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French Language Teachers in Istanbul Go On Strike

Istanbul’s French language teachers went on a one-day strike today after MICEL management introduced a new contract that ended most teachers’ working permits by the end of 2013.

Beyza KURAL beyza@bianet.org

İstanbul – BIA News Desk 19 March 2013, Tuesday

Istanbul’s French language teachers from Galatasaray and Marmara Universities went on a one-day strike today after MICEL, Education and Language Cooperation Mission, introduced a new contract that ended most teachers’ working permits by the end of 2013.

There are currently 56 instructors contracted under MICEL in Turkey. Striker teachers demand the cancellation of new contract in order to continue working.

In 2009, the French government introduced a new contract for its teachers working under MICEL that restricted their working permits to 4 years.

This morning, roughly 35 teachers assembled at French Consulate in Istanbul, where they were received by the consul. The consulate, however, did not allow the press to cover the talks.

In a statement, the consulate said they will forward teachers’ demands to French Embassy in Ankara and French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Eğitim-Sen and its university representatives released a statement supporting the strike.

“This new contract creates challenges for teachers to adapt to the education system in Turkey,” Levent Yüksel, a MICEL contracted teacher, said. “It also makes impossible for teachers to adapt to Turkey. The adaptation period takes averagely 3 years. This way, teachers lose their jobs almost right after their adaptation period. There is no way that a teacher can efficiently work under these conditions.”

Other teachers also added that more teachers will lose their jobs by the time the new contract will effectuate in the years to come. (BK/HK/BM)

via French Language Teachers in Istanbul Go On Strike – Bianet / English – Bianet.

March 20, 2013
The Morning Line, 2/15 (Live from Istanbul, Turkey)

Good Morning, well, early evening, here from sunny Istanbul, Turkey, Mobsters!

Doc must be really at the end of his pinch hitter list, as he has sent the Mobster Bat Signal International all the way to the Middle East. I have recently been hired as TML’s Istanbul correspondent for all things Turkey, Steve Yung.

I don’t know if I necessarily consider myself at full Mobster status, as I have never even commented on a TML column before. But, I am a loyal reader and sent Doc an email last week to comment on something he had written. All of the sudden, I was signed to a 10 day contract and here I am. My qualifications are strong, though, as I was born and raised for 37 years on the west side of Cincinnati. In fact, I may have even rubbed elbows with Westsider Nick Corey and his wife, as they were classmates of mine way back when. Don’t know if you all can handle 2 out of 3 weeks with a westsider slant, but here we go….

Actually, the reason I took pen to paper…..err, fingers to keyboard……was to comment to Doc on something he had mentioned several times in THIS SPACE. It was something along the lines of moving away, chucking it all, and starting over in someplace new. I offer my case study….

As mentioned, I was born and raised in Cincy all my life. Met a wonderful woman who has dual citizenship to Turkey and the U.S. My family all lived in Cincy, hers in Turkey. She let it be known that a move to Turkey (at least for a little while) was on the table as a life choice.

Fast forward…..as we ended up married and 2 and a half years ago, all the planets aligned and we up and left the comforts of Cincinnati and moved to Istanbul. It was and has been both liberating and terrifying. I knew about 10 words of the language when I came, but found quickly that if you learn common phrases like ‘Thank you’, ‘Please’, and ‘Excuse me’ it makes your life sooooooooooo much easier. I always felt as though Americans viewed foreign language as a hassle or unnecessary as opposed to an advantage or something to be valued.

Anyway, I know, like Doc admitted, most people’s knowledge of Turkey is limited to what they saw on the OG film Midnight Express. The recent NY mother and U.S. Embassy bombing notwithstanding, I have always felt very safe here. Of course, you have to be smart about things just like anywhere and I don’t go around flaunting my American-ness, but nor do I hide it. I can’t/don’t really watch the news, and that is a blessing and a curse. However, I did not receive one political phone call this autumn requesting my vote on anything….which was nice.

