BY YAREN SAĞLIK (TRIN/III)
Name: Veronika Gerič Škopac
Department: Economics
Country of Origin: Slovenia
What do you like best about Turkey?
The food is amazing, and the people are always so kind to me. When I forgot my shoes on a boat in Fethiye, the owner sent them back to me by post!
Are there any similarities between Turkey and your home country?
We have some connections to Turkey because of the Turkish invasions in the past, but generally I chose to come here because it was the most different country I could choose to go to.
What will you miss most about Bilkent/Turkey?
The people and the friends I’ve met; because we all live on campus, they’ve become my family, and I love that. Also the long, warm summer days.
What’s your favorite place on campus, and why?
Either the grass area in front of Bilka or that below Dorm 52; both have an amazing view of the city day and night.
What’s your favorite Turkish food and/or favorite part of Turkish culture?
I love İskender, and also hamams, which are such an interesting experience; I’d never been scrubbed that well by another human being.
Where do you expect to see yourself 10 years from now?
I want to be a professor of economics and be with a guy who I know will love me and my children even more than me. I want to be happy.
What’s the hardest challenge you’ve handled in Turkey?
I’m taking a really hard course that I didn’t know would be this difficult, but I love the challenge.
What places have you visited in Turkey, and which one is your favorite?
İstanbul, Antalya, Alanya, İzmir and Beypazarı. Anything with the sea next to it is amazing to me.
Do you have any hidden talents?
I’m naturally very flexible. Also I have weirdly good control of the movement of my ears.
What’s an interesting question or comment you hear frequently about Bilkent/Turkey?
We have a saying in Slovenia; when someone smokes a lot, we say they smoke like a Turk.