Enlightenment

Enlightenment is upon us.

It's 3:00 PM. On Fridays, work gets out 30 minutes earlier at 5:00 PM. From there I will walk by the barber shop, where I should get haircut. I will make up a quick excuse and continue down the street. From Harbiye I will go to Taksim, walk down Istiklal, and take a right before crossing Galatasaray high school. Crossing the fish bazaar, I'll take another right onto nevizade, or in the words of Mustafa, beer street. At 6:00 PM I will join Friedemann for Germany vs. Argentina and the beginning of tonight's enlightenent. Happy hour until 7:00 PM.

For a reason

It all started on my first day of piano lessons in the early 1990's. I'm sure I wasn't too keen to attend lessons, but I distincly remember the charm, the wonder, and the inspiration that such beautiful sounds could illuminate. Years of piano came with years of more appreciation for the beauty of sound, and the beauty of music.

I started high school in 1999 as a first year Spanish student. The same story occurred here. I wasn't too excited to take a language, but from the first class onward, I was completely taken in by the beauty of spanish, the beauty of foreign languges. My continued interest and dedication to Spanish came from this fascination in its sound.

I went to the Dominican Republic seeking to increase my Spanish, gain worthwhile experience, and return with a completely new perspective. I returned with an underestimated appreciation for different things, for life, for international experiences, and a passion for big dreams and visions.

When I started college in 2003, I joined AIESEC, in pursuit of helping other young individuals experience an exchange. My two months in the Dominican Republic had instilled a unique sense of urgency in me to see other students gain similar perspectives. As time went by, AIESEC became more and more for me, helping me gain skills in speaking, listening, management, relationship-building, and self awareness. After almost 3 years in the organization, I decided to return to the exchange experience I had yearned for since I returned to Texas in 2002.

After a very enjoyable dinner and beer last night in Ortakoy, I was walking home thinking about what life is like as an elderly person. What will I be doing? What will I be talking about? I imagined a long time friend of mine and I sitting together, and he/she asking me to tell them a story. Being in Turkey, the first story that came to mind was my experience in Turkey. I very quickly thought about how I would start such a story, beginning with March of this year, then moving back to IC in India, and finally moving back all the way to my firsty day of piano lessons. I realized that my experience in Turkey, more specifically why I am here, dates back to 1992.

To this extent, I believe everything happens for a reason. Every decision we make, every move we take, every word we speak, has a history to it. That history is many times vague and almost indiscernable. But I think it's extremely important, fulfilling, and even fun! to link together our life's experiences, and seek to understand by things in our control happen the way they do.

Same pants

Until yesterday, I wore the same pair of pants for more than 6 weeks. As the 5th week came along, I challenged myself to finish the Summer with those same pants. Sadly enough, I nor anyone else could take the look of them for one more day.

This weekend I'll be looking for dry cleaning. In the meantime, I'm mixing casual striped pants with my now oversized blak suit jacket.

Stunning.

July 4 here we come

July 4 celebrations in Istanbul. Couldn't get any better than this.

The US trainees are planning a presentation about July 4, our history, its significance, immigration, and leadership. Then we'll be eating some good ole' fashioned American BBQ and having a beer pong tournament.

Anyone have any ideas for food, presentation, etc.?

If you're in Istanbul, join us at the @ office on July 4 evening.

Utterly inspiring

Warren Buffet, you receive my award for world's most inspiring leader.

http://money.cnn.com/2006/06/25/magazines/fortune/charity1.fortune/index.htm?cnn=yes

Pictures from SAT 2006 (Stolen from others)

Sunrise at Mt. Nemrut.
Trainees and @ Gaziantep overlooking Mesopotamia.
Statues on Mt. Nemrut.
View from first level of Rumkale of the Euphrates.
Climbing the steps up to Rumkale.
Turkish road block.
On top of Mt. Nemrut. Facing the sunrise.

"And at that point, I knew Turkey would never be the same."

I finally did it. I finally left Istanbul and discovered the most beautiful country I've ever seen. Remembering the rainforest-like mountains of the Dominican Republic, I was skeptical that any country could be as beautiful. After seeing the various climates of Turkey, I'm completely sold on its remarkability.

