A Little Cultural Learning

But not the culture I'm used to learning about.

It's been cold and dreary here in the land of the Turk the past couple days. It has made running impossible (well, you know) and even going outside is an uncomfortable chore. So this morning I had a nice conversation with Lane Marie and one thing led to another and here is where I found myself.

The Wikipedia article on Southern American English.
The journey to this site is almost, if not as, interesting as what I learned in it. First, I was just running through my normal website checks for daily news. I always check the front page of Yahoo and found this interesting article about an asteroid that will be coming "close" to Earth. Granted, close in astronomical terms is, well, astronomical.

Next, I see a link at the bottom of the page to a link on the Black Death. Thank goodness a plague that killed upwards of 50% of the population of Europe didn't do it "indiscriminately."

That article led me to wonder what the Black Death really was. Was it the bubonic plague? Was it from rat fleas? Was it something totally different? Can't say that I had really invested it. So, off to Wikipedia we go. I know it's not "official" and anyone can change the data on it and yadda yadda. It's a poor man's encyclopedia and I love it.

Whilst perusing the article on the Black Death, I learned some very interesting facts. First of all, no one really knows for sure what the Black Death was. It was bad, everyone agrees on that. But the list of effects is really what caught my eye. Among others, some of the longest lasting effects, though rather indirectly, of the Black Death are the rise of capitalism, the Renaissance, the Reformation, and the Great Vowel Shift. Having a pretty good idea about the first three, I followed the link to see what this Great Vowel Shift was all about.

Apparently during the same time period that the Black Death was ravaging the world, a major shift in how English speakers pronounced certain vowels began to occur. The article claims that it was helped along, in part, by the Black Death. While I am not an expert in the phonetic alphabet, I still found the article interesting. I also saw a word that I have heard a few times in my short English teaching career, but wasn't entirely sure on it's definition. So next, I read about diphthongs (and yes, this is a family friendly blog).

Again, an interesting read. It's nice to pick up some of the technical lingo from time to time. These are principles that we all use in our everyday speech, but we just don't know what the professionals call them. On the diphthong page, I saw another term that caught my attention. Under the examples of English diphthongs was the phrase Rhotic dialects. Using the examples they gave of how a speaker of a Rhotic dialect would say certain words, I wondered if I may be one myself. Come to find out, I may be.

Rhotic and non-Rhotic are two main categories that English speakers are divided into. It all revolves around how and when you pronounce the sound commonly written in English as "R". Apparently, the earliest cases of losing the "R" sound date back to the 15th century, around the time of the Black Death. Rhotic speakers will pronounce the R in all situations, but non-Rhotic speakers will only say it when followed by a vowel, and sometimes not even then. Sometimes they will use a "linking-R" when a word ending in R is followed by a word beginning with a vowel. And, even more cultured, is the "intrusive-R" that finds it's way into words between vowels or between words. I tried to pronounce some words non-Rhotic-ly and found that a lot of them were foreign sounding, but that most of them rolled right out pretty easy. There was almost a Gone With The Wind sound to my voice. And for good reason I found out.

Southern American English is one of the non-Rhotic dialects. That's what gives all those sweet Southern Belles that wonderfully soft tone. Though I might have to argue Wikipedia's definition of "the South" (the "modern definition" is the one I'd use), I have to admit that they amazed me with their ability to distinguish between the different types of Southern accents. This is something that I have tried to explain to my non-Southern (or should I just say Rhotic) friends my whole life. There is a difference.

For example, I have known people from the coastal areas of SC. One of my best friends in high school had family in the Georgetown, SC area. His grandmother had that wonderful Southern Coastal accent that rarely pronounces an R and sounds as soft as the breeze coming in over the marshes. On the other hand, most of my family is from the upstate where the Highland Southern is more prevalent. But my great grandmother was from way up in the hills (she used to run moonshine as a teenage girl) and could not say the word "wash" without an R sound to save her life. This is defined as the Southern Appallachain accent.

I'd place myself somewhere in the middle of all that. Between my mother's mountain heritage and my time in the Midlands, around all those beautiful coastal folk, I have a nice blend of two wonderful sounding accents. I definitely lean heavier towards the Southern Highland sound, but I have been known to drop an R from time to time.

It was an interesting read and made me feel proud, once again, to be from a place with a little culture. And so, to delve into that culture a little more, I headed over to YouTube to see some of the less refined, but more entertaining, pieces of my culture (that last one is for you, Massons).

Hope you enjoy the Grand Finale.

It never rains in Rome.

That was the word our token Italian gave us when we arrived. I guess "never" means "every other day" in Italian.

