Some say that when a person begins to dream in their second language, it’s an indicator of their fluency in that language. I’m not sure I agree because I remember having Turkish words show up in my dreams in those years of merely visiting the country for a week at a time. Nonetheless, friends back home often ask if I dream in Turkish. The truth is that sometimes it’s hard to tell. I understand everything going on in the dream but can’t always differentiate which language is being spoken. The only times I’ve noticed Turkish was when I had to make a switch from one to the other in the dream. For example, once I dreamt I was visiting a local family. They had adopted a little girl from China who spoke English but not Turkish. In the dream I switched from speaking Turkish with the family to speaking English with the girl.
In a more recent example, I dreamt I was visiting America. Somehow a Turkish restaurant was there too. The boss looked at me and asked if I intended to work that night. I looked at him and said, “I don’t want to.” Only I said it in Turkish with my city’s accent. The correct way to say this is ‘istemiyorum and pronounced [ee-steh-mee-your-oom] but I said ‘istemiyom’ which is prounounced [ee-steh-me-yohm.] My local friends laughed pretty hard when I told them how I pronounced the word in my dream.
I still wouldn’t call myself fluent but I do understand most of what is said around me. I can also get my point across most of the time, even with deeper subject content. I may go the long way around to say something or use some incorrect suffixes but generally they get the point. I call these victories. The reality though is that I still have a long way to go and don’t want to settle at this level. I did see a post called 12 Signs You’re Fluent in a Foreign Language. Most of these are pretty good descriptors of where I am in Turkish.
One day I made an appointment online to finish up my paperwork for my residence permit. Or so I thought. When I arrived I realized the appointment had not been finalized. Apparently I had missed a step. They explained I must have quit the appointment process too early. Oops. “What should I do?” I asked. They said they could take care of it from their office. This was a grace because I have watched them delay people and send them away for similar mistakes. They created the appointment for me and then finished the paperwork right away.
Afterwards, Sherry invited myself and J to hang around drinking tea and chatting with her. This was also a gift because she had told me before that she generally wishes people would move along after their work has finished. As we chatted, she invited J and I to go swimming with her the following night. Later, Moses, the director came in and told all the employees that they need to be more strict on giving visas in circumstances exactly like mine. He looked at me and asked if it was inappropriate to be discussing this in front of me. Sherry said it was no big deal because they had already agreed and given me one for double that amount. In other words, I was not one of the ones to cause them concern.
The next day, J and I went with Sherry and Rose to the community pool/thermal pools/sauna/bathing house. I have written about my first experience visiting the pools in the summer time. We went on the discounted day and paid less than $3 for entry.
The pools are about 20 minutes out of town. There are buses that go out there but so far I have been lucky enough to ride there in a car with friends. As you walk in, there is a connected cafe on the left where one can buy snacks and more importantly, a glass of tea. The main entrance has a desk to pay the entry fee. The first time I went, on a hot crowded summer day, there were ladies shoving each other to pay the entrance fee. On this cool, dark winter evening, the place seemed empty. With a $1.50 deposit, you can get a locker for your clothes and things. With returned keys, the deposit is also returned.
Once the entry fee was paid, we veered to the right to enter the women’s side of the place. I think some days are women only days but there are separate thermal pools and locker rooms so men can be there on the same day but never in the same areas as women. The locker room area has lockers, changing rooms, toilets, and showers. Past the locker room, there is the hamam (or bathing area), a sauna, and a salt room. On the side of the hamam is a prayer room for locals to do their ritual prayers.
After the hamam area is the thermal pool area. The pools have varying water temperatures. One pool was 100°F, one was 92°F, and the coolest thermal pool was 84°F. Past the thermal pools is an indoor pool but there is a portion of the wall that is open to the outside pool. As you can imagine, that pool was much cooler at about 68°F. No one was out there swimming.
After some time swimming, we sat in the sauna to do some sweating and loosen up our dead skin. Afterwards we went into the hamam area to scrub all the dead skin away. Sherry’s friend was there and she offered to scrub me down. Most women were sitting around topless wearing only their bathing suit bottoms. Some women weren’t even wearing those. As Sherry’s friend scrubbed my back, she was having a difficult time scrubbing underneath my bathing suit top. Following the footsteps of everyone else, I took it off. I later realized that Sherry and her tribe of friends took the more modest approach and did their best to scrub while still clothed in their swimsuits. Face palm. I’m sure they talked about my eagerness to undress afterwards.
After scrubbing the dead skin away, we bathed ourselves. We returned to the locker room to dress and dry our hair. One does not go outside with wet hair for two reasons. The first is that it is assumed that a woman with wet hair has just finished having relations with a man. The second is that you will catch your death cold with wet hair. After the obvious glass of tea, we walked outside, heading to the car. Sherry and her friends asked where our hats/hoods were to cover our heads. Even with dry hair, it seems everyone covers their head upon leaving. They said we would know better for next time.
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