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| Sebnem and me, Turkey |
It is easy
for expats, especially in a country that speaks another language,
to form friendships with other expats. While they can be
enormously supportive and fun, it is also important to befriend locals in
your host country.
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| Nur and me, Turkey |
I feel indebted to
my Turkish friends for their help during my time in Turkey, especially at the
beginning. I was young when I first fell in love with the country and not only
was I pretty naïve, but I was clueless about Turkish culture and knew nothing
of the language.
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| Ferhat and me, Turkey |
I have always
believed that if you can communicate with people everything you want to do can
be achieved more easily. My Turkish friends were not only encouraging when I
embarked upon my mission to learn Turkish, they were endlessly patient as I
butchered their language with my dodgy pronunciation and sometime dreadful
mistakes. They did nothing but gently correct me and laugh with me about
whatever terrible declaration I had made.
 |
| Elif, Ahmet and their little girl, Turkey |
My friend Sebnem
refers to me as the Turkish-English girl on account of my passion for the place
and accumulation over time of various Turkish habits. Elif, Ahmet and I shared
a passion for scuba diving. Ferhat warns his friends that I understand Turkish
(so goodness knows what they normally talk about). My friend Nur and her
children also speak French so we have fun communicating in a mixture of mostly Turkish
and French. Eko enjoys laughing at my mistakes (and then correcting them).
Were it not for
these friends of mine and several others I am sure I would be less capable in
Turkish and therefore also feel less at home in Turkey. Of course, I also had
lots of friends who were expats themselves and they played a huge role in my
life there too, but it is my Turkish friends who I have to thank for
encouraging me to learn their language, appreciate their culture and ultimately
love their country.
Who made a difference to your experiences overseas?
