One month in Turkey

It's been one month since I arrived to Turkey, it's our cotton anniversary as I like to call it. I hardly can believe it's been only a month - everything seems so familiar, seems that I always knew Küçükpark, I've spend my days in EGE Kampus, I've studied in the Diş Hekimliği faculty... Looking back I still don't believe it has only been a month!

One of the many monuments to Atatürk - EGE University Rectorate

The longing begins to tighten - my family, my friends and my house are starting to be missed. But when my mind wanders to that place, I remind myself that this is a unique experience that I will miss even more when I leave. It's true that in professional terms this hasn't yet been the most rewarding experience yet, but I can't deny that I've seen plenty of stuff that I wouldn't see if I were back at home. One of the things I like the most is having private lessons in the teachers offices. We are only 4 Erasmus at the faculty, and we are really well pampered! Where else could I eat chocolate and cookies while drinking tea during a private lesson? Yes... yes... mhuahuahua! (Sorry about this, I really do enjoy being offered snacks, what can I do against it?)

Another very positive point around here are the people, like our new friends - we even were kindly invited to a new friend's house, where her mother cooked fish for us (because I'm always complaining that there is no fish to be seen here), other friend even offered us a new phone to use, and one teacher invited us to spend a day to show the town around.

Awesome dinner at Gülçin's house

After all, when I'm well aware that when I leave the main memories that will stay are about the friends I made. And in that department I'm very happy. Being from a relatively small community, I truly appreciate the opportunity of meeting so many people from so many different countries and with different ways of thinking. I even got to know that in almost all of Europe people eat salty popcorn while we eat then with sugar, and in Finland they eat them plain! Or seeing the Turkish eating yogurt with everything (on salad, on soup, on pasta, everything) - I can even eat plain yogurt now, like a diabetic. Yeah, most of my impressions of the past few month are about food now that I think of it... x)

Our 1 month commemorative dinner - Pasta with tuna... and french fries!

Finding a bit of home back here -
José Saramago depicted in a newspaper cover.

Becoming more independent and having to do house chores such has cooking, shopping and washing has been a funny experience. I found out that I really like cooking, hate washing and ironing and get nervous when I have to shop, because I hate spending money. But turns out I'm really good at savings and I can buy a week worth of groceries for a nice price, after spending some time searching for the best promotion at the hypermarket! Indirim is my favorite Turkish word.

 The parties are a must-do in Erasmus, and this month has showed it quite well. Personally, I don't like being in a dark and crowded club, surrounded by people who desperate need to drink to have fun. I still don't understand the need to drink all the time, at every possible occasion, since I'm perfectly capable of having a great time without being drunk. So, I'd rather pass most of the club parties, changing them for a great night at a coffe or bar playing Tavla or Damas among friends. Of course that once in a while it's always good to go and socialize a bit =) But for that, nothing better than a flat party, where you can drink, smoke and chat with your favorite gang.

Going to a party once in a while is always nice to be with friends... especially when it's a gypsy party!

One thing that I'm not particularly happy about is our room at the students village. It's quite small for two persons and that makes appreciate my bedroom back at home even more. Besides, I'm always finding bugs everywhere around here - last night it was a very good looking cockroach that was taking a walk in our secretary. But hey... it's an adventure and that's the Erasmus spirit after all. Talking about adventure, I'm starting to understand the traffic here, and I've managed to stay a whole month without being hit by a car. Needless to say that I'm ecstatic about that since I thought I would be runed over in a matter of days.

The Students Village could benefit from larger rooms.... and lower prices!

Traveling to new places has to be one of the best experiences of this Erasmus so far - visiting so many places and different monuments - and knowing that probably I wouldn't go to those places if it wasn't for my stay here - is indescribable. Ruins, beaches, villages, cities, Turkey is a rich country this matter. I hope I will visit even more. But I'm not going to describe this here because I always make a separate post for my travels.

