Back in December 2008, I received an email from a graduate student at Yeditepe University in Turkey requesting me to serve on their dissertation committee. I did not respond to it right away—despite my attempt to respond to every email I get. Not sure why, maybe it was the holiday season… But to their credit, the student was persistent and nudged me again a few weeks later. And thus began a correspondence, over email and skype, around their dissertation research, and culminated in my serving on their dissertation committee. The final defense was conducted October 2012, via Skype (a first for me and years before online dissertation defenses had become normalized).

That persistent student was Dr. Gokce Kurt, who is currently an associate professor at Marmara University, in the Dept. of English Language Teaching, Istanbul, Turkey.

Our collaboration extended beyond her dissertation. In fact, I presented a paper based on her research at the 2013 SITE conference (more about that presentation here):

Kurt, G., Mishra, P., & Kocoglu, Z. (2013, March). Technological pedagogical content knowledge development of Turkish pre-service teachers of English. Paper presented at the meeting of the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education, New Orleans, LA.

Over the years, we kept in touch. I would share our family’s new-year’s videos, and Gokce would send updates and sometimes photos of her lovely family. A few years ago, Nicole Oster and I had the privilege of writing a preface for a book Gokce had been working on (with her colleague Pinar Baskan) titled: Educational Technology in English Language Teaching. One of the fun things about this preface is that we started it with a quote from Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass.

Mishra, P., & Oster, N. (2023). Preface In Kurt, G., & Baskan, P. (Eds). Educational Technology in English Language Teaching. Egiten Kitap. Istanbul.

And through all this, we had never met in person and the last time we had actually spoken was October 2012 (when she had defended her dissertation).

And then, a few months ago, I was invited to give a keynote at a conference in Ankara and reached out to Gokce, wondering if I could visit Istanbul for a day or two. Her excitement was palpable – and she orchestrated the most amazing experience for me in Istanbul. From the moment she picked me up at the airport, Gokce put her entire life on hold to be my guide and host. She organized a wonderful dinner at her home, introduced me to her entire family, and spent an entire day showing me the breathtaking beauty of Istanbul – including the magnificent Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, and so much more.

I also gave a talk at Marmara University, where I had the joy of recapping our amazing journey together at the beginning of my presentation. Despite meeting for the first time in person after 17 years of correspondence, it felt like reuniting with an old friend. Every conversation was peppered with jokes and laughter. Gokce and her family opened their home and hearts to me.

The experience was extraordinary – and I can’t thank Gokce, her husband, and everyone at Marmara University enough.

I am so glad that Gokce wrote to me back in 2008 and that she persisted when I didn’t initially respond. What started as a simple academic inquiry has blossomed into a meaningful friendship that has enriched both our lives.

Here are some photographs of my time in Istanbul, which was almost entirely spent in Gokce’s company!