Well, This is Interesting....

The view from our balcony

Today marks my two week Turkish anniversary so I figured it would be a good time to update you all on life over here. I'll start by saying Turkey is drastically different than anywhere else I've ever lived. Not for better, or for worse, just so much different. Our city, Bursa, is huge. There's a lot of great shopping, restaurants, things to do, etc. The biggest city I've lived in over here was around 700,000 people so Bursa's almost 3 million is a pretty drastic change. 

We got all moved into our new apartment and it's great. When joining a new team, finding an apartment is always a daunting task. Some teams let you pick, others assign you a place, and there's always a chance you end up in a 1970's style apartment filled with green carpet. Luckily, we've been fortunate enough to always get really great apartments but I have some friends who haven't been so lucky. I'm not sure who's usually more nervous on the apartment hunt.. me or Deividas, out of fear that he'll have to listen to me complain non-stop if the apartment isn't good. Anyways, our place is great and we're really happy about it. Crazy enough, theres actually another American couple living in our same building. The husband plays for Bursa's Second Division Team. There's also another American from this team that lives in the building behind us and the two Americans from D's team live just down the street. We have a nice little American community right in walking distance :)

Some pictures of our apartment 

Here's my initial thoughts about Turkey:

The people are really, really nice. There's definitely  lot more smiling going on here than in Eastern Europe and everyone has been really friendly so far, always eager to help and make sure you feel comfortable. But with that said....

Not a lot of English going on. I figured in a city of almost 3 million, English would be easy to come by. We've been shocked by how few people here actually speak English. I've actually never been anywhere and had more trouble finding English speakers. I definitely understand that I'm in Turkey and need to pick up a little Turkish, but I've been really surprised by the lack of English here.

Driving is a nightmare.  I've seen some crazy drivers before (my own mother being one of them), but driving in Turkey is absolutely horrifying. It is a constant game of chicken, who's going to get scared and slow down first. We've been honked/yelled at for stopping at stop signs here, seen people REVERSE on the highway when they missed their exit, and overall everyone has a complete disregard for turning signals of any kind. D has been here two weeks and already drives like a local. I'm wondering how he'll ever adapt to driving like a normal human being again once we go home this summer. Meanwhile, I keep my eyes closed in the front seat and prefer walking when at all possible.

Security is very tight. To be honest, it scared the shit out of me the first time I saw you had to go through metal detectors to enter the shopping malls here. Essentially every where you go, they have a metal detector at the entrance with a person there swiping your bag. Additionally, when you enter a parking garage, they make you pop your trunk so they can make sure you aren't bringing anything in. At first I was really freaked out but this, but after thinking about all the crazies we have in America shooting up malls and schools, I would actually be 100% content with implementing this policy in the US. 

In my next life, I want to be a Turkish schoolgirl. Our apartment is sandwiched between two schools (one being an American School) so I've had the pleasure of feeling like one of the students whenever I leave my windows open. The first day I heard all the music coming from the school, I figured it was a special holiday. Well, here I am two weeks later and they still play music all throughout the day. I'm not sure what goes on in those schools, but I do know I feel seriously cheated. In my next life, I want to go to school here.

The fiat city. D's team is sponsored by Fiat, and the car company has a huge factory here in Bursa. In fact, their plant is connected to D's practice gym and it's actually like it's own little city. Almost 10,000 people work at the factory so on the premise they have a restaurant, grocery store, and a bank, which are all closed to outsiders. Every Tuesday we've been going to dinner at the restaurant for Seafood Night. The restaurant is a huge ballroom with live Turkish music and the food is actually really good. I thought it was pretty cool they offer their employees all these different amenities. It's definitely not your average workplace cafeteria. 

The silk market is incredible. Our city is known for it's silk production and we have a market, the Koza Han, which has been selling silk since the Ottoman Empire. We explored the market last week and I was blown away. There were so many gorgeous handmade gowns and I obviously felt like I needed every single one of them. The city's main Mosque is right outside the market and it is absolutely breathtaking. Hoping I can make friends with one of the uberly talented Turkish dressmakers and have something made before I leave here. 

Ulu Cami Mosque

I had a serious moment here.

No Twitter?? The other morning, Deividas called for me from the other room to ask if my twitter was working. I'm not an active twitter user and typically only log on to see what the rest of the world is commenting on the super important things in life, such as: LBJ or KD for MVP, March Madness Predictions, and the rest of the world's thoughts on the latest episode of Scandal. However, I noticed that my twitter was also out of service. I figured this was just something with our internet and shook it off. A few minutes later, we were having coffee watching the European News Chanel and heard the headlines "Turkey Bands Twitter". The Turkish Prime Minister decided to ban the site but luckily people have already found ways around this. You can say whatever you want about America, but I promise you this type of thing couldn't and wouldn't happen there. I'm not particularly talking about Twitter, because frankly, I don't care too much. However, we take for granted how free of a country the US is, and I wish I could enlighten all of my Facebook Friends who are constantly discontent with the government, that we really don't have it all that bad. 

and on a lighter note:

Dear: The Rest of the World,

You're doing it wrong.

