Enskilda enkäter för Exchange report/utbytesrapport Person 129 Basic Information 1. Name Axel De Geer 2. E-mail address: axel@degeer.se 3. Exchange university Sabanci University 4. City Istanbul 5. Country Turkey 6. First semester of your exchange Swedish autumn semester (HT) 7. Academic year 2014/2015 8. What subject area/s did you study during your exchange? Photography/social sciences 9. Level of studies at the exchange university Undergraduate 10. What are you studying at Uppsala University? Business & Economics 11. How many years of study had you completed before going on exchange? 2 Studies 12. Tell us about your studies on your exchange. If you are stuck for ideas you can for exemple write about: The differences between Uppsala University and the exchange. What were the teachers like? What courses would you recommend (or not) for future exchange students? The relationship between teachers and students. The academic level and quality of your courses. Access to computers. Examinations... I had so much fun and gained a lot of experience from attending Sabanci university. The classes at Sabanci held much smaller groups of students (around 20-30 people), which was very refreshing. Orientation and reception 13. Tell us about how it was to arrive and settle in. I didn t get much help from any institution.. I had to rely on family connections in order to find accomodation outside campus. It worked out well however. Accommodation 14. Describe your accommodation. What type of accommodation did you have, where you satisfied? Do you have any tips for future students? - Your finances 15. Describe the cost of living. Did you find CSN adequate? How was the rent in comparison to your rent in Uppsala? Did you undertake part-time work in addition to your studies? - Vetenskapsområdet för medicin och farmaci, Uppsala universitet Sida 378 av 396
Enskilda enkäter för Exchange report/utbytesrapport Free time 16. What did you do in your free time? Did the university arrange any special activities? Where there any activities specifically for exchange students? Were you happy with what was on offer? A lot of activities, trips etc. I visited a lot of museums. All in all, very happy. Your exchange on the whole 17. Please sum up your exchange experience. If you have any other tips for future exchange students, or any other comments feel free to include them here. - Approval 18. Your report will be available for future exchange students in printed form at the International Office and will be sent by email to individual students requesting it. Do you also approve the publishing of your exchange report on Uppsala University s website? Yes 19. Do you have any photos you would like to upload and include in your exchange report? - 20. Please tell us a little bit about the picture/s. - 21. Publishing of pictures I approve of my pictures being published and used in Uppsala University s marketing of international exchanges Thank you for submitting your exchange report! Vetenskapsområdet för medicin och farmaci, Uppsala universitet Sida 379 av 396
Person 45 Basic Information 1. Name Gülizar Güdücü 2. E-mail address: gulizar.guducu@gmail.com 3. Exchange university Sabanci University 4. City Istanbul 5. Country Turkey 6. First semester of your exchange Swedish spring semester (VT) 7. Academic year 2014/2015 8. What subject area/s did you study during your exchange? Prof. Commun.Skills in English, sales management, Cultures of Migration, Basic Turkish II 9. Level of studies at the exchange university Undergraduate 10. What are you studying at Uppsala University? Pharmacy 11. How many years of study had you completed before going on exchange? 3,5 Studies 12. Tell us about your studies on your exchange. If you are stuck for ideas you can for exemple write about: The differences between Uppsala University and the exchange. What were the teachers like? What courses would you recommend (or not) for future exchange students? The relationship between teachers and students. The academic level and quality of your courses. Access to computers. Examinations... Sabanci Universitetet var en bra skola, lärarna var kunniga inom sitt ämne, duktiga på engelska, väldigt hjälpsamma och kvalitén på kurserna var väldigt bra. Jag hade en närmare relation till lärarna jämfört med lärarna i Uppsala Universitet, lärarna visste vad jag hette och man kunde alltid gå fram till de och prata om man undrade något. Anledningen till detta kan vara att klasserna är mindre (20 till 30 personer) och att skolsystemet är uppbyggt på ett annorlunda sätt. I Sabanci Universitetet har man oftast två examinationer, en examination i mitten av kursen och en på slutet. Jag tyckte att examinationerna var lätta och frågorna var baserade på det läraren hade gått igenom under föreläsningarna, så studerar