"I regret coming to Turkey"

From all of the questions that were asked to me when I was in Indonesia last summer, one of the questions that I find interesting is whether I regret it or not to resign from University of Indonesia and continue my undergraduate study in Turkey. Also, what's surprising to me is the fact that the question wasn't only asked once and if I remember it right I think I've encountered several persons who asked me the same question. So do I regret coming to Turkey? The answer is yes I regret coming to Turkey and here are the reasons why;

1. I regret it because now I have so many international friends who are helpful and kind, who come from different parts of the world, whether it is the south most point of Africa or the Caribbeans. I regret that I learned new things from them, from little thing like how to say 'hello' in their language to their foods. I regret it that I widened my connections. I regret it because I could have stayed not knowing the Balkans, the countries whose names are ended with the suffix -tan but instead I broadened my knowledge of geography.

2. I regret it because now I start seeing the world from different point of views, different windows. I regret it because I could have stayed being the ignorant and close-minded Haries the one who used to judge people in the first sight, but instead I learned what empathy is.

3. I regret it because now I understand that the negativity which medias tried to shove in my head and the myths about other countries that the medias tried to spread in the tv were all wrong. I regret it that now I always try to see the positive side even in the things that people considered as something bad. I regret it because I could have stayed knowing Americans as bad human beings and some people from some countries are uneducated and dirty, but instead I made friends with people from US and other countries.

4. I regret it because now I know how studying with a language that-you-only-learned-in-less-than-eight-months feels like. I regret it because now I have to struggle to understand even the simplest thing. I regret it because now I have to stay awake in the night later than my friends in Indonesia do. I regret it because I could have stayed not knowing Turkish language and not improving my English, I could have studied in Indonesia but instead I learned what struggle is, I learned that to get what I want I have to sacrifice things, sacrifice my time.

5. I regret it because now I become someone who is independent whether it is mentally, psychologically or financially. I regret it because I could have lived with my parents money and wasted it for things I don't really need, I could have become the spoiled Haries but instead I accepted the full scholarship and lived independently as a person.

6. I regret it because I met some cool professors, those with tons of publications, those with the bright est minds, those with the same research interests as mine, those whose lectures I love and those who talk smartly and I can listen to till the sun sets, . I could have stayed not knowing their existence and stayed as a regular person in one of the best university in Indonesia, but instead I chose a different direction.

I regret coming to Turkey because now I fell in love with Turkey and all of the people. I regret the fact that three years living outside of Indo has shaped me to be a way better person than I was in the past 17 years.

I regret it. I do.