Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Tomorrow the students arrive. Until then, I will discuss an equally important subject - toilets. In Turkey there are two types. One is the more commonly found U.S. toilet that one sits on, and you discard toilet paper in and flush. The other is what I call the Turkish toilet. Basically, it consists of a small hole in the ground, surrounded by a grooved or ribbed porcelein edge on which you place your feet (it seems just the right size for your feet, though I haven't tried it to know for sure). The hole at the bottom (there's a slope to the bowl in the ground) is only about 5 inches in diameter. I'm not exactly sure how much one "does" in these toilets, but as a regular hiker in the outdoors, I can say from experience that attempting to "do one's business" while squatting is not that easy. And I find them everywhere, including public restrooms, my school, and our apartment (it's in it's own room, which we use for storage). I tend to stay out of them, but they seem popular (we have urinals as well as both types of toilets, and more often than not the Turkish toilets are the ones in use).
Aside from toilets, another interesting feature of Turkish life is the attire worn by men. The older generation, as I've said, dresses quite formally (even suits, when it doesn't look like they're going anywhere formal). Another look consists of what I call the Ernest Hemingway vest, a khaki, pocketed vest usually worn over a white shirt. This is also worn by the older generation (I don't think there's even a remote chance I could pull off this look). Then there's the European sharpy look, consisting of lots of black or extremely bright polyester or silky clothing. Long pointed shoes and boots also seem to fit with this style. I had a chance to acquire some of this "look" when I bought some football (read soccer) shoes. There were models in florescent baby blue, and white with yellow and orange stripes, but I couldn't do it (even though no one here would think it strange) and bought plain old black Adidas.
I sometimes see English phrases on the few t-shirts around, but I chuckle a bit when I see quotes like "Wolves: American Baseball Club" or "Available for a limited time" worn by an elderly gentleman. They seem to epitomize the worst of our culture's style (as are baseball caps - the Yankees seem quite popular). Maybe the most interesting fashion, however, is the doctor/lab coat attire worn by many manual labor workers. It really makes them look quite distinguished.
And as for the women's dress, I'll have to save that for another time.
Aside from toilets, another interesting feature of Turkish life is the attire worn by men. The older generation, as I've said, dresses quite formally (even suits, when it doesn't look like they're going anywhere formal). Another look consists of what I call the Ernest Hemingway vest, a khaki, pocketed vest usually worn over a white shirt. This is also worn by the older generation (I don't think there's even a remote chance I could pull off this look). Then there's the European sharpy look, consisting of lots of black or extremely bright polyester or silky clothing. Long pointed shoes and boots also seem to fit with this style. I had a chance to acquire some of this "look" when I bought some football (read soccer) shoes. There were models in florescent baby blue, and white with yellow and orange stripes, but I couldn't do it (even though no one here would think it strange) and bought plain old black Adidas.
I sometimes see English phrases on the few t-shirts around, but I chuckle a bit when I see quotes like "Wolves: American Baseball Club" or "Available for a limited time" worn by an elderly gentleman. They seem to epitomize the worst of our culture's style (as are baseball caps - the Yankees seem quite popular). Maybe the most interesting fashion, however, is the doctor/lab coat attire worn by many manual labor workers. It really makes them look quite distinguished.
And as for the women's dress, I'll have to save that for another time.
# posted by Michael Strich @ 11:41 AM 
