It is almost mid-June. I have a strange feeling of rushing between the possibilities offered by the big city, and at the same time a sadness of imminent departure. Lately it has been an emotional rollercoaster. Classes at our Turkish university are over and I am finding a new daily rhythm. My exams aren't until two weeks after the semester ends, so I´m reviewing material, exploring Istanbul, and taking advantage of the city one last time. I'm also slowly getting ready to go home.
I will have to leave the huge city of 15 million that has been my home for the last five months at the end of June. I love Brno very much, but returning to our peaceful country will be special. And I must admit that I am also dreading the new challenges that await me, namely my return and my internship at Czech Television.
“Challenge” is exactly the word I would use to describe my Erasmus experience. The whole time here I am trying to get used to a completely different lifestyle, a different culture, different food and a specific type of accommodation - sharing an apartment with sixteen other people. And of course, the threat of earthquakes and the constant struggle to understand the local political situation. Although the protests died down, they were always repressed – key metro stations were closed, important centres were guarded by hundreds of police officers. The Turkish people are frustrated, but they must get on with their lives.
I guess I got used to it well in the end. The biggest challenge was finding a steady routine while still managing to meet friends and explore the city. The biggest obstacle to this was and is the local traffic and the fact that everything is very far from each other - unlike the compact centre of Brno. So, in the end, the Erasmus students from the Asian part of the city met together and formed groups in the European part of the city as well. Because before you climb the hills in your part of town or stand in a bus queue, you arrive in the other part of town when it's dark.
I think that study stays in big cities can be very different from those in smaller cities, where it´s more about meeting people. Also, the Erasmus student association at our university stopped organising events around the second month after we arrived, so we all kind of dispersed. It's a shame, but at least sometimes we were lucky enough to get among students from other universities.
Today I understand that every Erasmus brings a different experience. Someone gets more experience with socializing and a collective of students, someone else gets more experience with a demanding study at a prestigious university. We in Istanbul have experienced earthquakes, riots, paperwork, exploring cultural and political differences in the "Middle Eastern suburbs" and tea at the Bosphorus. And most importantly, personal growth.
Closing this amazing and chaotic chapter of my life will be challenging because it has begun to suit me. I'm enjoying the hustle and bustle of Istanbul. I have two more weeks to go - that is, exams and final explorations of the attractions of this fascinating city.
The author of the text is a student of the Faculty of Social Sciences and a member of the student editorial team of M Magazine.