NSLI-Y Alumni Travel Program – Bursa, Turkey
Like most things since 2020, this winter’s NSLI-Y program was a bit unconventional. We kicked off the year as a return of sorts, bringing 6 alumni from the NSLI-Y online programs from 2020 and 2021 to Turkey in order to polish their Turkish skills in-country. Instead of the usual summer or year session, we have a 2 week sprint of cramming in as much Turkish language, culture, and host family time as possible. We started off our Turkish adventure with a short day tour in Istanbul, visiting some of the famous sites of the Old City – the Aya Sofya (now officially the Ayasofya-i Kebir Cami-i Şerifi), the Hippodrome, the Grand Bazaar, and were fortunate enough to see the newly restored Basilica Cistern. We also took the opportunity to visit the mausoleums of several Ottoman Sultans and Suleymaniye mosque, where we took photos of one of the best views of the city, even though it was foggy.
Of course, 6 weeks would not be enough time to explore Istanbul, let alone 6 hours, and we had to leave early in order to make it to Bursa in time to meet our host families. Most of the students had already been in contact with their new families and had found ways to connect in anticipation of their visit. Many were very nervous about not speaking as much Turkish as they’d hoped but all of their families were so encouraging and patient that it put the students at ease and made them excited to learn (and practice) as much as possible. Every day, students are learning more and more Turkish and have taken every opportunity to use what they’ve learned in daily interactions.
We’ve had a packed schedule every day (you have to with such limited time!) and so students have been on a whirlwind of learning about Bursa and Turkey’s history, from pre-historic times through the early days of the Ottoman Empire, to modern day Turkey. We visited the Bursa City Museum and learned about how Bursa was the first capital of the Ottoman Empire and the strategic importance it played during the height of the Silk Road. The museum took us through to the modern era, where students were very excited to see (and use) a phone booth from the 1980s. Students (Turkish and American) had never seen one in real life and were most excited to try to dial numbers and open the phone booth. For myself and the other Resident Coordinators, it was humbling to have to explain what a phone book was and that they weren’t just in Turkey but everywhere. All students were so confused about how one could look up anyone and just call their homes and their biggest “shock” is more about the passage of time than a difference of culture.
So far, all the students have approached their time in Bursa with open minds and open hearts. I’ve seen how quickly they’ve become members of new families and have taken every opportunity available to them to use Turkish. They’ve expressed regret that our time here is so short and most are already trying to figure out how to return as soon as possible, especially since all their host families have invited them to come back.
Group photo with a view of Istanbul. From left: Aysin, Sophia, Jesse, Michelle, Dane, Sawyer, Jacob, Annika, Camryn.
In the Basilica Cistern. From the left: Jacob, Michelle, Sawyer, Dane, Jesse, Annika.
Jacob, Annika, and Sawyer with a foggy view of Istanbul.
Getting ready for first Turkish language class (from back: Jesse, Jacob, Camryn, Sophia, Sawyer).
Pure silk at Silk Museum.
Camryn observing how silk braiding is done by hand.
Camryn, Sophia, Annika, and Jacob learning about the strength of silk.
Watching silk being extracted from silk worm cocoons.
Jesse, Aysin, and Sophia view finished silk products.
From left: Annika, Jacob, Camryn, Dane, Aysin, Sophia looking at map of the Silk Road.
Sawyer learning how to use hand powered loom.
Annika trying her hand at the loom.
Jacob on the hand loom.
Students watching a performance by a mehter, a marching band with roots in the Ottoman period.
Sophia and Sawyer watching the mehter performance.
Students participating in a language exchange with other students from the language center.
Camryn and Annika work with peer language partners on a exercise to create a travel brochure in Turkish for a fantasy location.
Sawyer and Sophia working on the peer language partner activity.
Students and their peer language partners.
Samples of travel brochures made during the peer partner activity (Totoro Village, Pandora, the Moon, etc.).
Students learning about Ebru marbling painting. From left: Camryn, Jacob, Sawyer, Annika, Jesse, Sophia, Aysin, Dane.
Jacob trying Ebru technique.
Sophia trying Ebru marbling.
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Annika practicing Ebru.
Sawyer with his ceramic tile painted in a traditional style.
Michelle (Resident Director) with her painted ceramic tile.
Dane (Resident Director) with his tile.
Jesse showcasing her olive-laden tile.
Sophia and her ceramic, painted tile.
Camryn presenting her ceramic painted tile.
Annika and her tile.