Highlights of the Project:
When you dream of Turkey, you imagine a blue sea, bazaars full of carpets and smells, sparkling with copper and jewelry, still wild coves bathed in crystal clear water, semi-arid steppes watched over by peaks covered in snow for a long part of the year. In Turkey, the Participant will learn that the tulip is native to Anatolia and that there are many more storks there than in Alsace…
The more you deviate from the beaten track, the more you love this country: Turkey is inexhaustibly rich. From the Bosphorus to Anatolia, from Lycia to the Black Sea, via Cappadocia, this country offers an incredible diversity of landscapes, cultures and traditions.
Kindness, attentions, hospitality don’t care about language barriers. Go and meet the people of the country. Convinced of being Westerners, the Turks welcome you as a cousin, and there is not much to scratch to find the treasures of Ottoman hospitality.
Life in Turkey, night and day, is easy to live.
Our Strengths:
– Stay with motivated Turkish families, selected carefully from the host Turkish school.
– Involve in the daily life of a Turkish School.
– Improve your Turkish level with daily Turkish classes and get a certificate for the entire Exchange.
– Learn about Turkish culture from a Milna team member, with you during the entire Exchange.
– Participate in various activities and discover the area in the afternoon and over the weekend.
– Even if your Turkish school is not in Istanbul area, you will get to visit the city.
Safety:
– We follow the security instructions strictly, especially when outdoors.
– We follow the French law protecting the youth while organizing a travel.
– A Milna person is with the group during the entire Exchange, who’s reachable at all times.
Responsible traveler:
– We use the public transportation when available.
– We use small and recent vans, fuel efficient, when the public transportation are rare.
– We limit the group detritus to reduce the impact of the carbon footprint caused by this project.
Briefly, the program consist of time spent in the Turkish school with the Turkish students, usually in the mornings. The afternoons are dedicated to the visits and the evenings and weekends are spent with the Turkish host family. At least two days are spent in Istanbul during the exchange.
Below, an example of an exchange program depending on the city where you will be.
Wherever you will go, you will do the local activities (sea, countryside, desert, mountain, city…) and you will also visit Istanbul.
Day 1
Flight India → Turkiye. Heading to the Turkish school. Lunch at the Turkish school. Presentation of the school and meeting with the Turkish family. Each Participant will go with his Turkish Partner and family to home. Dinner and night with the Turkish family.
Day 2
School involvement in the morning. Lunch at the school. Afternoon and evening with the host family.
WE-Day 3
The weekend is spent with your Turkish host family, since they have more available time, you will get to know them more and do some activities with them. (Cycling, visiting the area, meeting their friends or relatives, shopping, visiting a cultural place, playing sport…)
WE-Day 4
The weekend is spent with your Turkish host family, since they have more available time, you will get to know them more and do some activities with them. (Cycling, visiting the area, meeting their friends or relatives, shopping, visiting a cultural place, playing sport…)
Day 5
Arrival at the school in the morning before heading to our day visit. Packed lunch. Evening with the families.
Day 6
School involvement in the morning. Lunch at the school. Afternoon and evening with the host family.
Day 7
Arrival at the school in the morning before heading to our day visit. Packed lunch. Evening with the families.
Day 8
School involvement in the morning. Lunch at the school. Afternoon and evening with the host family.
Day 9
Arrival at the school in the morning before heading to our day visit. Packed lunch. Evening with the families.
WE-Day 10
The weekend is spent with your Turkish host family, since they have more available time, you will get to know them more and do some activities with them. (Cycling, visiting the area, meeting their friends or relatives, shopping, visiting a cultural place, playing sport…)
WE-Day 11
The weekend is spent with your Turkish host family, since they have more available time, you will get to know them more and do some activities with them. (Cycling, visiting the area, meeting their friends or relatives, shopping, visiting a cultural place, playing sport…)
Day 12
Arrival at the school in the morning before heading to our day visit. Packed lunch. Evening with the families.
Day 13
Last morning of interaction with the school. Lunch. Preparation of the farewell party. Dance and Music performances by the Participants. Last evening with the families.
Day 14
Last visits, then return flight to India.
Possible activities in the Turkish school: Participating in classes (Turkish, English, Sport, Arts…), teaching your own language to the Turkish students, making presentation about your country, its culture, festival, traditions…, having practical Turkish classes as per the participant level, preparing for the final show with the Turkish students, …
Possible activities in the afternoon: Museums, monuments, cultural center, beach, city-center, bicycle ride, meeting with the mayor, Ice skating, Turkish cooking class…
(This is an example of a program and given just for information, the program will depend on availability, the location of the school, flight and local transportation timing. The final program will be confirmed with the participants and the selected Turkish school)
Rates:
You need to select the appropriate options to see the rate displaying
→ “Age“: Select the age you will have during the project. Let’s say that you are now 15 and before or during the project, you will be 16, then please select 16.
→ “From“: Select the airport from where you want to start your project. If your desired airport is not displayed, please contact us.
