@erkienopstap

27 february - 1 march

Amsterdam

Amsterdam, late february, and the shape i'm slowly growin' into

it is kind of strange to write about a weekend when you already lived a few more weekends after it. memory becomes selective like that. not in a dramatic way, just in a human way. you forget tiny details, you mix up moments, you start doubtin' what happened on which day. but when i looked back at the photos i took, it all came back in pieces. not perfect, but honest. and i realised again what that weekend actually was about.

two things sat right in the middle of it: networking, and Erdal abi (his story follows later).

a weekend that was not about the city

i was in Amsterdam from friday 27 february 2026 until sunday 1 march 2026. and even though it was Amsterdam, it was not a weekend of museums, canals, or visitin' touristic places. it was more like a weekend where i stepped into a room i had been knockin' on for a while. the room of people who are buildin' something.

networking sounds like a business word, but for me it became more personal this time. i noticed how important it is to know who you can grow with, who you can call, who you can learn from, and also who stays a "nice person" but does not necessarily become a close friend. i realised you do not have to hold everyone at the same distance forever. some people move from acquaintance to friend, and sometimes back again, and that is fine.

Flixbus thoughts and arrivin' straight into it

i left from Ghent Dampoort with Flixbus. and during that ride, i was not just scrollin' or watchin' time pass. i was workin' on Mémélief, my project in the nursing home. i like that contrast. you are on the road, but you are still movin' things forward.

i arrived at Amsterdam Sloterdijk and Erdal called an Uber for me, straight to his office. no warm-up, no "first drop your bag and breathe". it was like: welcome, let's go.

he showed me the office, introduced me to his colleagues, and suddenly i was just there, inside his daily rhythm.

Erdal's world: real estate, but also media

Erdal's main work is real estate, specifically focused on Turkish expats in Amsterdam who need housing. but what fascinated me is that he is not only buildin' through property. he is also buildin' through attention.

he runs a social media channel called Hollanda Medya, and he described it as a big Instagram account for Turkish expats to understand Dutch culture and what is currently goin' on in society. things like underground bunkers in Amsterdam, electricity and gas prices, how emergency numbers work, which apps exist for what. it is information, but it is also power. and he told me he wants to explore that side more, because not all media should always be controlled by the biggest players. he wants the community to have its own voice too.

that hit me, because it made me think about what i want as well. not just "make content", but build something that actually means something to a community.

the breakfast that took forever, and the people that made it worth it

we went for Turkish breakfast, but the place was not amazing and it took way too long. and still, i'm glad it happened exactly like that, because that is where we met Selin and Salvatore.

Selin works for the Dutch food inspection, basically within a government structure, and she is currently coordinatin' projects within that structure. i love meetin' people like that. people who are not loud about it, but who are changin' things from inside.

and then Salvatore. Italian, involved in real estate too, but more in a tourism direction, connected to the Amalfi coast. i remember thinkin' how many people like him probably have something valuable, but struggle to profile themselves properly. and that is where i suddenly saw a gap i could fit into. websites, Instagram, communication, brandin'. not as "design for design", but as positionin'.

breakfast in Amsterdam with Erdal, Selin and Salvatore

what i realised about myself

somewhere during that weekend, without it bein' a big dramatic moment, i felt myself shift.

i know i'm good at concept thinking, communication, takin' responsibility, and leadin' a project. but i also know i cannot keep doin' everything myself forever. i want to lead more, and execute less. and that is hard at first, because it means you need the right people around you.

i'm already feelin' that tension in the things i'm workin' on, like the branding for a music group i believe in. i see them as a strong trio, and i want them to have a real identity, not just "good music". and again, i can do a lot myself, but i do not want to stay stuck in that mode. i want to become someone who builds teams, systems, and direction.

and suddenly, networking did not feel like "collecting contacts". it felt like buildin' the future versions of yourself, through people.

