FOREIGN EXCHANGE TO TURKEY
Waking up at six a.m. to start my day usually isn’t my thing, but for this, I was ecstatic. I was finally getting a chance to venture into a world unknown to me. I was headed to Turkey with my Foreign Exchange student, Ferda, to complete the second half of our exchange. After seventeen hours of flying, we were in Istanbul, Turkey. Ferda received news that our last flight from Istanbul to Izmir was delayed a few hours, so she called up her aunt who lives in Istanbul, and she lent Ferda and me her car and driver for a tour around the city. Before I arrived in Turkey, I imagined it to look like the Aladdin movies, and have sand dunes everywhere with exotic architecture and what not, but my first glimpse of Istanbul was nothing like that. Picture your perfect paradise on a Greek island and that is was these western Turkish cities look like. The sights I saw were unreal, and I began to slowly peel off the judgmental thoughts I had about the country. Istanbul is one of Turkey’s largest cities, all along the mountains you could see the millions of houses and apartments and other buildings. There were brilliant mosques, crowds of people, and the last thing you would expect… beautiful beaches, with sparkling, clear waters. As we drove over the bridge connecting the Asian and European continents, I was overwhelmed with this amazing feeling. All I can remember thinking was “Wow! I am really in Turkey. How crazy is this?!” I was a little nervous for my adventure in this peculiar country, but I was ready for it to start.
We had only been in the car for about an hour, but I was exhausted, and began dozing off. Soon enough, it was time for us to head back to the airport for our final flight to Izmir, Turkey. Thank God this was only a 45 minute flight; I began to think that I would be stuck in the sitting position forever for all the flying. Once we arrived in Izmir and picked up our luggage, Ferda and I headed off to find her parents. Her dad, Macit, and mom, Shenaz, were waiting eagerly for us at the “Arrivals” exit. As soon as they saw us, they smiled happily and started running toward Ferda. It was now that I felt the first wave of homesickness, and all I wanted to do was go back home and hug my own mom and dad. Of course, Macit and Shenaz also gave me a big hug and tried to make me feel like a part of the Şaşzade family, but nothing they did would take away this horrible feeling I had in my stomach.
Because the Şaşzade’s were staying at their summer home, we had to take an hour drive to get to Çesme, Turkey. By the time we arrived home, it was way past midnight, and I was more than ready to go to bed. The next morning, well, afternoon, considering I woke up at 3 p.m., everyone was already awake. And by everyone, I mean Macit, Shenaz, Ferda, Shenaz’s parents, and two of Ferda’s cousins, Cem and Kerim. I was not ready to meet all of my new family members just yet. This sent another overwhelming shock through my body. I was already off to a bad start, I thought. I was completely homesick, and all I wanted to do was call up my mom. When I was finally able to speak with her, I let it all out, and the tears streamed out of my eyes. I told her how much I hated it already, and I just wanted to go back home. I was already sick of Turkey, after only one night. These thoughts continued to flood my mind for the next few days, and every time I would get on the phone with one of my family members, I was cry. My mom finally put a stop to it, and said to me, “If you continue to cry every time we speak, I will not talk to you until you get home in three weeks. I will be checking in with Macit to make sure you’re getting along with Ferda and actually trying to get an experience out of this. I paid way too much money for you to just waste your time in Turkey.” That was enough for me. Instantly I had to change my mind set and try to think positively about things. Once I heard my mom wouldn’t talk to me, I never let another tear fall.
Over the next few days, Macit and Shenaz did everything in their power to include me with their family, and make me feel like home. They thought I was too skinny, and so they would place a meal in front of me any time I was just sitting around. I knew I would never go hungry with these people. Food was one of the first things to start opening my mind to new cultures. Because they were Muslims, they had a somewhat strict diet. They never ate pork, and their favorite meat was veal. I had never tried veal before this, so I was cautious when I took my first bite. I happened to really enjoy it, and it was a good thing because they ate it with every meal. Dinners are very important to the Turkish culture. Like many Spanish cultures, they eat very late. The earliest we ever ate dinner was probably 8:30 p.m. I began to grow very fond of Turkish foods. My favorite dish was a sandwich called a “Kumru”, although I have absolutely no idea what was on it, just lots of meat and cheese and vegetables.
