Mid morning chat

"So which one is it? Vietnam? Hiroshima? Or Chernobyl?"

I just had quite an enjoyable conversation with the youngest coworker in my department. I don't have any formal English conversations today so I figured I chat casually with a few people.

I found her listening to an E-learning program on leadership. As an AIESECer, I was instantly intrigued by her interest, and began asking her all about her thoughts on leadership and what not. She gave very similar answers to what I've heard before, i.e. listening, providing positive examples, etc. Of course when I asked her about who exemplifies leadership in Turkey her first response was Ataturk, but surprisingly enough her second answer was her brother. A person so close to oneself is not an example I've really ever heard so it was quite interesting.

I continued to ask her about work at the company, about vision, and her contributions to the long term goals of the company. She doesn't think there's solid leadership in the company, and in turn does not think about the company as a whole while completing her daily tasks. She doesn't even know what the vision or goals of her department is. We spoke about successful organizations, and she mentioned GE as being one of her favorites. I agreed whole-heartedly.

We then talked about long term plans, but she talked more about the personal vision of her sister, who wants to set up her own political party to protect Turkey against foreign pressures which she believes to be detrimental to the long term interests of the Turkish people. My thoughts on that are a whole nother story. What was really funny during this conversation was the example of how much Turkey is affected by situations and issues in other countries. It went something like this...

Her: "You know, eh, America drop bomb on Vietnam, eh, it poisoned Turkish tea. You know?"

Me: "Uh, Vietnam? You mean Japan, right? Hiroshima 1945? Yeah that's not a fond memory of our's."

Her: "Ah yes, Japan. Yes that's it. Anyway, eh, de radiation destroy Turkish tea."

Me: "Really? All the way from Japan?"

Her: "Ah, eh, wait one second. (Turns to coworker speaking in Turkish...I hear bits and pieces of Japan, then Russian, then something like Chernobyl). Ah, I mean Chernobyl. The radiation from Chernobyl destroy Turkish tea and cause much damage in Turkey."

Me: "Ah okay. But for once that was not our fault! That was all Russia's. Now that actually makes sense. But let's review, because we started with the Americans dropping a nuclear bomb on Vientnam."

We shared history lessons for a good 15 minutes and it was intriguing to teach/learn from her.

God forbid anything ever destroy Turkish tea. Besides being delicious, it is the life force of all things Turkish.