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I Love You Too

By Mec Marcella Chika Elekwachi

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21-10-14 I'm Marcella Elekwachi, Damla Yıldız's guest, and I'm going to talk you through the trip we made to Ankara. After a long trip with some difficulties (I had to translate at the complaint centre for two damaged suitcases), our mighty group arrived at Ankara, more precisely to the school yard of the Atatürk Anadolu Lisesi, where we found a jolly crowd of students, parents and teachers who warmly greeted us. I met Dursun Yıldız, Damla's mother, the lovely woman that opened her house to me. In spite of the problems of communication (we both had a list of words and phrases) we managed to limit the awkward silence of a face to face dinner to the minimum. A breath of fresh air came with Damla’s sister, Çisem, a really friendly 24 year old doctor, she knew some of the TV series that I watch so we had something to talk about. She speaks very good English and that's a big point in her favour, moreover she doesn't ask silly questions like “how many brothers and sisters do you have?” or “what's your favourite subject?” I don't know, maybe she does but not so obviously. It's 20:12, I'm trying, without success, to follow a film in Turkish. Still waiting for Damla, and since she wakes up at 6:30 I do not expect her to be so sociable. I wouldn't if I were her. 21:35, Damla is finally here. As soon as I saw the post-it with the password of the Wi-Fi on the desk I realized I loved her. She's so cheerful! I wonder how she does it, I'm in pieces. Her father is really nice and they brought us a chocolate cake ( <3 ), but I only took a spoon because I was about to explode: her mother over-fed me! After some chatting I went to bed and Damla even tucked my blanket, the weirdest sweet thing ever! 22-10-14 We woke up and managed to go out for the bus in time. It was a 36 minutes long trip but we easily found something to talk about.

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Before getting into school there was a welcome ceremony and when professor Arzu Aydın Koylucu said our name we had to climb the stairs in front of the school and stay there, before the enormous crowd of the Atatürk Lisesi students. I'm not joking, there was a lot people. After that embarrassing moment we were let free to follow our hosts and hang around the school. Only then I realized the true dimensions of the building: it was huge! The best part was when we went to Damla's classroom, 12i. At first we were quiet and everyone was talking / greeting/ hugging, then they put music on and we started dancing, personally I would have blushed if I had been able to when Tolga came and held my pinkie! We also took a lot of photos, most of them were selfies. There's this guy, Erdem Tuna, he's really nice and tall and his selfies are the best 'cause he has kilometric arms and everyone fits. After that, we went to the music room and Diçle Yağmur Kılıç sang for us, she has a beautiful voice and knows about Panic! At The Disco so she's perfect. Also Tolga came in! He watched amazed Giovanni Michelini playing the piano and Giovanni seemed like a kid showing off to him his musical skills, it was like anybody else was in the room but them. Magic. Later on we lunched at the canteen but I didn't like the soups, the meatballs were dry and the baklava was too sweet and soaking wet of whatever that was. I wonder if they all taste like that or it was only the school version. At 12:30 we gathered and got on the pullman to go to the Atatürk mausoleum. We made a lot of pictures and selfies and then we lined up in horizontal rows of six and the ceremony began. We went into the mausoleum and we watched the soldiers put a garland of flowers with the name of our school in the antechamber, then we moved to the next room where Arzu said some words for her motherland, it was touching. A guide walked us through the mausoleum which was a big museum all about Atatürk and what he had achieved, from this you can really see how much the citizens love him, he deeply changed Turkey and his name, chosen by himself, means “father of the Turkish”. Returned to our bus, we came back to the high school. Damla was waiting for me in 12i, she walked me to the bus stop and told me that she had a course and that she couldn't go home with me, I felt so bad, I was panicking, I didn't know anybody and I didn't even know the road, but then Irem told Damla that she would have helped me and suddenly I felt a bit relieved, even though she didn't speak English. She had to go off the bus before me so she introduced me to her friends, they were all very friendly and willing to help me. Aykut was the last one to remain on the bus and we got the chance to talk about pretty much everything. We were just talking about Game of Thrones when the bus stopped and I heard Damla's mother saying my name. I stayed at home with her till Damla got back with her father at 9:30. While waiting we watched some films in English with subtitles and I drank tea and a Turkish coffee. I think it's the same as normal coffee but only unfiltered, but I didn't ask. When Damla came home her mother told her that I've learned the song Gülpembe so I sang it before the family. I was really nervous 'cause I didn't want to do mistakes but in the end they all applauded! I felt really good after it. I was really tired so we decided to do some popcorn and choose a film. We had just taken the popcorn out of the microwave when her father proposed to go for a ride around town and told us we could bring the popcorn with us. It just sounded a perfect idea.

