It’s a Long Way From Home

A COLLEGE JOURNEY FROM TURKEY TO UW-STOUT

Stout is one of the more backwater schools in the UW system, but despite all of that, there’s still those from outside the country who find themselves in the peculiar town of Menomonie. Not quite small-town America, by no means urban, and certainly not cookie-cutter American, WOTS asked Meryeim Ozdemir to give her perspective on Dunn County’s shining jewel.

Tell us a bit about yourself.

I am from Turkey. I am studying computer science at UW-Stout, focusing on cyber security. This is my second year here, and I came here because my uncle is a professor here at the university. It’s easier to come when you have relatives.

Had you left Turkey before coming to Stout?

No, I had not left Turkey, but I had moved from city to city quite often when I was in high school. I went to college in Turkey for one year before coming here.

How does Menomonie compare to what you had thought America would be like?

When I think about America I think about Mexican Americans, African Americans, and Asian Americans; all sorts of people. I thought that by coming here I would meet many different people groups, but that is not what it has been. I was honestly scared because I was thinking, “I’m the only one here who looks like me,” but after living here for over a year, I was shocked to learn how alike we all are. We’re all scared, we all love, and we’re looking for connections, you know?

Back in Turkey, there is a lot of judging based on what city you’re from. “Oh, you’re from here, you must be like that,” but I’ve stopped feeling that way. Coming here, I had to learn to start loving others for who they are. People here are welcoming. Back in Turkey I’d move from city to city and not be able to make friends, but we have nothing in common, yet we are sitting here having this conversation. I’ve been able to participate more in college, and that has helped me get to see that we’re not really all that different, whereas back home, it was harder to participate in aspects of college.

Could you compare and contrast the two experiences? What’s better in Turkey? what’s better at Stout? What’s worse?

In Turkey, class was much larger, and it was harder to communicate with professors. We didn’t have homework assigned in Turkey so managing classes was all self-taught. Here, you do the work every night, but it helps you learn it much better. In Turkey, the classroom was much more social. Before class, it was hard to hear because everyone was talking before the professor showed up. College was just as much a social thing as it was education, but here, you go into a classroom and it’s so weird because no one is talking. Everyone is focused on their objective. Professors here are also much better. They’re always improving themselves, writing essays, and doing research. College here is crazy expensive, but back home, college was free, and the government paid me to go. My living expenses, food, clothes, and rent were all paid for. Here you are just paying so much.