I enjoy visiting new countries whenever I can and I check airfares on Google flights fairly regularly. When I saw that I could get a flight to several interesting cities in Europe this fall for a very affordable rate I jumped at it. Lisbon was an option and Athens was very affordable, but there was something about Istanbul that stood out. Turkey in November just feels right, doesn't it? (Sorry, bad joke.)
Anyway, call it hubris but I also thought that I could line up some workshops and seminars while I'm there. Why not, right? I do professional development seminars for Korean universities and government organizations, why not in Turkey too? I have former students from Turkey as well as a few contacts who I met at a conference in Cambodia a couple of years ago. Surely, I can pull this off.
Well, it's happening. The ticket has been purchased. No turning back on that front. I've been chatting with a few teachers on Facebook and today I sent my first email to a training center that offers free Saturday workshops to teachers and volunteered to conduct one for them in November. If I'm accepted it should be easier to craft emails to the universities explaining that I'll be in the country for the first event and would be happy to do another one for them. It's funny how it works that way but people are more likely to give you a chance if someone else has first.
I'm expecting to spend time in Istanbul and Ankara and have several universities that I plan to contact. It wasn't hard to find people to get in touch with since most of the universities have EFL departments or language centers with English websites that list their faculty members and directors/deans.
This is an exciting challenge. Can I line up training opportunities at these schools through cold emails? We'll see. Of course, I'd prefer to be recommended by a friend but the people I know don't seem to know the right people for this kind of thing so I'm starting with emails. Luckily, it's only June.
No matter what happens, it's going to be a fun trip. If I spend the entire time walking around, taking pictures, and sipping coffee I'll be ok with it but if I can meet a new network of educators, share some ideas about teaching, and add a couple of international training events to my CV it will be even better.
Anyway, call it hubris but I also thought that I could line up some workshops and seminars while I'm there. Why not, right? I do professional development seminars for Korean universities and government organizations, why not in Turkey too? I have former students from Turkey as well as a few contacts who I met at a conference in Cambodia a couple of years ago. Surely, I can pull this off.
Well, it's happening. The ticket has been purchased. No turning back on that front. I've been chatting with a few teachers on Facebook and today I sent my first email to a training center that offers free Saturday workshops to teachers and volunteered to conduct one for them in November. If I'm accepted it should be easier to craft emails to the universities explaining that I'll be in the country for the first event and would be happy to do another one for them. It's funny how it works that way but people are more likely to give you a chance if someone else has first.
I'm expecting to spend time in Istanbul and Ankara and have several universities that I plan to contact. It wasn't hard to find people to get in touch with since most of the universities have EFL departments or language centers with English websites that list their faculty members and directors/deans.
This is an exciting challenge. Can I line up training opportunities at these schools through cold emails? We'll see. Of course, I'd prefer to be recommended by a friend but the people I know don't seem to know the right people for this kind of thing so I'm starting with emails. Luckily, it's only June.
No matter what happens, it's going to be a fun trip. If I spend the entire time walking around, taking pictures, and sipping coffee I'll be ok with it but if I can meet a new network of educators, share some ideas about teaching, and add a couple of international training events to my CV it will be even better.
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