Getting More Turkish-minded

This week has mainly been about getting used to the Turkish culture.
I'm starting to become more and more Turkish-minded as I am finding things they do becoming more a part of my daily life. These things include: having tea after every meal, learning the language, and trying new foods. Recently I tried a meal that when translated is ''sheep intestines'' after my co-workers said I had to join them for a meal to eat that. Although I did not like it at all, it was still a good time to bond with co-workers outside of work and be able to laugh at what I was doing as they were laughing at my reaction to one of their popular Turkish dishes.


The short jump on the boat
The temperature has been reached record highs as it has not been below 95 degrees for at least a week. It even reached 105-110 today and work was cancelled for pregnant women and those with a reason as to why the heat might negatively affect their health.

Because of this heat the beaches have been crowded with many people and their pets, but they have been especially fun. The roommates and I went on a boat tour last weekend that stopped at 3 islands for swimming and jumping from the third level of the boat. This boat brought us real near the Greek Islands (about 1 mile), but we did not quite go to Greece this time. Overall; the weather is hot and sunny, work is good, and I'm beginning to learn the language. I'm having a great time so far.

Getting Used to Turkey

This week I have spent a lot of time trying to adapt to what life will be like in Turkey for two months. Most things are different then life back in Eau Claire; a lot of which is a result of being a obvious tourist due to different looks, language, religion, background, and habits. Getting used to people looking at you differently (often with stares) and often times trying to over-charge you for everyday items is tough to do and can get very frustrating.

I've quickly realized that the biggest challenge for this trip is going to be keeping an open-mind. I had one of those frustrating experiences this weekend getting over-charged for a bus ride to the beach. Since I can't speak much Turkish, there isn't much I could do to get my money back (which was only 75 cents, but enough to get my blood flowing in the moment). Immediately I got closed-minded and everything in America seemed to be better then in Turkey in my head. Naturally I wasn't too happy to be on that bus riding through and seeing poorer parts of Turkey to get to the beach. As soon as my mind opened up again to accepting the changes and new sites, sounds, and experiences around me my day was great again.

Having an open-mind to the new culture around me is the difference everyday to whether it was a good day or bad day. I have to make a constant effort every morning, and multiple times a day, to challenge myself to treat each little task as an adventure that may turn out good or bad. As long as I can do this the bad adventures aren't as bad because they are viewed as adventures instead of comparisons to how good my life is in America. Luckily I have awesome roommates that help each other out when the adventures are bad too....So far, I'm doing good with all this except for a few moments, but it will continue to be a challenge.

Week 1 in Turkey

The first week in Turkey has been nothing short of eye-opening. After finding the internship through a student organization on campus called AIESEC I arrived in Izmir, Turkey in the middle of the night to find all my roommates waiting up to meet me. I'm living in a house with people from 5 different continents around the world, all of which are working in trainee- ships/internships around the city and one local who is attending university here. The city is amazing; I take the boat to and from work everyday and get to see the mountains in the background towering over the Aegean Sea every time I look out the window. All the roommates and I have already been to the beach for a weekend and they've become good friends for only knowing them 6 days. I work at the Izmir Chamber of Commerce in an office building right on the water. It's just a typical office job with my cubicle and dress clothes everyday, nothing too exciting, but it isn't too bad. It is pretty weird working with people that are all speaking different languages around you in the workplace, but most of them speak a little English if I have a question so it works out okay after the initial shell shock of trying to get used to that. That's about all for this week: the food is different, but good; the weather is perfect; work is good; and the roommates are a lot of fun.