Welcome to our university, Shanna and Ben!

This week is the start of a new school year at Adana BTÜ. Beginnings are always exciting. It’s nice to actually get the year going– meet the students, figure out schedules, get into a routine of some sort. Our department has expanded significantly this year, increasing from around 65 students to close to 300 students. We are all teaching a lot, but the students are great, and it will be FUN!

There are several new teachers, including two new Fulbright teachers, Ben and Shanna. We’ve spent the past week getting them set up and acquainted with their new city, and a full first week it was! Over the course of a single week, we attended not one but TWO Turkish weddings, a reception thrown by the US Consul to Adana, John Espinoza, met a lot of local young professionals, feasted on kebab a few times, as well as ciğer, breakfasted by the lake, shopped around and found Ben a home, signed the contract and got him moved in, swam a few times, met all our colleagues, set up offices… and so much more. Now this week, students have arrived and classes are underway. It’s going to be a great year, I am sure!! inşallah…

Welcome dinner of meter-long Adana kebab

Breakfast on Lake Seyhan

An extensive breakfast buffet

Our lovely Lake Seyhan

An exciting Turkish wedding

Wedding dancing

Enjoying wedding festivities

Ben trying out Turkish dancing

Shanna is developing a taste for ayran! Particularly fresh frothy ayran... (the BEST)

Lunching on lahmacun near school with our colleague Aaron, who hails from New Zealand

With US Consul John Espinoza

Quite a wedding cake!

Enjoying yet another wedding during their first week in Adana

Ben found a home!

English Department breakfast

Former students come back to visit 🙂

We already had a field trip… to the Rektorluk, but still!

The university president welcomes students

These two are serious.

When in doubt– which happens here on occasion– drink banana milk! It makes everything better.