So over the last couple days I've read alot of news articles about the happenings in the US and Canada...and it made me thankful that I'm over here - where it's safe!
Here are some headlines:
Toronto Gun Violence As Politicians Debate Solutions (CBC News) - over the last couple of months, there have been an unusally large number of shootings in very public places (the Eaton Centre, street parties, etc)
Police Hunt for Two Suspects Near French River (The Sudbury Star) - two men were standing on the side of the highway near a popular rest stop shooting at moving traffic
'Dark Knight Rises' Screening Shotting in Suburban Denver Leaves 12 Dead, 58 Injured (NY Daily News) - a young man threw a tear gas cannister into a crowded movie theatre and started shooting at the crowd
Canadian Cities Largely Safe but Rising Gun Violence 'Disturbing' (CBC News)
We Live With Guns So We Live with Deaths (The Sudbury Star)
Toronto's Gun Violence Reaches a New Low (The Globe and Mail)
Timeline: A History of Gun Violence in Canada and the US (The Globe and Mail)
Why are guns and violence increasing in North America? Who knows for certain. Some speculate that is has to do with increasing immigrant populations bringing their gang cultures to Canada and the US. Others think that the youth are bored and need more social programs. Whatever the reasons are, it is a disturbing trend to see so close to my hometown. And it makes me glad not to be a part of it. The randomness and the frequency of these occurances are unnerving. Do you feel safe?
I wonder what motivates these people towards this kind of violence. Do they not realize how good they have it? They live in the free-est nations in the world. What more do they want? What are they trying to prove with this violence? At least here, where there is violence in the Eastern parts of the country, people are fighting for something. For the right to use their native language. For the right to have freedom of speech. For the right to be free in this 'democratic, secular society'. While violence rages there with shootings and bombings, at least the attacks are localized and do not involve (for the most part) children and civilians. They are directed at the present government. There are large political rallies all the time here in the national capital of Turkey, people group together all the time to protest education reforms, political reforms, you name it - always in the central downtown region, close to the central subway system and my path to work - but I have never once felt unsafe.
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Local Business Shout Out!!
While my bestie C was here, we ventured to Kapadokya and stumbled upon this fun new jewelry store owned and operated by a lovely woman from Paris, France named Léonie. Léonie had visited Turkey, and Kapadokya in particular, and like most people immediately fell in love with Göreme in Kapadokya. After some consideration she made the big move from France and opened her jewelery boutique. Her specialties include meteorite and gemstone jewelry but she also does lovely whimsical hot-air balloon earrings and necklaces, feather earrings, and butterfly necklaces - most of these include a signature shooting star charm as well! As a bonus - if there was something you wanted that you didn't see, the proprietor was happy to make a special order for you while you wait! I have always been partial to bracelets and when I didn't see a hot-air balloon bracelet, Léonie made one to order right on the spot!! Such amazing service!
For more information, you can email the shop directly:
shooting.star.jewellery@gmail.com
Or visit their Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shooting-Star-Jewellery/128355117290356
Or visit their Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shooting-Star-Jewellery/128355117290356
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Safety - Part 2
I have spoken before about the terrorism that has plagued Turkey for the last 30 years....these terrorists are mostly centred in the eastern part of the country. They rarely venture over the Western side...or maybe they do, and we just don't hear about it. I'm not too sure...but the point is, that in the 11 months that I've been here, I haven't felt a threat from the terrorism personally. While we hear about the attacks on governmental buildings and such in the eastern areas (Kayseri, Diyarbakir, Çukurca, Siirt, and Adana among others) - some of the ones that happen in the western parts of Turkey are less publicized (car bombs in Ankara, Antalya, and Kemer and a highjacked ferry near Istanbul). All of these acts occurred near military facilities and are generally in areas that are not frequented by tourists or the general public. However, some happen in areas that are frequented by Turkish citizens. Since I've been here, there was one bombing early in the morning across the park from our language centre...3 civilians were killed and 30 were injured by the car bomb. This has been my closest experience with terrorism - although, lucky for me, I was at home at the time of the incident. Despite this, I can still say with complete honesty that I haven't felt afraid since coming here.
