Learning Turkish

Since S does not get official language training before we move to Turkey, he is doing his best to learn it on his own.  Which of course, means I am trying to learn it on my own too.  As if learning a language wasn't already hard enough, attempting to do it without an instructor is even harder.  And attempting to learn it while working full-time (me) and sitting through daily GSO training (S) five days a week while taking care of a toddler (who happens to be sick and cranky at the moment) makes it near impossible.  But by God, we are determined to learn something before we move.  

Sure, we could pay out of pocket to hire a tutor and save ourselves a bit of stress, but we've decided that we're going to do this on our own...with State Department language resources for assistance, of course.

So far, S has managed to gain access to Rosetta Stone and another audio tutorial that we can access online here at home. We also bought elementary Turkish books so we can study during those moments when we're not near a computer.  For me, that's when I'm commuting to and from work.  For S, that's when he's on the shuttle to FSI.  But of course, the fact that S has to deal with E on those shuttle rides makes it a little more, shall we say, difficult, for him to concentrate.  At night we sit in bed and review the Rosetta Stone together, taking turns repeating what the computer generated voice is telling us.  Since S speaks Spanish, he tends to roll his Rs and his Turkish has taken on a twinge of a Spanish accent.  And since I took French in high school and college (I by no means speak it fluently or even semi-fluently), my Turkish words tend to have somewhat of a French leaning.  But that's okay.  It's all in the learning process right?  Baby steps. 

We have a long way to go, and we will continue to learn after we move.  But as of now I can proudly say that I have mastered a few choice words and phrases in Turkish.  I can count to ten, I know the days of the week and the months of the year.  And most importantly, even more important than uttering the phrase "Where is the bathroom," or "which way to (insert important place here)," I can officially say that this caffeine addicted gal knows how to order a cup of coffee.  Bir fincan kahve lutfen.  Priorities people.  Priorities.