→ “When“: Select the month you want to do your project. In case you have several options, please select the earliest month.
→ “Payment terms“: It needs to be coherent with the selected month in “When“. Let’s say that we are the 25th January and you’ve mentioned your wish to go in April. In such case, your departure is in more than 60 days but less than 90 days. You need to select the 60 days payment terms if you plan to make the payment at least 60 days before the departure.
Contact us, if you need clarifications.
Who can go?
– Participants up to grade 14. (Up to 20 years old)
When can I go?
– An exchange program to Turkiye is possible throughout the year, however, when the school is having holidays, it is not possible to access the school. In such case, the moments spent in the school will be replaced with moment spent with local educational organisations having teenagers of similar age. Contact us if you are planning to go during a period where the Turkish schools are closed.
– Each participant will still have a Turkish host family with a Turkish student of similar age.
– Here is the calendar displaying the dates when the Turkish schools are closed.
For how long?
For 7 to 14 days according to your possibilities, the rate will remain the same irrespective of the duration between 7 to 14 days. However the program will be more intense when you decide to have a shorter duration. (Want a different duration? Contact us)
Rate including:
– The accommodation
– Health & Travel insurance
– The meals (Breakfast, lunch and diner)
– All the transportation from the selected airport of departure
– The visits and activities as per the program
– The management of the group by at least one Milna person during the entire project
– Preparation meetings before the departure (Online or on site as per your location)
– Assistance for the eventual Visa application
– One adult from your group for every 10 participants (It can be a teacher, parent… willing to be a positive contribution to the project)
– Certificate for each participant
The rate does not include:
– Personal expenditure
– Eventual Visa fee to the country/ies of the project
– Transfer to/from the starting concerned airport
– What is not mentioned in “Rate including”
Eventual options:
– Turkish Sim card
– Extra days in Turkiye or somewhere else
– Excursion in a neighboring country
– Stopover in another country (As per the airline stopover)
– Departure from another airport, upon request
About the “150 and 120 days payment terms”:
For the 150 and 120 days payment terms, we will do our maximum to respect your preferred date of departure, however, the dates of the project must be flexible /- 7 days.
The flight:
– Possible from the displayed city/ies above, in the “From” dropdown. For other airport, please contact us.
– Dates are changeable /- 72 hours.
Formalities:
Valid passport Eventual Visa (As per your citizenship).
Health:
– Our team has a pharmacy adapted to the destination.
– No specific vaccination is mandatory.
– A member of Milna is present with the traveling group during the entire length of the stay. He/ She will ensure the security and safety of the group.
– In case of an emergency, the traveler will be taken into care by the nearest hospital. If needed, he will be repatriated in the best conditions.
Reachable:
– The parents of the participant will have the full details of the Turkish family and the eventual hotel before the departure (address, phone, email…)
– Milna will share the contact of the Milna person who is going to be with the participant
– Milna will update the parents by daily messages/photos/videos on a specially created Whatsapp group.
– Milna will provide the participant and his parents with a 24h number to reach someone from Milna at any time.
Where I will stay? (2A)
You will be provided one Turkish host family according to the preferences given in your Unique Form Participant.
If the project is taking place far from Istanbul area, up to 2 nights will be spent in a hotel in Istanbul area to do the visits and be close to the airport.
Who will be my hosts? (9A)
You will be staying with a Turkish family in which there is a student from the Turkish school you will be going to.
That same Turkish student would come and stay in your home if he/she is able to come to your country.
You will get the details of your Turkish family before the departure.
How the payment deadlines work? (10A)
The principle is simple: The earliest you book your project and pay, more you will save. By paying us in advance, we can prepare the project in advance. We get better prices so we make you benefit from this saving, hence the different deadlines.
Let’s say you select the 90 days’ deadline, it means, that 100% of the payment needs to reach us no later than 90 days before the departure. If you have already paid 25%, the remaining payment will be 75% to send us no later than 90 days before the departure. If your payment is not reaching us before the 90 days’ deadline, then the 60 days’ deadline will apply. (Check our rates to know the exact amount).
If today is the 91st day before the departure and you want the 90 days’ deadline, you have to send us 100% of the amount to respect the deadline and avail the 90 days special offer, but no later than that.
What will I eat? (11A)
Who will take care of me? (12A)
In most cases the Accompanying adult (usually a teacher) from your school shall accompany you to Turkiye. During the entire project, a Milna person will stays with the group. You can contact the Accompanying adult and the Milna person for any assistance at any time.
What will I do during the project? (14A)
Three main elements revolve around the project: The Turkish school, the Turkish family and the visits.
This is how we divide the program into three parts: Time of involvement in the school, generally in the morning, visiting time in the afternoons, and time with the family in the evenings and weekends.
Without forgetting the visits to Istanbul, in general, at the end of the program.
How many nights I will spend in the hotel? (16A)
You will be staying up to 2 nights in a hotel if the project is taking place far from Istanbul and does not allow easy visits to one of them. The hotel is usually in Istanbul area to facilitate the visits and be near the airport.
