as many who reside overseas to cherish and seek out those little reminders of home. Here in Antalya, Turkey the reminent of choice is none other than The Iced Latte! This irony of choice is truly a conundrum to many locals here where coffee only comes hot, ice is always cold and never the two shall meet. On the walk back from lunch to my bungalo (which is QUITE a walk!) I stopped off at the outdoor café for a cool and refreshing resbit from the heat. Thus ensued the mildly entertaining tale that is my iced coffee!
Walking up to the counter the exchange went something like this…
Hello, do you speak English?
No. Speaken di deutche?
No. Espanol?
No. (blank sympathic stare – seemingly saying: poor American girl, she only speaks one language)
Can I have a cup of ice?
You want a coke. (starts to walk to the coke machine)
No. I would like a cup (points to cup) of ice (points to ice machine)
A cup of ice? (obviously thinking I am crazy!)
Yes please, lots of ice (pointing to rim of the cup)
Ok. (fills glass and returns) A cup of ice.
And can I have an espresso?
Espresso. (thankfully this word is understood here)
(he goes to put it in a fancy cup with saucer) Oh, no thank you, just in the cup.
(Insane Americans! – the look of shock & amusement radiates from his face) hahahahaha – (yes, you read that right, he just laughed at me)
Cold milk? (I ask pointing to the frig.)
Cold milk?!? (he repeats as he walks over – this has now moved to beyond strange)
To the top. Iced Latte. (pointing to the cup) Iced Latte.
(He just smiled and laughed at me)
Hello, do you speak English?
No. Speaken di deutche?
No. Espanol?
No. (blank sympathic stare – seemingly saying: poor American girl, she only speaks one language)
Can I have a cup of ice?
You want a coke. (starts to walk to the coke machine)
No. I would like a cup (points to cup) of ice (points to ice machine)
A cup of ice? (obviously thinking I am crazy!)
Yes please, lots of ice (pointing to rim of the cup)
Ok. (fills glass and returns) A cup of ice.
And can I have an espresso?
Espresso. (thankfully this word is understood here)
(he goes to put it in a fancy cup with saucer) Oh, no thank you, just in the cup.
(Insane Americans! – the look of shock & amusement radiates from his face) hahahahaha – (yes, you read that right, he just laughed at me)
Cold milk? (I ask pointing to the frig.)
Cold milk?!? (he repeats as he walks over – this has now moved to beyond strange)
To the top. Iced Latte. (pointing to the cup) Iced Latte.
(He just smiled and laughed at me)
Walking away I am sure he was in shock at such an odd concoction of temperatures and flavors. However, for a multi-lingual exchange the drink was half decent. Incidently, I rarely (if ever) drink iced lattes in the States, but somehow here, it just works. Its no Starbucks and it certainly could use a splash of carmel flavoring, but for a few minutes it’s a small luxurious reminder of home.
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