"Where did you learn English?"
"How can I express myself more comfortably when speaking English?"
"How can I overcome that feeling of being stuck?"
"I took classes for years, but I can't speak as effortlessly as you do."
"I understand what I hear, but when it’s time to speak, my brain just stops."
"How do you speak so naturally?"
If these sentences sound familiar, you know exactly what that internal hesitation feels like when moving from one language to another.
The truth is, it was never just about a lack of vocabulary or practice.
The real issue is the need for a safe and accessible space—a bridge—where you can "be yourself" in that foreign language, standing tall without judgment.
We are translating worlds, not just words
In this circle, as we transition between languages:
We will discover how we create
our own identity in a different tongue.
We will expand our way of thinking and meet right in the middle of that bridge.
A Two-Way Bridge and a Global Culture Circle
Let me take you behind the scenes...
Speaking a new language is essentially entering a new room of thought. Conversations Club is an intimate and deep conversation group that opens the doors to that very room.
For us, English is not a performance area where you must speak perfectly; it is a meeting point that brings different mindsets together.
Conversations Club
It All Started with an "Invitation"
I’m Ecem! As a philosophy coach and builder and inviter of deep conversations, I have been guiding people to explore the deep dialogues within their inner worlds for years. However, the seeds of this club were not sown in a session room; they were planted on the streets of Istanbul, sharing ordinary moments with my partner, Melinda, who came from Seattle.
In a market, in a hairdresser’s chair, or at a local nut shop, people we had never met would approach us with pure curiosity, asking the exact same questions. This led Melinda to see the invitation:
"How can I express myself more comfortably when speaking English?"
"Where did you learn English?"
Ecem
Don't you see? There is a need here, and that need is speaking to you. This is an invitation!
Melinda
Until that day, I attributed my comfort in speaking English simply to a natural inclination and interest towards languages.
But life was inviting me to be a bridge between languages and cultures.
Conversations Club was born to answer that call.
Well, What Is This...
This is a free living space for conversation where languages, cultures, and most importantly, the "human experience" are shared—a place where everyone is a guest in each other's world, bearing witness.
When you walk in, you won't be met by a teacher standing at a board or waiting with a red pen to correct your mistakes; you’ll find a circle of people sitting with their coffee, pursuing the same human questions as you.
There are no teachers or students here..
We don’t "conduct lessons" here; we "brew" a concept, a feeling, or a thought together, so we can create those pockets where we can truly "be ourselves" in this new language.
"intuitive authority"
"closure"
"stirring your water"
"messy middle"
"capacity"
"inner gazing"
"holding space"
At the heart of our meetings are concepts borrowed from philosophy, psychology, and various other fields that touch the very core of life.
We start our conversations slowly, in whatever state we are in that day, rather than with the rush of constructing perfect sentences. There is absolutely no pressure to share or speak right away. You are welcome to simply stay as a listener—wandering around the concept internally, preparing your mind, and laying the foundations of the bridge.
Just being in the presence of a global community and absorbing that shared human experience already does the magic.
Then, as that inner confidence quietly builds, you can start dipping your toes into English more and more, stepping onto the bridge whenever you feel ready.
What Awaits You Inside?
This is a space that will take shape with you.
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Free Unhurried Bi-weekly Meetings: No matter where you are in the world, a regular, cost-free online gathering space you can join from the safety of your own home, leaving the rush of the day outside.
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Encounters Beyond Borders: A chance to come together with people whose paths you might never normally cross, meeting on the common ground of "being human" beyond identities, on the same bridge. The USA, Turkey, Italy, Ireland, or any other corner of the world.
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A Judgment-Free Space for Expression: You don’t have to speak perfect English here. Our goal is to break that hesitation, stretch your mind in a new language, and meet right in the middle by shortening the distance between the two ends of the bridge.
From day one, you are stepping into a truly global community. Companions from different languages and cultures—including the co-creator of this vision, Melinda, and other native or non-native English speakers—gather in this very circle.
Is speaking in another language just translating words, or is it opening the door to a new room in your mind where no one else has entered yet?
We melt away that infamous 'speaking with a native' tension through the warmth of shared storytelling, proving that the comfort of deep connection is stronger than any language barrier.
All the spaces I create were born from my own story of making room for myself between two worlds. I began building those first bridges back in the days when languages blended together and borders were erased around a shared dinner table...
A Bit About Me
I grew up in a Bulgarian Turk immigrant family. Most of the time, our home was like a melting pot of different cultures and languages.