man det läraren gått igenom så klarar man sig alltid. Det gick att låna en dator på universitetet för en viss summa pengar men jag valde att ta med min egna dator. Orientation and reception 13. Tell us about how it was to arrive and settle in. Jag åkte taxi från Sabiha Gökcen flygplatsen till universitetet och anlände sent på kvällen men trots detta fanns det alltid personal på campuset så jag fick mitt rum direkt. När jag anlände till universitetet så hade de en välkomstvecka. De anordnade fester, vi åt middag tillsammans och gick runt i Istanbul under en hel dag. Jag rekommenderar att vara med på aktiviteterna eftersom man lär känna andra erasmus studenter och dessutom får viktig information om skolan och dokumenten man behöver fylla i. Vetenskapsområdet för medicin och farmaci, Uppsala universitet Sida 129 av 164
Accommodation 14. Describe your accommodation. What type of accommodation did you have, where you satisfied? Do you have any tips for future students? Jag bodde två månader i campuset vilket gick bra. Jag delade rum med 3 andra turkiska tjejer och rummen var väldigt rena eftersom det kom städare två gånger i veckan och städade rummet. Vi delade en toalett och två duschar och man kunde alltid gå ner och byta ut sina lakan mot rena när man ville. Det fanns ett gemensamt kök och tvättstuga. Men efter två månader bestämde jag mig för att flytta ut eftersom jag kände att jag inte fick uppleva staden och den turkiska kulturen eftersom campuset ligger utanför Istanbul. Jag valde att flytta till Kadiköy och flyttade in till en kompis som också studerade på samma universitet. Hon hittade sitt boende på en internetsida och vi bodde tillsammans med husägaren. Det fungerade väldigt bra och jag fick uppleva staden och lärde mig mycket mer. Därför rekommenderar jag att flytta till Kadiköy. Det tar ca 1 timme att ta sig till skolan från Kadiköy men det är värt det! Your finances 15. Describe the cost of living. Did you find CSN adequate? How was the rent in comparison to your rent in Uppsala? Did you undertake part-time work in addition to your studies? Det är väldigt billigt att bo i Turkiet, att äta här är billigt till skillnad från Sverige och att shoppa är också billigt. CSN pengarna räckte och det blev till och med pengar över. Själva hyran var billigare än i Sverige också, jag betalade 800 TL per månad för mitt boende i Kadiköy och fick mitt egna rum. Free time 16. What did you do in your free time? Did the university arrange any special activities? Where there any activities specifically for exchange students? Were you happy with what was on offer? På fritiden umgicks jag med andra Erasmus elever och vi gick runt i staden, åt middagar och gick ut på kvällarna. Universitetet arrangerade inte aktiviteter specifikt för Erasmus elever men de hade festivaler som var öppna för alla på universitetet som man kunde gå på. Your exchange on the whole 17. Please sum up your exchange experience. If you have any other tips for future exchange students, or any other comments feel free to include them here. Jag rekommenderar att man gör sitt utbyte i Sabanci Universitetet i Istanbul eftersom det är en fantastiskt stad och man får uppleva något nytt och annorlunda varje dag och man lär sig väldigt mycket om den turkiska kulturen. Universitetet är väldigt tryggt eftersom det finns många säkerhetsvakter och de har egna bussar som kör eleverna från skolan in till stan. Utbildningsnivån är hög och man får tillgång till mycket på campuset, de har sin egna bank där, restauranger och en affär där man kan handla mat. Approval 18. Your report will be available for future exchange students in printed form at the International Office and will be sent by email to individual students requesting it. Do you also approve the publishing of your exchange report on Uppsala University s website? Yes Vetenskapsområdet för medicin och farmaci, Uppsala universitet Sida 130 av 164
19. Do you have any photos you would like to upload and include in your exchange report? - 20. Please tell us a little bit about the picture/s. - 21. Publishing of pictures - Thank you for submitting your exchange report! Vetenskapsområdet för medicin och farmaci, Uppsala universitet Sida 131 av 164
