Farewell and Istanbul

I spent my last two days in Ankara before heading to Istanbul. My time in Turkey was almost at an end.

During these days, I spent lots of time with my host family in their apartment, at the pool, and going to the mall and cinema in Çayyolu.

Last view of the Ankara smog from my window

On Sunday morning, my last day in Ankara, I met my friend Gavin in the historic neighborhood of Ulus to attend a Catholic mass in Turkish at the former French embassy. 

The mass followed the same order as Catholic mass in America, but being in Turkish, I only really recognized the tunes of some familiar hymns. I was a little lost, but still enjoyed the experience.

Exterior of the former embassy

This was the ambassador's former reception room (note the carved goats on the pillars... they certainly aren't saints!)

Following the mass, I visited a covered market one last time with Gavin, where I finally managed to get the football jersey vendor to go down on his price, in order to purchase inexpensive gifts.

That afternoon, I returned to my neighborhood to spend some final hours with my host family and pack. With all of the souvenirs I bought, my suitcase was a whopping 6 kilos overweight, and I'm sure that to an outside observer the struggle my host mom and I had repacking into my carry-on and backpack would have been very comical.

(Fortunately when it came time to fly I was only marginally over, and I was able to talk my way out of an overweight baggage fee with my newly-gained Turkish language skills. Thanks, NSLI-Y!)

At about 8pm, I left with my mother and host brother for one of the best Adana restaurants in Ankara. Adana is a famous dish from Turkey; a spicy lamb kebab served with vegetables, spices, and bread. It was delicious, but what I'll really remember from the night was joking with my host family, trying very spicy food that made me tear up, and making bilingual plans to visit again.



Delicious last meal

I returned home around 12:30 and said goodbye to my host brother, Alkin, who was leaving at dawn for a bus to visit some family in Izmir. I then tried to get some shut-eye before my redeye bus.

After only 45 minutes of sleep, my cell phone alarm went off at 1:30. It was time to drive to the AŞTİ Bus Station with my host parents. At this ungodly, cool, and quiet hour, everything felt surreal. As we sped through the empty streets of Çayyolu, I realized that this would be my last car ride in Ankara. My summer in Turkey was drawing to a close. And then the sadness of leaving my host family hit me. In the past few weeks, I'd really grown close to the people with whom I stayed- don durma trips, Turkish board games and placing bets (which I often was unaware of), family meals with conversations I couldn't really follow, etc. I have many beautiful memories of this summer that I'll hold dear forever. And as I left, every single thing about midnight Ankara felt endearing and I became nostalgic.

This summer Turkey really became a second home for me, and she welcomed me with her amazing people.

Saying "goodbye" at the bus terminal was especially hard. I gave my host mother and father hugs and handshakes several times, before and after pictures, and then said goodbye to my friend Anika's family, with whom I had also grown close. Then I returned to my host parents for one last goodbye, with my broken Turkish, it was hard to convey complex ideas, but I think they could tell just how grateful I was. Keeping my eyes dry was difficult.

questionable quality and I'm hidden behind someone's very tall host dad, but none the less, and awesome group of people and a very emotional moment. My host Mom and Dad are in the second row, close to right, about 3 people in.

As we pulled out, all of the host families were waving, and I realized that in the past 7 weeks all these people had truly become family, welcoming us into their homes and caring for us.

The greatest thing about exchanges are the people connections, as cheesy as it sounds. I would strongly encourage anyone to spend time abroad; it is one of the greatest experiences a person can have.

After the 7-hour bus ride, we pulled into the terminal on Istanbul's Asian side around 9AM. It had been a fairly sleepless night, and many of us felt quite sick from exhaustion. Nonetheless, we were in Istanbul, one of the world's great cities. However, we couldn't sight-see as planned, due to recent demonstrations.

Coming into the City of Sultans

While the risk was minimal, and no problems occurred when we were in Istanbul, because my organization was with the State Department, they had to avoid even a minimal risk. I know that they had our safety in mind, but I was still upset to be so close to a place I've always dreamed of visiting, and still be so far away. 

We spent our first day in Istanbul in a debriefing and end-of-stay camp. During this, things such as reverse culture shock, getting involved as an alumni volunteer, and future exchange possibilities were discussed. It was kind of a long day, to be honest. We at least got some time to go swimming and hang out in the evening. 

The next day, we had a few more debriefing sessions followed by half a day of free time. 

One of the few good things about our hotel's far away location was that it was located on the bay near the airport. 

I got to explore a marina and the rocky coast with some of my friends. We took quite a few pictures. Following this, we went into a cafe built on stilts over the water to relax and have a cold drink. 

Spot the American flag

Even though I didn't get to sight-see, it was a fair limbo between the high of exchange and heading back to the real world, and something like a retreat. 

The next morning, we woke up early for the flight home. Our hotel was about 15 minutes away from the airport. 

We said goodbye to our AFS coordinator Nihan, and she wished us all well. After that, my group headed for our gate.

I'll keep my final reflections short and try to avoid the most unnecessary clichés:

This summer has been a tremendous growing and learning experience. I have made many new friends both abroad and from America. I have gained skills in a language that 7 weeks before I barely knew any of. I have learned how to navigate my way around a city in a foreign country. I now know more about adapting to different cultural norms and ways of life. I think that this experience has made me more independent, open-minded, and a little more in-tune with the world around me. This is so much more than one could get from a vacation. After these 7 weeks, I'm only more excited to see the world with all its people, cultures, and places, than I was before. 

I'll close my summer's blogging with well wishes and I hope that you all enjoyed reading about my adventures. 

My last hope is that some potential exchange student on the fence stumbles across my blog and decides to go for it and have the adventure- it's more than worth it!

And if you're a high school student interested in having this kind of experience, visit http://www.nsliforyouth.org/, where you can apply for the same scholarship program that I did.

Until my next adventure, görüşürüz!



Homeward bound...