The Gang

Here are three of my colleagues, at a faculty dinner. The four of us dominated our table with laughter, this evening, and we're pretty loud at school as well. I also impressed everyone with my memorization of the Turkish months and days of the week--let's see if I can retain it now.

I'm not sure if Mehmet is in my department or not, but his office is right near mine and we all hang out a lot. Usually after a teacher's name, you'll say "hoca" (pronounced hoja, because the c is like a J), so I'm Jennie hoca, Mehmet is Mehmet hoca, etc., especially if we're referring to a teacher in front of a student. If you were my student, then you would call me "Jennie hocam" (not sure about the spelling), which would mean "My teacher."

So, on the left is my supervisor, the head of the department, Ömer Şekerçi, whom I call crazy (to his face), because he's one of the most talkative, energetic, dramatic, and passionate people I've ever met. We get along unbelievably well, and tonight he invited me to continue working in Turkey on a private contract after my ELF contract finished up. "Let's take it one day at a time!" I said. Anyway, just seeing him walk into the room makes me laugh--he's hilarious. He speaks English well, since he lived in the U.K. as a bartender, then Switzerland studying at graduate school, and finally the U.S., where he received his doctorate. He makes the most memorable hand gestures, slapping the palm of his hand with the back of his, hand, smacking the table with his knuckles, etc. A total character, and a really good person too.

Clockwise there's Mehmet Uysal (there are many Mehmets in Turkey), who teaches comparative literature and German. He's also kind man, with a big, belly-shaking laugh. He is experienced at teaching Turkish, but not as experienced or confident in English, so we're going to do a language exchange for both of our language improvement. Watching him make the "W" sound is hilarious. Finally there's Vançin, then me, of course.

I particularly like this picture of Mehmet laughing, just looking it makes me smile.