Learning a new language

A new country means new adventure, new places, new people, new experiences and of course, new language. Some of us don't like to get out of our comfort zone and start in a country where they speak the language, some of us like it harder. None of it is easier, however, not knowing the language is a little more challenging. Besides that the exciting adventures, new country means a lot of paperwork and it is not very easy if you don't speak the language.

I've started my PhD in November and knew that I would start a Dutch course (Hasselt University is located in the Flemish part of Belgium). I didn't want to rush for it, but also not keep on postponing it since time flies. I spoke with the international students in my research group to see how and where they were taking the courses. Usually, there are evening classes which are pretty intense but seeing my colleges speak pretty decent Dutch motivated me to start

I was told by my promoter that I was going to teach 2 classes in the Spring semester. I waited for the semester to start since it was my first time teaching and wasn't sure if I'd have enough time for activities like this.

Eventually, in late April, I started a Dutch course in the evenings. It is twice a week and approximately 4 hours each day. Yes, it is intense, but the teachers do their best (thankfully) to make it fun and easy to follow. Now that a few weeks into the language course, I started enjoying it.

There are many proven benefits of learning a new language on the brain, which is another reason to learn a new language. Since I've been attending the course, I feel like my days are more productive and I can concentrate for a longer time. In Turkish, there is a saying that "one language is one person" so the more you know, the more door it opens.

Why continue blogging?

One of my proud achievement (personal satisfaction) last year was to start this blog. Sometimes I write 10 posts lined to publish in a few weeks and sometimes I have no idea what to write for a few weeks. I had major lifestyle changes and I wasn't very sure if it was worth to keep writing. Even though I am very passionate about research and academia, however, full-time PhD takes a good amount of my days. At that point, I realized that I am not writing this blog for someone or for something. It is a choice, a hobby not a job.

I tried to remember what was the main reason I started in the first place. I remembered my influencer. Yes, I am writing this blog for a bigger reason than just keep myself busy. Writing on a daily basis improved my typing speed and concentration.

My biggest dream is to be able to serve both in academia and industry, and as we have more educated peers now, maintaining this balance, in my opinion, is more important. For successfully obtaining both, my priority at the moment is writing, as much as I can.

If you're not sure about something, that you're doing for some time, and not sure if it is worth it, ask yourself these questions;

1. Does it make me happy?

2. Does it serve for a bigger purpose (personal or community)?

3. Will I have a better life if I quit?

4. Why did you start in the first place?

Everyone has different ways of looking at things, and if it just eating better, moving a little more, sleeping a little longer or something as small as reading 5 pages of a book, do it for yourself.

Structuring a day on a long period time off

I am at a very special phase in my life. I recently married and moving on to a new life soon. I quit my full time job 2 months ago and working freelance for same company. I quit job to have sometime for myself and complete the paper work and necessary steps before I move on to my new life. I roughly counted how long I have until I can start a new job and it looks like I have 60 days to move to my new home and another 90 days until I can start working, which adds up to 150 days approximately. During this time line there are a few things I want to accomplish since I have plenty of time and not sure when I will be such free ever again. From today onward here is how I will be structuring my week day.

- 1 hour studying for a test I like to take for my career - personal goal
- 1 hour working on scientific papers - I have 3 lined up and I would like to submit them all before I start with full time job
- 1 hour for PhD and job applications - this usually takes a lot less but I would like to include writing a proposal and sometime to think about cover letters
- 1 hour of walking - it is very easy to stay in because of laziness
- Keeping track of my days
- Motivate myself - having plenty of time can lead to feeling useless so even if it is a few minutes, I'd like to think about how far I've come.
- Last but not least work for my freelance job - there are days I have to work 8 hours and there are days I do not work at all so this point is unlimited

The reason I wanted to make a simple TO-DO list without tiring and bother myself much is because I believe most precious thing we have is time and unfortunately we cannot store it or go back in time.

