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First of all, one of the guys from the Istanbul team came down this week to help with the frisbee weekend preparations. He was born and raised in Istanbul, so he is practically Turkish (though he still claims to be American). I was amazed at how someone with the language could do more in one day than I did in two weeks. We have some solid leads now and I hope to be telling you all about this frisbee weekend really soon.
Secondly, I just got back from an awesome trip to the mountains with the roomies. It was raining most the day, but we found shelter in an old watchtower. I have no idea when this thing was built, but when we asked a local villager he replied, "I'm 55 years old and it has been here my whole life. My father is 80 and it was here as far back as he remembers." So we know for a fact that it's at least 80 years old. Past that, it's anyone's guess. Hopefully I will have pictures soon (assuming the film was loaded correctly).
Third, Uncle Ted and his wife had their fourth son this week. Congrats to them and welcome to Earth, Brownie #4.
And lastly, Clemson didn't quite pull it out for the ACC title, but we still landed a solid 5 seed in the tourney. While I know the history of 5 seeds being upset, I'm hoping that Drake will get beat (they're down as I write this) and take the pressure off of us. I'll go ahead and mention here that I didn't take enough time to really look at my bracket. The tourney kind of snuck up on me this year. My bracket looks terrible already, though my Sweet 16 is still intact so far.
I hope everyone enjoys their Easter. We had a wonderful prayer time at church last night where we had a nice dinner, shared our thoughts on the upcoming "resurrection holiday," and then celebrated the Lord's Supper. It was really great and a wonderful way to really prepare myself and the church for the upcoming holiday. Easter is what our whole faith revolves around. I know that it was on the cross that our sins were paid for. But think about it. Everybody dies. If Jesus had just died, he would have just been another man. It was his resurrection that showed his power over death. And like Paul says, "And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain." (1 Cor. 15:14)
Praise God that he has risen!
Friday, March 21, 2008
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Blog FIRST!
For the first time in the history of my blog (and probably in the history of blogs in general), you are going to get an entire post dedicated to... wait for it...
Clemson BASKETBALL!?!?!
That's right, all you diaper dandies out there. March Madness is upon us. Today is Selection Sunday, when the NCAA debuts it's field of 65 teams that will compete in the greatest championship tournament in the world, the NCAA Men's College Basketball Tournament (otherwise known as the Big Dance).
Most years in March Clemson is hyped up on baseball. With the 9th winningest program in the nation, Clemson baseball is perennially in the top 10 and eyeing a chance to go to Omaha for the second best championship tournament in the world, the College World Series. However, this year is quite different. Baseball is in a rebuilding year and looking rough. Basketball is what the orange faithful are watching these days (and only the orange faithful will realize how dramatically unbelievable that statement is).
The experts say we had a bid to the Big Dance locked up a few weeks back. We played a great nonconference schedule that only included two losses (one to a good Ole Miss team). Then, we finished all alone at third in the ACC (one of the top basketball conferences year in and year out). Along the way we took UNC, the #1 team in the country, into overtime twice before finally falling. Both games we had and let slip away. But we beat the people we were supposed to beat and only had a couple goof ups along the way. Just getting that at large bid is enough reason to have any Tiger excited, but that's just the beginning.
Being third in the ACC gave us a first round bye in the ACC tournament. Friday night we kicked off our ACC tourney run with a blasting of BC. The final score ended up being 82-48. Yes, you read that right, 82-48. The press defense forced 22 turnovers and kept the fighting Jesuits from getting any rhythm on offense. Again, this is enough to be considered a monumental year in Clemson basketball. But the ride continues.
Yesterday we played Duke in the semifinals for the right to play UNC in the finals. I got home from a fabulous dinner just in time to tune in (via the internet) to the last 5 minutes of the game. When I turned it on, we were up 7 and Duke looked beat. But Duke is never really beat. They stormed back to within two before I knew what was happening. All the memories of close calls and major collapses came rushing back to me, and trust me, there are a lot of them. But these Tigers proved that this year is something special. They hit shots when they needed to and, against all statistical odds, hit 7 of their last 8 free throws to hang on to the win. The defense held Duke, the best 3 pt. shooting team in the league, to just 6 of 26 behind the arc. And, again, after hitting only 62% of our free throws in the regular season, we hit 7 of our last 8 to ice it. Absolutely amazing.
Now we get our third chance at UNC. The first two times we had them all but beat before they stormed back on us. Let's finish the job this time and bring home that ACC Championship!