Keeping up with Cincinnati sports from here is difficult, since most prime time events (7:00 games) come on in real time here at about 2 in the morning with the 7 hour time difference. Thank goodness for Thursday afternoon baseball, which comes on right in prime time here. And the Turks could care less about football. Check that, they care a lot about FUTBOL. The Super Bowl was aired here, but not that big of a deal, and I caught it on a rerun the next morning.

As with many countries in Europe and Asia, I feel as though nationalism is tremendously high, especially when it comes to sports. All national games are aired (soccer, basketball, volleyball, etc.) and support is high. I don’t know if it has to do with the close geography of European countries, but they take their national pride very seriously. American pride surfaces every 4 years or so when gold medals are on the line. Other than that, ehhhh……

Another curiosity that I noticed when attending both matches for Fenerbahce and Galatasary (the 2 most storied) futbol teams here in town…..They have a separate visitors’ section for opposing fans that is secured off, has a separate entrance for those fans, covered in netting and reinforced by security guards to make sure there is no trouble amongst fans. In extreme situations, opposing fans are not allowed into the visiting stadium for fear of problems and fights. Can you imagine the Bengals refusing to allow Stillers fans into the yard during a Cincy/Pburgh game? Or Cardinals fans being turned away during a weekend roadie to the Queen City because, well, we ‘just don’t want any trouble….’ Towns would be lit ablaze……

Onto the local scene……

As noted, it is somewhat difficult to keep up with the scene in Cincinnati from the distance. But, still, I offer my tidbits…..

As many of you, I am tremendously optimistic about the local Mudville Nine. I think they made the right upgrades in mostly the right positions. I don’t know if the budget allows for the extension of David Dewitt Bailey Jr., but that would be something I would like to see for the right price. A minor concern for the Club (and probably very minor) is what happens in the second years of guys like SuperToddLifeSaverFrazier and Z. Cozart?

Many are drooling over the possibilities, but part of the idea of rookie success is that no one knows the strengths and weaknesses of said hitters. I hope those guys are as smart as we think they are and continue to adjust, because everyone now will adjust to them as THE BOOK has gotten around. That’s why it’s such a joy to watch Joey MVP work…..from day to day, at bat to at bat, and even pitch to pitch. You can see him, always adjusting. On the flip side, that was what was so frustrating about watching Andrew Stubbs over the past few seasons, is his seeming unwillingness to adjust to anything.

The whole S. Rolen thing seemed like an unintentional intentional walk, didn’t it??? No one wanted to throw anything close to the plate, so they let him walk….on purpose or not…..

On to the MEN…..

I hope Mikey Thinwallet realizes enough to know that the recent run of success has to do with the contributions of the younger players that they’ve done a good job of drafting and developing. Reward some of that effort by re-signing some of the core guys like M. Johnson and extending Geno PRONTO. While developing younger guys is nice, I’m sure it’s a struggle to acclimate and rely on guys with zero or one year of experience rather than ones that know your system already. And as for Red…..I believe he just needs to improve his accuracy.

It was mostly what he built his reputation on at TCU. I think with a little better accuracy, guys like Mo Sanu and Marvin Jones are capable of being the 2 and 3 WRs. Of course, I wouldn’t mind seeing Dwayne Bowe or Mike Wallace on the other side of AJ WhoCatchesEverythingInTheZipCode, but do you have faith that something like that will happen? Me, neither. P. Harvin….shrug….

Let the Madness descend…..

Being a Miami grad, and that we are relevant in sports about once every decade and a half, I have to live the Madness through others…..I am not necessarily a UC or XU fan, but I don’t loathe either and cheer for their successes. I think UC’s success in the toooonamint depends entirely on matchups. If they draw some teams that are similar to them (guard oriented, lack of big men, slower paced) then they can play with them and advance. But, if they get a poor draw, even against a, ahem, mid-major (I hate that term) they could just as easily be done in round 1.

