Merhaba!
It's official. I have been here in Kayseri, Turkey for one week. It's been a crazy week of adjusting to Turkish life (hayat Türkçe). I have met so many family members and friends, messed up while speaking an unbelievable number of times, discovered the craziness of Turkish drivers (I was almost run over!!), stopped to listen to the Call to Prayer (Ezan) everytime I could, and realized that Turkish breakfast (kahvaltı Türkçe) might just be the best thing in the world. I have kissed everyone's cheeks, had my cheeks pinched, and blinked (an endearing action that Turks do) at everyone. I have learned that if you don't want more tea, don't finish the first cup, because (çünkü) if you do you will get more, and I have drunk so many cups of Turkish coffee (kahve Türkçe) that I don't think caffeine will ever affect me again. I have had my ups and downs, but overall I couldn't be happier with the place I am in right now. I could explain every little thing that I have done, but that can wait. Instead I am going to focus on one thing: school (okul).
Before departing for Türkiye we talked to a lot of YES Abroad Turkey alums about school. What they told me painted a very clear picture in my mind of what I should expect. Most of that picture was completely shattered once I got there. Not in a bad way, just shattered.
The first thing they told us was to expect everyone to want to talk to us, everyone to want to be our friend. One of the YES Abroad girls last year attended my school, so I think they are used to Americans now, because Tommy and I weren't a novelty at all. They stare at us and we hear whispers of our name while walking down the hall, but we are not bombarded with questions or Facebook friend requests, and we don't have a million different people asking us to eat lunch with them. It is like we are new students, but nothing extremely special. That's not to say they are mean. Everyone has been extremely welcoming. In Turkey we stay in the same classroom with the same people all day, so it's very easy to connect with those people. The downfall of this, however, is that you don't have the opportunity to meet people in different classes like exchange students do in the U.S. Oh well! When talking to the Alums, they told us multiple times that personal space is not a thing here. You can't fully grasp that idea until you have someone peering up into your face shouting at you in Turkish and pinching your cheeks. This happened on my second day of school when I was introduced to one of my classmate's friends. It was a little alarming at first, but I just accepted the fact that this might happen all year, so I should learn to take in stride.
There are three alarming things about school. The first, and the least alarming, is that fact that we are allowed off campus for lunch. We can seriously walk to the mall or any of the surrounding restaurants to eat before class starts again. That has been awesome so far, and I have eaten really yummy Turkish food. The second, and a little more alarming, is the fact that uniforms are in a state of transition. Last year halfway through the year uniforms were abolished, but, due to parents protesting it, they were brought back this year. My school, however, doesn't really care what you do, so half the kids wear the correct uniform, half the kids where another uniform, and about an eighth of the kids don't wear any uniform at all. Personally, I am going to wear the uniform. Not because I care about following the rules, but because most of my shirts, though pretty conservative for U.S. standards, are too revealing for school. Being able to throw on a uniform will save my life (and my relationship with my host mom). And the last surprising thing about school, was that girls are allowed to wear head scarves. Since Atatürk, head scarves have been banned in schools and government offices, but due to the changing government and the more religious tract it has taken, that law isn't as enforced anymore. I have come to Turkey at a really interesting time. A time where things are changing. Whether for good or for bad, I am not the one to say. I am simply a third party watching it unfold.
So, I will leave ya'll with a little story about an embarrassing moment of mine, because really, what's an exchange year without absolutely mortifying moments? Many of them. We have P.E. every wednesday. It was my second day of school. I had looked through my clothes to try and find a suitable outfit, but all of my normal sweat pants were dirty (my one pair :P ). The only exercise pants left were my skin tight, brightly colored, flowered yoga pants. Yes. You read that right. That would be slightly embarrassing in the U.S., so talk about embarrassing in TURKEY!! And as if people weren't already staring at me enough for being green eyed and light haired, you can imagine the kind of looks I got wearing those. So anywho, at first it was going ok, no one said anything. And then one of the girls in my class came up to me and whispers "umm, the teacher says don't wear those next time". There was something about the fact that he had told her and not me that made it that much more embarrassing. I was sure glad to put my jeans on after that. My mom did my laundry today, so that won't be happening again. Ever. Anywhere. Ever. You just have gotta laugh when these things happen!
Well, that's it for now. I am going to the Police Station with the other YES kids tomorrow morning to get our residence permits, so I should get some sleep. Here's a quote from me pertaining to spending a year abroad!
"When you are having a bad day just put on your happy face, and you will soon find that the mask has become reality."
Xoxo,
Izzy
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