VIP.Very Important Person. That’s the treatment they gave me during my three-day stay at Kocaeli University. From the moment I arrived to when I left, the professors and students at Kocaeli made me feel at home.
I arrived at SabihaGökçen Airport on the Asian side of Istanbul at 6 a.m. on Monday morning. A driver and a student from Kocaeli, Ufuk, were waiting to take me to my hotel. Ufuk speaks English very well and explained that he was hoping to go Sweden with the Erasmus program next year.
After resting for a few hours at the hotel, the driver came to take me to Kocaeli University, about 15 kilometers outside of the city center. The university is located on the top of a mountain; It’s an impressive campus with over 50,000 students and althoughKocaeli is a very industrial area, the surrounding landscape was impressive with snow-covered mountains and forests.
Prof. IdilSayimer, Vice-Dean of the School of Communication was waiting for me when I arrived. I had met her and the Dean, Dr. HasanAkbulut, when they visited San Jorge University In December 2011. After welcoming me officially, they took me to “my office,” gave me a key and I prepared for my first of four lectures.
Tuesday began with another ride to the university with the driver, who doesn’t speak any English, but knew how to communicate with other drivers with his horn and some Turkish and I don’t think he was saying “have a nice day.” I was very glad that I didn’t need to drive in Turkey, it was complete chaos. I made it safe and sound to the university but committed my first cultural mistake before my first lecture, when I accepted to try Turkish coffee. I thought I could handle it, but was I wrong; you could almost cut it with a knife.
After my first lecture we had a nice, informal lunch in the student center, what a great place: mini-football (foosball) and pool tables, a small shop with drinks and snacks and a self-service cafeteria. The second lecture about personal marketing with social networks went well and I agreed to meet some of the students later for dinner and some beers. We met in the city center in a very modern shopping center to have a coffee and then we sat down for dinner at a typical Turkish restaurant.
Dinner was great (and no, we didn’t have kebabs, at least not like the ones in Zaragoza) although, upon ordering a beer, I was quickly reminded that alcohol is not permitted in most restaurants in Turkey. The students: Berkant, Urdal, Cemile, Ufuk, Burcu and Mehmet also gave me another lesson in Turkish hospitality and didn’t let me pay for dinner or for beers later. Berkant took a taxi with me and dropped me off at the hotel, and guess what? He wouldn’t let me pay.
Wednesday was the big day; my last lecture and then an Erasmus party in honor of the four Erasmus students in the School of Communication and yours truly. I met some other professors from the Public Relations department and then was escorted down to the party. The students had done a great job of decorating the hall and introduced the Dean, me and a local sponsor. We watched a presentation about the university the students had prepared and then we ate some delicious food and the music started…
There was singing and dancing (no alcohol) with live music and everyone had a great time laughing at me and my attempt to dance Turkish style. I had to catch a bus to Istanbul so I sadly said goodbye to Prof. Idil and all of the students who had been so kind and generous during my stay at Kocaeli.
Now a new adventure was about to begin… Istanbul here I come.
To be continued.
Written by Joe McMahon
Comentar