How I survived 6 months in Kayseri

Yes, finally I can say I did it! I almost stayed 6 months in Kayseri, which I think is a record for any young European. Seriously, almost everyone that you come across in Kayseri is complaining about the city: they said there is nothing to do, people are too conservative, life here is very boring. This is in part true, but a city is made by the society who lives in that place, it’s not only about buildings. You, people living in Kayseri, you are that ones that can make the difference and I know there are lots of youths who are doing something to improve the life here.

As EVS volunteer I tried to do my best developing some activities at IYACA, informing about Erasmus+ opportunities and the importance of English. It was a drop in the ocean but I hope it helped somehow. During my stay in Kayseri, I tried to understand Turkish culture, I learned the basic of their language, how to play tavla and maaaany things about how they live, eat, dance, pray, and of course çay. :)

Anyway, I don’t want to express my opinion about Turkish culture, it would be too generalist since I know it’s not the same for everyone and everywhere. I’m used to say that countries where you can find MacDonald and Coca-Cola are starting to lose their culture. It’s like distances are getting closer, globalisation reach every spot on the earth and almost everywhere there is access to internet. So, I don't surprise if I meet so many different kind of people in Kayseri, some of them more traditionalist and some others more open-minded. I surprise myself about the conservative society, for example before coming I couldn’t imagine that 1 million and 300 thousand people can live in a city without active night life (it is the same size of Milan!). And by saying this I don't mean that this is the only kind of fun you can have, I enjoyed my time in Kayseri and Turkey! I just think that people should have the possibility to choose by themselves what is right and what is wrong, they should try before judge.

Many young people living in Kayseri are trying to find a way to go to Europe or at least to another city in Turkey. There should be an alternative for them, the solution is not to escape, otherwise things will never change, and new people will face the same problem. People should feel free to do whatever they would like as long as they don't cause problem to others. For example, kissing in the street is so rarely here, does a couple kissing ever killed someone? Although in city center you can see men hugging each other and walk arm in arm, thing that in Europe would be probably misunderstood, in the other way. I don't know if you got what I mean, but if Turkish guys had known that, probably they would think about it because they are not so open-minded about homosexuality. Please, I hope that nobody will be offended by reading this because it's not my intention because I respect Turkish culture. I just want to break the stereotypes and prejudices, to let you think about what is normal for you can be easily misunderstood by some other people as well.

I strongly believe that although the differences, we all have something in common, we are all humans. Living in Turkey was a worth experience for me which allowed to open my view on the world. I had ups and downs but, in the end, I can say I will go home with a smile, remembering this period of my life that, still I don’t know in which way, it surely changed me.

Finally, I really would like to thanks all the people I met, because all of you contributed to my existence. Bye Bye Kayseri :)