A few random notes
1.The Turks have a habit of rounding prices. I recently purchased three things and the guy carefully wrote down 20+5+4=30. If the total is 1.60 and you give them 2 they will either say thank you or give you .50 back, depending on their mood. They never bother with small change. Sometimes I stand waiting for my .65 back and they look at me like I’m crazy. Dude I could buy a çay with that. Just as often it is in my favor so it isn’t like they are ripping me off. They just don’t want the hassel. Or something.
2. On our many bus rides we continually hear a commercial that features a trumpet fanfare that is wrenchingly out of tune. And it repeats over and over and over. I have no idea what they are selling, cannot understand a word, but there is some truth to “music is the universal language”. Let me tell you, if I hear that fanfare as I enter a store I’m outta there.
3. Our humiliating World Cup defeat has made for a great no-common-language-required conversation topic:
Turk: “Gobbeldy gook”
Us: blank stare
Turk: “Germany, Czeck Republic, England?”
Us: Ah Hah. “America”
Turk: “ooooh, futbol, world cup, very bad, ooooooh”
Us: Head in hands. “oooooh, yes, very bad”
Etc.