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[Otterman Ollie]

Hi
Feel like a rant to day ,hold on I like this country ,I mean LİKE a lot , but, there are a few things that make me say why does it have to be like this ??
I know we see them every day those little Turkish traits that in our own country would be a big no-no ,you know what I mean girls the way Turkish guys rearrange the the personal furniture when they stand in the street and the very vocal clearing of the throat,before discharging a copious amount onto the pavement infront of you ,you mean you missed that ,boy you don't get out much . Guys what about the way these people drive I think the police are the worst of the lot followed closely by the taxi drivers ,you disagree, ok then how many of you run a car over here on a daily basis and enjoy it ,I do but I drive like one of them which means when I go back home I 'm gonna be sorry .
At the moment the local elections are reving up ,you mean that you missed that as well ,hmmm, I really like the way lorry loads of drunken men charge around trying to gently persaude the local populace they would make a good Muhtar or god forbid a mayor . Talk about a pitch invasion,mindless lemmings running headlong into politics ,have you seen the posters these people put up to advertise themselves I seen better looking faces in the most wanted lists by the FBİ . Any way enough of this casual banter just let me know what makes you go OOFFFF! Don't forget I like this country a LOT so come on down Ghost here is youır chance to really shine I haven't even scratched the surface yet ,wait till we start on the Turkey in the EU topic boy will that be fun .

cheers for now ollie

Always remember there is no such thing as a free lunch .

[yaramaz]

1.Turkish men, on so many charges that I can't even begin to list them here. The crotch arranging is the least of the nits to pick.

2. The crappy and super-loud sound systems belonging to the election men (and they are ALL men here--- Ahmet, Mehmet, and I swear this is true... Memduh--- kind of Homer Simpson-esque). Why do they feel the need to begin their campaigns at dawn? Below my bedroom window? Joining forces wth the onion and potato man? And as for their hopeful, looking to the future faces....the just look they've been hit of the head by a brick and are currently looking at tweety bird fluttering around their head before they pass out.

3. And speaking of municipal menaces... sidewalks! Ours are a melange of broken concrete and loose concrete tiles that spring up when you step on them, and gaping holes. Also, said sidewalks are about a foot and a half off the ground, so when you are running across the road, trying to avoid being run over by a dolmus and a horse cart and four boys on a motorcycle, you must make that final, necessary leap up onto the mile high curb....

There is more but it was such a lovely sunny day today that I dont think I will drag myself down intentionally...

[dmb]

when you ask for directions and the person you ask has no idea where the place/street is. of course this doesn't stop them sending you off in the wrong direction. The results can sometimes be interesting though.

[dmb]

I just thought of something else. when you are in a lokanti and the waiter whips your meal away before you've finished.

[FGT]

I've had a bad day so feel ready to join the rant!

Elections - if I could vote I'd choose the quietest party, regardless of policies.

Pavements - yes, they are a mile high but I think that's a feeble attempt to keep the cars from parking on them. I always have fun teaching pavement vs sidewalk, American vs British, "in Britain people walk on the pavement, in America cars drive on the pavement and people walk on the sidewalk, in Turkey cars park on the pavement/sidewalk so people have to walk in the road"

One of my biggest bugbears is people standing or stopping in doorways, or stopping suddenly on the pavement/sidewalk (see above) so that other people nearly bump into them.

Pedestrian crossings - is it just a design thing, these pretty black and white stripes? They don't seem to serve any useful purpose, even when reinforced with traffic lights, you (as a pedestrian) are just as likely to get run over on one than not. I even look forward to the court case after I'm squashed (just so long as I get the licence number), one brother a solicitor, the other speaks fluent Turkish....!

Turkish people who go on holiday to France or Italy and say they don't like the food, Turkish food is better.... (ok, if they said that about English food I'd understand but...)

Rule at school - mobile phones must be switched off in class. Students interepret this variously as "It applies to other people, not me", "It's on silent/vibrate so that's ok" or simply "I never saw that HUGE notice written in Turkish which is my language and anyway I don't see why, my phonecalls from my best friend/ mother/ boyfriend are FAR more important than any poxy English lesson"

End of rant. I'll now concentrate on positive thinking. Spring has sprung. No jacket today for first time. Electric blanket has gone into storage. There are LOTS of reasons why I want to be here. Yes there are, really.

