Vocational Exchange to Turkey

Posted by Bill Molesworth 
 
Joyce introduced Melanie Marchand, from Penetang and a Professor of Crime and Punishment at Georgian College. 
 

Melanie was one of 5 on this trip to Istanbul and 10 other places I can't pronounce, much less spell, but they were spread across a large part of the country and the team was able to take part in cruises and tours of the Dardenelles, parts of the Aegean and up into the Black Sea.
They attended 13 Club Meetings, which are a little different than what we're used to.  Apparently they are always held in the evening and run until 1:00 am and include dancing and drinking.  Melanie felt Turkey was the place for makeups.
As part of other team member's vocations, they visited factories and hospitals and they noticed some differences from practices here.  The babies' incubators were located next to the smoking room  Turkey, Melanie says, is a smoker's paradise.
But they also went to a firing range, a police college (where Melanie spoke to 800) cadets, made a tour with motorcycle police (who treated street signals like Christmas decorations),  and criminal courts.
Again, practice in the courtrooms is a little different than ours.  Attaturk's statue is omnipresent and practically worshipped.  There is a defence attorney, a judge and a prosecutor, but no cross examination is allowed.  Speaking of cross, you can't cross your legs and show anyone the sole of your shoe - it shows disrespect, apparently.
Salaries are generally low, but often benefits such as free meals, day care and transportation make things a little better.
Melanie was very impressed by the beauty and history of the country.  She saw many historical sites, such as Gallipoli, the major buildings of Istanbul such as Topkapi, Hagia Sophia, and the Grand Bazaar, a enclosed complex with over 5,000 stores, and Ephesus, a major Greek city dating back to 1,000 BC with an amphitheatre, palaces and burial sites.
Modern western influences are apparent in the presence of McDonald's, but the tour members ate traditional cuisine and loved it, except for once when the chicken was off and some of them ended up in the hospital.
Melanie's enthusiasm was apparent in her report and her affection for her host obvious.  She obviously got a lot out of the trip.