More about the Grand Opening


I had the job of taking pictures of the ceremony :D

Pictures from the exposition, taken during our photography classes 

My drawing <3

Us in traditional cloathes eating some traditional food :D, yummmyyyyy!

Take care \ Have fun 

Dan 

P.S. The drawing is 100 euros if you want to buy :))

Workshops.

Students are fully focused on their work and what I appreciate helpfull for each other.
The last theme- geometric abstraction is finished (for some of us), now we're trying to make a three-dimensional stained-glass.

Thanks to Sedat's photography course we're visiting cute places, trully cute. heh can't find a better word for that.

Greetings,
Monika

Why do I like openings?
Opening means that some work can be presented.
If it's in cultural center, museum or gallery mostly it's going to be interesting. But my excitement comes from this "sharing moment".
Art can be shared, for me- should be shared. It doesn't mean I would force artists to show what they made, but I was never a fun of closed galleries, collections.
Probably because if that- I wouldn't have opprtunity to see, to experience. And my eyes really like to see.
Artworks contain months of work, of life and thoughts or feelings, and when the time for celebration comes, I'm simply excited.

Little summary of yesterday's Open Day:
 - young boys presenting a short play about Dervishes:

Whirling boys.

- this time (last month children presentation) group of adults from Gaziantep Folklor Kulübü

- groups of the youngest participants:

Girls power! :)

Greetings!
Monika

After months of workshops, students are presenting their artworks.

Today is an open day for our organization.

This evening's event starts at 5.30 p.m. Right now, everybody is preparing for the big opening :D

These photos are from a few days earlier:

I'll write again soon,

Monika

On-Arrival Training on 23-27 May 2012

A very good example of informal learning and of sharing of ones experiences, the training in my opinion was a complete success. It gave an opportunity to meet new people that benefit from the same EVS program and to learn about their projects, organizations and daily life.

The activities were quite diverse but mainly centered on our projects, our hosting organizations, out general experiences here in Turkey and about the sharing of experiences and ideas so that we could make our experience here better.

All the volunteers got a chance to present their projects and their organizations as well as other practical information; about their mentor, their accommodation, the money they receive, the activities in which they participate. 

We also benefited from a short language course consisting mainly in learning new, useful words and the way we should use them in daily life.

Because we were almost 40 participants and at least 10 countries, we also got a chance to make a short presentation about our own countries and their cultures, as well as practical information, such as the level of English spoken in that particular country or the attitude towards foreigners.

We also had a quiz about Turkey’s culture, history and language , which my team won, of course. And a course on conflict management and how to solve problems that might arise in our daily life and in our projects. As most volunteers were living 2 or 3 in the same room, or 8-10 in the same apartment, everyday conflicts were sure to arise. So we talked about our experiences in this regard and on our ideas about solving any issue that might come up.

We also enjoyed a trip to Antalya and its amazing waterfalls, bazaar and center; especially the view with the mountains that seemed to rise from the sea, was quite amazing.

Ibrahim Demirel represent the Turkish National Agency and he told us more information about the next training as well as offering practical information on our stay here and offering to try to solve any problems that we might have with our respective projects.

The last day was occupied by a description of the youthpass, a final evaluation as well as reading letters written by volunteers that participated in a EVS program before us and gave their opinions, experiences and advices to us

So, overall a super experience and now, with the help of Facebook, we created a group so we can stay in touch and visit each other and our cities and organizations.

So, a fun filled activity but also a lot of things to learn

Take care / Have fun 

Dan

It's truly good to have a group of people who like to go places together...
places like Rumkale.
Rumkale (Roman Castle) is a fortress, but it's under restoration right now so we couldn't visit the interiors. Happily however, it's situated on a peninsula created by the Birecik Dam reservoir, so the surroundings are impressive.
On the other hand, Birecik Dam makes trouble for a small town called Old Halfieti which is ocassionally submerged under the rising waters of Birecik Dam.
Here are a few pictures from there:

And some more, this time from a bike trip to a place located 12 km from Gaziantep.
Burç Höleti is a pond where you can go fishing or have a picnic.

 You can also try to be a pirate there.

Or find your own small island to have a picnic.

Greetings,
Monika

Day by day, we're getting better at Turkish traditions, dances, a little better at the language. We also have time to get to know the social life here: drinking Turkish coffee and playing tavla (backgammon) together, visiting hammam (Turkish baths) and spending free days in the fresh air.
Our drawing teacher sometimes chooses impressive vases as objects to learn how to draw. Still life subjects give the opportunity to develop technique and to see progress.
The vases are mostly handmade, decorated by repoussé and chasing (a metalworking technique). This time we also had a traditional object: nargile- a water pipe or 'hookah'. I'm non-smoker but after this class I know all the details about it. I haven't finish yet, but I'm going to.


What's the perfect energizer? Dance.
Happily, the friends around us like to dance a lot:

Today we participated in a youth information meeting. In my opinion it's very much-needed, helpful and enjoyable :)
This time, young people gained practical information about volunteering (EVS) and Eurodesk possibilities. They asked us important questions about our experiences.
Now, I feel "the power of informing" even more.

Sending greetings from hot Gaziantep,
Monika