Ben çok yorgunum

I'm going to try to write a short post today because I'm tired. I've been staying up pretty late with my host family every night, and somehow had forgotten how exhausting language classes are. Especially when you leave the classroom and then need to know even more than what you've been learning. I'm focusing most of my energy on listening comprehension at the moment, speaking pretty much only when communication is necessary. My progress has slowed down and I don't expect for it to really pick up for another few weeks. That's not to say that I won't be trying to learn or doing my homework, but just that I'm not too frustrated with my many shorcomings for the time being.

We were in class for about five hours today, and I'm not looking forward to the one full week of class coming up in July. For most of the summer, we have activities and trips planned so that we rarely have more than three consecutive days of five-hour classes. Tomorrow, for example, we'll be riding around Ankara in a private bus to visit all of the landmarks that the city has to offer. I'm happy to have that break. In the evening, my host sister is taking me out with some of her friends - I hope it will be more fun than awkward, but we'll see.

Turkish is starting to get into my head, and even though most of it is gibberish, I'm starting to understand a lot more of what my family is saying to me (and to each other for that matter). This evening was more difficult because I napped until seconds before dinner, and was still so tired at that point that I could barely even think in English. Later, I had an hour-long conversation with my grandmother in German, which is somehow hidden in a completely different part of my brain. I've never felt so confident speaking German, especially after being able to speak so little at dinner. (On an unrelated note, my grandmother and I decided that I'll probably have to fly back to the US from Ankara before heading back to Germany to see her about two days later. I had wanted to avoid two trans-Atlantic flights in a row, but it seems that group ticket restrictions and the price of one-ways have foiled my plans. This means that I'll most likely be in New York for a day or two mid-August, so if you'll be in the city let me know.)

Lastly, I should give a shout-out to Google for inspiring and facilitating my first pseudo-political discussion (or rather pseudo-discussion) with my host father, and for giving us something to bond over. While using Google chrome and Google translator (a new favorite of mine), we talked about how much we both like Google, and how Youtube is banned in Turkey. He explained that there had been anti-Ataturk videos on the site, and that insulting Ataturk can lead to a minimum of three years in prison. I knew that, and tried to demonstrate my familiarity with the founding father of the Republic through some simple sentences and head nodding. Then he equated insulting Ataturk with insulting Obama, and I tried to explain that while insulting Obama might offend some people, it's not punishable by law. I'm not sure if cultural differences or linguistic barriers got in the way, but I don't think he understood. I did teach him the word for internet browser though, and somehow I think Google has become a sort of cultural bridge in our interactions.