Hayir means NO! ...
I was walking to school Monday morning and a shoe shine boy stopped me to ask if I wanted a shine.
Politely, I told him, "Hayir, teshekur ederim," which means, "No thank you."
How I wish that was the end of it.
On a morning where I woke later than normal, had not yet had caffeine and walked quickly to school (I wanted to get some Turkish Coffee in my system before I observed a class) I did not have time for any distractions.
The people of Turkey are wonderfully hospitable .... except for this punk. He might have been 18, spoke no English and began arguing with me in Turkish about why I should get a shoe shine.
I went from pleasant and polite refusals to abrupt NO!'s in a few seconds. I may not know much Turkish, but I can at least be rude in it.
As he kept arguing with me in Turkish, making had gestures that my shoes were dirty and he could clean them right there, I kept telling him, "Turkce bilmiyorum," which means, "I don't know Turkish."
He even went so far as to put his shine box down in front of me a few times to obstruct my steps. Dumbass kid didn't realize that I can walk around him.
Finally, after continuous walking and repeating, "HAYIR," he went away.
There's plenty of street vendors around here, but this was the most annoying I have encountered.
Fortunately, my fellow teachers got a good laugh at the story (I guess this happens to every foreigner) and gave me some tips to get street vendors away.
James
P.S. I didn't send out a newsletter this week, because, well, nothing all that interesting happened. I'll send out one this week for the beginning of Ramadan and have plenty of stories next week as I hit the road for my first school holiday week.
Politely, I told him, "Hayir, teshekur ederim," which means, "No thank you."
How I wish that was the end of it.
On a morning where I woke later than normal, had not yet had caffeine and walked quickly to school (I wanted to get some Turkish Coffee in my system before I observed a class) I did not have time for any distractions.
The people of Turkey are wonderfully hospitable .... except for this punk. He might have been 18, spoke no English and began arguing with me in Turkish about why I should get a shoe shine.
I went from pleasant and polite refusals to abrupt NO!'s in a few seconds. I may not know much Turkish, but I can at least be rude in it.
As he kept arguing with me in Turkish, making had gestures that my shoes were dirty and he could clean them right there, I kept telling him, "Turkce bilmiyorum," which means, "I don't know Turkish."
He even went so far as to put his shine box down in front of me a few times to obstruct my steps. Dumbass kid didn't realize that I can walk around him.
Finally, after continuous walking and repeating, "HAYIR," he went away.
There's plenty of street vendors around here, but this was the most annoying I have encountered.
Fortunately, my fellow teachers got a good laugh at the story (I guess this happens to every foreigner) and gave me some tips to get street vendors away.
James
P.S. I didn't send out a newsletter this week, because, well, nothing all that interesting happened. I'll send out one this week for the beginning of Ramadan and have plenty of stories next week as I hit the road for my first school holiday week.
posted by James at 8:02 AM
6 Comments:
The comments below would have worked perfectly for this little Turkish Tool....Trust me. Say what I tell you, emphatically....KAZ
Walk up to a Turk in the streets and tell him, Sim Sickdare Sani and then tell him, Allzenah Seecheem....Have fun watching their expression. Then, take off running as fast as you can.....KAZ
dude - no. I don't know much Turkish but if its coming from you, I'm gonna play i safe and not say it.
This is a rare thing? Man, Turkey must be bliss. In most of China, this is what it's like on EVERY street. I reverted to speaking Italian in Beijing to avoid people who knew how to say "Halloo" and "Would you like to see some Chinese art?" (all of it is crap). I don't even try to be polite anymore.
Hi James,
You need to post more often. Better yet, add me to your newsletter list.
Fuck those Turkish cocksuckers! Tell them this mad Armenian friend of yours says "sickdare." At least tell one of them that.
OK....at the very least, ask one of them what it means.....Bwhahaha
After you're done chatting with those dung smoking pricks, tell them your friend says to give him his country back! KAZ
I say next time you tell the kid you want a shoe shine...then hit him on the head, drag him around the corner, and sell him into the wonderful world of the Turkish sex trade. You get a shoe shine, and some money!
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