The effort to create oneself between worlds, born from the struggle of not belonging to a single world...
Turkish, Bulgarian, and Bulgarian-Turkish with its unique texture were always intertwined. Our home wasn't just an intersection of languages, but of worlds; tables where borders were erased were set, with people constantly coming and going from abroad, from different nations and entirely different cultures.
Growing up right in the middle of this multilingual and multicultural flow from a young age, acting as a translator between languages and mindsets at those tables, invited me into this state of being a "bridge" early on.
Bringing people, stories, and entirely different worlds together has been a natural way of existence for me since childhood.
Today, while accompanying people's inner dialogues as a philosophy coach, or bringing people from different worlds together in the various spaces I create, what I am actually doing is simply turning that bridge I've walked on since childhood into a worldwide circle.
At which tables and among which cultures did your story begin?
Explore Other Shores Where You Are Yourself
Today, I conduct a large part of my coaching practice and my life in English. The flow of my inner dialogues, the texts that nourish me, and the spaces I create take shape around this language.
Because when I speak English, I don't carry words from one language to another in my mind. Because "being myself" in another language gave me the chance to strip away the burdens of my mother tongue and the memorized patterns of the past.
For me, speaking in this language is not translating a text in my head; it means creating a new reality directly within that language, with my own authentic self.
Therefore, I can see the search behind the questions that people I don't even know approach me with curiosity on the street.
That hesitation you experience when expressing yourself in a foreign language doesn't just stem from a lack of practice; it comes from the feeling of "not yet finding a place for yourself" in that language.
Conversations Club isn't just a place where we speak English; it is a space where you leave that block behind and build that safe place, that new shore of your own in a new language.
A Two-Way Bridge and a Global Culture Circle
How much does the scenery change when you look at the world through the window of curiosity rather than just your own geography?
We built our own shore in a new language, but what’s next?
When creating this space, our intention wasn't just to issue a one-way ticket from Turkish to English.
Because our belief at Conversations Club is this: Bridges are never built one-way.
Just as those of us whose native language isn't English step into a new world of thought by learning it, native English speakers are also invited into our world of thought and culture.
The organic bond stretching from Istanbul to Seattle with my partner Melinda is actually the first step of a much larger dream.
Our ultimate purpose is to create a global culture circle where people from different corners of the world use English merely as a common meeting point to touch each other's souls.
All the spaces I create were born from my own story of making room for myself between two worlds. I began building those first bridges back in the days when languages blended together and borders were erased around a shared dinner table...
Is This For You?
While designing this circle, we had companions in mind who share a certain feeling and search.
This is a safe conversation space created for:
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Those who understand English but feel they cannot fully reflect themselves when speaking
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Those looking for deep horizon-expanding conversations while practicing the language
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Those who want to stretch their worldview by meeting people from different cultures and gaining entirely new perspectives
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Those who want to transform the tension of speaking a foreign language with the comfort of deep, horizon-expanding conversations in a global community...
On the other hand, to protect the intention of the circle and that judgment-free space, we want to be very transparent about expectations. This is NOT for you, if:
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You're looking for a classic language course where grammar rules are written on the board and homework is assigned
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You're focusing solely on speaking with a perfect accent rather than the depth of the conversation.
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You don't have the time to slow down, truly listen to each other, and hold a compassionate space for the person across from them
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You're not open to people and ideas from different cultures and backgrounds.
"If you didn't have to hide behind flawless sentences, what would you tell us about yourself today?"
An unhurried and deep flow of about 1.5 hours
Meeting Details and Participation
When: Every two weeks on Thursday evenings..
Time: 12:30 PM EST (18:30 CET)
Where: No matter where you are in the world; in the safety of your own home, via Zoom.
If you want to create pockets where you can
be yourself in another language
and bring out all the versions of who you can be
leaving that hesitation behind in a judgment-free circle...
A glimpse into the future: We are bringing this bridge we built in our minds to the real world very soon. Get ready for our in-person circle meetings in different cities around the world
Participation: This circle is entirely free. Our only "fee" is your genuine presence, your curiosity, and your willingness to compassionately hold space for others.
Let's meet at the bridge!
A space where language is merely a tool; the real purpose is building bridges to each other's minds, stories, and worlds.
I invite you not to this side of the bridge, but right to the center of it. Right into the heart of conversations that transcend borders.
With love,
Ecem 𝞅