Ahlagül: Two weeks in Istanbul already?

Tomorrow, I will have been in Istanbul for two weeks, and honestly, I have no idea how half of the time has already passed. I am really enjoying my Erasmus+ experience so far, although the first few days were a little bit difficult.

I am doing my internship in a department of a private international hospital. The hospital has a special department that organises trips and treatments in other countries. I work in the call centre office, where the employees answer customers' questions and call them. I am currently getting to know the work by looking at the enquiries and seeing how everything is organised. It is really interesting to see how such a big international hospital works behind the scenes.

The first days in Istanbul were a bit rough because I had to settle in and get used to my new everyday life. It also felt different from my previous visits to Istanbul. I had been here every summer before, but this time it is not a holiday. I am living and working here, which makes the experience completely different.

The biggest challenge for me so far is definitely the traffic. Because so many people live in Istanbul, there seems to be traffic everywhere, no matter how far I have to drive. I spend at least one and a half hours getting to work. After work, I am therefore mostly on the Asian side of the city, which is closer to where I am working.

On the weekends, I usually go to the European side of Istanbul, where many of the famous tourist attractions are located. A friend from Salzburg came to visit Istanbul, so I spent most of the last few days with her. We explored different parts of the city and had a really great time together. One thing I really enjoy is that there seems to be a public viewing of the World Cup on almost every corner. There are always so many people, and the atmosphere is really special.

Even though Istanbul can sometimes be chaotic and very busy, I absolutely love the sea and the views. There are so many people everywhere, but somehow that is also what makes the city so exciting. You can turn around almost every corner and see something new.