Xanlar

Last Saturday I journey with a group of students and a few foreigners to a the outskirts of a small village called Xanlar (Khan-lar) for picnic and fun. It was a crowded, but cheap 20min ride to the village and then a 20min walk through the village and down a large hill. Before we walked completely out of town, we stumbled into a German church converted gymnasium converted museum and training center. We walked around looking at pictures and artifacts from the city's German roots prior to WWII. Before leaving we had to do the cultural thing and pose for numerous pictures.

Then we proceeded to leave the village and walked down a steep hill from which you could see forever! We evaded a beautiful green meadow and next to a river with the mountain completing the backdrop. The day was really windy ... but that only added to the intensity of our volleyball playing (with a soccer ball) as it ended up in the river at least twice!
While I could only effectively communicate with a handful of people, I still had a good time interacting and getting to know all of them.

Differences noted from previous American picnics I have been on:
-Not very organized; no body really knew where we were headed, but that was half the fun
-Food. Everyone packed their own ... but most brought a huge loaf of bread to share and a tomato or cucumber to eat raw. Needless to say, there was lots of leftover bread. Fanta in a tea cup anyone?
-Interactions. Mixed gender student interactions in this culture seem to be more "on show". There is less goofing off or appearing rediculous that I find more common and acceptable in the US. It is kind of difficult to explain ... it's just different!