First Few Days of the Language Sprint

Rebecca and I met P, our language helper/host at the office where we would be taking lessons. We returned to her home and was thankful to find our little room had been equipped with an air conditioner. We ordered Burger King to eat as our first meal together after learning Burger King is her favorite food. That evening she made us stuffed peppers with a side of yogurt. Afterwards, she gave us a tour of her neighborhood. I took a shower before going to bed to wash off the sweat I had accumulated that day. Before laying down, P asked if I wanted a hair dryer. I politely declined. She then told me I would make myself ill by going to bed with wet hair and the ac running. On another occasion she told me my wet hair was causing my headaches. 

We had our first session with P the following morning at the office. After class, we had 4 hours of free time before our grammar class with T. I explored a little, found a place for lunch, and then made some friends at a pharmacy when I was looking for some migraine medicine. After our grammar time, we ate dinner with T, our grammar teacher. We ate the local kebab and tried some turnip juice. It’s a spicy and salty drink made of black, purple, or red carrots, cracked wheat, yeast, salt, and water. It is usually paired with the local version of the kebab. 

Eating outside with our grammar teacher

My language sprint city's version of a kebab

Turnip juice

While we were eating, T, clued us in on some cultural habits of locals as well as blunders Americans often make. I have added some below:

*Americans take a whole slice of bread and dip it in their soup. Locals tear it up in pieces and drop it in their soup.

*Americans often peel oranges with their fingers. Locals use knives to cut it into wedges.

*Americans are wasteful when they peel vegetables. It’s like nails on a chalkboard for a local to watch an American peel vegetables.

*It is considered shameful to ask for a to-go box at a restaurant unless it is for a child. She said if there is just a bit left, it’s better to wrap it up in a napkin. 

*If a local fills up a plate for me, I don’t have to eat everything on my plate. If I fill my own plate, I should eat it all.

*It’s best to leave some dessert or fruit on the plate so you don’t look greedy.

*When hosting someone in your home, on their first visit, you should fill their plates in the kitchen. On subsequent visits, it is acceptable to allow them to serve themselves. It’s also best to fill plates in the kitchen if the food supply is low. If a person wants another cheese roll and someone didn’t eat theirs, it’s acceptable to take the plates to the kitchen and move the roll from one plate to another and bring it back out.

*It’s rude to go to someone’s house, even a family member’s, and say you can’t eat something because you’re on a special diet.

*When offering something to someone, you should offer 3 times. An exchange should go something like this:

“Would you like a little more?”

“No thanks.”

“Please, please, eat a little more.”

“No thanks. I’m really good.”

“Please. I’m going to the kitchen to get you some more.”

“Oh, alright, I’ll have some more.”

For a guest to affirm they want more on the first offer seems greedy. This is also helpful to know if I’m the guest. I don’t know how many times I’ve said no a couple of times and then felt guilted into eating some more when I really did not want more. 

*Twirling hair in front of males means that you’re interested in them.

*The “ok” hand gesture is inappropriate to use. A thumbs up is better. An ok here means that you’re calling someone a homosexual.

*The game played with babies where you get their nose is also not a good idea. It means “F-you!”

*When a guest is leaving, the host should stand at the door watching them leave until they are out of eyesight. 

*If you’d like someone to visit you, or visit again, you say, “I’m waiting for you all the time.”

The following evening, we had a cooking lesson with our host, P. She taught us how to make sautéed chicken. It was delicious but sadly I failed to take pictures. After dinner, we had grammar lessons with T at our host home. After T left, we sat on the terrace soaking in some cool breezes. I was thankful for the terrace. We spent a lot of time on the terrace because normally our host home felt like an oven. When I would leave our air conditioned room haven at night and step out into the hallway, I felt like I was in a steamy oven. I would take cold showers and afterwards my pajamas felt like they had just been removed from a dryer. The house had a singular fan that was mainly used in the kitchen at meal times.  

There is a wedding salon near the house. Wedding salons typically blast the loud dance music so it almost felt like we were at the wedding. As we listened, we talked about wedding traditions in preparations for attending our first engagement party the following night. 

Terrace view