I got off work on Thursday at 3:00 PM and after boarding the wrong bus home, find myself in route to the dorm. I rushed in to pack, nap, shower, shave, etc., just before catching the first hour of the sheer dissapointment that was Ghana vs. USA. With my head up high and my emotions running wild, a solid group of trainees along with Çet, one of the pimp daddies from @ Istanbul, headed via bus and metro to board our 8:00 PM bus headed for the stunning metropolis of, Gaziantep.

16 hours. 16 hours is 2 full work days, 57, 600 seconds. And it wasn't bad at all. Sitting next to Sai, a rather petite trainee from America Junior/Thailand, I was able to pass out for about 8 hours with a few wake ups in between. Finally, after one terrible movie about US navy seals, and a slew of Turkish music videos, we arrived in the one million person strong South Eastern city of Gaziantep. We were also accompanied by a scorching 36 - 38 degree heat. I honestly expected to find small houses and lots of small farms in the city. Much to my surprise, in Gaziantep there are rather large apartment buildings, and a beautiful university campus. The first person I met upon arrival was my long time AIESEC buddy, Art from Yale. Art and I first me at my introductory AIESEC conference in October 2003. We talked more in depth at another conference in NYC in February 2004, and it was there that I became very impressed with Art and his passion for AIESEC. During a priority-setting exercise, a group of us laid out our priorities in life, and Art was the only person to put AIESEC at the top. Now believe me, seeing Art in the scorching heat of South Eastern Turkey was about as AIESECish as meeting someone new from China and realizing you have 20 friends in common.

Our first destination was a mosaic museum in Gaziantep. This place is the second largest mosaic museum in the world, but still after hearing such great statistics, my anti-museum mood was kicking in. I think I've always known it, but for some reason I've fully realized that I'm not a museum person at all. The only place I've really felt enjoyable and pleasant in was the military museum across the street. Nevertheless, this museum was pretty damn interesting, considering it held the real mosaics recently dug up from the temples of Greek gods. The amount of beauty in that museum was comparable to the awe and wonder of Aya Sofia or the Sultanahmet.

Andrew enjoyed the amount of time we spent at the museum: 30 minutes. In reality it was a little long, but I was fine with it. Following the museum, we hiked up a hill to a castle in Gaziantep, ontop of which is the most beautiful view of the city. As I said before, this was truly the location where I realized this was no city of farm animals and windmills. All 24 of us gathered on the edge of the castle to take pictures. I handed my camera to Tarik, who was probably holding more than 10 cameras on both hands. We snapped some pictures, and not to my surprise during my camera's use I was busy spitting a fly out of my mouth. Pretty. As I went to Tarik to grab my camera, in slow motion I could see his hand stretched out, he balancing himself on a stone. I reached for the camera and grabbed it with 2 fingers but slipped. As I reached for it again, the only thing I could think of was the movie Ace Ventura. As Ace was holding on for dear life to that racoons strap, Tarik was letting loose of my camera's wrist holder. All motion stopped (minus the camera's) as my camera fell from Tarik's hand onto a dusty, thousand year old stone. I looked down to see my Canon camera with its lens at a 45 degree angle. And at that point, I knew Turkey would never be the same.

Despite the trauma, I once again held my head up high, and gave my memory card to Igor who had the same camera. He took a slew of pictures over the rest of the trip, so the memories of the trip won't be forgotten. Regardless, I no longer have a camera to document this remarkable experience.

24 of us on a small bus, we were roughing it down the long back roads of South Eastern Turkey on our way to Rumkale. We had received an agenda of SAT 2006 but I didn't bother to research what we would see. I pretty much expected to see a bunch of castles and museums. After a good 2 hours, we arrived in Rumkale, arguably the most beautiful geographical wonder I've seen so far. Rumkale was a castle/fortress built by someone sometime ago. After that somebody invaded at sometime and defeated someone else, bringing in some prosperous era of something. The important part for me was the sheer beauty and awe of its architecture. Its built on a tall cliff on a bend in the Euphrates. We had to park the bus and take a local boat across the Euphrates to climb some extremely old stairs up to the first level of the castle. On the first level is a gigantic well resembling some action scene from Sinbad or Indiana Jones. On other levels of the castle are rooms built into the sides of the cliff where markets used to exist hundreds of years ago. Combined with the wind, the view, and the historical enigma that this place reflected, Rumkale was an incredible experience. After a lengthy stroll around the castle, we managed to take a dip in the Euphrates, swimming well past sundown. I truly regret not having the balls to climb back up the stairs and jumping off the edge of the castle. Damn I miss cliffdiving.

