Profile of the month: Derya Çelik

MY ERASMUS EXPERIENCE by Derya ÇELİK:

Derya Çelik is a teacher candidate studying at Hacettepe University, Turkey. Her research interests include the relationships between pragmatics and foreign language teaching. She has presented a paper entitled " An Analysis of Conversational Maxims in ELT Coursebooks written by Turkish Authors " at Hacettepe University 1st Undergraduate Linguistics Conference in 2007.She can be reached at derya_aiesec@yahoo.com.

MY ERASMUS EXPERIENCE IN PORTUGAL...

The best choice I have ever made in my life was participating in Erasmus programme. Discovering the cultural differences of other countries is one of the highlights of travelling and was one of the main reasons that I applied to Erasmus. I have a desire to see different cultures and meet with different people from the time I know myself and going to Portugal as an Erasmus student was a step to make my dream come true. It was like a dream.. When you come back home, you feel like you wake up from a dream but when you look at your pictures, receive news from your friends or when you feel the smile of achieving a goal in your face, you realize that everything was true...

My Erasmus dream started when I heard the news that I am selected. I remember the excitement I had felt when I first heard that. And this excitement was with me till I arrived at Portugal. My mind was full of questions and the things I havent experienced before because I was getting ready to live in another country and without my parents and friends such a long time. But all the hesitations and bad ideas went away when I first met other Erasmus students from various countries, who are also far away from their homes.

When I think of those days, only the advantages and good aspects are coming into my mind. Of course, I faced difficulties but it is not comparable with the advantages. First of all, I learnt a new language and it is really easy when you are in the territory of that language. Thanks to this second language, a third one also opened its doors to me. Second, living in a different culture teaches a lot. You learn how to adapt yourself to a new environment and habits, so it teaches you to be tolerant. You start to feel empaty more then every time because in Erasmus program you are not learning only one culture. To maintain your friendship, you should have at least an idea about your friends’ culture too. Then, studying in another country allowed me to compare the system and the lessons with my own country. Also I took interesting courses to improve my general knowledge, which I would not have been able to achieve if I had carried out my studies in Turkey last semester. Now I turned back my home full of new ideas and creative projects.

It’s really hard to sum up this incredible experince but I have to  I strongly suggest you to apply this programme if you have a chance. Thanks to positive Erasmus experience that I have had, I would not hesitate in applying for other opportunities in abroad in the future. I have realised that I would be able to manage with the language difficulties and adapt to the cultural differences. I also feel that this experience increased self confidence and that I have developed a more relaxed attitude to the life due to this experience. If you want some challenges and if you agree with the concept of ‘life long learning’, don’t think twice !!!

DERYA ÇELİK
HACETTEPE UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF EDUCATION
DIVISION OF ELT