunch is also very different.

Impression of YHS:

I like Yarmouth High School. I like the students.

Melissa:

What have you learned so far form talking with your Turkish guest?

I've learned that our cultures are not that different. Hilal watches a lot of the same shows that I do, and we both listen to Maroon 5 and Jennifer Lopez.

What has surprised you the most?

How well Hilal speaks English!

What impressions do you have so far about how their school is either similar or different from ours?

Hilal's school is twice the size of our school with over 1000 students! The grades are also different; Hilal is a sophomore but is my age.

Meet The Plunkett:

I am the husband of the estimable Mrs. O’Neill.

We domicile southwest of Yarmouth in the largest city in Maine, near the baked bean factory.

As a family, we like to yodel in the mountains and cut up our curtains to make lederhosen. We also enjoy poetry—reading, writing and declaiming.

Since I was a kid, my favorite food is fried clams. Hold the tartar sauce (something invented in what was then Turkey on the north shore of the Black Sea), just some cocktail sauce please.

And now in Turkish…

Arkadaşlarımız, Benim adım Duff Plunkett, Marita O’Neill eşi, aşıkı aslanı.

Olacak olur

Bal tutun parmanağı yolar

It irir, kerevan yürür

Dünya malı dünyada kalır

Olmaz olmaz deme, olmaz olmaz

Haydan gelen, huya gider

(Yeter artık).

Teşekür ederimiz!

Plunkett and ONeill family crests.pptx Download this file

Meet the McDonnells

Hi ,Ceren, my name is Natalya.  I have a brother, mother, father, 2 cats, dog, 10 chickens, and a horse.

My brother is Morgan.  He lives in Massachusetts. I live with mom and dad in Yarmouth. My mom is vary nice and loves  to talk and  to get to know people. My dad is nice.The dog is white and she loves people. Likes to run. Her name is Lacy. I have 2 lovely cats: there is Tigger and Jasmine. There is Shadow the horse who I ride a lot. Shadow is a big, brown, and smart animal.  And our chickens  follow you everywhere. 

I live in Yarmouth, Maine close to the main town. We like to go on walks, play games, and see family and friends.  My family's favorite foods are black beans and rice, pasta, pizza, salads, and fruit.  

I am looking forward to showing my visitor the Royal River in Yarmouth, as well as Freeport, and our high school !

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Meet the Ferahköses ((Bahar Ferahköse, Host Families))

Hi. I'm Bahar Ferahköse. I'm 16 and a sophmore. My mother is Figen and my father is Ismail. I don't have any siblings but I have a cat named Cin.  She is one of the fattest cats you've ever seen. As  a family we really like Turkish coffee and we usually eat  normal Turkish food. We live in an apartment at Sisli.It's at the European side and basically at the center of the city.  The subway is really close to where I live and that makes it so easy to go wherever I want in a short amount of time. I love living in Istanbul that's why  I'm looking forward to have you here and show you around.

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Meet The Pakdils

Hi, I'm Hacer and a sophomore at RC. I've been living in Istanbul for 3 years. I came here from the south of Turkey, for the school with my brother, Melih. He is a senior at Robert College. We live at the Asian side of Istanbul, all alone with him; my parents are still in our hometown. They're visiting us once in two weeks. We, as Pakdils, like sporting so much. Melih and I are basketball players. The image is quite an old one but it was taken while we were hiking on the snow. Don't think Turkey is always snowy as it seems on the image; it is taken on a high mountain. If you're wondering about the foods we're going to eat, keep on wondering because they cannot be explained in words, you have to come and taste them to understand what I mean. The only thing I can tell you, I'm coming from the richest food region of Turkey, they're already waiting for you and I in deep-freeze :) Looking forward to meet you all and show you Istanbul.