As for X, I don’t know if people really appreciate the job that C.Mack has done this year. It might be the best done there EVER. To UNEXPECTEDLY lose your top 2 returning players and still be in the hunt in the A-10 is amazing. I know, I know, he let M. Lyons go, etc. etc., but you’ve gotta believe that Mack was counting on him and D. Wells to be back this season. That affects how he recruits, his rotations, and on down the line…..I don’t know if they’ll make the dance, but it would be one of the more improbable stories of the year.

And, hey, X fans, remember go ol’ Romain Sato??? He’s hoopin’ it up for a local team here in Istanbul this winter. Just in case, you know, you’re in the neighborhood…..

Speaking of Miami (shameless plug), the TML pinch hitter says check out Miami Ice Hockey, if you can score a ticket. Affordable, family friendly and worth the drive. What Coach Enrico Blasi has done there is amazing. In not exactly a ‘hotbed’ for hockey and what is considered a ‘southern climate’, I believe they’re ranked #3 in the nation this week. And while you’re in Oxford, stuff a bagel in your face from Bagel and Deli Shop in Uptown. You won’t regret it……just be ready to Jump Around. You’ll know when…..;)

TODAY’S ESSENTIAL QUESTION: San Diego Chicken or Philly Phanatic? GO.

Hope most of you Mobsters aren’t bleary eyed from rolling off the sofa this morning, since, you know, it’s the day after V-Day…..please tell me you got the Mrs (or Mr.). some chocolate or flowers or some dinner. S/he deserves THAT much….

Enough? Yeah, I’m tired of myself too……

Thanks Doc for the opportunity!

Have a great weekend everybody!
TUNE O’ THE DAY……Grab your Valentine, get goofy and bounce around the room…..

If I was John and you were Yoko, I would gladly give up music genius.

Just to have you as my very own, personal Venus…..

February 16, 2013
Greetings from Istanbul

By BEJAN MATUR

I have been living in Istanbul since 1994. I live in a house with a view of the Bosphorus Straits. I was once criticized by a journalist friend who said, “One cannot understand the Kurdish issue by looking at the Bosphorus Straits.”

He was later convinced that his remark was unjust, but I still remember my reply to his remark that day. “When I look at the Bosphorus Straits in Istanbul, I see mountains,” I said. Indeed, if you are really a Kurd, then no matter where you live and the position you are in, you will always have the image of mountains in your mind. This image creeps into your mind even when you are asleep. This iconic image is so strong that it leaves you sleepless some nights, as it has many tales to tell.

Two years ago, I wrote a book entitled Looking Beyond the Mountains, which was made up of my interviews with the guerillas of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). This is because if you have an influential mountain, not only in your life but even in your imagination, you cannot stay indifferent to what happens beyond that mountain. The bond of brotherhood that ties you to the people living behind the mountains concerns you at some level. It worries you, makes you happy, and angers you at times.

Before taking the decision to write this column, I had been many times to Erbil, Kirkuk, Makhmour, Qandil and other cities. The curiosity that I felt was deeper than that of a journalist, because I know that despite the continuing difficulties, there is an exciting reality in the making that makes one feel good about oneself.

I have always thought that even geography has a fate. The fate of the Kurds nowadays offers them great opportunities, and we can witness today how these opportunities are creating ground for great hopes.

The historical fate of the Kurds has changed a lot these days, and I very much care to make my voice reach beyond the borders that are drawn between us. Because, although we have fallen apart, and just as I see mountains when I look at the Bosphorus Straits, you, too, care about the Kurds of the north.

I think those of you who are leaning on one side of the mountains must be longing for the sea as well. The interest and curiosity that we feel for each other is obviously an ontological necessity. This curiosity is not something new. I remember, as a little child, my grandfather in our moonlit village listening secretly to some illegal radio station to learn about the struggle of Mustafa Barzani. He was proud of Barzani’s struggle, which reached all the way to our village through the fuzzy radio signals.

We, the Kurds who lived on the other side of the mountains, might have been weak and dumb at that time. But we felt that there, beyond these mountains, lived some people that exalted Kurdish pride.