[Mike_2003]

I hate the way people here queue jump. Not so much the actually jumping itself (where doesn't it happen?) but the expression on their faces completely lacking in any shame. The expression reads (like the mobile phone point): "Well, I can see there is a queue but it doesn't really apply to me, my business here if far more important, as I am myself, to be bothered with such a thing as a queue."

Equally repulsive are those (usually women aged 40-60) who come to the queue, look down their nose at you, see you are a yabanci and they just try to stand in the queue as if you weren't there, simply edging their way in front. I guess they feel that, although they would normally feel ashamed to queue jump, surely nobody could take objection at jumping past a yabanci, surely THAT doesn't count does it?

And of course there is that cretin who works in the Bakirkoy post office. He takes poor service and rudeness to new levels. I'm seriously considering taking a dolmus to another semt just to avoid dealing with that moron.

[Otterman Ollie]

Hi

Great guys and girls ,But I think we have only just started ,someone mentioned lokantas yeah ,basically any eating establishment especially when you order more than two items and you want the side order of chips to arrive at the same time as the meat or what ever ,does it ever ?? I usually end up ordering another portion of chips cos I ate them waiting for the kofte or what ever and then the chips arrive after I've finished the main course ,can't win can ya ??
Why when ever you walk past a shop to browse you always get jumped on by the owner or his hired help and they follow you down the street in the firm belief you want to buy a leather coat or another 10 kilos of turkish delight ,Jeesh! Take a hike you muppet .

[Mike_2003]

Has anyone noticed that the hawkers who jump you around the tourist areas seem to have their own special English accent. It in no way resembles the accent any of the students I've ever taught here use. Is there a special school somewhere for these people where they are taught to speak it that slightly nasal, squeaky voice?

[yaramaz]

I don't know if things are similar in more civilised parts of Turkey, but I have given up on buying any clothing here. The sales people (usually over made-up young women in stunningly tight outfits) hover over and around and beside you, never speaking but staring, and occasionally pulling out something hideous and fur trimmed in a size ten times too big (but hey, all yabancilar wear size 800!). Jeans are usually kept behind the counter, folded up, so you can't see the cut or size and have to ask for each one and it turns into an annoyingly long process. When you finally do choose some items to try on, they will often open the curtain to your changing room to bring you other things they think you will like (trimmed with denim and fur! Size 768!), exposing your half naked self to the whole store.

And as for underthings.... Staffed by staring old men usually, with bins full of bras, nowhere to try anything on. Most of the bras are padded, push up numbers anyway (not my cup of cay).

Socks are ok! I have lots of socks!

[jebjeb]

over all i've been very happy here, but this evening has been a doozy. walking home on ataturk blvd. i was accosted by a selpak kid. he was trying to trap me on a bridge, when i told him to stop he promptly spit on me. i turned around and called him an orospu cocugu which prompted him to try to spit on me again. i usually ignore these kids, but this one was too much. makes me love ankara even more...

[Albulbul]

What is a "selpak kid" ?

Not in any dictuionary that I have ! Ah but I left my Turkish dictionary in Chateau Scot in the Deliorman.

[yaramaz]

According to Redhouse dictionary, a Selpak Kid is one of those little urchins on most urban streets who tries to foist packets of selpak tissues upon you. They are closely related to the kids with the scales who weigh you for spare change (would they be the Scale Kids or the Weigh Kids or??)

[scot47]

" walking home on ataturk blvd. i was accosted by a selpak kid. he was trying to trap me on a bridge, when i told him to stop he promptly spit on me. "


I thought the Past Simple of "spit" was "spat".

Maybe across the pond it is different.

Comments ?

[dmb]

OED says that both are acceptable, so I don't know if it is pond thing. From our homeland Scot ,isn't the past of spit.......Gobbed?

[dmb]

Just a thought. Why hasn't Ghost replied to this thread yet? I'm expecting a good three pages answer from him. Is he lost in South East Asia somewhere or has he been found on another board?