Am here in Bursa, Turkey!
Things have been quite the experience so far! Both good and bad of course. Even though I have gone through the intercultural communications class, some things I can never get used to and the culture shock between Turkey and Japan has been a lot wider than that between Japan and Singapore.
That said, I must say I have begun to appreciate both Japan and Singapore even more despite my constant complaints about the little things. At the same time, I am also very appreciative of the good points that Turkish culture and people have over what Japanese and Singaporean cultures have to offer.
Turkish weather in winter is to say the least, dreadful. Its been raining non-stop here in Bursa. Miserable, wet and gloomy. Thats how i would describe the weather here. I have taken ill, with a cough and a sore throat. Thankfully I have an (overly) caring host family, fussing over me, even though i just requested for an early night, cough mixture and lozenges. -_-'''
I unilaterally decided to take the day off, instead of travelling to goodness know where, 2 schools, where me and my foreign friends will undoubtedly be treated with the warmth of prized fantastical creatures they have only read from story books. Because I am the only Asian guy in the group, it seems Im the most "prized." I have had girls running up to me and proclaiming they like me and they want to take me home. 0_o... Of course i enjoyed by 15 minutes of fame and my Facebook friends probably jumped 30 percent because of the hordes of high schools kids trying to get me on their list, kids I probably wont be able to maintain contact even if i want to because most of them can't speak English and I can't speak Turkish.
Haha! Of course, i don't think its a bad thing. If not I wouldnt be doing it. I realized that so many people in this world are ignorant. Especially myself. To discover the ignorance of people and being their to enlighten them (and in so doing myself), I feel accomplished. As if I have made the immediate world around me a little better. I just hope that my relating own experiences when i go back home will also do the same for those i will come across in my life.
the cocoon that governments weave over to protect their own people are so strong. That of Singapore, of Japan and of Turkey, each utilizing the many political and ideological tools to forge that national consciousness. Everywhere i go and everyone i ask, they only wish to be the nationality they were born with. The Turk wants to be Turk, the Japanese wants to be Japanese and the Singaporean wants to be Singaporean. What do you think this means for international cooperation? To deal with global issues? Just wondering how can we strengthen this avenue of international politics. Because thats why im here isn't? To promote intercultural understanding and global consciousness.
I just hope we will be in time, considering the huge mental barriers i witness here in Turkey. On the one hand Turkish men see us on streets and try to heckle at us, on the other, many stare at us like aliens, while some do smile when I smile back at them. Its going to be a hard task, as I see it.
Things have been quite the experience so far! Both good and bad of course. Even though I have gone through the intercultural communications class, some things I can never get used to and the culture shock between Turkey and Japan has been a lot wider than that between Japan and Singapore.
That said, I must say I have begun to appreciate both Japan and Singapore even more despite my constant complaints about the little things. At the same time, I am also very appreciative of the good points that Turkish culture and people have over what Japanese and Singaporean cultures have to offer.
Turkish weather in winter is to say the least, dreadful. Its been raining non-stop here in Bursa. Miserable, wet and gloomy. Thats how i would describe the weather here. I have taken ill, with a cough and a sore throat. Thankfully I have an (overly) caring host family, fussing over me, even though i just requested for an early night, cough mixture and lozenges. -_-'''
I unilaterally decided to take the day off, instead of travelling to goodness know where, 2 schools, where me and my foreign friends will undoubtedly be treated with the warmth of prized fantastical creatures they have only read from story books. Because I am the only Asian guy in the group, it seems Im the most "prized." I have had girls running up to me and proclaiming they like me and they want to take me home. 0_o... Of course i enjoyed by 15 minutes of fame and my Facebook friends probably jumped 30 percent because of the hordes of high schools kids trying to get me on their list, kids I probably wont be able to maintain contact even if i want to because most of them can't speak English and I can't speak Turkish.
Haha! Of course, i don't think its a bad thing. If not I wouldnt be doing it. I realized that so many people in this world are ignorant. Especially myself. To discover the ignorance of people and being their to enlighten them (and in so doing myself), I feel accomplished. As if I have made the immediate world around me a little better. I just hope that my relating own experiences when i go back home will also do the same for those i will come across in my life.
the cocoon that governments weave over to protect their own people are so strong. That of Singapore, of Japan and of Turkey, each utilizing the many political and ideological tools to forge that national consciousness. Everywhere i go and everyone i ask, they only wish to be the nationality they were born with. The Turk wants to be Turk, the Japanese wants to be Japanese and the Singaporean wants to be Singaporean. What do you think this means for international cooperation? To deal with global issues? Just wondering how can we strengthen this avenue of international politics. Because thats why im here isn't? To promote intercultural understanding and global consciousness.
I just hope we will be in time, considering the huge mental barriers i witness here in Turkey. On the one hand Turkish men see us on streets and try to heckle at us, on the other, many stare at us like aliens, while some do smile when I smile back at them. Its going to be a hard task, as I see it.
"national identity" is what society uses to maintain its popluation. societies are around because people want to be part of it, and society necessarily has some mechanism to nurture that desire. "culture", "race", "religion", "freedom", "we have nuclear warheads" are all different mechanisms to do it. globalization is a difficult game, trying to create a generation of people who will want to go out, but eventually come back. The fact that Singaporeans want to be Singaporeans stand proof to the fact that Singapore did get something right in its national education.
as for me, home is where the heart is :)