What was your biggest culture shock going to Turkey?
I visited Turkey with my family for a month in 2013 and was shocked on a daily basis.
Although I usually do the homework before visiting any country for the first time, I had been too busy that time to do any research on Turkey.
All I had in mind before flying was the warnings I had received from several Turkish restaurant staff who worked in Saudi Arabia where I lived at the time against thieves, robbers and being conned, in addition to lots of prejudice I had formed subconsciously through school textbooks that had always described the Ottomans as the cruel conquerors who had stolen Arab countries wealth and hindered our growth and development.
I stayed the whole month in Izmir, since I was doing a teacher training course there, so I will be describing my experience there.
What shocked me can be summarized in the following points:.
1- The incomparable friendliness of all the people we met.
People were always ready to render help everywhere we went.
They smiled and greeted us warmly.
Literally everyone we met did their best to please us and ensure a memorable stay.
Although the language was a barrier, they would call friends who spoke English or German and called others in the nearby to answer a question of ours or give us directions.
We were invited to a big number of homes to have meals and enjoy the intimacy of the locals.
We received the first invitation during our first hour at Ataturk airport while waiting for our domestic flight to Izmir.
We accepted the invitation and have been friends with that family ever since.
The Turks proved to be more hospitable than we thought any people outside the Arab world would be.
2- The beautify of Izmir.
I never thought I would find such amazing landscapes, clean streets, the great abundance of greenery everywhere, the amazing gulf, turquoise water, and breath-taking views of the sea especially from the top of the hills.
3- The Turks attitude towards kids.
Wherever we went, people would greet my kids warmly and cheerfully and give them something; a bar of chocolate, a piece of candy, and even a pack of paper tissues when they couldnt find something nicer to offer.
That touched our hearts deeply.
My now seven-year-old daughter keeps asking me to take her back there where people are sweet and generous towards kids.
We have never experienced anything similar in any other country we have been to.
4- The number of Muslims who were not practicing.
It was the month of Ramadhan (ramazan) but I was the only one fasting at the school along with a young student.
On the streets I could easily realize that a big majority of people would eat and have drinks as if it wasnt Ramadhan.
Cafés and restaurants were open and offered their stuff, unlike in almost all Arab countries where you hardly see any ones open at daytime.
In addition, womens clothes were also shocking for us.
Most teachers, students and other girls in the streets had mini skirts, shorts and revealing outfits.
I had been to several European countries but had never seen women wearing that revealing clothing for work and school.
Moreover, most people I talked to knew little about their religion.
Some didnt even know the basics.
This is not true for most educated Arabs.
Yet it didnt bother us at all.
We enjoyed peoples attitude and manners and that is what counts, isnt it?.
5- Poor proficiency of English.
I am a teacher of English.
I was told that English was mandatory in all Turkish schools.
Yet, most people I met and even some teachers of English didnt speak English well.
Some struggled with the very basic everyday conversations.
I fully understood the situation as exactly the same was true in my homeland Egypt, mainly due to the exam-oriented approach of teaching and lack of real life and in-classroom practice.
Its sad that students study hard and do their best but yet end up lacking the basic skills of communication.
I believe policymakers and education officials must do something about that, especially with the growing economy and the international weight Turkey aspires for.
6- Apparent diversity of races and physical beauty of people.
We could easily tell people there came from different races with a wide range of skin, eye, and hair colors, along with facial and physical differences.
We loved that fact a lot and thought such diversity enriched the cultural momentum of the city.
Moreover, we found the Turks very beautiful, elegant and attractive no matter which sex or how old they were.
7- The kindergarten.
Offering two hot meals and asking for no stationary, while charging little money (90 TL a month for a kid) was incomprehensible for us.
Teachers loved my daughter and she had a great time with her classmates despite the language barrier.
In both Saudi Arabia and Egypt, there is no music or dance in K-12 schools, except for a few elite private ones.
Rihanna used to dance to Gagnam Style and learn moves in her class.
She loved it.
Having a swimming pool in the KG was amazing.
When we traveled back home, my daughter hated her kindergarten and eventually stopped going after comparing it to her KG experience in Turkey.
All in all, Turkey has shocked us one of the nicest shocks we have ever had in our life.
We loved everything about Izmir and wished we could stay there forever.
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