We left Rumkale at 9:00 PM and in typical fashion of this trip, we had a "2" hour drive to our next destination. In celebration of a great time at Rumkale, and to being so damn close to Syria, Iraq, and Iran, we bought a six pack at a rest stop. Damn it felt good to drink some beer. Around 1130 we arrived at our rest quarters for the night. This "dorm" for Sanliurfa university, as Art and I reflected before our 30 minute nap, reminded us of Midnight Express. Yes it's a ridiculous movie but walking into a dormitory floor with 100 men half-dressed looking extremely perturbed at our presence was enough to make me think of prison. Everything was okay though, because just after an hour and a half we boarded the bus again in route to Mt. Nemrut (http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/448).

We rode our mini bus about 30 minutes to a gas station. By now it was about 230 in the morning, and much to our surprise, we were all fairly awake. We had also started drinking in-kind beer just a few minutes before. We split into two groups and got into these high powered minivans that would take us 3000 meters up this mountain. As we skidded out of the gas station, I knew this next 3 - 4 hours of driving to and from would be one hell of a ride. Our Turkish driver was fuckin' crazy. As we started driving up the mountain, we were skidding along its sides, overlooking a dark abyss. Fortunately for us, we were extremely tired, so we didn't really care about anything, and it was pitch black so we had no idea what was below us. Riding in the back, I could see about 10 - 12 heads bobbing left and right, almost all of them completely knocked out for the ride. After, once again, "2" hours, we arrived at small stop of sorts, from where we had to climb the rest of the way.

Picture this: there are 24 Turks and trainees, walking up a 45 degree angle, with just a hint of sunlight approaching the horizon. From below we could see a large mound of sorts, with small images of people making the final steps of the climb. It's 4:30 in the morning. I hadn't seen a bed since Wednesday night, I had had to use the bathroom ever since we left the prison, and I was staring up 500 meters to a hill that I would inevitably have to climb. I raised my beer bottle to my lips and gulped the rest down. Turning to a Turkish man offering a ride on a donkey, I said "Yok, sag ol", and started up the mountain. Not going to lie, I was tipsy. Yes, I was borderline drunk on top of a humongous moutain in the middle of nowhere. I love AIESEC.

We reached the top of the mountain and looked out onto rolling hills and mountains for as far as an eye could see. Joining us on top of this mountain were tourists from all over the world, along with old statues of gods that had been on the mountain's peak for millenia. The sunrise from this view was unbelievable, and for a good half an hour, all fatigue, beer, and exhaustion burned away. At 7 we got back on our minivans and screamed down the mountain faster than I thought possible. I for sure could not sleep as we clocked 50 kilometers coming around the slim mountain roads. Occasionally we had to dodge a Turkish road block, aka a herd of sheep. Safely and soundly, we made it back to our bus, and embarked for Sanliurfa, our home for one full day.

Our next two principal destinations were Harran and Mardin. Harran is 18 kilometers from the Syrian border, and it is home to one of the oldest Islamic universities in the world. Mardin is a beautiful city on the city of a mountain, which is some way is extremely important in history. I still have to do my research. The cool part about this stint was visiting a Syriac Orthodox Church in the middle of nowhere. We met some German students there who were studying Aramaic. From the front of this church you have the most amazing view of Mesopotamia, and of the border with Syria. If I had only had my camera...

Imitations

It's been quite a week here at the 4th floor IT department at Basak Emeklilik. I think I've discovered a way to instantly strike smiles, laughs, and fun with all the employees: by completely humiliating and embarassing them.