I was fortunate enough to be hosted by an upper-class family, and so we were able to take many trips around to historical sites in Turkey. My favorite two, which really opened my eyes, were Ephesus and the Virgin Mary’s home. They were the most breath-taking places I have ever been. I actually saw where the Virgin Mary lived after her son was born. These excursions taught me a lot about the Turkish culture and history.
During these three weeks in Turkey, I was able to meet many of Ferda’s friends, and actually become very close with three of them, Idil, Ipek and Aylin. I was very wary when meeting new people here, not knowing what to expect when I was introduced to all of them. Almost all of the teenagers I met here knew how to speak English, and that made my whole experience so much easier. I learned that Turkish teenagers are very much like American teenagers. We are all interested in the same things, like music (they mostly listen to American Rap!), partying and clubbing, shopping, going to the beach, all of those sorts of things. I was so surprised that we were so much alike, even though we were from complete different cultures, and on total opposite sides of the world. I was never taught much about Turkey, or even the Muslim culture, so I just kind of grouped them with Middle-Eastern Muslims. I pictured all the women wearing headdresses and covering all of their body, and everyone being very conservative. I was proved wrong when I made all these new friends.
By the time my three weeks were over, and it was time for me to go back home to America, I was extremely sad to leave. If I could have it my way I would’ve stayed there for another month. All of my previous judgmental notions about Turkish people were replaced with real life experiences and true knowledge. I grew very close to the Şaşzade family, I still talk to Ferda every week or so. She has become like a sister to me. What I thought would be three weeks of Hell turned out to be the best time of my life. All I needed to do was let go of my prejudices and open my mind to new, and somewhat intimidating, ideas. Ever since I got back home, it is all I can talk about, even now three years later. The foreign exchange has made me think more about what I want to do as a career (maybe something with travel, or international relations), and I am even thinking of doing a semester studying abroad. I feel so blessed that I was able to have this experience, and I hope that everyone has a chance to do so one day.
Waking up at six a.m. to start my day usually isn’t my thing, but for this, I was ecstatic. I was finally getting a chance to venture into a world unknown to me. I was headed to Turkey with my Foreign Exchange student, Ferda, to complete the second half of our exchange. After seventeen hours of flying, we were in Istanbul, Turkey. Ferda received news that our last flight from Istanbul to Izmir was delayed a few hours, so she called up her aunt who lives in Istanbul, and she lent Ferda and me her car and driver for a tour around the city. Before I arrived in Turkey, I imagined it to look like the Aladdin movies, and have sand dunes everywhere with exotic architecture and what not, but my first glimpse of Istanbul was nothing like that. Picture your perfect paradise on a Greek island and that is was these western Turkish cities look like. The sights I saw were unreal, and I began to slowly peel off the judgmental thoughts I had about the country. Istanbul is one of Turkey’s largest cities, all along the mountains you could see the millions of houses and apartments and other buildings. There were brilliant mosques, crowds of people, and the last thing you would expect… beautiful beaches, with sparkling, clear waters. As we drove over the bridge connecting the Asian and European continents, I was overwhelmed with this amazing feeling. All I can remember thinking was “Wow! I am really in Turkey. How crazy is this?!” I was a little nervous for my adventure in this peculiar country, but I was ready for it to start.
We had only been in the car for about an hour, but I was exhausted, and began dozing off. Soon enough, it was time for us to head back to the airport for our final flight to Izmir, Turkey. Thank God this was only a 45 minute flight; I began to think that I would be stuck in the sitting position forever for all the flying. Once we arrived in Izmir and picked up our luggage, Ferda and I headed off to find her parents. Her dad, Macit, and mom, Shenaz, were waiting eagerly for us at the “Arrivals” exit. As soon as they saw us, they smiled happily and started running toward Ferda. It was now that I felt the first wave of homesickness, and all I wanted to do was go back home and hug my own mom and dad. Of course, Macit and Shenaz also gave me a big hug and tried to make me feel like a part of the Şaşzade family, but nothing they did would take away this horrible feeling I had in my stomach.
