A gal pal mentioned that no one flirts with her. Or if someone does, she doesn’t know it. We are in Turkey and she is learning to get her flirt on.
It seems that part of a Turkish boy’s initiation into manhood is a lesson on flirting. Or maybe this is just among merchant and restaurant classes.
When we enter an eatery, we smile and make eye contact. We are greeted with, “Hello beautiful.” Chatting with our waiters, soon we hear, “Yes, my darling” in response to our questions. Some outright ask us to go dancing with them when they are off shift.
I play along with a flirtatious waiter whose name — really — is Romeo. “Dearest Romeo, my we have some more butter please?” “Of course, my darling,” he responds as he smiles and trots off to fetch it.
Walking in the Grand Bazaar, the young men shopkeepers beckon us with “You have beautiful eyes,” or “Come beautiful, take a look,” or my favorite, “Is it my turn yet?”
These are all innocent, albeit a tad smarmy, but they make me laugh or smile. I know they are phrases used to entice us to part with our lira, but they fleetingly feel good nonetheless.
Learning to flirt in safe places will increase your confidence and skills for when you find someone you really want to play with. If you can’t flirt in innocuous circumstances, it will be harder to do when you want to.