THE TO DO LIST

Writer: Farah Sabrina (Bachelor candidate at SDÜ, Isparta)

Assalamualaikum friends!

Hope you are reading the post in the best of health and imaan insyaAllah. As per Adi Miftah’s request I’d be writing the post in English. So pardon my grammar and spelling mistakes I’ll be making since the keyboard I’m writing on is the Turkish Qwerty keyboard – where the ı and i are different letters and ğ, ü, ş, ç, ö takes the places of several punctuations marks such as the comma and period that I am used to type on growing up; the first living difference of surviving in a foreign country. You just have to adjust and move on. Okay maybe that was just an excuse made to cover up me slowly forgetting my command of English after five years speaking and learning Turkish.

Since there was no topic given to me and they said this was ‘up to me’, I’d like to share my version of the ultimate to-do-list before coming to study or teach in Turkey. Some are based on my own experiences and the rest are by witnessing some struggles of others.

There have been quite a number of exchange students this past year from Malaysia such as sister Mariah, an undergrad student from UIA, sisters Adibah and Ili Balqis, post graduate students from UPM here in the small and cute Isparta- the city of roses, thus the exchange students from nusantara  are all female students until now! Several numbers of lecturers from Malaysia and Indonesia have also been here under the Mevlana exchange program to share some of their knowledge with the staffs and students of Suleyman Demirel University. Since interest in this city has taken a perk lately, I’d like to address the ones who are thinking to do the same as these students.

Dear all the future upcoming student candidates of Isparta, please take note!

     1. Turkish Language

Guys, the language barrier here is real. From the first day you arrive in this city you will have to need help of an English speaking local or someone you can easily communicate in your own language who speaks Turkish. Road signs, street names, food menus –anything you can think of that has writings on it will be in Turkish. I can easily say that not even 5% of the people you meet on the streets speaks nor understands English fluently. They assume you speak their language straight away and will talk to you and ask questions in Turkish. Some are very helpful and will use any methods at hand such as Google translating their intentions and will try to help to solve your problems at hand. Some speaks slowly…. With a LOUD teacher-like voice trying to explain things for the second time. Okay maybe this helps after a B1 Turkish language certificate holder but totally not for those with zero command of Turkish!

My advice is try learning some basic common phrases that are a necessity before coming here – such as hellos, thank yous and goodbyes. Surely some effort will surely make the locals more interested in helping you with a smile.

  

   2. Cultural Differences

Brace yourselves because the cultural differences between here and you countries are obvious everywhere, from the way they talk and their sense of humor, the fashion style, their opinions on politics and sensitivity on some government issues, also their views on religions and identities. Anything and everything is a possible to happen here so brace yourself and don’t be too shocked if something contradicts your own personal views.

Experiencing Hari Raya, the Eids- Kurban and Ramazan bayramı-, and the fasting months for example, will be a whole new experience because us in the SEA celebrates the festive seasons differently.

     3, Comfortable Shoes

You will be walking a lot here in Isparta, without the comfort of your cars and reliable trains and buses back home. So please remember to bring comfortable shoes to walk in suitable to the season you’re going on. You wouldn’t want to have your sandals stuck in knee-length snow or slip on ice wearing your flip-flops.

     4. Health

The Turkish government requires health insurance coverage for someone applying for a residence permit here. So make sure you insure yourselves and buy a plan before coming here because the insurance plans here may cost a little more here.

     5. FOOD

Of course food is the most important of all. Please, please and please be prepared. The food here is totally different than those from home. There are no spices like chilli sauce, soy sauce and such used in their meals. And their meals are mostly tomato-based. Their breakfast set are stagnant, I mean standard. Bread, olives, cheese and tea; that is the basic set that any Ayşe, Ali or Ahmet  (okay lah I edit the names cause there are no Tom, Dick nor Harry here) eats. If your budget permits, I recommend renting an apartment and cook yourself with the ingredients you bring from home, all the rempah curry, kunyit and serai. Because there are no such ingredients sold here in Isparta. If not you will be staying in student hostels where cooking is totally not permitted. So pack yourselves some Asian snacks like seaweed and dried squids because some days you will be dreaming peeling off prawn shells and some days you be salivating in front of your computer screens watching food programs.

If any of you have any more questions regarding anything else I’ve forgotten to mention above please feel free to write me up! Also these advices are biased to my experiences and thoughts so I would like to apologize if there are any hard feelings! Peace and good luck :D



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