Notre Dame student will study abroad in Turkey

Though there is unrest in the region, Sizemore will not be in harm’s way.

By JERMAINE PIGEE

jpigee@thehawkeye.com

Instead of learning about Turkey in a classroom, Kayleigh Sizemore will learn first-hand about the country.

The 15-year-old Notre Dame High School sophomore will spend next year in Turkey with the help of the Rotary Club student exchange program.

She was scheduled to leave at the end of August, but there were problems with Sizemore’s documents.

“The Turkish government didn’t approve any of the student visas on time,” said Sizemore, who arrived in Turkey Friday. “I was not the only one who was stuck because of it.”

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Sizemore said she wants to see the country through the eyes of someone who lives there.

“I want to learn the language, the culture, how they make the food, everything,” said the daughter of Ashlee Cockrell and Dean Salsberry.

Instead of going to a more popular country such as Spain, Egypt or Greece, Sizemore wanted to go a different route.

“I asked them to find some place on the Mediterranean where I could go,” she said.

The Rotary Club in Turkey is paying for Sizemore’s trip, so Bob Bartles, youth exchange officer with the local Rotary Club, said he is unsure how much the trip costs.

Regardless of the cost, there is a higher purpose to the program.

“We want to promote peace and understanding between various cultures,” Bartles said.

And though the war in Syria is spilling over into Turkey, Bartles said Sizemore will not be in harm’s way.

“If we thought it wasn’t safe, we wouldn’t have sent her over there,” he said.

Turkish Prime Ministry Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate has said more than 80,000 Syrians are staying in Turkey after fleeing their country.

Sizemore will stay with a host family that lives on the Bosphorus, also known as the Istanbul Strait, on the northwest side of the country. The Syria-Turkish border is on the southeast side of the country.

Kemal Deniz, her host father, is a naval officer who speaks fluent English. Her host mother, Kesan, is a secretary.

The family also includes 14-year-old Ada-mert, who will be Sizemore’s host brother.

The host family’s grandfather also lives with them as does a live-in housekeeper.

“I will be one of their children,” Sizemore said. “I will have chores, homework and all that.”

One adjustment Sizemore will have to make is in her schooling. Tenth- through 12th-graders attend college in Turkey, and Sizemore plans to do advanced studies at Doga College.

“My biggest challenge will be the school and the language,” she said. “I will have to concentrate every moment of the eight hours a day I am in school.”

Uniform codes are different in Turkey as well. Sizemore said she will wear long skirts, ties and long socks.

Food also will be different for Sizemore, as meals consist mostly of lamb, fish and many spices.

“The family has lots of fruit trees, and I love fruit,” she said.

She expects to experience some homesickness.

“I’m terrified about leaving home, and I will miss my friends and family, but I’m also excited,” she said. “Very few people get the chance to do this, and I feel very fortunate that I get to do so.”

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