T-accounts in Turkey



I haven't posted for more than a week so this is overdue. I had a wonderful time on vacation in Izmir, Turkey. My friend Serkan along with his family, was nice enough to host me for 5 days in their home in Bornova, a suburb of Izmir.

Turkey is definitely a land of contrasts. Caught between Europe and the Middle east I experienced both sides of the culture in my short trip. The country is young, and the new generation is more western-oriented than you might think. There are numerous private colleges where only English is spoken (by the way, they are learning the same T-accounts that I learned in Accounting, I thought that was very amusing!), stores and restaurants use state-of-the-art wireless credit card readers to make payment by credit easier, a convenience store clerk is connected wirelessly to the Internet and is making phone calls to friends in Germany using Skype, a newly opened open-air shopping mall with prestigious stores that you would expect to see in Beverley Hills...I could go on.

The people are some of the most hospitable you will find on the planet. Everyone you talk to is excited that you came to visit their country. Also, the food is spectacular! I have never eaten so well for so little in my entire life! It's sad in a way, that westerners are so afraid of setting foot in Muslim countries just because of Iraq.

So far I have painted a very rosy picture of Turkey, but make no mistake, it is still a developing country. Poverty is around every corner: stray dogs and cats run rampant through the streets, poor children sell Kleenex on the street just to get by, parts of the city are cut off from power for hours at a time, public transportation is spotty (avg. transit time is about 1 hour to the city center and we were only 15 km away!, although the mini-buses were a very practical idea).

During my stay I was torn between feelings of hope and sadness for this enchanting country. I tried to weigh all of the good and bad things I had seen and although I witnessed points of extreme toil and suffering (I have a soft spot for animals), I have to say my overall impression is that of hope.