Above: Local author Ann Mershon’s timely memoirs on her seven years teaching English in Turkey are a great summer read.
In her memoir, You Must Only to Love Them, northern Minnesota native and former English teacher Ann Marie Mershon writes of her seven years spent teaching English in Turkey. Mershon ruefully admits at the beginning of the book that, when the job at Koc School in Istanbul was originally offered to her, her image of Turkey consisted of “mustachioed Bedouins galumphing out of the desert on camels.”
Over time, her perception of the country evolved as she entered classrooms full of bright, motivated students. Although originally uncertain if the school would be a good fit, Mershon took to heart the advice contained in the title of her memoir, which one of her young Turkish friends shared with her.
Following her first day with her first class of ninth graders, Mershon thinks of her friend’s advice and optimistically reflects, “I must ‘only to love them,’ and it would be easy.”
While the students were lovable, however, other aspects of the job, such as the new grading system that placed extra pressure on students and teachers alike, was a challenge. Exam weeks were exceptionally challenging.
“I’d had no inkling that grades were so momentous in the Turkish culture, especially in the more elite schools,” Mershon writes. “Turkish families often sue over grades, so when John Richardson discovered that I’d let a ninth grader take her exam home to show her parents, he exploded. I had to run around the school to find her and take it back so we wouldn’t be sued. Who knew?”
Mershon also struggled to learn the Turkish language, writing that, “Turkish both fascinated and daunted me, but I was determined to learn it. I’d devoted many hours to a manual called Teach Yourself Turkish before I moved to Turkey, but my progress was slow. I’m convinced Turkish is one of the most difficult languages in the world. At least for me.”
While in Turkey, Mershon also experienced a wealth of Turkish hospitality as she visited Ephesus, Turkey’s most famous ruin, interacted with carpet merchants and went on tours with Edda, “a tiny, sprightly woman in her 60s.” At the same time, however, she also witnessed examples of the disturbing protests that were taking place during her stay in Turkey.
Mershon has effectively transformed her experiences in Turkey to an entertaining account of her life as an English teacher in a foreign country. Readers will learn about her struggles alongside her more positive experiences in a new country and see how her philosophy, “You must only to love them,” influences her experiences along the way.
Additional stories and pictures from Turkey can be found on Mershon’s website at annmariemershon.com, and her book is available at amazon.com.
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