A poem

Don't be sad because i am not with you

Don't think that i am far away dear

Who cares the distances

Don't cry, look i am here

No matter where you are, you are in my heart

Besides, if you are also thinking of me

Our sights will meet at the horizon

If you are a tree without a leaf

Or a leaf without color

If yousee a flower faded

Be sure that's me, nothing else

Sometimes,

i become a single star

And wink to my sweet witch from the sky

I become a wind, a bird and come to you

I become a butterfly and perch on your palms

Please dont move

Never look for me far off, please

I am the blood circulating in your veins

Hot, crazy and out of control

I am the one flowing through your heart

If your hair is wet, don't think it is rain

It's me who cries , not the cloud

I am in difficulty my dear

If that fire of love is still burning in your heart

And that spring is still in your eyes

If there are two drops of tears in your cheeks

Then, close your eyes.

Look! I am there.

Thursday 30th July. 1998.

02:53:29 -0700 (PDT)

Thank You for hopping by...Hope to see u again the next time..

Soap

I discovered this at Afife Teyze's house..
Yup..that is a place to hold ur soap..or sabun (in both Mlay n turkish).. u dont see this often. In fact, i have only seen this at teyze's so far..that metalic magnetic round thing is pressed into the sabun n after being used, it is put to the holder (picture one) so that the sabun will dry n wont be soft and squashy..

hmm.. soft n squasy soap.. i remember that very well.. we r a crouded family.. 6 kids.. the mom n dad..i always find the soap in the bathroom always swimming inside a small pool of water coz it was either me or my younger siblings.. we didnt make sure that the contaşner that hold the sabun was water free.. how irritating it was.. but then i was young then..i didnt really care..

That is why as i have a home of my own, i make it a point not to use normal sabun as to avoid the soap being squasy and all..i am more into this type of sabun..the liquid one.. one for washing the hand (sıvı sabun)...one for taking a bath n filling the bathtub (shower gel -duş jeli)..but does that stop me from putting a normal soap in the bathroom (for bathing?) Nope.. heheh i put two in fact.. one frangrant one..one olive oil sabun..habit i guess..a habit formed from the yester years..nobody use that sabun anyway.... we all use the gel ones..the liquid form....less mess..

Like hatice's teacher had taught her in class... wash ur hands.. use the sabun.. count to 10... wash wash wash..

it doesnt really matter the form of the soap.. staying clean is important..n that's that!

Thank You for hopping by...Hope to see u again the next time..

I am..

The courrier guy rang our door. There is a bank card for halil. He is naturally at work. I introduced myself as his wife. The guy asked for an ID.. i showed my malaysian ID...not accepted. He asked for our Evlilik Cuzdan (marriage book) as an ID instead..we dont have that but we have a paper showing we r married.

I looked at the place where i last left that paper. No where to be found. Frustrated.

I called him at work to ask whether he had done anything to do. He said he put it at bla bla bla. In the rush..i couldnt find that paper. More frustration.

I asked the guy whether my sis in law could take the bank card on my behalf. He said only halil's brother can. I knocked özlem's door to ask whether halim was there. Nope. He wasnt. Called Kerim (another brother). He was somewhere else too. The courrier guy left..he said he will come back whenever ..i only need to give them a call.

Frustration... i felt.... so deeply.. Frustrated coz i could not take the card which was in front of me. Frustrated coz ı could not find the paper.. Angry at halil for moving things without telling me. Sad from the helplessness of it all. This is such a small matter..but why r the small pearly drops of tears falling from my eyes? I feel so helpless.....

Thank You for hopping by...Hope to see u again the next time..

Singing Time

I present you
Çiçeğim Nur Hatice Zaim singing *Ben bir Ağacım*
and

Şekerim Sabahaddin Zaim singing *Erken Yatarım*..Singing for all the aunties and uncles of this blog...