I said yesterday that I use the subway, trains, buses, airplanes (for international and domestic flights), rental cars, and any other type of transportation you can think of (except camels...Turkey doesn't have camels contrary to popular belief) on a daily and monthly basis. Acts of terrorism don't ever cross my mind when I travel - even as I travel to the eastern parts of Turkey where these incidents are more likely to happen. The reason for this is simple: why should I ruin my experience of this country with thoughts of "what if"? If I wanted to play that game, I could have saved alot of money by staying home and hiding in my house. That's just my humble opinion....
I said yesterday that I use the subway, trains, buses, airplanes (for international and domestic flights), rental cars, and any other type of transportation you can think of (except camels...Turkey doesn't have camels contrary to popular belief) on a daily and monthly basis. Acts of terrorism don't ever cross my mind when I travel - even as I travel to the eastern parts of Turkey where these incidents are more likely to happen. The reason for this is simple: why should I ruin my experience of this country with thoughts of "what if"? If I wanted to play that game, I could have saved alot of money by staying home and hiding in my house. That's just my humble opinion....
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Is Turkey Safe? Part 1...
Hello friends! Once again I must apologize for neglecting to keep up with my stories...I was chastized by my father for not keeping him up to date - and you know it's bad when HE notices (as he claims not to be interested in this blog!).
Life has been hectic recently...I was host to not one but two friends from Canada in the last 3 weeks - my bestie C and the younger sister of another high school friend. Both came here for different reasons, and both were surprised at what they found here. One was expecting to ride around in old minibuses with chicken and sheep as travelling companions while the other was expecting terrorism and instability within the country. Needless to say, both expectations weren't met!
I have been living in Ankara for almost a year now. I have never felt insecure or that my life was in danger. I have travelled around a lot of the country (by train, plane, bus and car) and have always felt safe. I have rented cars and driven around the countryside and felt safe. I have ridden the city bus, the minibus, taxis and trains in numerous cities, both big and small, as a woman alone and have never had a moment of fear. Maybe I've been really lucky...or maybe everything you think you know about a country has a colored perspective.
When I first arrived here, I turned to my fellow female colleagues for advice about travelling as a woman alone. All of them (Americans in case you're interested) said that they always felt uncomfortable and unsafe walking at night and travelling on the subway system. I took this with a grain of salt because these women were some what naive and unseasoned travellers. It is my belief that if you use common sense, you won't get yourself embroiled into unwanted situations. And if you do become embroiled into an unwanted situation - know how to get out of it!
Let me tell you about a day in my life...for the last 11 months I have been using the city bus system and the subway system to get back and forth from work. I leave from my home at about 1 or 2 in the afternoon - either walking down to the subway (about a 15 minute walk) or by bus if it's too hot or too cold to walk. Then I take the subway to a very industrial part of the city that has a high population of male workers. The language centre that I work at is located here and it is this population that makes up the majority of our student base (90% male). At the end of my work day, 9:30pm, I walk the 200m to the subway stop and wait with all the men going home. At my stop, I get off the subway and again either take the bus or walk (in the dark!) to home. In all the months I have been doing this, I have never once been made to feel uncomfortable by a male student or passenger although my American colleagues say that when they would come out to this industrial area they were constantly harrassed and ogled by these same men. I don't know if this was a result of miscommunication (or a relationship gone wrong in at least one instance) or what, but perhaps my insight and experience with the Turkish culture makes it easier for me to interpret what Turkish men are on about.
In general, women are very respected by Turkish men unless they receive a signal that the woman is open to other things - sound familiar?? Yup - Turkish men think the same as North American men - shocking!...only they do it in a different language!
There is a conception here that foreign women are "easy" - and if you fit this bill, then by all means, you can feast at the "tall dark and handsome" buffet that will be spread before you! But if this isn't you - then maintain an air of self-confidence, keep your conversations friendly but not suggestive, and be sensitive to the culture in terms of what you wear (ie - keep the ladies covered!). Now - I wear tanks, shorts, tube tops and all the rest of the traditional Western summer uniform so don't get the wrong idea that everyone keeps everything covered all the time! Just be cautious about what kind of skin you're showing!