Sincerely,

Turkish Kebaps (kebabs).

Overall it's been a great two weeks here. Deividas had his first game on Saturday and did really well, scoring 16 points. It's been a challenge adjusting to a completely different culture but we've enjoyed it so far. I promise to be more diligent about updating on here :)

  

A New Adventure

Well, I've got some big news today.. We had to make a decision on whether to stay in Wloclawek for the remainder of the season or take an offer to go elsewhere. In the past two weeks, D has had to decline offers from teams in Spain, Italy and Germany, and this past week another team entered the mix. I won't discuss the specifics out of respect for all sides, but we made a choice to finish out this season in Turkey with Tofas. I'd like everyone in Anwil to know what a difficult decision this was. We love the staff, the players and the fans there, but ultimately this was the right choice for our family and for Deividas' career. Leaving Wloclawek was extremely bittersweet. Over the last few months, we have met a lot of great people,  experienced several wonderful cities in Poland and been taken great care of by the Anwil Staff. I can't thank these people enough for helping me settle in and honestly, as a wife moving to a new and unfamiliar city, I've never been treated better by a team thus far. Deividas is so grateful for that team and his teammates for giving him a great opportunity to play basketball and it was so fun for me to watch him succeed and have fun again. I'll miss a lot of things about this team, the city, the people, my awesome gym & trainer, the list is endless. Anwil and Wloclawek will always have a special place in our hearts. 

The last 48 hours have been a complete whirlwind. We had to once again pack up everything we own in a moment's notice. My father-in-law flew in from Lithuania to help us pack and  to drive our car back to his house with all the items we wouldn't be bringing with us. I can't tell you how awesome he is for this. Every time we move he instantly offers to help, and after discouraging him from coming, he always finds his way. Honestly, I have no idea what we would do without him and I'm so, so grateful. 

Anyone who's ever moved knows how stressful packing can be. This is our 5th move in just over a year! (Vilnius->Riga...Riga->USA…USA->Vilnius…Vilnius->Wloclawek…Wloclawek->Bursa!!! ) This isn't the type of moving where you're switching apartments and can throw things in a moving truck, everything we pack has to be carefully thought out as to what will fit in our luggage depending on how many extra bags I can convince Deividas to let me bring. EVERY TIME we pack, Deividas somehow acts like I'm the only one with a lot of stuff (even though he has equally as much as me) and our packing conversations tend to go something like this: 

D: "I thought you said you were only bringing two pairs of sweats".

M: "Those aren't sweats, those are yoga pants"...

D: "And these?"

M: "Those aren't yoga pants, they're leggings…" and finally.. "Those aren't leggings, they're tights".

I'm not sure how our relationship has survived these past five moves but eventually D gets to a point where he feels bad for how stressed/nervous I am that we're moving and forgives my packing transgressions and we eventually come out a bit stronger after each and every move :)

Yesterday may have been one of the longest days of my life. After packing up our apartment, we got in the car and headed to Warsaw to go to the airport. On the drive there, I finally got to discover an answer to one of my biggest questions since arriving to Poland. Whenever we drive to the main highway outside of our city, I've always noticed these young ladies standing off of the highway road, practically in the woods. My first time seeing them I remember thinking "well that's an odd place to be waiting for a bus". Then I started to see more of these gals, usually dressed in red and holding an umbrella while it wasn't raining or snowing out. I was pretty sure they were working gals and after seeing them on my way to Warsaw yesterday, my curiosity took over and I had to make a phone call to a local for confirmation. Sure enough, they are indeed hookers who wait off the side of the highway for truckers to pick them up, utilize their services, and drop them off somewhere else…traveling hookers, if you will. I'm an extremely curious person so It felt good to settle this debacle in my head before leaving the city. Unfortunately, I still have one question left unanswered from my time in Wloclawek. That is, why are Yorkies the absolute go-to dog for all Wloclawek residents? I mean I have NEVER seen so many Yorkies in my entire life. Tucker really felt like quite the minority..Hoping I can get closure on that one. 