Our third day in Rome was a wet one. It had been drizzling the day prior. It was absolutely pouring this day. But we made the most of it.

Our first stop was the Pantheon. This was once a temple devoted to all the many gods of Rome, but then later converted to a Catholic church. It was built in 125 AD and was the largest dome in the world until 1781. It is the final resting place of some Italian kings and the famous painter Raphael. It is regarded as the best preserved piece of ancient Roman architecture. It was quite impressive, though I forgot to take a picture of the outside (partly due to the rain).

The Great Eye in the center of the dome.

The nicely decorated interior.

From there it was off to Trevi Fountain. This used to be the end of an aqueduct that brought fresh water into the city. The fountain was built in 1762. It's the grandest of the Baroque fountains in Rome. There is a myth that says if you throw a coin over your shoulder and into the fountain, you will return to Rome. With the current exchange rate, it was a pretty expensive gamble. But, when in Rome...

The story of the week.
I give the fountain one very enthusiastic thumb up.
I love Rome.
From the fountain we strolled on over to the Spanish Steps. The only things I really know about these things is that it's the "longest and widest staircase in all of Europe," according to experts, and "it's really pretty," according to girls.

They were not all that pretty to me.
As you can see, it was raining pretty hard. So we just left the Spanish Steps and headed home. We were already soaked to the bone and it was a little chilly. So, at Jess', we enjoyed two very frustrating games of darts (both of which Lane won) and a nice game of one on one rummy (which I dominated).

How does someone who is admittedly "just throwing it" hit a bullseye? She beat me twice because my darts kept falling out.
After darts, I was ready for revenge. I beat her, unmercifully.

I am a travelever of both time and space.

If you can name that song reference (and movie reference, actually) before you read on, let me know and I'll give you a dollar. Be honest though!

I have been running, somewhat, and as promised, here is the latest update. This week I ran twice. I will play basketball tomorrow, and that will include some more running, so let's make it two and a half days this past week. It hasn't been bad. I haven't felt like I was going to die while I've been out there and I haven't been sore or tired afterwards. But, I think I have found my hopefully temporary limit.

At about the two mile mark I start feeling it and as I approach the third, I crap out. I am keeping a pretty good pace, so I could potentially slow down and run further, but still, it's a little embarrassing. I should not have trouble running for more than 20 minutes. I have a list of excuses though, don't worry.

1. I'm still not sure how to eat for running. What I mean is, I always feel a little sick when I run and I think some of it has to do with what I'm eating. Something tells me that those two Turkish sausage, egg, potato, and cheese burritos I had (with mayonnaise) the night before were part of the problem today. Maybe I should be looking more for fruits and vegetables and less for processed meat products and fat based condiments.

2. I have had a head cold for the past week or so. It makes breathing in my nose hard and it means I have a lot of drainage too. This would explain why my spit is so thick and why it is harder than it should be to breath. It may also explain the upset stomach.

And finally, 3. Kashmir. Hopefully you all see the song reference now. If not, go out and buy the Led Zeppelin box set and listen to it from start to finish. It'll be the best $70 and 5 hours you've ever spent. Matt Damon quotes it in the meeting with Matsui in Ocean's Twelve, by the way. Anyhow, I made a playlist of just over thirty minutes worth of music to run to. The songs are rocking, to keep me going. Everyday I have started with a different song and just put it on random order. Everyday Kashmir has been the 4th song played. The song that carries me from the 15 minute mark past the 20 minute mark (or past two miles and to the third). I have yet to finish the song.

So maybe 20 minutes is my wall right now. That'd be about 3 miles at the pace I keep, maybe a little less. That means I'll be walking the last 10 miles of this half marathon! Great.

Or maybe it's just Kashmir. Maybe if I replace it with the hard driving duo of Moby Dick/Bonzo's Montreux and Immigrant Song, it'll carry me over towards that fourth mile. Valhalla, I am coming!

Financial Crisis Hitting Home

I don't keep up with the news very well, but even I have heard about the financial crisis that is sweeping through most of the major world markets. I don't know that I've ever really noticed much change in my life during times like these in the past. With the exception of rising gas prices, I haven't felt the effects of any of the economic shifts in my life, for better or worse. But this latest one has hit closer to home.

The most immediate effect is the exchange rate. I get paid in US dollars, so my pay literally goes up and down daily. I get paid a set amount and that set amount can translate into X lira one day and X+ or X- the next day depending on the exchange rate. For example, soon after I came the exchange rate was hovering around 1.4 to 1.5 lira to the dollar. This past week, it went up to 1.19 (it had fallen lower than that). That means for every dollar I'm paid, I'm losing 20-30 Turkish cents compared to what I was making a year or so ago. That adds up quick.

