Two kebabs to go

© aNadventures

I did it! It wasn’t planned, although it originally was, but it just happened to happen tonight. I just got home and am now realizing the dimensions of what has occurred.

I ordered a kebab. Two to be precise. I did it in Turkish. And it felt good. Really good.

It must have been about three years ago around this time of the year. I was sitting in a classroom in my uni building listening to all the options for my year abroad. Our programme coordinator was talking about Australia, China, France, Great Britain, Russia, the USA… The list of choices was endless. And then, Turkey appeared on the screen. I turned to the guy next to me and said: “Hey, you know, that’s actually cool. If we go there we’ll be able to order our kebabs in Turkish when we’re back.“ It was supposed to be a joke but then I thought Why not? It didn’t take me any longer than five seconds to nod and go Turkey it is.

I never regretted my choice.

I‘d totally forgotten about the kebab thing. Tonight, after a fun evening, my friend and I decided to grab a bite before heading home and we ended up queuing up for kebab. Without hesitating I ordered for both of us: İki dürüm paket olarak, lütfen. Bir tane soğansız sossuz. Evet, patates de olsun. Teşekkürler, iyi akşamlar!

That’s it. It felt like the most natural thing on earth. It wasn’t a big deal, after all. In Turkey, I had ordered lots of meals, drinks, resident permits, even business documents and the like.

What made me particularly proud was that the kebab guy thought I was a Turk. At least, pointing in my direction, he told his colleague the “Turkish lady over there“ wanted two kebabs.

So yeah, life is delicious. Never give up on the little goals you set yourself. You might not be sure of when you’ll achieve them but let me tell you, when it happens, that’s just an incredibly fulfilling feeling.

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