Erdal as a mentor, and as a mirror

i met Erdal in 2025 at the Bağlama Festival in Ghent. we always said we would see each other again, but it took time until that last weekend of february.

the biggest moment for me was not a meeting or a plan. it was when he told me he recognised himself in me.

he moved from Istanbul to Amsterdam at 25. and i will be 25 when i graduate next year. he built something over ten years. he is not "finished", but he built enough to stand where he stands now, and that took real endurance. what i respected most is his ability to handle stress, and the leadership he carries, even if he had to grow into it the hard way.

it made me feel calm, in a weird way. because sometimes you do not need advice, you just need proof that the road is real. that someone walked it before you, and did not disappear.

the Turkish community, and a new kind of belonging

the weekend was actually pretty quiet overall, but it gave me something i did not expect: i enjoyed bein' around Turkish people in a way i had not really experienced in Belgium. and i loved seein' that so many of them were busy with something, buildin' something, achievin' something.

it was like a small reminder that your environment matters. not because you need to copy people, but because you start believin' more when you see movement around you.

closin' the weekend

when i think back to that weekend, i do not remember one big highlight. i remember the atmosphere. the office, the conversations, the people, the feeling of bein' surrounded by builders.

and i remember how it pushed me closer to a form i've been searchin' for. not a perfect form, not a final version, just a clearer direction.

because sometimes a weekend does not change your life by bein' loud, but by quietly remindin' you what you are capable of becomin', if you keep showin' up.

- all photos -

26 april - 2 may

study trip to Berlin

where a group became a team

sometimes you leave for a trip with your suitcase packed, but not with your head there yet.

our study trip to Berlin officially started on sunday 26 april 2026 and ended on friday 1 may, but for Arne and Lachezar [wot͡ʃɛˈzar] and me, it lasted one night longer. we stayed until saturday, mostly because 1 may was Labour Day and we had heard that parts of Berlin, especially around Kreuzberg and Neukölln, would come alive in a way you do not often get to see.

but when i think back to Berlin now, that is not the first thing i remember.

what i remember most is stress.

i left with too many things still open. the biggest one was my website. i had hoped to finish it before we arrived, so i could use the week in Berlin to start applyin’ for internships. instead, my laptop stayed close to me almost the whole trip. through mornings, evenings, and every small gap in between, i was still codin’. i thought i would finish it on sunday. then monday. then maybe tuesday. in the end, it took until friday before i could finally put it online.

and i think that stress followed me more than i wanted it to. maybe even into our room, towards the people i was travellin’ with. not because i wanted that, but because when something sits too heavily in your own head, it sometimes starts spillin’ into the space around you too.

arrivin’ with too much still open

Arne and i left from Ghent Dampoort on saturday night with the FlixBus. what was funny is that we thought we were just travellin’ by ourselves, until we realised that around ten people from our class had somehow booked the exact same bus without any of us knowin’.

before we had even properly left, i had already pushed three strawberries into my coat pocket because the bus driver asked for my ID while my hands were full. by the time i sat down, they were completely crushed. since then, there has been a red stain in my coat that looks slightly more dramatic than the real story behind it.

we arrived at the Central Bus Station on sunday morning. Arne’s phone already needed chargin’ again, somethin’ that would somehow become a small pattern of the week. and before we had even reached the hotel, we had already received a €60 metro fine because the ticket machine had not worked and we had decided to continue anyway.

a warm welcome to Berlin, you could say.

but even after arrivin’, the trip did not really feel like it had started yet. another assignment for Visual Storytelling still had to be finished and handed in that same evening, because what we had planned to complete before leavin’ had not happened anymore. so while others rested, i worked on the document, the presentation, and the final details. later, Arne and i recorded it in the hotel room, me with my laptop connected to the tv, him sittin’ in the hallway with his own laptop.

that first day in Berlin did not feel like a clean beginning. it felt like continuin’ everythin’ i had not managed to finish before arrivin’.

by the evening, Lachezar had joined us too, straight from Bulgaria, where he had spent part of the Easter break before flyin’ into Berlin. Hakan arrived much later that night, after almost missin’ his flight because he had left his hand luggage at the airport while watchin’ Galatasaray–Fenerbahçe on his phone. apparently, his name had already been called several times at the gate before he still somehow made it onto the plane.

that was maybe Berlin from the very beginning: a little chaotic, a little absurd, and already full of stories before the actual programme had even properly started.

the little rhythm of our room

monday morning showed us the first small rhythm of the week.

