Why Turkey?

"Retarder" means differently elsewhere than the US

My first day in Turkey began with the Bilkent International Students Orientation. There was an intensive Turkish language class that reminded me how hard it is to learn a language from scratch. My fears of coming to a new country were unfruitful; in fact, I seemed to have had adequate mental preparation of what to expect. The Turks do things differently, of course. The toilets are in the ground, you eat olives and tomatoes for breakfast, and you hold on for your life any time you enter a vehicle.

Orientation, Day 1

Finding and forming friendships was not difficult. It seems to me that globalization has truly allowed the evolution of a single encompassing culture. We all seem to dress the same, eat the same food, and talk the same language--just in different ways. I have begun to really appreciate the fact that I come from a country with native English speakers, as it is a rare find in the world as a whole.

REASONS WHY I CHOSE TURKEY. Choosing to study abroad was a decision in itself, but choosing Turkey was actually quite unexpected.

First, I knew I did not want to study abroad in the typical Eurpean states. Although I am a huge art history fanatic, and the sights and explorations of Italy and France excite me, I simply yearned to come back to the US with a different experience and different stories than most other students.

Second, I narrowed it down to South Africa, Japan, and Turkey.

Third, I realized that I wanted to immerse myself in a culture I know absolutely nothing about. And I wanted to learn its language. But I did not want to feel like a complete outsider. I narrowed it down to Turkey after such criteria.

Then, I submitted my application and forgot about it until three months later. I only began telling people that I won't be here for Fall Semester when I found out about my acceptance. Even then, I was hesitant, due to my personal beliefs of privacy. However, due to the fact that I was having to constantly explain that I would be abroad and the reasons for choosing Turkey, I began a quest to really be fascinated by it. This was my way of forcing myself to realize why I may have, even subconsciouly, been fascinated by Turkey enough to choose it.

Delicious Turkish dessert- donut with syrup

So, along the way, I realized the endless list of reasons why Turkey was the perfect place to study abroad. I checked that the conversion rate was good- $1 gives you 1.5 TL (Turkish Lira). Then, I realized that I really love mediterranean food, so that would be a HUGE plus. Next, the turkish delights--that's self-explanatory. I was fascinated by Turkish politics (secular government), Turkish culture, and I had also heard about the hospitable nature of the Turks. It would be an added bonus to learn about Islam from a different perspective than I am used to--by immersing myself in an entirely Muslim nation, I would be seeing the world through different eyes.

Before departing to Turkey, when people asked me why I chose it, I didn't know where to begin...