Çalışmak zordur.

off and on now for about three years, i've been trying to teach myself the tongue of my father('s)land: Türkiye.

i must say, that either i'm a bad student or a terrible teacher. while i can say (sort of) and understand (maybe) things like "Kedi uyuyor" or "Bu bir adam insan, hayvan değil," i have trouble with important things like "hi, i'm a liberal westerner, where's the nearest oil wrestling tournament?" or "how may i best insult your culture with my boorish american ignorance?"

sigh. someday, perhaps, i'll feel confident enough with my language skills to attempt to return to Istanbul and find some of my aunts and uncles and cousins.

until then: "güle güle, ülkeyim."