So I find myself in Ankara, Turkey with very little sense of how to survive. I rely on the hospitality, warmth, and understanding of the Turks to guide me through my days here in central Anatolia. To be fair, however, the solid language skills of my roommate have helped immensely. It took me a few days to learn how to properly pronounce our hotel, Baskent Ogretmenevi. If you're trying to pronounce it, please stop. It sounds nothing like it's spelled in English.
My time in Turkey will be spend teaching English and introducing US culture to students at Bilecik University in the small city of Bilecik. The orientation has been useful at teaching us Fulbrighters basic pedagogical, cultural, and linguistic elements of Turkish culture. It is exhausting though, and because my jet-lag persisted, I've had a hard time making it through the day without a nap or two. I'm writing this with my eyes half shut right now.
I've had some unusual things happen to me, as seems to be the case with anyone entering a foreign land without knowledge of the language or the culture. The first involved a small elderly man in an elevator, who, without warning, reached out and grabbed my neck. It wasn't an aggressive thrust of the hand. He didn't try to take me down, Bruce Lee style. Instead, he quietly reached out and wistfully groped my throat. If the man wasn't so adorable I would have gone berserk. I was trying to piece together counter-attack maneuvers I remembered from taking karate as a little boy, or from Jason Bourne's collection of ass-whooping tangos, before making eye contact. So maybe, I thought, this was some sort of cultural practice. Do I gently reach out and touch his throat? Where would that leave us? Two men, grasping one anothers throats in perfect peace and harmony, bridging the gap between East and West? Is this all anyone has ever hoped for? Tender throat-grabbing between two placid and understanding gentlemen? It turns out that he was a doctor, and a tad concerned about the possibility of my having an enflamed esophagus. I think I'm OK, and so does he.
More bizarre than that was my experience at the Merkez Sengul Hamami. A hamam is a Turkish bath. I'll leave it at that. I don't know how I was influenced into going to this place. It seemed more of a tongue-in-cheek dare than genuine, innocent curiosity, but maybe I'm only searching for an excuse.
I entered the lobby of the hamam with a couple of friends and saw two men, in towels, sipping chai in chairs around an indoor fountain. I assumed that I was to change into my towel and chill out around the fountain, sipping tea, shootin' the breeze, and never really understanding why I couldn't do all this with my clothes on. I was then commandeered into another room by an eager Turkish man, only this time, the experience as a whole started to make more sense. I encountered a group of naked men (towels covered the essentials), being soaped, lathered, and massaged by other men, equally as naked. Everything seemed OK. There wasn't an overwhelming sense of impropriety, but to be fair, I'm looking at this man-fest through an American lens and discretely counting the exit signs, taking note of the angles they reside, and even seeking out implements to ward off overzealous suitors. Before I knew it though, I was on a hot slab of marble being tossed around like a rag-doll by a 275 lb., fleshy, naked, Turkish masseuse. The gentlemen was skilled though, and I relaxed enough to enjoy it. I was scrubbed handily, and walked out feeling both cleaner and dirtier than I've ever felt before. Would I do it again? You bet. I'm thinking once a month, at least. It's good for the skin.
Today was spent at the Ankara Citadel and touring the beautifully ornate Kocetepe Cammi (mosque). Pictures will come to those who seek. Besides that, evenings have been spend sitting at cafes with friends, smoking nargile and drinking chai. It's a good life.
My nerves about Bilecik are getting a little more pronounced, mainly because I'll be the only grantee there, but I was happy to note that they have an international office and Turkish language lessons aplenty. Besides that, I know nothing. I'll make sure to share when I have deets, however. That's all for now! Keep in touch and I'll keep these coming.
Gorusuruz!
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