Four Months In

I've tried to make this blog mostly educational and not so much about me, but for those of you who are interested in my more personal experience, here is my four-month check-in.

1. Teaching (my job): Last term I taught four courses, one on Shakespeare and the Romantics, two speaking courses, and one writing course. I tried to start a film club and lost student interest (I should have offered extra credit, now I know!) and had a fairly successful Shakespearean film club where we watched film adaptations of Shakespeare's plays.  Next term I get to teach American short stories and American contemporary poetry (WOO HOO!) and I'm thrilled. Overall, my students and I adore each other, I love teaching in Turkey more than anywhere I've taught, and my job is super duper fantastico. I also have great supervisors and support in my department and in the embassy. I'm truly blessed in this department.

2. Social life: Uh...well...my social life in Turkey has been pretty non-existent and lonely, peppered with some wonderful moments here and there. However, I have made some incredible friends since I've moved, and my social life is starting to improve, finally. One friend, Beture, is a sixty-year old woman who has completely embraced me into her circle of friends for reasons I don't know, but constantly thank god for (most of her friends are in their late 30s and 40s). Beture speaks perfect English, is from Azerbaijan, and is one of my colleagues. One of her best friends, Diljin, has also embraced me into her life and the two of them are my two favorite people in Isparta, plus Aras, my six-year old bestie.

Because I don't have a car and because I live far from campus, my social life is still pretty bleak--there are no movie theaters that play American films (except 2012), for example. That said, I have a feeling that my social life will really start to pick up when I return next semester...I have some dance classes I'll be going to with my students, a bowling date with a group of students, more friend time, a bit more travel within Turkey to see my American colleagues while I still can, and my recent addiction to a Turkish drama has guaranteed me a spot on Beture's couch on Friday nights.

3. Writing life: I have been rockin' the writing world. I decided to completely rewrite the second half of my monsterously long novel (it's about 425 pages as we speak and I've got about four chapters to go). Anyway, I am LOVING it, and the quiet evenings and weekends have really helped get some significant revision done. I'm really grateful for this. Approximate finish date for the new draft? Sometime early spring is what I'm shooting for. And then I think it'll be done, done, done. Or not.

4. Love life: It has to be mentioned because it is so, so, so fabulous. I have the best boyfriend in the world. I am ridiculously blessed.

5. Family: You are toooo far away. But I'll be home in August--I hope I can see you then!

6. Language skills: I can now talk like a two or possibly three year old. I don't imagine I'll get much beyond that. I'll have a separate post on why Turkish is so dang hard when I get back. You'll see. But my friends are getting impressed with my comprehension, which is great. It means that I know just enough that they're nervous about what they say in front of me...and this is fabulous.

7. Home: My home is falling apart. The pipes are falling out of the walls because the radiator has numerous leaks, the walls are crumbling, the oven blows out the electricty for the whole house, the kitchen smells awful because of some pipe under the sink that's open and has stagnant water inside, the house whistles when it's windy because of all the unsealed windows, and it's constantly cold. But you know what? I have a home, and that's more than I can say than for thousands of people in Haiti. And I have a beautiful view. So again, I am blessed!

8. Overall reflections on Turkey: Is there a nutshell for this one? In short, I would say that you can prepare for some more educational/informational posts when I get back. I'd really like to share more about Turkey's history and also some of the current political situations because it will help you understand just why Turkey's such an important political player (and great place to visit) right now. I feel really blessed that I'm able to be here and get to know Turkey in such a personal way. The country is fascinating, full of history, great food, and full of wonderfully interesting and hospitable people. Turkey is one of the best places I have ever traveled to, and if I was choosing a place to visit I would come here in a heartbeat. Stay tuned for more, but I am really grateful I was placed here for my program.

Okay that's all for now...can you think of any categories I missed? I'll be traveling for about three and a half weeks, going to Milan to see Guido and then to Cairo to for a conference. Stay tuned for some fabulous pics and adventures! Ciao!

p.s. The above pic is where they randomly removed the road in front of my house two days ago. There is just dirt there now. Why? I have no idea. But I love the welcome mat in front...ah...the irony.

Plastic Soldiers

I went to see my favorite kid in Turkey, Aras, a six-year old whose mom just had a baby girl. The first time we met we played games and he taught me Turkish (and I taught him some English) and so now I call him my Turkish teacher and he loves it. (Here's a post about him, if you're curious.)

Anyway, when I was over at his house visiting the family and playing with Aras and his friend, I noticed something small, but interesting. Aras and his school friend were playing with toy soldiers--you know, the green plastic kind that we probably saw or played with as kids. (Full disclosure: I never played with them, but that's because I was obsessed with my Star Wars figurines and Tonka Truck...yeah, I was a tomboy.)

