You Know You're In America When:

• Everyone owns iPhone rather than blackberry
• The roads are wide and long
• You know your rights and use them extensively
• There are over 5 rows of books on weight loss and mental health, but people are still overweight and crazy
• There is next to no one walking on the sidewalks
• Everyone fights for the front row parking spot (Sometimes circling the parking lot several times)
• There is nothing open passed 9 on weekdays and 2 on weekends
• There are drive-thru restaurants at every corner
• America has 70% of the world’s lawyers/legal professions (There are law-suits for everything)
• On Memorial Day, 4^th of July, and Labor Day must be properly honored with a barbecue or grill-out. MUST!
• Students carry book bags and laptops to class
• You talk about international travel and they respond with "I'm part Irish, German and Italian."
• You enjoy house parties as much as going out
• Language embraces only the good feelings, a type of political correctness. (They are not fat, they are “Person of size”. They are not blind, they are “seeing-impaired”)
• People take with them the food that they did not eat in "To go bags"
• You go to a theme park and see fanny-packs galore (Typical American tourist identity)
• There are only self-service gas stations (Yes. You have to wash your own windows)
• There are water fountains everywhere (FREE drinkable water)
• There are police cars everywhere and are sneaky (They are experts at speed traps & writing tickets/fines)
• The commercials take as much time as the actual show
• You wake up far before 8AM for school
• To be a man, you must become an American football player or play some kind of "manly sport"
• Everyone in class bring their laptops
• Every licensed driver has at least 1 car
• People talk about their personal religion out loud
• There are yard decorations/ornaments (Deer. that make you slam on your brakes)
• Any noun can be turned into a verb and you can make up words daily
• Laws can change drastically between towns, cities, and states
• There are dollar stores everywhere (Everything in the store is $1 plus tax)
• Clubs/bars start getting busy around 11-12 and end at 2AM
• Only about 30% of the population owns passports
• Winning is the central idea to the American spirit
• Everything is thought of in terms of money. EVERYTHING!
• Anyone who is jobless is thought to be a non-person
• The Superbowl is the most important event in the universe (Millions of dollars spent on commercials, but yet we have economy problems)
• You can walk five minutes to your destination, but would rather drive to save time and energy
• The Americans think that the world would not survive without their existence.
• On St. Patrick’s everyone becomes Irish and wears green
• There is a tool/machine/gadget to do anything you want (God forbid doing anything manually)
• Everything comes with a warning label of some sort (Cups, gadgets, food, EVERYTHING)
• Children are raised to be independent
• It is considered rude to tell a joke that enables any social, ethnic, sexual, religious or racial stereotype
• Our most distinctive traits are –religious extremism, paranoia, greed, and boastfulness (Oops!)
• The typical quick breakfast is either cereal or pop-tarts
• People get confused using the metric system
• You know everything you put in your mouth will be bad for you, but that’s your only option. (Be prepared to gain weight. No one ever escapes it!)
• If it didn’t happen on the news, it didn’t happen at all
• There is reliable public transportation only in larger cities like New York, Chicago, Washington D.C., and Los Angeles

This post was not meant to offend my any means. Just some observations I have taken note of since arriving from Turkey 2 months ago. Hope you enjoyed a good reality check of American culture. :-)

Note: I do not own the copyrights to these photos

See the Beauty That Comes From Foreign Lips!

What kind of person can sit there and trash talk any musician if they cannot even understand a single word?

Shocking right? This post comes after I was watching a variety of non-English speaking singers on YouTube. I just browsed at some comments and I started remembering some of the comments I got after listening to foreign artists, such as Turkish, in my car.

Some of the comments I read and have heard:

"That's not singing that's a bunch of noise hurting my ears"

"That's a bunch of trash."

"Who would listen to something of another language?"

"This is a bunch of jibber-jabber."

"They will never make it" (meaning they cannot make it, because it's not English)

"English is the only way to go."

"If you can't understand it, why listen to it."

"They are trying to be different and cool."

"This is the anthem to terrorism."

... and the list goes on and on.

I would like to share my point of view and how I feel these are all, firstly, very cruel, secondly, very ignorant, and thirdly very close-minded.

