Cucumbers and CCQs by Rene Mark LeLong

By Rene

For my second  year as a SeltAcademy trainer  I was  despatched to the city of Konya and although I had been a trainer the previous year and I know a little about Turkey there are still some things that take some getting used to.

As I settled down for my first hotel breakfast I noticed the slices of cucumber. For me as an Englishman, cucumber is to be enjoyed in dainty sandwiches or as part of a salad, why anyone would want to eat it for breakfast is beyond me. Oh well there’s always watermelon to enjoy instead.

                                           

After breakfast it was into the minibus to be dispatched to the school to meet my trainees and the school coordinator, who  was  welcoming and  he immediately apologised for the high temperatures and then offered  me a cup of tea. They drink a LOT of tea here.

Afterwards he found me a fan for my “office” I felt privileged not only too be given an office but because as a rule the schools don’t have air conditioning and even fans are not guaranteed. My advice to would be trainers would be to take lots of water and perhaps a spare outfit for the afternoon. Things can get very hot and sticky with temperatures staying  in high 30s days and night.

Last year I had twelve male trainees but this year it was seven female trainees, so I knew that topics of conversation would be a little different. This is a traditional part of the country and as I sat there attempting to find some common ground and make  small talk with the trainees wearing the traditional long coats and the headscarves. I reminded myself that there would be no high fiving as  a form of  congratulations for successful completion of the Getting To Know You activities.

However despite initial trepidation from both trainee and trainer we soon slipped into our respective roles and  thanks to a well organised and resourced programme  things continued smoothly.

There were certainly some lighter moments. 

The trainees were keen, sometimes too keen, as was illustrated when I had told them about concept check questions (CCQs) they got a little carried away. In one demonstration lesson, one trainee was presenting a recipe. She said “Milk- do you know what milk is?” then remembering the need to CCQ she said “ “Does milk come from a cow?” Does milk come from a donkey?” One trainee answered  ‘well yes I think you can get milk from a donkey.” “Can you ? “ said another. “Yes I have heard that…..” Time to move on please ladies!

                  

Original graphic by Rene

     

All too soon the two weeks had raced by and  it was time to say goodbye to my hard working trainees and present  them with their certificates. It was so rewarding to see the progress they had made, the ideas they had shared and the willingness there had to try out fresh ideas in the classroom. We went our separate ways and I look forward to having the opportunity to work in Turkey again. Now if only I could develop a taste for cucumber for breakfast.

Rene with his all-ladies group

    

Note from Kristina: If you want to know more about a traditional Turkish breakfast, check out my VoiceThread or explore this website starting with the article about Turkish breakfasts.