Honestly? One thing that is ESPECIALLY challenging for me is SMILING! There are certain times and certain people that this is not appropriate to do. Eye contact with men is not encouraged, and I STRUGGLE with suppressing my natural tendency to give everyone I meet a BIG NASHVILLE SMILE! There is an American and Chr!stian stereotype that women are not the most moral. To make eye contact and smile can often communicate something different here. The town that I am in now is highly tourist with a huge English population, and this has seemingly impacted the culture. There is a liberalness that is expressed by way of dressing fads, and interactions. However, I have been challenged that this liberal “feeling” is probably more accurately articulated as foreigner tolerance. Step one: trying to smile less at men, and step two: smiling more at the women I am meeting!
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| This is my covert photo taken while riding the bus (Dolmus) ! |