But...Where's the Apple Tea?

Well, I got home. After about 20 hours of travelling while having what I suspect was food poisoning, it’s good to be back. The first meal I had in the US was a burger, fries, and Oreo mint shake at Steak n’ Shake. If that doesn’t say “I’m proud to be an American,” I don’t know what will.

But regardless of free water, ice cold air conditioning, and the good ol’ Kansas countryside, I can’t help but notice my change on my outlook of life and the world. That’s kind of hard to miss. I try to tell people about my experience in Turkey, and I just can’t say it all. For some things there are no words. How do I explain the awe that made me feel weightless in one of the beautiful mosques, with people praying and giving their devotion as I stood out like a sore thumb in a sacred space? How do I explain the tingling in my fingers when I touched an ancient column—a column that someone else laid their hands upon thousands of years ago? How do I describe the feeling of immersing oneself in a culture that has so many misconceptions in Western eyes? I’ve been trying to contemplate all these things the past few days. When someone asks “How was Turkey?” I wish I had a flowchart or something. People have yet to ask me “What did you learn in Turkey?” and that might be a good thing, because I still have been sorting that out. Let’s see, what did I learn? List time!

1. It’s never worth what they say it is.
2. Marble is NOT A GOOD WALKING SURFACE.
3. Never say “tashak” unless you want to be laughed at.
4. Some guy named Ataturk was important or something.
5. All people of any nationality cannot resist the awful catchiness of “Blow” by Ke$ha.

And the list goes on, but those are definitely the top five.

But the most important question to ask is, “Was it worth it? Was it worth all that money you paid?” I say that it is always worth it to expand your worldview. In fact, in this day and age, it’s the most vital thing I could ever do for myself. In America, where we tend to lump the world’s population into two groups of Westerners and Easterners, I grew up there were two sides to everything. You’re either a respectable person, or you’re a Muslim terrorist (or a Commie). You’re either a highly logical student of philosophy, or you’re a backwards Bedouin who don’t know left from right. After visiting a country that was influenced by both Western and Eastern powers and ideals, my belief that the world wasn’t black and white became solidified. In fact, I would just throw away the whole black and white analogy, gray shades in between and all. The world is colorful. I could go on a philosophical diatribe here, but I’ll spare you.

Bottom line is, there is much to learn from Turkey. You can learn what it means to be secular and a democracy by looking at the successes and failures of Turkey’s government and civil society. You can learn the deep connections between three major religions, and even walk where some of the first believers of each religion walked. You can learn about a crossroads of the world by looking at the shores of a sea that borders three continents and cradled the beginnings of many civilizations. You can learn what it means to be a human being, when just a smile bridges languages, religions, and how rich one is.

That’s what I learned in Turkey.