On Monday I was sitting in my chair while Serkan my neighbor was doing some serious thinking. He has this very characteristic thinking face, where he bends over at a 90 degree ankle, puts his hand no his upper forehead, and places his face 2 - 3 inches from a scrap of paper on which he makes notes. I began to imitate him, making the scrunched up face he does when frustrated, placing my head near the table and accidentally hitting it. 2 other employees saw me and began laughing hysterically. When Serkan realized what I was doing, he began to laugh uncontrollably as well. Later in the day, without even thinking, I did the same for Cemal, another employee with a very unique stride who 100 percent of the time appears to be up to no good. This imitation brought even more laughs, the most coming from Cemal himself.

Before the end of the day, my neighbors made me imitate every single employee, from their voice, to their walk, to their mannerisms, even the way they answer the phone. And believe me, I know I have a loud and hearty laugh, but their collective hooting and hollering put my laughter to shame. It was a really fun day, trying to think of how to impersonate the mannerisms of each person. However, it started to become a little tiresome when the first thing the next morning was a request to see all of them again. We went through every employee, with the entire department peeking over and crowding around to see me embarass the hell out of them. Funny though because they definitely don't see it as embarassing or mean, while in the States more than once it may seem offensive.

In reality, I think I've started something I won't be able to kick. It's now Thursday, and every day I've been asked to repeat the acts I mistakenly performed on Monday. "Okay, now Murat. Now Sengul. Oh oh, do Metin abe! Shhhhhh...now do Mr. Yuksel (the boss)." Hahahaha, it's a ton of a fun, but I bet I'll be doing this every day until July 30.

Finally leaving home

Before I came to Istanbul for a traineeship, almost every past trainee talked about how great of an experience it was. They talked about Istanbul and its beauty, but most of all about the travel opportunities around Turkey. I was really excited about these before arriving, but having learned and experienced so much just within Istanbul, I didn't really feel motivated to leave the city. Well, after 5 and 1/2 weeks, I'm heading Southeast.

This weekend is the Southeastern Anatolia tour organized by @ Gaziantep. One of many reception events organized by AIESEC Turkey LCs, this one is extremely unique because it takes traniees through some of the oldest and most historical locations of Turkey. It's also just a short drive from neighboring Syria, so I'm eager to see the differences in lifestyle, culture, language, etc. between these opposite corners of the country. Certainly I'm not looking forward to a 16 hour bus ride, but hey, it's Turkey.

Also, I'm not sure as of yet, but I should be meeting a Kurdish friend I met at an AIESEC conference here. He's very eager to show me his community and introduce me to Kurdish traditions and such. His city is nearby, so we'll see, but I do think it'd be quite worth the effort.

The best time of the day

It's currently 12:20. In ten minutes, all motion in the office will stop briefly, our 13 employees will glance up at the clock, then proceed to grab their jackets and rush down the stairs. Lunchtime.

I haven't mentioned much about Turkish food, but hopefully sometime I will. Regardless, lunchtime is the best 30 minutes - hour of the workday. The taste of pilaf, dolma, patlican, kofte, yogurt, is enough to end all wars. Well maybe not, but it's definitely enough to get me throught the morning.

Now 8 minutes.

Urban Population Growth

BBC did an amazing job with this interactive historical map of urban population growth. Check it out...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/world/06/urbanisation/html/urbanisation.stm

The month of August

Last year I went to 26 straight days of @ conferences. I started with SSC in Denver and left for India the following day, going all out AIESEC from August 9 - September 5. I thought I would never return to such fateful days. I was wrong.

I'm back in Austin from Istanbul on July 30. On August 1 I'm in Fort Wayne Indiana for SSC until August 8. I'm back in Austin for roughly a week afterwards visiting family and friends and doing more @ work, then to NYC for prep work for International Congress at the MC office. Then I'm off to Warsaw from August 24 - September 3, back in DC in time for school starting on the 5th.

This if of course the rough plan, but in reality any deviations will be fairly small. I'm doing my breathing exercises in July to prepare for this strenuous, yet insanely exciting month to come.

Piknik

Probably the best day I've had so far. My department organized a picnic (which seems to be a very Turkish thing), and we enjoyed amazing food, football, dancing, guns (haha), and conversations for more than 10 hours. This day was a day of many firsts, including my first relatively long conversation in Turkish, and my first taste of liver (in the form of what I call a liver burrito).