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After we got off the car (I immediately regretted I hadn't changed my pajamas) we walked for a while, went into a cosmetic store and I painted Damla’s hand with lipsticks and eye shadows, oh, the look in her eyes! Priceless! On the road again, we bumped into a Starbucks and I struggled with myself not to enter and go ahead because I wanted an ice cream, and I had it! It was different from the Italian one, I don't know how to describe it but it was ok. We finally got back to the car and rejoined our poor popcorn, left alone in the back seat, we were so happy but unfortunately we hit a bump and they ended up badly. Back home we waited for Çisem's return to have dinner but around 11:30 I decided to go to my room. I made a Hangout with my friend Giulia Venturelli and at a quarter past midnight I went to bed. I'm glad that there wasn't dinner because they keep given me too much food.

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23-10-14 On the school bus I met the guys from yesterday, they said hello and then started talking in Turkish. It's not a big deal, I just hope that they'll talk to me again this afternoon: Damla has a course even today. We, the Italian guys, met in the parking lot with a Turkish class. I met again Erdem, Ismail, Ozge and other people from the last year Comenius, I couldn't believe that they remembered me! From now on I'll call them “the former guys”, just to simplify things if I have to. So...they left because they had class and we, plus our new companions, got on the bus. The atmosphere was great 'cause everybody was singing and dancing. The first lap were the Roman baths ruins. Honestly? Pretty boring, but I had the chance of taking lots of pictures and to start “stalking” Onat, whom is a really sweet guy that looks like the lost twin of our ex classmate Kubilay Abusoglu. From then on my aim was to take a picture with him and I finally succeeded at the Julian monument. I can't recall anything significant after that till we got back to school. I told Melina Duman that Damla wouldn't stay at home with me and she asked if I wanted to go to her place so I went to the entrance of the school to wait for Damla and ask her, meanwhile I met other people, they are like curious mushrooms, they just pop out and ask questions. They're funny, I like them. So I was waiting, and waiting, and Damla's classmates went all out till no one remained, I quit my new friends and I was going to search my professors so that I could call a cab when I saw one of my bus friends and thought that I could have made it home anyway. Aykut wasn't on the school bus 'cause he had a course but it was ok, the last guy on the bus was Eran and we talked until he got off the bus, I felt that the conversation with him was less forced compared to the others that I had, no strange silences, well in the normal level. Back to us, Damla's mother, Dursun, was there, waiting for me, she thanked the driver and I “chatted” with him, then Dursun took my hand and we went home. We wanted to make a cake so we went to the market, the whole thing was challenging because we didn't have our word sheets and dictionaries but we worked it out and when we got home again we started making the cake. It was funny because my phone battery was dead and I couldn't translate so we just pointed the pictures on the boxes or the objects, but we made it in the end, and the cake was delicious. We then did our nails with the enormous collection of Çisem's nail polishes. When Damla came home with her father I gave them a slice of cake and they've really appreciated it, then me and Damla made popcorns and watched an episode of Once Upon A Time, after which I told her goodnight.

