A semester abroad: "Everything is in your hands"

More than 300 students from the University of Oldenburg now go abroad every year. One of them is Mira Hazzaa: the semester in Istanbul was both a new beginning and a journey of discovery for her.

A broad smile crosses Mira Hazzaa's face. She ponders for a few seconds. Then she slowly answers the question of what the best thing about her semester abroad in Istanbul was: "It was like a new beginning. I said to myself: you're abroad now. You are now a blank page and you now have the chance to shape this page. You can choose the colours and the brushes, everything is in your hands." Mira's smile widens. "And that's what I did," the student adds confidently.

Mira is in her fifth semester of social sciences and education. It was clear to her right from the start of her studies that she wanted to go abroad. To a country that would allow her to think outside the box. "I wanted to get to know a new way of life, discover new customs and values," explains Mira. And Turkey and Istanbul, the city of contrasts, appealed to her.

Mira decided to plan her semester abroad with Erasmus. She was supported by the International Student Office (ISO). Visas, foreign student loans, insurance, special certificates - Mira's preparations took a whole year.

Then it finally started. The protests in Gezi Park had just died down, but Mira felt the upheavals in the country at first hand. She was there when the government switched off Twitter and Facebook when Recep Tayyip Erdogan was re-elected as prime minister amid protests. "People in Istanbul are incredibly interested in politics, to an extent that we are not used to in Germany."

She began her studies at Sabanci University, a private university. "There were lots of Porsches in the car park, and some of the students only brought a mobile phone and a charger to the seminars - which they didn't take part in," reports Mira. But she didn't let this put her off. She passed her exams, attended Turkish language courses and volunteered in her free time. "I invested a lot of time in a project with children in care and ran workshops there. There are also lots of NGOs and cultural institutes in Istanbul that organise lectures and symposia. I gained a lot of new impressions and met exciting people from Turkey and all over the world."

A commitment that paid off for Mira. She returned to Turkey for an internship - and her Bachelor's thesis will also focus on the country.