~Basketball and Ginger~

So as I sit here, I sip on my new found drink. I have been in Turkey for a few weeks now and sooo many things on my mind. Language, culture, boredom, relaxation, friends, family, and my future. All these things are becoming clearer. A lot of philosophical questions have pleasantly placed themselves into my head. So many cultural differences, subtle yet distinct. For reference, these differences are described now: I, was raised in the country, had a simple life, worked to make my own ends meet, and then continued learning through the city of Columbus. I have constantly been growing. Now my adventures have taken me to Turkey, where I will be living in the hustle and bustle of Izmir, Turkey. So when I compare cultures and/or differences that I notice, please remember my background and that these may not be differences among culture but rather at an individual level. But nonetheless, lets move on and switch angles.

My new found drink: Lemon, ginger, and honey. Burak's aunt realized I was constantly concerned with my looks and appearance as a whole. She recommended that I try drinking this daily drink to detoxify my body, give me energy, and burn calories all in one; I mean lets face it, the American diet has a bountiful amount of toxins to offer, so, why not? Press the juice of half of a lemon, a spoon of honey(however much you prefer), a spoon of powered Ginger, and then add boiling water. Drink one of these a day, preferably on an empty stomach, and it will work wonders. BAM. That's exactly what I think of when I drink this substance. It has an intense taste, but after acquired, I feel that it makes for a great wake up call, like that of coffee... but better for you. ;) In addition to this drink I will be drinking 3 green teas a day. I was drinking about 6-7 a day in Ohio, to stay alert and oriented at work, however, this was probably horrible for me! :P What are ya gonna do?

Next topic: BASKETBALL! Now as a disclosure, as most people know, I am not a sports person; HOWEVER, this was just great. Ok first let me set this up. Now everyone can imagine the Ohio vs. Michigan game or the Big Ten or whatever. Its an intense atmosphere and whatnot, right?! Well, you would never believe there was more spirit than that, I mean, me neither, honestly. Well I was proven wrong last night. It was the semi-finals for the world cup in basketball, Turkey vs. Serbia(which is known to be great). It was Burak, Mine(his aunt, pronounced: mee-nay, love her), and myself. In summary it was a a great game, Mine was yelling, Burak was yelling, I was even yelling.... Hell, the neighbors were yelling. Haha. It was the last 4 seconds of the game, Serbia was up by one point, Turkey threw the ball in and ran it for a 2 pointer. They had won... within 4 seconds, it was ecstatic. That was only the beginning. Immediately following, the streets were filled with yelling, horns blared their horns for hours on end(literally), FB(Facebook) messages were popping up from all my friends. The craziness and excitement of it all was great! I never felt excited about a game honestly until last night. I cant wait to see a soccer game now. So the next stage is Finals with: AMERICA VS. TURKEY. How crazy is this, and you can only imagine how excited and mind-blown I feel, my two favorite countries going head to head. all I have to say about this is, its going to be such such such a fun and overwhelming night, with the Turks screaming OH HA DEV ADAM ONIKI(12) DEV ADAM (Lets go, 12 giant men).

Now as I close this, I finish up the last sips of my BAM POW drink, thinking and hoping that I can continue to find the strength to continue blogging and recording this trip. There have been sooo many thoughts going on in my head, I hope I can put them on paper in an organized manner. :P For now, good afternoon Turkey, and good morning America!!

"A nation's culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people."
~Mohandas Gandhi