But the effect that hit me last night was much bigger and effects people besides me. I teach an English class that is made of a salesman from a large international company and two bankers. They have been telling me for months that the American economy wasn't doing well and that it was going to be bad for everyone. They knew it was coming, but they still weren't able to prepare for it fully. One of the bankers lost a lot of the money he had invested recently. The other is doing better, but both are living with the weight of this on their shoulders. It's possible that with the amazing losses banks are reporting these days that these men could be fired.

They don't have the time, money, or concentration for English class these days, so they dropped our class. They've become friends though, so I will keep in touch with them over the weeks to come. I pray that through this time we Christians can show the world what it means to hope in something that neither moth nor rust (nor stock market fluctuations) can destroy. I also pray that we can give that hope to those in need around us.

When cooking potatoes...

don't turn your head for even a second, especially not for 5 or 10 minutes.

I decided that I'd try to cook some potatoes tonight for dinner. It's warm, filling, and delicious. So, I cut the potatoes and a small onion to cook with them. Then, with my health in mind, threw them in a pan with a lot of butter. And I mean a lot. I knew that it would take a while for the pan to warm up since I was using the small burner. Boy was I wrong!

I came in here to work on that last blog post and in no time at all, I smelled smoke. By the time I got into the kitchen, it was boiling out of the pan. The little burner wasted no time burning the potatoes in the middle of the pan. All total, only about three or four slices were beyond saving, but they sure did put out a lot of smoke!

Roma 2 - The Eternal City Continues

After a wonderfully lazy morning, Lane and I got out in time to grab some lunch. With no idea where we were supposed to be going, we wandered until we found a great little hole-in-the-wall pizza joint.

I was hungry that day.
And of course, when you're in Italy, even if it is freezing butt cold, you have to get some gelato.

This was the first, but not the last (by far) cup of gelato that would find it's way into this mouth.
After filling our stomachs with such wonderful treats, it was time to get out and see some of Rome. Up next on the list was the Coliseum.

It's not Death Valley, but impressive nonetheless.

Unfortunately, it was raining on us and it started to get a little cold. We were deterred from entering the Coliseum by the warning that it's not all that impressive inside and the even more unimpressive price of admission. We sought shelter in it's shadow as we tried to figure out what to do next. Something that would keep us dry, warm, and having fun.


I was really craving some more of that wonderful Italian coffee, but we needed a place to sit. Most of the espresso bars don't have tables to sit at, so I thought maybe we could find a bookstore that had a cafe inside of it. That way we could sit, grab a book or magazine, and drink some coffee. Nice, warm, relaxing.

Rome guide book, telling us about all the things we had and hadn't seen.
To find this bookstore, I had the ingenious idea of just getting on a bus and riding it until we saw something that looked good. Come to find out, it worked! We found a nice bookstore with a cafe on the top floor. We grabbed a Rome guide book and a few other things to read as we sat and had some good coffee. We stayed for a few hours and had a really great time.

The happy, and warm, customers.

From there, it was off to the grocery store. We (read: I) wanted to save a little money and one easy way was for us (read: me) to cook dinner a couple times. It turned out fairly well, compared to recent happenings (read: my next blog post).

My job: wash and break broccoli, clean and cut mushrooms, peel and slice onions, and cook all of the above with our meat in a pan. Lane's job: play with the camera.

Don't we at least deserve an explanation?

I mean, really, what's so bad about it? I know there are a lot of worthless videos out there. I know people try to post music videos and even movies illegally. I know that the entertainment industry has complained. But what in heaven's name is so bad about YouTube that the Turkish courts block it from all of us? What's worse is that this is the second time in the last 12 months that this has happened! If anyone has read an official reason for this, please let me know. In the meantime, I will be downloading low quality Russian mp3s, watching a couple pirated DVDs, and doing other totally legit activities which the Turkish courts see no problem with.


Herşey Türkiye İçin!

Slow and Steady Wins the Race?

That's the old saying. I'm pretty sure fast and steady would beat slow and steady, but I'm just working on the steady part for now.

I did start my "training" today for the half marathon. I ran for almost 20 minutes at what I felt like was a good pace (maybe an 8 minute mile). It was short, I know, but it's a start. I wasn't too terribly tired afterwards and besides having to use the bathroom kind of bad, I didn't have any pains. Hopefully I can get the bodily functions under control, or else it'll be one messy race.

I'll keep you updated on my progress.

Assuming I progress.

