Intervju s Gokhanom - upoznavanje

This is an interview with Gokhan. Our dear volunteer Petra asked him 10 questions to get to know him better.

1. How did you find out about this project?

I found out about this project through my friend Ezge. She is working on another project in Croatia and she contacted me after finding out that Slava Raškaj was looking for another volunteer. She thought of me since I am a recent graduate and thought I might be interested. She was right! 

2. What made you decide to move here and take on this new project? Did you have any hesitations when making the decision?

I am a recent graduate with international relations and psychology. I thought it would be a great experience to move to another country and work in a project related to psychology. I didn't necessarily have any hesitations regarding moving to another country and adapting to another culture. I only had hesitations regarding leaving my family and loved ones.

3. Is this your first time volunteering? Why do you think volunteering is a positive challenge to take on? 

This is not my first volunteering experience. I volunteered in Ankara, Turkey in the Association for Struggle against Sexual Violence but it lasted only 2-3 months because the association ended up closing due to the pandemic and I couldn't go back because it was my last semestar at university when they reopened. Overall it was a good experience and I felt good helping people so it was another reason I decided to come here and do another volunteering project. I think volunteering might be hard time to time, but in the end it is beneficial for society and helps me improve my personality and develop various skills and gain knowledge.

4. What excites you about this chapter in your life? What do you think you will gain from this experience?

This is my first time working on a project about psychology. I had some experience with international relations, but never psychology. I have never lived in another country either so I am excited to see how I will adapt to another culture and system. I do have good theoretical knowledge in psychology but with this experience I hope to gain more practical experience too. Other than that, I hope to learn some Croatian while I am here as an addition to the other languages I know which are English, Italian, French and Turkish.

5. Does anything scare you about moving to a new country?

In general I think moving to another European country is not so difficult because I believe we share many core customs and values. Like I already mentioned, I think the hardest part for me will be being away from my family and friends which was my main concern when making the decision of coming here in the first place.

6. Is this your first time living away from home? Have you ever lived with a roommate before? What do you anticipate about living with a stranger?

In my undergraduate studies I lived away from home, in a dormitory. I have had many roommates - sometimes it was 2 of us, sometimes 4 roommates. My roommates

were always people I didn't know before moving in together. We never had any problems and I anticipate that this experience will be like that as well. I like meeting new people and can get used to people with other cultural values and outlooks easily. The last two and a half years I lived alone so it will take some time to get used to living with somebody else again.

7. Have you set any goals you want to achieve for the time you will be here?

I would like to use some of my time here to travel and see other     European countries since they seem accessible and it may be easier to travel than while I live in Turkey because of the physical distance. I would like to meet new people and even though I am moving back to Turkey, I would like to gain some new friendships during my time here. It's always nice to have people to share your daily life with. My main goal as I said is to help me gain more experience in psychology and prepare me for my further studies like getting a masters degree or for my future job.  

8. How does this project relate to your field of study in university?

Throughout my studies I took some courses about social and developmental psychology. Since this project deals with helping children with communication difficulties it relates directly to developmental psychology as well as social psychology since their difficulties are likely to lead to problems in participating and getting into social groups. My knowlegde from my university degree will definitely be helpful in detecting difficulties the children are facing and providing solutions to them. 

9. Have you ever been to Croatia before? If you haven't, what is your first impression of Croatia?

I have never been to Croatia before. My first impression is that it is a much calmer environment than where I have lived before, Ankara and Izmir. There are much less people and there seems to be less chaos. I like how the architecture has some specific patterns. The buildings seem to be in harmony and I enjoy exploring all the little streets. I have only been here for three days so I still have a lot to explore but for now I really like it. 

10. Would you like to immerse yourself in the Croatian culture? If so, how would you like to do that? What aspects of the culture would you like to get

to know?

I would like to immerse myself in the culture here. I don't consider myself a tourist because I am going to be here for about four and a half months and I want to be more like a Croatian citizen while I am here since I believe that is the best way to fully experience a country. I can do that by learning Croatian at a basic level and by travelling within Croatia. I'd like to see Rijeka and Dubrovnik. I can also do it by talking to Croatians. I think that would help the most. I will try to listen to some Croatian music and watch some Croatian movies. I like cooking and eating also so maybe after trying some typical Croatian meals I will even try making them myself. Since I am an international relations graduate I already had some knowlegde about Croatia so I think that will also make it easier for me to get to know the Croatian culture. I have studied about Yugoslavia, the 20th century European politics and the EU so I think I have some good historical context, too.

Ovo je intervju s Gokhanom. Naša draga volonterka Petra postavila mu je 10 pitanja kako bi ga bolje upoznali.

 

1.       Kako si saznao za ovaj projekt?

Za ovaj projekt sam saznao preko svoje prijateljice Ezgy koja radi na jednom projektu u Hrvatskoj. Javila mi je kako je saznala da „Slava Raškaj“ traži nove volontere. Budući da je znala da sam nedavno diplomirao, mislila je da bih mogao biti zainteresiran za ovaj projekt. Bila je u pravu!

2.            Što te je potaknulo da se preseliš ovdje i prihvatiš ovaj novi projekt? Jesi li se dvoumio oko donošenja odluke?

Nedavno sam diplomirao Međunarodne odnose u području psihologije, te sam  razmišljao kako bi bilo sjajno iskustvo preseliti se u drugu zemlju i raditi na projektu koji je vezan uz psihologiju. Nisam imao dvojbe oko preseljenja u Hrvatskoj i prilagođavanja novoj kulturi, već oko toga kako ću prebroditi odlazak od obitelji i dragih ljudi.

