Arrival in Izmir

When I was getting on a plane in Prague’s airport [08.07.2006], I immediately noticed an obvious change: most of people traveling with me were darker skin, speaking strange language – it sounded like a swearing [actually still it sounds like a swearing :o]. On the board I started with learning of Turkish language but it didn’t work.

In Istanbul I had to change plane for Izmir. First obstacle: how to get from the international arrival hall to the domestic departure one – no signs anywhere. So let’s ask somebody :D. Lucky girl – learning of sign language in the Czech Republic really came to handy a lot at that moment. I asked “only” three times and then finally found my departure hall.

At the airport there already was waiting an AIESECer [Ekim] to take me to an international house. Nice experience happened to me: I spent my first hours on Izmir airport, no bus stop, no timetables, no one who knew when our bus should have left, sitting on a pavement and waiting for some sign of service bus,…. We were waiting there for almost 3 hours. At 3 a.m. we finally reached the international house in Karşıyaka [that’s one of the parts in Izmir] and were standing in front of the house, ringing the bell and praying that somebody will wake up. Because Ekim hadn’t a key. Yee, after long ringing one of trainees opened the door and invite us inside. My only wishes were to take a shower and sleep. Ups, shower was such a disgusting place I have never seen before [maybe only in movies but this was real] – 15 centimeters deep “swimming pool” for cockroaches and other hardly recognizable objects. Whatever, I gave up shower for that moment. Another surprise, trainees didn’t know about my exact arrival time and Ekim also didn’t know where I should sleep. Thanks God there were several free sofas. Finally sleeping accompanied by cats’ miaul and dreaming about my traineeship :D.