Cultural Post 3

[Nile Harris]

One day in class, we were completing an activity in our textbook that had to do with the different modes of transportation. Görkem asked me questions like about how I get to different places like: “how do I get to the store?” “how do I get to school?” “how do I get home?” “how do I get to class?” “how do I get to work” etc… I actually get to class by walking. But every other question, the answer was “by car / driving”.  Even my roommates consistently want to drive to class or to work even when they are well withing walking distance. Görkem was astounded by how much we drive here in the United States. This is a huge cultural difference between us and Turks. He also told me that he lives over 2 miles away from the University of Richmond’s campus and he walks to the university every day. He also has friends here in the United States that live a little more than a mile away from the grocery store. The consistently drive to the grocery store rather than walking there. I found hilarious how surprised he was about this phenomenon. Apparently, in Turkey, the prefer to walk everywhere. He told me that he typically walks over 10 miles every day in Turkey. He walks to school, he walks to the store, he walks to the café, he walks home, etc… Typically the only time he drives is if he is going somewhere over 10 miles away, or if he is going to different city. Also, the Turkish city infrastructures allow for it to be easy for people not to use motorized vehicles to get to and from places. They have many sidewalks and designated areas for walking and biking. I also do not think that it is a uniquely Turkish practice to mostly walk to and from places. I have many friends from Europe who have also said that they mostly walk to and from places and rarely use cars to get to different areas. Honestly, if they are going somewhere out of walking distance, they prefer to use public transportation rather than their own cars. I honestly believe that we should practice walking more here in the United States. It would be a lot more economically efficient, it would be more environmentally friendly, and it would be healthier to get that form of exercise. This was a very interesting thing to learn about. I feel that I would like to practice that when I am all settled into my career. I do definitely feel that I would get some weird looks though, especially if people saw me walking to and from the grocery store, or if people saw me walking to and from work. I am very sure of myself and do not let what others think affect my actions. I will say that Americans have more of a culture plagued by laziness than Turkey does, which is why it would make sense for these norms to be different.