I am not goıng ın exact order here - whıle I struggle to recap the last few weeks here I feel the urge to wrıte about whats happenıng now. So here ıs my report from today. In another post we wıll go back ın tıme. Perhaps thıs tıme travel back and forth wıll be the norm.
SATURDAY
Today I made my way to Çağdaş and took my camera in hopes I would finally see Yaşar there. It has been several days since I have seen him and I wonder if he’s taken a job with another store or something. It seems I have become quite attached with my friendly neighborhood Manav. Today was a beautiful day – after more than two weeks of daily rain at seems like the sun as here to stay now. And at was just meant to be as I arrived with the oranges and apples glowing in the sunshine and there was my buddy Yasar there. So we got to talking and I asked him where the hell he has been these last few days. (Ok those weren’t my exact words as I was speaking in Turkish and I don’t know how to say that in Turkish.. .yet. . .). In any event Yaşar reported that he has one day off – Monday – when he gets a chance to sleep. I had the immediate impulse to say “Monday eh? Well I’ve been here everyday this week buying my heavenly oranges and juicy tomatoes and I haven’t seen you here so where have you been?” Instead as my Turkish as so basic I just nodded. But next time . . . :)
Then I insisted on getting a photo with Yaşar which you see here in all the glory of the fresh fruit. It was taken by Yaşar’s colleague, a fellow Manav whom I talked with too. He introduced himself to me but I did not understand his name enough to write it out here. He understood David and immediately compared me to David Beckham. Then Yaşar grabbed some Erik and offered me some. Erik is a unique Turkish fruit like mini hard green plums. Crunchy and juicy at the same time. Yaşar started going on how Erik is an English name and I wanted to add to the conversation by saying that it is usually spelled with a “c” instead of a “k” but thought there was no way in my limited Turkish that I could have explained this to Yaşar. But then again maybe I should have tried. It could have created a whole new Kopalak moment and created a whole new word – and a new Turkish delicacy that I would have to create.
Since I am mentioning Yasar and his buddy at Cağdaş I have to mention the man in the building where Ceren lives. I haven’t got his name yet but I think we are almost there yet. First day I saw him in the stairwell and he was very suspicious of me – and with good reason. There I was a yabancı coming out of Ceren’s apartment all alone with keys in my hand. I guess he heard me fiddling with the keys and having a hard time with the lock. All this noise and playing with the lock only fueled his suspicion. When our eyes met he just looked at me. Didn’t say anything. Just stared at me baffled. I didn’t know what to say. I think I just did a motion with my hands. The stare-down continued. We were both tongue-tied. Like high noon on a Turkish may Afternoon in the stairwell in Esat neighbourhood. Finally he spoke and said what I think was “Ne yaptin orada?” Which sort of means “What are doing up there?” I said “Arkadaş” which means friend. He nodded and seemed reassured. I wish I could have elaborated but again I figured less was more and just kept on going. The next day we saw each other again and he gave me a friendly wave. Following day brought more friendly waves. Next day after that he was offering me tea. And the day after that he said “Hey there Chef!!”. If I see him again maybe he will invite me in for dinner.
As I write this entry Ayşegül and I are at Didem and Oktays place. Just today Işik gave me a Tarkan CD! Tarkan is like the male Madonna of Turkey. And his song “ Hepsi senin mi” is my all time favourite. I go crazy. Start dancing and turning without stopping. We learned the song in my Turkish class in Toronto and I grew attached to one part of the song. I cant stop singıng ıt and Ayşegül's friends laugh like crazy when I repeat this one specific phrase
Oynama şıkıdım şıkıdım
Oynama şıkıdım şıkıdım
Oynama şıkıdım şıkıdım
Ah yahar döner a-acayipsin
The last line I just go crazy and it seems to bring laughs every single time. So much so that I consider doing a stand-up routine singing Turkish pop songs around the country. I could sell my Kopalak and sing Tarkan songs. Not a bad way to make a living.
Im really happy I got my Tarkan CD. I want to learn all the songs. Maybe this comedy tour really could happen after all.