Anyways, after a 2 hour drive to Warsaw, a 2 hour flight to Istanbul, we finally arrived in Turkey! Istanbul has been on the top of my list of places to see so I was pretty excited to be moving so close to it. Our team is in the city Bursa, and since Turkey is split in half between Europe and Asia, Bursa technically lays on the Asian side (very close to the European border and it still plays in the European basketball leagues). Bursa was the first capital city of the Ottoman Empire and now it's the center for the automotive industry in Turkey and has almost 3 million people. It's also the ski capital of Turkey with a ski resort on  Mt. Uludag just outside the city. From Bursa, you can take a ferry to Istanbul in about 1.5 hours and they just came out with the option of taking a helicopter which is much more expensive but only takes 20 minutes!

Bursa on the map

A google image search of Bursa 

A google image search of Bursa

A google image search of Bursa

I have to admit I was really nervous before the move. I've only ever lived in Eastern/Central Europe and although the countries I've been in have been pretty different, they are still European and with that comes a lot of similarities: beautiful Old Towns, cobblestone streets, and similar cuisines and grocery shopping experiences, more or less. Just from looking online, Turkey is so much different than anywhere I've lived and I had a brief panic moment over the thought of leaving all the familiarities behind. Yet, we are both still so young and while it's just the two of us (and Tucker) traveling together, I plan on taking full advantage of experiencing all of these different cultures. I have heard so many amazing things about Turkey, as it's where most of my European friends vacation over the summers. Additionally, they have one of the best basketball leagues in all of Europe and we've heard nothing but great things about Tofas, D's new team and what a great organization they are. I'll admit I was pretty ignorant as to how beautiful the country is until it came up in a conversation between D and I a few years ago. After an immediate google search, it has been in my head to visit there ever since (enlighten yourself with a google search of Turkey and I promise you'll be pleasantly surprised). 

A google image search of Bursa

A google image search of Bursa

A google image search of Bursa

A google image search of Bursa

I'm really excited to learn all about Turkey and have this new experience. It's been an extremely tough past few days but I am absolutely confident that everything happens for a reason, and that this is just a part of God's bigger and better plan for us. Here I am in a hotel, sitting in my Turkish Bath robe (wondering if I can find one in Tucker's size),  reflecting over the whirlwind of emotions I've felt in the past few days and just how absolutely grateful I am, for so many things. For Deividas, calming me down and being my rock, telling me "it's my job to worry, please let that be my job". For our family and friends who support us and our moms who don't freak out when we call them and tell them we're moving to a new country in a few hours. And mostly for God, for his plan for us, and for allowing me to surrender my fears to him and know that his plan is far greater than mine. 

                                        

All-Star Weekend!!!!

Last weekend we took a trip to Pardubice, Czech Republic where D got to play in the Polish vs. Czech All-Star Game! The best players in Poland play against the top Czech players and there's a dunk contest, 3-point contest and a lot of other events. I was so proud of D for getting chosen to represent Poland, and equally excited to go explore a new country.

The ride in was, well…interesting. It was one of those days on the road where absolutely nothing goes your way. Driving through Poland is an experience in itself. When looking at a map, you'd think going from our city to Prague would be a short trip and really it should be. I expected Poland to have multiple highway systems like we do in the states, where a trip to any big city is almost all on highway roads. However, this isn't usually the case. They do have a few highways, but they do not connect all of the big cities, and it usually takes going through an insane route to reach them in the first place. Whenever we travel throughout Poland, we always have three or four GPS going at once, hoping one will somehow route us to a better road. Our first time traveling, we thought something went seriously wrong as the GPS instructed us to turn into what looked like someone's backyard. I have absolutely no idea how people got around Poland in the pre-GPS/Siri days because some of these routes are far more frightening than those I've spent years mastering on Mario Kart. In fact, I would rather deal with banana peels and mushrooms on the road than continuously getting stuck behind a tractor carrying hay in the middle of what appears to be an abandoned yard. I kept fantasizing we were actually playing Mario Kart, wishing I could either throw the lightning bolt at the multiple tractor men to shrink and pass them, or find the star to be granted temporary invincibility to roll through my fellow travelers at top speeds.

Countless tractors later, we crossed the border into the Czech Republic. I've been wanting to go to Prague for a long time now and since Pardubice is just over an hour away, we decided to spend a night in Prague on our way. The drive in to Prague was absolutely stunning. We drove through some beautiful mountains and really unique small towns to which I instantly got the desire to belt out "the hillllls are aliiiiiiive"(meanwhile, foreigner husband has never seen Sound of Music and looked at me like I was crazy).  Anyways, we finally made it to Prague in one piece and I was literally blown away by this city. Prague is filled with awesome architecture, cool old buildings and some really great bars & restaurants. It's honestly unlike anywhere I've ever been before. We stayed right in the Old Town and spent that night and the whole next day exploring, and I still feel like I didn't come close to seeing everything the city has to offer. We had dinner at an Italian restaurant on a boat overlooking an amazing view of the city and I couldn't help but to think sometimes this crazy life that we've chosen turns out pretty fucking awesome.

exploring Prague Castle

Lennon Wall

Such a neat city.. 

