Advanced Beginner Turkish, Izmir, Turkey

San Francisco State University, International Relations MA

Internet search

To advance research capabilities and position myself for a future career in government service.

I hope to continue to study Turkish and receive a Boren fellowship for advanced research in Turkey. I am currently pursuing a career as a foreign service officer with the U.S. Department of State.

I am currently practicing conversation twice a week with a private Turkish language tutor, although my busy schedule prohibits additional study. Next semester I hope to use the text and workbooks I acquired at the CLS institute in Izmir to continue independent study under faculty supervision.

For both the Boren Fellowship and Foreign Service positions, I expect to employ my Turkish language acquired here.

CLS has strengthened my resolve to apply for a Boren Fellowship and has reinvigorated my desire to study languages further. The rapid progress I’ve made makes me believe that I am uniquely qualified to pursue academic and professional interests in Turkey and Turkic language countries.

The fantastic hospitality and interrelations of TÖMER Institute faculty and staff has been the most gratifying part of the program. I am particularly grateful to have such sincere hosts. It makes the immersion program a pleasure and promotes a quality learning environment.

Having been to Turkey three times prior to CLS, the most impressive thing I observed this time is the rapid and radical development of the country. Simple things like the recycling bins in the airport, higher safety standards on roads, and decreased Internet censorship are strong indicators that Turkey is indeed a rising regional power whose importance in future global relations cannot be overstated.

A friend and I were exploring Kizlaragasi Hani in Kemeralti one afternoon when we walked into a musty antique store. Upon learning that we were foreign language students, the owner, Haluk, invited us to sit down and drink tea. As we were tired and thirsty, the invitation was accepted, and a conversation began. Haluk was very knowledgeable about the Turkish language. Additionally, as a civil engineer he had worked in Brussels for 15 years and was fluent in French. As we sipped on tea, Haluk explained the many similarities between Turkish and French, sometimes in Turkish and sometimes in French.
The most interesting part of the conversation came when he explained the etymology of yüz numari: the Turkish word for bathroom. Translated to English, “number 100” may seem a strange term to use for toilet. However, as our host explained, many years ago, the French used to use the number “00” to denote a building with a toilet at the end of the block. Thus, in old French, sans numero was slang for toilet. When the French arrived in Turkey, many people misinterpreted sans as cent, the French word for “100” and thus in translation applied the moniker yüz numari which is still in standard use today.
Haluk taught us much more that day and in the visits that followed. His hospitality and openness is characteristic of all Turkish people, but the opportunity to use a language I already know to learn about a new one is unique. Still, it is only one of many unique experiences available to CLS participants.

Güle güle kal. Stay in good humor.

I’m 28 years old and a graduate student at San Francisco State University, where I’m continuing my education in International Relations. I received my bachelor’s degree in 2005 at University of California, Santa Barbara, and have since worked in Turkey, Italy, Germany, and California as a foreign language teacher. I’ve studied English, French, Spanish, Italian, and Turkish, but my favorite is currently Turkish. I like to share my passion for learning and teaching languages, and currently am employed as an TEFL certification trainer in Berkeley, CA, where I’ve successfully helped more than 50 students find jobs teaching English abroad.
In my free time, I enjoy outside activities, though the demands of graduate school has drastically curtailed my participation in them. I am an atypical traveler as a result of these hobbies: for example, in 2007, I rode my bicycle 1,500 miles from Seattle to Santa Barbara on a self-supported tour lasting one month. I believe that travel should be deep rather than broad, and therefore prefer to spend long periods of time exploring one specific country. In the future, I hope to spend more time exploring the breadth of the Turkic language family in the Caucasus and Central Asia.