breakfast was planned for thirty minutes, but we almost needed that long just to make our plates, prepare tea, and properly sit down. i always went for tea before i even started lookin’ at food, which Hakan quickly started laughin’ at, because according to him, your plate should obviously come first. Arne, on the other hand, did not really eat breakfast at all. but coffee, that he needed. and preferably a cigarette afterwards too.

they were small things, but that is often how people slowly become part of your memory of a trip. not through one huge moment, but through the habits you start recognisin’ after only a few days. who needs coffee first. who always has an empty phone. who makes fun of the order in which you build your breakfast. who arrives from another country and suddenly completes the room.

our first official activity was a guest lecture at the media campus about Pride in Berlin. i have to be honest: i was there physically, but not entirely with my head. part of me was still codin’ my website, still convinced that if i could just finish it soon enough, i could use the rest of the week for internship applications. i did not yet know that the website would continue followin’ me until friday.

after the lecture, we were technically free, but not really. we had to start workin’ on our assignment for the week. the task was to explore the city and look for examples of inclusion or exclusion in communication. the evening before, while lookin’ for food, Arne and i had passed a food distribution under the railway tracks. people were queuin’ while the city kept movin’ around them. it was only a short moment, but it stayed with us. and when we had to start thinkin’ about our assignment, that image became the first idea we tried to build on.

underneath that first idea, though, something else had already started takin’ shape too.

we were friends. we shared a room, meals, jokes, long evenings, and all kinds of stupid little moments. but workin’ together asks for something different. it asks for clarity, structure, and expectations that are actually spoken out loud instead of silently assumed.

i realised that i had started the assignment with very high expectations. i wanted to make something strong, something beautiful, something that could really stand out. others were maybe more comfortable with simply passin’ and gettin’ through it. and neither of those things is automatically wrong, but they become difficult when nobody names them at the beginning.

“when all heads face the same direction, only then can a group really become a team.”

that is maybe one of the clearest things Berlin taught me. not after everythin’ is already tense, but before it even needs to become that: ask each other what you want from the work, what kind of team player you are, where your strengths are, and what result you are actually tryin’ to reach together.

the days movin’ around us

the official programme moved on around us. Sachsenhausen on tuesday. the DDR Museum on wednesday. talks, photos, Uber rides, long walks, meals in between.

Sachsenhausen stayed with me, mostly because of how close the camp had once been to ordinary life. people from the town knew it existed. prisoners had to walk from the station through the city towards it. history is sometimes spoken about as if it happened somewhere far away from everyone, but standin’ there made that much harder to believe.

that evening, the day shifted completely. we went to watch PSG against Bayern München in a Biergarten. the match itself was wild: 5–4 for PSG, one of those football matches that seems to have everythin’ in it. i supported PSG mostly because they felt like the underdog, not because i had any deep reason to be against Bayern. only later did i fully realise how serious Arne’s love for Bayern actually was. by then, he had already been visibly frustrated, and i think the alcohol, the match, our assignment stress, and other little things all started mixin’ together more than any of us really understood in the moment.

we came back drunk that night. really drunk. and somewhere in that fog, something shifted between us.

the next morning made that even more visible. we were supposed to visit the Berlin Wall with school, but after arrivin’ home so late, our room did not make it in time. i had gone down for breakfast, showered, and could have said that i personally was ready. but that did not feel right to me. we had come as a group. we had missed it as a group.

if something went well, we did it. if something did not go well, we did not do it. that was maybe not the easiest way to protect myself, but it felt like the right way to be part of a team.

by then, our first assignment idea had already fallen away. Tafel Deutschland replied that arrangin’ an interview on such short notice would be difficult, so we had to let it go and begin again. later that day, we finally moved towards a completely different direction: the appointment of Marie-Louise Eta as head coach of Union Berlin’s men’s first team, and the way people communicated around that moment.

it was a better idea. but we reached it late. very late.

when the pressure finally showed itself

wednesday evening became wednesday night, and wednesday night slowly became thursday morning. Arne and Hakan went out to look for football fans we could maybe speak to for our assignment. Lachezar and i stayed behind and kept workin’ on what we could still save before the presentation the next day.

