Filipino in Turkey

I started my research about Filipinos living in Turkey while I was still preparing for this traineeship. Going in a country where I don't know anybody is scary and the idea that there is a Filipino living nearby gives me at least slight comfort and makes me feel a little bit safer.

Thanks to Facebook and the people I met along the way who connected me to her (special mention to Kathie), I found Elizabeth.

She got married to a Turkish guy 3 years ago and has been living in the country since then. What's nice is she is super nice. She treated me and still treats me like I am a long time friend. I owe a lot to her.

So I got to meet her last October 17, just 4 days after I arrived in Turkey. She was with her son, and in-laws. Her husband suddenly got sick and cannot join the meeting.

I must say that I felt welcomed in that meeting. Elizabeth was so kind to lend me her winter clothes and gave me socks in preparation for the cold weather. The in-laws were also darlings and made my heart warm.

They treated me in a Lahmacun restaurant. Lahmacun is a traditional Turkish food. It is like a thin but big pita bread covered with meat and other spices. You have to squeeze lemon on top of it and put a lot of vegetables afterwards. Then, you will roll it and eat like shawarma. It was partnered with  Ayran, a traditional yoghurt-based drink. What's interesting is you have to add a pinch of salt to it before drinking. It was something new for me.

Lahmacun

with salt, seriously

We may have a lot of stereotypes and prejudices about people we haven't met but most of the time all are just based on lack of information or misinformation. I am just so happy for this first meeting and I am looking forward to fortifying friendship with these people I am getting to know just now.

...

It is Saturday, I am here at school wondering if this is what I bargained for.

I was browsing my facebook account earlıer and seeing all the familıar things back in the Philippines makes me think if where I am now and what I am doıng ıs well worth it.

I am living now in an unfamiliar place, eating unfamılıar food, hearıng unfamılıar language, ınteractıng wıth unfamılıar people,  and lıvıng an unfamılıar lıfe.

I mıss drıvıng. I mıss my frıends. I mıss my bed. I mıss the food. I mıss the famılıar surroundıngs. I mıss the traffıc. I MISS MY FAMILY AND ALL OUR SUNDAY DINNER AND ACTIVITIES TOGETHER. I mıss my lıfe back home.

But I chose thıs and I am here. I wıll be here for the next 8 months. I guess ıt ıs too early to tell what Turkey has to offer. I just hope that after I leave thıs country on June, I wıll just have all the fondest memorıes and nıce experıences that thıs country can offer. For now, I just have to wısh and pray that soon I wıll not be dreadıng weekends but would be lookıng forward to excıtıng actıvıtıes ahead of me.

So yeah, rıght now I am bored.

But let's stay posıtıve. Lıfe ıs what you make ıt. Soon ıt wıll change.

My thoughts

I have been here for a week and what I have discovered about the daily lives of the people in Kocaeli are very interesting.

It was not so difficult adapting here. We are now in Autumn and the weather is still mild save for some rain.
 
Food is quite different. They eat more vegetables than meat and most of the preparation are tomato-based poured with a generous amount of yoghurt on top. They also divide their meals into different "courses" if you may call it at that. Say for example for lunch or dinner the usual meal is corba or soup served with yekmek or bread, followed by a tomato-based dish usually with potatoes, capped with boiled macaroni where you can put either yoghurt or ketchup or both to taste. At first, I found the food very interesting but now I am eating them just like everyone else.

Turkish people also don't speak English. In my one-week stay here, I can count in one hand the people I have met who can speak the language. A lot of hand gestures and body language are needed to get my point across. Now, I am trying very hard to learn their language and I am trying to teach English as well to those who are interested to speak it so I can have a sensible conversation somehow in my upcoming months here.

Despite the language barrier, Turkish people are always ready with a smile. They are very helpful and kind and you won't feel afraid dealing with them. I tried walking to school alone twice and never felt the least bit scared. I must say I even enjoyed it. It was very relaxing and the best part is that they have sidewalks! But of course, like any normal foreigner in a new country, I shouldn't let my guard down for I only have myself at the end of the day.

Other observations will be written in Filipino.

Hindi sila madalas magpalit ng damit. Yung suot nila kahapon pwedeng suutin uli ngayon at bukas kahit madumi na. I swear. Wala naman masyadong amoy kasi malamig nga ngayon pero nakaka amaze lang na parang hindi nagpalit ng araw kasi yun uli ang suot nila.

Kung hindi sila mahilig magpalit ng damit, malamang hindi din sila mahilig maligo. Dahil Pinoy ako, naliligo ako sa umaga bago magpunta sa school. Sa tingin ko may dahilan naman kung bakit tamad sila. Tatlong araw pa lang ako dito masama na ang pakiramdam ko, may sipon at p*e*a, masakit ang ulo at parang lalagnatin. Sa South Africa sinabihan na ako na bawal lumabas ng bahay ng basa ang buhok. Deadma lang ako kasi ginagawa naman natin to palagi sa Pilipinas. Pero alam ko na ngayon kung bakit. Magkakasakit ka talaga pag napaspas ng malamig na hangin ang basa mong buhok.

Hindi din sila maagang gumising. Sa bahay namin, 5 AM pa lang gising na ang mga magulang ko. So ang aga ko ding gumising nong mga unang araw ko. Like 6 AM ligo na ako at ready to leave. Aba, 7 AM wala pang gumagalaw sa bahay, 8 AM wala pang naglalakad sa labas. 8:20 saka pa lang mag-aaalarm ang phone nila at kikilos. Diretsong bihis na to, minsan ng mga damit na pinaghubaran nila kahapon. Nakakaloka lang.