SATURDAY
Today I made my way to Çağdaş and took my camera in hopes I would finally see Yaşar there. It has been several days since I have seen him and I wonder if he’s taken a job with another store or something. It seems I have become quite attached with my friendly neighborhood Manav. Today was a beautiful day – after more than two weeks of daily rain at seems like the sun as here to stay now. And at was just meant to be as I arrived with the oranges and apples glowing in the sunshine and there was my buddy Yasar there. So we got to talking and I asked him where the hell he has been these last few days. (Ok those weren’t my exact words as I was speaking in Turkish and I don’t know how to say that in Turkish.. .yet. . .). In any event Yaşar reported that he has one day off – Monday – when he gets a chance to sleep. I had the immediate impulse to say “Monday eh? Well I’ve been here everyday this week buying my heavenly oranges and juicy tomatoes and I haven’t seen you here so where have you been?” Instead as my Turkish as so basic I just nodded. But next time . . . :)
Then I insisted on getting a photo with Yaşar which you see here in all the glory of the fresh fruit. It was taken by Yaşar’s colleague, a fellow Manav whom I talked with too. He introduced himself to me but I did not understand his name enough to write it out here. He understood David and immediately compared me to David Beckham. Then Yaşar grabbed some Erik and offered me some. Erik is a unique Turkish fruit like mini hard green plums. Crunchy and juicy at the same time. Yaşar started going on how Erik is an English name and I wanted to add to the conversation by saying that it is usually spelled with a “c” instead of a “k” but thought there was no way in my limited Turkish that I could have explained this to Yaşar. But then again maybe I should have tried. It could have created a whole new Kopalak moment and created a whole new word – and a new Turkish delicacy that I would have to create.
Since I am mentioning Yasar and his buddy at Cağdaş I have to mention the man in the building where Ceren lives. I haven’t got his name yet but I think we are almost there yet. First day I saw him in the stairwell and he was very suspicious of me – and with good reason. There I was a yabancı coming out of Ceren’s apartment all alone with keys in my hand. I guess he heard me fiddling with the keys and having a hard time with the lock. All this noise and playing with the lock only fueled his suspicion. When our eyes met he just looked at me. Didn’t say anything. Just stared at me baffled. I didn’t know what to say. I think I just did a motion with my hands. The stare-down continued. We were both tongue-tied. Like high noon on a Turkish may Afternoon in the stairwell in Esat neighbourhood. Finally he spoke and said what I think was “Ne yaptin orada?” Which sort of means “What are doing up there?” I said “Arkadaş” which means friend. He nodded and seemed reassured. I wish I could have elaborated but again I figured less was more and just kept on going. The next day we saw each other again and he gave me a friendly wave. Following day brought more friendly waves. Next day after that he was offering me tea. And the day after that he said “Hey there Chef!!”. If I see him again maybe he will invite me in for dinner.
As I write this entry Ayşegül and I are at Didem and Oktays place. Just today Işik gave me a Tarkan CD! Tarkan is like the male Madonna of Turkey. And his song “ Hepsi senin mi” is my all time favourite. I go crazy. Start dancing and turning without stopping. We learned the song in my Turkish class in Toronto and I grew attached to one part of the song. I cant stop singıng ıt and Ayşegül's friends laugh like crazy when I repeat this one specific phrase
Oynama şıkıdım şıkıdım
Oynama şıkıdım şıkıdım
Oynama şıkıdım şıkıdım
Ah yahar döner a-acayipsin
The last line I just go crazy and it seems to bring laughs every single time. So much so that I consider doing a stand-up routine singing Turkish pop songs around the country. I could sell my Kopalak and sing Tarkan songs. Not a bad way to make a living.
Im really happy I got my Tarkan CD. I want to learn all the songs. Maybe this comedy tour really could happen after all.
David, I'm so happy you started this blog so we can follow your adventures in amazing Turkey... make sure you post many photos as well.
ReplyDeleteoh, and I LOVE Tarkan! I've known him for many years, he is gorgeous. My favorite song was 'kiss kiss'.
Send my love to Ayşegül.