Refreshments - Foca, Turkey

Yesterday, Burak, Cansu, and myself made a little adventure to a nearby town, Foca. Foca is a small town, located about an hour away which is well-known for their fish(Balik) and Raki(a turkish liquor). The town is small, with tiny alleyways as roads; we actually got caught up a couple times with the car. We ended up sitting at a small cafe right on the seaside, with the water nearly smashing us with every wave. There was a light breeze and no traffic, given its small size of a city. It really was a peaceful place.

After tea, we went to this small Hotel(5 rooms!). It was right along the seaside as well. They had just finished designing it after so long. Each room was designed differently, and they were all supposed to resemble a French domain. The beds were huge, and the bathrooms were so clean and neat. In one of the rooms, the bathtub was strategically placed in front of the window which faced the sea! It cost was about 100-250 dollars per night. A perfect honeymoon hotel.

We went to a fish place, Celep restaurant. We ordered calamari(fried and cold), Russian salad, and a whole fish, that Cansu and I chose out. There was also bread and olive oil. We also ordered a bottle of Raki. When you do such a thing, they call it a Raki table. Typically, there are old songs of romance and depression sang, and a lot of reminiscing. Typically its rude or out of the normal to bring up current issues or problems, because it is supposed to be a time of happiness and memories. the Raki is poured half-way then you add water which turns the liquid from clear to a cloudy white color. It tastes and reminds me a little bit of licorice, however the nice thing about this drink is you can decide how strong you want the taste to be. Its a Turkish classic, Fresh Fish and Raki.

Of course after, we were pleasantly happy and meandered over to the nearest Dondurma (Ice cream) shop!! It was a gummy texture and fresh flavors. It was a great way to end a relaxing, refreshing, and mind-opening day.

"In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed."

~Kahlil Gibran!

~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

The Hurricane Has Begun!!!!!

So I just recently made my purchase of my first blackberry storm. I really enjoy its applications and nonsense, although I have realized how annoying the constant reminders can be sometimes, like emails, facebook, myspace, calendars, texts, calls, blackboards!! AHHHHHHH So much constant nonsense! Oh well, I really enjoy being able to do random things that I cant do on regular phones. The touch screen was a risk that I was willing to take, and I did just that! It was a great investment!!

Next on the agenda. . . . . Turkiye!! I'm am 54 days from being in a great place, not that america isn't great, just a new great place! I walked around town with Burak and discussed a lot of things and aspects of the trip and the constant things I will be doing!! I haven't been this excited for a long time, and I feel that I am most excited about the fact I have never ever had a school break, where it is an actual break! I am always constantly going going goin with the schedule of 2 or more jobs, doctors, family, and trying my hardest to stay close to my friends. I will not be having any stress at all, no planning, of course little planning but nothing that I should actually be concerned over, and this excites me to the extreme!! So I am 54 and counting!!

right now I am sitting with great friends, Burak and Jackie, at a coffee shop. I should be studying, but I just feel let down everytime I do study, it seems to never get me anywhere!? OH well, I am enjoying my lovely time with some studying in between!

At this point I have no firther things to write, I have hit a stopping point!! so here is to the end! Peace

Nursing = DeAtH (Laugh, It's Funny!)

So I have come to a great big realization, this is going to be yet again, a typical lame quarter. A group of us were sitting in class, pondering the facts of nursing and where it should lead us, blah blah blah. One said No Mo' Fo' Sho'. One Said come one we can make this interesting. One said let's just give up and start a new job (I shall not mention, Haha). As for myself, I clearly stated, Nursing = Death, they stopped stared and laughed! However, I have been thinking about my joke, and, my realization, COMPLETE TRUTH!!! Nursing is going to be one of the most stressful careers ever, or at least the steps to get there! College is ridiculous, why oh why?

Then I started to discuss this with some of the international students, from at least 4 - 5 countries, and unanimously they said, I have never felt as stressed as I have studying in this country. Why is this? Why is it that many countries around us have superb schooling, where they are taught to hand write their math problems rather than calculators like us (I'll get to that little fact on another day). But seriously, countries around the world, have just as good of economy, if not better now, yet we are the ones that are stuck with all of the stress?!?! What I have come to gather about life, is that stress begins in middle school, the stress to get into a good college, then once in high school you work even harder (job, school, extracurriculars, things to please others), then you go to college and you upgrade the largest size(paying for it, studying for it, managing family and friends, job, relaxation, never, and then just all the little things that life has to add), then you get into the "real world," and you have to strive to be "the best that you can ultimately be!" Why? Why does one have to strive the best that they can be, why cannot one just enjoy the life; of course, there should be stress, stress to maintain food and shelter and loving relationships, but why all of this stress to have this perfect, nuclear, standard, boring way of life?

"My friend is one... who take me for what I am."

I don't doubt that we have these stresses for a reason, or that the stresses to fit into a certain fragment of life to please others, but why is that society has entrapped us in our conservative, unchanging manners? A lot of individuals are stuck immaturely, and drastically "in the olden fashions." May one day these individuals briskly walk past that part of their lives, and open the doors to a new more open, brighter, happier, diverse manner of thinking!!

"The poor long for riches. The rich long for heaven. But the wise desire
tranquility."

With all of these rantings, I feel that this shall be an interesting quarter, many stresses to be perfect, have a fit, unchanging, and unrealistic schedule; and I shall hopefully by the end of my senior year be alive so that I may soon get the nursing degree that I thoroughly deserve!

Peace and Love to the fullest, and may whomever you believe in bless you completely, and I leave you with great hopes for a spectacular future!

Blood Plasma, Confidence and New Beginnings

SOOOOOO . . . .
Much has happened since my last, informal posts! We just got back from spring break. Of course as usual it was not much of a break, I have begun work orientation at OSU hospital East as a SNA (Student Nurse Assistant). The most exciting thing was that I got to successfully draw blood from about 15 patients!!!!!! Initially I felt nervous, normal, but once I started, I got in the zone. I was like a born expert of course. . . Not . . . Haha. Honestly I feel confident that I will be able to do great in nursing, I just need these little confidence boosters to keep me going, and with this new job opportunity, I feel that I will get all the confidence and patient communication skills I need!

A new quarter has begun, I am taking Microbiology, Maternal-Newborn Nursing, and Child Developmental Psychology. I feel that this quarter will be much easier, especially without having mono like I did last quarter. I have a lot of hopes and aspirations for this quarter and have an ending goal of getting A's and one B(in any one class), and preparing for my trip. I would also like to take a mass trip to Cedar Point with all of my friends up here, and of course my bests from Utica!! Well that is it for now, hopefully I keep up a little more frequently, but we shall see.

"You have to stand for what you believe in. And sometimes you have to stand alone"

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