Turkish delight: The cultural experience of Adeim Chynybaeva in Istanbul

September 28, 2022

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Adeim Chynybaeva is a junior student in the Liberal Arts and Sciences department, who has always been interested in the cultures and traditions of other countries. When she found out about AUCA providing its students with an opportunity of moving to countries all over the world for an exchange semester, she started preparing for it immediately.

Her choice fell on Koç, a non-profit private university in Istanbul, Turkey. “It was the most suitable opportunity for me, as it has one of the best programs for my major. Additionally, I’ve visited Turkey several times as a tourist, so I was interested to learn how different the country will be when you actually live and study there” - shares Adeim.

One of the most known characteristics of Turkey is the hospitality of its people, i.e small but thoughtful gestures towards foreigners. Adeim’s time in Istanbul was not an exception: “Most of the Turkish people that I’ve met always offered their help whenever I had trouble navigating the city or getting my temporary residence. Another thing that I absolutely loved was that Turkish people are not scared to express themselves. They can easily start singing or dancing in the middle of the street and other people without any hesitation join in. Many times, walking through busy areas such as Taksim or Karakoy, my friends and I would join them too.”

Comprised of both Europe and Asia, Istanbul makes for one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world. Adeim believes that the best part of this exchange semester was making new friends and getting to experience their cultures. “One time during Ramadan, my friends and I decided to host an international iftar. All of us came early to my friend’s place and started preparing food. Since we all came from different cultures and countries, we shared our national cuisine recipes and taught each other how to prepare them. The food turned out delicious and the rest of the night we spent playing games, singing karaoke, talking, and laughing.”

Adeim believes that being forced outside of her comfort zone in AUCA helped her to communicate easily with her peers in Koc. “Also, the knowledge that I gained in AUCA during my freshmen and the start of my sophomore years was extremely helpful in my studies at Koc. I am extremely grateful to AUCA for giving me and all of its students such an amazing opportunity. The knowledge and experience gained in Koc will be beneficial in my adult years and I will always look back at it as one of the most fun and interesting times of my university years.”

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