I had a unique experience today.
I took a boat to the airport.
Well, technically, the ferry took me to the metro, then the metro took me to the airport.
But the boat was part of the trip, and I’d never done that before.
And what a trip!
As the ferry approached Istanbul, there was a full rainbow in the sky.
And as the plane descended from the clouds over Prague, there was snow as far as the eye could see.
I miss the smiles of Turkey.
But it’s good to be back in the city where my teaching adventure began almost 19 years ago.
STILL NO SMOKING
Six weeks ago I flew to Istanbul from Georgia.
Your teacher, dear reader, is a traveller, a wanderer, a ramblin’ man.
And on that infamous flight, I saw something I had not seen since the 1970s: someone smoked a cigarette!
Of course, this is a tough secret to conceal, and she was soon surrounded by staff and her passport taken.
At the time, I joked that she needed an English lesson because, of course, they made announcements several times in English.
But then today, as I flew out of Istanbul, I listened to this announcement a little closer
Here’s what is says:
“Dear passengers, the use of cigarettes, electronic cigarettes and any other smoke producing items and goods are not permitted. Anyone violating this restriction may be subject to administrative fines in accordance with the law.”
You might be thinking, “That sounds like English. I know some of those words. But what does that mean?”
Don’t worry, a lot of native speakers would be thinking the same thing.
Allow me to translate.
It means two things.
First, it means the airline wants to sound important so they use big words and complicated sentences.
(Maybe they feel insecure and wish they were a big, important airline like Lufthansa.)
Second, it means “Don’t smoke.”
So maybe the smoking lady doesn’t need English lessons.
Maybe the airline needs writing lessons.
My advice: keep it simple.
Nobody is impressed when you sound like a lawyer.
You caught good points
Hahaha !
I live in Istanbul.
Keep writing. So funny..
Ι like Turkey too.i can’t sent money to anyone.but if you ever visit greece you can contact mte