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24-10-14 There was less weirdness on the bus, they still can't help talking to me in Turkish but I don't mind. Me and some of the Italian girls went to the class 10F 'cause Chiara Barbari wanted to dance, it wasn't like we were abandoning such great deals, so we agreed. They had Just Dance videos, no joking. We went back to 12i and Arzu told us the groups and the lessons we were going to attend. While waiting to go, Alessia Ceci, Fiorella Molla and I went to the canteen and I met a girl that told me there were dishes made only for her school, I tried one of them: it was delicious, she said it's a secret recipe. We were walked to the Art classroom but I'd forgot my stuff upstairs so I had to go back but I got lost in another block, Aykut’s one! He explained to me that the school used to be a women's prison, that's why the plan of the building was so complicated, and he was so kind as to come with me to 12i and then to the door of the art class. After lunch we came back to the art classroom to learn about an Ottoman technique: painting on water, and we had the chance to try ourselves. We were supposed to go to the conference room but I came back for my jacket and I got lost again, fortunately I met a teacher and she showed me the way. Her name was Sare Özdemir. This place is huge. There was a surprise waiting for us: the school orchestra played for our school and in the end they made the Italian anthem with the addition of drums. It was like a remix, and we all got up hugging each other like the footballers and singing along. I loved it. Me, Giulia Carlotti and Valentina Filardi went to the bathroom and we were held in hostage by a group of students of 11L. When I finally got free I bumped into a nervous Damla. I had totally forgotten: her mother is away for two days so I had to go to course with her. We took the underground with other Italian guys and their hosts, we ate all together, I had a big sandwich with meat, tomatoes and a green sauce. It was good but it was too much to eat. Andrea Ferrari also offered me what he was eating: a big piece of bread cut in half and filled with potatoes, cheese, corn, olives and other vegetables but I couldn't finish it. Damla's course is two blocks away from the place where we ate and it's her father's workplace. As soon as I walked in people started to say good morning to me in English, do I have a flashing sign on my forehead saying “I'm Italian”? People kept popping out and talk to me. They all know quite well English and they are so kind and interesting and two of them have travelled a lot. Damla's father keeps appearing in the background smiling and we start laughing every time, I love that man! Folks continue to come visit in breaks, and I'm using the time in between to write this diary, it really takes a lot of my time. They explained to me that the last year of high school is very tough 'cause you have to study a lot, they have courses every day after school and in the semester they'll be at courses all day without going to school. Education is taken very seriously, they said your whole life it's decided by two exams of two hours each and all of your school career is aimed at passing those tests. Do you want to know how I feel about it? Shocked and terrified.

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26-10-14 Today I woke up at 7:00. Wonderful! Since Dursun was still out for a wedding, I had to go to course with Damla and her father, he is a “müdür”, that means principal. We made a review of parables, and I was surprised of remembering the formulas. I also attended a probability class kept by Damla’s father, he and his wife are both math teachers. After the course we ate chestnuts and then went to a library, we talked about the books we've red, and I remembered that at school we talked about Ohran Pamuk, so I could say something too on his works, Damla also told me that she doesn't like best sellers, in general I feel the same: most of them are cheesy and too much resemblant each other. Finally we headed to a Starbucks coffee shop and I took a caramel frappuccino, it was great! We stayed there for a while, letting us go to the super relaxing atmosphere, and it was like rumors said: it was full of writers. There was also a look-alike of Brad Pitt! Then we went to the airport to pick up Dursun, and she was so happy to see me, she even greeted me before her daughter! The dinner was insane: we had a thing like our “piadina” but softer and many sauces and a salad with “nar”, that's how they call pomegranate, then I ordered chicken and they gave me a plate with lots of food. Dursun and her daughter both gave me pieces of their kebaps. I was overwhelmed by that big amount of viands and I couldn't finish it. I was disgusted by the idea of eating something else but I ate the dessert anyway and with the tea (çay), the meal was finally over. Back home, to be in peace with myself, I've done some exercises before the shower, after that I sung something to keep me practised. Later on Dursun told me that she listened to me and that I was good, I replied a thank you, embarrassed. We then did our nails and it was time to go to bed. I really love that woman, she even asked me if I wanted to stay and become her daughter!

