Spring Break
Creative culture
Comprehensive geography major travels to Middle East twice to study language, culture
Breann Schossow
Issue date: 10/29/09 Section: Student Life
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With that in mind, UW-Eau Claire senior and comprehensive geography major Katie Nolan wrote about the experience and had it published in Glimpse, a non-profit platform for stories from abroad sponsored by National Geographic.
While writing, Nolan e-mailed the article to Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Marty Wood for tips.
"She worked just as hard on the revisions as if she was enrolled in a class with me," she said. "She's very, very serious about getting better at what she does."
One of the things Nolan said she's passionate about regarding travel writing is misrepresentation, which she feels there is a lot of in that activity.
"I would like to be a part of representing people and things well," she said.
Nolan has traveled to the country featured in her article twice thus far to study Turkish and explore the culture - the first time because of a critical language scholarship from the U.S. State Department, and the second to continue to learn the language.
The road to geography
Nolan considered print journalism and political science as majors before taking Geography 111, Human Geography, and switching to a geography major. She said the class gave her an opportunity to learn about politics, religion and language, among other topics that interested her.
"It seemed kind of perfect," she said, adding that some classes in her major make her feel like she's traveling.
Wood, who met Nolan when she took an honors course he co-taught about writing and world geography, said she distinguished herself as one of the best writers he had ever worked with in terms of talent and experience.
"She proved that she was one of the most willing to keep working on improving her writing, which is like a great combination - someone who already has a lot of skill but is not hesitant to try new things," he said.
Wood described a good geography major as a hard-working student who is willing to take risks and do out-of-the-ordinary activities.
"So Katie's perfect for that," he said. "She's all those things."
Preparations
Nolan has studied Turkish for seven months and said she initially wanted to study Arabic. However, when looking for opportunities to study it in the Middle East, her advisor encouraged her to try for the program in Turkey as well, which she got in to.
"At that point, I wanted to learn Arabic, but I just wanted to go to the Middle East," she said. "It's a part of the world I've been fascinated by - the culture, the religion, just what goes on there."
The first time she went to Turkey, Nolan said she didn't know how to prepare, but the state department sent her a reading list and tips on how to travel. She added that she also looked into places she wanted to travel and studied Turkish history.
Wood said Nolan is courageous and adventuresome, which is shown in her travels to Turkey.
"Nothing was easy," Wood said. "Every part of these two trips she had to make up as she went along."
Middle Eastern culture
During her second trip to Turkey, Nolan said she had the opportunity to more traveling in and out of the country. Like her first trip, Nolan lived primarily in Istanbul, which she described as a vibrant city with a rich culture.
"Part of me really longs to be a part of a society where there's this very apparent traditional culture," she said, citing music, history and food as models.
As an example, Nolan said she and friends would be at a restaurant, and musicians would go around to tables to perform songs that everyone knew.
"Maybe that would be true for our generation, if someone was playing a Backstreet Boys album or something, but these were songs that had been around forever," she said.
Nolan added she noticed an emphasis on family as well, which is true of many other places aside from Turkey. For example, she said meals were full of conversation, and when fellow students made important decisions, they would take family opinions into great consideration.
In addition, Nolan said courses she has taken for her major made her look at regional differences, which she was able to recognize while in Turkey. For example,younger people in Istanbul tended to be more Western, dress in a more European style and recognize European or American music. On the other hand, the farther east one goes in the country, the more traditional it became.
Travels
While in Turkey during her second trip, Nolan said she had the opportunity to travel more, within and outside of the country. At one point, in April 2008, she crossed the Turkish border into Northern Iraq to see the country for herself.
"I wanted to meet Iraqis; I wanted to hear things that they had to say," she said.
Nolan stayed in the country for five days and said she felt crossing the border should have been a bigger event than it was for her. She arrived at 1:30 a.m., and she said only three people were working the desk, and before entering the country, she and her companions had to be checked for H1N1.
Nolan said it was difficult to communicate, as most people in that part of the country spoke Kurdish, and Nolan did not.
"You can't really be anything but an observer if you don't speak the language," she said. "We did a lot of gesturing."
However, she said she could tell from gestures that people were glad she and her companions were there - a similar feeling to what she had felt in Turkey.
"If you're trying to learn the language, and if you're trying to experience the country in a meaningful way, they're very flattered that you're there and that you're trying to learn," Nolan said.
Back in the U.S.
Senior philosophy major Kyle Shaffer said Nolan challenges him intellectually in a good way as a friend. He added that she stands out when it comes to the way she treats people.
"She's really selfless in the way that she devotes her time to people, even people she's just met," he said. "She values human interaction."
Shaffer said he thinks learning Turkish is a continual challenge for Nolan, which he thinks she enjoys.
"I think learning a language is a big thing, as far as being able to communicate, but also being able to ... immerse her more in a culture she's already really interested in," he said.
Nolan will graduate this spring, but she said she plans to take time off before going on to graduate school and may possibly spend time in Turkey. She added that she would potentially like to live in Turkey, someday.
"I think that's a really important experience to have, to feel like you've been a part of a place."
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