School, saç, and stereotypes

School:

School is going well. I know I won’t get any sympathy for saying this: but this class is really a lot of work (which is a good thing), during the week its just like been a full time student.

Saç (hair):

I got a haircut today, my hair was much to long for this weather, and it looks great. The guy spent at least 45 minutes on it, like it was in a salon, not a barbershop. And it cost 7 Tl!

Stereotypes:

First of all I should make an observation about how I talk about Izmir, Istanbul, and western Turkey; it is like someone visiting San Francisco, Napa, and Portland in the USA. Just as one should not conclude that people in San Francisco and Portland are representative of people in the rest of America, neither should one conclude Istanbul and Izmir are representative of all of Turkey. 

With that in mind, yesterday was the start of Ramazan (Ramadan) in Turkey. Ramazan is a month of fasting (during the day) and reflection, it is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, which means that it is a requirement for all Muslims, although there are exceptions for those who are unable to fast for practical reasons, like pregnant women. So what did I do on the first day of this important religious holiday? Went drinking with Ozgun and a bunch of people from Dedam (the program I am in) in Alsancak, one of the oldest neighborhoods in Izmir which is next to the sea. There were of course lots of people observing Ramazan, but there were also many who were clearly not. Later we went to a club where a rock band played Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Gun’s and Roses, and Motley Crew among other American rock n roll. Being surrounded by a bunch of Turks passionately rockin’ out to American rock n roll was a very interesting experience. I had a great time, but in the back of my mind I could not help thinking about the idea of cultural imperialism, but is it really imperialism when people enjoy it so much?