by then, all the things we had not spoken about at the beginning had started to show themselves. there was tension. there were frustrations. there was a real argument. and i also know i was part of that. i had blamed others at moments, just as others had blamed me. when people are tired, stressed, and all workin’ from a different idea of what “good enough” means, communication becomes much harder than it should be.

we still gave the presentation the next day. maybe not in the way i had hoped we would, maybe not with the result i had imagined at the start of the week, but we made it happen.

and afterwards, we finally sat down together and talked for around forty-five minutes. not the easiest conversation, but maybe the most important one of the whole trip. Hakan helped us bring it back to the middle, and i am still grateful for that, because it allowed us to say things properly instead of just leavin’ them hangin’ in the room.

our teacher Séverine had said something during the course that stayed with me:

“it all starts with yourself.”

i think i understood that sentence differently after Berlin.

because before you can ask other people to work well with you, you also need to know yourself. you need to understand what you expect, why you expect it, and where your own way of workin’ can become heavy for others. i still believe in quality. i still want to make things that feel right. but i also learned that responsibility does not mean carryin’ everythin’ alone, and teamwork does not begin when the deadline gets close. it begins much earlier, in the conversations you sometimes forget to have.

after the pressure

once the presentation was behind us, the trip loosened a little.

that evening, we went out for pizza, sat outside later with a whole group from class, and for the first time that week, it felt like everythin’ had finally been allowed to breathe again. from there, we ended up clubbin’ at The Void, which also became my first real encounter with one version of Berlin techno culture. maybe just not my version. instead of dancin’, Hakan, his friend Yiğit and i mostly spent the night sittin’ down and laughin’ together until it was time to leave.

i was glad Hakan had introduced me to Yiğit that week. he made us laugh a lot, swore even more, and there was somethin’ about the way he had chosen his own path that stayed with me too.

friday came with very little sleep and one last official moment: a group photo at the Bundestag. after that, school was basically done. Berlin was ours again.

and finally, after nearly the whole week of carryin’ it with me, i finished my website.

i remember how relieved i felt when i could finally put it online. not because everythin’ was suddenly solved, but because the thing that had been sittin’ at the back of my head since before departure had finally loosened its grip. i had brought that task all the way to Berlin with me, and in the end, Berlin was also where i let it go.

May Day, and findin’ my own way back

we had booked one extra night at the hotel. Hakan had already gone to stay with Yiğit, Arne had left earlier towards Kreuzberg, and Lachezar and i made our way towards Neukölln later on, where some of the others were already sittin’.

the night became messy in the way nights away from home sometimes can. we walked around, lost half the group again, and at some point Arne had become so drunk that he just wanted to go back.

his Uber kept cancellin’. i could have left it. i could have gone further into the night with everyone else. but i stayed, called the driver twice, and made sure he actually got into the car.

while waitin’, i also managed to step into shit not once, but twice while tryin’ to pee in the bushes. not my proudest moment. maybe also not the most poetic image you want from a city trip. but strangely enough, that whole night is one of the moments i keep thinkin’ back to most.

because after that, i had to find my own way back.

i left on my own, drunk, tired, smellin’ like absolute disaster, and somehow ended up spendin’ part of the early morning talkin’ with a group of guys from Storkow. maybe because i was too drunk to overthink it, my German suddenly came out much more easily than usual. we talked until morning, they invited me to a rave in august, and i invited them to the Gentse Feesten in return.

by the time i reached the hotel again, it was around six in the morning.

and i think that night taught me somethin’ i had maybe not fully understood before. you can care about people, help people, and still know that in the end, you are also the one who has to get yourself home. nobody else can always show you the way. nobody else can always carry the consequences of what you do, what you learn, or what you choose.

sometimes you find that out in a beautiful way. sometimes you find it out after steppin’ in shit twice in Berlin.

closin’ the chapter

when i think back to Berlin now, i do not think first about one monument, one lecture, or one perfect highlight. i think about a week where everythin’ felt layered. the website i could not let go of. the assignment that showed us that friendship alone is not always enough, and that teamwork sometimes asks for another kind of honesty. the arguments, the laughter, the breakfasts that took too long, the football matches, the people who stayed close, and the ones who left smaller marks than they probably realised.

