The Istanbulian: Understanding Turkey a Little Better

Everyone, I have just discovered an invaluable news source about Turkey. This link is to a blog called The Istanbulian, written by Emre Kızılkaya, an editor of a big-time Turkish newspaper. It's all in English, most likely geared to foreign audiences looking for a better understanding of Turkey's political workings. It's entirely Kızılkaya's editorial perspective, which is apparent after the first few sentences, but it's still a great window into the political issues facing Turkey right now. Please take a look at what he has to say. It's also a good idea to watch the video he posted breaking down in 2 minutes and 43 seconds the basics of September 12th's huge constitutional amendment.

A big reason for me to come to Istanbul was how ignorant I felt about it. I knew I was in love with the country, the people, and the culture, but I didn't and still don't know anything about it. Hopefully by living here I can grow to understand it better. I want to come back to America with a knowledge of Turkey and help some of the people in my country have a more accurate conception of the country than most Americans' lack of interest. The thing is, we rarely think of Turkey. We know so little and care so little about this country that it's frightening. It's almost never in the news. (I remember a stat from my college research saying that Turkey gets under 3 per cent of all world news articles and TV segments, with Iraq getting over 37 per cent. Or something like that. I have the tendency to make numbers up, but I remember the research being startling. And seriously, you newspaper reading/news-watching people out there: are those numbers really so hard to believe?) The incident with Israel got Turkey into the news briefly, and I feel the exposure helped to generate within America a more accurate understanding of Turkey, but it was minor at best. Istanbul, despite being one of the most important cities in human history, is barely regarded as a tourist destination - I remember after telling many a friend that I was going to teach in Istanbul, their face would set into a serious expression and they'd say, "Is that safe?"

Right now, I want you to think of all the things you know about Turkey. Go on. It probably won't take more than a couple of minutes.

I've been surprised that my Turkish friends don't seem to care that Americans know so little. Some of them take offense, but it's the minority. Most people say that the countries are so far apart, of course they don't know much about each other. Some of my friends will say that they know very little about America, but it's not really comparable. There's the common misconception that Obama's a Muslim (that's not so rare in America, either, folks), but most Americans think that Erdoğan's a secularist, so we're about even there. And because of the massive American entertainment market, Turks know way more about basic American things, like geography, than we know about Turkish things.

As you can see, it's hard to talk about what's unknown. The problem is that there's so much that's unknown. Wanting to learn those things is part of what brought me here today.

First Week of School

Sorry I've been out of touch lately. Teaching started on September 13 for orientation, and I've been running around like crazy ever since. Not to mention a lot of terrible trips to Aksaray to do paperwork for my resident's permit (meaning three and a half of waiting so I can sign a piece of paper twice). I've been flat-out exhausted.

Disclaimer: my 8th grade speaking club knows some of my online information now, so I have to be either especially careful of what I say or say it with really big words.

Classes have been both exhilarating and frustrating at the same time. There's a lot of opportunity for fun activities in my giant classroom, since we're still not working out of the textbook quite yet. When the students are attentive and, key aspect, have a basic understanding of English already, things go well. But it's going to be an ongoing learning experience for me to deal with the students who have very little or no understanding of English, seeing as they're the students most likely to be lost by a lesson and then cause disruptions. And then what? I can't encourage them because they don't understand, and I can't warn them because they don't understand that either. The students who are naturally disruptive are actually some of my favorites: they tend to bring the best energy to the classroom. But disruptive students who can't understand a word I say?

I'm lucky to be working in an institution that understands my situation very well and is very willing to help. While I learned in TESOL never to take a student to the administration because that shows weakness in the teacher's ability to control the class and troubles the administration with troubles they don't need, here they understand how the language barrier can be a difficulty for a young English teacher like myself. The English department has made it clear to me that students must know that the school is unified in its expectations of the students. Now, that makes complete sense to me. What's wrong with those schools I learned about in TESOL?

I've got ambitious plans for my classes this year, and while I know they might be a little too ambitious (writing a play for 5th graders and building a model city for the 6th), my 8th graders have taken a quick passion for the radio show we're going to produce throughout the year. We'll design a website and post the episodes there, and when we do I'll be sure to provide the link for you all. And, thankfully, the club has only 7 students, all wanting to be there, a big improvement upon the 20-some yelling 5th graders (my ears are still ringing).

In addition to the teaching excitement, last Saturday was my Turkish brother Can's birthday, and I spent a big portion of the weekend (including Yom Kippur) with him in the city. I don't have many pictures - all we did was go out to dinner, with homemade birthday cake! - but I've included a couple good ones. It seems most of my friends live on the Asian side of Istanbul, which takes well over two hours for me to get to but is well worth it, as long as I have a place to spend the night. Even though I've crossed the Bosporus Bridge quite a few times now, that picture is the best I've been able to manage of the "Welcome to Asia" sign.

Soon all of this will become a routine, will it? I'm sure some will, some won't.