The day really brought me closer together with my department, and I discovered that even older, out of shape, Turkish smokers can woop my ass in football. I was just having a fun time on the field but everyone was taking the game so seriously! My coworkers even started fighting over the game! I thought it was hilarious, but they didn't find it too funny.

Boat Trip

Magda (from Germany) and I have officially discovered the beauty of doing absolutely nothing on a Saturday. I sat on the 7th floor terrace overlooking a good portion of Istanbul for 3 - 4 hours trying to study Turkish, but in reality staring off into the distance reflecting on various things. I knew I was supposed to relax in order to get better, and I did, but I was a little unsure if I'd be sick again after sitting in the sun for so long followed by the craziest boat trip ever.

AIESEC Istanbul in attempting to foster better relations with their alumni organized a Bosphorous boat trip on Saturday night. Most of the trainees went along with a good number of LC members. There were about 20 alumni present, including some older alumni, one of which was MCP of Turkey for 4 years, and did a traineeship in Indiana.

The LC bought a crap load of beer and vodka and boy was it a sight to see. To make a long story short, we toured the Bosphorous for a good 4.5 hours, and by the time we docked at Besiktas at midnight, we were carrying people off this boat, including everyone's favorite Mehmet (VPF of Istanbul) who literally couldn't walk. I know I've seen it plenty of times, but drinking and partying together with people from multiple countries is arguably the most enjoyable thing on the planet.

Man vs. Nature

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5092226.stm

My favorite part of this article is that an Australian parliament member proposed using golf clubs or cricket bats.

Turkish class

I'm on my 3rd week of Turkish classes and they're going quite well. To the tune of GWU, I've already skipped 2 of 8 classes, but nonetheless I feel like I'm learning a lot.

Just as interesting as the Turkish language is the course environment. In the class we are 4 Americans, 2 French, 1 Brazilian, 2 Germans, 1 Australian, 1 Palestinian, 1 Russian, and 1 guy from Comoros. Ozge, our lovely teacher, speaks very little English, so the class is 90 percent in Turkish. Further complicating the situation is the fact that not all students in the class speak English. They are multiple translations going on throughout the 3 hour class.

When I first heard it would be 9 hours a week, with 3 hour classes MWF, I was anticipating boredom on a massive scale. However, classes have been extremely enjoyable and very beneficial. If nothing else, I can now talk to the guys at the kebab store about football, Amerika, and women.

Physically wrecked

I remember the physical effects of my exchange in the Dominican Republic as being mostly stomach and digestion related. Some of my worst memories from Summer 2002 took place in the local latrine, where I was accompanied every night by a fat toad and two gigantic spiders the size of small placemats.

Anyways, the physical effects of Turkey have been quite different. The food hasn't had negative effects on me, a fact that has been very welcomed. However, over the course of 4 weeks, I've had quite a battle with physical ailments.

The first was pink eye. Out of nowhere I woke up with an itchy eye and by 1030 AM on a Friday my eye was producing so much eye goo that it was moderately dripping down my cheek. Absolutely disgusting. This was the same day that I prayed at the Blue Mosque with Murat, which was also accompanied by 3 hours of talking about religion and our purpose on Earth. It was awfully hard to pay attention with a eye that felt like a small version of Hurricane Katrina.

Next came back problems. I passed out one night in Shawky's bed and woke up feeling like I had slept on a fire hydrant. That only went away after sleeping a few nights in my own bed. Must have been some Egyptian curse.

Now finally I've had terrible post nasal drip ever since Saturday. The feeling of something crawling slowly down the back of your throat and constantly making hawking noises to get it out is about as frustrating as trying to pick up a British chick as an American. The accompanying sore throat is 10 times worse. It feels like my throat is harboring a small terrorist.

I'm taking this weekend to hopefully get some rest and overcome my battle.

Military

I don't think I've ever spent more than an hour in a museum. Ever. I'm just not one to stand around while my knees hurt listening to kids screaming loudly. Yesterday I went to Turkey's largest military museum, and although I didn't spend more than an hour there, I was mesmerized the entire time and I'm very eager to go back and see more. That fact scares me. Why did this military museum intrigue me so much? Why was I so captured by it?

