How I caught a cold

 Everyone wants a vacation once in a while.

The image of the big, fluffy white clouds wandering above the blue aqua Mediterranean Sea made me rush into reserving a cheap Airbnb room in Antalya. The saying ‘you get what you pay for’ is true. 44 euro for 4 nights in one of the dream locations that people make plans for sounded tempting. I did not even care I would live with another 5 girls in the same room, nor did I care about the common toilets, which to my disappointment, looked nothing like the clean toilets I saw in pictures. But Antalya mattered to me, you know.

Now, not to sound like a crybaby, I loved the fact that the Airbnb was only a stone’s throw from the beach. I absorbed the jaw-dropping scenery every single morning: the mountains were lined up to the right, the crashing sound of the waves against the seashore, the sea breeze rushing through my hair, the heat embracing every single inch of my body.

However, the weather was too hot and humid, and, as every single human being, you need to cool down, be that by drinking too much cold water, a cold beer, or sleeping with the air conditioner open at night. What a liberating feeling it is when one pays only 2 TL for a bottle of cold water. How happy a human being is after a swim in the salty Mediterranean Sea, after drinking cold water and suddenly the body feels like in Heaven. How liberating, how nice to go to sleep after that and enter a cool room. You cannot even think about the consequences of falling asleep under the ‘breeze’ of the well-known, everyone’s summer friend, the air-conditioner. If you also happen to sleep with 5-6 more people in the same room, you will still fall victim to this. They would not care about your needs, so the majority wins.

And here I am now, back to Ankara, carrying a spray and pills with me wherever I go. Here I am, explaining to everyone that I don’t have covid, but only an annoying cold I caught from sleeping with the air-conditioner open at night and savoring the cold beverages on the beach. Why have I spent the last one hour or so writing this? To give you advice: take care of yourself no matter how tempting it is to do everything I have talked about here.

To recap: plan your trip in advance; the pictures on the Airbnb website don’t necessarily show the reality; search for as many accommodation sites as you need and make a wise decision about where you will spend your vacation; if you’re sensitive like me, don’t sleep with the air-conditioner open, don’t drink cold beverages; be careful with your budget (places like Antalya are expensive).

The best decision ever

 

The experience of a lifetime, most of us would say. And so it is. Months ago, I decided to do something different, which would get me out of my comfort zone. I saw a post regarding an ESC in Ankara, Turkey (the capital, guys, the capital of Turkey), and I could not help but message Michael. The best decision ever.

Now here I am, enjoying all aspects of what an ESC project has to offer: cultural exchange, hands-on experience, language exchange, confidence boost, getting to know people. I am more than grateful for everything that is happening right now.

I may have participated in several youth exchanges and volunteering activities, but there is something different here. I may be biased because of my genuine passion for the Turkish language and culture. However, the fact that I get to deliver food to refugees alongside the greatest team ever makes me be so happy for being here. Delivering food awoke a sense of compassion in my soul. I feel like I have gained a deeper understanding of what it means to help someone.

Besides volunteering, I have the chance to get to know Ankara well. From attending a Turkish wedding randomly (yes, we did) to visiting Anıtkabir (you cannot possibly miss Anıtkabir), it is up to you to discover the city. From coming here with little to no knowledge of Turkish to using basic phrases, you will have the chance to develop yourself and bring smiles to people’s faces. It is up to you how you will use your time in an ESC. To me, it’s been 28 days, and I feel at home.