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.