The truth is that the military has been on my mind more and more over the last three months. I was very interested in West Point years ago, but I was sure that interest had gone away after coming to college, having diverse experiences, joining AIESEC, etc. However, much to my surprise, I've been drawn to the military in recent months. This is all at the same time that a number of friends and I are trying to persuade our good buddy not to enlist in August.

I'm a firm believer in the idea that we are all products of our individual experiences. I wonder, what the hell happened along the way that produced interest in the military? Who was it that I met, or what did I experience that influenced me in such a direction? I'm really curious to figure out why I walked down the halls of the exhibits completely silent and awe-inspired.

The other truth is that this interest in the military partly disgusts me. Recent events involving the largest, most active, and most advanced military in the world have brought my soul to tears; from massacres of innocent civilians, to the glorification of murder, it's completely atrocious. However, all the while loathing the institution, the @er comes out of me, in the fact that I see the need for more responsible and aware leadership in the military. AIESEC is all about leadership development, and what is needed in militaries across the world are the kind of leaders AIESEC creates. I see an incredible need in the US military for role models and leaders with a global perspective.

I'm not saying I'm going to just jump up and join the military when done with AIESEC US. These are just reflections on current events, as well as attempts to understand how the values I believe in can associate with such an institution. If anyone has any ideas or advice, please let me know.

Murat Çatal

If there's one guy in my department that's going far in life, it's Murat Çatal. Over the last few weeks, ever since the visit and prayer at the Blue Mosque, we've become good friends, talking nearly every day about religion, life, personal visions, and the military. Murat is the most open-minded religious person I've met in a long time, and in two months he'll be starting his obligatory military service. I hope he spends little time there, because he's got big plans for himself, and unlike many other people with big plans, he's already begun to make plans into results.

I wasn't surprised to come across this website today: www.muratcatal.com.

Turkish marching band

My days of drumline and cadences came back to me today. I went to the military museum with Murat and then we watched the traditional Mehter band play Turkish military marches from the Ottoman Empire. This was an awesome experience, both for the music's sake but also to see the reaction of various groups in the audience. Typically when we hear a marching band in the USA we react with joy and jubilance, while it was very clear to me that to the Turkish groups in the audience, the music, the dress, and the symbols represented an incredible pride in their history and in themselves. Check out a picture of this group at http://www.mehter.info/images/mehter-2.jpg.

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.

World Cup

The USA had merely a bad day with the Czechs. America shall rise again!!!

Success in life

I fear the day I get this question during an interview or graduate school application: "What is on the 63rd page of your autobiography?"

I am actually a little unsure of why this question scares me so much, but I can say it has to do with me judging myself on whether I have been "successful" in life. As I pointed out in an earlier post, Turkey has shown me that the word success differs quite drastically across various languages and cultures. While I've met an equal amount of intelligent people in Turkey and the US, success as a word is something in America you can probably hear on average 5 times a day.

Now with all cultural differences set aside, I think it's important for the definition of success, and therefore success in life, to be something individual, something personal. While I was sure for quite a while that I had success pinned down and naively believed I had the forumla to it, my perceptions have been shakin' up in the last few months, specifically in the last 4 weeks.

I caught on to a conversation this weekend between a few trainees about life here and what they want to experience. The majority of the conversation was based around searching out experiences, on proactively looking for life changing places, peoples, and events. I began to think honestly about the implications of believing moments and people that stay with us forever, that connect to our past experiences to shape us into our ever changing persons, have to be actively searched for, almost likened to a scavenger hunt. Is this true? Does the person that lives in the same house, the same city, knowing the same people for their entire lives not lead a worthwhile life? Will they die happily, or die ruing the fact they never actively seeked out a variety of peoples and experiences?

I have always been a huge proponent of doing this. Of actively seeking out experiences that challenge myself and others, that build skills, that expose myself to new perspectives, etc. Furthermore, I've tended to look down on individuals that don't do the same. However, in the last week, certain experiences and people have come out of nowhere. I did not search for them, nor "set goals" to achieve this or that.