Because the Şaşzade’s were staying at their summer home, we had to take an hour drive to get to Çesme, Turkey. By the time we arrived home, it was way past midnight, and I was more than ready to go to bed. The next morning, well, afternoon, considering I woke up at 3 p.m., everyone was already awake. And by everyone, I mean Macit, Shenaz, Ferda, Shenaz’s parents, and two of Ferda’s cousins, Cem and Kerim. I was not ready to meet all of my new family members just yet. This sent another overwhelming shock through my body. I was already off to a bad start, I thought. I was completely homesick, and all I wanted to do was call up my mom. When I was finally able to speak with her, I let it all out, and the tears streamed out of my eyes. I told her how much I hated it already, and I just wanted to go back home. I was already sick of Turkey, after only one night. These thoughts continued to flood my mind for the next few days, and every time I would get on the phone with one of my family members, I was cry. My mom finally put a stop to it, and said to me, “If you continue to cry every time we speak, I will not talk to you until you get home in three weeks. I will be checking in with Macit to make sure you’re getting along with Ferda and actually trying to get an experience out of this. I paid way too much money for you to just waste your time in Turkey.” That was enough for me. Instantly I had to change my mind set and try to think positively about things. Once I heard my mom wouldn’t talk to me, I never let another tear fall.
Over the next few days, Macit and Shenaz did everything in their power to include me with their family, and make me feel like home. They thought I was too skinny, and so they would place a meal in front of me any time I was just sitting around. I knew I would never go hungry with these people. Food was one of the first things to start opening my mind to new cultures. Because they were Muslims, they had a somewhat strict diet. They never ate pork, and their favorite meat was veal. I had never tried veal before this, so I was cautious when I took my first bite. I happened to really enjoy it, and it was a good thing because they ate it with every meal. Dinners are very important to the Turkish culture. Like many Spanish cultures, they eat very late. The earliest we ever ate dinner was probably 8:30 p.m. I began to grow very fond of Turkish foods. My favorite dish was a sandwich called a “Kumru”, although I have absolutely no idea what was on it, just lots of meat and cheese and vegetables.
I was fortunate enough to be hosted by an upper-class family, and so we were able to take many trips around to historical sites in Turkey. My favorite two, which really opened my eyes, were Ephesus and the Virgin Mary’s home. They were the most breath-taking places I have ever been. I actually saw where the Virgin Mary lived after her son was born. These excursions taught me a lot about the Turkish culture and history.
During these three weeks in Turkey, I was able to meet many of Ferda’s friends, and actually become very close with three of them, Idil, Ipek and Aylin. I was very wary when meeting new people here, not knowing what to expect when I was introduced to all of them. Almost all of the teenagers I met here knew how to speak English, and that made my whole experience so much easier. I learned that Turkish teenagers are very much like American teenagers. We are all interested in the same things, like music (they mostly listen to American Rap!), partying and clubbing, shopping, going to the beach, all of those sorts of things. I was so surprised that we were so much alike, even though we were from complete different cultures, and on total opposite sides of the world. I was never taught much about Turkey, or even the Muslim culture, so I just kind of grouped them with Middle-Eastern Muslims. I pictured all the women wearing headdresses and covering all of their body, and everyone being very conservative. I was proved wrong when I made all these new friends.
By the time my three weeks were over, and it was time for me to go back home to America, I was extremely sad to leave. If I could have it my way I would’ve stayed there for another month. All of my previous judgmental notions about Turkish people were replaced with real life experiences and true knowledge. I grew very close to the Şaşzade family, I still talk to Ferda every week or so. She has become like a sister to me. What I thought would be three weeks of Hell turned out to be the best time of my life. All I needed to do was let go of my prejudices and open my mind to new, and somewhat intimidating, ideas. Ever since I got back home, it is all I can talk about, even now three years later. The foreign exchange has made me think more about what I want to do as a career (maybe something with travel, or international relations), and I am even thinking of doing a semester studying abroad. I feel so blessed that I was able to have this experience, and I hope that everyone has a chance to do so one day.
Can you do a little more showing and a little less telling me about your trip? I can't really picture a greek isle (I haven't been there either), so can you give me a brief description that might help? Think about using dialogue to put me in the scene with your host family, too - that will create a sense of immediacy and "being right there."
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