Spending a day on a new hobby

As you've already noticed, I am such an engineer and I try to use engineering knowledge in my daily life. This can sometimes be boring, my hobbies are unfortunately only related to that. My mum is an artist and she is very talented, and being her daughter I have no idea how untalented I could be. Now that I have plenty of time for myself I tried to do some (easy) art.

The process was pretty easy. Paint the wood tray with white, until it looks flowless. To make that possible I painted the tray and let it dry for like an hour and repeated this whole day. Second step was sticking the special paper to the tray and painting with transparent coating.

This picture is after 3 times painting.

This picture is at the end of the day when it was almost flawless.

Final product - TAA DAA

So here are a few things I learnt from this day;

1. If you want to use your other side of the brain, there are unlimited options. Start with the easiest and cheapest option. Think about what you always wanted to do and what can be the beginning for the big dream.

2. I did this activity on a Sunday and I was on and off working on a paper. It was so relaxing to coat the tray as I took break every hour. And as I went back to working, I felt completely refreshed.

3. Once it is done, you feel accomplished.

4. You don't have to invest much, just look around and see what you have.

I highly recommend trying a new hobby to feel accomplished and relaxed.

How to use free time wisely

Lately, I have a lot of time for myself since I am working freelance and wrapping up my life to start a new adventure. One struggle with having an unlimited time is that when you have a lot you want to do but you feel like you are not using your time effectively.

Here are some tips helping me to get through the day.

1. List down plans

It can be reading books, writing a paper, taking a test for certification or anything you've been putting off for when you'll have time. Be realistic, if you have limited amount of time off, plan accordingly to not overwhelm yourself, and also to not disappoint yourself. No matter what the reason is you have time off, take it also to enjoy your free time, life can get very tricky once you get busy.

2. Make a list of things you like to on free time

I believe this is as important as writing down your goals. If there are some books you'd like to finish or some serials you'd like watch make a list of these.

3. Define time slots

Now that you have 2 list, one for leisure and one for goals, see how you'd like to shape your day. Try to use a percentage like 40%-60%. 60 % of your time you put to your goals (min) and 40% of your time you can put into leisure.

4. Be flexible

Working throughout the day can be exhausting or you may be disrupted. Allow yourself some time to switch around.

5. Use time wisely

It is very easy to waste time when you have plenty of time. By planning right, and managing your time wisely, it could be a life building time.

Dan Brown - Origin

Dan Brown is one of my favorite authors. I find it very practical that he fits usually 24 hours into a 500 page book. His main character for the past few books, Robert Langdon who found body with Tom Hanks, is making reading easier to visualize.

Even though this book, Origin has been published last year, I finished reading the past January and here is my take away (no spoiler)

- It was the most realistic book - I love reading about his theories however, not knowing if they are right is a bit disappointing. In this book, he built his story around something we are living today.

- Power of science over religion - Even though I highly believe we all should be involved in science, religion is something very personal and it should be kept private without judgement.

- Barcelona - Most of the story takes place in Barcelona, luckily I had a visit to Barcelona a year ago and I could literally visualize the places as the book went further.

I only have one negative feeling after the book is over, which is that it is so hard to be satisfied by another book after finishing his. If you are looking for a book that will transport you, I highly recommend it, not only as one of his fan, but also as a researcher who is enjoying the latest technology.

4 Reasons why we need a side job?

As you know I am currently working as a structural engineer in a design firm. It is my full time job and I make a good enough salary. Besides this, I am conducting research as time allows. There are a few things I wish I could do on daily basis and sometimes it is not possible.

I describe a side job as an ending project that increases excitement. If it is boring and "I have to do it", it is more of an assigned job. A side project should add something to both your social and professional career in my opinion.

The idea of a side job might mean;

1. An extra earning

Why not earn a little extra cash and save it for summer vacation? Or even something smaller like a present for yourself. Yes, but buying yourself that go-pro you always wanted.

2. Useful hobby

If you describe a side project like me, it will eventually increase your creavity.

3. Time management

By doing a side job, you can find a better work-life balance to increase your productivity.

