This morning, we finally had time to properly sleep in.

After breakfast, it was already 11:30, and we met up with Ibi. He took us to the school where he works as an English teacher. Although classes were canceled today due to a recent event, many students were still there. They were excited to meet us.

I really enjoy this kind of cultural exchange. The children were adorable and curious, and you could clearly see how happy they were to interact with us. I hope it also motivates them to study English more diligently, because communication wasn’t always easy. This experience surely showed them how useful English can be. But what truly matters is not words, but the sparkle in their eyes and how they overcame their initial shyness. After all, Shaun and I are just ordinary people—though they clearly didn’t treat us that way.

有人曾说，一个国家的状态可以从这个国家的孩子身上看出来。从这个角度来看——至少根据今天的印象——土耳其的情况很好！这里的孩子在我看来开朗、聪明、充满活力。当然，也精力充沛。教室里大约有20到30个孩子，场面非常热闹。

After the Q&A session, all the kids rushed out to the playground and channeled their energy into football and volleyball. Football was clearly the number one topic—everyone wanted to know whether I supported Fenerbahçe or Galatasaray. Since I’m not really a football fan, I couldn’t contribute much, but to make some of the kids happy, I chose Fenerbahçe.

What touched me the most was when a boy insisted on giving me a small toy car as a gift. Shaun received one as well, which made both of us a bit uncomfortable. But I will take it with me as a lovely memory of this time here.

After visiting the school, Ibi drove us to the castle of Amasya. From there, we had a wonderful view over the city. However, we didn’t find much information about its construction or history. Still, it was very impressive.

After walking back to the hotel, it was time to relax again—but there is an even higher level of relaxation: the Turkish hamam! The Yıldız Hamamı right next to our hotel was built in the 13th century and is around 800 years old. We went for the full experience: sauna, body scrubbing/washing, and massage. It was very soothing and perfectly suited our rest day!

In the evening, we met Ibi again, and one of his former students joined us as well. The teacher-student relationship here seems quite different from that in Switzerland. At least in Ibi’s case, it felt different from what I’m used to back home.