DUE TO A RECENT FEEDING FRENZY FROM PEOPLE WHO CLEARLY DON'T KNOW ME AND HAVE NEVER READ MY BLOG BEFORE...
This blog is for MY friends. MY family, and foreigners looking to visit/move to Turkey. This post especially is written for the benefit of people who have never been here before and considering moving. If you are Turkish why would you waste your time reading a post like this? That's like a Language Professor checking out a book from the library that teaches nothing but the alphabet. But okay...
I received a message from another blogger who has complied a list of 7 questions he is often asked by prospective expats to Turkey. He is asking other expats for their own experiences to see how they compared to his. After responding to his post, I decided to post my answers here as well, for you my loyal few (VERY few) readers. If you would like more details or have any questions of your own, feel free to ask....
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"AS OF LAST WEEK, I HAVE BEEN HERE FOR 2 MONTHS. So my impressions are VERY fresh and are surely subject to change in the near future...
1. THINGS I LIKE ABOUT LIVING HERE: the food, cheap shopping, the lira! Turkish hospitality, public transportation, Kahvalti, ekmek, kaymak, learning Turkish, Dancing dancing dancing. The open and warm affection expressed between friends and family--I am in awe of how many kisses and pinched cheeks I witness/receive on a daily basis!
2. THINGS I AM STRUGGLING TO ADJUST TO: Paying to drink WARM water, feeling rude for NOT wanting that 6th cup of tea, lack of independence, Turkish hypochondriasis aka the unspoken agreement of some Turkish people to completely ignore science and cling to medical superstition. Turkish men in public places, terrible television
3. ONE EXPERIENCE THAT HAS CHANGED MY IMPRESSION OF TURKEY: I wish I could say it was a good experience. But over the last 2 weeks I have begun being followed by men anytime I try to walk anywhere by myself when I am in Taksim--even in broad daylight. There is nothing I can wear, no dirty face I can make, or rude comment I can say to make them go away. I have lived on my own for several years now and walked some dark streets in some big cities, but I have never been afraid to be alone in my life. Now I am afraid and I hate it. Maybe its wrong of me, but I am truly coming to hate Turkish Men.
4. ADVICE FOR PROSPECTIVE EXPATS: Stock up on good gum. Forget anything you THINK you know about yourself...the Turks will tell you how things REALLY are. (and I am not saying that is UNIQUE to Turkish culture, that is something that any tightly knit group has a tenancy to do--its a Social Psychological principal aka I know what I am talking about, leave it alone.)
5. THINGS I DIDN'T EXPECT ABOUT TURKEY: I didn't expect Istanbul to be so hilly! And the traffic--don't get me started! And many of the people here in Istanbul seem to know even less about Islam then I do. I guess western media gave me the impression that all "Muslims" are completely devoted to Muhammad and the 5 pillars But like any religion (be it Christianity, Judaism, or Buddhism) there are devout and active practitioners but there are also large numbers of believers in name only.
6. THINGS I'D LIKE TO CHANGE ABOUT TURKEY: Cobblestone sidewalks are a slippery turned-ankle-waiting-to-happen, I hope that the ultraconservative party that is in power finds a way to erase the damage that it has done to the relationship between POLITICALLY conservative Turks and what I like to call the Ataturkist (aka Nationalist) Turks. Its sad that 2 groups who have lived peacefully side by side for almost 100 years are now being divided by policy and litigation.
7. THINGS ABOUT TURKEY I WISH AMERICA WOULD ADOPT Bread, cheese, cream...and Kahvalti. I will never eat another Cheerio ever again! Oh an BTW...orange juice, fresh squeezed...Step it up America, or I am never coming home, I will never drink from concentrate ever again!"
--Thanks Nomad!
The pleasure's mine. Even better now that you posted your ideas on your blog so I can write more in response! Two months is not a very long time and most of that was in the winter so I'd expect by the summer, you might have a completely different impression. Turks can be very seasonal. If you have survived winter in Turkey, then you will probably love summers.
ReplyDeleteI shall be writing a post about how to deal with Turkish men and perhaps some of my followers can give you better advice than I did. I have heard the same complaint from many of my female yabanci friends but somehow they managed to adjust. So let's see if we can learn how.
By the way, check out the comment section of this post http://nomadicjoe.blogspot.com/2009/09/it-called-society.html
To me, it says so much.
Good luck to you, Vada.
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ReplyDeleteVada, I suppose you will probably have to moderate your incoming comments. It is a shame that instead of being all snarky about two words, instead of trying to teach you some important points about their country, they will come to your blog and be hostile. Next time you should just delete any comments that are rude. They can freely write whatever they wish on their blogs.
ReplyDeleteThanks A.Friend! Yeah...sometimes people choose to take offense...especially people who assume they are the center of all that is important. I don't know who "Anonymous" is...nor do I particularly care. (but for "its" benefit, I will try to explain what I am talking about--in VERY small words)
ReplyDeleteBy "Conservative Arab Turks" I am using Terms that will be understood by my AMERICAN audience. I mean a group of people who are living in Turkey....usually of at least partial Arab descent...who would prefer to speak Arabic instead of Turkish...and are opposed to secularism and the changes proposed by Ataturk.... Anonymous...if any of these criteria do NOT pertain to you, then I am clearly NOT talking about you.
