Legs

This will be a two-fer since the Internet was down yesterday! Yesterday morning I posted on my Facebook page "today's word is "legs"". I had been running for the first three days of the trip in Istanbul. Wednesday was the first day that I went a bit later. I was amazed at the reaction of people on the streets and in cars. I thought "it's like they've never seen this before". Then, I thought, it was quite possible that they hadn't. Running is not a common thing here in Turkey and you can rest assure, neither is walking around in short spandex running shorts. It's hard for me not to have an opinion on what I see going on with the women especially those who walk about in the "full gear". They just look miserable. Generally, the ensemble is black or dark tones and it doesn't exactly look like it's made of silk. It's hot and humid here and these women are loaded down. I know, I'm looking at things through my own bias but I can honestly say that I'm sure at the very least these outfits are not comfortable. Then we have the men, on the other hand, who are appropriately dressed for the weather strutting around the streets very comfortably. And, in case they need to freshen up later, they are carrying their nice little "man bag". I have never thought of myself as a "women's libber"- I like being a lady and love it when a man takes charge. The scenes that I've seen play out over the last few days make me very sad. Although everywhere we have been, the people say that women are given equal rights and are treated equal I really find it hard to believe. I'll end this post on a happy thought- as I was getting ready to write this blog- I heard Gangnam Style blasting from down the street at 10:30 pm. It made me chuckle as I thought "we really are more alike than different"

It's all about TP!

TP- Trade, Politics and Press were today's themes. We started the day off meeting with the deputy mayor and a few city planners were we discussed everything from the city's support of the arts, balancing modernity and antiquity and the green movement. One thing that I couldn't help notice during the conversation is how it really is true that when you don't speak the language, it can "tip the scale" in a business deal. It's true that we weren't negotiating a deal but we were using our tour guide as the translator. I'm convinced that the deput mayor knew some English, his two colleagues were completely fluent. In any case, he had the benefit of hearing our conversation in English and then hearing it again in Turkish. It was a great meeting and he was a very open to our conversation, it is just something that we anglophones need to be aware of. It is true that English is the lingua franca but we should remember we are at a disadvantage in speaking in only English at a meeting as the other party has the benefit of hearing the conversation twice- once when we say it and then again when it is translated. Of course, politics has an impact on trade and the press. It was interesting to hear that Turkey's number one selling newspaper only came into existence 26 years ago because before that, there was no such thing as a "free press" and even know the government does have influence over what's published. The trade piece was most interesting for me, of course, It was fabulous to see how things like lowering taxes, support for ex-pats, assurance of legal rights has catapulted this economy into a position to compete with the BRICs.

An interesting look at Islam

As suspected, the trip is providing interesting insight into Turkey and Islam. As I mentioned before, I knew very little about Islam before the trip. Today, the whole day was centered about touring cultural and religious sites. And, as I like to say the culture cannot be seperated from the relgion, the whole day was focused on religion. I learned many things about Islam - many of the tenets are along the same lines as Christianity. I started to wonder if most people could come on a tour such as this if they wouldn't come to a very different idea about what Islam is and isn't. I'm particularly enjoying one of the young men on this trip who is a devout Muslim. He is almost giddy with all the goings on here in Istanbul. He is a great ambassador for the faith. I wonder how people might react to seeing someone like him promoting Islam rather than the images that we see in the media night after night. I know, a young, clean cut, soft-spoken, young man is not what the media want us to see.

"It's Turkish to me!"

Wow! New country, new experiences and new challenges. I was thinking on the bus ride to the hotel that this was the first time I had ever been in a country where I had absolutely no knowledge of the language. Even when I was in Greece, I was able to at least get a sense of the word. My brief tenure as a sorority girl was good for something. It is a strange experience to look at a word or phrase and not know if it means "exit", "hello" or "sale". I feel a bit helpless that I cannot make heads or tails out of anything. On the other hand, the only place to go is up from here. The people have been more than accommodating in helping me muddle my way through this language. In any case, it is good to be humbled by an experience such as this!

"Turkey time!"

