Turkey and Germany – Orientation and First Observations

This week I arrived in Istanbul, which is a truly gorgeous city. It is also MASSIVE in comparison to Boston. When we were driving from our hotel to the airport it seemed like the city just kept going and going. There are tons of beautiful mosques and the people here are so diverse and interesting. I can look out the window and see Asia while standing in Europe which is pretty amazing. I kind of want to stay here forever. The only reason they’re going to be able to get me to leave is because I am so excited to see Berlin as well.

As soon as we got here, I went out with a group of students, some of whom I know and some who were new, and explored looking for a restaurant to eat dinner. There are tons of street dogs and cats here and everyone in the city helps take care of them together which is really awesome. My professor told me I probably shouldn’t pet them because they’re dirty but they’re so cute that I can’t resist so I have pet a few anyway. Last night there were five cats sitting right outside my hotel window! That might be the best part of this country.

We also went on a beautiful cruise on the Bosphorus and I have never seen anything so gorgeous. We were served delicious food and hung out with our cool guest lectures and ended up having a private boat dance party. Even Professor Turam’s eight year old son danced with us.

As far as orientation the first morning, I can honestly say I’ve never felt safer in the hands of any professors. Both my professors are avid feminists, and one is a native of Istanbul while the other is a native of Germany so we have local expertise wherever we go. We had a discussion about consent and sexual harassment, both within the group and at the hands of the locals, and it made me feel very good that we addressed these common issue early on and I knew I could safely approach my professors about it. Their main emphasis was on making sure that we were safe at all times and giving us advice about how to do so. I am so happy to be with these two professors that I feel happy and comfortable with.