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Meet the Kivancs((Sinan Kıvanc, HostFamilies))

 

 

                Have a jokeful day

               Sinan Kıvanç LP11

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Kimden: (15) Sinan Kivanc
Gönderilmiş: Paz 11.11.2012 00:00
Kime: istanbul-yarmouth-exchange@posterous.com
Konu: Meet the Kivancs((Sinan Kıvanc, HostFamilies))

My name is Sinan Kivanc. I live in Ataşehir, Istanbul. This part of Istanbul is amazingly developped with its buildings. We are surrounded by "half" sky scrapers and they look fantastic. I have no brothers or sisters. I'm 1 years old and 1.93 m long. I play basketball and I love doing sports, any kind except soccer. I'm interested in mathematics and physics as lessons and in free time, I play games and improve my youtube account. I put some ps3 gameplays and have some amount of subscribers who are mainly my friends.As a family, we don't do much because my father's work is too far from our house so he comes late and also he becomes easily exhausted because he is really old, 55. But some of the few activities we do is going for dinner outside and eat a lot! We really like patoteo, any type. Also we eat fish a lot.  I hope that the visitors will be able to see the historical places like the Sultan Ahmet Mosque. By the way, we have a copy of that mosque near my home and I look forward to show my visitor that mosque. My father's name is Mehmet, my mother's name is Sukran. Hope to see you all!

 

                Have a jokeful day

               Sinan Kıvanç LP11

Meet the Turkays ((Burcu Yasemin Turkay))

Hi, my name is Burcu Yasemin Türkay. I am 16 years old.

I’m a sophomore at Robert College.  I live with my younger brother and my parents in Istanbul but I am from Bursa. (Bursa is a very close city to Istanbul.)  My brother is 14 and his name is Can. He goes to a French high school. My mom’s name is Reyhan and my dad’s name is Ergun. We live in Emirgan and it’s only 10 minutes to Robert College by car. We have an amazing view of bosphorus. My family likes to ski in winter. On weekends, we like to walk seaside. My dad and I love to explore outside and hiking.  Our favorite food is İskender kebab which is the most famous food in Bursa. My mom makes dinner but we go out for dinner on weekends. When you come to Turkey, we will share all the beauties of Istanbul. I can’t wait to meet you all! (In the first picture, the one on the left is my brother and the girl is me! In the second picture, my parents.)

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Meet Türkoğlus ((Ceren Türkoğlu, Host Families))

Hi! My name is Ceren. I am 16 and a sophomore at Robert College. I live in Ataşehir. I have a sister, Melis, who is 7 years old. You can see her in the second photo where she was bridging. She is really good at this kind of stuff. Behind her there is a cage. It is my bird, Benek. I have 3 more birds other than Benek but Benek is my favorite one. If she were a human she would definitely be a serial killer. She murdered 3 of our birds that she shared her cage with, including her own daughter. That's why her cage is separate from the others. My mother is Emel and my father is Recai. They are both doctors. My family is a nature lover and they like spending Sundays together. We like watching the sunset together, going on picnics, snorkeling. We also like riding double bikes, especially I and my mother. My sister and father usually prefer not to ride, but with our persistence, they are starting to like it.  Our favorite food is probably fish. We love eating fish in front of Bosphorus. In the family photo we were in a fish restaurant at Bosphorus. I am most looking forward to show you Sultanahmet and Taksim and take you a place where you can have the best Bosphorus view. I am very excited to meet you. See you soon!

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Meet the Küçükdevecis ((Ali Küçükdeveci, HostFamilies))

Hi, My name is Ali, i am almost 18 and i am a junior at Robert College. I don't have any brother nor sister. My father's name is Mustafa and my mother's name is Olay. I live in Asia part of Istanbul, at Kadikoy. It is one of the most important part of the town. My family and i like to travel, a lot. Also my father and i like to go to football matches of our favourite team (Galatasaray) and I didn't miss any game for 4 years. When my friend come to visit me in April, I will take him to Sultanahmet, Taksim, Beyoğlu, Kadikoy and some shopping malls. Maybe, if we have chance to go to a football match ( depends on the league's schedule) i will try to take my visitor with me to see how great team we have! That's all i can tell now, see you in November !