The first thing that surprised me was the fact that the soldiers had an American flag. Then I saw another flag on the ground, broken off of its plastic rock. I didn't recognize it at first--to my embarrassment. Then Aras held it up: IRAQ! He yelled. Of course...it was an Iraqi flag.

You can STILL get America vs. The Commies toy soldiers on Amazon if you can believe it. But for some reason it stunned me that you could buy an America vs. Iraq toy soldier set here in Turkey. It upset me, but mostly because I feel like it's such a metaphor for the new enemy that's replaced Communism for Americans...and that's fundamentalist Islam.

It makes you wonder sometimes...must the U.S. always have an enemy? Is there any other country that could have a toy soldier set like that? These days all you have to do is keep the American soldiers in the bag and change the opposing flag. Our nation always stays poised, its feet mired in plastic, our guns permanently aimed and ready to fire.

When diplomats become bullies

The head of my department, we'll call him O, loves to disseminate the daily BBC news to me, complete with numerous gesticulations and strongly-accented commentary.

The other day, he started yelling something (he speaks in yell) about how Israel had bullied Turkey. At first, the way he presented it was so convoluted that I had no idea what he was talking about, or when it had happened. But then I eventually realized he was talking about a very recent event, and I actually found it quite disturbing.

To make a long story short, Israel had been offended when a popular Turkish t.v. show Valley of the Wolves (also made into a film) depicted Israeli soldiers kidnapping Turkish babies. In another Turkish t.v. show last October, Israelis were shown killing Palestinians. In one particularly offensive scene, an Israeli soldier kills a young, smiling Palestinian girl at close range.

Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon summoned Ambassador Oguz Celikkol to a discusion, hoping that the Turkish ambassador would apologize over the series. The big hullaballoo that ensued resulted from the Ayalon's decision about how to treat the ambassador when he arrived.

Imagine this--it's a "diplomatic" meeting, and the table only had the Israeli flag...and the ambassador had to sit in a chair far below the Deputy Foreign Minister. You can see the picture above, the writing titles the picture as "The height of humiliation". Footage of the Israeli officials sitting high above the ambassador circulated around Israel, as well as Ayalon stating in Hebrew "there is only one flag" and "we are not smiling".


To really understand why this is a big deal, you have to know a bit more about Turkish-Israeli relations. Turkey has had an increasingly complex relationship with Isreal, as Turkey has begun to lean more heavily towards its Islamic roots and away from the west. Israel has become increasingy alarmed by Turkey's strengthening ties with Russia, Iran, and other Islamic countries, as has the U.S.

At the same time, Turkey's current Prime Minister, Recip Erdoğan, has raised an increasingly loud protesting voice against Israel's actions in the Gaza region, condemning the violence and "gangster" type policies Israel has been using to promote its agenda. While many praise Erdoğan for his protests, others claim that he doesn't have much room to condemn, given the oft-condemned violence against minority groups in Turkey.

I understand both points of view. On the one hand, it's hard to stomach Erdoğan's critique of Israel's "gangster" policies, while he is strengthening ties with Israel and Russia, two countries notorious for their less than inspiring diplomacy and democratic policies within their own nations. And at the same time, Israel's choice to belittle Turkey in such a way does nothing to strengthen the weakening ties they worry about, and only serves to further polarize the two regions. Turks already have views on Israelis and Jews that are very generalized, prejudiced, and dangerous. And it's ironic that they will bash Israelis for being nationalistic and prideful, when Turks and even Turkish immigrants constantly praise Turkey as the most glorious nation in the world with the best food, the best people, the richest history, etc.

At the same time, I worry about how the West approaches Turkey. Israel did apologize later, and then expressed its concern over Turkey's current political priorities. But the West has a delicate tight-rope to walk when it comes to Turkey, and when it comes to incorporating Islamic nations in general. On the one hand, we have to maintain our integrity about what we will and will not tolerate in human rights and foreign policiy, but at the same time, we have to realize that the more we push away, humiliate, and exlude Turkey, the more we polarize the nation and risk Turkey as an ally.

Obama was wise to come to Turkey first after he was elected president, and I'm curious to see what his continued policies will be. We should not underestimate how valuable it is to have Turkey strongly on our side. I am really beginning to understand how this Islamic nation with one foot in the West and one foot in the East truly might truly be the fulcrum that our Islamic diplomacy balances on.

The Number One Thing that DID NOT Originate from Turkey?

Turkeys. Yeah, I got a chuckle out of the irony there.

