Despite their different experiences, all feel that their time in Turkey has been positive and worthwhile.
Cihan Soytürk, a 21-year-old university student, has been eating homemade Turkish food his entire life. From traditional Turkish staples like börek and gözleme to time-honored desserts like baklava and şekerpare, he’s had it all. Before arriving in February, however, he had never been to Turkey before..”
Soytürk is one of many students of Turkish ethnicity who have grown up elsewhere but have chosen to spend a semester studying at a Turkish university. Soytürk, a law, banking and finance student taking courses for the semester at Boğaziçi University, is originally from Melbourne, Australia. His parents and grandparents emigrated from Turkey to Australia before he was born.
University students across the globe often elect to spend a semester or full year abroad. While Soytürk briefly considered studying in America, the Victoria University student’s decision to travel to Turkey came largely from wanting to see the country where his family is from.
“I’ve never been to Turkey and I’m Turkish. So, that was the main reason I wanted to come,” he said. “My family lives in Australia, but I’ve got lots of cousins here that I’ve never seen, so it was important for me to come and see them. And to also see how my culture operates. There are some Turkish people in Australia … but here it’s different because the whole country is Turkish.”
Şakire Neşe Doğan, 21, is an American student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who came to İstanbul to study history. Though she has never lived in Turkey, she has visited almost every summer since she was born to see relatives in Tokat and Samsun. Both are cities near the Black Sea coast.
“I almost feel like Turkey is … my second home. There is something that pulls me here. In Turkish, we say ‘Kan cekiyor’ [which means] your blood pulls you, so I definitely feel that way,” she said.
When she finally decided to spend a semester studying in İstanbul, her family was thrilled. “My dad was really excited. He has lived in America for 33 years and … to this day, he says he’s going to move back [to Turkey] one day. He was really excited for me to experience living here and to rediscover my ‘Turkishness,’ in a way.”
Şerap Pınar, a 22-year-old biochemistry student from Ruhr University in Bochum, Germany, was struck by the kindness and hospitality that she received from other Turkish students upon her arrival in Turkey.
“They’re so kind, and everyone accepts you. In Germany, many people are distant when they don’t know you. But in Turkey, the people are open-minded and nice and they always try to include you,” she said.
Despite their Turkish ethnicity, all three students have experienced instances where their foreign accents have set them apart from other Turkish students. Although Soytürk knows basic Turkish and Doğan and Pınar are fluent, local students have asked all of them where they are from or if they have been living abroad for a while. Other times, cultural differences between Turkey and their home countries have affected their experience.
“Some people have really been hospitable, but I’ve come to realize that no matter where I go, I’m a foreigner. When I’m in America, I’m a foreigner [because] I’m Turkish. When I’m here, they don’t consider me completely Turkish. I’m more American,” said Doğan.
“People were saying it’s going to be dangerous [in Turkey],” said Soytürk, referring to his early expectations of what he would encounter on his semester abroad. “Everyone was telling me, ‘When you go there, make sure you’re careful. People will try to rob you on the street because it’s going to be crowded there,’ but I haven’t encountered anything like that here,” he said.
Pınar, whose family emigrated from Ankara to Germany, also admitted to arriving in Turkey with some preconceived notions of what the country would be like.
“I don’t know why, but in Germany, the media is giving you the view that Turkey is not very developed and Turkish people are not very intelligent. With time, I noticed that this is totally wrong, and that this was something really bad that I thought. I’ve changed so much. Now, I really don’t want to go back [to Germany] and I don’t miss Germany. I really plan to stay here longer, to spend my life here [in Turkey],” she said.
Despite their different experiences, all feel that their time in Turkey has been positive and worthwhile. In addition to meeting other exchange students from different universities from all over the world, traveling and taking courses, Soytürk, Doğan and Pınar have been able to visit family, improve their Turkish language skills and live in the country from which their families came.
Although Soytürk looks forward to returning to Australia to see his family, he feels his time in Turkey has strengthened his affinity with his family heritage.
“I think I see Turkish culture as more important to me. My values are more in line with Turkish culture than before,” he said.
“When I first came here, I would stick to my ‘being German’ because I have a German passport and I grew up there. I always said, ‘I’m German. I’m from Germany’,” said Pınar.
“Now, I am really proud of being Turkish
Cihan news agency
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