Turkish vocals and instruments played in the background as a group of young students sat across the sunlit Saray Turkish restaurant on a late Friday afternoon. I sat looking over a menu I found foreign yet similar. It was the array of Kebabs I found most interesting offering choices from chicken, beef, lamb, and quail. I was alone, feeling out of place, but also had a sense familiarity with it all.
Why is this scene important? For those who don't know, I have a Lebanese step father who continues to help teach me the lessons of life as he has done for the past 20 years of my life. My Dad is a great cook, and I've had my fill of Kebabs, along with other more uniquely Lebanese en trees. However, until yesterday, the food has always come to me rather than the other way around. Sure, there wasn't a big imposing crowd in the restaurant, and I was still in Brighton, MA where just outside the familiar sights and sounds of Boston resided. However, for a brief time, I felt more than I had ever before of being on the other side of the coin. The side my Dad has known since he came to the US in the mid 80s.
Sitting there, looking at the menu as I practiced pronouncing all the names of the foods in my head. With only two Turkish classes under my belt, that was all I could pretty much do. After the young Turkish waitress took my order, I decided to toss in the Turkish word for thank you (teşek kular). She looked and responded in Turkish asking if I spoke, and I sheepishly tried to explain in English that I was just beginning to learn. I realized that she was also a student, learning English and studying at a local college. So, I tried to use what little Turkish I knew to explain that I knew very little Turkish. I had been in situations before with my father's relatives when I was speaking to someone who didn't have a handle on English, but this was the first time I had some basis to respond in something other than English, although it was a very small addition. Still, it was a very humbling moment but also an profound of trying to reach out in another language for normal everyday conversation.
In the end, my day at Saray's concluded with some delicious lamb Kebabs, Beyti Kebabs for those who know. I was able to meet and share some more kind words with the woman from Istanbul. I hope to be back again, perhaps with a friend and certainly a little more Turkish under my belt.
Note: For those reading who don't know, I am planning on applying for an English Teaching Assistantship through the Fulbright program this October to go to Turkey in 2009. I hope to not only help Turkish university students learn English and about the US, but also I intend to work on a documentary project with Turkish students about Turkey and the issues it faces from their point of view.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
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