September 6, 2021

Welcome to Trabzon / Trabzon'a Hoş Geldiniz

Hi everyone!

I‘ve arrived here in Trabzon after an exhausting 20-hour trip. I didn’t have any major transit issues (the Istanbul airport remains so large that it’s bordering on non-functional for humans, but at least this time I only had to walk across it once!). I did forget my iPad at the MSP airport (🤦🏼‍♀️) but luckily it was recovered and I have a Fulbright site-mate who will be able to bring it when she comes in a week’s time.

Boarding the last leg of my trip, from Istanbul to Trabzon.

I reached Trabzon mid-morning on Friday, where I was met at the airport by my university contact, Cengiz Koray, who took me straight to the university. Karadeniz Technical University is one of the oldest and largest universities in Turkey, with around 40,000 students, and the campus is quite large and pleasant, full of lovely trees and overlooking the Black Sea. I had tea with Cengiz Koray and the foreign language school's vice-principal, Zafer, and then went with Koray to get a phone.

In an attempt to discourage people from importing personal electronics (thereby not paying taxes on them), the government requires that foreign phones be registered for an expensive fee after four months of use in the country or else they’ll be blocked from cell networks. The registration process is notoriously difficult, and I used up my four-month grace period last term, so I opted to just buy a used phone to put my Turkish SIM card into. Koray helped me find a nice used iPhone for cheaper than the registration fee, and it gives me a lot of peace of mind to have a working cell phone. The process of buying the phone was smooth, and it had a kind of classic Turkish vibe--the salesman looked to be about 15 years old, and the store didn't have a card reader, so he took us several blocks across town to the business they partner with for card transactions.

The walk from one cell phone accessory store to another. I think this street is called "Long Street" and is packed with businesses and people.

Afterwards, Zafer took me to see a possible accommodation for Summer (the other Fulbrighter who'll be here) and I, which was a hotel/lodging on campus that a number of single lecturers live in. It's very conveniently located across from the foreign language school and has some perfectly nice studio rooms, but they are not very homey, and Summer and I agreed that we'd prefer somewhere with a bit more room and perhaps slightly more than 500 feet away from the office. So we'll keep looking for other places when she arrives here. Right now, I'm staying in a hotel right across the street from the airport, just a few minutes from campus.

Sunset view from my hotel balcony of the airport and the sea.

I had lunch with Zafer and then Turkish coffee with him and another new colleague, although by this point I felt like my brain was melting out my ears. They took me to my hotel where I crashed immediately, woke up to shower, and then went back to sleep for 10 hours. I felt physically broken down, which I attributed to not sleeping the night before I left, my long trip, and then rolling right into action here. It felt a bit different from normal jet lag in that I was so sore I could barely move, but I figured that must just be part of the exhaustion and the toll of my heavy backpack.

First meal in Trabzon: döner and beans on top of rice with lavaş flatbread.

I slept all day Saturday, going out briefly to get some water and juice, but I was still feeling crummy, and sometime that night I realized that there was more than jet lag and airport fatigue going on--my right tonsil and lymph node were swollen and it was painful to swallow. I did some intense googling of "viral vs bacterial tonsillitis" and "antibiotics from pharmacy in Turkey" before texting Koray, who dropped off some Turkish Tylenol for me. Two hours later, I was like, "Yeah, okay, that's not gonna cut it." Koray had been heading out of town, so I texted Zafer asking if he would take me to the on-duty pharmacy¹. Zafer and his 19-year-old daughter picked me up and ended up taking me to the ER where I was very quickly examined and treated with IV antibiotics, which kind of felt like overkill to me, but apparently here it’s typically to have one IV dose to kickstart a course of pills. I gave everyone a good scare by throwing up as soon as the drip started, which they all worried was because they'd accidentally given me something I was allergic to, and in reality was just because I'm just not very good with needles! Once the "serum" was infused, I was free to go with no follow-up care instructions. The whole thing took under an hour.

Zafer and his daughter were so kind and helpful, translating and getting me water and everything. Unfortunately, my Fulbright health insurance doesn't start until next week, but fortunately, being from the US means that anytime healthcare doesn't literally bankrupt you, I'm like, what a steal!! The cost of my exam and treatment at this private hospital ER was 456TL, about $56.² And hopefully now I will be on the up and up!

The reason I came to Turkey now, 10 days ahead of my grant start date, was to have a chance to visit my friends in Alanya before the start of the new school year. I'm planning to fly down there tomorrow morning and spend six days there. I'm excited to see everyone and everything there again, if somewhat nervous that my fake-looking American vaccine card won't hold muster to the airline which requires proof of vaccination. (I also wouldn't trust a piece of paper on which an anonymous person has written "J+J".)

Trabzon is different from Alanya in many ways, but things are familiar enough that it feels a lot like I never left. It's been super helpful to know even the Turkish that I do know, not enough to get me through the hospital solo, but enough to easily buy food and water and understand the questions people ask me without needed to get stressed about it. I had a moment on the flight here where I had a lot of doubt about coming back to Turkey. I know I enjoyed my time in Alanya, but I had a great summer back home in the States, with my family and my friends and feeling comfortable in a place where I know how everything works and I can independently solve most problems³. Why would I voluntarily make my life harder by coming here and starting over away from all the people I love? My life at home is good. Why would I leave it? When the choice was between Minnesota winter during deep pandemic and a Mediterranean resort town, the choice seemed pretty obvious, but now that it's between a precariously normal-feeling home and a rainy city whose people have a reputation for being aggressive, it's a bit more challenging to re-take the plunge. But like I said, Turkey also feels familiar now, and I know that it still holds a lot for me to learn from and enjoy. And the Trabzoners I’ve met so far have so kind, despite all the prickly stereotypes. Right now, it's looking like I'll be teaching in person, which is something that I absolutely need to do in order to figure out where to go from here. And I'm excited to explore the area with Summer, and I've heard many wonderful things about Trabzon, and I know that this is still such a wonderful opportunity in basically every way. So yeah, I’d say I'm on the up and up.

Much love,

Netta

PS: please excuse a decline in writing quality or formatting—I’ve slept only about 3 hours in the last 48 :(