The pride that my grandfather and the village elders felt in those days is living on in my generation. Regardless of the reasons, any bad news from the other side would have made us feel bad and the good news made us feel proud. For this reason, it is very important for me to write for Rudaw, which is published in the city of Erbil, the stronghold of Kurdistan notion.

In doing so, I feel a nostalgic melancholy. Deep inside, I wish my grandfather and his generation could have seen this day. Today, the people who lived beyond the mountains and to whom my grandfather secretly listened to through the fuzzy radio signals, are now integrated with the rest of the world. It is a proud moment for me to witness this reality. The world deserves the Kurds the same way the Kurds deserve the world.

Every week, I will try to give you a view from Turkey in this column. Thinking about the distance between us will increase my excitement every time I write to you. From the Kurdistan Mountains to the Bosphorus Straits, the Kurds are working to build their future that they deserve. In doing so, it is no longer an option to stand shoulder-to-shoulder, it is not a historical responsibility, it is more important than all that: It is a deep human necessity. The price of getting onto the stage of modern history as a subject was very heavy for the Kurds. Today, with the awareness of all the sacrifices that we paid, I say greetings to you my dear friends.

via Rudaw.net – English – Greetings from Istanbul.

February 7, 2013
Blonde, 34, who died after being raped twice and beaten in Turkey ironically told family she ‘felt safer there than in UK’
- Beverley Mitchell was living in the resort town of Fethiye with her boyfriend who is believed to have repeatedly beat her
- The IT worker was raped twice – once by two men, inquest heard
- Her boyfriend disappeared after she died leaving her family little hope of finding out exactly how she died
- Miss Mitchell’s father warned other young women about emigrating to Turkey
By Tara Brady

PUBLISHED: 17:42 GMT, 6 February 2013 | UPDATED: 17:46 GMT, 6 February 2013

A British woman who was living abroad because she thought it was safer than the UK was repeatedly beaten and raped twice before she died in Turkey, an inquest has heard.

Beverley Mitchell moved to Turkey after she was offered a job working in the picturesque resort town of Fethiye which is popular with many British tourists and ex-pats.

Despite her parents telling her to come home on a number of occasions, the 34-year-old thought it was safer to stay in Turkey.

Tragic: The inquest heard Beverley Mitchell was beaten and raped twice before she died in Turkey

But an inquest into her death heard that Miss Mitchell was repeatedly beaten up by her Turkish boyfriend, raped twice – once by two men – and later died in hospital after her partner delayed taking her there.

Her boyfriend, referred to in the inquest only as ‘Shahin’, then disappeared leaving Turkish police and British authorities little hope of finding out what had happened to her.
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Her father, Ken, said Miss Mitchell would regularly call him and her mother Patricia at their home in Berkshire to tell them of the beatings she experienced.

‘She used to cry over the phone and plead with us to get her out of there but the next moment we would get a phone call saying he’s apologised’, said Mr Mitchell.

‘I never believed any of it – she was always in fear of her life.’

Picturesque: The pretty town of Fethiye in Turkey where Beverley Mitchell died

Mr and Mrs Mitchell, from Calcot, near Reading, visited their daughter months before her death but said on their trip she had seemed happier.

‘If we’d have known she was unhappy that day we would have found some way to have brought her back but you can’t say to an adult “you’re coming home with us.”‘

Mr Mitchell said his daughter had been offered a job by a friend when the IT company she was previously working for went bust and so decided to stay in Turkey.

‘She said she felt safer there than she did over here, surprisingly enough,’ he told the inquest in Newbury, Berkshire.

‘When you take it at face value, Fethiye is a nice place.’

Beverley Mitchell (pictured) was asked to come home by her parents on a number of occasions

Christopher Sandford, a British shopkeeper who befriended Miss Mitchell in Fethiye, told the hearing that although she had initially seemed happy he would often see her covered in bruises or drunk – and that she had told friends she turned to alcohol to take away the pain of the beatings.

‘You would see her come in with bruises,’ he told Berkshire coroner Peter Bedford.

‘She was very thin and not eating properly,’ he added.

