Experience in Ankara

Time passes so quickly, I am so surprised that almost two months have already passed since I am in Ankara, the place that became my second home.I started the month of February with a trip at Anıtkabir , also known as Ataturk's Mausoleum which is a remarkable monument dedicated to the memory of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder and first president of the Republic of Turkey. This ico nic structure stands proudly in Ankara, the capital city of Turkey, capturing the essence of Turkey's rich cultural heritage. I was impressed by the objects that were part of Kemal Ataturk's collection, the collection of swords, lighters and pens were just some of the objects that impressed me. The most impressive were the life-size wax statue of Ataturk and the paintings with him.

  

The next day I went to the National Library ,Milli Kütüpane which has one of the richest collections in Turkey, I was impressed how spacious, rich and clean it is. Another visit was to Göksu Park which is one of the largest parks in Ankara, it has a picnic area, walking paths, lakes activities, cafeterias, restaurants and the most beautiful has ducks, swans which you can feed. I felt like a child again there, I drove the electric cars, I went on the little roller coaster, I enjoyed a salep and the dinner in the cafe shop by the lake.

In paralel with visiting we did amazing activities as volunters, at Keçioren Youth Center we did wood fire sculpture , bag paintings and charms. The results were amazing, we enjoyed so much that we didn’t want to take a break.

Last week was very busy for me especially because it was the Cultural Romanian Night, I cooked at Mamak Youth Center Romanian food , frigarui and tocinei. Frigarui is a traditional Romanian dish with chicken, zucchini, onions, mushrooms, pepper ,all strung on wooden sticks and then baked. The dessert called tocini is kind of pancakes but with grated potato and sour cream, the volunteers loved the food. After they ate I prepared a presentation, a quiz about Romania, then a word twister with three levels, we dances two tradicional dances called Brasoveanca and Hora. The voluneers were very happy about the cultural night and enjoyed a lot. The following days we had Turkish lesson with our amazing teacher Leyla, knitting scarfs for children in need and radio podcasts. I can say that I am very proud of my progress here, now I can order by myself a restaurant in Turkish and have a basic conversation. I am very excited to continue discovering more about Turkish culture. The aventure continues…