LOCK HAVEN - After high school graduation, most teens are thinking about vacations, summer, jobs and college. But for Sarah Agostinelli of Dunnstown, the summer after graduation meant a trip half-way across the world to the country of Turkey.
She's back home now, with a good understanding of the Turkish language and customs, countless stories and just as many life experiences.
Agostinelli, 19, has always had an interest in foreign language and culture and she knew being an exchange student was something she wanted to do.
"I found out more about study abroad programs through an exchange student Web form when I was in 12th grade. It mentioned studying abroad through local Rotary clubs so I sent an e-mail to the district exchange coordinator and got in contact with the former club president, Ernie Kerstetter.
Over the course of the year, Agostinelli filled out a preliminary application and was interviewed by club members who asked various questions about her motivation for studying abroad and how she would react in different situations she may be confronted with.
She was accepted and was told to pick five countries she would like to visit in case her first choice was not available.
"I picked Norway, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Latvia and Romania and I got Turkey," she said.
Agostinelli then received information on her host family, attended various Rotary club meetings and conferences where she got to know other exchange students and discussed what to expect when studying abroad.
"The other students were going to Mexico, Taiwan and Russia and there were students from Ecuador, Thailand, Norway and the Dominican Republic," Agostinelli said.
After all the necessary arrangements were made, such as acquiring a passport and some intense packing, Agostinelli left for Turkey on Aug. 10, 2009.
"I landed in Adana, Turkey around midnight and it was like walking into a wall of heat. It's so hot in Turkey, in December it was 75 degrees and it doesn't rain much," she said. "My host family picked me up at the airport and we went back to their apartment building."
Her host family, the Guners lived on the second floor... which was actually the third floor because in Turkey they call the ground floor of a building the zero floor.
"It's funny when people move in. The elevators are really small and the stairs are winding so to get your stuff into an apartment, you have to hire a moving crane to lift big objects up through the balconies," she explained. "I loved watching it, you would see couches and beds and refrigerators flying though the air."
She said the apartment was similar to American ones. It had three bedrooms, an extra room in the back that had been converted into a room for her, two bathrooms, a kitchen and a living room that faced Seyhan Lake.
"There were not many carpets, it was mostly hardwood floors with area rugs and everyone wore house slippers. Not very many people had big pets in the apartments. There were some small dogs, but there were more stray dogs on the streets," she said. "It's true what they say about dogs in Turkey, too. They really do stop at traffic lights and walk on the crosswalk. I saw a pack of them do this one day. It was really funny. They must know somehow because I don't think I ever saw a dead dog on the road while I was there."
Walking, for both people and dogs, is a popular way to get around in the cities, as is train travel. To get to school, she took a van provided by the school.
The school system in Turkey goes by the same system as America, K-12, but are called "classes." Agostinelli was in Class 11 at Bilimkent school.
"I went into "11th grade" because in Class 12, the students are preparing for their college entrance exams most of the year," she explained.
Agostinelli loved going to school in Turkey and got very close with her class.
"I was having a bad day and when I came in the next morning they had a cake for me and we had a party. I was so surprised," she said with a big smile.
Her schedule consisted of German class, geometry, English (taught in British-English style), math, history, biology, physics, gym and a class called "quantum physics" that was closer in likeness to philosophy. In between each class, there was a 10-minute break and the day lasted from 8:45 a.m. till 4 p.m.
"The classwork was really advanced.We were doing stuff I'd never seen here," she said. "It was a challenge- especially geometry. I celebrated when I got an 80 on my geometry test."
Agostinelli said lunch time was a very enjoyable part of the day.
"Lunch was really extravagant. There was always some type of cooked meat with either rice and yogurt, soup or salad," she explained.
At her school, they wore a uniform of a white shirt and black pants. Girls were supposed to wear their hair up, and every Monday morning before school and Friday after school, the students all sang the Turkish national anthem.
"National pride is a really important to the Turkish people. On Aug. 30, we celebrated Victory Day, "Zafer Bayrami," Agostinelli said. "All the TV stations run a picture of Ataturk with a flag behind it and there were flags all over the city."
Victory Day commemorates the victory at the final battle in Dumlupinar ending the Turkish Independence War in 1922. It is dedicated to the armed forces and the first Turkish president Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who is credited for liberating the country from Muslim rule and founding of The Republic of Turkey.
"On the date of his death, Nov. 10 at 9:05 a.m., you will have a minute of silence. It's not just you, either - everything stops. People on the street stop what they're doing. Cars stop, and the drivers get out and face the nearest Turkish flag. People hang them from their balconies, so it's hard to go somewhere and not see one. It is absolutely amazing how much this country respects Ataturk decades after his death. After the moment of silence, you'll sing the national anthem."
And the national pride goes further. If one is heard insulting Ataturk, or if they allow the flag to touch the ground, they can be arrested. Burning the flag carries the sentence of life imprisonment.
In fact, Agostinelli said that the Turkish government has blocked YouTube, the popular video sharing Web site, because someone uploaded a video making fun of Ataturk.
While this may seem harsh, Agostinelli says the Turkish people are anything but.