The busy Alsancak, Izmir

In a nutshell, this has been a very positive adventure so far. Being by myself has been a curious experience and every day I discover something new about me and my surroundings. I realize that the things that I miss the most are the most simple ones, like going to my own bedroom and sleeping when I want, having the room in complete darkness, sitting on the sofa and watching TV, or even have a hot bath in my bathtub. Even though I'm starting to miss 'my world' I wouldn't change a thing, and I'm sure the months to come will bring new experiences!

The three-week summary

Tomorrow it'll be three weeks since I arrived into Turkey. I talk about three busy weeks - it seems like I've been here for two months at least. Everything was completely new to me and just now I'm entering into the local routine and learning the ropes.

The first stop for me was Istanbul - an amazing city who was the very first impression. I stayed in a cheap but cozy hotel that was located in an actual neighborhood and not in a very tourist area - as the owner said, the ideal hotel to watch the daily life of the Turkish. After two very busy days I left Istanbul with the feeling that I was in a very historical and interesting country.

Second (and final destination) - Izmir. As the third city of Turkey, it's crowded, really crowded. I was lucky enough to study in a very calm and nice region of Izmir - Bornova. Since I don't really like noise and confusion, I instantly liked EGE University Student Village, or the Ege Üniversitesi Öğrenci Köyü as they say, which is really like a small city with all the students, erasmus, a social building, a dinner, a mini-market and even a hairdresser. We had the help of a very good Turkish friend who studied in my faculty last semester, so she knew exactly how it is to be in a foreign country, she picked me up at the airport and drove to the Student Village and then the hypermarket - thanks again Merve! Since I arrived on Thursday, the following days were calm, some paperwork to sign and sightseeing in the center city center.

One of the many buildings of the Students Village

Ephesus, one of the many historical places in Turkey.

The following week was the truly peak of these three weeks so far - the integration week. This was when we met literally all the EGE Erasmus crowd, our mentors, and the entire (and gigantic) campus. I literally knew more people in one week than in an entire year back at home - that's Erasmus for you. I had an instant connection with the Spanish and Italian erasmus - maybe because they are our neighbors and think like us? The language? I dunno, but they are truly great =) In fact, pretty much all of the erasmus people are great. As a southern European, I thought we were more joyful and extroverted than the northern countries - talk about a wrong preconception! These guys are pretty much crazy and always ready to party all week long.  I'm not really the kind of person who likes to party hard every week. I'd rather have dinner and going onto a bar and drink a beer and talk, so I'm pretty much the 1%, but even so it's been easy to find someone to do so. I met dozens of persons in a daily basis, and the good thing, all from different countries which is really good to open up your mind.

The EGE Erasmus in the first semester 2012/2013

What surprised me the most was the Turkish people - you obviously can find persons with all sorts of intentions, but in general they are VERY welcoming. I didn't have the slightest problem finding someone willing to help me in all sorts of occasions in an unselfish way - we do have lots to learn from them. They'll go all the way and beyond to make you feel at home. Thanks for that, it's truly great feeling like this when you're 4500 km away from your real home.

And of course we had the sight seeings. Being such a rich country in terms of history and natural resources, Turkey is one of the most beautiful countries I've ever been into. I'll speak about every place I went separately, but it's really one of those things that makes the Erasmus worthwhile, you get to know so many wonderful places that you wouldn't otherwise. Thanks a lot for all the guys from ESN (Erasmus Student Network) that organize these trips.

Even if you don't feel at home, you'll feel you're in paradise in Ilıca, Çeşme.

Of course, I've had classes too. At first I was told that I couldn't perform treatments - and as a senior in dentistry you can image that I NEED to practice, a lot. This was a major setback which almost drove to the end of this Erasmus - but it wasn't entirely true. Turns up this faculty works by departments, and each department has the autonomy to decide what you can and can't do as an Erasmus student. And after a meeting with the chiefs of each department, we were pleased to know that with some insistence and showing some interest you can in fact manage to treat several patients, and with different kinds of problems, much of those I wouldn't be able to see in Porto. Our schoolmates are really helpful too, and when you find someone who speaks English (which unfortunately is rare) you'll feel really integrated. The teachers are very nice and interested in us (maybe because we are from a foreign university?), it's been interesting have chats in the teacher's private office and having private lessons - another advantage of erasmus, you get to know a different way of being taught.

