Rain, a great experience for some kids at Turkish Olympiads

İbrahim Asalıoğlu

Some of the participants of the 9th International Turkish Olympiads that hail from warmer climates, such as Ahoud Al Afefi (11) and Maha Al Kadi (11) of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where rainfall occurs only once or twice a year, say they were thrilled about the rainfall that welcomed them in Ankara's Kızılcahamam district, where one section of the Olympiads was held.

Students from 130 countries are competing in the Olympiads, some of them coming from countries with colder temperatures and some from hotter climes than that of Turkey.

Afefi and Kadi from UAE

Afefi and Kadi's Turkish teacher Çiğdem Ertekin said they had woken up to a 45 degrees Celsius day in the UAE before they left to Turkey. “By the time we were on the plane, the temperature in Abu Dhabi had reached 58 degrees Celsius. When we landed here, it was 25 degrees Celsius. This is a huge difference in heat; we actually felt cold,” she said, adding, “When all the other kids are walking around in short sleeved T-shirts in Kızılcahamam , ours freeze at night and use two blankets to keep warm. The hotel gave us a large heater, and we turned it on the minute we enter the room. It stays on all night.”

Ertekin said the UAE had only several days of rainfall throughout the year. Her two students, who attend the United School in Abu Dhabi, say they were both surprised and happy to see the rain. Kadi says: “I always saw rain on Turkish television series, which are very popular in my country. I never believed that it could rain so much, but now I have seen it and I do.”

‘We are Having Dinner'

One of the most interesting duos attending the Olympiads has been Alexander Ivarlak (16) and Maxim Lisnik (15) of Moldova, who acted out the Turkish television cooking contest “We are Having Dinner,” where contestants host each other in their homes for one night of the week and critique each other's cooking.

Unfavorable and overly harsh criticism and mild quarreling are the staples of the show. The Moldovan's skit, however, had two major differences. For one thing, it was set in the Stone Age. Secondly, the two contest participants -- whose stage names were Temel and Dursun, two common names in the Black Sea region -- were both from Trabzon.

Maxim playing Temel started by saying: “We will visit Dursun Bey's cave tonight. Let's see what he has prepared for us.” Alexander as Dursun recounted a full menu of Black Sea delicacies. “If they don't like my menu, they can go elsewhere,” Alexander said using idiomatic Turkish. Alexander also said, “I am a fan of Trabzonspor, I love Turkish and I am a gourmet.” The two ended their sketch with a little spat that takes place in Laz, a local language in the Black Sea region.

Published on Today's Zaman, 27 June 2011, Monday