tonight i came home after class thinking that, sure, on one hand i may be a rather improvised teacher - but, on the other, i do care for my students very much.
to the point that quite often - while listening to them or reading their essays... i cannot help but truly wishing them a happy, full life ahead.
tonight i taught two of my best students - U. and K.; they are two young army officers. teaching them has made me realise the strict and high standards the army has here. their manners, their poise and their english too are flawless. they are outspoken, they know contemporary history backwards, they are up to date with any current affairs event, they want to be posted abroad with nato. they receive training in how to dismantle handgranades and are sent off for days to march up and down in the snow or in some remote village in the east - yet at the same time they are articulate, well read and proper.
they are also disarmingly honest about their private life and hopes for the future.
these are some parts of the two essays they wrote tonight.
(k. - 24)
"we just got back from isparta. we stayed their with forty friends from our unit for few weeks. i am so happy to be back in izmir. all we did in isparta was walking in the mountains. the good thing was that we did a lot of camping, we learnt ho to set a fire and we slept under the trees. the tents we used were stretched from one tree to the other, like a nylon sheet but it was not cold because the sleeping bags kept us warm. every morning, on the nylon cover we would find frost. we ate mainly potatoes and sausages or ready made meals the army gives us. we got sick often, all of us. but it was ok. sometimes however i hope to go back to when i was 14. my family decided for me to attend the academy in another city, far away. i was only 14 and i could not say no. i was so scared when i started high school. all of my friends went to civilian high schools. i wanted to be a doctor, that was my dream even when i was a child. when i left my family i cried so much, but then i got used to it, i had to. i am a soldier now and that will not change. if i could choose a career now... i would say doctor, of course. but also primary school teacher. i love teaching children when they are six or seven, because their mind is shaping and it is sometimes amazing to listen to the things they can say. my primary school class had 75 pupils. i was lucky because my mother taught me how to read and write before. otherwise i would have never learnt anything with so many classmates. our class was very noisy. one day our teacher told me i was good at reading and one boy in the class stood up and came to my desk to spit on my face. i was shocked and complaint to the teacher. the teacher did not say anything and looked at me as if he wanted to say ... i do not have any time for your problems"
(u. - 26)
"i am happy to be back. i missed izmir and we only walked and walked and walked for two months. i am getting married in july, but i am not thinking about it. i think i am not very aware. we have been together for six years and this is what she wants and what our parents want. i would prefer to get married in two years, but of course i cannot say it. but for sure i want to wait another five years before having children. i want to pass the selection to enter nato corps and go abroad. it does not matter where - but i want to learn about other cultures and also about other military cultures. i know one of the topic for the essay is the future. of course you know i do not like our government. but apart from our prime minister, the only thing i would change about the country is our borders. i would add a part of bulgaria, a part of greece and the southern border of turkey should be different. england decided on that and they did not choose right. in the south we have many mountains and there is a big problem with terrorists hiding there. all the mountains should be under turkey, so there would not be a problem with the kurds...
p.s. i am sorry if i ask. but we were so happy when you made tiramisu for us for christmas. it was delicious. we wonder if you can maybe make it again before the end of our course. thank you".
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