1.
It’s not a drug deal when they wave
- An American [he had been learning Swahili in Somalia for the past three months and was making a stop in Turkey on his way back to DC] staying at my hostel was booked on the same overnight bus to Cappadocia. We were being transported to the bus station in a 15-passenger minibus when our translator jumped out of the bus in the middle of the road. He told the driver something in Turkish and before the bus had even stopped, he had jumped into the street. He ran over to someone, slipped some money in his hand, received some powder in return and started walking back to our bus. Unlike my American friend who was starting to get worried we were witnessing something shady, I was not concerned. I relayed back to him, “don’t worry, they waved to each other, it’s never illegal when people wave.”
2.
Flat tires => Don’t stop, just go slower
- We were about three hours into our bus trip when we got a flat tire. However, our bus driver decided our bus was tough; it didn’t need all its tires to continue. We proceeded to drive/hobble an extra 30 minutes until finally pulling over to make the repair.
3.
There is a universal gesture for “I have to go
to the bathroom.” (and I apparently know it)
- The buses in Turkey, while very nice, lack the common addition American buses tend to have—a bathroom on board. I was unaware of this oversight by their designers and drank quite a bit of water before boarding. This miscalculation on my part meant that an hour into the trip, I was ready for a bathroom break and by the time our first surprise stretch break occurred at the 4.5-hour mark, I was in bad shape. Once the bus parked, I scampered off the bus in the direction of what I thought was a bathroom. Wrong! Luckily, I realized midstride (about 5 steps before the door) that I was not rushing toward a bathroom; rather a prayer room. I began retreating—hoping no one witnessed my near massive mistake. Wrong #2! A Turkish man saw me and motioned I come over. When I did, I immediately gave the best “I have to use the restroom” motion I could think of. Instantly, he pointed to the sky as the light bulb came on, smiled, and motioned for me to follow him. Sure enough, my Turkish language skills might be nonexistent, but my charades skills must be acceptable because he walked me right to my desired destination. A bathroom!
4.
Making a local friend before departing is
important
- After the restroom escapade, I walked back towards the direction I had left the bus; however, when I arrived, my bus was no longer there. Instantly, my stomach turned as I thought, “Great! It’s 3:00 in the morning, I am exhausted and I am stuck at a Turkish bus stop in the middle of a country where very few people are actually able to speak English!” While scampering around trying to find my bus, someone succeeded in getting my attention. It was the man that was sitting next to me on the bus. With a calm face, he gave the motion to relax. I don’t know what he said, but his calmness and lack of worry suppressed my nerves. (Our bus had pulled into the back of the bus terminal to make additional repairs to the damaged tire.)
5.
2 hours late in Turkey => not late at all
- Experience
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