"Nearly everyone I met was really helpful, kind and welcoming. I wasn't feeling well one day, so I left school and took a bus home. The other people on the bus could tell I wasn't feeling well and talked to me and made sure I got home okay," she said.
In January, 30 different exchange students in the area got together for a trip around western Turkey. They went to Istanbul, one of the oldest cities in the world; Pamukkale, an old Roman city and hot spring; numerous Greek and Roman ruins; World War I trenches in Galipoli, Troy; various Mosques; St. Nicholas' house and the Mediterranean Sea.
"It was so beautiful up in the mountains at Pamukkale, you could look down and see the white calcium deposits on the rocks," she said. "And on the ocean floor of the editerranean at the spot we were at, there were ruins."
When asked if women wore hijab head coverings, Agostinelli tilted her head in an upward nod before catching herself and laughing.
"In Turkey, that means no...pretty much the opposite of here (America). When I was on the plane and the flight attendants asked me if I wanted ice in my water, I would do that and get confused when they gave me water with ice because I thought I had told them 'no.'"
Agostinelli found the language and culture fairly easy for her to pick up on.
"I can read and understand Turkish pretty well. I bought a Harry Potter book in Turkish and I can read it. I think it's best to just be completely thrown into it," she said. "It's so much easier to learn that way. You can pick up the local slang, too, which you won't learn in text books."
And getting back to the other question, Agostinelli said women only wore head coverings when visiting a mosque or for religious ceremonies and holidays.
"Turkey does not want to become too Muslim. Actually, if people feel the government is becoming too strictly Muslim, it can be overthrown. This has happened before," she explained. "When you visit a mosque, you are supposed to be dressed modestly and wear long sleeves. They call it, kapali: closed."
Turkey is a secular country with no official state religion and practices freedom of religion. However the majority the people are Muslim and participate in many Muslim holidays.
The country recognizes the Ramadan holiday where many people fast from sun up until sundown for 30 days.
"During that time, these guys on motorcycles would ride around at 3 a.m. banging on drums to wake everyone up so they could eat before the sun came up. After the fasting is over, they have a "sugar holiday" where kids are supposed to kiss the hands of the elderly and they give the kids candies or money. My host grandmother participated. She covered her head and prayed five times a day."
Seventy days after the end of Ramadan, participating families take part in Kurban Bayrami, the "Feast of Sacrifice." It's most important feature is the sacrifice of an animal (cow, goat, sheep, etc.) in commemoration of the ram sacrificed by Abraham (in the Islamic faith) in place of his son.
"My host family bought a goat and the groundskeeper sacrificed it, skinned it and cut it into pieces for my family to divide between ourselves, our family and the poor. Everything was eaten ... liver, heart, lungs, all of it."
When she was not at school or on Rotary exchange trips, Agostinelli usually went out with her friends to the mall, to other friends' houses or out to eat.
"Most of my class, including the teacher and his family, went out to eat one time. It was a lot of fun and the food was great," she said.
Turkish food is very spicy, and they use a lot of baked vegetables and meat. Each area in the country has a different kind of specialty kebab, which is very popular.
"I learned to like mushrooms, eggplant and squash while I was there," Agostinelli said. "They have this thing called a Ichli Koefte, a "sensitive meatball," that I really loved. Outside it's made of this orange grain and inside there is ground beef, onions and seasoning. They boil them in water and it tastes really good. People also eat grilled corn-on-the-cob at lot. You will see people walking down the street or in their cars eating it."
In this day and age, it's difficult to find a country where there is not a McDonalds or Burger King. Turkey has both and they deliver to your home. There are also pizza restaurants, but to get what you are used to in America, Agostinelli said you have to order a "New York" pizza.
"If you just ask for American pizza, you will get Turkish pizza. That is crust with lots of sausage and salad mix on it," she explained. "Salad is really popular. They serve salad with almost every meal. The dressing is really good. I think it was made with lemon juice, olive oil and pomegranate syrup."
For Agostinelli, leaving Turkey after 11 months was bittersweet.
"I was excited to come home. I really missed my family, but I knew I would really miss Turkey, too," she said.
Getting home ended up being a difficult process due to a mix-up with her papers, but she caught her flight in time and arrived home in the middle of the night on July 24, met with excitement and hugs by her parents and sister. On the way home, they stopped at a Subway where Agostinelli proceeded to order in Turkish before realizing the employees had no idea what she was saying.
Agostinelli said it feels a little unreal to her right now but she has quickly re-adjusted to life in America again with her family and 10 cats.
"It's like it was all a dream. I think, 'was I really over there for almost a whole year?' I don't feel that much different. I notice I have more confidence. I like to sing more," she said with a laugh. "I'm more independent, too. I know there are more things but I haven't figured out what they are yet."
Now, she plans to to attend Lycoming College in Williamsport for French Secondary Education with a minor in European History.
Agostinelli gives Rotary Exchange two big thumbs up.
"Kesinlikle! Definitely! Contact Rotary if you are interested," she said.
"It's life changing, you get to learn so much more about the world and you never really know what you are going to get out of it... but whatever it is, it's worth it," she said, comparing her feelings to a quote of Ataturk: "We must delve into our roots and reconstruct what history has divided. We can't wait for them to approach us. We must reach out to them."