GO TIGERS!!!
Clemson BASKETBALL!?!?!
That's right, all you diaper dandies out there. March Madness is upon us. Today is Selection Sunday, when the NCAA debuts it's field of 65 teams that will compete in the greatest championship tournament in the world, the NCAA Men's College Basketball Tournament (otherwise known as the Big Dance).
Most years in March Clemson is hyped up on baseball. With the 9th winningest program in the nation, Clemson baseball is perennially in the top 10 and eyeing a chance to go to Omaha for the second best championship tournament in the world, the College World Series. However, this year is quite different. Baseball is in a rebuilding year and looking rough. Basketball is what the orange faithful are watching these days (and only the orange faithful will realize how dramatically unbelievable that statement is).
The experts say we had a bid to the Big Dance locked up a few weeks back. We played a great nonconference schedule that only included two losses (one to a good Ole Miss team). Then, we finished all alone at third in the ACC (one of the top basketball conferences year in and year out). Along the way we took UNC, the #1 team in the country, into overtime twice before finally falling. Both games we had and let slip away. But we beat the people we were supposed to beat and only had a couple goof ups along the way. Just getting that at large bid is enough reason to have any Tiger excited, but that's just the beginning.
Being third in the ACC gave us a first round bye in the ACC tournament. Friday night we kicked off our ACC tourney run with a blasting of BC. The final score ended up being 82-48. Yes, you read that right, 82-48. The press defense forced 22 turnovers and kept the fighting Jesuits from getting any rhythm on offense. Again, this is enough to be considered a monumental year in Clemson basketball. But the ride continues.
Yesterday we played Duke in the semifinals for the right to play UNC in the finals. I got home from a fabulous dinner just in time to tune in (via the internet) to the last 5 minutes of the game. When I turned it on, we were up 7 and Duke looked beat. But Duke is never really beat. They stormed back to within two before I knew what was happening. All the memories of close calls and major collapses came rushing back to me, and trust me, there are a lot of them. But these Tigers proved that this year is something special. They hit shots when they needed to and, against all statistical odds, hit 7 of their last 8 free throws to hang on to the win. The defense held Duke, the best 3 pt. shooting team in the league, to just 6 of 26 behind the arc. And, again, after hitting only 62% of our free throws in the regular season, we hit 7 of our last 8 to ice it. Absolutely amazing.
Now we get our third chance at UNC. The first two times we had them all but beat before they stormed back on us. Let's finish the job this time and bring home that ACC Championship!
GO TIGERS!!!
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Frustrations
The reason I have been silent the last few weeks is two fold. 1. I've been very busy. 2. I've been very frustrated.
So what have I been busy with? And why has it been so frustrating?
Well, for starters, I'm unemployed. It happened suddenly and required me to make a few trips downtown to pay some fines. Apparently my internship wasn't quite as legit as the company and I thought. A week or so of uncertain anxiety and a few hundred dollars later I cleared my name in the government's eyes and cleared my schedule of anything work related.
Next has been an exciting opportunity to bring ultimate frisbee to this city. We've been trying to get a game going on Wednesday afternoons for months to varying degrees of success. Our frisbee friends in Istanbul landing an Innovator's Grant from the Ultimate Player's Association and want to use part of the funds to develop ultimate here. That means someone here (me) has to help set up all the logistics. We'll look past the fact that I'm the only foreigner really devoted to trying to build this and past the fact that I'm totally unorganized and not gifted in any administrative area. The fact is, it took me two weeks of almost daily trips to the university campus to find out who I'm supposed to talk to in order to reserve a field to use, figure out what kind of documents we need to request permission, request permission, and then get denied permission. As one very honest Turk told me yesterday, "No one likes to make decisions because no one likes to be the one responsible for anything. If you don't know someone, you can't get anything done." Don't I know it.
Third on the list has been Easter program prep at church. I volunteered to sing in the choir again (since I knew there'd only be five or six of us) and was volunteered to be in the theatre part of the production, though my last venture onto stage didn't work out so well. There's something about foreign vowel sounds, awkward homemade sandals, and suit pants that just don't go together. It really is a joy to be a member of this fellowship and to be able to serve, but that doesn't mean that it's not time consuming and frustrating at times.