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27-10-14 It's Monday and alarm clock was set to 6:15. Outside it was freezing and cloudy. We arrived at the parking lot at 6:57, Damla's father is really punctual. I said goodbye to him and got on the bus, we had a long journey before us so, in addiction of the normal chatting, I've got ahead with the diary, we also danced on the bus, even the teachers! It was hilarious, but the bus then got really hot and we were exhausted, so we stopped. We got off at the salt lake. Me and three other girls got on a circular see-saw and it felt like we were kids again. Everywhere we go we bump into a souvenir shop, in this one there were lots of things, from the ordinary stuff like jewelry, bags, magnets, to the local products, like salt products for beauty and health. The lake was amazing: you could literally cross it shore to shore, we lookd like many Jesuses! The unreal optical effect made the reflection of the sky something near to the material, almost tangible and it was like being suspended in the air. After discovering that our shoes had become white we got onto the bus once more and reached Cappadocia a couple of hours later. The view was “indescribable” with lots of houses and rooms in the walls of tuff. Me, Noyan, Ahmet, Eleonora entered one of those caves and from there we could see very far away, not so much for the height, although we were at a certain “altitude”, but for the soil, there was a significant elevation gain. We got down and we searched for another one but the next was too difficult to be climbed in, well, it was for me: three Turkish guys succeeded! It was a room connected to another and when you go to the other side you have 3 meters below you. When Mr Vaccari saw them he said a swear word, got up with the agility of a cat and sent everyone down again. The next stop was the Cappadocia Open Air Museum. Me and Fiorella did the anti-socials and hanged around on our own. Lots of fun. We finally rejoined our friends and we stayed there there chatting for a while. Ilaria had just gone to the bathroom and left her stuff with me when Margherita Benati came to me and suggested we do a prank to her. I'm not good at this things because I hate to lie but I agreed, Margherita then took Ilaria's sweatshirt and put it on her head like an old lady does with her scarf and even Ilaria's glasses. In the end I couldn't even stare at Benati without laughing. When Ilaria came back, me and Alice Gatti told her that we couldn't find her stuff. At first she didn't reply and looked around, then she was starting to see it through and believed that her things were in our bags, and at last she saw her, sitting not far away, among a group of people. Ilaria went to her and Margherita started jumping around with her fists in fight-mode. I just can't describe what I felt. Even the thought makes me smile. The last stop was at the “fairy houses”. Mr Vaccari, our history teacher, explained to us that the “hats” of the columns signed the level of the soil millions of years ago and that the whole area was formed by the sedimentation and erosion of lava and volcanic ash. Fiorella wanted to do some touristic photos, the ones where you seem to carry the burden of the “hats”, It was more difficult than I expected but I made it. Back to school I was really tired and just wanted to go home, and when I saw Damla's father I rushed to him and I called him “Bapa”, dad, I don't know why, it just felt right, and he was so

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happy and he hugged me, I was terribly moved. Seriously I don't really know how am I going to go back to Italy. I think I'll be homesick for a while. I don't want to go, but then I think of my family and friends... this situation is tearing me apart. 28-10-14 I kind of missed being on the school bus, the quiet. Damla is so sweet but we don't have much to talk about. I've discovered that she usually does not talk to the guys of the bus, so all those people came for me! Wow, that really hit me. Back in 12i we waited to begin the rehearsals of the final show and Eleonora sung to a group of Turkish their anthem and then she and I sung ours. Noyan explained to me that the Italian anthem was more patriotic while theirs is more about remembering what they've been through during the independence wars, so they sing it very gravely. Down in the conference hall there was a lot of movement but the rehearsals went fine. Damla then took me to the mall because I had to spend all my liras before going back to Italy, 'cause I've heard they are difficult to change into euros. The mall we went to was very big, and it had an aquarium with sharks! I don't think you people want to know how I searched in vain for a pair of bordeaux jeans so I'm closing here.