So, wanna know why we call them turkeys? Here ya go.

Apparently when Europeans were first trampling through North America, they incorrectly identified the wild native birds as Asian guinea fowl, or what was known then as a Turkey hen and Turkey cock (hey...that's what it says, don't look at me like that), because it was imported to Central Europe through Turkey (of course, it wasn't Turkey then, it was the Ottoman Empire, so now I'm super confused). Eventually, those crazy Europeans just shortened the bird's name to turkey, and that stuck as the name of the bird.

(And did you know that a group of turkeys is called a rafter? Seriously!)

My Turkish students are not super crazy about sharing a name with our fabulous bird. They keep asking me: Why don't you call us by our real name: Türkiye? I tell them there are two reasons: A. No one in the U.S. knows how to pronounce the umlaud (ü). And B.) What do they call us? A.B.D., which translates to: Amerika Birlesik Devletleri (United States of America). Every country calls other countries by their own special names.

Finally, Turkey as we now know it became a nation in 1923. Turkish students, I ask you this: You knew we were calling the birds turkeys then, but you chose to name your country Turkey anyway. So really, where does the blame lie?

Crazy Things That Apparently Originated in Turkey: Number Four!

Yes, Turkey is famous for things like baklava, yogurt, and Turkish kebab. But let's delve a little deeper, shall we? Here are my top four Turkic items, in order, Letterman style.

NUMBER FOUR: Blue eyes. This one might actually be true. See my blog on blue eyes below. (Just look for the big blue eye.)

Crazy Things That Apparently Originated in Turkey: Number Three!

NUMBER THREE: Santa Clause. Oh yeah, did I mention that Santa's Turkish? Well, actually, he was Byzantine. But if someone ever lived in Turkey or moved to Turkey, or really liked Turkey (slight exaggeration), they're basically Turkish. This one is actually true as well, though I'll admit that Santa Clause has some crazy complicated roots. But let's stick with the Christian ones. Saint Nicholas of Myra is considered the primary inspiration for the modern-day St. Nick. He was a 4th Century Greek Christian Bishop in Lycia (pron: Lyshia), a province of Byzantine Anatolia...and now known as Turkey. St. Nick was famous for his generosity and giving gifts to the poor--legend says he even gave three poor girls a dowry so they could get married and not have to go into prostitution. Now that's my kind of saint.

Anyway, of course there are pagan roots to Santa Clause as well, like his connection to the god Odin, but that's another topic. (But I have to ask, who do you think he looks more like, St. Nick in the fresco, or Gandalf, ahem...I mean Odin, to the right?)

The most important thing is that St. Nick's tomb is still in Turkey in Demre (Ancient Myra). Unfortunately, in 1084 a bunch of pesky Italian merchants who were keen on St. Nick pushed past the monks living at the monastery there and raided the sarcophagus. They stole the remains and whisked them off to Italy, where they now remained sealed in a cathedral in Bari,  because for some reason Italy has to have everyone's friggin' remains in their cathedrals. Pesky Italians! Must everything in Turkey relocate to Italy? Is someone still grumpy about losing Constantinople? 

To check out the church and more about the story, click here.

Crazy Things That Apparently Originated in Turkey: Number Two!

NUMBER TWO: The Christmas tree decoration ritual. Oh yeah, it's from Turkey. Apparently, even though almost everyone agrees that the christmas tree decoration originated in pre-Christian England or the Germanic peoples, archeologist Muazzez Ilmiye Çığ(nope--I can't pronounce it either) has a new opinion to share: Turks invented the Christmas tree.

Çığ argues that the ritual stems from the Turkish tradition of the wish-making tree. Apparently people put special things for God under a white pine around the time of the winter solstice (Dec. 22nd), in hopes of getting blessed by God the following year. They also tied special cloths on the tree's boughs, much like putting on ornaments. All of this was part of small festivities to celebrate the sun (like oh so many other pagan traditions), and people would "clean homes, sing folk songs, eat special foods and put on festive clothing."

But here's where he gets really convincing. Apparently this was a ritual originally practiced in Turkic Central Asia, then migrated to the Anatolian region (what is now Turkey). The birth of Jesus never used to be celebrated with a Christmas tree, but when the Council of Nicaea met in 325 A.D. (yes, in Turkey), it's possible that these traditions began to sneak their way through Europe. (Okay, it didn't quite sneak; Çığ says that it was Hunnish warriors that introduced it to Europe, so I’m guessing some murderous pillaging came along with it: Bow before my Christmas tree or I’ll chop off your head!).