‘We knew of Shahin. He wasn’t in our circle of friends but we knew of him and I can only describe him as one of the many Turkish rogues.

‘The perception is it happens to so many British single women, from 15 to 90, they fall in love with a good looking guy and end up spending all their money on him. Shahin was of that ilk.’

The inquest was told how Shahin was controlling of Miss Mitchell and her friends suspected she was being forced to spend all her money on him, leaving her without enough to eat.

Another of Miss Mitchell’s friends, Steve Tristram, said in a statement given to the hearing that on May 24 last year she had been raped by two men.

Local Turkish newspapers reported that the men had been armed with guns.

However the coroner said that he had been given no evidence this was the case.

‘She appears to have been followed by two men who dragged her to the ground and raped her,’ said Mr Tristram’s statement.

‘On leaving the police station with her Turkish boyfriend Shahin, he attacked her, blaming her for being raped and beat her again.’

Mr Tristram also said Miss Mitchell had reported to Turkish police that she had been beaten.

However she did not name Shahin as the perpetrator, as she was ‘terrified of him.’

Miss Mitchell had also reported she had been raped before in Turkey.

The coroner heard Miss Mitchell fell ill in the fortnight before she died and would rarely leave the house.

Another friend, named as Willy, visited and suggested Shahin take Miss Mitchell to hospital but when he returned at around 5pm he found her unconscious.

He then called an ambulance and Miss Mitchell was rushed to Fethiye State Hospital but later died July 16, 2012.

Mr Tristram’s statement said: ‘If Shahin had taken her to hospital at 9am, would the outcome have been different?’

Mr Bedford said he had only been given her cause of death as ‘respiratory failure’, and being of ‘pathological origin’, and that a second post mortem examination carried out in the UK was also inconclusive.

However, two toxicology reports both said she had not consumed alcohol or drugs and there were no signs she was bruised or had suffered any injury.

Mr Bedford said that Shahin had given Turkish police a statement in which he described Miss Mitchell as a ‘friend’.

The inquest was told that Shahin had since vanished and that Turkish police were not investigating the matter further.

Mr Bedford said: ‘There’s no evidence that the beatings, the alleged rapes or anything of that kind were a factor and the description from Steve and Willy of vomiting and sweats suggests a more disease-related problem.

‘I have no clinical evidence beyond that.’

Mr Bedford said he had no option but to record an open verdict and that although there was scope for this to be re-examined should more information come to light – he doubted this would be the case.

Speaking after the inquest Mr Mitchell warned other young women about the perils of emigrating to Turkey.

‘How many other people, young women, will move in the future, or have been to Turkey and fall into the same trap.

‘My advice to any young woman is that it’s not as safe a place as people think.

‘She was just looking for love and never actually found it.’

Verdict: Open

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2274508/Blonde-34-died-raped-twice-beaten-Turkey-ironically-told-family-felt-safer-UK.html#ixzz2KCPKVBCB
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February 7, 2013
What brought you to Turkey?

Matt Krause writes about his time in Turkey in his new book, “A Tight Wide-open Space.”

This week saw the opening meeting of the International Women of İstanbul’s 2011-2012 Season. What an amazing collection of hundreds and hundreds of women, from almost every nation on the globe, representing all ages and all walks of life.

Some came to Turkey many decades ago, and have lived through coups, rapid economic development and mass urbanization. Some arrived on a plane last week. For some, Turkey is so much “home” that they can scarcely remember what life was like elsewhere; others are just passing through fleetingly.

Some ladies came to Turkey because their husband was posted here on business or in the diplomatic corps. Some are career women and came here on their own work assignment. Yet, others came because they fell in love with a Turkish man. Of these some have been happily married for a long time, while others, although their marriage ended in divorce, have stayed to be close to their children.

Some came for the adventure, some came for the experience of living somewhere different, some came to earn more money or to gain advancement along the career ladder, some came to get away from a situation abroad, some came for love, some came with a sense of duty, some came enthusiastically and full of hope and some came reluctantly, fearfully and grudgingly.

