sultanahmet diaries

march comes in like a lamb....

i've been quite busy in the past week or so between work and
attempting to study for my turkish exam (which is tomorrow---
AHHHH!!!!!!!!!). i'm really hoping i pass this exam because if
i don't, i have to repeat the class (and therefore pay for it
again) before moving on to the next level. well, i'm not going
to pay for this class again if i have to repeat it, so if i
don't pass.... i don't know. i will research the other reputable
turkish school (dilmer) and/or see if one of my lovely turkish
friends would like to take me on as a private student.

the thing is, i know i'm learning, but turkish is so different
and the grammar is completely backwards when compared to english.
i'm making progress, but it's slower than i would like. my turkish
students always complain about the same thing to me, "why can't
i learn english faster!?!?" and i always tell them that it's ok,
it's better to take their time, absorb the information, and feel
comfortable with it. now i'm just trying to take my own advice
and relax. the fact is, i'm just not a very patient person when it
comes to learning and i expect myself to just pick things up rather
easily. but it's turkish... it's not a latin-based language, it is
from an entirely different language group altogether so i need to
just chill out and do my best.

i'm just happy to be understanding some of the suffixes.....

-den (from)
-da (at/in)
-a (to)

and i can order cat food and water from the store down the street.
that's pretty cool.

something bad happened though that has made me more motivated than
i already was to learn turkish. there is a cute old couple who live
in the lower apartment in the building next to mine. when we thought
we were were going to move, the old man was so sweet and sad that we
would be leaving. when i told him we were staying, he was happy and
it just touched my heart that he cared so much that we stayed in the
neighborhood.

anyway, i had noticed that he had a lot of family visiting him over
the weekend. when i came home, he started talking to me and i
understood that his brother's family had come and that he was really
sad. what i didn't understand was that his wife had died and the
family was visiting for her funeral. i know i can't be expected to
understand everything, but i just really wished i had been able to
understand him fully and to comfort him-- because he is a sweet old
man and it just broke my heart that i lacked the ability to communicate
fully with him. :(

so..... please let me pass my turkish exam, please let me move on to
the next level so i can continue learning, please let me understand
the people around me. lütfen.

posted by camille @ 1:20 PM