MY POOR, LAUGHABLE TURKISH

"Merhhhhhaaabbbba."

For all my good intentions this summer, I have to admit this (hello) was one of two Turkish words I knew before leaving, and the only one I could somewhat confidently pronounce.

At the beginning of summer I bought a book entitled "Teach Yourself Turkish," optimistically packed it up alongside my sleeping bag and Keens, and hauled it up to camp. For the remainder of the summer it never left the trunk of my car.

During the the latter half of my time at camp, I discovered a delightful podcast called Turkish Tea Time, which proved to be somewhat better suited to my limited (read: nonexistent) free time. So I would walk up and down the hill from my cabin at Timberline listening and repeating after the nasally podcasted voice, speaking Turkish aloud to the trees (a conscious effort to alert the resident mountain lion my presence as much as to perfect my sorry pronunciation). These brief in between moments were the only practice in Turkish I got this summer.

Fast forward to the first day of orientation where the final hour and a half of the day is devoted to Turkish lessons from a professor at a local university...

Merhaba!
Merhaba, benim adim Kealy! Sizin adiniz ne?
Ben Emily. Momnun oldum!
Ben de memnun oldum.
Nasılsınız?
Iyiym siz, nasılsınız?
Ben de iyiym, teşekkür ederim.
Görüşürüz!
Görüşürüz!

Needless to say, I was more than a little lost as our instructor sped through our lesson, multiplying my nonexistent Turkish vocabulary by 50 fold, but completely overwhelming my jet lagged brain in the process.

Thankfully my fellow Fulbrighters (all incredibly interesting people who studied Middle Eastern History or Political Science or Feminist Literary Theory at Ivy Leagues; grew up in India, Germany or Dubai; studied Farsi in Azerbaijan or Arabic in Jordan; and helped advise political appointees at the White House or senators on Capitol Hill) were on the whole as overwhelmed and lost as I was.

Turkish lessons aside, orientation has been very helpful and interesting so far. Yesterday we were "briefed" on health, security, citizens services and current events by a number of ambassadors, political officers, and Turkish officials. Future sessions include, "The Turkish Educational System: Challenges and Solutions," "Political Structure and Dynamics in Contemporary Turkey," "The Turkish Way of Life," and "Current Approaches and Methods in Teaching English." Unfortunately, we end up listening to all of these interesting topics and speakers in a giant conference room at the very bottom of the hotel, sitting under the florescent lights from morning until evening. Thankfully, there are numerous coffee and tea breaks built in to keep all of us suffering jet lag from falling asleep on the table. Thank God for the Turks and their love of caffeinated beverages. :)