I’ve always been an anxious traveler, so when I walked into the Gazipasa airport, I felt out of place, nervous and pondering all of the things that could possibly go wrong while traveling abroad. Although the airport is small and easy to navigate–unlike Denver International–I was worried that my luggage had been lost, or that I would lose something important while moving amongst the crowd around me. I knew another student–Caitlyn from St. Olaf–was scheduled to arrive on the same plane as me, and as I entered baggage claim I saw someone who looked familiar. After some time of glancing her way I had a gut feeling it was her, only after I noticed the Birkenstocks hanging from her backpack–the classic American tourist shoe. I took a leap of faith and decided to ask her name.
“Excuse me? Are you Caitlyn?” I asked quietly, nervous I was about to embarrass myself in front of a stranger.
“Yes?”
“Hi! I’m Saige!”
Knowing I had another Ole to navigate through this unfamiliar place–the airport, and maybe even the country–instantly eased my anxiety.
Having been here for a week, I can say that living and working in Turkey is very different from life in Colorado. The most noticeable difference in the climate. In Colorado it is dry and generally has lower temperatures year round while here it is unbearably humid and consistently pushing 100F. This difference is shocking and exhausting to experience, but luckily I spent 5 weeks in Italy before this, and was able to adjust quickly. Another significant difference is food, specifically for vegetarians. Everything I have eaten here so far has been delicious; however, it is often hard to find meals made for vegetarians. Caitlyn, my pal from the airport, is also a vegetarian and together we have found ways around this. It has been fun to get creative with our meals and try new things! I think that’s an important lesson I’ve learned here, whether it be on site or not, nothing is going to go exactly as planned but learning to adapt and get creative is important!