Where...where are all the pictures of Ataturk? Why is there blue on these flags? Yes, there is a little bit of reverse culture shock being back in America, but the word "shock" makes it sound so unpleasant. Rather, I'm just reminded that old habits die hard. Case in point: I'm in a cafe drinking a big old 12 ounce mug of coffee right now, not sipping from a dainty porcelain fincan. I'm wearing a tank top, and since I'm sitting down, my just-above-knee-length skirt is exposing my knees ever so lasciviously to the other cafe patrons, who are paying me absolutely no attention whatsoever.
There are benefits to being back in the good ol' US of A.
I feel that amongst the people who bother to pay attention to Turkey these days (that's not an accusation; there are a lot of countries worth paying attention to in the world), there is almost no grey area between love and hate. I am of the loving opinion; I heartily enjoyed Turkey despite all its foibles. Others I have recently sparked conversations with claim to hate Turkey despite all of its finer points. One such person from the latter group told me they don't think Turkey will ever "catch up" to the West, or modernize, or develop, or whatever buzzword is being used to describe going from where Turkey is to where it needs to be in its economic, political, and social realms. From my seat here in America, I can see more clearly that Turkey does have a very long road ahead. Then again, our republic is more than 200 years old, and Turkey's republican centennial is in 2023. So ask me again in another hundred years, I guess.
OK, that's more than enough vague generalizing for now. I still have some Turkish travel yarns I've yet to spin for this blog, so I'm going to keep posting, even though I'm no longer in that bewildering wilderness called Turkey. But while I've got you here- thanks for reading!
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