Liz's Exchange

And After

District 6690 - To District 2240

Westerville, Ohio to Bostanli-Izmir

A Photographic Odyssey of Liz McMurray after Graduating High School,

Including a year of Exchange in Turkey, College at Mercyhurst College and mroe.

Back to MTS Website

Liz's Turkish Speech

Liz's Turkish Song "Memlekitim"

Feb. 2007

Liz was a chaperone on the Rotary Eastern Adventure which traveled to Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington.  We had 100 Exchange Students.

Liz has been adjusting to College life at Mercyhurst.  She is in Roteract, Anthropology Club and  and is taking Arabic  and Majoring in Language Education. She has straight As in Arabic.  

To the left, Liz standing on the beach at Lake Erie, Presque Isle. Below we explored Erie during Parents weekend October 14-15.

Liz addresses the Westerville Rotary Club 08/17/06

She speaks at the Westerville Sunrise Rotary Club. 8/23/06

Justine Brown of Midland, Michigan, who was in Bostanli with Liz and Jacub Filipsky, who visited her in Turkey and was a friend from Rotary last year visited Liz before she went off to college.

Liz was only home three days when we had to drive to Erie, PA to visit her college. Dad sweated bullets, because Liz had never visited the campus and we didn't know if she'd like it.  SHE LOVED IT and so did Jeanne, who had not seen it before. She actually starts Freshman Orientation August 26.

Homecoming was SWEET.  We have had two parties with another on the horizon.  Liz is acclimating to her old surrounding with food, friends and Micki, her dog.

Liz is Home

Safe and Sound

And Already in Party Mode

Awaiting Liz when she got home were her friends Christine, Stephanie, Brenda, Hillary and lots of food, cake and fun.  She didn't get to bed until 11:30 pm (having not had a nights sleep in 48 hours), She was unpacked by noon Tuesday.

Last Day

Well, here I am at the end of my exchange year. I have only one day left. I figured now would be the time to write a little something for the diligently kept up journal on my website :P... I know you guys haven’t heard much from me in a while. I’ve honestly been really busy traveling all over the place, and when I get home I will more than happy to tell you all about all my travels and the things I did and saw. But for now I am using this writing as an opportunity to try and sort out exactly how I feel right now, because that isn’t even clear to myself.

This whole exchange deal is pretty tough really. They say it isn’t just one year, it’s two. Arriving in your host country and going through all the trials and tough things, Trying to fit in at a different school, let alone in a different language and culture. Trying not to piss your host family off by doing things the wrong way, even though you’re not quite sure what the wrong way is anymore. Being lonely. Then after all the work and times you were upset and felt alone and missed home and your language and culture and old life, something amazing happens. I don’t even think it has a real name in English or in Turkish. But suddenly, you have adapted, alistin.

Suddenly it doesn’t seem so hard anymore. You begin to not only enjoy things because they are Turkish and interesting, you being to enjoy them because they are comfortable. This different landscape, these different looking faces, different lifestyle, different school- they become...normal. This apartment on the seventeenth floor (I have never lived in an apartment before) becomes the place in which, after a long trip or day at school, I take off my shoes and throw myself on my bed and say, “it feels great to be home.” Home. It’s a word with more meanings than we think. Home, for 18 years, was that yellow house on the corner, and still is. But somehow “home” has broadened now, into something which is confusing and sad and a little worrying, but altogether lovely in many ways.

Home and comfort is now also in this apartment. It is in my school here and the hearts of my friends. It’s in Efes beer, or a glass of cay, or a rolled up pide on the street in Alsancak. It is all the times I’ve looked from our balcony off into the mountains across this beautiful little bay in the Aegean, and taken comfort from it, no matter what my thoughts were at the time. 

I’m not trying overly hard to be sentimental or corny, but exchange is something of a particular inspiration of corny things. I love this place. I love my family here, and am eternally grateful for all their help and support, and the security they gave me this year. And now on coming home.

