The Turkish Life

Mardin is lovely... Mardin Travel Guide

2009-11-02T09:17:42.697+02:00

Oh thats really interesting. When I was in Istanbu...

2009-09-29T12:37:49.649+03:00

Oh thats really interesting. When I was in Istanbul and learning a bit of Turkish they were amazed at how well we said our 'merhaba' or 'cok guzel' and stuff, really made me feel i had a shot at learning turkish!!

:)
But true, people around the world dont really think Americans learn other languages, but its good to see u breaking that stereotype!

That's interesting, Kate. I haven't experienced it...

2009-09-07T13:16:56.917+03:00

That's interesting, Kate. I haven't experienced it myself yet, likely because no one would mistake me for a fluent speaker (maalesef). But I have heard a similar comment from Turks or people of Turkish descent who grew up outside of Turkey -- even if they are completely fluent, they say people criticize their accent and ask why their Turkish isn't better.

I definitely think

I have discovered something interesting with regar...

2009-08-28T16:58:43.664+03:00

I have discovered something interesting with regards to the Turkish-learning thing. When I first came to Turkey, and could only say 'Merhaba' and, on a good day 'teşekkür ederim', people were gaga over my fantastic Turkish. Now that I am approaching semi-fluency, I don't get the compliments any more. In fact, I've even got a few people who told me my Turkish wasn't

LOL, great kicker...

2009-07-26T13:25:38.117+03:00

LOL, great kicker...

Thanks! Yep, much to see and do here, and I found ...

2009-07-19T12:19:31.199+03:00

Thanks! Yep, much to see and do here, and I found my short trip to the east especially inspiring. More soon...

Great post. I would so love to go and see those p...

2009-07-15T23:22:29.116+03:00

Great post. I would so love to go and see those pigeons in their jewelry. :)

Fascinating! I will have no shortage of awesome p...

2009-07-14T18:11:40.991+03:00

Fascinating! I will have no shortage of awesome places to explore in Turkey I see :-)

Turks are so kind and forgiving for anyone attempt...

2009-06-27T11:12:46.476+03:00

Turks are so kind and forgiving for anyone attempting to speak their language

The lamacun here is really good, or at least at a ...

2009-06-24T00:51:50.589+03:00

The lamacun here is really good, or at least at a couple of places where they make it fresh. A lot of places just warm it up in the microwave which is to be avoided.

There's also a great Ocabasi around the corner which I assume means grill house since it is one(?) Either way, the food there kicks ass.

That's interesting (and a bit sad) to hear about t...

2009-06-23T23:43:31.366+03:00

That's interesting (and a bit sad) to hear about the Germans and Turkish... and I can totally understand being bitter about people waving off your language skills! Although when that happens to me here, it's usually because people want to practice their English. So they speak their crappy English and I speak my crappy Turkish and somehow it all (usually) works out ;&

How

Actually, I'm amazed at how few Germans speak any ...

2009-06-22T01:04:33.017+03:00

Actually, I'm amazed at how few Germans speak any Turkish at all (or are even vaguely interested in learning it)since it all around us. Even Lahmacun they just order as "Turkische Pizza". I do know that there is a pretty widespread stereotype (at least here) that Americans are too stupid to learn a foreign language. I've heard that often, also having people speak to me in

Thanks, Chaplain, I hope you're feeling better now...

2009-06-21T23:16:18.393+03:00

Thanks, Chaplain, I hope you're feeling better now!

FYI, Bulgaria lists the number of grams of meat in the dishes on restaurant menus too, as you mentioned in your blog post. That was the first place I'd ever seen that done.

And we have no shortage of funny restaurant English ("Turklish," of course) here too. My favorite recent one was "crap legs."

Jen, As a WBSD participant, my apologies for being...

2009-06-21T20:22:51.154+03:00

Jen, As a WBSD participant, my apologies for being so late visiting & commenting, my excuse being going down with flu. I endorse hospitalera's comment as I'm driving the car!

It happens to me too. Or I get the stare as I spea...

2009-06-19T11:48:36.433+03:00

It happens to me too. Or I get the stare as I speak Turkish to friends and English to the kids!

Thanks for all the comments, it was fun to read ev...

2009-06-15T22:09:50.277+03:00

Thanks for all the comments, it was fun to read everyone's takes on expat eating!

Don't get me wrong, I really do like Turkish food, but the variety of cuisines I enjoyed in San Francisco has me spoiled rotten and missing many tastes of home.

Mexican (the national food of California) is especially tough to make; it's so strange that cilantro was in a Turkish

Great post. I was amazed, even here in Portugal, a...

2009-06-14T15:31:33.335+03:00

Great post. I was amazed, even here in Portugal, at random odd food items I couldn't find easily and if I did, at inflated prices (i.e. tortilla chips). I still can't find whole wheat pastry flour or plain, organic peanut butter w/o added sugar or other crap. Fortunately, good wine and pork products are not a problem!

Great pic of your stash from Spain and Portugal.

Ohhh bacon, I miss it so much. My mother gave me a...

2009-06-14T09:33:35.614+03:00

Ohhh bacon, I miss it so much. My mother gave me a cookbook of Irish food and virtually every recipe required either bacon or sausages!

Now I want a fry-up for breakfast including black pudding, something Turks would find absolutely disgusting!

Too funny! Even though I live in Turkey, I haven'...

2009-06-14T09:04:08.113+03:00

Too funny! Even though I live in Turkey, I haven't felt so deprived, but then again I have an advantage called a commissary provided by the U.S. government that I can shop in. Good luck with future acquisitions!

Jennifer, you are right about the pricing of 'fore...

2009-06-14T08:20:48.058+03:00

Jennifer, you are right about the pricing of 'foreign' food and drinks in Turkey!.))

Also, I stopped drinking whiskey in restaurants, the cheapest is 10 USD..) for a single, and if you order a double, they bring you a whiskey with much more ice...and one whiskey..)) Nice trick guys.)!
Carrefour lately have decent prices for 'foreign' food products.
Kindest

Jennifer, your pictures made my mouth water! Isn't...

2009-06-14T05:35:09.567+03:00

Jennifer, your pictures made my mouth water! Isn't everything better with bacon? Well, maybe not clothing. That might be the one exception.

On an unrelated note, I love the background pattern on your blog - so beautiful!

Emmanuelle

Hubby and I are coming to Turkey in autumn/ fall, ...

2009-06-14T00:23:17.157+03:00

Hubby and I are coming to Turkey in autumn/ fall, fancy a care packet from the Czech Republic? We are coming by car!!! SY

This brings back memories of Mexico, and cruising ...

2009-06-13T20:32:16.136+03:00

This brings back memories of Mexico, and cruising friends bemoaning the price of all the "American" (or non-Mexican) products in the big markets. And the joy of friends and family bringing you yummy things (real peanut butter! cheap cali wines!) and treats (glycerin soap! hair ties!) when they came to visit...

It really is one thing to "live like the Romans" when

Oh the stuffed suitcases! I remember few trips lik...

2009-06-13T18:01:52.404+03:00

Oh the stuffed suitcases! I remember few trips like that, although I never had bacon blow up on me, but cans of beer were quite fun :o)

Hi Jen, Wow...you sure managed to bring back quite...

2009-06-13T17:53:31.108+03:00

Hi Jen,
Wow...you sure managed to bring back quite a stash! How on earth did you pack all that???!!! That's great!!!

Good luck with future food hauls!!

Have a great day,
Sher :0)