Friday, October 18, 2024
Growing up in Waterloo, Sara Najib (BSc ’24) yearned to experience life and culture beyond her hometown, leading her to a four-month study abroad term in Istanbul, Turkey. Immersing herself in a country with a different language and customs took her far outside her comfort zone, but it led to one of the best experiences of her life.
Eager to embrace a new culture, Najib immediately enrolled in Turkish language classes for beginners so that she could strike up conversations with locals and students. “It was a risk to go to a country where they didn’t speak English, but I saw it as an adventure,” she says. “Forcing myself to speak Turkish with my classmates helped me pick up the language faster.”
Read more on Waterloo News.