Yeay!!! we've got a new digital camera!! nothing fancy..but a very much loved one.. u can expect a lot of singing in hatice's blog next week! :0)




Ben bir ağacım
I am a tree
Dallarım da var benim
I have branches


bir çiçek açtı
1 flower bloom
İki çiçek açtı
2 Flowers bloom
Üç çiçek açtı
3 Flowers bloom
Dort çiçek açtı
4 Flowers bloom
Beş çiçek açtı
5 Flowers bloom
Altı çiçek açtı
6 Flowers bloom
Yedi çiçek açtı
7 Flowers bloom
Sekiz çiçek açtı
8 Flowers bloom
Dokuz çiçek açtı
9 Flowers bloom
On çiçek açtı
10 Flowers bloom

Ruzgar esti
The wind blew
Wooooooo

Yağmur yağdı
The rain fell
şıp şıp şıp

Dallarım boynuna düştu
My branches fell down (Wilted looking)

Ğuneş açtı
The sun shines
Dallarım havaya kalktı
My branches look up to the sky




Erken Yatarım
I sleep early
Erken Kalkalım
I wake up early

2 yumurtayı
2 Eggs
sutle çaparım
I mix them up with milk

Bir dilim ekmek
1 slice of bread
biraz da peynir
With a bit of cheese


Aman efendim
my God(Allah)
Ne guzel Yenir
What a delicious thing


Okulu yolu
The school way (road)
Taşlarda dolu
Is full with stones
Biraz da yokus
The road is a hilly
Yap beni bir kuş
Please make me a bird

İster yaz olsun
If U want it be summer
İster kara kış
If U want it be the dark winter (meaning heavy snow)

Haydi okula
Let us go to school
Tıpış a tıpıs
Step by Step


Thank You for hopping by...Hope to see u again the next time..

Ara Karnesi

Much to my amazement as a former teacher and a mom,
Saturday was the day i discovered that...

There is NO EXAM SYSTEM for the

PRE-SCHOOL (anaokulu/pra sekolah),

FIRST GRADE (birinci sınıf/darjah satu),

SECOND GRADE (ikinci sınıf/darjah dua)

THIRD GRADE (third grade/darjah tiga)

STUDENTS!!!

Nice isnt it? i wish we had that while i was still a student..What do we have here? we have

DAVRANIŞ KARNESİ (character report card /laporan pembinaan karakter)

how cool isnt it to be a teacher in those grades? It leaves u in a less strain position and that allows u to be more creative and relaxed in educating ur students..especially in the early days of schooling years where if u love ur school life..that will be a positive beginning for a child esp for his or her future years in the struggle to get a place in a university as she or he will have to study really hard to pass the complicated...difficult system of university exam entry....

Yesterday..i died of exaustion...figuratively speaking.

Halil left me in front of the school compound by 12 noon. Then, he took safa (his nephew) and our kids to Carrefour since i am left to this excruciatingly painful task...the least he could do was to babysit his kids for a few hours, right?

12.15 noon, the veli toplantısı (parents meeting) started...mothers vs hatice's class teacher..that sweet Nilgün öğretmen (Nilgün teacher)...The meeting ended up at 1.30pm where later the parents proceeded to several rooms to meet the *branş öğretmenlar* (branch teachers..ieiii other subject teachers..) It was que after que that no man will have patience to do..That is why Allah has created us mothers... to deal with these things...i went there at 12 noon n i left the school at 4pm.. tired..thirsty..hungry..(they did offer refreshments but all i wanted to do was to finish the que n meeting all of hatice's teachers..).....the day did not end there.. at 5 there was ipek's birthday... then we went to baba for a while..then the kids (nephews n nieces) were at us for a while..n by the time they left.. my body was itching from my allergy towards dust..my feet aching ..n the sound of yasin lulled me to sleep from halil's mp3 player...


What is important for me yesterday was that it was ara karne (first semester report card)

distribution..this is the chance for me to see how my daughter is doing at school..how the teachers percieve her in class..This is her class teacher's assesment of Nur Hatice ..Wanna see her status??
Yup.. as u can see.. she scored *çok iyi* (very good)..top grades for her character building..The character list is..(i hope i am translating these right.. i am not too good in turkish..will ask halil to check my translation after he wakesup)


