When we decided to come to Turkey we knew that the biggest obstacle would be language. We were
going to a place with a language that has roots in places you would not believe! Turkish, for those of you who don't know, is of the same family as Japanese and has Mongolian and Slavic influences. For the most part when we visit Europe we have enough languages between us (Mom some French, Jasmine and me some Spanish, and the locals some English) that we can find our way fairly easily. However in Turkey these languages have very little to no influence, and the Turks are certainly not the most proficient English speakers. This made it very difficult early in the year, especially for Mom who was really getting annoyed at the lack of English. By now however we have almost gotten used to being misunderstood.
As of late Mom hasn't been complaining about how many people do not speak English. She can communicate with cashiers and other people either through us or using one word sentences. Dad's Turkish found great improvement through a language course he took. The unfortunate thing now is that he thinks he is fluent and has decided that he should be chatting with the locals, even though I am pretty sure they don't want to. We have just gotten used to taking forever to communicate and/or being unsure of whether the locals know what the heck we are talking about. We can take 30 minutes to finally get an answer and not know if their answer was just something they said to get us on our way. By now being misunderstood has become a part of life.
On our way into the metro the other day we simply pointed at a train, and asked: "Gaziemir?" and the man just nodded his head and we walked on. The thought then occurred to me, "what is it going to be like going back to the U.S. where I will be able to form a full sentence without planning beforehand?" I will be able to understand the cashiers without having to look at the screen, and I won't have to say "Turkche bilmiyorum" every time someone asks me a question. We will also be able to understand people asking us for direction, as well as be able to ask directions ourselves. The other day a poor man drove up next to us at a red light and asked for directions, but unlucky for him, out of the other 10 cars, he drove next to the only people who didn't have a clue as to what he was saying.
Despite the monstrous language barrier in Turkey, I would definitely like to stay a little longer. I miss home but I'm also going to miss this new adventure and the puzzle of trying to make ourselves understood.
On our way into the metro the other day we simply pointed at a train, and asked: "Gaziemir?" and the man just nodded his head and we walked on. The thought then occurred to me, "what is it going to be like going back to the U.S. where I will be able to form a full sentence without planning beforehand?" I will be able to understand the cashiers without having to look at the screen, and I won't have to say "Turkche bilmiyorum" every time someone asks me a question. We will also be able to understand people asking us for direction, as well as be able to ask directions ourselves. The other day a poor man drove up next to us at a red light and asked for directions, but unlucky for him, out of the other 10 cars, he drove next to the only people who didn't have a clue as to what he was saying.
Despite the monstrous language barrier in Turkey, I would definitely like to stay a little longer. I miss home but I'm also going to miss this new adventure and the puzzle of trying to make ourselves understood.
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