If an employer asked, I would begin by explaining a bit of background about how I ended up here: one of my favorite college professors suggested that I might be a good fit for the team that he was putting together for that year’s work at the site he co-chaired. Wanting both the experience and the opportunity to travel to a part of the world that I had never been to, I jumped on the opportunity and applied as soon as I could. Additionally, at this point I had no idea what I wanted to major in, or what career path I would like to go towards, so I felt that doing something that fascinated me but put me wildly out of my comfort zone was exactly the right thing to do. During my time at the digsite and in Turkiye, I pushed myself to my physical limits and started to understand the potential strength that my body holds. To a potential employer, I would express how I gained a huge number of skills that I think will be invaluable to my life and career, regardless of what specific area of work I end up going into.
The first aspect of these skills would be those within the realm of language. During my time in Turkey, I experienced being a foreigner in a place where I didn’t have even the barest grasp of the language, and learnt to communicate creatively, with Google Translate, body language, and intermediary languages. Additionally, I learnt the complexities of speaking to someone through a translator—how much a translator often simplifies the message, either by necessity or by lack of experience, and how easy it is to misunderstand even when things are directly translated for you. Picking up simple words and phrases, then working up the courage to initiate conversation, and then use Google Translate to have conversations with vendors, cashiers, and fellow workers on site was genuinely one of the scariest social experiences I have ever had. Yet, after finding that it was easier to do it when I was speaking for a friend who was even more intimidated than me, I started to overcome the fear, and would say that I developed the ability to initiate conversations regardless of the situation, beyond just attempting to talk to someone in a different language.
Related to language, I also developed teamwork and interpersonal skills that I had always been too scared to work on. A certain aspect of this development was due to overcoming intense social anxiety through my developed sense of linguistic and physical interactions previously mentioned. On site, I learnt to balance hard work with positive, friendly communication, and got to know my teammates very well. I had the opportunity to learn from my teammates and build connections with people who I don’t have a lot in common with.
In general, I would say that my time in Turkiye developed me as an individual who could contribute to a positive group work environment because it expanded my linguistic, social, and cultural horizons through exposure and experience.