Aslı’s Study Abroad Experience in Chicago, USA

My name is Aslı Bursalıoğlu. I am from İstanbul, Turkey and study at the Koç University. I am currently studying abroad in the United States at DePaul University for one semester. In my free time, I like to play violin, read books, and be with my family and friends (and of course my dog).

What was the best thing that happened to you during your experience abroad?
One of my favorite parts is definitely making local friends. Spending time with people from around here is the best way to learn about a country and in my opinion is necessary to be able to fully explore the culture.

What was the worst experience you had there?
My worst experience so far has been my roommate. We really cannot get along well, and this has been quite the struggle for me since this is a first time I’m experiencing such thing. My way to deal with this is to keep the conversation to a minimum and being able to stay calm this way.

What is your favourite word there? 
“Deep-dish pizza”. I don’t think any further explanation is needed.

What is the best food you had there?
The best local food here I think is deep-dish pizza, but I also really liked the Japanese and Italian food I’ve had here so far. In addition, I am a big fan of the cheesecakes here!Was there a situation that made you step outside of your comfort zone?
Even being here, across the ocean, is something that made me step outside of my comfort zone, since this is the longest time and distance that I am away from home. In addition to this, even though I enjoy spending time with friends quite a lot, I learned the value of “me time”. It used to make me uncomfortable to be alone on my free time, but I figured that exploring a new place and adjusting to a new life style by yourself can be something really enjoyable and it actually teaches a person a lot about themselves.What is the biggest difference between the USA and Turkey? 
The fact that they don’t use the metric system here in USA is the thing that made me confused the most. I still cannot understand what the temperature is unless I convert it to Celsius myself.