4. A back-up plan

You never know what happens in life. You may have saving and plan B or even C but once shit hits the fan, it at least psychologically takes some time. Once you have something you can rely on financially and as a habby, this will make the situation easier until you make a realistic plan and take action.

Even though currently my only financial income is through my full time job, I am trying to add something to myself everyday that I can start using as a side job.

A weekend off

We all are too busy catching up. Usually our weekend TO-DO list is long enough that makes mondays miserable. I, myself can get very little done over the week. I am working full time and only good habit I could keep was going to the gym 3-4 times a week. I consider myself lucky because I am living with my family and my mum is awesome that she doesn't mind cooking for me.

During the week I make a list off things that I need to complete over the weekend.They are usually long and complicated tasks I can't complete in less than 30 minutes. Every friday evening after work I hit the gym, then come home and after a hot shower watch my favorite serial with my mum. It is my favorite evening of the week. I reset my mind and leave the week in past.

Saturday is also a good day. After a big traditional breakfast, depending on the weekend, I go out, or take rest. Saturdays are not days I get things done, leaving everything for sundays. Besides pre-monday syndrome, getting all of the things on my list done can sometimes be challenging and sometimes I start the week with regrets.

This weekend I went on a spa weekend to a hotel. I still had things to finish. But for my mental health, taking some time off was essential. I am at a point in my life that I will be making very dramatic changes soon and it is very stressful since I can't control nothing.

Now, after an amazing weekend, I realized how much I needed something off. Of course after a few hours tomorrow I will be all stressed and tired but no one can take away great memories and some relaxation. My recommendation to myself is to make more time for myself every single weekend.

I wish everyone a great week a head!

Use night light

Today I will speak about something I discovered recently, yes no one ever told me well better late than never. And it is night light on electronic devices. I use my phone and laptop very frequently after 8 pm until I get into bed. Even though it takes me very short time to fall asleep most of the time, I felt like it's been decreasing my sleep quality and I could feel my eye lids hurting while falling asleep.

It was a coincidence that I tried it on my laptop. It gives the screen brownish color that kind of looks like an old book page. After looking at it a few minutes and switching back to normal makes a huge difference on your eyes. Since the day I discovered this, I have night light 8 pm to 7 am.

Using electronics is sometimes for relaxation or to catch up but there are so many hours we are depending on them, and if there is a way to look at a screen and get the less pain as possible. Even though it probably has no less affect on radiation at least your eyes won't hurt such much.

After a few weeks of using and enjoying it, I realized that I really need this property on my phone which I check last thing at night and first thing in the morning (most of the time). This is probably one of the worse habits I have but looking for ways to get over it. Again by coincidence I accidentally hit the night light mode on my phone (speak about keeping up with technology). For those of you who are in engineering field, it is like using AutoCAD with dark/black background.

Long story short, if you are like me and never noticed this option, give it a try. I promise, you wont regret it. Just one thing to add before I finish, I am not sure how it is on every laptop and if the quality is better at some resolutions.

Enjoy the city you lived in before you move out

I quit my very first job last month which one located in Istanbul. I've been to Istanbul a couple of times but you can never get enough of a modern metropol city with very old historical sites. Along with working in an international firm, this was one of the reasons that helped me to move out of my comfort zone.

I lived in this city 8 months. If you work 9am-7pm and getting from on place to another takes min 1hour (assuming it is holiday season so not students, no rain and if you're lucky of course) it can be challenging to leave the comfort of a couch on the weekend to adventure the city. Even though I stayed many weekends at home, I was lucky enough to have my mum and fiance over a couple of times with the excitement to visit all those historical places. Luckily, I had chance to visit every single place twice before I left.

After resigning I took an 4 complete days to pack-up and visit all those places I haven't had time to visit. My mum was kind enough to join me.  My point of this post is, you never know when you'll be back to same city again and no one knows if you'll have the time and money to do what you missed out. My advise would be to enjoy it as much as possible while you are there like a local until that place is a nice memory for you.

Below are a few pictures of beautiful Istanbul, until we meet again.