Adventures in language learning

Tomorrow I have an exam in DNA class, so of course I feel the need to procrastinate from studying by doing things like updating my blog. (I got a lot more cleaning done during exam time in grad school!) Since my exam tomorrow will be in Turkish, it seemed appropriate to blog about my experience I had in language learning this week. I read an article once about acquiring a second language, and it said that when you are learning a new language, the language you are speaking is not really the language you are trying to learn (for example, Turkish), but instead a language you invent based on the building blocks of language you have learned. Eventually, when you become fluent, you will really be speaking that other language (such as Turkish).

So on Saturday I went to my friend's house for dinner and had a lovely time chatting with her and her family for a long time even after dinner. She made a TON of food for us, I think I counted 9 different dishes. Lentil soup, beans and rice, fried cauliflower, stuffed grape leaves, salad, potato salad...you get the idea. And of course she insisted I eat a considerable amount of EVERYTHING. After dinner, we had tea, as is the custom. After I had finished my tea, they asked if I wanted dessert. I said I didn't want it just yet because I was full. My friend asked, "how could you still be full, it's been a while since we've eaten." I replied by gesturing towards my empty mug of tea and saying literally, "yes, but I'm continually filling." The meaning I was hoping to convey was "I'm full because you keep giving me more to put in my stomach!" But in Turkish, the object (for ex, "stomach") is not always necessary like in English, which is convenient for a lazy language learner like me who prefers to stick to simple sentence that can be formed quickly. Well, when I formed this sentence from the building blocks I had acquired, my friend's family started laughing. I didn't ask why (I never do), so my friend offered an explanation. "In Turkish when a baby eats a lot and there's stuff in it's diaper, we say 'the baby is filling...'" So apparently I was implying not that I was stuffing my stomach, but that I was wearing a diaper and it needed to be changed. Ah, the joys of language acquisition.

What I'll miss the most

The focus of this blog has been new things I have seen and experienced in Turkey. Since I have been here for almost 2 years, there's not a lot left that's new anymore. Now I am getting ready to leave in less than a month. Someone has asked me what I'll miss the most from this place, and the answer was easy: the people. But I haven't talked much about the people on this blog, so today I wanted to show you some of them. Some of them I've only met once, or seen in passing. I Others are good friends. The good friends I'll miss very much, but I'll also miss the warmth and uniqueness of the many people I don't know (or know well) who I see here every day. I hope it gives you a glimpse of these people that I love.

Winter Wonderland on the Silk Road

This weekend I took a trip to the mountains near one of the cities that was significant on the Silk Road. We stopped to do some silk shopping in a caravansarai (a large building used as an inn/rest stop for caravans traveling on the Silk Road) that had been converted into a small bazaar. In the center of the caravansarai was a small building used for prayer, both in previous eras and today, and an outdoor cafe area. Then we headed into the modern shopping mall next door for some Starbucks! As we wandered around, we saw the ruins of sultans' tombs and an old city gate that was originally used by politicians.

After we had our fill of sightseeing we headed up the mountain. When we got there, we were disappointed by the lack of snow, but when we woke up the next morning, there was a foot of snow waiting for us with more on its way! We went out and played in the flurries--snow ball fights, sledding (or sliding around on trash bags in our case). Unfortunately my time in the snow didn't last very long. My high-heeled leather boots, while very warm, have no tread in snow. I didn't get very far up the hill before I was forced to slide down. The drive away from the hotel was beautiful, though. Everywhere there were trees covered with snow. We took a minibus from the hotel to the teleferik, something like a giant ski lift. We took the teleferik down the mountain and enjoyed the eagle's-eye view above the trees, even if we didn't have much visibility. It was the closest I've ever come to a white Christmas.

Bloody Holiday

After living here for almost 2 years, I've gotten pretty used to this place. The extent of my culture shock now is the mild annoyance that I don't understand everyone all the time. I don't have a lot of new cultural moments anymore. Yesterday was a new experience for me here. I went to my friend's house to watch her family sacrifice sheep.

Last year my Turkish teacher had invited me to go to her house to witness this, for my learning. In a round about way, I explained I probably wouldn't be comfortable with that. Now she's not my teacher anymore, but we're still good friends. This year she invited my new roommate, who's still taking classes with her, to come see and take pictures. Since I'm the roommate and friend, I also was invited by extension. So I went to spend time with my friend, who I hadn't seen in a while, and provide moral support for my roommate. And besides, I should see it once while I'm here, right?

I went there early and they served us breakfast. As we finished breakfast, they let us know that the men had returned with the sheep. My friend lives next door to 2 other homes full of aunts, uncles, cousins, and second cousins. Since they all share a garden area, it's a perfect place to do the sacrifice. So the men came back with 7 sheep, one for each household, as well as for the friends who came to use their garden. The sheep stayed in a makeshift pen while they waited, and one by one the head of the household recited a short prayer, cut the throat of the sheep, and drained the blood into a hole in the dirt. They hired a butcher to take over after that, and he made quick work of turning the animal into a fresh supply of meat. I watched them carry the live sheep to the prepared sacrifice place, and I watched the butcher work, but I couldn't bring myself to watch the actual killing of the animal.

After the sacrificing is complete, they prepare a big meal and gorge themselves on mutton. My roommate and I weren't very hungry after watching the activity surrounding the sacrifices, but in this culture, we could leave without eating. So my friend quickly prepared some meat and bulgur pilaf for us, because we hadn't planned to stay long enough for the family feast. The holiday continues through Thursday, and people will celebrate by giving away meat to friends and relatives, and to the poor who can't afford an animal. They will visit each other and eat chocolate, and freeze any meat that is leftover to cook for visitors.

If you want to know more official details on the holiday, wikipedia is a good source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurban_Bayram

So, as promised, here are the photos. They're not the beautiful images I typically aim for, but as this blog is a record of my cultural experience, I wanted to give you the opportunity to see some of this holiday as I saw it.