Monday, September 24, 2007 12:18 AM CDT
CHS exchange student says Turkish cuisine ranks among some of the best in the world
By ROB STROUD, Staff Writer
rstroud@jg-tc.com
CHARLESTON — Willow Spencer was speaking Turkish even before she spent part of her summer in Turkey through an American Field Service program.
Spencer, an 18-year-old senior at Charleston High School, said she had known since childhood she wanted to be an exchange student because she grew up hearing her mother’s stories about studying in Panama.
Turkey became her destination of choice after she read “The Historian” by Elizabeth Kostova, Spencer said. She was fascinated by the historical mystery novel’s references to the Ottoman Empire preceding modern Turkey.
About a year before her trip, Spencer started studying the Turkish culture and language extensively. She sought the assistance of Turkish graduate student Mert Kezer, at Eastern Illinois University for these lessons.
“I spent, probably, about two months just learning the alphabet and the different sounds of the letters and the grammar structure,” said Spencer, adding Turkish is quite different from English.
Even if the trip had not worked out, Spencer said she still planned to travel to Turkey someday. Fortunately, Spencer won a scholarship for the trip with the help of her high school Spanish teacher, Jennifer Thompson, and the local AFS chapter.
After arriving in Turkey, Spencer said she quickly realized the Turkish she knew was not enough to speak conversationally. She said her two host sisters, who knew English, and her host mother, who did not, helped her learn the language further.
“Every breakfast she (the host mother) would have me memorize 10 new words about the food we were eating or the kitchen,” Spencer said.
Spencer said she was able to understand what people were saying to her by the time she left, thanks to her host family’s help and her studies in Charleston.
“I think I learned significantly more because I had a base before I went and I was able to build on that base after I got there,” Spencer said.
Her host mother also gave Spencer cooking lessons. Spencer said they would regularly go shopping at fruit and vegetable bazaars for fresh ingredients for home-cooked meals.
Spencer said Turkey has one of the best cuisines in the world. Her favorite main course, known as “the iman fainted,” includes egg plant, onions and tomatoes cooked in rich olive oil. Her favorite dessert, hosnerim, is custard with cheese mixed in it.
Her hosts also demonstrated how important families are to Turkish people. Willow said Turkish families spend a lot of time together in and outside of the home.
“I became very close to each member of my family there,” Spencer said. “My family was my social network and I met so many of their friends.”
The trip included three weeks in the southern seaside city of Datca and three weeks in Instanbul, which straddles Europe and Asia.
“It was interesting to get in the car, drive across the bridge and be in another continent,” Spencer said.
One of her favorite sites in Instanbul was Hagia Sofia, a Christian church from the ancient days of Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire that became a mosque following the Ottoman conquest. She said the painted ceiling of Hagia Sofia, now a museum, “took my breath away” because it stretches so high above visitors.
Spencer said Turkey is an Islamic country, so several people in Charleston asked if she would need to wear coverings from head to toe. She said young women there tend to dress like their American counterparts, in T-shirts and jeans.
Turkish leader Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, known as “Father of the Turks,” followed a policy of Westernization and secularization after the Ottoman Empire fell following its defeat by the Allies in World War I.
“You can see his face everywhere, on the money and on flags,” Spencer said.
Spencer said her only culture clash was her tendency to walk briskly and outpace her Turkish companions. She said they walk at a relaxed pace and enjoy the scenery around them.
“They asked me all the time, ’Why do you walk so fast?’” Spencer said.
Spencer, the daughter of Chuck and Karen Lee Spencer of Charleston, plans to study international relations in college with an emphasis in Turkey and the Middle East.
Contact Rob Stroud at rstroud@jg-tc.com or 348-5734.
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