So, yes. It's true.

There is an annual international poetry and song competition in Turkey called Turkish Olympiads. So I entered a poem recitation and lo and behold I got chosen to attend the semi-finals (and then hopefully the finals) in Turkey this summer. Cool, right?
So, I'm leaving in less than a month with a possibility of staying for the school year in Istanbul. But, never fear Trash Talkers! I am planning to keep a blog and/or vlog of my travels and will try my darndest to keep in touch (I know it tends to come in spurts with me).

Also, if anyone can find my audition video on YouTube I'll give you a cookie. Sorry, The Clan is exempt from this one, it would be too easy.

Veccy loves you!

Awesome, that's really cool, vecoriwen.

I'll hae to see if I can find that video...

Turkey? This calls for a Döner song (oder was?).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPkBfbuJaF4

Congrats veccy!

-Pufer

You. Kick. Ass.™

I love döner so much...

Anyway, enjoy your trip to the land of new world ground fowl. Try not to get YouTube banned again.

I'm Hungary for Turkey.

Grats, Vecs!

Is there any way we could read/hear you read the poem that got accepted?

So is döner actually the same as a Gyro? because that's what my German teacher told us, and that seems completely wrong.


edit: horray for misplaced modifiers

Döner is Turkish, Gyro is Greek. Don't know if there's actually a difference in the meat though.

Rotating meat (and derivative term) primer:

Döner=Turkish for meat
Döner Kebab=rotating meat, Turkish style
Döner Sandviç=rotating lamb meat, Turkish style in sandwich form
A Kebab=British term for a Döner Sandviç (same thing as a gyro)
Gyro=Rotating pork thing, Greek style
A Gyro=American term for a Döner Sandviç (same thing as a kebab)
Shawerma=rotating meat, Middle Eastern or Israeli style
al Pastor=rotating pork, Mexican style

-Pufer

Honestly I don't give a damn so long as it has some sort of dead animal matter and tzatziki (or an equivalent eastern Mediterranean sauce). I do, however, eat lamb gyros fairly frequently, and they are distinct from the döner sandviç/sandwiches I've had in Germany. More homogenized, and they don't always use the rotating meat.

By the way, I've found döner at an Iranian joint in Bellingham, WA and a little deli in Langley, BC. It tastes much better if you watch actual Turks prepare it.

If you're talking about the same thing I think you're talking about, we have them at Kebab shops in this country. Favourite food for drunk people. Doner mix and chips with lots of salt, vinegar and mayonnaise.

Mmmmmm...

Yeah, using gyros loaves is cheating. They're not really bad or anything, but they're not rotating meat.



My favorite joint out here foregoes the fried bits of potato for a steamed pita alongside a bowl of hummus made fresh by the owner's wife. Hummus can be pretty drab, but this stuff is flat out amazing. They also have shakers full of sumac on the counter, which is a nice touch.

-Pufer

I'm afraid to admit that I've never had döner...Nor will I in the foreseeable future...although I must confess that I am a tad bit tempted...

As for my video, you guys can search for it. I'm not incredibly fond of it, honestly, but all the Turks love it. So, yay! I am competing in a regional competition in LA on Sunday, so there will most likely be some videos of that up soon. Wish me luck...

-The Veccster

The ones over here are most definitely fast food at it's worst. The use god only knows what meat to make them, hence why they are generally only craved by drunk people

Although I would very much like to try a proper one at some point.

I don't know why I ever bother trying to answer people's questions.

The Turkish-German stuff is certainly fast food as well, but it is delicious. When I make my first billion as a writer of aphorisms I want to live in a mansion with its own imbiß. I'll import some Turks to run it or something.

Because the tl;dr folks don't bother with my twelve page posts and need info in a succinct package. We make one hell of a team.

-Pufer

So how did you do?

You love me? Wait... why didn't you tell me before I decided to move away.