Language Whores and Istanbul

Yes, it´s been weeks since my last gypsy attack and I´m riding high. In fact, I´ve gotten so good at protecting my possessions from pickpockets I´ve decided to up the ante. That´s right, I´m going to Istanbul for spring break...it´s kind of like a pickpocket Mecca. In addition to just plain pickpocketing, though, we´ve found that they´ve come up with new and innovative ways of stealing from you and attacking you. That´s right, you´re not supposed to have drinks with strangers because a lot of them like to drug you. Gee, finding out about crazy Turkish scams sure is fun. Just imagine, I´ll be an even bigger mark there. At least I look vaguely Spanish, although the height doesn´t help me in a world full of pygmies, but in Turkey I´ll be a complete fish out of water. Should be fun.

I´m at work again, so once again, I´m bored. But they gave me 2 weeks for spring break and don´t seem to mind my habit of showing up over an hour late. It´s not like they pay me, and I´m not exactly a hindrance as my level of Spanish comprehension has risen at least marginally. I´m very good at the one on one conversation.

I actually have a meeting with my 29 year old Spanish intercambio, which is a lot like a friend, except the only reason you hang out is to learn the language. That´s right, I´m a language whore, offering my friendship to learn Spanish, but it´s ok, because we speak English half the time. We´re whores for each other. It works out quite nice. I need to soak it up, because I´m sure in Turkey all modes of prostitution are verboten...even language prostitution. Tonight we´re going to a bar called Molly Malone´s. There are a ton of Irish pubs in Madrid, and they always seem to be the only places with adequate seating room. If you really want to go to a good Spanish bar and slum it with the locals, you´re usually banished to standing room which can get tedious if the music is bad or you´re just not engaged in conversation. I find cafés to be much more "agradable"...I can´t think of the word in English right now, but you get the gist.

The other day I reminisced with a friend about how much we miss dorms. There´s really nothing to compare with living free and easy with friends all close by. Don´t get me wrong, I love my host family like blood, but dorms are really where it´s at. I wish I could switch off weeks, because I´m really missing the late nights of Roseanne reruns and Annotated Elimidate with comments by me, the Beckster, and Schnocone, who´s really horrible at the commentary. He just doesn´t realize that you can´t talk through the "whole" show, otherwise you can´t observe just how awful the human beings are on that show. Oh, I also miss the shouting on the McLaughlin Group, but there are plenty of shows here where people shout at each other, so I´m able to carry on. Still, I dread the idea of going back to the dining hall where food is made by nice people, but doesn´t have the love of my family who always makes sure that I leave the table bent over, unable to stand erect due to my stomach which has been stuffed beyond capacity like a bad concert at the Aragon. OK, I´m babbling and before I start babbling about Chicago with that Aragon tangent, I should leave. Adiós.

PS--One of my favorite things about Spanish is how there isn´t a word for "everyone," so they say "todo el mundo," which creates sentences like, "Does the whole world understand that Charles I advocated because of his bad case of the gout?" Yes, the whole world understands that gout can be very debilitating, even for one of the world´s most powerful emperors.