Not everyone is down with this theory--in fact even some Turkish historians consider it wishful thinking. While there’s certainly some serious fact checking to do...it's definitely interesting! Still not a believer? For more on the topic, click here.

Crazy Things That Apparently Originated in Turkey: Number One!

And the NUMBER ONE most astonishing thing that came from Turkey is...(drum roll please...)

Native Americans are Turkish. Yup. You can even see pictures of Native Americans hanging on some walls around Turkey. I kid you not. Here’s the deal. A university in Istanbul recently (2008) held a symposium in the U.S. that explored the genealogical connections between Turks and Native Americans. All kinds of well-respected Turks from American and Istanbul universities presented their case on this topic.

Basically, they posited that Turks from Central Asia migrated over the Bering Strait thousands of years ago and settled in the Americas. They go on to say that some of the Native Americans of today descend from this group of people of Turkish origin. One way you can tell—they say—is by looking at commonalities in the language. For example in Eskimo, the word kayak means boat, while in Turkish, kayak means skiing, but kayık means boat. (Bore yourself to death on this topic here.) They’ve also looked at DNA and Y-Chromosomes…etc. Anyway, it’s actually pretty darn convincing as well. You can a five-minute presentation on this topic in the You Tube below.

But let's just pause for one moment, people. Native Americans. Are. Turks.

Really?



I have to say though, that the head Native American who attended the symposium soundly rejected these theories, stating that the language commonalities (over 300 Turkish words had cousins in Native languages) were a result of possible Native American migration that occurred in reverse, when Native Americans went back over the Bering Strait to Central Asia.

Come on, now, seriously? Is that the best you can do? Why would anyone return to Northern Russia? That's crazy talk.

I am a genetic mutant

Today I had a pretty exciting event on my social calendar. You ready for it? Well, first I gave a final exam--woo hoo! Then I went with two of my students downtown to buy a new projector for one of our classrooms. I drank tea and got to speak some horrible Turkish (though my student said my pronunciation was really good...probably because I say the same words over and over again). Then...and here's where it gets super exciting (or eggziting, as my students say)...then we went out to dinner! Having dinner companions is pretty amazing for me, quite frankly, I'm pretty much a hermit these days (not by choice).

Anyway, on our way out of the cafe, one of my students commented: "Teacher...everyone is looking at you. You want to know why? Because you are blonde." Then he went on to say that maybe it was because I also had blue eyes. "It is very eggziting for people (read: males) in Turkey," he said. Now, you may or may not agree that I'm a blonde, but that's besides the point. The point is that I'm a genetic mutant.

What, you say? Mutant, you say? Well, my student later went on to tell me that one of my colleagues had said that people with blue eyes have a genetic mutation. We're all supposed to have brown eyes. Of course, I heard that and thought that he was just being hegemonic (that was for you, Fielding) but then I decided to look it up. And you know what, folks? He was right!

Turns out the university of Copenhagen did some research on blue-eyed folk and discovered that they all have one common ancestor (they haven't tracked down her name yet though...sorry). In 2008, Hans Eiberg and his buds published an article Human Genetics that stated that discovered that (ready for this?)"a mutation in the 86th intron of the HERC2 gene, which is hypothesized to interact with the OCA2 gene promoter, reduced expression of OCA2 with subsequent reduction in melanin production."

Though it's quite possibly the most horrifying sentence I've ever read, it's basically saying that a mutation caused blue eyes. They then go on to say that this mutation can be tracked down to a single individual in the Near East or Black Sea region 6,000 to 10,000 years ago. Which is just great--yet another thing that Turks can claim originated in Turkey: blue friggin' eyes. (Turks are crazy for saying everything originates here, but that's a separate blog post.) Originally, it turns out we all had brown eyes. My colleague was right.

(Of course, he later went on to say that only clever people were bald and ordinary people have hair, but...we'll skip that one. And yes, he's bald.)

Apparently blue eyes are even becoming more rare in the United States. A 2002 study showed that 33.8% of the population born from 1936 to 1951 has blue eyes, down from 57.7% for those born from 1899 through 1905. Now only one in six children are born with blue eyes people! That's 22.4% of white Americans! Thanks ethnic blending...way to go. Why did we have to get all p.c. and allow intermarriage again?*

But let's quit all this depressing talk about my vanishing mutant race. Here's the thought I really want to leave you with...was it really a genetic mutation that cuased blue eyes?

Or was it...ALIENS???


This blog post was written solely with "facts" from Wikipedia. Feel free to disprove me. Please.
*Note: Writer is being sarcastic here. See through it, please. (<--you never know, people. Really.)
P.S. Why are eyes so creepy all by themselves?