Student Story – Blessing

Who is Blessing?

I was born and raised in Harare’s high density suburb of Mufakose. I am the first born in a family of three boys. I did my primary education at Tendayi Primary and my secondary education at Mufakose 2 High. I was one of the 6 students at Mufakose 2 High who got 10 A’s each in 2011. In 2012, I was given a full A-level scholarship by Makomborero and was enrolled Gateway High School – one of the most prestigious private schools in Zimbabwe. For my A-level, I had 3 A*s, 1 A and 1 C in Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, General Paper and Further Mathematics respectively. My A-Level experience was a life changing moment and I am very grateful to Makomborero. Thank you Makomborero! In 2014, I applied for, and got, a full scholarship to study Computer Engineering in Turkey.

Blessing in Turkey

My first days here in Turkey were hard. This was mainly due to the fact that I did not know the Turkish language – Turkey’s official language. All the registrations – dormitory and university – were in Turkish. Moreover, the undergraduate students’ registration process was longer and harder compared to that of masters or doctorate students. I was helped by my fellow African brothers who had been here for some time and knew the Turkish language.

As soon as I started learning Turkish, life became pretty easy for me. Making friends became very easy. They were so many places to interact with people like at school, at my dormitory and at church. Hence I steadily adapted to the new environment. In this year, 2015, I will finish the Turkish language course and start my Computer Engineering program at Dokuz Eylül University.

One of the things I liked here in Turkey is the hospitality that is shown by locals. Some of them, when dealing with foreigners, use the ideology “We are all brothers”, and I do admire that. I live in İzmir- the third largest city in Turkey. İzmir has various tourist attractions, for example Efes (Ephesus), the famous clock tower and beaches. I am also very fascinated by transport system; it is very fast and efficient and is supported by a good infrastructure. There is a smooth connection between buses, trains and boats.

I also found a lot of surprises here. One of them being the difference in culture because the religious background of Turkey is different from that of Zimbabwe. Weather in İzmir changes randomly in winter – cold days, windy days, rainy days, sunny days and sometimes it even snows! And a funny one: local people tend to give a long stare at foreigners! It’s a bit weird though!! In the midst of all these surprises, I have learned that I need to respect and understand people from different cultural backgrounds and to be true to my identity not forgetting where I come from.