i also think about the people around me. about Elsa, who once reminded me in the lobby that the way you speak to people matters, even when you are in a hurry. about Hakan, who almost missed his flight, made fun of the order in which i made breakfast, introduced me to Yiğit, and later helped us bring a difficult conversation back to the middle. about Yiğit, who made us laugh in The Void more than the club itself ever could. about Lachezar, who arrived from Bulgaria, worked through the night with me, and with whom i still hope i one day end up in Bulgaria. and about Arne too, because even through tension, there was still a whole week of bein’ together, from the FlixBus to the football match, from the missed Berlin Wall to the Uber on friday night, and some friendships are honest enough to survive not bein’ perfect all the time.

Berlin did not teach me one clean lesson. it showed me several things at once.

that personal life and professional life are not the same. that high standards only become useful when they are shared and communicated. that bein’ a team player is not only about doin’ your part, but also about thinkin’ in terms of we. and that responsibility is not only about takin’ care of others, but also about knowin’ that, eventually, you still have to find your own way back.

because sometimes a trip does not change you through the places you visit, but through the pressure you carry, the people beside you, and the moments that quietly show you what kind of person you are becomin’.

23-28 january

Athens

sometimes a trip begins long before you take off

not at the airport, not when you last check your luggage, not even when you walk out the door. it begins in a quiet decision you make without fully noticin’ its weight. a simple “yes”, somewhere between classes on campus, turnin’ into a departure you did not yet recognise as one. my trip to Athens started exactly like that.

i did not leave with a clear head. i left tired. rushin’ for clothes, lookin’ for Turkish pide that was already gone, runnin’ to Vatan for lahmacun, pickin’ up a package for my dad, tryin’ to keep the morning together. nothing about it felt like the start of a story. and still, it became one. when someone messaged me on the way to the airport, sayin’ my words pushed him to travel alone, something shifted. courage sometimes finds its way back to you like that, without askin’.

lettin' the city open you

Athens did not wait for me to feel ready. the city met me as i arrived. clarity did not show up at the airport. it appeared somewhere mid-air, in the seat next to a man who listened before he spoke.

that man was Stoffel. a film lecturer livin’ in Brussels, preparin’ a guest talk on experimental music. our conversation filled the flight. we talked about time, expectations, and the pressure to move through life in a straight line. the way he spoke slowed things down. some people step into your day quietly and still change its direction.

that evening we shared mezze in a neighbourhood where plates were placed in the middle and time stretched on its own. dishes passed hands, stories moved back and forth, pauses were allowed. it felt like Athens opened its first door for me there.

the comfort of strangers

the days that followed showed how easily connection happens when curiosity leads. in a small record shop, the seller switched to Turkish the moment he heard my voice. he spoke about music, about nights, about places where songs still carry people through the dark. we had just met, yet the conversation found its rhythm quickly.

later, outside the hostel, i met Kai. two cameras and one simple question: “wanna have a walk together?. and the afternoon unfolded on its own. near the Acropolis, another traveller took a photo of us while i was takin’ one of Kai. the city moved around us as if this was normal. we walked, ate, talked, stayed quiet when words were not needed. sometimes that is enough.

then there was Keenan. someone i met briefly, who joined me the next morning for the ceremonial changing of the guards. no long history, no plans. just standin’ there together, watchin’.

"you never really travel alone unless you choose to."

sound, light and unexpected nights

through Stoffel i ended up in rooms filled with experimental music. basements lit in red, people listenin’ without tryin’ to explain what they heard. i stayed two nights. sounds moved at their own pace. nobody asked for understanding, only attention. sometimes belonging starts there.

cities speak through people

Athens spoke through the priest explainin’ layers of Constantinople’s history, through a woman at the cathedral talkin’ about language, through families standin’ together in the morning sun. later that same day, it spoke through crowds fillin’ the streets in protest. bein’ there meant standin’ inside that contrast, without distance.

the moment that almost slipped away

the football match stayed just out of reach all afternoon. the ticket system refused again and again. kiosks shook their heads. everything pointed to the same answer.