3.              Je li ti ovo prvi put da volontiraš? Je li volontiranje pozitivan izazov koji treba prihvatiti?

Ovo nije moje prvo volontersko iskustvo. Volontirao sam u Ankari u turskoj Udruzi za borbu protiv nasilja, ali je to trajalo kratko (2-3 mjeseca) jer se Udruga zatvorila zbogpandemije Covid-19. Budući da je to volontiranje bilo u zadnjem semestru na Sveučilištu, nisam se mogao vratiti kada su ponovno otvorili svoja vrata. Sve u svemuje bilo dobro iskustvo, osjećao sam se dobro kada sam pomagao drugim ljudima, te je to još jedan od razloga zašto sam se ponovno odlučio na volonterski projektS vremena na vrijeme mislim da je volontiranje nekad teško, ali je korisno za društvo i pomaže  da razvijem svoju osobnost, steći vještine i znanja.

4.        Što ti je uzbudljivo u ovom poglavlju svog života? Što misliš da ćeš dobiti ovim iskustvom?

Ovo je prvi put da radim na projektu koji je blisko povezan s psihologijom. Imao sam iskustva na području međunarodnih odnosa, ali nikad na području psihologije. Nikad nisam živio u drugoj zemlji, pa sam uzbuđen vidjeti kako ću se prilagoditi novoj kulturi i sustavu. Imam dobro teorijsko znannje iz psihologije i nadam se da ću s ovim projektom steći više praktičnog iskustva. Osim toga, nadam se da ću naučiti nešto hrvatskog jezika dok sam ovdje kao još jedan jezik od kojih sam naučio, a to su: engleski, talijanski, francuski i turski

5.       Je li te strah nečega prilikom preseljenja u drugu zemlju?

Općenito, mislim da preseljenje u drugu europsku zemlju nije toliko teško jer vjerujem djelimo slične temeljne vrijednosti i običaje. Kao što sam već spomenuo, mislim da će mi najteže biti odvajanje od obitelji, što je i bila moja najveća briga prilikom donošenja odluke o dolasku u Hrvatsku.

6.             Je li ti ovo prvi put da odlaziš daleko od kuće? Jesi li ikada živio s cimerom? Što očekuješ od života s osobom koju ne poznaješ?  

       Kad sam studirao, živio sam u studenskom domu, gdje sam imao mnogo cimera. Nekad nas je bilo dvoje, a nekad i četvero, sve su to bile osobe koje u početku nisam poznavao. Nikada nisam imao problema s cimerima pa se nadam da i ovo iskustvo biti takvo. Volim upoznavati nove ljude i lako se naviknem naljude s drugačijim kulturnim vrijednostima i pogledima. Poslijednje dvije godine živim sam pa će mi trebati vremena da se naviknem na život s drugima.

7.        Imaš li ciljeve koje želiš postić iza vrijeme trajanja ovog projekta?

Želio bih iskoristiti dio svog vremena za putovanje i upoznavanje drugih europskih zemalja jer se putovanja čine pristupačnije, nego kada živiš u Turskoj zbog fizičke udaljenosti. Želio bih upoznati nove ljude, iako se vraćam u Tursku. Želim steći nova prijateljstva za vrijeme boravka u Hrvatskoj       jer je uvijek lijepo kada s nekim mmožemo dijeliti svoj svakodnevni život. Moj glavni cilj, kao što sam već rekao, skupiti što više iskustva u području psihologije kako bi me pripremio za magisterij ili budući posao.

8.        Kako ovaj projekt utječe na tvoje područje na fakultetu

Tijekom studija pohađao sam nekoliko kolegija iz socijalne i razvojne psihologije. Budući da se ovaj projekt bavi    kako pomoći djeci s komunikacijskim teškoćama, izravno se odnosi na razvojnu i socijalnu psihologiju jer će njihove poteškoće vjerojatno dovesti do poteškoća uključivanja i sudjelovanja u društveni život zajednice. Moje znanje koje sam stekao tijekom studiranja može pomoći u otkrivanju poteškoća s kojima se susreću i pronalaženje rješenja za njih.    

9.       Jesi li ikad prije bio u Hrvatskoj? Ako nisi, kakav je tvoj prvi dojam o Hrvatskoj?

Nikada prije nisam bio u Hrvatskoj. Moj prvi dojam je da je to puno mirnije okruženje od Ankare i Izmira, gdje sam prije živio. Mnogo je manje ljudi i čini se da ima manje kaosa. Sviđa mi se arhitektura grada jer ima specifične uzorke. Uživam u istraživanju svih malih uličica, ovdje sam tek tri dana pa moram još puno toga istražiti, za sada mi se jako sviđa.

10.      Želiš li se upoznati s hrvatskom kulturom? Ako da, na koji način bih to želio učini?  Koje aspekte kulture bi želio  vidjeti?

Želio bi se upoznati s hrvatskom kulturom.   Budući da ću u Hrvatskoj boraviti više od četiri i pol mjeseca, pa se iz tog razloga ne smatram turistom već se želim osjećati kao hrvatski državljanin jer je to najbolji način da upoznate neku zemlju.To mogu učiniti tako da učim hrvatski jezik i putovanjem po Hrvatskoj. Volio bih otputovati u Rijeku i Dubrovnik, slušati hrvatsku glazbu, pogledati neke hrvatske filmove, te na taj način najbolje naučiti o hrvatskoj kulturi. Volim kuhati i kušati        hranu, pa kad probam tipična hrvatska jela i sam ćunapraviti hrvatsko jelo. Budući da sam diplomirao međunarodne odnose, već imam spoznaje e  o Hrvatskoj pa smatram da će mi to pomoći u upoznavanju hrvatske kulture. Proučavao sam Jugoslaviju, Europsku politiku 20. Stoljeća i Eu pa mislim da imam i dobar povijesni kontekst