1. The responsibility of the homework given
2. The speed and capability in preparing herself for reading and writing
3. The habit to come to school
4. The capability to use of the language, respect and words used in conversation
5. The capability to use carefully and protect the school and class property
6. The capability to use carefully and protect personal property
7. The ability to be get used to the eating habit and following the eating room rules
8. The habit of doing the homework systematically
9. The ability to listen and join the lesson
10. The ability to carry responsibilities in a group
11. The capability to bring a task to a success
12. The capability to finish a task given
13. The relationship between friends
14. The love to be helpful
15. The capability to show respect to the elders and to show love to the younger
16. The habit of waiting in line
17. The ability to speak out in class
18. The ability to keep the personal locker tidy in between classes
19. The capability to be clean
20. The ability to listen
21. The ability to follow up the r,basic rules of mannerism (to thank, to apologize, to say hi etc)

What is soooo cute about this report card is the personal comment from her teacher.. she used the word..
Benim Minik Papatyam
(My little papatya *a flower*)

to refer to hatice.. isnt that soooooo sweet??

That is the overall report card..There is a separate report card for english lesson..












Hatice again get all top score (Excellent) except for homework and working in pair where she got only *very good*.

The homework was because hatice did not bring one english homework to school the other day coz her mom got her homework all mixed up..(should she be blamed for this?) and the other one was because the teacher once saw her fighting with a friend...

Anyway.. had to queeeee long lines..many many hours..here is what i gathered from those i went to see:

Class Teacher (Nilgün Gülen)
**************************

She is extremely happy with Hatice's development.. her character etc..I asked her whether there is any problem with hatice in her class.. she said no.. Hence, i did mention a few of my worries..n possible problem with hatice..for her to look into.. she is such a sweet lady! i even managed to chat with a few moms (of the older grades) while waiting in que.. they said the same thing too..

English Teacher (Sumeyye Özel)
*****************************
She is happy with hatice as well..Hatice is very participative in class etc..etc..her only complaint was that hatice did not bring back her homework (as i mentioned above..it was my fault)The rest..she is happy with hatice.. my only concern is.. (perhaps due to exhaustion n endless parents she had seen)..but can she smile a bit???

Resim/drawing..art (Gülçin Gül Erikçi)
**********************
She describes hatice as *aceleci* heheheh *nak cepat*..i think i know what she meant.. at home i see hatice holding a pen and she can finish her drawing in seconds... she is fast... but the problem with that is..she does not stop to *think*..or *listen to instructions*...esp in class..

The problem with hatice is... she is at times in a world of her own..no matter what u say (or the teacher say)...she has made up her own conclusions..hmmm... so in class..she finishes her drawing fast but not as what the teacher has instructed.. she needs to improve on that..

Other than that..the teacher is happy with her.. -*sweet kid* she said..

Muzik (M. Kemal Öndeş)
********************
A cheerful guy.. his description for hatice *Perfect...çok akılı bir kız* ( a very intelligent girl)
MasyaAllah....

Physical Education (Hülya Baş)
***************************
She was not around

Computer (Gökçe Akça)
**********************
On leave

Chess (Ediz Gürol Gündüz)
************************
He think hatice is *çok akılı bir kız* ( a very intelligent girl) and he thinks that she can go far with chess if she wants to...but the aim is for the kids to love playing chess..no strains..he gave other compliments as well but better not exaggerate here..Else, somebody will muntah on this entry hehehehheeh (looking at my dearest friend M) hahahahahah

Drama (Enbiya Avcı)
******************
This teacher went to drama. He was no where to be found. Grrrrrr

Turkish Plays (Necla Aktaş)
************************
Again compliments for hatice but..hehehe yup there is a but.. hatice is a bit lazy to stand up..she prefers lying on the floor at times (but she also mentioned that it might be because the lesson is normally early in the morning.. the kids r still sleepy etc.)

Dear Teachers.. THANK YOU for ur guidance especially in EduCATiNG my daughter.. Nur Hatice. Only Allah can repay for all that u have done..

Saturday..25th November..my Daughter's first Report Card..:0)

No exams ...how cool is that??I think this is something true.. once the students have a good character base in life, this will make their life much more easier n fun.. they wont see the school as something far too seriously *boring*..

I try not to mumble too much about hatice's schooling in this blog.. after all, she has her own blog for me to mumble of her schooling life..but i think i am so over the moon when the teachers compliment my daughter....which parents wouldnt, right? i will copy this entry to her blog as well..

Thank You for hopping by...Hope to see u again the next time..