Our buddies at Orthodonty in the dentistry faculty.

To add up, these were three amazing weeks, and there are many more to come, so stay tuned =) 

Erasmus - the beginning

Thinking about joining the Erasmus programme? This blog is aimed to help you understand about the whole process and my personal experience about it as a portuguese Erasmus student in Turkey.

But first things first, you should know a bit more about the Erasmus programme:

Overview

ERASMUS - (EuRopean Community Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students) dates back from 1987. More than 2.5 million students have experienced what it means to do an ERASMUS term in one of more than 4 000 higher education institutions in 33 participating countries. These include all the EU Member States as well as Croatia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey.

Periods abroad – both for studies and for placements – can last from 3 to 12 months each, for a combined total of 24 months.

ERASMUS student mobility is open to all students studying in a participating country and enrolled in at least the second year in their home institution.

To participate in ERASMUS student mobility, you should first contact the international office of the institution where you study at home. The office will be able to tell you about possible host institutions and host enterprises, the selection procedure and financial support.

Students taking part in the programme may be eligible for grants to cover part of the additional costs for living abroad and travelling. In all circumstances, tuition fees at the host university are waived. In addition, students with special needs, such as physical disabilities, may get extra funds to help them cover additional expenses related to their stay abroad.

The added value of an Erasmus experience

Many studies show that a period spent abroad not only enriches students' lives in the academic and professional fields, but can also improve language learning, intercultural skills, self-reliance and self-awareness. Their experiences give students a better sense of what it means to be a European citizen. In addition, many employers highly value such a period abroad, which increases the students' employability and job prospects. Staff exchanges have similar beneficial effects, both for the people participating and for the home and host institutions.

What are the objectives of student mobility for studies?

To enable students to benefit educationally, linguistically and culturally from the experience of learning in other European countries;
To promote co-operation between institutions and to enrich the educational environment of host institutions;
To contribute to the development of a pool of well-qualified, open-minded and internationally experienced young people as future professionals.

Who can benefit?

Students registered in a higher education institution holding an ERASMUS University Charter.

What are the preconditions?

 ERASMUS students are selected by their home higher education institution in a fair and transparent way. This will depend of your faculty's rules - even inside the same university the selection criteria varies a lot.

The EILC

Included in the Erasmus programme, you have the EILC - the ERASMUS Intensive Language Courses, these are specialised courses in the less widely used and less taught languages organised in the countries where these languages are used as teaching languages at higher education institutions. Notice that the languages English, German, French and Spanish (Castilian) are not eligible for EILC.

Apart from the ERASMUS grant, a supplementary mobility grant for participating in EILC may be awarded and paid by the respective sending higher education institution. ERASMUS students may not be charged a study fee for participation in an EILC course. However, fees may be charged for excursions and similar optional events and for other charges that ERASMUS students normally may be asked to pay.

The EILCs take place in the following countries for the eligible languages in brackets: Belgium (Dutch), Bulgaria (Bulgarian), Croatia (Croatian), Cyprus (Greek), Czech Republic (Czech), Denmark (Danish), Estonia (Estonian), Finland (Finnish and Swedish), Greece (Greek), Hungary (Hungarian), Iceland (Icelandic), Italy (Italian), Latvia (Latvian), Lithuania (Lithuanian), Malta (Maltese), the Netherlands (Dutch), Norway (Norwegian), Poland (Polish), Portugal (Portuguese), Romania (Romanian), Slovakia (Slovak), Slovenia (Slovenian), Spain (Catalan , Valencian, Basque and Galician), Sweden (Swedish), Switzerland (Italian) and Turkey (Turkish).

Organising institutions and course descriptions can be found on the website of the National Agencies of the countries where ERASMUS Intensive Language Courses take place.
Source: European Comission

Unfortunately since I wasn't able to participate in a EILC, I can't really share my experience with you - but from the feedback of all the people that have participate, it's definitely a must! Besides learning a new language (or at least try to do so) you'll be taken to a lot of historical/touristic places.
To apply for a EILC (generally the courses start about 2 months to 3 week before your classes) ask your international office about it.