Person 44 Basic Information 1. Name Linn Häggqvist 2. E-mail address: linn.haggqvist@gmail.com 3. Exchange university Sabanci University 4. City Istanbul 5. Country Turkey 6. First semester of your exchange Swedish spring semester (VT) 7. Academic year 2014/2015 8. What subject area/s did you study during your exchange? International relations, cultural studies, political science 9. Level of studies at the exchange university Undergraduate 10. What are you studying at Uppsala University? Peace and Development Studies 11. How many years of study had you completed before going on exchange? 2,5 Studies 12. Tell us about your studies on your exchange. If you are stuck for ideas you can for exemple write about: The differences between Uppsala University and the exchange. What were the teachers like? What courses would you recommend (or not) for future exchange students? The relationship between teachers and students. The academic level and quality of your courses. Access to computers. Examinations... The courses I took varied a lot in difficulty. Two of the courses that I had were really demanding, they had a lot of readings and assignments, but on the other hand they were really interesting and I learnt a lot. I didn t go on exchange only to have fun, I also wanted to learn something valuable while I was there, something I would not be able to learn in Uppsala. And this I definitely feel that I achieved. Meanwhile, some courses were a bit easier, not as demanding at least. Towards the end of the semester I started hearing rumours about that the teachers do not fail exchange students, but I do not know if it is true though. I highly recommend that you take the Basic Turkish course, because you really need it if you living in Turkey. Orientation and reception 13. Tell us about how it was to arrive and settle in. The orientation week had a lot of activities, mainly focused on parties. Although partying is a good way of getting to know new people, the organisation behind the parties were mainly represented by guys who sought the opportunity to hang around foreign girls. This resulted in that after the orientation week, many of us exchange students didn t feel that the organised activities by this organisation was worth spending time on. Furthermore, the organisation did have a buddy program, but I never even met my buddy, because she wasn t in Istanbul during the first weeks of school. This wasn t a single case. Thus, this buddy program is mainly a way for the local students to acquire merits to put on their CVs, some (not all of them ofc) do not even bother meeting with their Vetenskapsområdet för medicin och farmaci, Uppsala universitet Sida 126 av 164
assigned exchange student. However, although the local students weren t of great help, the other exchange students were. We were all in the same boat, and therefore we could help each other a lot. We started facebook groups and whatsapp groups, and therefore it was very easy to find someone to eat lunch with or just go for a beer with. Therefore, you never felt completely alone. My Turkish roommate was also a great in helping me to settle in. She showed me around in Kadiköy the first day, and also told me a lot about Turkish culture that I needed to keep in mind, in order to avoid me having a cultural schock. Accommodation 14. Describe your accommodation. What type of accommodation did you have, where you satisfied? Do you have any tips for future students? I rented a room in Kadiköy from a Turkish woman. I found her randomly on Airbnb, and luckily my guts were right, because she turned out to be a really nice and friendly person. We became good friends during my stay there, and this summer I will actually go to her wedding. I really recommed that you stay in Kadiköy, it is a really nice and liberal part of Istanbul, with a lot of restaurants, bars och cheap (really cheap!) shopping. Even though you have to spend around 1 hour in the bus to go to the university, it is totally worth it (and if you re really smart, try to arrange your schedule so that you only have 2-3 days of classes). Most exchange students who decided to stay on campus really regretted it in the end, and felt that they hadn t really lived in Istanbul at all. If you want to experience Istanbul, and not only campus life (where no drinking is allowed, and you can t buy cigarettes there either), you should really live in Kadiköy. Your finances 15. Describe the cost of living. Did you find CSN adequate? How was the rent in comparison to your rent in Uppsala? Did you undertake part-time work in addition to your studies? Since I live together with my boyfriend in Uppsala, I actually had to pay two rents, so that was of course a great strain on my budget. My rent in Istanbul was 900 lira a month (around 3000 SEK), which is actually a lot, but in the end it was worth it. Most of my friends got screwed over by their landlords (payed too much for electricity bills, didn t get their deposits back). As exchange students, you are an easy target by scammers, who will be nice towards you in the beginning but will start to demand money from you towards the end of your contract, because they know you re leaving the country and additionally you don t speak Turkish and don t know anything about the Turkish law. Hence, I consider myself lucky, since my roommate didn t ask for a deposit from me and she