But whatever their story of how they came to Turkey, each and every one will be touched in some way by their time here. Perhaps older and wiser, perhaps hurt and disappointed, perhaps deeply enriched by the experience, but no one will leave the same person as they came.

What about you? What brought you to Turkey? What can you do to stack the odds so that your experience here is more likely to be a positive one for you personally?

An occasional contributor to this newspaper, Matt Krause came for love. He met a beautiful Turkish woman on a flight to Hong Kong, and unexpectedly moved to Turkey in 2003. In actual fact he uses the intriguing line, “I wouldn’t have been on that plane if my black lab Milk Dud had had better social skills,” which teases the reader so you’ve just got to read on.

His memoir on his time in Turkey starts with this thought-provoking poem about koi fish:

Put a koi into a fish bowl, and it will grow to three inches.

Put a koi into an aquarium, and it will grow to nine inches.

Put a koi into a pond, and it will grow to eighteen inches.

Put a koi into a lake, and it will grow to three feet.

The koi fills up whatever container you give it.

He titles his book “A Tight Wide-open Space,” neatly summing up the contradiction that is Turkey. But perhaps it is this conundrum that means our experience in Turkey can range from that of a koi in a fish bowl to that of a koi in a lake. How we view the people and our environment here determines how much we grow while here or how much we remain static and confined to our own self-imposed boundaries and limitations.

Matt has written an immensely readable and pleasing account of five years in Turkey. He came here for love. I am sure that very few would have been as decisive as he when his Turkish girlfriend announced she had decided to return to İstanbul: “I thought about if for about 10 seconds and said, ‘Well I’ll come with you’.”

This impulse was to lead him to a series of life-changing encounters, both dramatic and mundane. But they became life-changing because Matt allowed them to speak to him about his attitudes, his worldview and above all his values.

By marrying into the culture, Matt is exposed to Turkey in a detail that the casual visitor fails to experience. He gains a deep understanding of the individual/group perspective that differentiates his homeland from that of his wife. This underscores the whole story: Right from the very first words of his introduction where he portrays a family going together to purchase sacrifice meat at Kurban Bayramı, and the way all the generations gather with them to celebrate the feast. (By the way, not an introduction to be read by a squeamish vegetarian.)

He moves from a very isolated start, where his only contact is his girlfriend, to being part of a whole new extended family. The first is illustrated by his having to approach the request for a girl’s hand in marriage on his own, while this formal visit in Turkey is normally a meeting of two families: “While my girlfriend translated I also thought about her parents, especially about her father. How was he taking all of this? Would he feel insulted that my family was not here to do this in the proper Turkish way? Would he feel insulted that instead of speaking to the head of my family, someone his own age, he had to listen to a strange foreign kid speaking a foreign tongue?”

The latter is illustrated by his later realization of the qualities of his father-in-law: “For decades Mr. E has watched over his family like a protective hawk, providing love and support wherever it has been needed. Mr. E usually doesn’t even offer his help, he just shows up at your door and starts providing it.”

Krause’s descriptions are perceptive and delightful. This stems from his having reconciled his heart with Turkey. “When you love something, you understand that its good side and bad side are two sides of the same coin.”

If you are seeking just a simple boy-meets-girl, goes to her country and has some interesting and weird experiences tale, then you will find some of the morals Matt draws out somewhat preachy. Perhaps the book could have greater impact on its intended audience and a wider circulation if it were packaged not as a memoir of life abroad but as a personal development book challenging our worldview. A little bit of editing to bring the worldview-change issues to the fore and using the story of life as a backdrop to illustrate these would turn this from a cozy armchair read into a challenging life-coach.

He certainly has some challenging things to say about not judging all Muslims as terrorists (drawn out from a meditation about people whose name is Jihad) and understanding that fundamentalist doesn’t mean violent (we get there through a fantastic story about a lampshade shop).

Most of the episodes of experience he chooses to use in his collage are little gems; a few chapters are mundane, however. But the book is worth reading just for Matt Krause’s 95 percent/5 percent rule. Considering how the Abrahamic story is central to each of the three major monotheistic faiths, he concludes that we are 95 percent similar to, and only 5 percent different from, each other.

