My moments in Sabanci University

I was an exchange student in Istanbul for 6 months and I’d just like to tell everyone that it was the most amazing experience I’ve ever had! In just 1 month my language was improved immensely and Exchange Student at Sabanci University was a fantastic program. Everything was absolutely wonderful! University was great - the Students were really nice. All the students and the teachers were very friendly and welcoming.

Actually, Exchange student Program at Sabanci University was much easier than it looks, but it was a lot of fun and was very social so it was a great way to make friends. Istanbul was lovely! I really had the time of my life there and I'm sure I made quite a few friends-for-life over there. It was a lot of fun going to an University like Sabanci University, which is one of the best Universities in Turkey.

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It was hard at first; however, it was funny, interesting and exciting at the same time. One thing which I loved about Turkey was that even though I didn’t speak Turkish when I arrived, everyone made such a big effort in helping me out. They always spoke very slowly, use hand gestures, take me out on the weekends and involve me in their culture.

After a few months of listening to Turkish and being very patient and with the help of Madam Guniz Evirgen, I noticed my Turkish had improved dramatically. I realized that every month that passed, my experience got better and better as my Turkish improved.

Though I am quite used to living away from my parents, I still experienced a bit of home sickness and a bit of a culture shock, especially with my background – one of the first things I looked for were Pakistani food. Don’t get me wrong, Turkish food is great, especially Turkish iskender kebabs!

The study standard of Engineering was really very good at Sabanci University. The teachers were friendly and very cooperative. Laboratories at Sabanci University were very developed and well equipped. The best thing I found there and the thing that really impressed me was the very well developed Library system. The staff of every department was really caring for students, especially international relation staff.

I would recommend time abroad to absolutely everybody, as you gain precious memories, friendships and knowledge to last a lifetime. I really think student exchange to any country is what you put into it. It can be hard at times, but you also need to remember that it’s so easy to keep in contact with your family and friends, with Skype, Facebook, and Email etc. The only thing I can say is don’t enjoy yourself so much that you forget to take photos!

Overall, this experience has taught me to be grateful, independent, open-minded and my language skills have improved much more than what I had expected before going into this program. I should stop here because otherwise, this story would just continue on and on!

Thanks so much to everyone who made it possible especially Mr. Omar, Mr. Fahd, Cansu Ciga, Zeynep Ergin, Evrim güngör! ”

Missing my 6 months spent in Sabanci University.

Ubaid