The second year of my exchange begins. I now have to readapt into American culture and speech and thinking.  I have to get used to living with my real parents and seeing friends I’ve known for years. The food will be different, the drinks will be different, I will no longer be legal to drink alcohol (now that’s really something to cry about). Traditions and weather, everything will change. Again. It will be very hard, but don’t worry American friends and family, I really am looking forward to see you all again. And home is also still the place I grew up and love and missed so dearly in those beginning months. You will just have to keep your patience with me as I adjust. Which means, you will have to listen to me go on and on about places you don’t know and haven’t seen and people you’ve never met. It will get annoying I’m sure, but I know you love me and will all help me when I get home. Love you all, and can’t wait to see you this summer. Lots of love and hope and anything else-----Liz (a.k.a.- Feliz Mugray :P)

Olgun and Gul

My Loving Host Parents

Asya

My Two

Burak

Dearest Buddies

Asya and Mr. and Mrs, Ergun, my frequent hosts and dear friends

Ece

Cakabey School Teachers & Friends

My Dear Little English Students

Tamane

Asya and her wonderful family and Burak

Liz, Asya and Jacub (visiting from the Czech Rep.) Explore  Ankara

And Efes Again With Burak in Tow

Jacub Filipsky was an Exchange Student with Liz and Asya in Ohio last year. They were great friends.

Ataturk's Tomb

Why we haven't heard from Liz for a Week.

Over the next few weeks Liz is going to be traveling all over the place.

Liz and Eihtor

Frankie, Nice Shirt

A Rotary Luncheon

Gul at the Rotary Luncheon

Liz's friend Dicle in Class. Sneaked Picure

Liz's 2nd Home, Ege (Aegean) Park Mall

District Conference, It included Scuba Diving and Kayaking for Liz. She sang her songs with her fellow exchange students in a chorus behind them.

Latest Pictures of Liz. 

On the right with Exchange student Seth from Missouri.

Above, a new Turkish Hairdo

Ece, Liz, Burak

Kerem and Friend

Dicle and Liz

Ece and Liz

Liz was greatly honored to be  the only exchange student to give a speech at the Rotary District 2440 Annual Conference.  The speech given in formal Turkish about her exchange and her "Second Country", Turkey.  She also sang two songs.  The Memlekitim, a very patriotic Turkish Song dear to the heart of Turkish people.  One lady said it "brought tears to her eyes."  The second song was Peter Paul and Mary's "Leaving on a Jet Plane" accompanied by Luiz, a Brazilian exchange student.

Her Rotary Club is honoring her for doing such a good job representing her club and exchange.

Liz and Luis, a Brazilian Exchange student who played guitar for her singing.

Liz and Baruk in front of their hero. 

"A ruined church in Kayakoy, was really cool!"

 Saklakent, the big gorge! Thats the river I almost got washed away in.

Bodrum Castle

Exchange students having a bad hair day.

Manisa Rotary Weekend

The Manisa Candy Festival is one of Turkey's most famous, but it is pretty crowded and hectic.  The exchange students were kept behind the 100 or so police who were there.  It was a great weekend and Liz had a great time with the Rotary Family who put her up.  She has become great friends with their children.

Patricia from Brazil and Liz

Rocking in Alsancak

Liz loves her classmates and

recent won a music contest and is in a play at school.  

Izmir is the capital of Camel Fighting.

Liz's Rotary District gave the exchange students

a free outing to this interesting spectacle.

Bill and Jeanne visit Liz in Turkey

See Pix

Liz, Asya, and Burak

The Rotary holds weekly Turkish class for exchange students. 

Burak really hates this

I'm too sexy for my shirt....

Hanging out at the Mall January 18 with Asya, Can, Burak and his ex-girlfriend.

Burak

Gul at a Rotary meeting

Exchange student Seth from Missouri, Mavisehir Club, Olgun's Rotary Club.

from Istanbul Trip

 The last Lizard to terrorize a major international city was Godzilla. Here is Lizard of Istanbul

Belly Dancer, Merry Christmas

Liz's Little Tree

And Decorated Cat

Liz is going to Istanbul on Christmas Weekend with the exchange students.

She made dozens of cookies for the Exchange Student's Christmas Party and here are her Gingerbread men, dogs, angels, bells, trees etc... 

This is a correction. They ARE gingerbread men.  The Webmaster is duly chastised.

Model United Nations Conference

TIMUN.ORG

Istanbul

Rotary District 2440 Exchange Students

Liz with her traditional reaction to bus or plane travel.

Burak, Liz and Justine

Frankie, Justine and Burak

Burak's New Hat

Garlic can keep away a cold

Liz cooking

Matt cooking

Liz's School decked out for the holiday. The picture is Kemal Attaturk, father of Modern Turkey.

