My name is Valerio, and I first set foot in Turkey in November 2016, and since then, I have hardly left. I must admit that I didn’t come to this amazing country for education or work; I came for love. At that time, I was volunteering with an association in Benevento called “Hayali Kooperatif” and was involved in amateur theater. Thanks to this association, I had the opportunity to explore the fascinating world of youth exchange. Until 2013, I had no contact with new cultures; I wasn’t interested in traveling or learning a foreign language because I was quite content with my life in the environment I was born into. I had no particular desire to “discover” what lay beyond my village, my city, or Italy in general. But through this association, I discovered the beauty of theater and the joy of learning this art deeply. I had the chance not only to see many Italian cities I had never been to but also to travel abroad for the first time (outside of school trips). During these travels, I had the opportunity to work closely with people whose cultures and languages were different from mine, and this gave me an irresistible desire to learn new languages and explore the world beyond my comfort zone.
In October 2016, during one of the theater projects supported by Hayali Kooperatif, I had the opportunity to meet people from Turkey, among whom was Gülçin, who would become my wife about five years later. Thanks to her, I visited İzmir, and we decided to live there for about two years (from 2018 to 2020) before moving to Istanbul in 2021.
Turkey was a beautiful discovery for me; I had the chance to experience the warmth of its people, the cultural differences in family relationships, and the culinary culture. In my first years in Turkey, despite not knowing the language and not having a steady job, I felt good and almost carefree; I was still trying to obtain my university degree, and thanks to the peaceful lifestyle of İzmir, I was almost unaware of the problems existing in the country. However, life in Istanbul is very different; here, people are less social and more focused on their work, life moves faster, and you often don’t find time to do anything other than work.
I met many people in both İzmir and Istanbul, all of whom taught me something in one way or another. I shared significant experiences with many of them, and thanks to some, I had the opportunity to truly understand the differences between various Turkish cities.
In Istanbul, despite asking on social media, in the streets, or in my work environment, I couldn’t even find two people to make music with; everyone didn’t value their hobbies because they didn’t see them as productive. In contrast, in İzmir, people showed respect for their free time and knew how to make the most of it while not compromising their responsibilities.
At the end of 2020 and especially after getting married and moving to Istanbul, I sadly realized that Turkey is not just about beautiful landscapes and people always ready to help you; it also has a darker side that still oppresses many people. This situation perhaps unconsciously creates an ethical and ideological crisis in the social infrastructure.
This situation has made me think, and it still does, because despite loving Turkey, having a comfortable life, a wonderful family, and a job I enjoy, I don’t want my son to grow up in an environment where everything is predetermined, with no chance to make things better. Many young people are eager to leave this country, which should be a dream for many, but numerous problems make this country unappealing (for Turks), and it seems that everyone’s primary goal right now is just to leave.