Do what the Turks do: First Impressions of Turkey

Turkey is an incredibly warm country, and I’m not just talking about the weather. The people here are incredibly welcoming, and love being in contact with one another. When I first met my host family at the airport, every one of them pulled me in close for a kiss on each check, and I had just met them! My family is very nice. The mother and father are both lawyers, the daughter is off at college in Istanbul, and the son is just a year younger than me. It’s interesting since the daughter knew the most English, and at times still had difficulty understanding me. For the few hours she was with us, she served as the translator, and now without her, my family and I are left to communicate with what little English they know, the meager amount of Turkish I know, and a wide variety of hand signs.

Turkish people love their tea, but it is served at a scalding temperature. On average, I’ve come to figure that Turks drink black tea about 6 times a day. As for food, I have yet to encounter a Turkish dish that I don’t like, even eggplant, which I have never been a fan of, has somehow been prepared in a way that makes it quite enjoyable. The first meal I ate, which was prepared by my host mother was absolutely wonderful. I am very much looking forward to her teaching me how to cook. Of course there have been foods that I don’t like as much as others, but there has been nothing I found absolutely repulsive. Even though my host family has a dog to help me with my pet withdrawal, it wouldn’t be that much of a problem if they didn’t since there are dogs and cats walking the streets of each city in packs, and all of them are looking for some love. The landscape around here reminds me much of the eastern side of Oregon; Dry climate, small shrubs, brown grass, and the occasional tall, evergreen looking, tree.

My first couple days here have been spent outside of Manisa, which is the city I will be living in during my stay in Turkey. My first full day in Turkey was spent with the other exchange students in Izmir. I've come to notice that exchange students are all cut from the same block, which makes it very easy to get along with one another. We all are adventurous, and are very friendly and open to each other's similarities and differences. We first had orientation, where we were told the rules for again, and a little bit about Turkey. After getting to know each other we went to lunch. Almost all of Turkey's diners are open air, which makes for a wonderful atmosphere, especially when the food and company are just as wonderful. After eating, our tour guide, a very grandmotherly woman, took us to this ancient site and gave us a history lesson. We were sitting in this ancient market place that was thousands of years old, and again I was left to wonder at how pathetic America is when it comes to history. As we were listening to our guide talk about Izmir, or Smyrna as it used to be called, the city began to echo with calls to prayer from every Mosque in the area. It was quite a cultural experience, being in an ancient market while "Allah akbar" was being sung from every minaret in the city.

Once we were done touring the agora, we hoped on the bus and went to Izmir's bazaar. The best way I can describe the bazaar in Izmir is like Seattle's Pike Market. Hundreds of people in a small closed in aisle way, pushing their way into shops and booths while shop owners yell at you to come buy their goods. Us students were given some time to go explore the market by ourselves while our guides sat down and had a cup of tea. After pushing through the crowds at the bazaar, we went to get a scenic view of Izmir from a hillside to conclude our tour. I really enjoy the things that Turkey has in common with Oregon, and I celebrate what is different. I can say with confidence that I am glad that I was sent to Turkey, and I am sure that it has much more wonder in store for me.