Spending 9/11 In A Muslim Nation

Two days ago was the 9th anniversary of September 11, and it arrived amid some controversial political events in the United States. The proposed construction of a mosque near the Ground Zero site has aroused scrutiny, and while the majority of New Yorkers believe the Muslim group has the right to build it there, an even greater majority thinks they shouldn't anyway. Some voice the opinion that it's insensitive for the group to build this place of worship, which is in commemoration for the Muslims that were killed in 9/11. Apparently some people believe Muslims shouldn't be allowed to grieve or pay respects to the victims of the tragedy, or if they are they shouldn't be able to remember it the same way as other Americans.

Then there was the Florida pastor's plan to commemorate September 11 by burning a copy of the Koran. Perhaps he had been a Guantanamo interrogator before becoming a pastor. Whatever his deranged thinking, the pastor's plan shows how fragmented we still are about 9/11. In 2001 we had a moment of unity (so powerful that when Barbara Lee broke it as the only voice in Congress against granting the president emergency wartime powers, her life was threatened by angry constituents), unity from which the power of love and brotherhood could have emerged, and the United States had the potential to demonstrate the great and positive values we are so capable of. I'm sure there are millions of Americans who did, and yet the hate still remains. The legacies of 9/11 were two wars, domestic suspicions towards Muslims as monolithically theocratic and violent, and a disregard of the international political community that weakened the US's world image tremendously (Turkish friends are quick to ask, "Why did you vote for Bush, and why did you vote for him again?"). And the fear and hatred of Muslims obviously still remains. Our nation is still hobbled by 9/11 and all the negative emotions associated with it.

Take Obama's initial response to the pastor's plan, for example. His first reaction was to be fearful for the lives of Americans fighting overseas, worried that the burning of a Koran would trigger protests and violence in Muslim communities all over the world, raising anti-Americanism and risking the lives of the troops. The meat of the reaction was not to say that burning a holy document would offend Muslims all over the world and be completely insensitive to people with other beliefs. It painted the image that Muslims are fanatical, easily provoked people without spending much effort trying to understand the pure hatred of such an act (as an afterthought Obama mentioned it was against American values). In a later speech Obama focused more on the religious tolerance aspect of the pastor's plan and referred to his own faith to say that as a devout Christian he can understand why such violent behavior would upset someone. But it was already clear from the first speech that there is much less interest in sharing this world with the Muslim community and much more fear of angering them into violence - and still there are people who think we don't share the world with Muslims, that they're not even real people to begin with.

Maybe we've come somewhere since 9/11, but not very far, and definitely not far enough.

Here in Istanbul 9/11 passed largely unnoticed. It came on the day of a religious holiday, Bayram, and that even seemed to take precedence. In addition there was a vote on September 12, and the voters chose by a wide margin to amend the constitution in accordance to the conservative/religious party's aims and against the military-style law making of Turkey's past. (Most Americans don't understand that in Turkey the military is much more left-wing and secular, very different than the military in Middle Eastern countries or Latin American countries. The United States loves the current party because it mistakenly believes that the party is both secular and anti-militaristic, but it's not secular in the slightest, and it also has little interest in Westernizing. I'm quick to ask my Turkish friends, "Why did you vote for Erdoğan?") It was a big enough weekend without 9/11, and I nearly forgot the significance of the day.

But near the end I was hit by the realization that I was here, in a country almost completely Muslim, working for a school run by Muslims and teaching English to Muslim children, buying groceries from Muslims, living in an apartment owned by Muslims, taking my cat to a Muslim vet, riding the bus to work with Muslims who are also going to work. I felt like I was supposed to feel something, that living here during 9/11 was supposed to open up an insight within me about its nature. I felt that, as one of the only Americans in town, I was supposed to own this event, know about it, feel something about it I wouldn't be able to feel in America.

Here's what I came up with: I've lived here for over a month now, and I've never felt out of place from knowing that these people are Muslims, because without 9/11 they aren't Muslims. They're just people.

The Beach, A Cat, And My 100th Post

Well, everyone, it seems like I've made 100 posts on this blog since its creation in Florence nearly 3 years ago. Just another reminder that I love to talk a lot.

Moving on!

Life has been crazy busy since the last time I wrote, which is funny since I'm supposed to be on a week-long vacation for Bayram, the concept of which I'm admittedly a little unclear. (It has something to do with the end of Ramazan?) But between getting my classroom organized, my lessons planned, the school rules learned, the Turkish language learned, my Internet working, my apartment cleaned and moved into, and all sorts of other seemingly little things, I've had very little time to write or even take pictures (which is the only reason you read this blog, right?). Suffice to say that in Turkey you learn of things like week-long holidays, extracurricular obligations, and housing fees at the last possible minute.

