But as things are happening fast and I want to talk about them I will try to blog a bit today and the next couple of days.
So last week ...
...I enjoyed Christina's muffins for a couple of days afterwards...
Ariadne from Greece! "Ariadne roaming on the lone strand"
Thursday, 19 March 2015
The Sound of Music.
I didn't feel like blogging all last week. You can read why here in this post.
But as things are happening fast and I want to talk about them I will try to blog a bit today and the next couple of days.
So last week ...
...the term ended and we had a school meeting and a meeting about stress that teachers have with the school counselor...
...we continued our power walks and even collected a little bit of sea glass...
...we attended the theatrical performance "I walk in the forest" by Stella Mihailidou with the school. It was very good...
...we had a doctor's appointment and everything is fine...
...I had coffee with a lovely friend Christina Ina whose cat Hourhouri was so really sweet and played with a laser beam I got for it...
...we rehearsed for a book reading tomorrow on Nikos Kazantzakis that we have done before...
...and we went to a musical "The Sound of Music" which was EXCELLENT!
There are only three more performances of the play in the city so don't miss it !
But as things are happening fast and I want to talk about them I will try to blog a bit today and the next couple of days.
So last week ...
Tuesday, 17 March 2015
Bullying.
It was a sad week.
After a long waiting and long search the 20 year-old student from Crete island who had vanished into thin air a month ago outside his school in Ioannina, was found dead. He had committed suicide after having been abused and bullied by some of his colleagues at school.
Having a student son of the same age had made me think of that young man all the time. I wanted him to be found. I wanted him to be alive and see how much people loved him apart for his awful silly bullies at school. But he was found dead and in fact he had been dead all this time that people were looking for him. Sad, so sad!
Bullying has become the most commomnly used word these days around here. Everyone talks about bullying. At schools, at colleges, in the army, at work, in our society.
And everyone wonders what should be done. What has led to that type of behaviour?
I was sad to hear that some scientists exclaimed that the last decade bullying has developed into a life threatening behaviour mainly due to the financial crisis in Greece!
Really?
Then I must remember wrongly that I had been bullied at High school when I was 15, so many many years ago, by my classmates. They called me names and didn't let me speak in class. They had created a nickname for me and were whispering it every time I tried to open my mouth and talk, to them or to my friends or in class to teachers.
For them it was fun! For me it was a nightmare. I never really had a huge sense of humour but I couldn't find it funny! I found it disgusting and it made me sad.And it added to my lack of self confidence. But it also made me stronger.
I never thought I wouldn't go back to school though. I never considered committing suicide because of their behaviour.
And by trying to be friendly with them in the end we managed to come closer, we actually managed to become friends with my bullies. We managed to be in normal speaking terms and now when we meet in the street after so many years we make fun of those days.
But it isn't the same for everyone.Not everyone can stand it.Others are more fragile.And this young man's bullying was of a very worse type. His bullies abused him physically and verbally for a very long time.
And there we have questions like what is society doing about it, what his teachers did about it. I won't judge and I won't defend anyone. It is the role of the police and the courts to find out if his teachers and the people around him did or didn't do what they should have.
As a teacher in a Primary State School I admit that I have met with cases of bullying even in such young age. Can you believe it that there are 1st graders who bully their classmates? In our school we do our best to change this and protect everyone, the bullied and the bullies and change their behaviour. But if parents do nothing at home and simply abuse their children or even come bullying the teachers at school then their children will become bullies too. Apples fall under the apple tree they say, in good and in bad occasions unfortunately.
Vangelis Yakoumakis is considered the first victim of bullying in Greece! I don't know if he is the first, I just hope he is the last. Today was his funeral.Rest in peace dear sweet young man!
After a long waiting and long search the 20 year-old student from Crete island who had vanished into thin air a month ago outside his school in Ioannina, was found dead. He had committed suicide after having been abused and bullied by some of his colleagues at school.
Having a student son of the same age had made me think of that young man all the time. I wanted him to be found. I wanted him to be alive and see how much people loved him apart for his awful silly bullies at school. But he was found dead and in fact he had been dead all this time that people were looking for him. Sad, so sad!
Bullying has become the most commomnly used word these days around here. Everyone talks about bullying. At schools, at colleges, in the army, at work, in our society.
And everyone wonders what should be done. What has led to that type of behaviour?
I was sad to hear that some scientists exclaimed that the last decade bullying has developed into a life threatening behaviour mainly due to the financial crisis in Greece!
Really?
Then I must remember wrongly that I had been bullied at High school when I was 15, so many many years ago, by my classmates. They called me names and didn't let me speak in class. They had created a nickname for me and were whispering it every time I tried to open my mouth and talk, to them or to my friends or in class to teachers.
For them it was fun! For me it was a nightmare. I never really had a huge sense of humour but I couldn't find it funny! I found it disgusting and it made me sad.And it added to my lack of self confidence. But it also made me stronger.
I never thought I wouldn't go back to school though. I never considered committing suicide because of their behaviour.
And by trying to be friendly with them in the end we managed to come closer, we actually managed to become friends with my bullies. We managed to be in normal speaking terms and now when we meet in the street after so many years we make fun of those days.
But it isn't the same for everyone.Not everyone can stand it.Others are more fragile.And this young man's bullying was of a very worse type. His bullies abused him physically and verbally for a very long time.
And there we have questions like what is society doing about it, what his teachers did about it. I won't judge and I won't defend anyone. It is the role of the police and the courts to find out if his teachers and the people around him did or didn't do what they should have.
As a teacher in a Primary State School I admit that I have met with cases of bullying even in such young age. Can you believe it that there are 1st graders who bully their classmates? In our school we do our best to change this and protect everyone, the bullied and the bullies and change their behaviour. But if parents do nothing at home and simply abuse their children or even come bullying the teachers at school then their children will become bullies too. Apples fall under the apple tree they say, in good and in bad occasions unfortunately.
Vangelis Yakoumakis is considered the first victim of bullying in Greece! I don't know if he is the first, I just hope he is the last. Today was his funeral.Rest in peace dear sweet young man!
Wednesday, 11 March 2015
Our trip to the U.S.A. (22) -Going to Washington DC
We woke up very early on July 8th.
Marabeth took us in her car to New Haven to take the train to Washington DC.
On the way she had very bad news. A family member had died after a serious illness.
We were all so sorry about the news.We had anticipated that something like that might happen while we were in the States. We are grateful that during those difficult times for Marabeth's family we were not in the way and were travelling to Washington DC as it was prearranged.
New Haven Station
WiFi on the train!See Barca on my tablet?
Arrival in Washington DC with a storm on the horizon!
When I looked at this view I said "Yes I am in the USA"
A quick glimpse of the city.
And then the rain started.
We arrived safely at the suburbs where my life long pen friend Sophie and her family live.
We stayed at her parents' house and loved their guestroom!
We then gathered around the television and looked at old photos I had brought in a small USB from my mum's photo album.
And then we had a great dinner cooked by aunt Julia. Although this family and I are not related the fact that we have the same roots from Istanbul and our families stayed connected for so many years makes me feel as if they are my family, as if we are relatives. We so enjoyed our stay here from the very first moment!
(to be continued)
Marabeth took us in her car to New Haven to take the train to Washington DC.
On the way she had very bad news. A family member had died after a serious illness.
We were all so sorry about the news.We had anticipated that something like that might happen while we were in the States. We are grateful that during those difficult times for Marabeth's family we were not in the way and were travelling to Washington DC as it was prearranged.
New Haven Station
New York skyline
We stayed at her parents' house and loved their guestroom!
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