Bilkent Week 6

Hello
This past week at work I finally started to do some research. I am mainly gathering current literature on the professors subject of transformational leadership and teams. I will start writing literature reviews for the articles when I am finished collecting them. I have also been working on other accreditation stuff for the professor, which is fine. I am really enjoying my semi private turkish lessons with 2 other students from Russia and Bosnia, however, my classes end today. Our Turkish instructor was really great- I wish the classes were longer--mainly because I really enjoy the people.
Besides that, my aunt/best friend came to visit last week and we had an awesome time. I showed her around Ankara and then we spent the weekend in Kuşadası which is a super touristy town in the region of Izmir. From here, we visited Ephesus which is a large ancient city. It was a nice weekend- I will post pictures once I actually upload them. This weekend, my friend and I will go to Istanbul for our friends wedding (a UM alum), which I am looking forward to. I think the wedding will be a good cultural experience since there are many different Turkish wedding traditions.
Thats about it for now! I should probably get back to work :)

Marketing Department in Istanbul

I'm in marketing department of the company. They gave me this package about their client's profile to read (both potential and active clients). I didn't really understand the first client's profile I read because it's all about finance, which is not my major. However, it was very interesting and I learn a lot from reading. After I finished reading, Mehmet (the manager of the marketing department) summarized and explained the package I read. Nonetheless, he also analyzed this client for me, whether it is a good idea to invest with this client. This is very helpful for me to fully understand what they do in marketing department.

During the week, I read many client's profiles. Then I have to summarize about the client's company to people in the marketing department. I also have to suggest if marketing department should make deal with that client.

One of the people in the marketing department took me out of office to see another FIBA Factoring branch (near airport area). This area consists of many industrialized company, who would be potential clients in the future. Then we went to visit the current client's company. We mainly talked about the financial side of the clients company.

The main job of marketing department is to go out of the office and meet with the current and potential clients. While they are in office, they also put in checks or invoices of their clients into their system.

Week 3 in KL!

Time's going by pretty quick. I'm focused on work mostly, and in the city there isn't THAT much to see other than some shopping malls and such. I'm starting to think the sights and sounds here can't match Istanbul! But on the upside there's a theme park nearby, at the top of a mountain. People keep telling me the air is cold and I should bring winter stuff, but really, how cold could it be for South East Asia? I plan to go over there to check it out one of these weeks, but not too sure on the plan yet. I might even take a bus trip down to Singapore to visit for a couple of days over the weekend! It'll be an exciting experience.

Work is getting pretty standard. I got lucky in that I'm assisting in a brand new project, so even the people there don't know too much about it. It put everyone on the same page. We'll be uploading the fixed assets into the accounting system. It's not the most exciting thing, but definitely quite interesting. It's also giving me a lot of experience with this system that is quite widely used in big firms (especially MNC's). There isn't much that goes on during the weekdays, and I haven't had much time to go around much.

Last week we went to Chinatown. It was very nostalgic for me, and I walked along the streets reminiscing of the crowded Thai markets I used to grow up in. It was a different experience though. Because it was in the evening, it wasn't so hot out. The things that were being sold in the market were mostly fake things, but there were also some that are legitimate as well. There aren't that many tourists in KL, not sure why. I do see them from time to time going to /from work, but I don't see that many tourists lounging around in bars and such.

I'll sign off now, but hopefully I'll get my photo's to start working, then I can finally start putting something up!

2 Weeks in Istanbul

Hey, everyone! I'm a little late for the blog, but I think I will catch up! lol

So it's basically been almost 2 weeks now since I arrived in Istanbul. I'm living in Koc University's dorm, which is probably more like a 3 star hotel. They even come like 2 times a week and clean up our room, which is pretty cool. I'm living in the West Campus, which is like 3-5 minutes bus ride from the Main Campus and there's a shuttle service there. Both campuses are located 10 minutes away from the Sariyer district of Istanbul, which is located 40 to 90 minutes bus or subway ride from the center of Istanbul depending on how bad the traffic is. In terms of internship, I'm helping Koc with the accreditation, which is coming like in 1 month or so. I'm almost done with it and looking forward to some more interesting stuff, maybe somehow related to economics or business.

Thus far, I've been to the center Istanbul only once, but it definitely was an amazing experience. My roommate Peter, another UM kid, who came 2 weeks before showed me around there. We went to Taksim, which is the very heart of Istanbul, from where you can basically get bus or sub anywhere. There are hundreds of little cafes, restaurants and shops, which are all located along the traditional small and cozy Istanbul streets. From Taksim we went to the Old City of Istanbul, where Ayasofya, Sultan Ahmet Mosque, Grand Bazaar, etc are located. As we wandered around, I was amazed at how many ancient ruins just lying around this city has. Last weekend we (me, Peter, Zhewei, UM kid too) went to Fethiye, which is like Antalya or Bodrum, but I think is even better, although I've never been to either of the two. We took 2 days off and stayed there 4 days, and every day we did sth really cool. For example, on the first day we went to Tlos, ancient ruins initially inhabited by Lycians, but which also has been used by Hittites, Greeks, Byzantines and Ottomans. I liked it a lot! Then we went to Sakli Kent, which from Turkish means Secret City. On the 2nd day we went to Kayakoy, an old village inhabited by Ottoman Greeks, who left it during population exchanges between the Ottoman Empire and Greece in the beginning of the 2oth century. So this city is basically hundreds of empty stone houses, which looks pretty scary if you go there at night. From there we hiked 8 km to Oludeniz (Dead Sea) through the pine forest and mountains and got lost there 3 times, but it was all fun. LOL On the 3rd day we went on the 12 Island tour, which was one of the coolest things we've done in Fethiye. Boat did 5 stops, 4 islands and 1 cave. We jumped out of the boat and swam to the caves, amazing experience. On the last day we went to Kabak and from there did 30 minutes hike down from the mountains to a remote beach. It was probably perfect end of our trip to Fethiye.

