Lithuanians in Ankara: why they are here, their experiences and culture shocks

Before coming to Ankara for my Erasmus + project I have received many different opinions about Turkey from my family members and friends. I have to admit, most of the things that I have heard were negative and very far from the truth. I heard warnings about how rude and impolite locals are, advice to take many shorts and shorts sleeve blouses because the weather must be so hot and warnings not to trust anyone. However, the things that surprised me the most during the first week of my stay were the ones no-one warned me about.
Half of the Turks smoke everyday

There are plenty of articles online depicting the dreadful statistics of how many Turks are dying every year from smoking-related diseases, however, you will have a hard time realising how many people smoke here until you come to Turkey. As a citizen of a country where most of the grown ups stay away from tobacco, I was surprised seeing significant part of the Turks that I have met smoking. Even though, the country have recently banned smoking in workplaces and enclosed public spaces, sadly, most of the Turks don't obey the law. If you are a non-smoker which hates the smell of tobacco, I have to warn you that it will be possible to escape it only if you will stay at home during your visit here.

Don't cross the street unless you really, really have to

As soon as I arrived to Ankara, I realized that the culture of driving here was very different. Many told me about unpredictable and impatient drivers in Ankara that I should be careful of. As a Lithuanian girl I know that whenever my feet will reach the crossing all the cars will stop. How the situation here is a bit different. Ok, more than a bit... Most of the drivers in Ankara do not bother to stop even if you are in the middle of the road already. Moreover, as soon as I met the locals, I got told that I can cross the street where ever I want because no-one cares about traffic rules here. From my early childhood I was thought that I can only cross the street on green signal or the crossing, however some of the Turks forgot what their moms told them when they were very young, therefore you can see people crossing the road in the most unexpected ways. During my first week in Ankara, I was scared to follow this example, however, after spending a few minutes waiting for cars to stop I gave up and excepted the madness. Every time that I cross the street in the middle of nowhere, an image of a police officer giving me five pops into my heat, however, the locals don't bother to break the rules in the present of the officers.

It's better to be safe than sorry

One of the things that scared me here the most were the security detectors and long check-ups every time I entered an indoor place. I have heard of this kind of protection regulations in some of the countries suffering from wars and crises, however I did not expect to see such devices in Ankara. During my first week I would often be scared to enter the metro and see plenty of policemen reminding me that something tragic might occur, however, my Turkish friends suggested that these procedures are completely normal to assure maximum safety.

Yes, I speak England

One thing that most of the Turks do not lack of is confidence. Whenever I get lost and I need to ask for directions I ask someone "excuse me, do you speak English" before going further to the conversation. EVERYONE, that I have asked this question answered me either "yes" or "yes, I speak England". If you are a tourist in Ankara, please don't get your hopes up because later the conversation will get more and more chaotic. Most of the Turks won't be able to tell you the right directions in English, however, not a single one of them will refuse to help you. Don't be surprised if they will start running around looking for someone who speaks English or start using a translator to help you in a tough situation. You shouldn't be surprised about the level of English language in Turkey. Some of the English teacher that I have meet while teaching at private schools were not able to form a simple sentence in the language that they teach.

Elders are valued in Turkish culture

I have never seen any other nation appreciating the elders more than Turks. As soon as I arrived to Ankara, I heard many locals speaking with a deep respect about their grandparents and saw various gestures of respect. In Lithuania many elders are overlooked and ignored, many times separated from the society. Many children are ashamed of their grandparents and do not bother to even visit them during the most significant celebrations, not to mention even simply call, therefore many elders feel as they are left alone and forgotten. It is not the case in Turkey. However, some of the ways how Turks show respect for their elders shocked me. For instance, when I first came to the school that I teach at the moment, the principle raised his hand in front of me. Not knowing how to answer to that, I started shaking his hand. After doing so I heard laughers and later he took my hand and kissed it and afterwards put it on his forehead that way showing me what to do. Even though this way of respect seemed to be odd to me, I have seen many youngsters making this gesture to their elders.

Izvinite

Before coming to Turkey I knew that many of its visitors are Russians who felt in love with Turkey's beaches and affordable prices. Therefore, whenever a Turk sees a blond person with light completion, he or she automatically assumes that the person came all the way from Russia. I am not able to remember all the times when I was told that Russia is a beautiful country or heard "izvinite" when someone bumped into me at the street.

 Everything's better when it's free!

