First Day at Work

Briefly, these things went wrong:

Three hours of sleep last night.

Confusion over the shuttle schedule led to a 25 YTL cab ride to the school.

The personnel manager was not in and therefore I will not get to sign my contract or get my plane ticket reimbursed until Monday.

These things went right:

One doting student!

One super cutie (alas, another student) with a crush on me!

MANY AWESOME NEW FRIENDS!

Musings:

The person who made the biggest impact on me today was my new friend and colleague Burak. Burak is 36 with the humor and spirit of someone half that age. He has a wonderful wife-a lawyer! An English lit major (like me!) He joked he couldn't ever divorce her, lol. A reformed party-boy. He not only gave me a ride back to the hotel room today, but he helped me find and purchase a cell phone!

Perhaps the thing that struck me most about Burak is his attitude towards God. He spoke sincerely of his love for religious studies. In the states, religion is mostly rhetoric; people who speak about it never fail to seem like mere ideologues to me. Burak, on the other hand, thanked God several times today without sounding the least bit preachy. The first for it being Friday (though he has to work during the weekend) and another because today was the day he payed off his car loan. What a simple and sincere thing to thank God for! He said: "thank God, thank you thank you thank you, God. Today is the day I am loan free." He does not say cliche things; he is too sincere for such things. I have rarely in my life met someone with such religious convictions that I respect so much (the convictions as well as the person, that is).

Another thing today; i went to a little corner restuarant and ordered doner (chicken). The woman at the counter and I failed to communicate... i was so nervous I almost simply walked out. But her husband came down and spoke just enough english for everything to go right! We both laughed at ourselves while he took my order. When I left, she helped me pronounce alti (altuh), which means six, which was the amount of money my food costs. She asked me if I spoke Turkish, I told her was trying to learn... which I think she understood, because she told her husband "(inaudible) Turkce" gesturing at me.

I think there are two sides to this country. I think on one hand, this is perhaps what Adorno would have called an "administered society." The government seems to have its hand in everything, from religious restrictions right down to cell phones! (Apparently, they have been canceling service over the past few days to anyone without residency status... which I will have soon) Also, the education process is all state run... tests basically decide your future here. Additionally, the rapid industrialization of the suburbs has created a vast amount of urban sprawl and overpopulation. It is apparently to the point that people have stopped migrating from Anatolia altogether.

On the other hand, these people themselves are amazingly generous and hospitable. They are always pleasant and helpful. They are folkish, almost; not simple, but very very much a unique kind of people.

Okay, If you can't tell by the poorly written post, I am ridiculously tired. Now, for some sleep and another big day tomorrow as i head towards downtown!