 After spending the next afternoon in Prague, we drove to Pardubice. It's a really cute little town with a nice Old Town area and I was satisfied right away to hear that the Dunk Contest Qualifiers would be held in the middle of the town's shopping mall. Was this some sort of trick? Whoever had this idea is a woman (must've been) after my own heart. The qualifiers consisted of 3 players from each country going head to head with someone from the opposing team. The top 3 dunkers would go on to the finals the next day. D was the shortest in the competition, but definitely one of the best! White men everywhere should be indebted to him for breaking the stereotype because that boy can jump. He had to do 3 different dunks and unanimously, the judges voted him to the finals.

Qualifiers..never thought I'd see D dunking in front of Sephora...

love this one

The All-Star game was comical, like they usually are. No one takes it super seriously until the end. Unfortunately, D didn't win the dunk contest but we take solace in the fact he lost to an ex-NBA player. I sat by a Kurdish girl who was supporting her friend that was playing for the Czech team. She grew up in Germany and met the Czech player when she was studying abroad in the US. It was nice having someone to talk to and a reminder of how many cool people I've had the chance to meet from around the world.



Overall the trip was great and we were both really grateful for the experience. Prague, I can promise you that I will return. Hopefully by plane.

We stopped in the beautiful city of Wroclaw on our way home

Berlin Round 2: The Return of the Quad

My apologies that I've pretty much been the worst at keeping up with my blog lately. A lot of exciting stuff has been happening! First off, D ended up getting a few unexpected days off so we took a trip to Berlin last weekend to meet up with our friends Luke & Stevi. The last time I was in Berlin with Brie a month ago it was 0 degrees so I was looking forward to getting to see the city under more favorable circumstances. By the way, it's official..Brie's trip coincided with the absolute coldest days of the year here. This winter has been really mild EXCEPT for the dreadfully freezing 12 days that encompassed her Euro trip. Really not sure what the chances were that we'd plan her trip on the worst days possible, but it definitely happened!

Anyways, Berlin was a complete blast. It's always good reuniting with Luke & Stevi. Usually one of the guys are left out because Stevi and I are visiting one another and the guys can't come because of practice so it worked out unbelievably that they both had days off at the same time. As soon as we touched down in Berlin we did the most logical thing and relocated to the nearest "bier garten". Which reminds me, what is it about the German language that makes me think they're just making words up? It sounded so crazy to me that I kept telling D I was 100% sure people were faking it and coming up with complete BS words like I do when someone approaches me in Poland and I want to pretend like I don't speak Polish or English. I'm on to you Germans…

Gangs all "hier"

The four of us had a great time bouncing from bar to bar and everything was just like the old days: Stevi and I talking by ourselves while the guys were so enthralled by their own conversations that they forgot we existed. Luke & Deividas had each other in tears at one point as Stevi and I desperately wished we didn't know them. Basically, absolutely nothing has changed since college. Overall it was such a fun night and I'm so glad the quad was reunited. It's a rare combination to like your spouse's best friend's spouse (confused?, I am.) but to be best friends with them is a whole different level of luckiness. Stevi and I got along so well right from the beginning and both her and Luke are two of my favorite people in the entire world.

Nothin wrong with a little Reichstag Selfie

Brandenburg Gate

The next day they headed back to Belgium and D and I spent another day in Berlin. We explored the whole city by foot and had the best time. It's days like this where I forget all the negative parts about living overseas: missing friends, family & important events,  and just feel so lucky to be in the position where we could hop on a train and explore a huge European city together. We ate great food, argued over directions (D is always an instant geographical specialist in whatever city he's in, regardless of if he's ever been there or not), shopped and avoided stepping within 100 yards of a currywurst.  Berlin was good to us, and I'm ready to make a third trip there :)

Berlin Dom

Checkpoint Charlie

A lot of other exiting things have been happening. D is now the leading scorer in his league and got voted to the All-Star Game (which I'll cover in my next post) where we just got back from in the Czech Republic. Poland has been very good to us!

It's now March and officially Spring and I am desperately yearning for the days where I no longer need a jacket. Speaking of March, remember how I told you Lithuania has SEVERAL crazy holidays? Well today, March 4th is "Pancakes Day". On this day, you go to your friends/family members house for pancakes, and schools burn a scarecrow that is supposed to scare off winter. It is also "Kazimieras Day" so if your name is Kazimieras (like D's grandpa), this day is dedicated to you! So that's that…

Wishing everyone a Happy (and warmer) Spring <3