reflections

Thus far our blog entries have been mostly travelogue rather than reflection (and of course not nearly enough photos). I think this is probably because we are in the midst of experiencing so many new things that it is sometimes difficult to devote the energy to process everything, and even more difficult to write about the reflecting we are doing. We have had a number of opportunities to talk among ourselves about some of our thoughts and feelings, though, and I'd like to share some of this with our families and friends at home. Hopefully other members of our group will add some of what I miss, as I know I can only barely begin to scratch the surface of this topic here.

In the last few days in Istanbul we had some incredible experiences interacting with people here. All of us have made new friends and have been enriched by the generosity of the people here in sharing their lives with us. Our conversations with people here have often stretched us in unexpected ways and pushed us to think about our own cultures and values in a different light. I think we were all sad to leave Istanbul and our new friends and have felt keenly the desire for more time to explore the city and continue building relationships.

Some of our experiences with people here have been as a large group, but we also split into smaller groups fairly frequently, and I will share a mix of those experiences. We have met Turks, Kurds, Armenians, Greeks, Afghanis, Arabs, Hungarians, Georgians, refugees, people who have been forced to migrate within and between countries, life-long Itanbulllus, converts to Islam, non-religious Muslims, women with and without headscarves, secularists, students, elderly people, families, young parents, newlyweds separated by dire economic circumstances, and relatives or family friends we had never before met. We have found points of connection in similar experiences, feelings, and life circumstances, and we've learned a lot from our differences. We've had opportunities to break the fast in the celebratory evening meal with Muslims after sunset; drank endless glasses of tea offered by our hosts, given and accepted gifts; admired cats; bartered for souvenirs; gathered around a piano to hear original compositions sung and played by our host; listened to the life stories of various people; learned to use some new and different toileting systems; ridden ferries, a funicular, buses, trams, taxis, trains, and subways; sung our way through a number of Disney films; walked many kilometers; learned some Turkish; played games using dried pasta as markers; been awakened by the Ramadan drummers before dawn; adjusted enough to sleep through the call to prayer; and eaten and enjoyed new foods. One of us was successfully diagnosed and treated for an allergic reaction by a local eczane (and no, the suspect was not some unusual Turkish allergen but the dye in a pair of socks brought from home). We have been humbled numerous times by the hospitality of Istanbullus who have offered us food and drinks even when they themselves were fasting, invited us to use their space to work or relax or chat, offered us rides and escorts to places that were difficult to find (often the response was something along the lines of "Oh, I was just going there! You can come with me"), given up their seats on trams to ensure we had places to sit, and explained to us rules and systems that seemed incomprehensible. On the few occasions when people were rude to us or tried to overcharge us, we were hotly defended by other Turks who went out of their way to "make it up" to us or try to right the perceived wrong.

We have had a number of discussions among ourselves about our thoughts and reflections on what we are experiencing. For example, we've had several discussions about how each of our own ethnicities (and how visible they are) impacts the way people interact with us. One of our group seems to be perceived as particularly "exotic" looking, and she has been approached on the street several times by complete strangers asking to take a photo with her. One man even handed her his toddler to hold for a photo. There also have been several incidents in which some of the women in the group have encountered seualized comments from strangers. Fortunately the students were not subject to the worst of this (that dubious honor goes to me) but these have led to some good discussions of factors in Turkish society that may contribute to this problem. We have also been discussing the hidden curriculum in museums and other cultural sites and the ways that both we and the people we meet are concerned about how our cultures are perceived by the other. We went to an "Ottoman village" yesterday where the people supposedly live like they did in Ottoman times. Because I have been in real Turkish villages it felt to me a bit like the Disney version of reality. It is the same idea as colonial Williamsberg in the US except that real people live in these villages all the time. We began a discussion of where the people put their satellite dishes, how this setup impacts their lives (e.g. None of the men work. The women support the families by selling jam, running teahouses, and cooking for tourists), and how what restrictions on people's lives are imposed to maintain this version of reality.

I have been very impressed by the students' flexibility and eagerness to engage with the people and cultures here. They have extended themselves far beyond what would be their normal comfort zones to experience new things. I feel honored to have been given this opportunity to learn from them and share their enjoyment of new discoveries.

One of the things I have enjoyed the most about this journey together has been watching our students rise to the challenges presented to them. The traditional classsroom provdes only a limited range of opportunites for students to show their strengths. My respect for this group of students has grown a tremendous amount as I have watched them interact with each other, with people freom other cultures, and with my kids and mother-in-law. I see characteristics that I admire in each one of them and it's a real pleasure to me to get to know each of them better.

I have one request for any reader. I set up a slideshow on the right hand side of the page. There are only a few photos in the show, but I can't tell if it is working. The photo hosting sites I tried were all blocked in Turkey. I managed to get into Flickr through a "backdoor" and put a few of the trip photos onto our account, but I can't tell if it's working because the feed is blocked here. If our readers can see the photos in the slideshow I will add more photos. SO ... Could someone please comment on this post to tell us if you can see the slideshow and what country you are reading from? Thanks.

Suzanne Mallery