Everytime you go to shop to supermarket or a grocery store you will receive a plastic bag for free. The Turks do not bother to take anything that is free, therefore, I am sure you will see them walking out of the store with some plastic bags. The more, the better. Don't fool yourself thinking recyclable bags here are so expensive or that most of the people in Ankara don't own at least few of them. Itis just simpler to take it from the store than to carry one with you all the time. Moreover, not many recycle here. In my opinion, much stricter rules and regulations concerning recycling should be applied in Turkey. If plastic bags would not be free as they are now, fewer people would use them on daily basis. In Lithuania the situation is very different. Most of the families recycle their waste, and one is able to notice recycling dumpsters everywhere inside of public institutions aswell as outside. Most of the Lithuanians are deeply concerned about environment, therefore use recyclable bags while going to shop and try to adapt environmental-friendly lifestyle. The ones who have different attitude towards environmental issues are forced to carry a re-usable bag for financial purposes. The average price for one small plastic bag can vary from 10 to 30 Euro cents.
Despite these cultural differences, I am enjoying my stay in Turkey, and I am glad to have an opportunity to see and appreciate its beautiful nature, explore many rich museums and ancient culture. Most of the locals are very nice to me and when they meet me they are usually interested to get to know me and to discover more about the place that I came from. I enjoy meeting new culture that is very distant from European one, that I knew all of my life. Every day in Turkey is a new adventure which offers something new.

Moreover, I was able to ask some of my Lithuanian fellows, living here in Ankara for a longer time than me, to share their experiences in the capital of Turkey.

Giedrė

My first visit to Ankara was 10 years ago when I came to Turkey for my Erasmus exchange programme. That time I explored Ankara only as a tourist because I was studying and spending most of my time in Eskişehir. During my stay in Turkey I created a very positive image of the country. I came to Ankara for the second time to pursue master's degree at Hacettepe university. As I live here now, I see another side of Ankara. The capital of Turkey seems a very blank and depressed city. After spending most of my life in Lithuania I miss a lot of things here in Ankara... The city lacks public spaces, nature and places to work out outside. One of the most significant drawbacks of Ankara is pollution of the city. Another one is that most of the locals look pretty grumpy and mad. I believe that Ankara is a pretty messy city, therefore, I wish there would be stricter rules for some cases. When I came to Turkey, I had many cultural shocks. One of them was women's place in the society, another one that people are getting more religious. However, I somehow managed to accept these differences and adapt. On the other hand, I had many positive shocks about the country. I adore its variety. Whenever I visit a new city, I realise that it's so different from the one that I've visited before. Moreover, people are very different in different parts of Turkey.

Inga 

When I came to Ankara, I had already been living in Turkey for 2 years (before Ankara I lived in Adana). My family chose Ankara mainly because of the climate (we did not like hot and wet Adana). Ankara's weather is more similar to Lithuanian. People here obey traffic rules more than in Adana and I am very glad that I am finally able to drive because I felt that it was too dangerous to do so in the south of Turkey.However, Ankara is a huge capital city of a big country, therefore, after coming here I realized that it is better to live in the capital of a small country. Moreover, the cultural life in Ankara does not appeal me... The general interest in culture here is very low. When my family and I have been to the latest theater play here, there were more actors on stage that the visitors. From that day on, my children and I spend all summers in Lithuania in order to enjoy rich cultural life.

One of the most shocking events that happened while living in Turkey occured during my first years of living here. For instance, I don't have any wedding pictures from the photoshoot that we made because the photographer claimed that his camera broke. Another striking event happened when we were moving from previous house to our new place. The truck that carried all of our belongings did not tie our properties well enough, so some of your goods were left in a prairie. After these events nothing can surprise me here anymore...

I enjoy autumns and springs in Ankara a lot, however the sun shines here too often, the sea is too far away, there are too many citizens and the noise is sometimes unbearable. Maybe I haven't got used of this city so far. Maybe I never will...

Aušra

My first visit to Ankara was 10 years ago in 2008 when I came here to meet my future husband's family. During the visit, I spent only 3 weeks in this city. Back then, I was a student in Lithuania, therefore, I did not intend to stay here any longer. My next visit to Ankara was in 2013 when I came here for my weddings. After the ceremony I stayed to living here. I enjoy living here. I am not that kind of person who cares too much about the place of residence. My home is where my family is. Moreover, the size of Ankara is perfect for me. It is not too big and crowded as Istanbul is, however it is not too small, therefore, one can find various activities here in order not to get bored. The only drawback of Ankara is a hilly landscape. For instance, if I want to go for a walk with a baby stroller it becomes problematic. It is necessary to ride straight to the park with a car. However, I always wanted my children to grow in a more conservative environment then we have in Lithuania. Moreover, I adore that strong relationship of families still exist here. My family and I are practising Muslims, therefore, it is better for us to live in Turkey than in Lithuania. Here I don't receive strange stares because I cover my head and I have an easy access to a mosque whenever I want to pray.