Dominica's First Month

I spent my first month in Ankara as part of my volunteering project with the ANDER organisation, and it was a beautiful mix of meaningful work, cultural discovery, and simple everyday pleasures.

Together with the organisation, we explored some of Ankara's most important places. We visited Anıtkabir (Atatürk's Mausoleum), which was a powerful and emotional experience, as well as the Türkiye İş Bankası Museum, and Ankara Castle, where history and daily life blend naturally.

My work with ANDER was both hands-on and interactive. I helped pack food for LÖSEV, participated in knitting and crocheting workshops. I facilitated teamwork & communication workshops and took part in human rights workshops. One of the highlights was organising cultural days, where volunteers from different countries shared traditions, food, and stories. I also facilitated weekly speaking clubs, creating a space for discussion, language practice, and connection.

During my free time, I slowly fell into the rhythm of the city. I ate a lot of tavuk dürüm, usually paired with cold ayran, which quickly became almost a daily habit. Many afternoons were spent at Uluş Bazaar followed by long evening walks around the Kızılay neighbourhood. I also enjoyed watching volleyball games, playing Yüz Bir with friends, and sharing relaxed Turkish breakfasts with other volunteers one of the best ways to start the day together. On weekends, I had the chance to travel outside Ankara and visit Mardin and Gaziantep, two cities full of history, flavour, and unforgettable atmosphere.

This month in Ankara was not just about volunteering it was about learning, sharing, and growing alongside people from different backgrounds. It's an experience I'll carry with me long after it ends.

Maissem’s First Month In Ankara

 Hello eveyone ! My name is Maissem. I’m from Tunisia. And I’m volunteering in ESC project with ANDER Association in Ankara, Turkey. 

Well, my experience was special since the beginning because I actually started the 2026 year with this project, literally. I came to Ankara on the first of January 2026, and today I officially have been here for one month. I’m not gonna lie to you, this month passed so FAST!I came here knowing only “Merhaba” and “Inshalah”, but today after 4 lessons in Turkish Language offered in this project, I know a lot more and I am so happy about that! Even the sweet lady from the Simit Shop that I go to almost every day is now proud of the progression that I made. I started understanding the prices that she’s saying in Turkish, doing a “Hi How are you” conversation with her in Turkish, and of course thank her saying the magical word that everyone here smiles when I say it: teşekkür ederim and I smile back when she responds Afiyet Olsuuuun 

Another beautiful new thing I learned during this month is Knitting! 4 weeks ago I knew Nothing about knitting, but look at me now! I almost finished quarter scarf! And the amazing part about this activity is that I’m making that scarf for a beautiful kid out there who maybe cannot afford buying one.

Also, since Ramadan the holy month is coming in two weeks, a generous hospital needed our help in food packing and we gladly answered the call! That activity was super cool and emotional, we were active and served with a smile.

For sure I cannot be living in a place for a whole month and I don’t try to discover the most of it right? Yes, exactly! We actually had an activity centered around Discovering Ankara where we went to the most famous places here. Our first station was Anıtkabir which is a mausoleum complex which serves as the resting place of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Then, we went to Hacı Bayram Câmii which is a very famous mosque in Ankara. We also visited İşbank Museum with an official name of “Economic Independence Museum”. And of course, we went to Ankara Kalesi which literally means the Castle of Ankara.

In only one month I did those activities and a lot more. That’s why I’m so excited about the next month: the new adventures that I will live and the new skills that I will learn!

Antiga's December Blog

Last month was actually very exploratory and interesting, and this month has been just as exciting. Let’s start from the beginning. First of all, we continued going to school. The children loved us so much and got used to us so quickly that we are honestly still a bit shocked. The love and respect we received from them felt completely differentit was a very unique kind of love language for all three of us.

Our next stop was Tunalı Street. There, we visited Kuğulu Park, Botanical Park, and later Atakule. Inside Atakule, there was a small park and a simulation area. It was a really interesting place—almost everything felt like it was right under our feet.

