MIT'den mektup var:
Bu yıl ilk kez MIT'nin başarılı 8 öğrencisi Sabancı Üniversitesi'ni keşfetmek üzere bir hafta boyunca misafirimiz oldular. MIT'den öğrenciler okulumuzda derslere girerek, Sabancı Üniversitesi öğrencileri ve Rektörümüz Nihat Berker ile beraber kampüs hayatını ve İstanbul'u yaşadılar. MIT'ye dönüşlerinin ardından Daniel Mokhtari, bizlere buradaki deneyimlerine dair samimi bir mektup gönderdi:
Daniel Mokhtari
Sabanci University Trip
3/25/12 – 3/30/12
Trip to Sabanci University, Spring 2012
My trip to Sabanci University this past spring break has been one of my most amazing,
and rewarding experiences traveling abroad. When I was first accepted to the program, I was
very excited, but a bit nervous as well. What would Turkey be like? Would the food be to my
liking? How would the campus and dorms be? As I arrived at Sabanci for the first time, I
realized that these apprehensions were unfounded—I had left the familiarity of MIT only to
arrive at a place not so different from what I have grown to call home. Indeed, whether it be the manner and content of classes, campus facilities, or the students and faculty, my trip to Turkey showed me that Sabanci is a phenomenal institution of and most rigorous standards.
As part of my experience, I attended lectures and classes on campus throughout the week.
As part of this, I visited a variety of classes: plant ecology, philosophy (Science and Society),
western music, language and cognition, advanced illustration, introduction to signal processing
and information systems, and astronomy. Many of these classes lasted two to three hours in
length—something I was not accustomed to at MIT. This length allowed the teacher to delve
more in depth in a particular subject over the course of the class, which is something appreciated, but my jet lag did not help me stay focused the whole class for the first few days. Not only were all the professors courteous to us and allowed us to sit in, they often engaged directly with us as part of the class. Particularly, a few MIT students and I had a great experience discussing studies and current research in a smaller language and cognition class. Indeed, I found that some of Sabanci’s smaller classes were the most rewarding, like the advanced illustration class I attended, in which feedback could be given right away and conversations could occur between the students and professor.
The Sabanci campus is beautiful, and the organization of the buildings, separated by
subject type, is both intuitive and easy to navigate (even for a non Turkish speaker). Over the
course of this trip, I had the opportunity to see amazing places throughout the city of Istanbul.
Whether it was a bazaar or a mosque, each site we traveled to had it s own unique history,
heritage, and emotion. Indeed, I found Istanbul to be a vibrant city, spanning cultures, religions,
and eras. Despite the fact that I visited an assortment of mosques throughout my time in
Istanbul, I remember each one for its own distinctness—no two were alike. I remember vividly
the first day we arrived in Istanbul. The whole group was tired, but president Berker wanted to
take us into the city to see a mosque—the Blue Mosque. When we arrived, I was taken aback by its sheer size and magnitude; how could such a structure have been built nearly five hundred
years ago?
The richness of the Turkish culture is something I will never forget. The food was
delicious, and I particularly enjoyed the pistachio-filled kebob and baklava I ate at the Hamdi
Restaurant. Besides the food, the people I met had so much to share. Indeed, given Turkey’s
location in the world, many were better travelled than I, and had been across Asia and Europe.
Being a crossroad of the east and west, is one of Turkey’s most unique features I believe—the
people themselves possess a broader way of thinking that reflects a cross-cultural heritage.
This trip to Sabanci University has truly been a once in a lifetime experience for me. I
saw beautiful architecture, ate wonderful meals, and experienced a style of schooling that, while similar to that I was familiar with, was markedly unique. Most of all, however, I made new
friends among the Turkish students that gave much of their own time and effort to make sure we all had a phenomenal experience. I cannot thank enough President Berker, Sabanci University, MIT, Dean Hastings, and all the students who made this trip amazing. I look forward to visiting Turkey again, and hope to see my new friends there when I do!
