Ege University
speciality: Linguistics

I spent the worst nine months of my life there. Living as a foreigner isn’t easy, and they definitely made it even harder. Some of the teachers were absolutely racist. One of them even used to make fun of our accents and the cultures of other countries.

None of the administrative staff could speak even a single word of English, which I found completely unacceptable considering that they work with international students.

The books were absolutely awful and boring. I really couldn’t understand why we were expected to learn about Turkish history and historical figures when I was still struggling with basic everyday situations, like dealing with government offices or even grocery shopping. Learning a language should also be about helping students function in their daily lives, not just teaching them history.

But even the books weren’t as bad as some of the teachers. On good days, there was no problem, but sometimes their behavior was completely out of line—rude, disrespectful, and sometimes even racist. I mean, if you don’t respect other cultures or have any interest in understanding them, perhaps the first step would be not to teach foreigners your language.

I wish I could have gone to another country instead of Turkey, but now it’s just too late. This was my first experience in the country, and they absolutely ruined it for me. I can’t even bring myself to like Turkey anymore, and now I’m stuck here…