Rome - The Capital of the World

Thank goodness the Italians aren't dramatic or they may come up with grandiose names for "THE City." (I think I just got sarcasm on my keyboard)

I want to let you see the "Eternal City" of Rome. It really is a beautiful place with an ancient artifact around every corner. It was amazing and encouraging to see how remnants of the ancient world are being preserved and how the demands on the present world are being met at the same time. Well, enough jabber, let's get on with it...

Day 1 - Sistina Capella

For our first day out, we decided to see the "Holy See." Lane and I were both pretty pumped about seeing the Sistine Chapel. I have a program that sends me a religious painting every few days and I can't tell you how many of them have come either from the Chapel itself or the museums that are included in the tour. So, with instructions from Jess and Alex on how to get there, much enthusiasm about seeing some of the world's most famous pieces of art, and the soul soothing sounds of this guy on the tram, we were on our way.

Friendly Neighborhood Minstrel
Thanks to our wonderful directions, we found the place very easily. It's hard to miss the largest Christian church in the world and the tallest building in the city of Rome.

Welcome to the biggest church in the world in the smallest nation in the world. St. Peter's, Vatican City.
There are four things I expected to see while at the Vatican. I got to see three of them. Unfortunately, the Pope was no where to be found. But we did see...

Nuns of all colors! I have read that there is a meaning behind the color of their "habits" (nun outfits), but I don't remember what grey means.
Strange dudes in funny clothes! This was actually a step up for the Vatican guard from their usual attire. (Google Vatican guards to see what I mean.)
Amazing works of art! This is the inside of the basilica, but the picture doesn't do it justice.
Works like this (Raphael's "Transfiguration") were around, and in, every corner.
From St. Peter's we made our way to the Vatican Museums. By "make our way" I mean that we followed the Vatican wall around past the hundred African and South Asian immigrants that were selling fake Chanel, Prada, and Luis Vuitton bags on the sidewalk. I didn't stop to talk to any of them because all the Wolof I could remember was "I speak a little Wolof" and "I want to go to sea." I didn't think that would get me far.

So we got in to the Vatican Museums. I didn't really know what to expect, since I hadn't done my homework before going. All I really knew was that the Sistine Chapel was waiting for us at the end. What I saw before we ever got there was worth the price of admission.

The first thing that really got my attention was the "Hall of Maps." We had been walking through a few rooms with sculptures and things, but this room was the first one (of many) that made me stop and stare for a while. It was a long hallway that was decorated with these huge maps on the walls and beautiful paintings and guilding on the ceiling.

A view of the ceiling. Every inch was covered with something beautiful.
Lane really liked this room. The big maps were quite impressive.
From there, we wandered through hallways and bedrooms in the Apostolic Palace. These were rooms that were largely decorated by Raphael or his assistants and students. I really enjoyed these rooms. I was blown away by Raphael's use of color and how it gave the paintings such depth.

The Deliverance of Saint Peter
Maybe Raphael's greatest work, The School of Athens.
After taking in these great works, we then meandered through the modern art section. There were some interesting things, to put it nicely. Modern art is one of those things that is either cool and dead on, or is wacky and out there. There doesn't seem to be much middle ground. But we found quite a few pieces that were very well done. To my surprise, I got to see a couple Salvador Dali paintings in the collection. These were some cool things we saw, though I don't know who did them.




From there it was on, finally, to the Sistine Chapel. Everything you have heard about it is true. It's amazing. The ceiling is beautiful, there's no denying it. It is beyond my comprehension how a man can make such beautiful pictures. The thing that really took my breath was the huge Last Judgment that takes up the entire wall behind the altar. It was like nothing I've ever seen before. They wouldn't allow you to take pictures, and you could find better pictures online anyhow, so I don't have anything to show you here.

From there, it was off to find a slice of pizza and a way home. I developed a bit of a headache throughout the day. Everybody showed a lot of grace towards me by letting me drift off to sleep on the couch that evening. That was the end of DAY 1 of our Roman vacation. Man, it makes me tired just telling you guys about it.

Sleep tight Pope!

When in Rome...

...Sleep?

After traveling half the length of Italy and walking around Florence all afternoon the day before, we took it easy our first day back in Rome. We saved the exciting stuff for when we were a little more awake.

And I have a confession to make real quick. I am in the middle of a rigorous 9 week training program for the upcoming Tarsus half marathon. I am supposed to run 20 miles this week. Also, one of my own, self-imposed rules is that I can't drink Coke during all this training.

Well, I have yet to run a single step this week. And I was in the checkout aisle with a candy bar and a Coke in hand today before I realized that I wasn't supposed to be buying it. Nor was I supposed to buy that Coke I had with lunch. Doh! I had made it 4 whole days. I hate to see a streak like that broken. But tomorrow is a new day, full of potential and opportunity. Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of my life. (And sitting here, alone in my bedroom, I feel a little embarrassed at the cheesiness of that last sentence.)

