Visiting Turkey has been on my list for years, but the timing just wasn’t right... until now. I knew I wanted to visit for an extended stay whenever I made the 19+ hour journey, so it was important to find a large chunk of time. A few months eventually opened up when my move to Korea was canceled. I made a call, booked a flight and am now living with my cousins, Chris and Angie, working at their travel company in Antalya, Turkey.
Since arriving, I have been working in the mornings and exploring Antalya in the afternoons. Honestly, a pretty sweet trade-off. I get to learn about business, pester my family with questions about the country and culture, and experience a side of Turkey that most tourists don’t get to see during their week-long to ten day stay.
Living a block from the Mediterranean and taking a dip before work hasn’t been too bad either.:)
Along with this newfound routine of work and play, I am also realizing that everything I read about culture shock is real. Like really real. Like smack you in the face real. I think I read somewhere that there are five stages of adjusting to living internationally:
The “I love it here! Everything is great!” stage:
The “I miss my family, my friends, my cat, & my friend's dog” stage:
The “Okay, I got this” stage:
The “I feel comfortable” stage:
The “I’m used to this now” stage:
I’m currently fluctuating between stage two and three on this expat journey, and for that I apologize to my friends and family who I have been calling and skyping often. I hoped the culture shock wouldn’t affect me like literally every piece of literature I read about long term travel said it would, but here I am. Shocker, not special.
This trip (extended stay) hasn’t been like previous international travel, and Turkey is proving to be more of a culture shock than I expected. With only 20% or so of the population speaking any English, traveling on my own for a lot of the time, and staying in country for a few months, the amount of cultural adjustment has been high - to say the least. Anything from food to language to public transportation to behavior has been and will continue to be a learning curve. Not to mention the adjustment being on an opposite schedule from friends and family. When I’m getting ready for bed they are getting ready to start their day.
As amazing as it is to experience a new culture in such an integrated way, I’m finding that in all my excited planning, I forgot to anticipate an adjustment period. There have been high highs and low lows, just like anything else, and the instagrammable moments have been sprinkled between many moments of frustration, feelings of being overwhelmed, and homesickness (the normalcy of one's country). So don’t be entirely fooled.
Since arriving my days have been a mixed bag of victories and learning moments (I won’t call them failures). One moment I’m finding and figuring out the ATM machines, recognizing landmarks, riding the bus alone, and remembering words in Turkish… the next I’m holding up a line of seventeen people at Starbucks because of my US Debit card, almost getting hit by a bus on the sidewalk (because they drive on the sidewalk and I didn’t know this), and can’t order food at a restaurant because the menu is all in Turkish.
I keep reminding myself this is normal. Feeling out of place, like I don’t know all the customs and norms, is 100% NORMAL. I just have to keep moving and pray that the number of victories begins to out way the learning moments.
I can’t express how grateful I am to be here or how this trip is opening my eyes to a new world and new experiences. While it is, without a doubt, intimidating, and I’ll continue to make blunders that cause locals to laugh, I know I’m growing as a person. My food orders will probably continue to sound like:
“Hello. Hi, can I have a caramel macchiato? Sorry, yes, English.” *Pointing “Yes, that’s it. My card doesn’t tap. Sorry. I wish it did. Thank you. So sorry.”
And I’ll probably butcher the few words I know how to say a couple hundred more times or make a few more social faux pas, but the people here are gracious toward my blunders and generous in helping to correct me.
I’m learning more than I ever thought from my family and the good people of Turkey, and while adjusting has had it's ups and downs, it's been clear to see how God’s hand has been in the purpose and timing of this trip.
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