didn t demand any more money for the electricty bill although it was an exceptionally cold winter. Apart from the accomodation, living is relatively cheap in Turkey. Food is cheap, public transportation is mindblowingly cheap in Istanbul (and very well organised!). Alcohol is not cheap, but at least it is not more expensive than Sweden. Travelling is also very cheap in Turkey, if you travel with Pegasus you can travel around Turkey for almost nothing (if you re okey with catching a 6 AM flight). Thus, doing a exchange in Istanbul is affordable, it is definitely cheapier than a lot of other places. Free time 16. What did you do in your free time? Did the university arrange any special activities? Where there any activities specifically for exchange students? Were you happy with what was on offer? I didn t partake in any activities organised by the university after the orientation week, for the abovementioned reason. I however did do a lot of stuff! Istanbul is a city of 14 million Vetenskapsområdet för medicin och farmaci, Uppsala universitet Sida 127 av 164
people (!), so there is definitely a lot of things on the menu. Just exploring Istanbul takes a lot of your time, but it is an amazing city. Even during my last weeks I kept on finding new and interesting places! Apart from going to museums and other touristy stuff, I often went to restaurants and bars with my friends. The shopping in Istanbul is amazing too, you can find anything from supercheap to superexpensive. Apart from staying in Istanbul, I also went on three trips around Turkey in total. As I previously mentioned, travelling in Turkey can be quite cheap, and if you go off-season to touristy places like Cappadocia, the accommodation and food can also be really cheap. You should really take the opportunity to travel around and see other parts of Turkey while you there, Turkey is such a huge and diverse country. Your exchange on the whole 17. Please sum up your exchange experience. If you have any other tips for future exchange students, or any other comments feel free to include them here. I really enjoyed my exchange in Istanbul and at Sabanci University. Firstly, although it may have a few flaws (nothing is ever perfect), Sabanci University is a great school, and since it is a private school, there is also freedom of speech (hence the teachers can freely criticise the government etc.). I really appreciated that, since it is something that is viewed as natural in Uppsala, but that is not the case in many parts of the world. Secondly, I was able to get to know a lot of new people from different nationalities, and I was able to gain a lot of new friendships. Friends are crucial during exchange, and I am so happy that I put so much effort into getting to know people in the beginning. In the end, it paid off, and I had such a great time and a lot of memories together with these people. Lastly, this exchange taught me a lot about Turkey as well as about myself. I know so much more about Turkey now, things that are not possible to read about in books in Uppsala. I also know that I am capable of living in a place where noboby understands you in the beginning (because I foolishy thought that everybody speaks English), but when you start to learn more and more Turkish, you feel that you become more and more welcome into society. Turks really appreciate when foreigners go through the effort of speaking Turkish. Furthermore, although I thought that it would be scary to live in a city like Istanbul, it really turns out that in big city like Istanbul, nobody cares if you have blond hair and blue eyes, people are too busy with their own lives to care about you. It was therefore not too hard to blend in, and eventually feel like home. So my tips are: live in Kadiköy, try to hang around with a lot of people in the beginning in order to decide which ones you like, do a lot of stuff and don t sit in your room because every day of your exchange is precious, and study, but don t forget to do fun stuff as well. Be open-minded! Approval 18. Your report will be available for future exchange students in printed form at the International Office and will be sent by email to individual students requesting it. Do you also approve the publishing of your exchange report on Uppsala University s website? Yes 19. Do you have any photos you would like to upload and include in your exchange report? http://doit.medfarm.uu.se/kurtattachment/14339365941978048775.jpg 20. Please tell us a little bit about the picture/s. View over Istanbul 21. Publishing of pictures I approve of my pictures being published and used in Uppsala University s marketing of international exchanges Thank you for submitting your exchange report! Vetenskapsområdet för medicin och farmaci, Uppsala universitet Sida 128 av 164