Ang umagahan ay hindi sa bahay. Sa school na madalas kumakain ng breakfast ang mga students. Naloka na lang ako kasi walang konsepto ng kape sa umaga. 9 or 10 AM ang breakfast pag may pasok, 11 AM naman kapag wala. Isipin niyo na lang kung gaano nanibago ang tyan ko nang mga unang araw.

Ang pre-school dito whole day. Sa Pilipinas mga 2-3 hours lang, dito one to sawa at kung kelan gustong ihatid at sunduin ng mga magulang ang anak. Pwede ding twice a week lang ang pasok o kung kelan nila gusto. Parang hinahabilin lang ang mga anak. Isipin niyo mga 7 months na bata iiwan ng 8 AM at susunduin ng mga 6:30 PM.

Sa ngayon yun muna. Nakalimutan ko na siguro yung iba o baka hindi ko pa lang masyadong naiisip.

Hanggang sa muli.

The Great Adventure Begins

 As of this writing, I am officially on my 4th day here in Turkey. Every time people ask me how I am, I just say so far so good. And that's actually how I am really feeling now. No very bad experience yet to make me hate the country and no ahah moment as well to make me love the country that much yet. Chill lang. :)

Since this is my first time to travel out of the country alone, this was such a unique experience. I am so proud of myself that I was able to breeze through all the airport and immigration drama and arrived in one piece in Istanbul. It was all so fast and I never had the time to miss anybody yet save for that moment when I was on the plane going to Istanbul. That 4-hour flight was crazy. Many thoughts entered my head like what the heck was I thinking going on this trip relegating 8 months of my life in this unknown country where I don't know anybody, I don't speak their language, I don't have the same religion and I am totally alone. But what the heck. The movies in the plane saved me from insanity. Thanks to I Miss You Like Crazy, Slumdog Millionaire and Letters to Juliet for keeping my thoughts at bay.

At the airport, it was interesting that I have to pay 1 Lira to use their trolley (and I have no Lira yet). I am so used to getting them for free that I was left wondering how to go about hurling all my things with no trolley. Thank God there were some nice ladies from other country with the same problem and we kind of figured out how to do it.

At the domestic exit, I found no AIESEC member holding a banner of welcome for me. I circled the area twice hoping that maybe I just missed it. Not yet panicking but getting a little disappointed, a young guy approached me and asked if I am Leslee. He is Burak Yilmaz and he is from AIESEC. I wondered how he learned it was me and he nonchalantly answered, "Oh, I saw your picture on Facebook." Yikes... scary what FB can do to you huh. Anyway, he was the one who will bring me to Kocaeli and I felt a little embarrassed at first with the tons of bags I brought. From the airport, we took the train going to the bus terminal to Kocaeli. The feel was no different from the Philippines. Freeway and buildings look very much the same. I caught myself smiling when we entered one of their small shopping area which looks very much like our version of tiangge.

In the bus, I was more than happy to learn that there was free wifi. I can already update my family about my whereabouts. There wasn't much long conversation with Burak since he cannot speak very good English. But he was very nice and polite. Alighting from the bus, we walked a good 1 to 2 km with all my heavy bags going to the AIESEC office. I swear, I thought I am going to die. Burak walks so fast and I don't have time to catch my breath. I am so shy to tell him to stop for a while because he seems to be in a hurry. He told me  he still has a class that day.

Bahrin and Saide met me at the AIESEC office and was quickly ushered to the house of my host family. They were thinking of walking again. Walking seems to be a pastime here. I begged them if we can use the cab. They agreed. Fee is around 20 Turkish Lira. I didn't really care about the cost anymore. I just don't wanna walk. In the cab, I tried computing how much is 20 Lira and it amounted to Php600!!! Whoa! Distance is only a good 3 to 4 km. Actually, our fare costed 28 Liras. Hay. Good thing Bahrin paid for it. I only gave 10 Liras for that's the only remaining Lira  I have. I paid 14 Liras for the bus from Istanbul to Kocaeli. That's Php420. Ang mahal!!!

Anyway, arriving at my host family's house, the real challenge began. So they really cannot speak English. I was welcomed by Seda, one of the school teachers of Arda Cocuk Evi. She was babysitting my host family's children for a while because Selma, my host mother needs to run errands or something.

Communicating with them was difficult since basic English words were totally unknown to them. Thanks to translator from the internet we were able to manage.

The following day, I found myself in the school observing and looking how they go about things. It's a good thing that the director speaks a little English and she served as my translator. All the rest knows no English. All the charade practice paid off. I get to act what I mean and I get to undersatnd what they mean as well.

This is a challenge, a welcome challenge, and I am willing to take and win it. :)

So far, the kids in the school are very adorable. They speak to me in Turkish and I just smile at them all the time looking like an idiot. Maybe the kids were saying how stupid I am without me knowing it.

They just wait. I will be speaking their language sooner than they expected.

Food was interesting. I have been eating a lot of corba (pronounced as chorba). It makes me smile knowing that chorba is a gay language in the Philippines. Other food were pretty similar and I think it is not going to be a real problem. I just hope that I will find an opportunity to cook my noodles soon. I am so shy to bring them out now. :)

Turkey is a very interesting country for me and I am looking forward to more things this place can offer. I am also looking forward to sharing a lot of things about the Philippines.

Right now, I am just excited to have a lasting relationship with this country I will call home for the next 8 months of my life.

Realized

Family and friends, I am finally realized.

I am now here in Turkey ready to live the upcoming 8 exciting months of my life.

tick tack

I'm off to leave in less than 48 hours and I haven't packed yet.

There are just too many things to do, too many people to meet, too many stuff running in my head that I don't know how and where to begin.

It's also my birthday today and I have no idea how I want this day to happen.

I just believe and pray that everything will be ok.