My name is Isteleu Karakoz, participant of the Summer Work&Travel program 2023 and 2024 from KCET. I am 20 years old, I am in my last year at Suleiman Demirel University studying to be a financier. I would like to tell my story over these two years and share my experience.
Before I start, I would like to thank my mother for always supporting me despite her worries and I also owe a huge thanks to the KCET for turning dreams into reality for me and many other students.
Was I scared? Absolutely! It's a completely different country, a different culture, a different mentality, and generally, if you look at it that way, it's a completely different end of the world. But my desire to see the world took over all my fears and worries. That's how we chose the state of Alaska in 2023, we had four friends, and I believed that as long as we had each other, no trouble was terrible. That's what it seemed to me at that time, but that's another story. The first experience is always difficult, and for me that year has been the same, instructive, interesting and unpredictable. I was introduced to American culture for the first time and it was very different from ours. Sometimes, I really missed my homeland, the familiar food, and my native language. I cannot say that the nation itself is bad or good, because there is no such thing. There are different people who make up this nation. I've come across different ones. From a kind lady offering me her umbrella during a rainstorm to others who were less kind, my interactions painted a complex portrait of humanity.
Speaking of the workplace, I was very lucky with my coworkers. Everyone helped us with what they could, did not let us feel that we were on a foreign land. My second job wasn't bad either, where I worked as a cashier. The town was small, so I was able to make friends with the locals while working there. They told their stories every day when they came to the supermarket, asked how I was doing and lifted my spirits every day.
And so, we ended our program with a 10-day trip to different cities like Las Vegas, Los Angeles and New York. We did not forget about our families who were looking forward to us, we bought gifts for ourselves and our relatives. Returning home, I decided without hesitation to enroll immediately for the second year. I understood that this was a very good opportunity while we were young and full of energy. Past experience has shown that sometimes it's worth trying some things alone, and I chose the state of Florida, the city of Orlando. Yes, it sounds a little ironic. It turned out to be such a contrast: Alaska and Florida.
This time I wasn't so scared, even though I was all alone. I came to my apartment where I lived for 3 months, and immediately heard familiar speeches, these were my countrymen, who, of course, in the end became my closest people in this city. After that, I found friends from different nationalities, such as Americans, Spaniards, Turks, Dominicans, Thais and many others. It was very interesting to get to know the cultures of different nations and share the values of your nation. Sometimes I felt proud that I had the opportunity to tell the whole world about my Homeland. One day we were invited to a party by a group of friends from Tennessee. There were a lot of people there, but they immediately perceived us as their own, which made us very comfortable to be there. Interestingly, we were the only representatives of Islam. We were very happy to share our knowledge about our religion, and they shared theirs. Sometimes I caught myself thinking that no matter how we call some things differently, they carry the same meaning.
We shouldn't forget about the workplace too. I worked in one of the largest park complexes in the world, SeaWorld. The work was not difficult at all, on the contrary, it was interesting, almost every day was accompanied by communication and acquaintance with different people. Unfortunately, perhaps fortunately, I did not find a second job this year. But it gave me the opportunity to see Orlando in all its beauty. One of these places that has taken a special place in my heart is Disney World. For me, who grew up in Disney fairy tales, it meant more than just a theme park. All adults have a child somewhere in the depths of their soul who still believes in the existence of a miracle. And yes, this place was really wonderful. This place united people of all ages with dreams and beliefs from all over the world, here everyone could feel like a child without worries for at least one day. Here I gave way to tears. I was incredibly grateful to God for all the opportunities to see it with my own eyes and overly happy. Dreams come true and miracles exist. Then I realized how beautiful the world is, whole life is not enough to see all the wonders of the world. But, why not spend the short life given to us on such emotions.
During these two years, I realized one thing: the money will return, but the time will not. Such emotions are worth living for. Life consists of such moments, and I want to collect more such memories in my heart!
I'm sure there are different stories and different views that differ from mine, where the guys have very good stories. But I decided to show everything in my own way, that not everything can turn out as you expect, that America might be a country of opportunities, but do not forget about the possible troubles that await you, that these are completely different people whose views may not coincide with yours. But this experience is nothing to compare with!