Home is where the heart is
As an entertainer, Rifat hopes to be able to spread happiness and positive energy in his own way. Last year he started his own YouTube channel, recording parts of his life with simple equipment and learning to do the editing himself. Even when work is at its busiest, he still takes time out to upload at least three videos a week and share his thoughts and feelings with the public.
Videos so far have included taking his Turkish friends and family to the Taipei Zoo on the Metro, capturing the joy of the children as they get to see the pandas, and a night at Taipei Railway Station documenting what things are like for the homeless people there, something that brought him to tears on camera. Another video captured his experience at a hospital, showcasing Taiwan’s National Health Insurance system and advances in medical care. His videos have Turkish subtitles, making use of the global nature of the Internet to introduce Taiwan to people in his homeland.
Rifat has also written two books, and he is currently writing another one introducing Turkish home cooking to Taiwanese, sharing his family’s recipes and investigating them through the lens of food writing.
He just came here to study, but today he has settled down and has a wife and daughters. Now that he is a father, he says, Taiwan is more like home than ever, and as his home, it is only natural that he would not only love it, but also embrace both its strengths and its flaws. Whenever someone thanks him for showing so much love for Taiwan, Rifat is baffled. There’s so much to be proud of here, if only more local people knew. And thus he has made it his mission to show them, in his own way.
Last year, Rifat was granted Taiwanese citizenship, something which finally gave his father some peace of mind. Although the elder Karlova passed away from illness earlier this year, he is undoubtedly smiling down on his son as he continues to make a life, and a family, in Taiwan.
Originally from Turkey, Rifat’s (first from left) success breaking into Taiwan’s entertainment industry proves that even someone not born here can host a travel show for locals. (photo by Jimmy Lin)
No matter where he goes, the amiable Rifat is always able to fit right in.