Culture and Difference

              This week I asked my Upper Intermediate class what was the most important thing that Turkish culture has given to the world.  It wasn’t an easy question, and I saved it until the end of a class where we had been discussing cultural differences, but none of them could give me an answer, so I told them to dwell on it and I would ask them again next week.  It is a topic I have been mulling over this past week, while I was doing research for my classes, but if someone asked me the same thing about Canada, what would I say? 

                

My new winter coat- I opted away from yellow.

              Culture is an interesting concept as the world grows smaller, and having last lived in a city like Jakarta, it is a bit of an adjustment to the more conservative viewpoints of people in Malatya.  For most of them alcohol is a sin, pork is a sin.  There is no alternative.  When I told me class that on Easter many people eat ham, one of my student’s faces contorted in the utmost disgust at the mere concept of anyone consuming pork.  Granted he is an imam (Muslim religious leader) who spends most of my classes in shock (“Teacher, do people lie in Canada?”  Me- “People lie everywhere!  It has nothing to do with Canada!) asking questions relentlessly and trying to goad me into admitting that the west is immoral. (“Really?  People drink alcohol at weddings?”- me “Some people.  Not all people.”)  There are only two weeks left with that class, and both myself and my Turkish co-teacher, Ali, are thrilled to see the back of him (Ali: “When this class finishes, I will never see that man again.”) 

                

           The rest of my students are more open-minded, however they have their moments.   I asked one class what was disgusting food and they responded that Chinese food was disgusting.  I was a bit taken aback as I love Chinese food, so I asked them why.  Their response?  Chinese people eat insects.  After registering my surprise because while it is probably true that in rural China people do eat insects, that would never have been my first thought.  So naturally the next question I posed was if they had ever actually eaten/seen Chinese food?  No.  Never.  Turkish food.  It’s all about Turkish food- and while I do love Turkish food, I miss variety. 

               

Fresh off the barbaque

               That being said, my students are fantastic.  They are all writing exams this week, so the classes have been half full at best.  Throwing my lesson plans out the window for one or two students is my favourite thing to do: we talk, and it’s fun.  One of my elementary students from a class I share with Elif invited us to a barbeque on Saturday night.  Despite my reservations (weekends are exhausting enough without a social life) I agreed, and she and her friends picked us up from school to take us to Yesilyurt.  We drove into the middle of nowhere (or at least it felt like that in the dark) and down a country-esque road to what I can only describe as a cottage- except it was only a kitchen and living room with a large patio and an outhouse.  Whether or not that was it or the rest of the house was hiding somewhere, I have no idea- it was too dark to tell, but the lot looked pretty enough.  They had started off the barbeque, the men putting together kofte (meatballs) and kebabs while the women finished the salads (Turkish salads I can’t remember the names of) and tziziki in the kitchen, and the rest of us stood outside and chatted until it was so miserably cold we retreated inside- only heated by a heat lamp, it didn’t improve things much, but it did block out the wind. 

Simply delicious.

               The food was fantastic (as I hadn’t had time to eat since 6am that morning- like I said, weekends are tiring) and the beer was good (all free of course- I will never tire of Turkish hospitality) and after dinner there was a big Turkish sing-along/pow wow, complete with guitar, although lacking the bonfire.  Having been out on to the pub on Thursday as well with a different co-worker (making friends is exhausting- you always have to say yes to invitations- only when you are comfortable with your relationships can you start turning people down) and I was tired.  We got home at a reasonable hour, but by the time I had washed the firey smoke smell out of my hair and gotten settled, it felt like it was time to get up again.

              

Elif, Ebru and I.  (Don't remember the other woman's name...)

               Two other big excitements of the week, were of course, the arrival of internet in our home.  This has opened up endless possibilities in communication, yoga videos, vacation planning and recipe finding.  I also look forward to the ability to study Turkish with more than Google Translate- hopefully I will be able to wow you all with my linguistic prowess, but only time will tell  The other was my first Teacher’s Day gift!   Today is Teacher’s Day: whether this is an international day or just a Turkish one, I have no idea, but it’s fun.  Kubra (Buglem’s mom) being the most thoughtful person on the planet, had Buglem give me a clock (which Buglem opened for me and then cried because she didn’t get to keep it, but still) which is now sitting proudly in my kitchen, although it’s a ticking clock so the battery may shortly be removed and it will be solely for decoration, but we shall see how badly it irritates me first.  It is amazing how that started out as a job, and has quickly turned into the highlight of my week.  Again, Turkish hospitality knows no bounds.  (Side note: although tonight I was buying wine in the shops and I saw Ali (Buglem’s father Ali, not my co-worked Ali) at the till, and I definitely hid in an aisle until he was out sight, in case he thought ill of me for drinking alcohol.  It’s been a long time since I did that and yes, I am fully aware that it was unnecessary- it seemed more polite not to flaunt the fact..  It’s amazing how quickly your mindset can be altered in an attempt to be culturally sensitive.  

My teacher's day clock!