profile of zi
Zi, who is planning to study in Turkey for one year, set up a website to help herself and the people who want to study in Turkey. Her information will focus on the Ankara University for scholarships, but also cover accommodation, food, visa- advice on how to live.
She always tries her best to achieve her goals, and her family supports her every time. She speaks fluent Mandarin and English and is ready to pick up Turkish to become a strong applicant for future jobs.
She always tries her best to achieve her goals, and her family supports her every time. She speaks fluent Mandarin and English and is ready to pick up Turkish to become a strong applicant for future jobs.
q&a
1. How much do you prepare? Did you analyze the cost of living, entertainments, food, transportation?
The price for each branch is different. The one I applied to is the Taksim Branch in Istanbul, which is the main subject of my website. The cost for this branch is 420 USD/ month and they give applicants who apply for courses for four months a 30% off. My plan is to study Turkish for 8 months on this trip so my tuition fee will be 420*8*0.7 around 2350USD and the rent for my dormitory is 100TL/ month*8=800TL which is around 410USD. Another 200USD/month for transportation and entertainment, food, and miscellaneous living expenses which will mount to 2400USD for 12 months. As for my flight, I'll be flying with Turkish Airlines with one transfer stop at Hong Kong. I paid 1000USD for the tickets.
So ideally, in this whole year I spend appropriately 6160USD or less.
2. Are you planning to have a part time job there? Why and why not?
I'd love to get a part time job there as a Mandarin teacher. I had training in my university to teach Chinese as a second/ foreign language to foreigners. But I'm going to Turkey with a student visa which states clearly that working in Turkey is against the law. If I got a part time job and got caught by the government, I would be kicked out from Turkey and maybe they won't give me a visa again. Not even a tourist visa. However I would like to do some volunteer work on a regular basis while I'm in Turkey. I'd like to go to orphanages and spend some time with the kids.
3. If there's no internet, do you prepare any communications to connect your friends or family?
I went to Ankara University TOMER (language center) to study Turkish for two months in summer 2012. They have free WIFI spots with signs on it on some parks. But I found that you have to hold your phone high up in the sky and walk around the sign to get the best reception. There's WIFI in the dormitory, too, where you can buy a internet card for access. It's cheap but during the rush hours when everyone is using the internet, it's slow.
4. What do you think the difference for your future between going to Turkey and not going to Turkey?
"To speak a language is to take on a world, a culture." --Frantz Fanon. Going to Turkey and leaning Turkish opens the door to a future with more opportunities and possibilities. I'll meet with people from all over the world and maybe will end up working in another country. Perhaps neither Turkey nor Taiwan. Who knows?
5. What are you going to do when you come back from Turkey?
The plan is that I will get a job in Turkey or work for a company that will locate me at Turkey. I would like to stay there as long as possible to pick up the language and the culture. Or I would like to study a master's degree on social studies in a university in Turkey but to do that, I need to do more research on the universities and tuition fee and scholarships. I would like to work for Turkish Airlines. Not too many people speak Turkish, Mandarin and English. I suppose learning Turkish will make me a strong candidate when applying for a job at Turkish Airlines.
6. Do you prepare anything with your family, friends, boyfriend before you leave for one year?
My mother has always been supportive of my decisions. She encourages me to carry out my plan for studying Turkish. She always knew I won't stay in Taiwan when I finish my bachelor's degree. My mom passed the exam for registered Nurse (RN). When the US government releases vacancy for foreign nurses, she will go to America. She will be on her own adventure too. My friends all have different plans for their future. Some got jobs in Singapore and some are studying master's degrees in the United States and England. Everyone is going to different places but we can always log on to Skype and share our lives with each other or make plans to visit one another. As for my boyfriend, he's in Turkey.
7. What's your achievable goal of this one year studying?
The goal is to speak fluent Turkish and understand the culture. I wan to learn at least one Turkish dish every week and make some good friends and have my own life there. Travel as often as possible but economically. I wan to smile, enjoy life and be understanding.
The price for each branch is different. The one I applied to is the Taksim Branch in Istanbul, which is the main subject of my website. The cost for this branch is 420 USD/ month and they give applicants who apply for courses for four months a 30% off. My plan is to study Turkish for 8 months on this trip so my tuition fee will be 420*8*0.7 around 2350USD and the rent for my dormitory is 100TL/ month*8=800TL which is around 410USD. Another 200USD/month for transportation and entertainment, food, and miscellaneous living expenses which will mount to 2400USD for 12 months. As for my flight, I'll be flying with Turkish Airlines with one transfer stop at Hong Kong. I paid 1000USD for the tickets.
So ideally, in this whole year I spend appropriately 6160USD or less.
2. Are you planning to have a part time job there? Why and why not?
I'd love to get a part time job there as a Mandarin teacher. I had training in my university to teach Chinese as a second/ foreign language to foreigners. But I'm going to Turkey with a student visa which states clearly that working in Turkey is against the law. If I got a part time job and got caught by the government, I would be kicked out from Turkey and maybe they won't give me a visa again. Not even a tourist visa. However I would like to do some volunteer work on a regular basis while I'm in Turkey. I'd like to go to orphanages and spend some time with the kids.
3. If there's no internet, do you prepare any communications to connect your friends or family?
I went to Ankara University TOMER (language center) to study Turkish for two months in summer 2012. They have free WIFI spots with signs on it on some parks. But I found that you have to hold your phone high up in the sky and walk around the sign to get the best reception. There's WIFI in the dormitory, too, where you can buy a internet card for access. It's cheap but during the rush hours when everyone is using the internet, it's slow.
4. What do you think the difference for your future between going to Turkey and not going to Turkey?
"To speak a language is to take on a world, a culture." --Frantz Fanon. Going to Turkey and leaning Turkish opens the door to a future with more opportunities and possibilities. I'll meet with people from all over the world and maybe will end up working in another country. Perhaps neither Turkey nor Taiwan. Who knows?
5. What are you going to do when you come back from Turkey?
The plan is that I will get a job in Turkey or work for a company that will locate me at Turkey. I would like to stay there as long as possible to pick up the language and the culture. Or I would like to study a master's degree on social studies in a university in Turkey but to do that, I need to do more research on the universities and tuition fee and scholarships. I would like to work for Turkish Airlines. Not too many people speak Turkish, Mandarin and English. I suppose learning Turkish will make me a strong candidate when applying for a job at Turkish Airlines.
6. Do you prepare anything with your family, friends, boyfriend before you leave for one year?
My mother has always been supportive of my decisions. She encourages me to carry out my plan for studying Turkish. She always knew I won't stay in Taiwan when I finish my bachelor's degree. My mom passed the exam for registered Nurse (RN). When the US government releases vacancy for foreign nurses, she will go to America. She will be on her own adventure too. My friends all have different plans for their future. Some got jobs in Singapore and some are studying master's degrees in the United States and England. Everyone is going to different places but we can always log on to Skype and share our lives with each other or make plans to visit one another. As for my boyfriend, he's in Turkey.
7. What's your achievable goal of this one year studying?
The goal is to speak fluent Turkish and understand the culture. I wan to learn at least one Turkish dish every week and make some good friends and have my own life there. Travel as often as possible but economically. I wan to smile, enjoy life and be understanding.