"The Days That Changed My Whole Imagination"

by tamari gadalashvili (Georgia)

Making a local connection Georgia

The days, the moments and the people that changed my whole life and imagination… I can remember how it felt when I understood that I was going to be a part of the unforgettable summer in Turkey…yes, I was chosen to be a part of it. Before meeting the Turkish people, I had my opinion about this country with its culture and traditions…but…it’s well said “don’t judge a book by its cover”, yes! I still feel the smell that I first felt in the streets of a little city Bolu in Turkey… I still remember the faces of Turkish people, walking in the parks with their children, laughing loudly and happily… I still feel the taste of their traditional food… I can strongly say that being a part of this huge society made me a different person…I remember myself walking in the streets with my broken suitcase searching for the bus to Bolu, remember the drivers and their assistants wearing white sweaters and black pants, with the same expressions on their faces…remember the women, walking to their homes with the food for their families…remember the camp, the green forest around it, a huge lake in the middle of the camp territory… I still feel and can see how excited I was when I first saw my bungalow, along another beautiful bungalows that were standing on the right side of the camp…I remember how amazing it was when I first met the Turkish students, when I first introduced myself as one of the leaders and proudly started making the unforgettable memories with them. I spent the months with these amazing people, I learnt how a foreigner can become a part of the society, despite of many differences between them, a lot of difficulties and, on the other hand, a lot of interesting and bright parts about the native people, the parts I could never imagine anything about.Walking through the green fields, looking at the students with the happiest expressions on their faces, sitting at midnight silence, watching at the stars from my bungalow, kanoing in the lake, being appreciated by the native people…yes, these little but breathtaking moments made my summer… I was a teenager, becoming independent person, far away from my family, from my country…obviously, this kind of challenges make us as strong, interesting, educated and motivated people and we are creating the future more beautiful and peaceful… can’t delete the pictures in my eyes, while flying over the clouds, watching the sunset and how its lights were lying over the white curtain…still can’t realize how a little child’s mind can make this much marvelous pictures in her mind and be the happiest person in the whole world… but still, I made it… <3 <3 <3