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29-10-14 In 1923, on this day, Turkey gained its independence. No school for today but who wanted could attend the Independence Ceremony. Obviously,we had to be there but at least I got to wake up at 7:30. Alessandra Corno, Margherita Benati, Eleonora Ranuzzi and I sung in front of the audience, plus the Town Authorities and the inspector of the Comenius project. The orchestra was composed by Giovanni Michelini at the piano, Valentina Filardi and Astrea Bonacini at the transverse flutes, Maria Seghedoni was playing the violin, Fiorella Molla the percussions and the guitarist was Chiara Barbari. At 15:00 we went to a little city called Gordion. At first the name suggested me the film Matrix, you know Zion? But then I thought of a big, futuristic, city. My first hunch was right: from my window I could see few small houses in the middle of nothing with trash and ruins everywhere and not a soul outside. Just like a ghost town. Ok, Zion was better. In this forgotten city there was a museum. I really couldn't keep focused to the never ending film they made us watch so I went playing with the interactive screen with Chiara Barbari. I even translated the captions, it's more easy to learn things when you don't have pressures, we were genuinely having fun. After the museum we went to the Midas Tumulus but all we saw inside was a long corridor with a close gate at the bottom through which you could see the external wood logs of the king's tomb. And then our bus came and took us to Sakarya. It's a place very important for Turkey as it's the last point the enemies could get to on the way to invade Istanbul. The specific war of Sakarya lasted 21 days and 21 nights and there's a monument representing them, formed by 2 rows of 21 white and tall column. Another monument tells that rough days nearby: A soldier, holding his rifle by the barrel to hit the enemy represents the Turkish average man's hate against the invaders and the strong love for his country, a woman beside him is holding a weapon on her shoulder and touches his harm, this is for the strong women that weren't afraid to take part in the combat and didn't leave the men alone in the battlefield. The last figure on the left of the soldier is a boy that has a grenade in his hand: everyone took part in the battle and the patriotism is even in the young ones. These characters represent the general willing of Turkish people to defend their country 'till their last drop of blood has been shed. The Sakarya Zaferi Müzesi was like a journal of the battle: there were big etched bronze panels that tell the facts of the Independence war. THIS was interesting.

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30-10-14 This evening there is the gala and guess what? I forgot my dress at home. However, the hours before the event are going to be tough because of the rehearsals. Today's headquarters will be the theatre of the teachers’ hotel near the school. The morning has passed quietly. We returned to school for lunch and after that there was a football match four against four, Italian and Turkish students, but the match had to be stopped due to a heavy rain. Back to the hotel things got a little worse, one of the singers, Margherita Benati, who played in the football match, was late because she was taking a shower and Chiara Pelloni, who had to give me the words of the Turkish Anthem, was late too but I fortunately founded another score. The delay of Benati got Giovanni Michelini upset and when, after her arrival, it was obvious that we couldn't arrive at the height of the last notes of the Italian Anthem... well, yes, we got problems with both of them but the exhibition went great in the end, and I even managed to get a dress! Anyway, after the Anthems there were lots of speeches. The most touching part was when Arzu spoke at the end: she was trying to keep calm but you could see how moved she was, and after her speech her students brought her a bouquet of orange lilies and even I felt the irresistible desire to hug her. After so many emotions we went to the final room of the day and we finally ate something, they gave us our certificate of participation and then the real deal began: they put on some music and we started dancing like it was our last day to live! Even the teachers took part in the dances, and they were wild! You know, when you hear the word “gala” you usually think of slow dances, Waltz for example, but in this case it was a good surprise (although I would have liked the classic version too!). The only irk was when they played “Watch Out For This”: I was dancing in the outskirts of the crowd with Fiorella Molla and my host father could perfectly see me, so, yeah, that was awkward. Beside the jokes that night was perfect and in the end we were all sweaty and happy, delaying the farewells and adding good memories to our already wide collection.

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31-10-14 I wanted to write a love letter to Turkey, but words are too specific, too restrictive. What's left to say are cold facts to an outside spectator... well, I've never been good with words or people but I'll try anyway. Today was our last day in Turkey, and it was sad. The events of the morning are all I'm going to tell, because it's all is worth remembering. At the beginning it was “fun”, we’d put on Just Dance videos to hide the sorrow. There is a reason why I choose the verb -hiding- instead of -chasing- : we couldn't see it coming, but we knew it was there, underneath the brave smiles and the cheerful dances, and then it just exploded. At one pm. there was not even half a dozen pairs of dry eyes in the back parking lot of the school. This was how this beautiful experience has ended, but don't worry, we'll be fine. This wet memories will leave place to the sweet ones and everyone will keep living their lives, with a new piece of soul.