Endless paperwork related to residence permits, snow and frost, culture shocks, settling in; the first days or weeks at Erasmus do not necessarily evoke the euphoric experience that everyone describes when studying abroad. It is also quite challenging; especially when I chose to study outside the European Union and in a country where knowing English is a “luxury”.
I started my Erasmus in Istanbul two weeks ago, well in advance of the start of the semester. My departure was accompanied by nervousness and questions. Why Istanbul? After all, it´s a huge step out of my comfort zone. But then I reminded myself that Istanbul was exactly why I had chosen it. As a journalism student, I would be exploring different cultures, comparing the quality of life abroad with the Czech Republic and experiencing first-hand settling in a country where everything works differently.
For the two weeks I have been in Istanbul, the city has been experiencing temperatures that even the locals didn't expect. It is below zero and alternately raining and snowing. And so, the days I have set aside to deal with the paperwork for my residence permit are accompanied by a cold and a cough because I naively didn't bring winter boots or proper clothes.
Because of the bad weather and the need to recover as soon as possible before class, I spend most of my time in my apartment. But this is an experience in itself - I live in a shared “Erasmus” apartment - there are six students from Turkey, five from Spain, one Italian and five from the Czech Republic. This group of people makes for very interesting situations: from conversations until three in the morning, to trying to speak Turkish, to eating lots of food from Turks who have about five extra servings left over after each cooking session. Then all you have to do is walk through the kitchen without saying a word and one of them is already shoving a bowl of food into your hands - in their culture, it's perfectly normal to be sharing.
What has surprised me the most in Istanbul so far is definitely the prices. I can compare. I was in Ankara last year and now the prices for food in both supermarkets and restaurants are many times higher. We students have a generous stipend from the university, but what about the locals? Their salaries are not increasing much, their minimum wage is lower than in the Czech Republic. Still, it's more expensive than Prague. I was also shocked by the fees for withdrawing euros from ATMs – I don´t have to pay for withdrawing Turkish lira, but I do for euros. Our landlord asks us to pay rent in euros. If I had known earlier, I would have taken them from home. But this way, I pay an eight percent fee to withdraw one rental of 330 euros, so I “throw” over three thousand crowns out the window in five months. I spent another five thousand on a copy of my passport and notarization of the rental agreement, and I´ll probably have to invest another few thousand crowns in the residence permit fee.
Also, due to shopping for the necessary equipment for the apartment, the beginning of my Erasmus stay is not easy, but I believe that once I have done that, the “euphoria of a new city” will come. I am looking forward to better weather. I already have lots of ideas for beautiful trips around Istanbul. A ferry cruise on the Bosphorus Strait, beautiful (and cheap) bazaars with antiques and clothes, cozy pastry shops with a variety of traditional Turkish desserts. This fascinating city of 15 million people and 5,461 square kilometres really has a lot to offer – the view from my room window suggests as much. The city´s ancient history and Turkish culture is palpable all around. There will be much to discover.
The author of the article is a student of the Faculty of Social Sciences and a member of the student editorial team of M Magazine.