the turkish twit
What is it about pubs that just brings people together?
Its Friday after work and we are downing drinks at a local pub bar in celebration of a colleague’s birthday. Chat Chat chat and this and that. Myself and my friend Jessica are chating with two recent grad school grads from Scotland one working for the World bank. I had finally made up my mind t stay and stop playing the go home, stay in eat or move to a different bar scenario, food won out; it usually does. Another celebrator introduces herself to our group as Teneye. She holds up her ten fingers than points to her eye to help our simple minds with the complexity After handshakes all around and pleasantries I find out quickly this girl is a dominate conversationalist. Jessica has already checked out with the foresight to see how this would go.
The conversation quickly turned to nationality, not uncommon in D.C. We learn she immigrated from Turkey 20 years ago. This girl didn’t look a day older then 27. maybe 29 at most.. she proceeds to describe how Americas call themselves international when they say they had studied abroad for a semester she laughs and continues. “Turkey is a third world country yet it was easy to get news from what was going on in other countries around them. I have to hunt for whats going on just in other states!” On she goes waving her hands her phone which is permanently lighted sending bright beams in my fuzzy eye sockets. Uh. This girl was getting under my skin. Teneye is smart I could tell she was well spoken, educated and well traveled. However, I don’t think she realized she was perpetuating the very ignorance that she found so offensive by stereotyping America herself. Im annoyed when people from other countries “bash” another in this way. They act as if they know everyone’s story and know the context of the situations in which they speak.
The conversation turned as its seems to do at this point to America’s lack of transportation infrastructure aka trains. I was the first to say the disservice not having a rail system is for the U.S. However this doesn’t mean we don’t know what cross country trains are or that they are a bad idea. It is the social and economic complexities of implementation that what keeps it from happening not our ignorance.
I wonder when we identify with a quality or identity of some form such as being from Turkey and considering oneself international, we hold close how those things are defined. So for our Turkish friend it was Americans describing themselves as international based on a semester abroad that contradicted her identity and understanding of being international. This happens I believe to us all. When one threatens our perceptions of self we look to maintain balance by allowing it to take the form of stereotypes and misconceptions rather then viewing it as their experience and not ours. perhaps similar this thought could be applied to the definition of marriage, gender roles, quality of life etc.
Maybe Im just sensitive. or maybe I don’t like people sharing their threaten sense of self at the expense of others in the first 5 minutes of meeting them. Other country bashing is good fun its patriotic in fact. Yet make sure its relevant to the conversation and not to yourself preservation. No matter how smart you are or how many experiences you’ve had its an intelligent person who knows there is always more to uncover.
rant to revolution; Intelligence is not in the knowing but in the seeking of knowledge and understanding.