“Human nature being what it is, we humans focus on and obsess over the 5 percent. We plaster our headlines with the 5 percent. We think the 5 percent drives the world around us. What actually drives the world around us is the 95 percent. When we allow our obsession with the 5 percent to control our actions, we let the tail wag the dog.”

“A Tight Wide-open Space,” by Matt Krause, published by Delridge Press (2011) $12 in paperback ISBN: 978-146091043-6

July 12, 2012
Interning at the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, Turkey

Interning at the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, Turkey

By Dean Pohlman (Ankara, Turkey ’10)

Dean Pohlman (right)

Instead of staying in America for a prolonged period of time, I decided to return to Turkey for an extended period of time for the third time in a little over a year. In January of 2010, I applied to the U.S. Department of State Student Internship program and listed Turkey as a site where I was interested in working. In March, I was thrilled to hear from the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, and I quickly accepted their offer to intern in the Public Affairs Department during fall 2011.

At the time, my job description was purposefully vague so that I would be able to fit in where I was most needed. Because of this, I went into the job excited but not really knowing what to expect.

From the first day, I knew I would be right on the front lines with the Foreign Service Officers. Within my first couple of hours on the job, I met with the president of Turkey’s most famous law school. After my first week on the job, I had already acquired a stack of business cards from NGO officials, elected representatives, professors, judges and prosecutors. My boss, Stefanie Altman-Winans, was very capable in her work, as were the rest of the Foreign Service Officers in Ankara. It was incredible to be in an office where everyone was so qualified and so dedicated to the mission. I could tell immediately that I was with an elite group of individuals.

Most of what I did in Public Affairs was assist in planning events. I did this by conducting research on the Internet and corresponding with various groups, ministries, and colleges, as well as arranging face-to-face meetings. Here, my Turkish was instrumental in collecting information. Many Internet sources in Turkey are only available in Turkish, so in this aspect I felt I was invaluable to the Embassy as an American who was fluent in Turkish.

I learned the importance of event planning thanks to two major events that the U.S. Embassy hosted while I was in Ankara. The first was when Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor visited Turkey to share her experiences as the first female U.S. Supreme Court Justice at a time when Turkey was attempting to revise their constitution. We visited law schools, the Supreme Court of Turkey, as well as the High Council or Judges and Prosecutors (a sort of parallel court structure of the Supreme Court) throughout the course of the day. With the help of other embassy staff, my main job was to prepare the program packet and ensure that the visits went as smoothly as possible.

The second big event that we hosted was the 2011 Global Entrepreneurship Summit, specifically the Youth Entrepreneurship Summit. More than 80 young entrepreneurs from 15 regional areas in Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa participated in a three-day conference. The conference featured speeches from leading entrepreneurs in Turkey, as well as the Special Advisor to the Secretary of State for Global Youth Issues Ronan Farrow, the President of the Turkish Youth and Sports Ministry, and Vice President Joe Biden. The event was perhaps the most hectic two days of my life – it was a non-stop job filled with three people asking me questions at once, a constantly ringing phone, and a high level of stress among the employees and the Foreign Service Officers, but in the end we pulled it off, and the participants of the summit gained friendships and entrepreneurial skills that will last a lifetime.

The experience that I had at the U.S. Embassy in Ankara will stay with me. It opened my eyes to the work that the U.S. Department of State does and the exceptional skills that Foreign Service Officers have. It also revealed the importance of learning a language. Knowing a language not only allows you to access more information, but it allows you to connect with people on a level that would not be possible without knowing their native language.

On a personal level, knowing Turkish also allowed me to develop relationships with Turks that will not only serve me in the future, but hopefully also leaves a positive image of Americans because it shows our neighbors in Turkey that Americans are genuinely interested in their language, culture, and history, and it facilitates better relations.

Posted by Critical Language Scholarship Program at 4:33 PM

via cls: Interning at the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, Turkey.

May 23, 2012