Turkish

Independence Day

These are from the parade. me all gussied up for my country. Gul looking pretty. all the Brazilians bedecked in green and yellow. oh, there's the boys from Manisa on the bus that Tona loves for some reason...and the girl singing is Deniz from school. she actually is a good singer and she always sings along to Powerturk radio on the bus with a water bottle microphone.

Deniz, Powerturk Singing Sensation

Gul Kircil, Liz's Host Mom

What country are you from?

Happy Birthday Turkey

As you can tell the Turks are very proud of their country and very nationalistic.

Istanbul Weekend

Liz joined her classmates on a long weekend school trip to Istanbul.  Included were all the sites, including Attaturk's home , the Blue Mosque, Markets and shopping malls. The highlight... a caramel frappucino at Starbucks.

Liz spoke nothing but Turkish the entire weekend and made some incredible friends.

Istanbul ... where East Meets West.

Getting ready with  the help of Gul

Learning Turkish and being cool

In the end she'll be no Fool

Orientation Weekend

Weekend of October 15

One of the highlights of Rotary Exchange are the weekends you spend with Rotary Exchange students. Here is Liz along with her Exchange Friends and Host Mom Gul  in Socuk and on a sailing trip. Notice no pictures of her clubbing in Alsancak. 

Pix By Gul

Sailing on Exchange orientation weekend

Old Glory and Lizard

Gul, Justine, Liz , Anna, and Liz's advisor Selim

Liz and Gul

Exchange students District 2440, Izmir Turkey

Exchange students District 2440 in Socuk Orientation

Liz in Socuk

Liz and Darah had a sleepover Friday.

Liz gives a tearful goodbye to Host Brother Ali as he goes off the college in Istanbul.  

AA Wonderful Weekend, Opera, Buckeyes, Burgers  and Sleepovers

that night i went with Sarah (from Canada) and Justine and Sarah's family (niiiice people) to the historical site of Ephesus, and saw a classical concert of the works of Verde in the ancient amphitheater! it was absolutely amazing! the site was all lit up and the music was beautiful. sitting in thousand year old seats surrounded by columns and  overlooking the harbor road, that, in antiquity lead to the ancient harbor. its columns were lit up all the way down the road and so you could see its path over the old stone road all the way, as a backdrop to the musicians. it was something i wont ever forget

Verdi at Ephesus

Making  Buckeyes in Turkey

Sleepover with Justine and Sarah

Liz made an American meal for Tamane

Liz just chilling in her room.

Have you seen my new shoes? Bought from a street vendor. 

Olgun bought me this amazing walnut chocolate thing that's Turkish and he wanted me to try it. bless his heart. mmm....its AMAZING. its like that almond mush that comes in cans, only from walnuts, and its rolled into this cone shape and covered in chocolate and pistachio shavings.

reeeeaaaally nice people from school who invited me out with them.

A beautiful Asya and her friend Can.

Liz's great friend Darah

Liz in her Bathroom

Waterfront  Alsancak.

Ferries are the easiest  way of getting around.

The Delightful School Uniform on her neatly made bed.

View from her home in Mavisehir a lit up and pretty.

Reminding Liz of Home, Host Dad  Olgun like her Dad is an expert in the Kitchen.

Liz's friend Fernando from Mexico eating exotic Foreign Food.

Un-American Liz refrains from this delicacy. 

Host Brother Ali with his phone, Abercrombie  and television.

Merve and Mert in Liz's Class

Liz enroute to school

Classmate Tugce

Marcela from Brazil snoozing in class.

Sarah from Canada and  Liz 

Ekmek and Sarah

Host Turkey Cat Brothers

Liz , Marcella and Anna on the Bus

Liz on the Bus

Tassia

 Darah (right) and Ece.

We're in Konak pier getting Burger King  with a bunch of other exchange students.

With Darah (yes, she's from the USA),

One of the pics is of us on the way to meet someone at another pier. we decided a taxi was too expensive and i spotted one of the carriages they use for tourists and of course! as if i would leave THAT opportunity alone. We managed to haggle the price down and he took us straight to the cafe, sidewalk included. so we took some pictures of us being stupid and touristy (surprise surprise!)

The other is when we made Turkish coffee together on her stove! oooh ahhh.