then Katia appeared. she and her friend were workin’ on a documentary about Greek football. our paths crossed without effort. they had a contact. he had access. doors that stayed closed all day opened the moment she said, “he is with us, he is our cameraman.”

inside the stadium, sound moved through the stands in waves. a six-year-old next to me cheered without stopping. the match ended in a draw. still, the moment stayed: not because of the result, but because of how it came together.

closin' the chapter

my last morning in Athens was quiet. i returned to the same bakery where i had bought bread each day. the woman recognised me. she smiled. nothing more was needed.

i flew home tired and sick, surprised by how full the trip still felt. not because i had seen everything, but because of how the days had unfolded.

trips are not always about seein’ places, but about moments that notice you while you’re passin’ through. because those are the stories that stay, and slowly shape the way we move forward.

thursday, 8 may 2025

Campusrun 2025

Ghent Artevelde campusrun

startin' again

sometimes it just takes one small decision to finally do something you’ve been thinkin’ about for a while. the campusrun was a moment like that. wantin’ to run again, cravin’ the routine, and finally decidin’ to start. the campusrun gave me that chance. ten kilometres through the familiar streets of Ghent, surrounded by people i mostly knew from campus. teachers, classmates, even people i usually only pass in the hallway or see in class, suddenly all runnin’ together.

the sun came out and jackets slowly disappeared. people stayed outside longer than usual. conversations kept goin’, even after classes ended. the campus felt different that evening.

givin' & runnin'

and believe me, it wasn’t really about the time or the result. most people weren’t checkin’ their pace or lookin’ at their watch. it was about bein’ part of something shared: how study, work, music, and everyday life can all meet in something as simple as runnin’ side by side.

“sometimes it’s enough to just keep movin’ and enjoy bein’ part of it.”

blood donation

that same week another kind of participation took place at our university: the blood donation. i had wanted to do it for a long time, and this time it finally happened. it’s strange how something small like that changes the way you feel. you notice your limits more, but you also feel lighter somehow, knowin’ you’ve given something that might help someone else.

in a way, it connects to runnin’. not doin’ something just for yourself, but because you can contribute to something bigger, to be together, or to take care of each other.

i did the donation together with Katrijn, my blood donation partner. we even got free cinema tickets from the Red Cross afterwards because it was my first time donatin’ blood, which was a funny little bonus. the donation stayed with me that week, not just in thought but in how my body felt.

runnin’ day

a few days later came the run itself, and i could feel it. my body was gettin’ tired, my steps slower than usual, and at some point i just started gettin’ mad at myself. how was it possible for me to run this slow? i had trained and practised during the previous weeks. of course i was tired: they had warned me to take it easy after donatin’ blood. but still, i went runnin’ anyway.

somewhere during the run, that connection between both moments made sense. givin’ and runnin’, both about showin’ up, both about doin’ something together. sometimes it’s enough to just keep movin’ and enjoy bein’ part of it.

afterwards

after the run a few of us went to eat. tired, hungry, and sittin’ together at the table. the food arrived, plates slowly emptied, and conversations kept goin’. i remember thinkin’ about not goin’, because we could’ve chosen a cheaper place. it wasn’t cheap, but nobody rushed to leave.

sometimes it’s not about the money. it’s about sittin’ there, laughin’, restin’, and realisin’ the moment is worth stayin’ for.

the campusrun reminded me of that. that growth doesn’t always come from big plans or perfect results, but from small acts, intentions, little plans, and shared moments where people move and show up together. because sometimes those two worlds can simply merge.

- all photos -

life journey.✸

the word that is shapin' 2026:
professionalism.

networkin'

study trip to Berlin

more stories
on the way.

the word that shaped 2025:
shift.

2025’s first stop

bozlak (Ayhan Aydın)

Faja Lobi

Campusrun 2025

Mosel w/ clauds

life journey.✸

the word that is shapin' 2026:professionalism.

networkin'

study trip to Berlin

more storieson the way.

the word that shaped 2025:shift.

2025’s first stop

bozlak (Ayhan Aydın)

Faja Lobi

Campusrun 2025

Mosel w/ clauds

the word that is shapin' 2026:
professionalism.

more stories
on the way.

the word that shaped 2025:
shift.