U R NOT a SnaİL!

I woke up from the sound of baddin coughing. It was not dark anymore outside.. fearing for the worst, i looked at the watch... 7.15am!!!!! We were late!!..15 minutes late!! halil must have forgotten to set the clock after he woke up for work!

I quickly woke hatice up and brought baddin to the living room.. Yeah..he still wakes up with his sister every morning...went to the kitchen to prepare their breakfast..and went to check on hatice...I couldnt believe my eyes!!

There she was... still.. lai lai lai singing n taking her time..moving her hips to the tune of her own music...one hand holding her toothbrush..the other holding a toothpaste..

*haydi hatice..çabuk ol* (hurry up hatice)

i said in panic.... did she speed up her movement?
Sure..of course... NOT..

FinaLLY, she came to the living room where she knew her clothes would be. She held her t-shirt and sat on the couch...just looking... Haydaaa........i muttered to myself..it was 7.30am..she stilll had to have her hair braided.. breakfast... toilet...to do...to go to..I took over n made her wear her clothes in 3 minutes.

That done, i braided her hair as fast as i possibly could..Allaha Şukur, this time she didnt move her head too much..Breakfast?.. a slow task...she was watching tikkabilla on tv while munching her food and drinking her milk..

7.42am..i told her to stop eating.. toilet time!! that done..boots in..winter jacket on.. n while waiting for keremcan to come out of his door, she sat on a small chair (tabure) while i fed her her leftover milk n dried raisin...it is a habit of hatice's (n baddin's next year-by force most definitely).. a bit of raisin before going out to school..phewwww.. stress over.. .

....looked at the window to see her safely inside the school service..baddin shouting
*bye bye abla*
from the window..(i told him to shout bye bye keremcan too as not to be bias but he refused...).. n off to our daily activities..

thought i'd let off my steam a bit with this entry....she takes time...doing things slowly n happily in the morning..it is good perhaps but she is driving me nuts with her ease!! i just want her to be prepared n not be late for school n she is just happily lay lay lay herself every morning .. not caring if she is late or not..

Kızım.. u r not a snail!! Hurry Up!!

I copied this entry from hatice's blog..She did drive me crazy this morning! chuckles*

Thank You for hopping by...Hope to see u again the next time..

Perspective

*GODİSNOWHERE*

How did u read this?

*GOD İS NO WHERE*?

or did u read..

*GOD İS NOW HERE*?

..Which one did u read?

See? Different people have different perspectives :0) We read that phrase even differently..

There i was..sleeping so soundly last night when a peck of kiss reached my cheek. There he was looking at me.. waiting ..wanting to say something..

I asked him..
*what?*
and he said...

*U boiled the wrong thing. Arent u supposed to cook the meat of the shrimp? (karides)*

I couldnt stop myself from laughing....he looked sooo confused and disgusted!!!!

U see my dear friends.. to boil the skins..the heads n skins of the shrimp ..
for a turkish man.. well. for him at least..
is like looking at...
insects (böceklar) swimming in the boiled hot water...his point of view.. from the guy whose mazhab believes that shrimp n their gangs r makhruh to be eaten..coz they r the insects of the sea..

To me.. someone from Syafie..that skin n head of the shrimp in the pot of pan means the beginning of mee kuah..a malaysian dish..

i wish i can snap the photos for u to judge of how the view would be for urself..but of course..i cant..i dont have the gadgets for now..

*ilginç* /*weird*

he had said..

2 people from 2 different cultures...2 different lifestyles
and yet..living under one same roof.. compromising each other's culture.. well that is life..u may have different views but there should be an understanding on both parts of the differences..
u may not like it..but u cannot force ur culture onto the other partner, right?

And yes.. !! i am eating mee kuah tonight!!

Alone heheheheh..

in this case.. sharing is BAD.!! :0)
I am not sharing it with him..
He wont eat it as well.. (makhruh..remember?)
so..one happy happy me!! Yeay!!

Thanks mak for the recipe!

Thank You for hopping by..Hope to see U again next time....

As U can see.. my blog has moved home again.. the old one can be found at

www.simahz.blogspot.com

i have created the link at the sidebar (or should i say bottom *bar*) of this blog..??