I was born in Istanbul, which is very crowded and urban.

Since my childhood I did not

have much contact with nature. I liked being outside, walking around the city and hanging out
with my friends. Then I got an education in Business Administration with a double major in
Literature. I like both areas and worked in several jobs related to them. Right now I am doing a
MA in social sciences which I am going to finish in June 2021. The reason why I would like to
work as a volunteer in your institution is because I want to experience an alternative form of
living, want to work with people of another land in a collective manner and develop my German
skills further.

I love doing different things because I believe people can learn only if they get their
hands dirty, in other words only by really experiencing something. That is why I worked in a
fresh vegetable and fruit logistic center in Istanbul. I remember from that experience that I was a
manual worker, I cleaned green onions, parsley, mint, and other similar herbs and bundled them
so that they were ready to be sold in the supermarkets. We would work at night when the city is
asleep. It was a tough, physical work but I enjoyed it because when I returned from work, I had
one of the sweetest sleeps of my life. Besides I learnt there working with my hands. Later I went
into university, was successful in my courses. During my studies I worked as a freelance
translator. I love languages, I learnt Spanish in the University. I am now learning German on my
own. I discovered that I could learn things on my own by spending the required time and effort.

After graduation, I worked as a journalism editor. This was a short internship. Then I
decided to do the MA and at the same time started working at BASF chemical company as an
intern. My experience with BASF taught me how big the chemical industry is and how they
govern every aspect of our lives. Working as a white-collar worker led me to realize that that was
a very limited form of life. In the work, I just looked at some reports and did not have enough
experience or initiative. I did not feel free there.

Now I am unemployed due to Covid and am in a period of self-discovering again. I had

heard about ESC and volunteering projects, had heard about the declining rural life but did not
have the courage to take a step further. Now I would like to be a volunteer in this project because
I come from an underdeveloped region of the East of Turkey and understand the hardship of
coming from a disadvantaged background. I can develop projects to engage young people,
elderly people, migrants, people with underrepresented backgrounds. I am an excellent
organizer, I can communicate with anybody and start a conversation in less than 30 seconds. I
am very adaptive because I am humble and try to be functional in the environment I live in. My
dream is to hear from people that I have done something nice for them, not for money but out of
sheer good will and solidarity.

Lastly, I hope this has sounded promising to you and wish to be among you in a project. I
am a responsible person and know the implications of going into such a project. Once inside, I
will do my best to fulfil my objectives and be helpful to the community.