SUMMER 2023 ALUMNI: Sierra Genao

How would you describe your EP to someone who has never heard of it before? 

The language I learnt on my trip was Turkish. We have Turkish classes during the week and it was from 9 a.m to 1p.m. We would get homework everyday reviewing the material we learned.We would spend Friday evening to Sunday evening with our host families.Host families could range in size and were free to take you anywhere in the city or possibly outside the city. During the week you would stay in a dorm with other people in your cohort. This helped to build bonds and build together friendships. The program also ranges from 5-7 weeks.

What is a typical day like during your EP?

I would spend the weekdays at my dorms so I would get up at about 8 am and leave my dorms at 8:30 so that I could get to my train on time and get some coffee at a place close to TÖMER. TÖMER was the building we went to everyday to learn Turkish and we would stay there from 9 am to 1 pm. Depending on the plans we would have for the day we would either go out with our local coordinator and go to a landmark in our city like a museum or trying local foods or me and my friends would explore the area our school was in and we would try new foods at different restaurants. After that we would go back to the dorms to do homework and study. However we would do fun things at the dorms like playing card games, watch movies or just hang out with one another. We would then go to sleep at like 11:30-12:00.

What was the biggest reward of your EP? 

The memories I had made and the friendships I made with the people on my trip. We were a small group of ten people so we got along really quickly. We went out to eat new things together and explored different areas of where we were staying together. We did lots of fun activities and got to know each other better.

What do you wish you had known before you went on your EP?

I wish I had known more of my language before going so that I wouldn’t have struggled as much in class and in public . Turkish isn’t the easiest of languages and I wish I could have known more basic stuff so that I could have talked to more people and have an easier time learning in class. Another thing I wish I could have done was download some sources that could have helped me learn the language better as I didn’t have internet. I had to use my notes as study sources and sometimes that wouldn’t out well for me.