In my column on Feb. 9, 2007, I wrote about one of the cell phone companies that had a series of ads promoting the fact that one of their tariffs has the same rate for international and national calls and how these ads symbolize what each of us who has lived cross-culturally becomes. I am “Atlantalya”: Part of me thinks American and acts American, but part of me thinks Turkish and acts Turkish. It has been so natural to think that a certain nationality is so and so. However, in the global world we live, culture is changing rapidly and so are we. One of the difficulties in writing a column on culture is that it is untrue to say about any culture (but in this case Turkish culture) that “Turks do x” or “Turks are y” or “Turks think like z.”
Zeynep, a Today's Zaman reader, wrote to me recently and made the following points:
“Dear Charlotte: I have traveled a lot. Without a clear status [such as being a permanent resident or having a work visa] a citizen will face a lot of problems in a country. Therefore, the country's stability will depend on the citizens. Immigration policies are made to control the inflow of migrants to a country and also the number and the types of people [who] could have legal access to various citizenship rights. It disturbs me that Turks have difficulties obtaining visas for other places because people have a particular opinion about us. One example of this is the opinion others have of us in how we approach problem-solving. Others seem to think that Turkish men just shout at each other and are violent when things do not go their way. They also think that women just manipulate others to get their way. Not all of us are like that! From: Zeynep”
Dear Zeynep: I understand and agree. Within every nation, many exceptions can be found for each generalization. I must admit that most Germans I know are extremely organized, but I have some good German friends who are often late to meetings. Many Europeans think that Americans are loud. I have known quiet and shy Americans. British people are portrayed as being reserved. Well, I have met a few bubbly British people. We are all individuals.
The Turkish nation is over 70 million people who are spread over this vast land from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean, from the Aegean to the Euphrates.
When it comes to individuals, we are the product of a mix of the different influences on our lives: our personality, our upbringing, the values of the culture surrounding us, our education, our opportunities, etc.
One of the things that many people find most fascinating about living in a different culture is that you gradually become a mixture: a fusion between where you came from and where you are now. Sometimes this process is imperceptible, and you only realize the change when you are with people who visit you from your home country.
I think the cell phone ad is so clever and accurate about how exposure to different cultures changes us. Just as I stated in my piece, “Fusion, not monoculture,” I still believe it. It may sound radical, but I have always thought it important to maintain the better parts of our own culture and recognize what is better in another culture and ditch the bad in ours and replace it with the better parts of a new culture.
If you have just moved to Turkey for a year or longer assignment and you work and develop friendships with Turks who exposure you to Turkish culture, you'll find that when you return home people will say you have changed.
When I go back to America I find that the parts of Turkish culture I have absorbed mean that I think differently and act differently from mainstream America.
The cell phone ad demonstrates my point well, if you are a -- German in Turkey, or a Turk in Germany, are you Dusseldurfa? If you are a Dutch person in Turkey, or a Turk in the Netherlands, have you become Amsterdamasya?
If one of your parents is British and the other Turkish do you feel Manchestrabzon?
Drop us a comment and tell us about your fusion experience.
Note: Charlotte McPherson is the author of “Culture Smart: Turkey, 2005.” Please keep your questions and observations coming: I want to ensure this column is a help to you, Today’s Zaman’s readers. Email: c.mcpherson@todayszaman.com
