old world vs. new world

i've decided that even though my young, Turkish husband is ostensibly very modern, chiefly for being interested in marrying me, a Korean/American from NYC, and for his interest in travel, his open mind regarding race, religion, his liberal & leftist political leanings, and his natural ability with computers, software and technology, he is still "old world" at heart.
Because now after living together for several months, i know that he prefers me to be at home rather than work outside the house (ie: have a career), and loves being greeted with dinner ready when he returns home from work everyday, and complains when the house is messy. I realize that he still values having a Turkish housewife, someone who will pick up after him, keep a spotless house, always be ready to whip up a turkish meal, and never complain about having to hang the laundry or iron his socks. Traditions can run deep, especially in Turkish culture.

I am sadly only qualified in the cooking dept. and feel the need to justify my dinner responsibilities, by calling myself a "personal chef & nutrition counselor." and i have never aspired to be, nor will i ever be his fantasy Turkish housewife (ie: his mother). Of course i can scrub the toilet and bathroom scum from the shower doors, and degrease the kitchen hood and vacuum obsessively, but after a few times, it gets old pretty quick. I get bored of housework, which some could claim makes me a lazy person, but I have never been a couch potato - with a busy career & social life in NYC, you don't have time to watch Sex in the City at home, you are too busy living your own life, which can easily become quite complicated, leaving no time for mundane chores or sitting around watching TV. Between working full time, exercising regularly, meeting friends, attending various meetings, exhibitions & openings, traveling for business & just opening & shredding all your junk mail, there is hardly enough time for housekeeping, which is why less important tasks are happily outsourced. your free time is precious, why spend it scrubbing grout, especially when it will ruin your new spa manicure?

I can handle the light maintenance cleaning & picking up, but feel it is wiser to leave the deep cleaning to the professionals, and have always preferred to pay for this service. Why would I want to spend more than half of my life cleaning the same 500 sq.ft over & over again when i have creative outlets to pursue and business plans to hatch? I'm already at a loss for what to cook for dinner, having exhausted all the Turkish recipes i have semi-mastered. I have a University degree and had a successful career, and do not find it stimulating, but rather mind-numbing to clean the apt day in and day out, pacing around like a caged tiger.

So here is a recent example of an old world vs new world clash: A few days ago, as I was washing the dishes from breakfast, the sink stopped draining. I had noticed that it was draining slower and planned to use some drain cleaner this week, but it was too late, i had just poured out the remaining juice from a jar of pickled beets, and had a sink full of soapy, magenta water that wouldn't drain. Upon further investigation under the sink, I stared at a ridiculous mess of jury-rigged PVC that all ended in a flexible tube that was being forced to bend at an impossibly acute angle, causing a kink that was stopping the flow of water.
I tried to unbend the kink, only to find that the connecting pipe at the top was not securely attached and it came loose, causing a pink waterfall under the sink that flooded the kitchen floor, pooling under the refrigerator. Since i don't own a mop (but i do own a swiffer!) i tried to feebly mop it up with a towel, wringing out the pink dishwater into a pail. After mopping most of it up, i decided to wait until my husband came home so that he could help.
After exclaiming, "What have YOU done?" we finished cleaning up the flood & he went out to buy a replacement part for the cracked and clogged flexible hose. Meanwhile, I was trying to figure out how the mess could be streamlined so that it didn't have so many unnecessary twists & turns & extra pipes - it seemed like they just used whatever they had lying around & just stuck it all together. When my husband returned with the new flexi hose, he got really irritated that i had taken the pipes apart and started complaining that i was making a mess & there was nothing wrong with it, so why was I messing around with it?
which brings me to my conclusion that the Turkish mentality definitely operates under the adage "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." I have been told that if there is a problem, the Turkish will find a way around it rather than a solution to fix it. In America (the new world) we embrace challenges and always take the opportunity to improve on something and make it better. Change is good. In a competitive capitalistic society, you must change & evolve to survive.

Which is merely what i was trying to do. But my husband got really angry at me for this, not seeing the innocent goodwill in my intentions, calling me a "know it all" just because i happen to know more about proper plumbing than whoever rigged the make-shift set-up under the sink. Being a homeowner, I have spent extensive time at Home Depot, and had to remove a food disposal unit and replace the whole sink drain myself.

I never thought i was an expert at anything...until i moved here.

Besides, by training, i strive to make things more functional & aesthetically pleasing, so since i have no current outlet for my skills, i was just trying to apply them to the current situation.
So old world won this small battle, but i wasn't worried, because in the end, the new world will prevail.