Tesekker ederim

Brigadier General Demirarslan was nice enough to invite several hundred of his closest friends and fellow Massachusetts Avenue Embassy Row-denizens to his crib in honor of Turkish Armed Forces Day, and I weasled myself into an invite to score some free doner kebab.
It was my first Embassy Function, and a very classy affair, with generals hobnobbing with ladies, navy guys, army guys, foreign guys. Several that I met back on the trip to the Pacific Northwest, as well as their spouses. That was the worst part of the night, actually: I didn't have mine to play with. Weaved from group to group, bottled water in hand, sighing alone. Ainsley was too sick and tending to two even sicker children, so was unable to make it. The Turkish Attache sent her his regards, as did the assistant attache's wife, Azoo, which her husband said meant 'Desire." She was very charming, and they were nice enough to hang out with me all evening, since the General and his wife had to stand at the front the Entire Two Hours shaking hands with attendees. I felt bad. Wanted to throw them a shrimp or something.
But I tried to be charming, asking Azoo when she started learning English. She said it was when she was about 16, so I said, "Oh, so about three years ago, then?"
Apparently flattery is the universal language.