Welcome to our visual blog for the BUPS/BIS 2009 8th grade Ephesus trip. These photographs, captions and "unphotographs" represent a joint venture in English and art class capturing the experience of the students' final middle school trip at BUPS/BIS. Many still remember and speak fondly of the games at Patalya in 6th grade and the adventures in Cappadocia last year in 7th. This year's experience held the same kind of wonder and memories, all the more poignant since in just a little time they will graduate from the 8th grade. The students have chosen their best landscape, portrait and detail photograph, writing a concise and descriptive caption for one. Using Michael David Murphy's "Unphotographable" as an inspiration, the students also wrought an image in words when its meaning went beyond the pixel.

Even though they will be in the same building next year and have many of the same teachers, high school is a different world. Every assignment and class trip of middle school has been constructed to help the students succeed in this new realm. But, as you will see from the photos of Ephesus and its surrounding areas and as the students realized, the past is never far away, and it's always the foundation for the future.

Saturday

Ege Kurt

This picture I did not take of me pulling Melisa T, Melisa B, Naz, and Ilayda up an old house in Ephesus city. The rubble of the building scratching us while we climb up. Vitaly is climbing up to the top. The walls are flat but it has holes, which make it easier to climb. We feared falling down because the drained river makes the fall steeper than it should be. If we didn't have each other we wouldn't have been able to climb. This showed teamwork.