Sunday, June 30, 2013

Through Natalie's Eyes

Here is a post from Natalie Sanchez, who is working on urban planning in Istanbul's municipal government...


Sitting at my workstation, on the fifth floor of Istanbul's Municipal Government building, I have to pinch myself to remind me this is real. The office environment is much like any American one. You have the "talkitive" narcissist, the shy ones, the skeptical ones, and the outgoing ones. Then you have Murat. He's great! As our internship "coordinator," he has welcomed us graciously into our foreign work environment with open arms. At hard task given the lack of continuity...we are the first foreign students to work in this office, let alone the building, ever. Without Murat, our time at IBB (İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyesi), we'd be utterly lost. He has tasked us with assignments that will help IBB in the areas of urban planning to include: tourism, building codes/legislation, and marketing to name a few. We have given presentations to the top officials of urban planning 

Despite a huge language barrier, positive energy, laughter, and friendly gestures go a long way...in addition to food. To break the ice after an awkward first week on the job, I brought in some fresh Turkish cookies and offered them one by one in my best and (rehearsed) Turkish. All partook except for one, the "diet" girl.
 
I've also made acquaintances with Yasin and Pelin. Two hip Istanbul-ites who speak excellent English and want to show us the "real" Istanbul. The real Istanbul includes 38 other districts. The district in which we live and work, the Fatih district, is the most conservative and distant from the fashionable ones. This has  forced us to utilize the excellent public transportation available to locals! I can proudly say I've used all of them. The tram, the metro, the ferry, and the bus! 

Trying to grasp exactly how smart my colleagues are and how the work they do at IBB affects so many, nearly 15 million, is no easy task. IBB, the crux of what makes Istanbul thrive and survive, has provided me a greater appreciation for even the smallest services of cities I've lived in.

Like most trips abroad, by the time you feel ready to conquer the city, it's almost time to go home. Days are numbered. What felt like an eternity on day one has dwindled down to a handful. My time though at IBB has been eye-opening and I'm looking to forward to what my last week has in store. 

Monday, June 24, 2013

Ephesus

Yesterday was an enlightening day in Ephesus. We first visited the house of the Virgin Mary where Mary was said to spend her last days after Jesus's crucifixion. Then we went to the ancient city of Ephesus. A city that dates back to when disciples walked and life was recorded. In Ephesus, we saw marble cylinders, pathways, theaters, and an ancient library that even now, are still extravagant. Last, we visited the church of St. John where he also was said to live his last days and was buried. A surreal experience to say the least. Words do not do this place justice so I thought pictures would suffice. 

 

Friday, June 21, 2013

Cappadocia

Cappadocia: the land of ancient churches, hand made pottery, and authentic carpets. We had such a great and full day yesterday.

We started out by gazing upon the beautiful valleys and urban rock dwellings of cappadocia. At one of the sites we stopped to take pictures of the valleys that seems to go on forever, there were comments being made left and right on how beautiful cappadocia was... and that it was.

Then we traveled through the rolling countryside to visit some of the earliest churches in the open air museum that dated back to the 5th century. It was amazing to see most of the mosaics were still in tact and the beautiful scenes they conveyed of Christianity. There were multiple churches built in one area, each individually carved into the rocks, representing strength and history.

Next we visited a ceramic cave where the same family has been in business for over 200 years. Now that is a long operating family business.. and  in the same cave to top it all off.  We watched the pottery being made, and then how the family artists intricately painted each detail on the plates, bowls, pots, etc.

We then headed to one of the multiple underground cities in cappadocia. For those who get claustrophobic, this would not be the place for you. There were 4 floors that we could visit and it seems as though they went on forever. Dilek, our tour guide said that these underground cities each housed thousands of people. The ventilation system and rooms are still in tact enough to live there...pretty impressive.

Over all, it was a group consensus that our day in cappadocia has been our favorite thus far... history, good food, air conditioning, and beautiful scenery. It was a day well lived and well learned.

Today we are headed to Izmir, then Ephesus, then back to our home in Istanbul.

