A language gaff...

It was bound to happen - learning of my language gaff before someone pointed it out to me, embarrassed but not so much so not to laugh out loud...

When I arrived in Turkey, not knowing a single word, I forced my brain to work quickly to absorb the basics. I followed the advice of the first men I met on how to introduce myself: 'Selam, adim Anna'. Easy enough. As I walked toward the sea, I came to a village cafe - a place where men gather to play cards, dominoes, and a game played with tiles resembling playing cards. Sometimes they drink tea. I haven't seen anyone eat anything in the cafes, nor drink the famed Turkish coffee. Nonetheless, on my first visit to one, I smiled and said my line. The four men sitting at the table looked at me as an oddity, but one cordially introduce himself: placing his hand gently over his heart, bowed his head and said 'Ben blahblah'. To make an effort to remember his name at least through the duration of the acquaintance, I repeated his name three times while we spoke.

Later, at another cafe, the event was repeated, but this time, the two men each introduced himself as 'Ben blahblah' (the blahblah part being complicated and seemingly unnecessary, so I let it fly by). Still, I called them each Ben. What a coincidence? can so many Turkish men be named Ben? The Imam came in to meet me. He, too, introduced himself as Ben blahblah... something's fishy... When I found a German speaker days later, I confirmed the suspicion - 'ben' means 'I am'. Lesson learned. It's the blahblah part that's important after all... (oh how easy it would have been.) Oops!