turkish is not an easy language for most people to learn. it's easy enough to pronounce but things seem to go in a bass ackwards order and there are so many im, iz, uz, chuk, yuk sounds, it doesn't take long before it all starts to sound the same. at least that's my problem.
and i admit, learning a language that is so far from languages i already know is just a little scary. at least with a romance language, i might have a chance of knowing what i am saying. here, it's really not a lot different than learning hungarian (ok, it's easier) and that went so dreadfully wrong for me, i'm not sure i'm willing to venture far into turkish.
my big adventure in hungarian had me saying, repeatedly, something along the lines of "i'm a small mountain of poo." actually, what i said wasn't that polite. all i was trying to say was something a little more involved and gracious than "thank you" - something like - "thank you for your hospitality."
so it's understandable i haven't rushed out to one of the many language schools to cram my head full of more confusing language bits and pieces. although, thinking back on it, it might have been a good idea in the summer when i could have at least taken advantage of the air conditioning.
anyway, while i haven't said anything about being a pile of poo, at least not to my knowledge, i often get "i don't know" and "i don't want" and "i don't understand" confused, which is not always so helpful when someone wants to know if i understand what they are trying to tell me. my incorrect response usually elicits a confused look as i smile knowingly because i have understood and more of the same explanation. you'd think by now i'd get it all straight just to avoid being subjected to another strained explanation of something i have already mentally grasped.
i have said "good evening" in place of "good morning" and "i'm beautiful" instead of "i'm fine". however, i was saved by a co-worker who told a story of thinking that the noun and the verb for work were the same. people would ask how he was doing and he thought he was replying, with an appropriate shrug of his shoulders, "working a lot." as it turns out, he was telling cab drivers, waiters, women he met and even his landlord that he was in fact, peeing a lot.
there but for the grace of my own embarrassment go i.
i should note, due to my love of food, i am pretty adept at reading menus and ordering food.
all this was brought on by the simple fact that my cable (tv) is not working tonight and the error message on the screen has a whopping four out of fourteen words i think i know. "news", "please", "this or here" and "service". while it provides a phone number to call, i'm guessing my ability to order chinese chicken and vegetables and a diet coke is not going to impress the person on the other end of the line.
dang! i really should have gone to turkish class this summer! i could have sat in the air conditioning and learned new ways to embarrass myself while trying to learn how to call the cable company or electrician to fix something in my apartment.