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

The language of emotion is only one


The internship that myself and 2 other girls (Ellen, and Sarah), are participating in is a program that the disabled services of Istanbul offers, paid for by the municipal government. This program offers low-income families with disabled people or children the chance to “get away” from their challenging everyday lives for a week. There are so many families in Istanbul with disabled people that want to participate in this program, once they attend this “get away” for one week, they are not allowed to go again. Why is this program so special? As you drive into the camp, you can hear nothing but birds chirping and the wind blowing. Hard to believe since this camp is located in the middle of a city of 15 million people: a city three times the size of New York City. There are cottages everywhere, the land is full of green grass, and you can see the Bosphorous in the distance. During this week of serenity, the disabled and their families are provided with an enriching and free one of a kind experience. Their food is paid for, they are provided with numerous activities( Bosphorous boat tours, sports, computer games, playground activities, concerts and other entertainment), and they are away from many of difficulties they experience in their everyday lives. There are also psychologists that are available on call and meet with the families every few days to discuss hardships and figure out a way to make life better in the long run. This program offers a way for disabled people to feel like they are provided for, taken care of, and accepted: what an unbelievable concept and program that I am able to be a part of during my time in Istanbul.
The workers at the main disabilities services office we have come to know very well and love very much. They are baffled by the fact that us three girls not only chose to visit their country, but also chose to work and care for disabled people in Istanbul. We are the first foreigners that most of them have met, and we are the first foreigners to ever work in their office. They told us that if we were representative of all Americans, then they want to visit America because to them, we are such special people. Needless to say, we are dearly loved by these people and they are dearly loved by us. Although only one of the people we have met during this experience speaks English( Yasmine), she told us something I will never forget: “the language of emotion is one,” and this rings true when interacting with the Turkish people. Although we can maybe say 5 Turkish words, there is already a shared special bond with this people. It proves to me that although there are different cultures and different people, we are all one in the same. We all have hearts to love and emotions to speak. The language of emotion is only one.

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Internships

Today was our second day of our internships in Istanbul. We were all talking today about how not many people can say that they participated in an internship abroad. Many of the Turkish people we are working with have never even worked with or interacted with an American. What an honor it is to be representing our not only N.C. State( Go Pack!) but our country as well in such a booming city. The privilege of being fully immersed into a culture is an experience that can never be replaced. We are all still a little rocky on our Turkish because it is such a different and unique language but we are slowly getting there! Tonight we took a group consensus and our favorite thing about this program so far is our internships: meeting new people, communicating, and sharing common interests makes us realize that although our cultures are different, we are all similar in some way.

My personal favorite activity of today was visiting Dr. Ozturk's University: Istanbul Commerce University. It reminded me of Hunt Library if that gives you a mental picture: modern and beautiful! Two of his students were more than excited to take us around the university, tour the library, and other areas of the school right on the Bosphorous. Below is a picture of the girls in the group with Dr. Ozturk and his students that graciously walked us around. We look forward to the days to come and growing in our cultural knowledge and outlook of this unique country.




From left to right: Dr. Ozturk with his N.C. State students and his Istanbul Commerce University students. 

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

We have arrived

We are here! The 10 of us have officially made it to Istanbul..Dr. Ozturk and Dr. Appling made sure they were there on time to pick all of us up at our various times yesterday. I believe they went to the airport 7 times...now that's dedication. 

The city of Istanbul is said to be 3 times larger than New York City, which is far from difficult to see while flying over the city. It seems as if Istanbul stretches on farther than the eye can see. This can be seen through the fact that Istanbul is one city separated by the Bosphorous in 3 sections: 2 sections are considered Europe and 1 section is considered Asia. We are staying in the European part of Istanbul that is known as the old city. It is full of history which contains a myriad of mosques, artifacts, and people... Lots and lots of people.

There is so much to learn in a city full of this much history, culture, and people. Today we toured the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, and the Basilica Cistern. Each place built with so much intricacy and beauty. In the Blue Mosque, the women had to cover their heads, shoulders, and legs out of respect of the Islam religion. We learned that this enormous and extravagant mosque was built in a mere 7 years and is one of the 3,000 mosques in Istanbul. Hagia Sophia was my personal favorite: a unique spectacle to say the least.  Hagia Sophia, meaning "divine wisdom" was first a church, then a mosque, and is now a museum which portrays the overlapping of 2 religions: Christianity and Islam. Lastly, we walked through the Grand Bazaar, filled with stores of rugs, pashminas, jewelry, souvenirs, etc. 


Between jet lag from traveling from the United States, as well as a day of touring, everyone is now taking "siestas" preparing for our first day of internships tomorrow. 


Until next time from Istanbul...