Ubaid Masood Ghilzai, Hajvery Unviersity (HU) Study Abroad Scholarship holder talks about his experience in Istanbul, Turkey.
Ubaid Masood Ghilzai is currently pursuing BS (Hons.) Electronics at Hajvery University (HU). He was awarded a scholarship to Study Abroad for 1 semester at Sabanci University, Istanbul, Turkey. The scholarship included Return AirTicket, Comprehensive Insurance, and 5000 Euros Stipend Money for daily expenses among other things. The following essay is written by him, which presents a glimpse of his Experience of Studying and Living Abroad in the mesmerizing city of Istanbul.
My Name is Ubaid Masood Ghilzai and I am Student of Hajvery University, Lahore Pakistan. Recently, I was sent to Sabanci University,Istanbul, Turkey for one Semester. I’d like to tell every one that it was the most amazing experience I have ever had~ being an Exchange Student at Sabanci University was fantastic. The University was great, Students were very nice and Teachers were co-operative. And most of all, everyone was very welcoming.
Being an Exchange student at Sabanci was much easier than I thought, because of the rigorous academic background I received at Hajvery University. Sabanci is one of the best Universities in Turkey, it’s campus is located in the absolutely stunning city of Istanbul. I was able to easily adjust myself, since Turkey is also a Muslim country like Pakistan, therefore we have many things in common. I tried to be social and made a lot of friends, and I am sure that I made a few friends for life. I had a time of my life there!
It was, however, hard at first, but interesting and exciting at the same time. One thing I loved about Turkey was that even though I didn’t speak any Turkish, and the Turkish don’t speak English – when I arrived, every one made a big effort in helping me out. They always spoke very slowly and used hand gestures – it requires a lot patience. I took advantage of this excellent opportunity, and learned basic Turkish, eventually I was able to communicate in Turkey, since the local people don’t speak much English.
Though I am quite used to living away from the family but I still experienced a bit home sickness because it was first time I was not with my family on the occasion like Eid ul Fiter and Eid ul Azha. But I learned a lot about being independent from this experience. Turkish cuisine is very delicious, I loved the Iskender Kebab and Turkish Doner, in sweet dish loved Baklava the most.
Engineering Department of Sabanci University is very tough. The Faculty was really Experienced. I gained alot about my field of Engineering. The Labs were fully equipped and Digital. The Library System of Sabanci University really impressed me. The Staff of every Department was so nice and caring towards International Students, especially the International Relation office Staff.
I travelled around Istanbul to UNESCO world heritage sites such as Blue Mosque, Ayosofia, Topkapi palace, these are remarkable places. Words fail to describe their grandeur. I also visited places outside the city of Istanbul, such as the Cannakkale, Troy Fort and Pamakkule.
Overall, this Experience has taught me to be grateful, Independent and open minded. My language skills have improved much more than I had expected before going for this program. And I think I should stop here otherwise, this story will never come to an end!
Thanks to every one who made it possible for me especially Hajvery University and Mr. Fahd, Mr. Umer, and a special thanks to Sabanci’s IRO Staff Ms. Evrim Gungor. and Ms. Cansu Ciga for being so welcoming.
HU is a joint-signatory of EM 2009-2013 Consortium of 20 Universities from Europe and SAARC countries, which allows the partner universities to send and host students between the consortium members. HU is grateful for European Commission for such initiatives and the funding to make this all possible, moreover to all our Partner Universities for co-operating to make this a success.
For Further Information, Queries regarding Study Abroad opportunities at Hajvery University (HU), and Study Abroad Scholarships contact:
Office of Foreign Affairs & Planning
Hajvery University (HU)
Email : intl@hup.edu.pk
web: http://hup.edu.pk/offices/foriegn-affairs-a-planning
If you liked this post, you will definitely enjoy reading these posts:
Orientation Seminar for HU Study Abroad Students.
HU in International Landscape.
————————————————————————————————————————————————-
Hajvery University (HU) is one of the leading Universities in Lahore. HU is Chartered by Govt. Of Pakistan, Accredited by Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (HEC) and rated W category. HU is a progressive, Student Centric University, focused on offering rigorous, market driven courses in Business, Fashion, Engineering, Computer sciences, Textile Design, Media Studies, Economics, Commerce, Pharmacy & English For details:
UAN: 042-111-777-007
email: info@hup.edu.pk
