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From Ankara to Iola

Exchange student marvels at differences

By Holly Neumann


For Lacin Turgut, 16, coming to American has always been a dream.

That dream, has now become a reality for the bubbly teen-ager, who has ventured just over 5,575 miles to come to all the way from Ankara, Turkey to Iola through the NACEL Open Doors student exchange program.

Ankara, is the capital of Turkey, and has a population of 7 million people.

“I was so surprised when I came here, it’s pretty small,” said Turgut. “I live in a big city, everything is so spread out here. Everything is so different.”

She admits that at first it was a big adjustment for her.

“I have never had winter clothes before,” she said. “We get snow in Turkey, but it’s just enough to play in for a little while. You get snow here, but you also get so cold.”

One of the biggest differences she has noticed was American food.

“We don’t drink milk with food,” she said. “That is so weird. We just have it at breakfast. People here have milk with every meal. And with school lunch. They even drink it with fries and hamburgers and I was like eww. No one here eats just bread either. Like normal with no butter. I love it. People here are so weird.”

She is quick to point out that she enjoys school lunches.

“Oh my gosh, I love the food,” she said. “I have gained 20 pounds since I have been here, but who cares, this is America, I say just eat.”

Among her favorites mozzarella sticks, mini corn dogs, chocolate chip cookies and cheese curds.

She is also surprised by drive-through windows at area restaurants.

“If we want to eat in Turkey, we have to go inside,” she said.

Turgut is staying with the Bill Suskey, his wife Pamela Cotton and their daughter Ainsley. The family lives on a farm with seven horses, three dogs, chickens and lots of cats.

“Who has seven horses?” Turgut asked. “I have always wanted a horse, but really who has 7?”

Ainsley and Turgut do chores together each evening.

“I feed the horses hay, fill water tanks, feed chickens,” she said. “And I have never seen anyone clean a litter box before, I want to try to do that.”

Back home, Turgut lives in a high-rise apartment, and has no pets, so there was some fear involved at first.

“When Lacin first got here, she was so afraid of the chickens and even the cats,” Cotton said. “Now she loves them.”

“I was afraid,” she said. “I watch the show the Walking Dead back home and this area reminds me of the show.”

“In the beginning, if she would hear a noise out in the barn and she would grab a rake or something else to protect herself and come running to the house,” Cotton said, laughing.

When it comes to school, Turgut she is really enjoying her sophomore year at Iola-Scandinavia.

“I love everyone at the school. They are all so friendly it made me feel welcome,” she said. “I am surprised at how open the schools are here. Back home, my school is surrounded by wire fencing, cameras and guards.”

She has also been surprised by the homework.

“We get it every day here,” she said. “In Turkey we can get away with not doing our homework, not here.”

Her favorite class has been physical education.

“I have never skied before and on the first day I could barely stand up on them,” she said. “By the end, I could ski down T-Bird hill. I was pretty proud.”

She has also experienced a homecoming dance and is looking forward to her first prom.

“We only get to have one prom our senior year. That makes it special,” she said. “Here you have them every year and more than one dance, it just doesn’t seem to be such a big deal that way. It will be important to me as it is not only my first American prom, but my last one as well.”

School shootings do not happen in Turkey.

“They just don’t happen there,” she said. “Here you can go to Fleet Farm and buy a gun. At home you have to be a police officer or soldier. You have to have a reason to buy a gun and to carry it.”

According to Turgut, there is a strong presences of military and police in her hometown.

“There are a lot of protests in our country,” she said. “And with Syria as our neighbor, we have to worry about ISIS and terrorism.”
Among all the new things that Turgut has learned there have been some unexpected lessons.

“It took some bravery to come here and I did not think I was going to miss my family,” she smiled. “But I have to admit that the hardest part was leaving my mom. She is my angel and she always takes care of me. One thing is for certain, I have learned to appreciate her much more.”

Upon her return to Turkey, she will complete high school and go on to college to study law.

Turgut is the daughter of Hasan and Suheyla. She has a brother and half-sister.

“I will come back to visit,” she said. “It is good to have another family in the world. If something happens in Turkey, I can come here and live on their couch.”

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