How many nights I will spend with the Turkish family? (20A)
If the project is taking place not far from Istanbul, you will be staying during the entire duration of the project at the Turkish family.
If the project is taking place far from Istanbul not allowing day visits, you will be staying during the entire project at the Turkish family, minus up to 2 nights that will be spend in a hotel in Istanbul area.
How do I get my visa? (23A)
If you need a visa, Milna will facilitate your visa formalities. Our team will provide you the special list of required documents for the visa and the steps to follow. We also remain available to have a look at your documents and reply to your questions, doubts or special cases.
What about Travel and Health insurance? (24A)
A travel and health insurance is included in the given rate. It is protecting you as per the insurance coverage. The insurance is in compliance with the Embassy criteria. Milna will provide you a copy of your insurance policy before applying for your visa.
Who is the Turkish families hosting the participant? (25A)
The Turkish families are having a daughter or a son going to the Turkish school where Milna will take the participant. That son or daughter will be your partner during the exchange. That son or daughter will be the one visiting you if a travel to your country is feasible.
Before the start of the project, Milna will provide you the complete profile of the host family and your partner (Address, email, phone numbers, description, photo and video), so you can communicate and get to know them.
What is the exact program? (26A)
Two Milna projects are never alike. Milna creates a tailor made project for each new group taking into consideration the group age, size, Girl / boy ratio, the location, the time of the year, the expectations of the participant. That is why, the final program is finalized once the enrollment is done and the location is confirmed. The “Detailed program” tab in each project helps to have an idea of what the project contains.
At which area will the project take place? (27A)
The project can happen anywhere in Turkiye. If your group has any particular preferred area, then it has to be requested for, at the time of enrollment via the “Unique Form Organisation” and we’ll do our best to select an area matching your preferences.
During the project, how, we parents, can stay in touch with the participant? (28A)
Before the start of the project, Milna will invite the participant and his relatives to join a special Whatsapp group, in which, we send daily update with photos, videos… to keep everyone updated.
Each participant is advised to have a local sim card to be reachable at anytime.
The Accompanying adult(s) and the Milna person(s) will be reachable and will facilitate the communication in case a participant is “too busy” to give news to his parents…
Will the participant be alone or with his/her friend, at the Turkish family's home? (30A)
Our norm is one participant per Turkish family to create the best immersion environment possible. However, we listen to your preferences via the “Unique Form Participant“, where you can mention, according to the availability, if you wish to stay alone or with another participant in the same Turkish family.
In the rare case where we have less hosting families and have your approval, we will put you with another participant in the same family. Similarly, if no Turkish family is able to welcome two participants in the same house, your preference of being with another person won’t be fulfilled and our norm of 1 participant – 1 Turkish family will apply.
How much pocket money should the participant carry? (33A)
For sake of the participant private expenditure (shopping etc.), you can give some pocket money, it all depends on what the participant would like to buy from Turkiye. In general, we believe that 15 Euros per day is largely enough to fulfill the normal shopping desires.
How, we parents, can have updates about our daughter or son? (35A)
1- A Whatsapp group will be created and the participant and his family are invited to join it to get updates. The Milna person sends a lot of pictures, videos and information about the group.
2- Milna maintains a project’ blog in which we mention among other information, the itinerary and the calendar of the participants. So the family of the participant can know what he/she going.
3- Each participant is requested to have a local sim card to be easily reachable. The parents can get update directly.
4- The Milna person and the Accompanying adult will also be reachable in case the participant is “too busy” to update his family.
Does the Turkish Family speak English? What if the participant doesn’t speak good English or any English at all? (36A)
Most Turkish people are not so good at English. But by agreeing to host a foreign participant in their family, they already cross the barrier of language. Generally, such families speak English or at least, one parent i.e. The father or the mother of the family speaks English. And even if not them, then for sure the Turkish partner has knowledge in English as he/she learns it at school. Hence, even if the participant knows very little English, it is never a problem.
Google is always here if needed. And in case of emergency, the Milna person is available.
Do I have to host my host if he/she comes to my country? (37A)
You are supposed to do so if your host is able to visit you. However, if you really can’t host your partner during his/her possible visit to your country, we will respect your decision and we will get him a new partner welcoming him/fher.
Where will the Accompanying adult stay? (40A)
The Accompanying adult(s) of the group will be hosted, usually, by one of the staff (teacher, principal…) of the Turkish school in his/her home.
In case there is a hotel stay in Istanbul area, The Accompanying adult(s) of the group will be staying in the same hotel, in a room separated from the Participants.
Should the I bring a gift for the host family and siblings? (42A)
Yes, the host family will be happy to receive something from your country as a gift. It is not necessary to buy an expensive one. Anything representing your country will do. Otherwise, simply you may ask the host family.
Where the project will take place? (47A)
The Exchange Program (Family Stay) can take place anywhere in Turkiye. Milna selects the best option available for your group. If your group has any particular preferred area, then it has to be requested for, at the time of enrollment and we’ll do our best to select n area matching your preferences.
