Follow:
Browsing Category:

Travel

    Pre-Field Training in Mississippi

    It’s been a busy couple of weeks and several thousand miles since we left Michigan in June!

    After our first anniversary celebration in Tennessee, we traveled to Oxford, Mississippi. One of my dearest friends from college and her husband live there, and it was just an hour from where our training took place. Noelani and Devon spoiled us with wonderful hospitality and delicious food. It was so fun catching up with them and seeing where they lived.

     

    Playing games at the Newburns

     


    After relaxing in Oxford for a few days, we drove north to Southaven, Mississippi for Pre-Field Orientation (PFO).

    PFO was a two-week long program that took place in a local school/church. David and I were two of over 130 participants preparing to teach in one of 21 schools in 16 different countries. PFO helped prepare us for our lives as expat teachers through lectures and activities centering around personality tests, Third Culture Kids, and what we might expect in our transition. Learning about Third Culture Kids fascinated me most.

    What’s a Third Culture Kid?
    A Third Culture Kid is an individual who, having spent a significant part of the developmental years in a culture other than the parents’ culture, develops a sense of relationship to all of the cultures, while not having full ownership in any. Elements from each culture are incorporated into the life experience, but the sense of belonging is in relationship to others of similar experience.

    A variety of students including children of embassy officials, children of international businessmen and women, military children, and other international children attend the school in Turkey. TCKs are a different kind of student and people with ever-changing host countries, friendships, and independence.

    We spent most of our time at PFO in this lecture hall. Training consisted of a LOT of acronyms. This was the PAC. (I don’t even know what that stood for!)

     

     The lecture hall

     

    The participants of PFO not only learned a lot, but we also ate a lot. PFO was southern hospitality at its finest! Every morning, we attended a lecture, then we’d break for snacks. Another lecture, then lunch. Another lecture, then another break for snacks. Another lecture, and dinner. An amazing team of volunteers prepared the food. Every single meal was absolutely delicious!

    During PFO, we met some of the former, current, and new teachers at our school in Ankara. Southaven is right on the border of Mississippi and Tennessee, and our director treated us to dinner in Memphis. It was David’s first time to eat at the Rendezvous.  The Rendezvous is famous for its dry rub barbecue ribs. Yum!

     

    Rendezvous ribs

    Oasis Ankara at Rendezvous

     

    David and I were blessed to stay with an amazing host family! They were so personable, hospitable, and kind to us. One of the sisters will also be teaching at an Oasis school (not pictured below). Below is a picture of us before the international dress up night.

     

    Our Host Family

     

    We also spent quality time getting to know the people in our small group. We were placed with 4 other couples who are each at a different school.

     

    Our PFO Small Group

     

    David and I were so glad we were able to attend PFO, and are more excited than ever to teach in Turkey!

    Share:

    First Anniversary Celebrations

    As I mentioned in a previous post, Leah and I decide to follow a tradition started by my parents to take turns planning a surprise trip for our anniversary. After a long drive on Wednesday, Leah and I arrived in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

    I made plans for us to visit Dollywood, Dolly Parton’s theme park. I had absolutely no idea how many entertainment options Pigeon Forge had to offer. As we drove through town on the way to our hotel, we both commented how much the area looked like a beach town. There were wax museums, putt-putt golf courses, outlet malls, hotels, dinner theatres, and a dancing plethora of pancake houses. There was even a museum inside of a Titanic replica. Keep in mind, this is all in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. The amount of tourist traps were overwhelming.

     

    Dollywood highway sign

     

    Our first day in Pigeon Forge, we visited Dollywood’s Splash Country. It was a beautiful day to be at the waterpark, as it was in the 90s and sunny most of the day. We enjoyed many waterslides and the wave pool. I even jumped over a fence to get a four-leaf clover that Leah had found.

     

    Leah found another four leaf clover

     

    I made dinner reservations for that night at Lumberjack Feud. Lumberjack Feud is a dinner theater that stars champion ESPN lumberjacks. The show was very interesting and aside from some corny jokes, very entertaining. The most impressive part was when two lumberjacks shimmied up 90 foot poles, and came back down by practically free falling before digging their feet into the pole right before hitting the ground, all in a matter of seconds.

     

    Lumberjack Feud

     

    Our last full day in Pigeon Forge, we visited Dollywood. This park had the perfect balance of roller coasters and shows. When I purchased the tickets, I planned on spending most of our time at the shows because of Leah’s coaster-phobia. However, I was impressed by how many roller coasters she actually wanted to ride. She said that I caught her on a brave day.

     

    Gazillion bubble show

     

    While in the park, we saw a few small shows. One of the most impressive was the Gazillion Bubble Show with “bubble artist” Ana Yang. As funny as it might sound, Ms. Yang used her bubbling techniques to entertain and amuse a full theater. Leah and I found ourselves laughing and jumping out of our seats to pop fog-filled bubbles. We also enjoyed a stunt dog show and a bluegrass band. Leah won a free Moonpie and Coke from an acapella 60s group.

     

    Free moon pie and coke at Dollywood

     

    Those few days were fun and relaxing for Leah and me. From there, we traveled to Oxford, Mississippi to visit our great friends Devon and Noelani Newburn. We will post more on our time in Mississippi soon!

    Share: