Picnic Time

School outings and picnics ... counting children on and off buses, permission forms, kids injuring themselves on playground equipment, the whole thing ... I remember it well.

My weekday morning class, which I've had since elementary, are about to take their final intermediate exam, so we were having a picnic.

I share the class with Turcan, a Turkish-American guy, and we make a good team.



The class has progressed really well - their English is quite good, and they are responsible and reliable. So, our students organised transport and booked a restaurant and we went down to Florya.



Florya is by the Sea (of Marmara), and it was a beautiful day - cool and really pleasant.

We sat around several tables and shared some çay (Turkish tea).



Here is Turcan with our two young men in the class - Yiğit, and Cenk - as well as our lovely lady, Şadan.

And then there are these three delightful young ladies: Zübeyde, Seda, and Merve.



And two more gorgeous girls: Çiğdem and Naime.




And last, but not least, Gözde and her new boyfriend who came along for the day.




So, after our çay we all went for a little walk along the seafront. And we came upon an amusement park - usually open and teaming with kids on weekends. Today, quiet but not closed. So our two 'boys' had a bit of a race in the go-karts.



Cenk (yellow helmet) won ... but the general consensus was that he had a better vehicle and it didn't seem to be a totally fair race.



Yep, they are a really nice bunch of people. Spending time with and getting to know people like these is what makes ESL teaching worthwhile and fun.