Today I met with my Turkish friend Burcu. We decided to get some food together and I asked her where she would like to eat. She said pizza, so we got pizza!
Burcu has been living in Tallahassee for the past four years working on her PhD in Elementary Education. I met her through my job at the Florida Center for Reading Research. At dinner, we talked about her plans for after she graduates. From what she told me, the Turkish government is paying for her to come to America to study. She has two options when she graduates: either go back to Turkey and work for their school system to repay the government for sending her here to study; OR live in America and pay all the money back to Turkey for her education. She seemed very conflicted about this because she really likes life in America, but she also feels indebted to her country for paying for her education.
This led us to discussing the different places around the world we would like to visit or live. We both noted the differences between America and Europe as far as travel. She said she misses being able to walk around town. Here in Tallahassee everyone drives. You go to school or work and sit for so long each day, and then you drive and go home and sit more. Even as an American, I find this a bit frustrating; especially from a big-picture point of view. We both said it would be great to live in a city where you rely more on biking and walking to get around. What a life!
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