Double Turkish Delight for Top Teacher

One can write an article after a one-week stay in a country, and onecan write a book after several months' stay. Yet one can write nothing  after several years somewhere" - Turk Cem Aygun during his interview with BTM's Nilufer Erol

Recent weeks and months have been a true delight for Cem Aygun, a citizen of Turkey and among the latest expatriates in Beijing to receive a coveted Great Wall Friendship Award from Beijing Municipal Government. Cem was among 18 foreign experts who received awards for their services in 2004 from the city's mayor, Wang Qishan.

A teacher at Beijing Foreign Studies University, Cem was recognized for his contributions to CRI (China Radio International) and Turkish-language learning in the capital, making him one of only two foreign teachers to be so honoured. He said he was doubly surprised by the award because in 2003 he received another accolade as the best foreign teacher at his university. 

His successes in Beijing are the more pleasurable because he had originally planned to teach in Japan, an ambition he had held since 1996. But his plans were thwarted and, by chance at Ankara University, he heard that CRI was seeking a qualified expert for its Turkish department. He applied for the job, was accepted, and has been with the radio station since 1997. It is understood that his views about the issues of Taiwan and Xinjiang have earned him high praise by the Chinese government.

Cem loves to talk about the lives of expatriates in China. His theory is that their time here is in three phases: a "tourist" stage during which everything is fresh and "amazing, fantastic" and which lasts about two months; a second stage which he describes as a criticizing" time lasting about a year when they start to get angry and cannot get used to what they are experiencing; and a third, "accepting" phase where they learn to live with their situation and become accepting of things that go wrong, thus making their lives easier.

Cem says there is also a fourth, or "ending" phase, whereby an expatriate might decide to stay on in China for the rest of his or her life. Or they may decide to return to their home country after living for 20 or 30 years in China. Cem says he personally is currently in the third phase, and that if his contract can be extended each year, he will stay in China for as long as he can.   

In fact he returned to Turkey in 1999 after his first two-year contract with CRI finished. But he was able to return in 2001, this time finding China to be a "new country" to him in many ways. He enjoys life in Beijing, his work and the food. And as a teacher, he tries hard to understand and reconcile the differences between the Chinese and Turkish cultures.

He amused this interviewer with some differences in body language between the Chinese and Turks. The Chinese, he said, often point to their nose with their index finger when talking about themselves. "But in Turkey this just means there is something wrong with your nose." Also, the Chinese tend to leave their thumb extended when pointing to something in a newspaper. Turks, however, tuck their thumbs into their hands because the Chinese way would be considered very impolite.

Turkish soldiers, he said, turn to the left when ordered to "about turn" (retrace their steps), while Chinese soldiers turn to the right. Cem has also noticed that Turkish people drink cold water while the Chinese prefer it hot. He commented: "People have to take a very commonsense attitude to reconcile such differences, because simply it is all about different cultures [and traditions]. The line you have to take in China is that everything is different."

He observed that Chinese students prefer to "accept" what they are told, rather than "create", this a traditional outlook but can prove a big obstacle in language-learning. Cem, cooperating with his colleagues, takes charge of verbal lessons from the very start of students' first year at the university. He tries to speak slowly and help his listeners understand via pictures he draws and by his using exaggerated body languages.

Cem also chooses topics in which the students may be interested, meanwhile encouraging them to speak out. He also employs interesting cartoons, and organizes various short stage-plays which together help the students learn easily in Turkish. As the language is a very new subject for the Chinese, there are no printed reference books or other examples for students to follow. Thus Cem spends much time compiling Turkish text books and a Turkish-Chinese dictionary.

Cem is not happy with newcomer expatriates who criticize China for its various failings. "People shouldn't criticize before fully understanding a country," he said. Meanwhile, he is delighted that all Great Wall Friendship Award winners will be invited by the Chinese Government to take part in the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics in 2008. He said: "China has become a big part of my life, and I would like to stay here as long as the country wants me."