Language, food, family and culture!

Another down day, and İ got a request to talk about language and culture here, so here İ go...

My language is coming along İ guess. İ bought a Turkish to English dictionary so that makes it easier. Every night İ try to study the words but its hard because İ can say them fine but when it comes time to use them, İ can't remember what they are for sure! İ remember most of the ones İ learned from the tapes, but from the Internet and language lesson, İ have a hard time remembering anything! İ did ask Rana and Tuğçe for help though! They both told me phrases İ might here, or use a lot.

Thanks for everything- Her şey için teşekkürler.
(Her-Shay- Eecheen- tesh-ech-uu-ler)
İ understand- Anliyorum
(Ahn-lee-o-rum)
How much?- Ne kadar
(Neh-kah-dahr)
What time is it?- Saat kaç?
(Saaht-kah-ch)
I'm 16- 16 yaşındayım
( Ohn-all-tuh- yah-sh-uin-dah-yuim)
I'm from America- Ben America'den geldim
(Ben- America-den-gel-deem)
Your eyes are beautiful- Gözleriniz çok güzel
(Gou-zler-een-eez-choke-guu-zehl)
Would you like to dance?- Dans etmek ister misniz?
(Dahns-et-meck-easter-mees-nees)
May İ kiss you?- Seni öpebilir miyim?
(Sen-ee-oup-eb-ee-leer-mee-yeem)

Don't worry mom, İ wont use the last 3 that often! Ha ha! There's many more but İ don't think you want to read all the words İ know now! İt's funny though because my mom is trying to learn English while İ'm trying to learn Turkish. We often will ask each other "What's this?" and then we'll answer in the language we're learning! İt's comical when you think about it!

One of the most different (and best) parts about here is, the food! Oh my gosh! İf you could taste it, you would want to live here forever, trust me! İt's so good! For example, their ice cream, they use really berry juices in it so it tastes like it's topped with real berries. Another good thing hear is the tea, yes, İ'm now a tea drinker! Every morning for breakfast everyone has a glass of tea. Sometimes two. Later in the afternoon we have another glass. İt tastes so much different than American tea, it's hard to explain why, but it's so much fresher! Another surprising thing is that İ drink coffee! Turkish coffee! İt's so thick at the bottom that once you're done drinking it, you put the saucer on the top of the cup, circle it around your head, and place it face down on the table with a coin on top of the cup. Then if you're at a café, a fortune teller will come to your table and once the cup is cooled, they'll look at the patterns in your cup from the coffee grinds running down, and they'll tell you either about your past or your future. İ guess they're pretty accurate most of the time, which is weird. There's so much good food here and İ eat everything including tomatoes, olives, onions, and peppers! Their fruit is so fresh, especially the watermelon! İt's so dark and very juicy! And the grapes are amazing!İ have also tried figs, which are also very different yet good! With everything, they cover it with " yogurt", which isn't like what you think. İt's kinda like sour cream and cream cheese. Surprisingly, it's pretty good.Even though there are so many delicious, there are also some things that İ don't like. One of the worst things İ tried here was yesterday at lunch. İt looked liked a normal meal except we were drinking milk (their milk is like baby milk, or soy milk). İ sat down and İ took a drink of the milk because İ was so thirsty. İ almost spit it back out because it wasn't milk. İ'd heard about it at a rotary conference... it was the yogurt mixed with water and salt. İmagine watered down sour cream and lots of salt...yuck! İt was the first thing here İ couldn't finish! Another one of the worst things İ tried was cold red peppers stuffed with rice and onions and lemon juice. İt sounds good, but it wasn't İ can't explain why İ didn't like it but it was like cold baby food. Ugh!!! Oh and one more, this morning for breakfast my dad gave me a "Turkish egg". Which he had hard boiled. Then he cracked open the top for me and gave me a piece of the white layer then pushed the egg towards me. İ looked in and it was raw on the inside. İ ate it anyways but my stomach feels funny now. Aside from raw eggs, yogurt drinks, and cold leftovers, İ love the food!

My family is pretty cool! My Anne (mom) is very pretty. She's skinny and she doesn't work anywhere except she cleans the neighbor's apartment. She's a very good cook though! My baba (dad) is very nice. He used to know very good English but over the years, it faded. He can still talk to me but it's very broken. Either way, we understand each other. He has a disease though. Rana couldn't remember what it was called for sure but it's not a big deal. He still drives and works as an engineer. (To see an exaggerated version of the disease, watch "A Beautiful Mind") My annene (grandma) is also here. İ don't she lives here all the time, but she is seeing a doctor about her neck and back so she's here for a while. She's very nice and says İ'm "Çok güzel" (very beautiful). She is also a great cook! İ love this family, but they're not quite ass good as my real family! They don't really pick on me at all (no snipe hunting, fake lotto cards, or picking on me). They just try to feed me more and more and more! For example, for breakfast Anne will give me more food than anyone else, then try to give me more. Same with Annene. İ figured out how to get around it though. Take very small portions of the food İ can, then when they say "have more!" just take a little of that too! We also eat at weird times. Breakfast around 11, lunch around 2, and dinner around 8. Very different.

The culture hear is very strange too! For example, in the orientation, they told me İ would have to wear slippers around the house. İn my first and third house, that's not true but in my second home, İ will have to. (İ know since İ already visited there!) But in my house now, when you come into the house for the night, you must wash your hands, face, and feet. İt's very different but sanitary. Another very different thing is the praying. My baba and annene do it a couple times a day (when the guy calls them...*Ahhhhh-AHHHH-ahhhhAhhh ect.*) Then my Annene puts on a head scarf they both take out a mat and pray to the right side of the apartment. They close their eyes and mutter words while moving from their feet to their knees. Annene also used beads when she prays. Then they read the Koran for a while, then go back to praying. The other night, my aunt and uncle were over and İ had to grab something, I turned the corner to my room and Annene was standing in the door way facing me with her white head scarf on praying. Needless to say, it scared me and İ think İ jumped about ten feet and gasped. I felt bad, although, she never stopped praying or opened her eyes.

That's about all İ know so far! So İ'm gonna go drink some water because once again, it's very hot out! Hope to hear some news from back home soon!

Love and hugs!
*Muah muah!* (another culture thing to kiss on both cheeks upon arrival and departure)
Emily, Em, Emi, Er-Dogg

P.S. They told me at first that we would have water for two days, then one day without...but since İ've been here, İ haven't been without water for one day. Although we have water every day, taking a shower every day is unheard of! So now İ have to take one every other day! İt's kinda gross to me, but totally natural to them! And İ don't feel so bad about greasy hair because everyone has it! Ha ha ha! Anyways...can't wait to hear from you!