In her blog post “Real Life Muggles,” Leigh discussed the
order and poise of the British population that she observed while studying
abroad in London, especially on the subway. The title of this post is
definitely what caught my eye, seeing as I am a humongous Harry Potter fan, and the post progressed into something I was not
expecting. Leigh started with the portrayal of Muggles in the Harry Potter series as having “no
individuality” or “personality” and through a very intriguing journey ended
with the conclusion of Great Britain being poised and dignified as a country. I
want to comment on this post in particular because my experience abroad was
just the opposite.
Over the summer I lived in Istanbul, Turkey as part of Syracuse
University study abroad program for three weeks. Although it is not as
extensive as living in another land for a whole semester, in that little time I
was able to observe many different aspects of Turkish culture. And while Leigh
found British life to be more poised, reserved, and efficient than American, I
found Turkish life to be more lax and chaotic.
For one, the traffic is life-threatening. Cars, taxis,
busses, motorcycles, mopeds, you name it, zip down streets at unbelievable
speeds, barely avoiding other vehicles or curbs. And the unwritten rule of
yielding to pedestrians? Nonexistent. Pedestrians better watch out for themselves.
The traffic gets backed up for miles, and forget trying to get an ambulance or
police car through. On multiple occasions I saw ambulances with sirens blaring completely
stopped because cars cannot / will not move out of the way. This was all so
bizarre to me.
Another unique aspect of Turkish lifestyle is the wild
animals. There are stray cats and dogs everywhere! Anywhere I walked, there
were stray animals, on the sidewalk, at the university, at restaurants. I
witnessed a few waiters throw cats out of patio-type restaurants as they had
snuck under the tables. These are not like unfriendly stray animals in the
United States; these animals will come right up to you and let you pet them.
Peculiarly enough, the cats and dogs know exactly when to cross the street,
even during what seems like a free-for-all.
One thing I very much enjoyed was the people. Turks are very
friendly, nice, and chill. They are in no rush, especially at restaurants or
stores. They want you to feel welcome. One time whilst buying grapes I was a
half of a lira short, and the owner insisted on me taking the grapes without a
second thought. A similar situation also happened when the apartment vending
machine would not take my coins and a worker gave me his coins. Turks do not
live in the dazed, hectic way that we do and really look out for others.
Upon being back, I do not miss the unevenly crafted sidewalks
or the steep spiral staircases which made a klutz such as myself have several
near-death encounters. I have come to appreciate the regulated and accountable
way our society works, but there are times that I do miss the uncontrolled and
spontaneous way of life which is characteristic of Turkey.
What are lanes? In Istanbul, Turkey
A picture I took near the university we attended
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