First Impressions

I have been making a list of things that are different in Turkey than in America. Some are obvious, some are silly, and some are unexpected. Hopefully this will help you get an idea of life here in Turkey.

First, the differences between my home university, ISU, and Bilkent University here in Ankara:

1)  Bilkent, and Anakra in general, is very hilly compared to central Illinois. I knew beforehand that Bilkent was on a hill overlooking the city, I just did not think of all of the stairs I would have to climb every day just to get back and forth from class. I have a workout walking to class everyday! In some ways, it is nice because it gives the campus a natural beauty. I would hate to be here if and when it gets icy! It does provide beautiful views of the city though.

2) The music building is new. When you walk into it, it has uniform design, with bright lighting, marble flooring I think, and just smells new. I don't know when it was built, but they did a wonderful job. The music building is about a 5-10 minute walk from the rest of campus, which is definitely different. The view, though, is unbelievable. It overlooks the entire city. It might be nice being secluded to a music paradise. Now, don't get me wrong. I love Cook Hall at ISU. I love walking into a castle multiple times a day. But I do like not having sewer backups or a tree that has fruit that smells like dung right outside your building.



3) They use cabbage to line their sidewalks. I guess it is pretty all year round!


And for some other impressions of my limited experience in Turkey:

4) For some reason, Turkey has huge curbs on their sidewalks next to the roads. They are the size of a large step. It is nice to be high off the road, but it is a big height difference compared to America's sometimes non-existent curb. I am still trying to figure out why they are SO big.

5) The Turkish people dress beautifully. The Hijabs that the Muslim women wear are such a wonderful addition to their outfit. They are so colorful! People look professional almost all the time. Ankara is quite conservative in their dress compared to other cities in Turkey, but it is refreshing to see people dressed beautifully, yet conservatively.

6) Turkish people are more expressive than I imagined. This might be due in part to the language barrier - the workers getting frustrated because I do not understand what they are saying to me - but I think many people are simply passionate. Humans are expressive beings no matter where you are in the world.

7) Turkish driving is quite intense and insane. The public buses drive quite fast, passing local cars, while everyone, I mean Everyone, uses their horns. I think America is the only country that does not use their horns on a day to day basis.

8) Compared to Normal, IL, and even St. Louis, MO, many more people, especially young people, smoke. It seems to be part of the culture to take a smoke break and socialize with friends and coworkers. It is very hard to get used to. In America, it is frowned upon by health administrations and by those in older generations. Here, it does not seem to matter that, in the end, it hurts your health immensely.

9) The only people that speak English are the students at Bilkent and the professors. When I heard that Bilkent was an international university, I assumed that all people on campus would be able to speak English. I was wrong. The cafe workers, the dormitory managers, the bus drivers, and any other workers at Bilkent speak either no English or very limited English. It is hard to order food or get directions or ask about an internet router because we cannot communicate with each other. Outside of Bilkent, no one speaks English. This makes for very exciting bus trips where, after buying groceries, detergent, shampoo, etc. we enter the wrong bus, thus making a 15 minute trip back to Bilkent turn into a 2 hour trip around Ankara. But we did meet a Turkish man who spoke a little German, so my friend from Germany was able to communicate with him to figure out where we were and how to get back to Bilkent.

Hopefully that gives you a glimpse of Turkey!