But enough whining about how hard my life is, because it's really not all that hard yet! Just wait until I'm in the classroom... which brings me to point #1 of what I want to tell you about today:

1) My Classroom Rocks! One of the semi-last minute excitements was learning that I will have my very own classroom, a luxury I definitely did not expect. And it's huge. When I first saw it I couldn't really find the words to describe how excited I was. There's basically a library in there, plus group work tables, computers for CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning), a couple carpets and cushions, English learning games, and tons and tons of space. I am going to have the best drama games ever, and free time will be epic!


My giant and currently messy classroom

Of course, the space comes with responsibility, and I learned quickly that decorating it, cleaning it, and thinking about how to organize the books is going to be quite a rough time. Hence one of the reasons I've been working when I'm supposed to be on vacation. But it's all worth it. This classroom is the best. I'm very surprised they were willing to give a young native teacher like myself such a great facility.


My classroom's welcome board

2) My Cat Rocks! I've also managed to inherit a young cat from an English teacher who's leaving. His name's Socrates, and he and I have become quick friends, ie. he's become so hopelessly clingy to me, ie. he's trying to jump into my lap right now and I'm pushing him away, but, like most guys, he's a little pushy and won't give up. He's a cute little guy and he purrs so loud I can hear it through my headphones. He was rescued after he was hit by a car as a kitten, so one of his back legs doesn't work properly and he can't jump as high as you'd expect a 1-year-old cat to, and sometimes he sits weirdly on it. But now he has a home! It's really great to have someone to come home to. I just have to make sure I don't leave the windows open or he might fall. I live on the 8th floor, after all.



3) My Istanbul Friends Rock! I've done a little sight-seeing and friend-seeing to keep my mind sharp, though not as much as I'd like. A friend who came with me and NYU to Istanbul back in March, Suzanne, paid the city another visit about a week ago, and together with our mutual Istanbul friends we had a few fun times.


From left to right: Pınar, Mina, Suzanne, and Hazal

In particular we spent a weekend together that started in Kadıköy, took us to Moda, then to Üsküdar for a concert, and to the Princes Islands the next day for swimming. As is the case with Istanbul, the company was the hi-light over the sights. I got to see my friend Pınar, Hazal and her sister, and I spent the night with my Turkish brother Can, not nearly enough time. On top of that I got to finally meet Hazal's friend Elif, who I'd talked to online off and on for about a year without having actually met her face-to-face ("My Dear" is dedicated to her). Together we saw her father play a concert of traditional Ottoman 17th-century music with renovated instruments.


Top left: Hazal, Me, Suzanne. Bottom left: Elif, Mina

After spending the night with Can staying up deep into the night (4:00 am deep), watching the Emmy's, talking about love and life, and playing the guitar (I don't have any pictures, sorry), I met with Hazal, Mina, Suzanne, and Pınar on one of the Princes Islands, and we went swimming. I had a great time but got hungry because of the sea and because of not sleeping the night before, and tired and hungry Sam = grouchy Sam. We were all feeling it, though, and eventually we all stopped talking to each other until we had some food in our hands: ekmek balik (fish sandwiches). The water was kind of dirty, too, though I've heard that the island I went to, the third one, is the dirtiest of all. But I can't stress enough how wonderful it was to see my friends. It's so fulfilling to be wanting to see someone for a year and then finally being reunited, with all the time you could ask for. It really feels welcoming, like a home.


That beach be ourz

And I really need to make the time to see everyone I've missed so far and everyone I haven't missed all over again.

4) Istanbul Rocks! Today's the first day of the actual Bayram holiday, so even though I took a trek into the city I couldn't meet with any of my friends because they were busy with their families. So I did the most touristy thing you could do in Istanbul - since my friends take me to the "cool" places that tourists don't usually hear about - I went to Sultanahmet, the site of the Blue Mosque, the Hagia Sofia, the beautiful underground Cistern, and Topkapı Palace.


The nearly-autumn shade of the leaves blends in well with the Hagia Sofia

However, I've seen all that, and I've seen it less crowded, less hot, and overly more enjoyable, too. I needed to see something I missed the last time I was here, and that was the Archeology Museum: Home of the Treaty of Kadesh and the Alexander Sarcophagus, which, disappointingly, isn't Alexander the Great's sarcophagus as I'd thought but instead that of some other famous ancient ruler (but it was still pretty). The Treaty of Kadesh is the oldest existing peace treaty between nations, an agreement between the Egyptians and the Hittites. It was unbelievably cool. Like the Mona Lisa, a tiny display that you'd most likely miss without being careful. But this one didn't have people swarmed around it, unlike the rest of Sultanahmet, and I got to look at its ancient lettering as close-up as I wanted for as long as I wanted.


Treaty of Kadesh

As it turned out, though, I don't like being a museum tourist as much as I used to, and I soon left knowing I'd come back on a colder, less crowded day. But I took advantage of this hot summer day and ate a special style of ice cream whose name I've forgotten, where they mash the ice cream deep into its container until it gets so condensed it's almost rubbery. So delicious!

Orientation week starts Monday, September 13. The rest of my life, here we come!


The Bahçeşehir Mosque. I walk by it very day on the way to school