The other day, I had the opportunity to meet with the Irish Ambassador to the United States at a very quiet dinner function. The first thing he asked me was "what do you do?" and when I told him that I was a college professor teaching International Business he asked, "is there much interest in Europe?" to which I replied "Yes, there is because the instructor is "Euro-centric". This comment gave him a chuckle but it is, in fact, true. I am Eurocentric- it's my heritage and it's what I feel comfortable with. I grew up on the "Southside" of Chicago where everyone looked like me and had a similar story to tell. We were all Christian, predominantly Catholic, whose parents and grandparents had immigrated earlier in the 20th century. They came from Ireland, Poland, Germany, Italy and Spain. It was rare to find someone who was not Christian- I think I could count them on one hand. So, what's this little trip down memory lane have to do with anything? Well, today I'm getting ready to embark on a great new adventure to a completely different part of the world. A part that I know very little about except on the surface, they're not like me. I'm going to Turkey- a great emerging economy that has a an interesting past and a fabulous future. A country that situated mostly in Asia but there is a part of it in Europe. In fact, one of the two most important cities, Istanbul straddles Europe and Asia. I am sure that there is some symbolism there. A country that while 98% of the population is Muslim, has a secular government. A country that is trying to join the European Union, and encountering resistance from the E.U. Many believe the less than enthusiastic acceptance of Turkey is because of the difference in religion. The current E.U. states, all of them Christian- many of them Catholic, are dragging their feet on giving final approval to Turkey. And the worst kept secret as to why they are dragging their feet, I stated it before "they're not like me". Silly? Yes, it is but humans are not always rational. This particular trip I'm not traveling alone as I usually do. I'm tagging along on this trip with the Political Science department to gain a better understanding. Yes, an understanding of the politics but also many other pieces as well. We will be visiting with many political leaders along with university professors and business people. The trip is being coordinated through a foundation that is focused on bringing the three Abrahamic religions to create a dialog where we can find a mutual understanding. It has been my experience that the more we get to know one another, the more it becomes apparent that we have more in common than different. As I get ready to go on this trip, I'm reminded of a conversation that I had with a wise coworker many years ago. She said "I'm biased but I'm working to get over that". I agree with her, we all have biases whether based on religion, ethnicity, race or gender. I'm hoping that on my trip that I can start to better understand the Turkish point of view and become more open because of it.

Cristina

Yesterday, while reading the newspaper, I came across something that struck me as odd. The newspaper kept referring to the president, who happens to be a woman, as Cristina. They used only her first name never her last and never referred to her a "presidenta". It was just Christina. I was curious to find out if it was because she is a woman or if there was more to the story- so I asked. The answer that I received initially is " oh, we consider her to be one of us. We are very informal so we call her by her first name. Oh really? This coming from a people that have a whole special tense for formality. After digging deeper, I discovered what is more likely the truth. There seems to be a lack of respect for people in office and the police. And given the history of this country, that is probably a good reason. There were military dictators who used the police as there thugs. This may also explain why people are more likely to stick together here because they had to band together to deal with the government and police.

The milonga

After attending my first milonga, I am more than convinced that we can learn a lot about culture from dance. I watched with great interest as the couples glided across the floor. One thing that struck me is that neither person was a "star". The couples were a couple- together moving as one across the floor. The movements were subtle in a way that we don't normally see in other dances. The man was in charge but the woman was there to put the emphasis on the dance. She was allowed to be beautiful, sensual and elegant. In the U.S., we pride ourselves on being individuals - being able to stand on our own two feet. This beautiful dance, where in many cases the couple is practically intertwined, highlights the beauty of being dependent on each other. In most other cultures, there is more of a dependency on each other than we experience in the U.S. I am starting to really understand that inter-dependency is not necessarily a bad thing! In Argentine tango, the hold is very loose- it allows us to go with the flow. In ballroom tango, the hold is very rigid, the head is held at a certain angle. In the U.S. we are used to things working a certain way all the time. One might say we can be rigid in certain ways. What a breath of fresh air it is to let down the stiffness and go with the flow!