Tucked in the Hills of Tuscany...

...is a wonderful city called, in English, Florence.

We said goodbye to Venice on Jan. 1st. It was a wonderful start to our vacation, but it was time to move on. Next stop was Florence!

Parting shot of the canal that we stayed along.
We found out that Florence's real, Italian name (Firenze) bears almost no resemblance to it's English translation when we couldn't find it in the "destinations" section of the self-service ticket counter in Venice. But thanks to a helpful, English speaking counter lady, we got our tickets and headed that way. Don't I look excited?

Why Lane wanted to get up at 8 after staying up so late
for New Year's is beyond me.
I knew that a lot of famous people had lived in or were born in Florence. The list is quite impressive actually. Dante, Michelangelo, Donatello, Raphael, Leonardo di Vinci, Machiavelli, Galileo, and Florence Nightingale.

There are many very famous museums to see in Florence with the most widely known being the Accademia, home to Michelangelo's David. But honestly, I didn't really care to see it and I don't think Lane did either. So instead, we just wandered around the city, seeing it's numerous towers, nice river with pretty bridges, and expensive shops. We spent a couple of hours resting in a cafe and then had a wonderful dinner that night in the McDonald's in the train station before heading back to Rome. Enjoy a few shots of Florence.

One of the many towers in the city. I have no idea what their significance is, but there were quite a few throughout the city and I took a picture of every one!
The Duomo. This is a famous church that is huge, covered with beautiful tiles, has a massive dome and a tall tower, and impressive bronze doors on the baptistry it faces (which is the oldest building in the city). It's famous for having the largest brick dome in the world and was the biggest cathedral in the world upon it's completion.
Statue of Dante, the poet.
Lane on one of the bridges in Florence. God blessed us with a beautiful sunset that evening.
The remnants of our Florentine cuisine.

Come to Venice they say!

Everyone showed up safely and almost on time. After gathering up in Jess' apartment, we headed out for Venice. The trip started at the Rome train station, Termini.

There we boarded our train to Venice. It was a 4:30 train ride, broken neatly into two parts. One 4:20 minute train ride and one 10 minute train ride. We passed the time with great conversation, A River Runs Through It, cards, and some sandwiches we picked up on the way to the train station.

First Subway sandwiches we've had in a looooooong time.
Delicious.
We got in late and found a place for the night. We spent the next morning looking around for a place to stay for the next two nights. As we found out, Venice is the hottest place in all of Italy for New Year's. It was hard to find a place but we found two quaint little places. They weren't the nicest places I've ever stayed in, but they did the job. We spent a little time walking around the city and seeing what there was to see. We took it easy and relaxed in the afternoon. That night we took a little stroll and found a nice pizza joint for dinner.

St. Mark's Square, also known as the "the drawing room of Europe."
This was my first taste of real Italian pizza. It would not be my last.
Lane with her "big as my head" slice of pizza.
The "room" (attic) that the girls stayed in.
The second day we really toured the city. We saw the Grand Canal, went back by St. Mark's, and just wandered through all the small little streets and alleys that make the city so charming (and difficult to navigate at times). Lane and I had a nice time sitting next to the Rialto Bridge, walking through St. Mark's Square, and enjoying the view from the mouth of the Grand Canal.

The Grand Canal
Rialto Bridge
Lane and I taking a break next to the Canal.
Lane, laughing hysterically, in front of St. Mark's Basilica.
Looking out into the Adriatic.
That night was New Year's Eve. Since Lane and I hadn't technically had our first date yet, I figured that Venice on New Year's Eve was the perfect opportunity to finally ask her out. She said yes, thankfully, and we headed out to a nice dinner.

She was looking beautiful in her little black dress.
I didn't look too bad in my suit either.
We changed and headed to St. Mark's for the New Year's celebration. We picked up a crepe for dessert on the way.
Like I said, Venice is the place to be for New Year's in Italy. Everybody (and I mean EVERYBODY) crammed into St. Mark's Square for the celebration. We arrived around 10 or so and it wasn't too terribly crowded. By midnight however, it was hard to move. They had a big band playing the best in hits from yesterday and today that kept the partying going strong for most of the night. After midnight though, things were a little less fun. Thousands of people were cramming into the small alleys and no one was making much progress. People were shooting fireworks out of the crowd, some of which sounded like small bombs. The twenty or thirty minute walk to the square turned into an almost 2 hour walk back. It was a crazy night and one of the best New Year's celebrations I've ever been a part of.

The theme for the night was "Love 2008," in English.
The pandemonium was just starting.