Fifth Cultural Post: Reflection
This semester I have learned so much about Turkish culture. I believe it is because I developed a friendship with Sezgi and cultural differences would naturally come up in our conversations. I got to meet some of her friends from Turkey when they came to visit at the beginning of the semester. They taught me a lot about superstitions and they were so nice. I want to go and visit Turkey, now, more than ever. I think I taught Sezgi some things about American culture as well, like Groundhog day. This semester I began watching Turkish television and I began to follow more Turkish YouTube. One day Sezgi presented on Turkey. She talked about the street food and the diversity of the landscape. I would bring questions about Turkish culture to our meetings. I have learned so much more about the culture, beyond Turkish coffee and lokum. I also feel I have a better understanding of Turkey’s position in the world. Here at UofR, we lump Turkey into our Middle Eastern courses, but many Turkish citizens do not believe they belong to that region. People often think I’m studying Turkish because it’s similar to Arabic, some people even think it’s the same language. I have always known the language is completely different, but now I know that the culture is entirely different from any country in the Middle East.
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