Cultural Post 4

[David Mowry]

In this week's cultural readings, there is a discussion of Monochronic-Polychronic interpretations of time. Monochronic culture puts a premium on punctuality; polychronic is more free-flowing and allows for spontaneous interruptions. I hesitate to classify Turkish culture as either of these. On one hand, drivers are impatient and the phrase "Hadii yaaaaa!" (Hurry up!) is an important one to take note of. On the other hand, busses hardly ever arrive on time. I once spent twelve hours on an 8 1/2 hour train. Conversely, I've witnessed a fist fight break out when one driver wasn't merging into traffic from a side street as quickly as the driver following him would have liked. Of course, it isn't academically rigorous to assume one's own experiences are indicative of a larger, classifiable cultural trend. It is, however, reasonable to expect that endemic aspects of culture are connected in related ways. Maybe the impatience of certain cultural participants is based in the culture's monochronic nature, in which lateness is present but not accepted. But then again, car horns are ubiquitous in big cities but relatively absent in smaller towns and coastal areas. It seems that, like anywhere, a visitor must just "go with the flow," whether that pace is quick or lazy.