I have a bad habit of imagining situations will be worse than they actually end up being.  Some might thing it's a good thing, you know, "plan for the worst, hope for the best" However, for me it just ends up with a lot of needless worrying when I could have been sleeping or studying or something. Such was the case with David's much anticipated visit to my school.

Edirne's exchange students 

David is a pretty chill dude, but he is also one of the best Turkish speakers in the program. As one boy at my school described it today "He's like a machine gun bam bam bam bam bam." Let's just say I didn't need the comparison.  

I dreaded my classmates discovering it really is possible to speak Turkish in five months. I dreaded constantly being compared to David. And both of those things happened. But it really wasn't bad at all.

In fact, I would credit David with my "click" moment. That fabled day spoken in whispers among exchange students. That hour when you decide to open your mouth and talk, and all of a sudden all of that time spent silently studying seems worthwhile.  All of the sudden, I was making sentences! Having conversations! I am well aware I sounded like a four year old, but as one boy put it "I like your pronunciation, it isn't right, but I like it." 

I was still no where near David's level, and yes, I was constantly reminded how amazing David's Turkish is.  I won't say I never got a little bit annoyed with that, but my school life  got a lot better. Not only was communication better, I now had something to talk about with all of my female classmates.  "No, I'm not dating David. No, I'm not interested. Yes, I will tell him hello from you next time I see him." 

Another thing I got from David: his flashcards. I'm pretty sure I was supposed to get them back, but David's back in Istanbul now, and I need them  more than he does.