Turkey!

The Bus Driver Who Wanted to Be God had some interesting stories in it.  I actually did not enjoy it as much as everyone else seemed to enjoy it, but did find some of the stories to be “cute,” for lack of a better word(!).  Mostly, they were just shocking to me!  Especially the fact that these stories were Israeli!  They sounded more American, a point that proves the many similarities between Israel and America.  The “cutest” story, in my opinion, was the short story about the little boy and his piggy bank.  This short story, and a few other more children-like stories, seemed out of place with stories like “Kneller’s Happy Campers.”  It was a little odd to see all of these unrelated stories that were meant for many different age groups lumped together in one book.  As far as teaching them to high school students, some of the material would probably be offensive.  But then again, the piggy bank story is a classic for all ages!

It is neat that we started the Turkey group last week, because I am also reading a couple of other Turkish texts for another class right now.  I read most of Memed, My Hawk, and a few other short stories.  The other class also had a Kurdish speaker come, who grew up on the Turkish countryside in a small village- Dr. Mirzeler.  Finally, we also watched two documentaries, one on the infamous honor killings in Turkey, the other about the banning of the headscarf. 

One thing that was new to me that the group talked about last week was the Armenian genocide.  I had probably heard about it before, but it was fascinating to learn more about what happened, and to hear Lauren’s relatives’ stories.  I am also enjoying the book that I am reading, The White Castle, and hope to finish it tonight!