Firstly, language is an absolute BEAUTIFUL thing. Since the beginning of time people were separated by language and culture, this I feel is what makes us all beautiful and special in our own way. Language is expressed in different ways. For example, to say your goodbyes to a friend in Turkish is completely different than saying your goodbyes in English. This does not make one better than the other, it makes them special, unique, and culturally adapted.

To say they will never make it, because they don't sing in English or that they are just trying to be different is absurd. If you look outside of the English speaking countries, there are thousands of very famous singers making it big in their own region; in Turkey alone I would need more than 5 hands! To think that if a singer does not make it America, they will not be famous, is a scary thought. Yes, of course coming to America and other English speaking countries is a plus, but to be that self-centered is beyond my belief. There are differences in success and if you want to place your definition of success to America alone, then you are in for a long haul in life. Sorry.

If I can't understand a song, why listen to it? Well for starters, their voice, the music, the beats, the art that is behind each breath a singer takes. If you don't understand what they are saying, ask! Translate, find someone to explain it. It is not hard at all to broaden your mind even a little bit! It scares me to think that we have people out there, that if they don't understand something, that they give up and don't pry for more knowledge, leaving them at square one, insulting something they know nothing about. (This does not just apply to music alone!)

Anthem of terrorism? Do I even need to explain this? There is terrorism in every single culture, every single region of the world, and every single language. If you even think for one second that just because a song is sung in something other than English, that it has terroristic roots, you may want to evaluate the world that you are living in, and find out what terrorism really is!

I understand, plenty of people have their niches, and some prefer certain things. If that's the way you see it, go ahead with it, really. I would not judge you one second. However, if you do not favor something such as the language, the music, the style, DO NOT follow your listening with an ignorant close-minded statement. Move on to something that IS in your comfort zone. Please, be open to the world. If you don't prefer it, then don't, but at least show respect to others culture, music, and region. We are all people and if you live with a self-centered attitude we will never make the progress that is necessary!

"Peace at Home, Peace in the World" ~Mustafa Kemal Ataturk

Come Prepared with Pencils and Erasers!

Today I had my first final exam, and I have to say, the Turkish examination system is much different than that of the American style. For example, an exam in America is typically 50 - 100 questions, majority being multiple choice, and some short answer responses. In Turkey, speaking for myself at least, I feel like the exams are like quizzes. I mean that, an exam for me was 2 extended response questions; and before for my midterm it was 15 multiple choice and one short answer response. I can see pros and cons in this method. Firstly, I noticed that it took me about 1/4 of the time to finish a final exam, where in America it could take forever. So there is not much to worry about time constraints, which is quite relieving. However, if you miss 4 questions you are up for debate on your grade, which can be risky. Even though this is the case, the majority of professors tend to curve your grade, or raise the majority of the class’s average above passing. But a word of advice: unlike in America where you can negotiate a curve, do not try it with Turkish professors. If you mention it, that option will completely go out the door. So keep your mouth closed and roll with the punches. ;)

I also noticed that in America, on a short answer response question, we are taught, at least in my business school, to be clear precise and to the point; meaning write 3-4 very strong convincing sentences to answer the question. They teach us this way so that you learn how to be concise in business speeches or “elevator speeches”(a proposal, pitch, or status update to a manager in an elevator). HOWEVER, in Turkey, I tried this same technique, but I got marked off for having such a short answer. I have since then learned that they expect at least over half a page of explanation, whether it is wordy or not.

Overall, for it being my first final, I feel very confident that I passed my first class in Turkey, which is always a good and relieving feeling. My goal is to press onward; I now have a few more days to finish my take-home final for Business finance, and then the rest of the week to study for my last 3 exams. Exams, for at least Yasar, last 2 weeks, and then we have a 3 week break. The one and only thing pressing me forward through exams is a break. Given that I’m used to the quarter system of ten weeks, my mind kind of shut off after week ten in this semester; however, I think I am slowly learning and fully prepared to start another semester at Yasar. Time can go as slow as possible though, I want to continue enjoying the Izmir life outside of school, and leave the books on the bookshelf. ;)

"Education is an ornament in prosperity and a refuge in adversity." ~Aristotle