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Meet the Tokers

I'm with my mom in the picture that I'm wearing a white dress, with my dad in the picture that I have a funny thing on my head and with my brother and mom in the picture that we have suitcases with us. My mom's name is Didem, my dad's name is Ali and my brother's name is Ömer. My brother is 12 years old and he is interested in skateboarding as you can understand from the picture. I live in Etiler, really close to Robert College, it's a 10 minute ride and a half an hour walk. As a family we like to go hiking and sailing, we do different sports and these pictures are actually from those trips. In the picture where I'm with my dad, we were in Karadeniz in a hiking tour. We usually eat normal "traditional" turkish food. We have soup all the time and we usually eat meat with some vegetables. But we can order or make whatever you want and I'm sure that my brother would be pleased to eat American food! I can't wait to show you where I used to live, I lived outside of the city my whole life until last year. As much as I like living in the city, I miss my old house because it was nice living in Istanbul and not feeling the traffic and being close to the forests. I can't wait to show you my favorite places in Istanbul!

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Meet the Kocabıyıks ((Hilal Kocabıyık, Host Families))

Hi there! My name is Hilal and I am 16 years old. I am a sophomore at Robert College. I have a sister,Hande,who studies in Medicine schools, which you can see in the photo. I am the blonde one :) .my mother, Leyla, is not working and my father, Mehmet,  is a soldier. In the photo you can see me between my mother and father. We like to go out for dinners to eat fish. When you come to Turkey, I really want to go to a fish restaurant with you, guys. As a family we really love eating Turkish traditional food, they are delicious. Also my mother cooks the best food you can ever taste and my father is famous with his barbecue. I am sure you will love Turkey because there are many places in Istanbul to fall in love with.
I am very excited to meet you all!!:)

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Meet the MacLeods

Hi! My name is Caroline, I'm 17 years old and a senior (4th year) at
Yarmouth High School. I live at home with my mom Rebecca, my dad Jim,
and my 13-year-old sister Ally. We also have a dog named Bambi, and my
sister has a frog named Peanut Butter, but it's really gross and I'm
not sure if it's still alive....Anyways, the picture of my whole
family is from awhile ago, but my mom and dad pretty much look the
same. I live sort of on the outskirts of Yarmouth; there are a lot of
fields and a huge forest behind out house. In the spring, summer, and
fall my family likes to go to the beach and hike, and in the winter we
like to cross-country and downhill ski. We also like to have movie
nights and invite friends over for small get-togethers. Sometimes we
go out to dinner as a family; we usually go out for pizza or to
Bruce's Burritos which is a local Mexican food restaurant. Our town is
super small and sometimes a little boring...so I'm hoping we can take
you guys to Freeport and Portland, which are much busier and more
exciting, and where there's lots of fun stuff to do! So excited to
meet you guysss!!

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Meet the Dobbins ((Ben Dobbins, HostFamilies))

Hi I'm Ben Dobbins! I'm 16 years old and am a Junior at Falmouth High School. My Mom's name is Amy, and my Dad's name is Paul. My mom is a teacher at Yarmouth High School and will be one of the teachers accompanying us on our trip. I have a 14 year old sister named Sarah, who is a Freshman at Falmouth High School. We also have 7 chickens! I live in the town of Falmouth about 15 minutes from Yarmouth. As a family, we love to go on hikes, boat rides, and other outdoor adventures. One of the pictures I've included is from a canoeing trip we did last summer in Maine. I am very busy due to various activities, including debate, jazz band, and athletics.  Our family enjoys a multitude of foods, like Mexican, Italian, Mediterranean, and Korean. The two places I look most forward to sharing are Town Landing, some of the lighthouses and beaches around Portland, and my school. I'm excited to meet our Turkish friends!

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Meet the Uzans

My name is Mert. I am 17 years old. My mother's name is Suzan. She is 44. My father's name is Ramazan and she is 45. I am only child. And ı live with my mother. We live in Bahçelievler. It's nice and quiet place. We like to go to cinema with my mother. Also we like to visit some museums and ancient places which is named as "Old Istanbul" in which there are lots of gorgeous buildings with a wonderful architecture. We like to eat Doner which is classic, also Karnıyarık which feels like you live in a dream. I want to visit with my guest Sultanahmet, Taksim, Beyazıt and Kadıköy.

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