I did not actively seek out these experiences, but they have undeniably left a mark, a huge mark. What this last week or so really made me think more about are the experiences and people we never expect to meet nor ever pro-actively search out, and the multiple chapters they leave in one's life. Sometimes I think I could write out the outline of my autobiography until my death. What a stupid thought! It seems more and moreso that the unexpected has and will have more of an impact than anything I could ever consciously search for.

And as a byproduct, these realizations have slowed me down. Less and less I'm running around like a wild goose expecting to only feel successful in life if I put myself in a position to do so. I still believe that is an important part in creating a completely rich autobiography, but I find moreso everyday that huge chapters of it may come from a talk over coffee, over a walk through a park, or even a look into the eyes of a passing stranger.

A surprise glimpse of Austin

On Saturday evening I went to a new area of Istanbul, this time on the Anatolian (Asian) side. This pub street is called Caddebostan. Upon entering the street, a beacon of light from South Lamar appeared on the street corner.

Al Zarqawi

I had the same feeling today as I did in 2003 when Saddam was captured. A mix of surprise, happiness, and hope. As everyone knows, the capture of Saddam didn't really seem to do much for the situation. We may as well believe the same today, but I hope today's events prove us wrong.

I talked in depth about the implications of Zarqawi's death with a new member of the sales team here at Basak Emeklilik. Ersin is a very bright and energetic young employee, but what made him special in this conversation was that he served in Iraq with Turkish forces. More specifically he worked on the Iraqi Border sleeping on dirt roads for 10 months stopping the influx of immigrants and fighting the PKK. From my perspective, it seems like the obligatory military duty in Turkey is not too big of a deal. Turkish forces are mainly in Turkey and Cyprus. And the duty is usually no longer than 16 months. Ersin was in the full 16 months and he did actually fight. And it really really had an effect on him. Without thinking I asked him what he learned in the military, and he went from two hours of energy to an immediate stoicism, with a blank stare. After a few moments, he told me it wasn't the right time to speak of his experience. He would need a quieter place with some fish and Raki (Turkish national alcohol).

Waaaaaaaaaah

This baby's picture may be the answer to preventing teenage sex.

Work style

I'm still trying to figure out the work/office culture in Istanbul. I wasn't sure how it would differ from my experiences in the American work place, and I'm still not sure, but I am sure that it feels different.

I'm used to cubicles, huge cubicles. At American Online last semester, there was a quartermile stretch of cubicles. In the cubicles I was surrounded by three huge walls; so closed off that I only knew people by their voices. Here in my office, and in many other offices that I've seen, everybody sits in a psuedo circle, with no walls or barriers. Right this moment, I can see what everyone is doing, what they're not doing, etc. While this takes away privacy, it in turn provides for a much more open atmosphere. I'm constantly talking with other employees and encouraged to consult them whenever I need time.

The other thing is this concept of "Sorry, I'm too busy right now." I must have heard this line a hundred times last Summer when trying to set up meetings. I've heard it once here so far. And it's not that these employees are not doing any work, they just seem to put priorities in different places.

That brings up another thing I've really realized about American culture, a part of our culture that has always annoyed me. Americans, we always have to be busy, pseudo-stressed, with multiple meetings during the day. We have to feel extremely productive to sleep well at night. "I am sooooo stressed" - "I have soooo much f'n work to do" - "I'll see you in like a month"

I really think this sense of keeping busy all day makes us truly believe that we're leading good, healthy lives, making the most of every minute of the day. We also feel this makes us smarter, even better people, because we're so productive. We even tend to look down on people that don't live in such a way.

Turkish culture has provided a pleasing alternative to this lifestyle. Here you don't find people running around 24/7 looking like the sky is falling. You most likely will find a group of friends in the street, at a cafe, in a restaurant, laughing and chatting about who knows what. Things move just a little bit slower here. And you know what? On a proportional basis, I've met smarter people here than in the States. Many of my friends here understand life, friendships, people, all our connections, etc., and they can articulate it very well. In 3 weeks, I've learned more from conversations with these people than I did my entire past semester of college.

And to completely contradict myself, what has completely thrown me off guard this past week has been my subconsciously increasing love for the United States. Many times I've been quick to bash the country, but for some reason(s), I'm beggining to absolutely love the place. I hope I figure out soon this change of heart.

