I landed in Istanbul today in the midst of Ramadan, the Holy month of Islam. In Turkish, it's actually Ramazan, not Ramadan, so that's what I'll be using this month. (Unfortunately for me, I only know how to say "Happy Ramadan" or "Ramadan blessings" in Arabic, so hopefully I'll learn the Turkish soon, too!)
Turkey will be the third Muslim dominant country that I've stayed in for more than week. In fact, every time I've gone to a Muslim dominant country, it's been for longer than a week. I'm glad I get that time, though, as the adjustment is steeper than, say, when I head to Belgium for a long weekend. I'm not used to being woken at 5am by someone praying on a loud speaker; I'm not used to being so completely incompetent in a local language; and, I'm not used to being so conscious of my American-ness. On that last point, I'm not conscious of it in the sense of shame, but rather in the knowledge of what it means to be perceived by another based solely on your ethnicity and your accent. The expectation that I am wealthier than I am and the expectation that I am a more willing bedroom partner than I am come up regularly based on nothing more than my nationality.
I haven't had much time to do anything yet. I landed in late afternoon, unpacked my belongings in the room that is mine for 5 weeks, and then... fell asleep. I blame my British clothes dryer, which stupidly listened to me when I told it to do the wrong thing, forcing me to stay up until 2am to ensure I had dry clothes for this trip.
I hadn't planned on doing much anyhow. In Ramazan, Muslims are supposed to fast from sun up to sun down. Being a Christian, this is not a requirement of my faith but I have fasted in the past, usually to raise money for charity but occasionally for spiritual growth. I know how annoying it is when you haven't eaten all day and then someone comes by with a big juicy hamburger. So, I thought I was being culturally sensitive to wait until closer to sundown to get food. Unfortunately, sun down comes quickly and by the time I went out foraging for food (which should have taken me about 50 feet from my hotel to the nearest grocers), the only thing I could find open in my area was a Papa John's. Everyone else was celebrating iftar, the breaking of the fast for the evening.
Before I left for the grocers / Papa John's, I was talking to another American woman here. She suggested I head to the mosque if I want an "adventure" as it's not very far from where I'm staying and passed a local fruit vendor. "But, won't they be praying?" I asked. She said yes, and that if I actually want to go into the mosque, it might not be the best time to go now. They likely wouldn't let me in, and if they did taking pictures of people praying isn't exactly the height of tact. I agreed, noting that I'll probably visit a mosque sometime this month but during the evening iftar celebrations, I couldn't bring myself to even try. I was a little thrown by her response: "That's very culturally sensitive of you."
I should explain that I'm here for a multi-week event with a lot of foreign students and teachers who should be culturally sensitive. When I attend events like this - or when students arrive for the LL.M. and M.A. every year - I have a presumption that those around me are culturally attuned. But I've found that there's a very low bar for Americans who travel. You're not taking pictures of people praying? Wow - that's very culturally sensitive of you. You're not accosting women wearing a burqa just so you can show your family back home what you saw? You're a cultural super star! You take a scarf with you to a mosque? Why, they should make you the Ambassador to the UN!
I don't think my colleague was suggesting I treat the Muslim holiday like my own personal photo-fest. She likely just hadn't realized how dark it was getting outside. An hour earlier, I could have easily walked to the mosque, taken a few pictures, and been gone by the time anyone arrived for evening prayers.
So, tonight has been particularly low-key. I talked with the Papa John's pizza guys and watched their TV while I waited for a small Hawaiian pizza, stared at Turkish lira, came back and got some work done. I'll unfortunately be doing a lot of work this month, which means I won't be doing as much site-seeing as I normally would, but it's good work and it's going to be a fun month. I'll try to keep you updated here.
Turkey will be the third Muslim dominant country that I've stayed in for more than week. In fact, every time I've gone to a Muslim dominant country, it's been for longer than a week. I'm glad I get that time, though, as the adjustment is steeper than, say, when I head to Belgium for a long weekend. I'm not used to being woken at 5am by someone praying on a loud speaker; I'm not used to being so completely incompetent in a local language; and, I'm not used to being so conscious of my American-ness. On that last point, I'm not conscious of it in the sense of shame, but rather in the knowledge of what it means to be perceived by another based solely on your ethnicity and your accent. The expectation that I am wealthier than I am and the expectation that I am a more willing bedroom partner than I am come up regularly based on nothing more than my nationality.
I haven't had much time to do anything yet. I landed in late afternoon, unpacked my belongings in the room that is mine for 5 weeks, and then... fell asleep. I blame my British clothes dryer, which stupidly listened to me when I told it to do the wrong thing, forcing me to stay up until 2am to ensure I had dry clothes for this trip.
I hadn't planned on doing much anyhow. In Ramazan, Muslims are supposed to fast from sun up to sun down. Being a Christian, this is not a requirement of my faith but I have fasted in the past, usually to raise money for charity but occasionally for spiritual growth. I know how annoying it is when you haven't eaten all day and then someone comes by with a big juicy hamburger. So, I thought I was being culturally sensitive to wait until closer to sundown to get food. Unfortunately, sun down comes quickly and by the time I went out foraging for food (which should have taken me about 50 feet from my hotel to the nearest grocers), the only thing I could find open in my area was a Papa John's. Everyone else was celebrating iftar, the breaking of the fast for the evening.
Before I left for the grocers / Papa John's, I was talking to another American woman here. She suggested I head to the mosque if I want an "adventure" as it's not very far from where I'm staying and passed a local fruit vendor. "But, won't they be praying?" I asked. She said yes, and that if I actually want to go into the mosque, it might not be the best time to go now. They likely wouldn't let me in, and if they did taking pictures of people praying isn't exactly the height of tact. I agreed, noting that I'll probably visit a mosque sometime this month but during the evening iftar celebrations, I couldn't bring myself to even try. I was a little thrown by her response: "That's very culturally sensitive of you."
I should explain that I'm here for a multi-week event with a lot of foreign students and teachers who should be culturally sensitive. When I attend events like this - or when students arrive for the LL.M. and M.A. every year - I have a presumption that those around me are culturally attuned. But I've found that there's a very low bar for Americans who travel. You're not taking pictures of people praying? Wow - that's very culturally sensitive of you. You're not accosting women wearing a burqa just so you can show your family back home what you saw? You're a cultural super star! You take a scarf with you to a mosque? Why, they should make you the Ambassador to the UN!
I don't think my colleague was suggesting I treat the Muslim holiday like my own personal photo-fest. She likely just hadn't realized how dark it was getting outside. An hour earlier, I could have easily walked to the mosque, taken a few pictures, and been gone by the time anyone arrived for evening prayers.
So, tonight has been particularly low-key. I talked with the Papa John's pizza guys and watched their TV while I waited for a small Hawaiian pizza, stared at Turkish lira, came back and got some work done. I'll unfortunately be doing a lot of work this month, which means I won't be doing as much site-seeing as I normally would, but it's good work and it's going to be a fun month. I'll try to keep you updated here.
Thanks for posting your culturally sensitive thoughts! Love, Mom
ReplyDelete