The Rainy Season

When talking to my parents last week, they asked me why I haven't written a blog post in a while. My response was that I had nothing to write about. My daily routine seemed unchanged and I didn't think that anything exciting had been happening. After talking to my parents I started to realize that my blog didn't just have to be about me. Sure my experience in Turkey is exciting and unusual, but while in Turkey, there have been controversial events on the news, new fundraisers that have been brought to my attention, and a new App that I think are worth talking about. And yes, there has also been some new adventures in my life as well.

Last week in the news, Jonathan Martin, an NFL player for the Miami Dolphins was said to have left his team due to harassment and hazing going on from his teammate Richie Incognito. After watching the broadcasters on TV talk about this event, I felt disgusted. The broadcasters were justifying the behavior of Incognito, by saying that hazing is expected when you are a rookie and all of us went through it. I decided to write a post on Facebook voicing my opinion.

"This whole hazing thing going on in Miami is ridiculous. I can't believe these commentators/broadcasters are supporting any kind of hazing. These athletes are role-models for younger kids and if kids hear that their heroes are hazing, what do you think they're going to do? How can we possibly look at celebrities and criticize them on their behavior, but when it comes to an athlete, it's justified. Any kind of initiation to a new group should involve everyone on the same level to build a family within that team. No one should feel as though they are being forced to do anything, regardless of how old they are, professional or pee-wee!"

Once I had written this Facebook post, I realized that it would be an important topic to talk to my upper secondary students about. We discussed hazing and how it is OK to say "No". They should never feel uncomfortable doing something that a friend asks them to do. Whether it is within a sports team, at a party, or in college, people may ask/tell you to do things that you are not physically or emotionally ready for or comfortable with. I feel that all teachers and parents should have this conversation with their students/kids. Working at an international school, many students come and go every year and new students may try to get in with a group of friends right away, which can lead to a lot of peer pressure. This is an important topic that is not discussed until something bad happens. Make sure to discuss it before it is too late!

On a lighter note, at the beginning of the year, some of the male teachers asked me if I wanted to do Movember. I had no idea what they were talking about. After they explained what it was I was still a bit confused. I've heard of "No Shave November" and "Manuary", but never Movember. Maybe this is partially  due to the fact that growing facial hair is not one of my strengths. So by late October, I decided to do some research and found that Movember is a movement to raise money and awareness for men's health. Guys grow out their Mo(mustache) for the entire month of November while looking for donations and talking to friends, family, and on lookers about men's health. If you are interested in donating to my page or just to check up on my Mo progress, here is my Mo Space: http://us.movember.com/mospace/

For those of you who know me really well, you know that one of my favorite shows on TV is Shark Tank. A show where hopeful entrepreneurs present their business, product, or idea to a panel of 5 millionaire and billionaire investors to try and receive money or partnership to help grow their company. I believe it was last season, that a man came on the show presenting his company, Postcard On The Run, which is an App you can download. Essentially, wherever you are in the world, you can take a picture of yourself, the scenery, or whatever, and send the picture as a postcard to anyone in the world. It is sent as an actual postcard with your personalized photo on one side and a typed message on the other. Being in Turkey, I thought this would be a good App to download so I can stay in touch with my family in a unique way. And since my grandparents do not have the latest technology for some reason, they get to see and hear about what I've been up to. It's cheap, easy, and fun. I recommend it to everyone. It's great if you are traveling, living abroad, or if you are living on one end of the country and you have family on the other.

This brings me to my latest adventure. a few weekends ago, I took a short vacation to Samos, one of the Greek Islands with a friend from college. It only takes about an hour to get to the island by boat from Turkey, which makes it very easy to get to. The island was amazing. Since it was the end of the tourist season, the island was very quiet. We rented a car and drove all over the island exploring different beaches, restaurants, and sites. And after watching a few YouTube clips on driving manual, I perfected my driving skills by the end of the trip. The entire island was very picturesque. From the mountains to the small fishing villages, everything looked incredible. On the day that we arrived, we drove to the backend of the island to walk around and see what was around. We ended up stumbling upon a hotel that was closed for the Winter, only to open for a wedding in a few weeks. After talking to the owners, they allowed us to stay in their hotel for Saturday night (we already had another hotel booked for that night). Luckily for us, the owner let us stay in the Honeymoon Suite, which was beautiful and had a stunning view. Here's a picture of the view from that hotel -->
On the last day, before we headed back to Turkey, we laid on the beach and enjoyed the sun. Right before we left, however, a small dog came up to us and wanted to play fetch and lay down. Unfortunately, the dog did not run along when we were ready to leave. In fact, he kept standing in front of the car, making it impossible for us to drive around. We eventually got a stick, threw it, and tried to drive off once the dog went for the stick. But our furry friend was able to run faster than we could drive on the beach. We eventually gave the stick one last throw and sped off as fast as we could. For over a hundred yards, the dog was hustling after us as fast as he could. He eventually gave up. It was a bit bitter-sweet leaving our friend behind.

Back at school, the swim team started their practices. After coaching at Sunny Willow and at UDAC, this made me feel right at home. So far, it has been very fun coaching the students. Although they only practice once a week, you can tell they are learning a lot and progressing on their technique and endurance. Hopefully they will have a few meets throughout the year to compete against other schools and to show off  their speed.

Lastly, next weekend I will be traveling to Istanbul to try out for Turkey's Men's National Lacrosse Team. After the tryout I will update the blog on how it went and what the future looks like for Turkey Lacrosse.