And I am shocked to find that someone would actually pull the "Terrorist" card like some minorities pull the "race" card in America!
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ReplyDeleteoh Vada, don't listen to these people. You're entitled to have any opinion that you want!
ReplyDelete"your nation's racist, christian and nazist assumptions" -- LOL!!! That is one enlightened fellow.
btw, I've lived here for several years and have noticed that some Turks are very quick to point out everything that is wrong with your country, but once you try to criticize theirs -- they get EXTREMELY offended. Then you get comments like the gem we just saw above. Don't they know the saying "Don't throw stones if you live in a glass house"?
ReplyDeleteI don't think that Vada or any expat living here has to know everything about my country,having some wrong informations are normal,also I do believe that expats who live here are open minded people.Anyway religious, not religious or atheist,most of Turkish people are very nationalist,and we don't want to be confused with any other nation on this earth.
ReplyDeleteHi Vada. Some commenters from my blog directed me here after you got the nasty comments. I get my fair share too.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard when you're in the position of "other" to avoid making comparisons, and of course people do get offended. I've been away from the US for so long that I'm kind of an "other" there too, and I piss off Americans all the time with these comparisons. The trouble, I suppose, is that it's very easy to mis-read what someone says without knowing that person or the context they're coming from.
And BTW, there is so an Arabic-speaking population in Turkey. Perhaps it's not their first language and perhaps they don't speak it well, but there are places, esp. in the Southeast where Arabic is known and used. I've had Arabic-speaking friends here who could use Arabic with some people when their Turkish wasn't enough (I'm thinking of the Wahabi dolmuş drivers in Bakırköy, and other minibus drivers who speak what sounds like a combination of Turkish, Kurdish, and Arabic amongst themselves and I'd wager from their poor Turkish that Kurdish is probably their first language). They're a clear minority, but they're there and it doesn't mean that Turks are Arabs.
Now wait for ultra-defensive Anonymous to weigh in and tell us Kurds aren't really Turks and that they're all terrorists who kill Turks.
stranger,
ReplyDeletedon`t worry, I`m not a christian American and unlike your people, I don`t have any racist and nazist thoughts about a nation or ethnicity. For example, I don`t think that muslims aren`t really humans and they are all terrorists who kill christians, and it`s ok to genocide them in Iraq and Afghanistan, but your people think so.
Btw. did anybody say that there is no one speaking Arabic in Turkey? it`s sad that you can`t even understand what you read.
You might want to look up the word "Genocide" in a dictionary
ReplyDeleteMy comments about the tensions between the Conservative Right and Leftist groups in Turkey are DIRECTLY derived from my TURKISH friends and employer. If I got the situation wrong I am sorry...but your accusations American ignorance are in my opinion unjustified as my SOURCES are all Turks.
To many of the anonymous persons who have left NEGATIVE comments If you are too cowardly or insecure to put your name by your comment and lay claim to your OPINIONS, don't bother, and...I'm gonna say it: keep the f*ck off people's blogs. I am sorry if my vocabulary is too advanced for you. So I hope that some plain talking gets the point across. And don't you ever EVER dare to insult someone else who comments on MY blog and manages to keep their tone friendly and supportive--especially when you don't know what the hell you're talking about.
P.S. Your ignorant and defensive remarks not only say a lot about what kind of person you are, but also do little in the way of endearing one to your culture. Think before you decide to represent an entire Nation of people. You have been NO credit to the Turkish people; a people of whom I GENERALLY have a very good opinion.
I think that same Anonymous visits my blog too, Vada. I'm imagining a spotty teen of some sort. The tone is familiar, along with the silly accusations of genocide & racism. How s/he knows I resent being called a Christian I'll never know.
ReplyDeleteVery obnoxious.
Hi Vada,
ReplyDeletefound you via Stranger; just had to say hi... I'm a fellow Michigander from metro Detroit. Been in Istanbul almost three years now. I'm delighted to read your opinions on life in TR, as well as the snappy comebacks! I'm with you on the kahvalti, the hospitality, and the six cups o' tea business. May I suggest the mastic-flavored "First" chewing gum? I'm converting people at home to mastic... and about the men in public business, sorry to hear it. I think things will get better... anywhere I've lived, it takes some time to figure out what works to get certain people to bugger off.
Take care and enjoy yourself!
I've been fortunate enough to always have my Turkish fiance around when I go out, but if all else fails a good "siktir git" will always do. In case you don't know it means eff off. I have also heard that if you yell at them they will feel bad because other turks will come to your defense.
ReplyDeleteI understand what you are talking about when you say there are muslims in name only and on top of that i have met a few turks who call themselves non-believers and atheists. I will be headed your way in 2 weeks and I hope you are still enjoying Turkiye!