End Of Semester Performance from International Students
BY ANNA KORSUNSKA (COMD/III)
On Thursday, December 16 all of the international students, as well as an audience of members of the staff and an array of Turkish students, gathered in the C-Block Auditorium for a special event: the end of the semester show, performed by international students in Turkish. This event's purpose is to demonstrate how much they have learned over the past 4 months in their Turkish language classes at Bilkent as well as to entertain their fellow students with their language skills, acting, and dancing talents and creativity.
Many different groups presented plays, each one original in itself, yet there seemed to be main theme of the plays: love. Whether it was two people coming together from different cultures, love at first sight, or tragic love between supporters of different football teams, love was definitely in the air and on the stage that Thursday evening. Another common theme was Turkish culture and traditions and how foreigners interact with them: examples were marriage, traditional Turkish families, old movies, dining customs, and traditional dancing. Yes, of course, the performance would not be complete without wonderful music, singing, and dance routines. One group performed a rap in Turkish, and another choreographed an entire dance routine to finish their performance. Overall the international students had a fantastic energy and were very well prepared. And I must mention, the plays were hilarious.
When I asked them about what they thought of the experience of preparing plays, they said that it was a good way to sum up all they had learned in classes and a good stimulant for learning, since everything had to be in Turkish. They also said that it was very fun creating the stories and characters, preparing the script and props. And it showed in their performances; students transformed dramatically, from women to men, from young to old … mere international students to accomplished actors.
Since for many of the international students this will be one of the last events that they will take part in at Bilkent University, please join me in thanking them for their effort and for coming to Bilkent, and we want to wish them happy holidays, and a safe trip back home.