As we are now approaching the end of our second month, which is also our final month, we decided to create memories at school. Since we had classes, we took photos with each class we taught and turned them into a video—both for them and for us as a keepsake. Our lovely teachers prepared a small surprise for us and made us blow out candles on a cake as if it were our birthday. I would like to thank them once again for everything.

After that, we finally visited Ankara Castle, which we couldn’t go to last time. The view was truly magnificent. Later, I went to eat ramen, a Japanese dish, with our debate group from school. It was really delicious.

Today, we went to the Belpa ice skating center. It was my first time skating, and it was so much fun. I didn’t expect to learn it so easily, but despite that, I fell down twice in a very funny way. Anyway, every story has a happy ending—and mine ends here. One day, I hope your path crosses places like these too, and you get to do everything you wish for.

Until the next journey—see you, bye 

Second Month Nino

 When I was coming in Turkey, what I knew for sure was that I would see Istanbul. This month I had days off from the activities, so I used this opportunity and booked the tickets to Istanbul. I liked the city very much. The best place I visited was Topkapi Palace, which left me in awe with its beauty. It really threw me in 15 th century. The Bosporus view from the palace was so impressive.

Another place I visited this month is Cappadocia. I had not seen anything similar like that before. Landscape there is so unique and hotels in caves are so cool. I loved it, even though it was cold and there was not season for hot air balloons. I took a lot of beautiful pictures in Cappadocia.

We kept going to schools this month as well. It’s fun to come up with new games and language activities for kids at school. Most of students seem to be very excited with all of this and are engaged during the process. Since this is the last week of our Turkish Experience, we had to say goodbye to them last week, which was very sad. Children wanted us to stay forever . Teachers at the school surprised us with a farewell party, which was very nice and heartwarming of them.

Last week we were in Losev. This is the Foundation for Children with Leukemia, which is providing support for children affected by leukemia together with their families. We helped them with packing food for these children’s families. I am so happy to do valuable job like this. One more highlight of the month - I tried another Turkish dish “Iskander”, which I liked a lot.

Unfortunately, our journey in Turkey is coming to an end. This was an unforgettable experience full of amazing people, great memories, and new lessons. I enjoyed every moment, learned so much, and will definitely miss this place. I’m leaving with full hearts
and lots of stories to tell.

Monthly blog (December)

 Hei, hei

This is my second and last blog. I cannot believe that time flew by so fastly. It feels like I came here just a week ago. But now it is time to sum up my experience. 

This month I already felt like I am local, Turkish. I always drank tea, asked for an indirim (discount), crossed the streets like native and listened to a lot of Turkish music. 

I had a chance to discover Ankara more: we visited Ankara Castle, Ataküle, did some Ice-skating and a lot of shopping. For me exploring those places with other volunteers will always be a core memory. 

This month we had to say a lot of goodbyes and the hardest ones were with school children. Teaching them English, playing with them, answering their questions… We bonded so much with them. They loved us, we loved them. My biggest hope is that we motivated them to learn more English and also to do volunteering in the future. 

My Turkish got better with each day and with that helped Duolingo, Turkish songs and of course Turkish environment. This combination is the best for learning language. I believe that when I come back to Estonia, I will continue with learning it. 

I will lie if I say that I did not miss my home. Actually the second month was much harder for me than the first one. But what really helped me to overcome my home-sickness was staying in contact with my family and friends, listen to my native music and watching beloved films. Like that I always had a way to connect with my regular, before project, life. 

The Christmas of this year was not as I expected, because Turkish people do not celebrate it, and there was no snow, to which I am very used to  and which is for me the biggest christmas identifier, we still celebrated it by watching ‘’Home alone’’ in a cozy atmosphere. Definitely a different experience, but definitely not a bad experience. 

When I came here, I did not have big goals, my goal was just to experience. And I did! Living in a new country, far away from home and family, learning about other cultures (which are very different from mine), meeting all those delightful people… It is an extraordinary experience, which is very important for me. 

When I will be home, I will miss a lot of stuff: Baklava, other volunteers, people I met in Turkey, school children… But at least I will have those happy memories and if something, I can always come back.

Görüşürüz, Türkey - Hello, home!