STYLE

Proč jste se rozhodla přestěhovat se do České

republiky, jaký je váš příběh?

Potřebovala jsem odejít. Nebyla jsem šťastná. Jako

svobodná žena jsem se necítila bezpečně a jako

učitelka jsem nemohla probírat s mojí třídou problematiku naší země. Učím jazyky, takže probírat

politiku nebylo zrovna něco, co jsme ve třídě dělali často, ale všichni jsme museli být velmi opatrní

při plánování kurikula. Například, pořádně jsme se

museli zamyslet nad tím, zda použít text z Amnesty International jako text na analýzu. Já jsem byla

jedna ze šťastnějších učitelek, protože jsem pracovala ve Francouzské škole se svobodomyslným

vedením, ale pořád jsme byli utlačováni a často

jsme riskovali. Tak jsem se rozhodla odejít. Nechtěla jsem odejít do Asie, nebo Jižní Ameriky, protože

jsem chtěla zůstat blízko své rodině a kamarádům,

ale zůstat v Evropě také nebylo zrovna lehké, díky

mému Tureckému pasu. Většina zaměstnavatelů se

nechtěla trápit s papírováním pro moje dlouhodobé vízum. Mezitím jsem kontaktovala The Ostrava

International School a byla jsem moc ráda, když

jsem zjistila, že jim to papírování nevadilo.

Jaký je váš život v Ostravě a na The Ostrava International School?

Mám tady větší klid než v Istanbulu, ale taky si to

tady užívám, protože můžu cestovat skoro každý

víkend. V České republice se mi nejvíc líbí příroda,

takže se snažím vždy hledat nová nádherná místa.

Školou jsem velmi zaneprázdněná. Poprvé pracuju v IB škole, takže si toho musím hodně přečíst,

připravit a naučit, ale moc se mi líbí, že můžu být

součástí místní mezinárodní komunity.

Ostrava: The Right Choice for Me

Banu Hatipoglu is an English teacher at The Ostrava International School. She came seeking a more

open environment and has been here for just over a year. Here is what she has to say about her

experience.

Where are you from exactly, how are the people

of that area, do you perhaps have any special

memories growing up in the area?

I am from a small island near Istanbul called

Buyukada. The population is quite small, about

2000 people, but lots of tourists come here in the

summer. The people are usually very friendly. Since

it is small, most people know each other. There

are inhabitants from many different cultures and

religions. Armenians, Turks, Kurds, Jews, Greeks all

live together.

I have a lot of memories for sure. In the summer, we

would go to the beach everyday from early in the

morning till 9-10 pm; sail, go fishing, dive, play games

all day long. My best memories are all connected to

the sea.

Also, being in a multicultural environment, I have

memories about practising all religions. We would

all go to the mosque during Ramadan, then to the

Church for Easter and Christmas. We all grew up

with respect and freedom. We didn‘t even know the

difference between a Muslim or a Christian, a Turk

or an Armenian.

Why did you decide to come to the Czech Republic,

what is your story?

I needed to leave the country. I was unhappy and

being a single woman, I didn‘t feel safe. Also, as

a teacher, I had no freedom to discuss the problems

of the country with my students. Of course, being

a language teacher, discussing politics wasn’t

necessarily what we did in class, but we all had to

be very careful when planning the curriculum. For

example, we would think twice before including

a text about Amnesty International as a reading

comprehension text. I was one of the lucky teachers,

working for a French school with a very openminded administration, but we were all oppressed,

often taking risks. So, I decided to leave. I did not

want to go to Asia or to South America, since

I wanted to be close to my family and friends. Staying

in Europe was also not that easy, as, due to my

Turkish passport, most employers didn’t want to deal

with the paperwork regarding my long term visa. In

the meantime, I contacted The Ostrava International

School and was happy to find out that they didn’t

mind the paperwork.

Could you give us your brief view on the current

state of your home country?

With oppression from the government, a declining

economy and without proper services like education

and healthcare being offered for free, the people

have become impatient, rude, and disrespectful.

There are now a lot of problems not only on the

mainland, but also on islands, such as the one I grew

up on. It is still bearable to some extent, as long as

you live in your bubble, but I think, hoping to be

mistaken, it will get worse.

How is your life in Ostrava and at the Ostrava

International School?

My life is quite calm compared to Istanbul, but it

is also a lot of fun, since I can travel almost every

weekend. I really appreciate the countryside in the

Czech Republic so I try to visit a different place each

time.

My schedule at the school is very busy. I am working

for an IB school for the first time so I have a lot to

read, prepare and learn, but I really like being a part

of the international community here.

Name:

Banu Hatipoglu

Age:

40

Nationality:

Turkish

Hobbies and interests:

Travelling,

swimming,

photography,

cinema

Favorite Czech food:

Bramborak

Text:

Adam Koneval

Student of The Ostrava

International School,

IB programme

Foto:

www.is-ostrava.cz

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