Giveback Piece

I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Türkiye with TRU women’s volleyball team to learn from the Turkish culture and play volleyball with local teams. This was a part of a TRU international field course called EXPL 3000, where we received 3 credits, life-lessons, and memories that will last a lifetime. A part from this incredible experience, I was responsible for developing a travel guide for the next group of students that would be taking this course and visiting Türkiye. During my trip, I made sure to take field notes, photos, and brochures that could be helpful for the next group to prepare for this trip. I did this to highlight the Turkish culture compared to the Canadian culture, as it shares minimal similarities. This made this travel guide extra helpful, as I mentioned key details such as how Türkiye is a Muslim country, the minimal English use, safety precautions due to Istanbul’s population, and other recommendations useful for travel. Overall, the main objective from this travel guide was to ensure that the next group of students were prepared and would be able to utilize their time in Türkiye as best as they could. For instance, this guide helped them learn about the culture, encourage them to immerse themselves within the culture, follow cultural norms with respect, and urge them to try new things to gain a deeper understanding of the Turkish culture to expand their worldview.