Things I'm tired of hearing ...
It's almost a month until I leave and I am already sick of hearing certain things from people about my trek to Turkey.
1) It's so dangerous over there.
Actually when it comes to violent and property crimes, Turkey is safer than the Antelope Valley, where I currently live and cover crime.
But then people mistake Turkey for Gaza, Lebanon, India and Iraq. Turkey is it's own country and not embroiled in the ongoing conflicts of the named countries and region. Yeah, they have the terrorism and the threat of terrorism, but who doesn't these days?
2) Why Turkey?
Actually, I never thought this was a bad question. After all, how many people say, "I'm moving to Turkey."
I've just heard it so much I sound like a broken record telling people the story of how I decided to move to Turkey. (For those who don't know: I was looking for a job where I could teach abroad and wanted to be in Europe. But I also wanted a country not on the Euro with a decent cost of living, plus I was waiting to see where the opportunities opened up. Turkey appealed to me because its a secular country with a majority Islamic population. It is a crossroads between Europe and the Middle East, though does not seem to carry the respect it should with Middle Eastern countries. It's also a place where I can live in another culture, so far different from my own and really adventure.)
However, I have come up with some one-liners when people ask why Turkey, such as:
"Because it's Thanksgiving every day."
"Because 20 years from now I may be at a cocktail party where I can say, 'I lived in Turkey for a year.'"
3) Have you got your shots?
Turkey may not be Switzerland, but it's not Calcutta either, well at least not most parts. It's not just some third-world country. It has roads, hospitals and even clean water (according to several national and international health organizations.)
I run a similar chance getting sick here with anything I can get there.
But the most annoying by far is:
4) Have you seen Midnight Express?
OK. HA. I GET IT. People have told me I should see the movie, because that's how it is over there. LOOK, Billy Hayes WAS TRYING TO SMUGGLE HASH. I WILL NOT SMUGGLE DRUGS. I DON'T EVEN SMOKE POT WHY WOULD I SMUGGLE IT?
That's all for now.
1) It's so dangerous over there.
Actually when it comes to violent and property crimes, Turkey is safer than the Antelope Valley, where I currently live and cover crime.
But then people mistake Turkey for Gaza, Lebanon, India and Iraq. Turkey is it's own country and not embroiled in the ongoing conflicts of the named countries and region. Yeah, they have the terrorism and the threat of terrorism, but who doesn't these days?
2) Why Turkey?
Actually, I never thought this was a bad question. After all, how many people say, "I'm moving to Turkey."
I've just heard it so much I sound like a broken record telling people the story of how I decided to move to Turkey. (For those who don't know: I was looking for a job where I could teach abroad and wanted to be in Europe. But I also wanted a country not on the Euro with a decent cost of living, plus I was waiting to see where the opportunities opened up. Turkey appealed to me because its a secular country with a majority Islamic population. It is a crossroads between Europe and the Middle East, though does not seem to carry the respect it should with Middle Eastern countries. It's also a place where I can live in another culture, so far different from my own and really adventure.)
However, I have come up with some one-liners when people ask why Turkey, such as:
"Because it's Thanksgiving every day."
"Because 20 years from now I may be at a cocktail party where I can say, 'I lived in Turkey for a year.'"
3) Have you got your shots?
Turkey may not be Switzerland, but it's not Calcutta either, well at least not most parts. It's not just some third-world country. It has roads, hospitals and even clean water (according to several national and international health organizations.)
I run a similar chance getting sick here with anything I can get there.
But the most annoying by far is:
4) Have you seen Midnight Express?
OK. HA. I GET IT. People have told me I should see the movie, because that's how it is over there. LOOK, Billy Hayes WAS TRYING TO SMUGGLE HASH. I WILL NOT SMUGGLE DRUGS. I DON'T EVEN SMOKE POT WHY WOULD I SMUGGLE IT?
That's all for now.
posted by James at 11:08 PM
3 comments