This weekend, we're going to Edirne, Ottoman Empire's old capital and one of the most beautiful cities in Turkey. It's located in Thrace right on the border with Bulgaria, so it must be a slightly different culture than inland Anatolia. There's going to be a festival and 700 years old Oil Wrestling competition. So it must be cool!

I will make another post after Edirne, so look forward for that!

Week 5 at Bilkent

This past week has been pretty routine. I have been attending Turkish classes for 3 hours in the mornings after which I have lunch and do some work. I am enjoying most of the work I do, but what I find more interesting are the differences between the university system here and universities back at home (mainly UM.) I like to observe the seemingly subtle differences that actually have a great impact on how things function. Besides that, this week I started to work on research with the professor and her research partner, they are both really nice. The professor I work for was actually a visiting scholar to the UM Psychology Dept (my concentration) while she was working on her PhD. It was neat to hear about her experience at Michigan.
Outside of work, I have made some friends, so sometimes I meet with them or I relax or study. I am really enjoying the food (both the home cooked Turkish meals I have most nights and the restaurants).
The family I stay with took me to a nearby city called Beypazarı this past weekend. Its an old city that has many old style Ottoman houses--they also grow alot of carrots there I guess. On Wednesday, my aunt (also my closest friend) will arrive in Ankara and on Friday we will visit Kuşadası/Efes together. I will post pictures of the university, Beypazarı, and my trip this coming weekend soon.

2nd Weekend in Istanbul

This weekend is really interest. I went to tour around the historical site alone, without knowing how to speak Turkish. It was fun and adventurous. However, I asked someone people in my office how to get there. I have to take a mini and then a ferry to the old town part of Turkey.

First, I visited Spice Bazaar. I ended up spending a lot of time there, trying to buy souvenirs. Then I walked up to see Hagia Sophia. On the way, I stopped at many places. One of the places was for lunch. They had fresh squeezed orange juice. I also had Donar, which is a typical dish in Turkey. Then I went to see historical sites such as Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace, Sultan Ahmet Mosque, and ect. They were all beautiful and interesting.

Interesting Istanbul

Life in Istanbul couldn't be better. Working at Girisim Factoring is going extremely well. My work day is long. Every day I get up and leave  the dorm by 7 am. My roommate, Joy, and I walk 15-20 mins to a bus stop where a company service bus picks us up. We then finish the route and drive to Europe (haha, it's weird knowing you live on one continent and work on the other!), which takes about 45-1 hr. We get dropped off across the street from where Joy works - conveniently located next to one of the big malls in Istanbul :). It's also where I get on the metro to finish off my trip to work. I usually arrive between 8:30 and 8:45.

Every day at work, I learn more about business and finance. I use some of the databases to file critical information, checks, invoices, etc., for the company. It's sometimes tedious work, but it's interesting to learn about the factoring process.

The company is very small, approximately 25 people. Because of it's small size I get to know everyone better.  The first week was a little rough; no one knew how to approach me and vice versa. Now they're like my family! Also, my Turkish language skills have gotten so much better. I can understand so much; now I just have to work on my speaking. The office has also loved learning English as well as about the U.S.

My co-workers have also been extremely helpful when it comes to sightseeing. They recommend me sites to see, and they are helping me book bus/train tickets to other cities. Next weekend I am planning on going to Canakkale, where the remains of the city of Troy remain as well as ancient battlefields. I am also planning on traveling to Izmir region, Bodrum, Antalya, Ankara, and Cappadocia.

I haven't yet gone outside of Istanbul. There is so much history in this city! Everywhere you turn there's another building or park that has a story to be told. There's also the clash of modernism. In my history classes,  I always heard that phrase "clash of culutres". It took me a visit here to really grasp what that meant. It truly is a clash. Where there's archaic pottery, there's modern buildings. It's been amazing seeing it in person.

Ozyegin University Dorms. My building is the one straight back from the gate

 

Mosaic remains from the Great Palace

Obelisk remains from the Hippodrome

Archaeology Museum!

 

Pottery circa 4500-3200 BC 

 Statue inside the Museum

Me with more statues in the Museum

Some of the shops in the historic district

Spice Bazaar

There aren't just spices there!

Grand Bazaar

 

Mosque on the Bosphorus