Another thing to keep in mind is to be smart! Don't walk alone in the dangerous parts of town - don't get into a stranger's car - don't accept invitations from strange men even if they're super cute - keep a cell phone on you that is charged and on - memorize the emergency numbers - don't wave around money and expensive things (iPad, camera, etc) at night or when you're walking alone - in short, don't put yourself in a situation that could potentially go wrong! Do these rules sound familiar? They should! These are commen sense things to remember no matter where you live! Keep your wits about you and you will never have a problem.
In my humble opinion, doing all these will help you feel more secure about being in a foreign country as a woman alone. If you still feel insecure - well, then there's always the buddy system!
Life has been hectic recently...I was host to not one but two friends from Canada in the last 3 weeks - my bestie C and the younger sister of another high school friend. Both came here for different reasons, and both were surprised at what they found here. One was expecting to ride around in old minibuses with chicken and sheep as travelling companions while the other was expecting terrorism and instability within the country. Needless to say, both expectations weren't met!
I have been living in Ankara for almost a year now. I have never felt insecure or that my life was in danger. I have travelled around a lot of the country (by train, plane, bus and car) and have always felt safe. I have rented cars and driven around the countryside and felt safe. I have ridden the city bus, the minibus, taxis and trains in numerous cities, both big and small, as a woman alone and have never had a moment of fear. Maybe I've been really lucky...or maybe everything you think you know about a country has a colored perspective.
When I first arrived here, I turned to my fellow female colleagues for advice about travelling as a woman alone. All of them (Americans in case you're interested) said that they always felt uncomfortable and unsafe walking at night and travelling on the subway system. I took this with a grain of salt because these women were some what naive and unseasoned travellers. It is my belief that if you use common sense, you won't get yourself embroiled into unwanted situations. And if you do become embroiled into an unwanted situation - know how to get out of it!
Let me tell you about a day in my life...for the last 11 months I have been using the city bus system and the subway system to get back and forth from work. I leave from my home at about 1 or 2 in the afternoon - either walking down to the subway (about a 15 minute walk) or by bus if it's too hot or too cold to walk. Then I take the subway to a very industrial part of the city that has a high population of male workers. The language centre that I work at is located here and it is this population that makes up the majority of our student base (90% male). At the end of my work day, 9:30pm, I walk the 200m to the subway stop and wait with all the men going home. At my stop, I get off the subway and again either take the bus or walk (in the dark!) to home. In all the months I have been doing this, I have never once been made to feel uncomfortable by a male student or passenger although my American colleagues say that when they would come out to this industrial area they were constantly harrassed and ogled by these same men. I don't know if this was a result of miscommunication (or a relationship gone wrong in at least one instance) or what, but perhaps my insight and experience with the Turkish culture makes it easier for me to interpret what Turkish men are on about.
In general, women are very respected by Turkish men unless they receive a signal that the woman is open to other things - sound familiar?? Yup - Turkish men think the same as North American men - shocking!...only they do it in a different language!
There is a conception here that foreign women are "easy" - and if you fit this bill, then by all means, you can feast at the "tall dark and handsome" buffet that will be spread before you! But if this isn't you - then maintain an air of self-confidence, keep your conversations friendly but not suggestive, and be sensitive to the culture in terms of what you wear (ie - keep the ladies covered!). Now - I wear tanks, shorts, tube tops and all the rest of the traditional Western summer uniform so don't get the wrong idea that everyone keeps everything covered all the time! Just be cautious about what kind of skin you're showing!
Another thing to keep in mind is to be smart! Don't walk alone in the dangerous parts of town - don't get into a stranger's car - don't accept invitations from strange men even if they're super cute - keep a cell phone on you that is charged and on - memorize the emergency numbers - don't wave around money and expensive things (iPad, camera, etc) at night or when you're walking alone - in short, don't put yourself in a situation that could potentially go wrong! Do these rules sound familiar? They should! These are commen sense things to remember no matter where you live! Keep your wits about you and you will never have a problem.
In my humble opinion, doing all these will help you feel more secure about being in a foreign country as a woman alone. If you still feel insecure - well, then there's always the buddy system!
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