Geography lesson

Today I had an unexpected geography lesson during my English lesson. The majority of the lesson was spent around dispelling 3 main misconceptions of my fellow employees. These may sound atrocious to us, but it made me wonder how it sounds to other countries when I ask some stupid shit.

1.) New York City is not the capital of the United States

2.) Brazil is not a border nation of the United States

3.) Haiti is not a country comprised of Chinese peoples

We also talked about Guantanamo Bay, and I discovered that some coworkers thought it was used as a massive slave farm by the United States. They thought we capture anyone we want and turn them into a slave in Cuba. Regardless of opinions, it provided for an interesting conversation.

Sultan Ahmet

Wow. I remember 5 years ago being in Istanbul. Well that's sort of a lie. I have vague memories of being here on a cruise many years back, and visiting the Blue Mosque. Knowing very little of the history, religion, and culture that it represents, I didn't think much about it, and especially didn't think much about returning.

Today, along with thousands of other people, I prayed at the Blue Mosque. I went through the procedures, said the lines, and experienced a chilling glimpse into a world previously seen from the exterior. No, I could not understand a word that the leader was reciting, but the beautiful flow of prayer has no language barrier.

Before I entered the Blue Mosque, I felt like I was going to be overcome with wonder, awe, etc. In reality, I wasn't. Most of the time I was wondering how the well I would continue sitting on my shins, but that's besides the point. What had more of an effect on me, which the Blue Mosque experienced complemented, was talking for more than 3 hours with Murat, another employee, who is probably the most open-minded person I've ever met. He also happens to be the most conservative Muslim that I've met. As I tend to see only the negatives of religion, he really shed light on the benefits of religion, beit organized religion, a holy religion, or something else. He left me with, "We have little time; we must utilize our time on earth."

Mosque

Friday is prayer day in Turkey. Guess who's joining them today.

My first trip to a mosque not for tourist reasons. More to come.

Asking for directions

Through observation, nobody in Turkey will admit that they don't know where something is. They would much rather blindly guess than say, "Sorry, I'm not 100% sure."

In trying to find the Ziraat office yesterday, we asked more than 10 people where the office was, and every single person said with a straight face, "Turn left, go straight, 100 meters, 300 meters, this way, that way", often times completely contradictory of what the last person said. Hell, we even found people pointing to Ankara when asking how to get back to Istanbul.

This is definitely a drastic increase from my culture, firstly because we usually never ask for directions, second because we (and I do a lot) shamefully admit that we don't know everything about our whole city. I talked to the general manager about this, and she agreed, citing that every Turk is proud of their 0pinion. :)

Sales Calls

So I mentioned the other day that I had the chance to attend follow up meetings at government bank branches across the city. Yesterday was even better.

The manager of corporate sales for the company had invited me to attend a company meeting two days ago. At 11 AM yesterday I get an email:

"Good Morning Andrew ,
I have planed to go out at 11,20 ýf you come to me at that time we will go out.
See you"

I took a rain check on my English class and hurried out the door. It turns out that we were going to two company meetings, and they were outside of Istanbul! I crossed the Bosphorous bridge the first time (making a wish) and rode with the manager 45 minutes until reaching Gebze. Sine we were an hour early we ate fish on the Marmara Sea and talked about our personal visions and some about religion. This manager really impressed me. She has been with the company for 7 years, and she is the only one I've met that actually has a true vision for the company and for herself. She would be an amazing general manager, and if anyone is determined, it's her.

We first met the branch manager of Ziraat Bankasi for a tea, then we went to the offices of Sea Horse and Bericorp. Yeah, these two meetings were in Turkish, so I couldn't understand a thing, but because of that, I noticed many other things that slipped by the manager. Even small things like what music was playing, facial expressions, body language, etc. Haha, and the standard process for these meetings are:

1.) Introductions and small talk

2.) Tea or coffee?

3.) Small talk until tea arrives

4.) Tea arrives, light cigarettes

5.) Talk about the real business

6.) Small talk, usually about football

7.) Thank you and goodbyes

From body language and expressions, I thought these meetings went terribly. It turns out that they went really well, and these body expressions are just different from my culture. I got back to the office 6 hours later, long after everyone else had left. Regardless, it was quite an adventurous day.