Also, not something that I have to do, but something that I'd like to do, is learning photography. The Canadian is a pretty good photographer and has a classic 1983 Olympus camera that he has allowed me to learn with. It's manual everything and a lot of fun. I put friends and strangers alike in awkward situations as I snapped away for about two weeks, using up my first ever all-manual roll of film. Then, when I got it developed, I learned that the film hadn't been loaded properly (by the guy at the film store) and that I had not, in actuality, taken a single photo.
Funny, yet frustrating, story from today... After our regular Sat. morning basketball game (which I played very poorly in), we went to our regular cafe for our regular drinks and regular conversation. We were carrying on about the morning's game, the upcoming NCAA tourney, life and love and happiness and then the Holy Ghost. When, from the corner of my eye, I notice a lady from the other table very openly staring me down. She's an older lady with at least 6 gold teeth (that's all I could count). I make eye contact, give her a head nod, and a polite, Turkish, "Hello." This is how it goes from there.
GoldTooth: Hello.
(pause)
GoldTooth: English?!?
Me: No, we're American.
GoldTooth: This is Turkey.
Me: Excuse me?
GoldTooth: Turkish. Turkish. This is Turkey.
Me: Yes, I know. We know Turkish, but English is easier for us.
GoldTooth: Ah, you know Turkish. (Turns to husband) They know Turkish.
Husband: They know Turkish?
GoldTooth: They are speaking English, but they know Turkish.
It's sad that no matter how long I am here, how many people I know, how much of the language I can speak, what kind of service I am giving to the community, that some people will still not want me here based solely on the fact that I'm a foreigner.
Pile all of that on top of the usual stress and frustration from living in a strange place, with strange people, who speak a strange language, living with two roommates who are very different from myself, trying to carry on a relationship with a girl half way across the world (who's got a world of worries of her own at the moment), and sprinkle in a little Turkish pollen to get my nose running and you have the perfect recipe for a frustrating couple weeks.
Lane gave me a pep talk last night, reminding me to look at the positives in my life instead of the negatives. It's true, you can never overstate the power of positive thinking. The positives in my life far, far outweigh the negatives. Thanking God for what he's given us and for his faithfulness to us changes the outlook of any day. I need to do that more often. Maybe then I can understand that these things are nothing more than slight, momentary afflictions. And easy ones at that.
So what have I been busy with? And why has it been so frustrating?
Well, for starters, I'm unemployed. It happened suddenly and required me to make a few trips downtown to pay some fines. Apparently my internship wasn't quite as legit as the company and I thought. A week or so of uncertain anxiety and a few hundred dollars later I cleared my name in the government's eyes and cleared my schedule of anything work related.
Next has been an exciting opportunity to bring ultimate frisbee to this city. We've been trying to get a game going on Wednesday afternoons for months to varying degrees of success. Our frisbee friends in Istanbul landing an Innovator's Grant from the Ultimate Player's Association and want to use part of the funds to develop ultimate here. That means someone here (me) has to help set up all the logistics. We'll look past the fact that I'm the only foreigner really devoted to trying to build this and past the fact that I'm totally unorganized and not gifted in any administrative area. The fact is, it took me two weeks of almost daily trips to the university campus to find out who I'm supposed to talk to in order to reserve a field to use, figure out what kind of documents we need to request permission, request permission, and then get denied permission. As one very honest Turk told me yesterday, "No one likes to make decisions because no one likes to be the one responsible for anything. If you don't know someone, you can't get anything done." Don't I know it.
Third on the list has been Easter program prep at church. I volunteered to sing in the choir again (since I knew there'd only be five or six of us) and was volunteered to be in the theatre part of the production, though my last venture onto stage didn't work out so well. There's something about foreign vowel sounds, awkward homemade sandals, and suit pants that just don't go together. It really is a joy to be a member of this fellowship and to be able to serve, but that doesn't mean that it's not time consuming and frustrating at times.
Also, not something that I have to do, but something that I'd like to do, is learning photography. The Canadian is a pretty good photographer and has a classic 1983 Olympus camera that he has allowed me to learn with. It's manual everything and a lot of fun. I put friends and strangers alike in awkward situations as I snapped away for about two weeks, using up my first ever all-manual roll of film. Then, when I got it developed, I learned that the film hadn't been loaded properly (by the guy at the film store) and that I had not, in actuality, taken a single photo.
Funny, yet frustrating, story from today... After our regular Sat. morning basketball game (which I played very poorly in), we went to our regular cafe for our regular drinks and regular conversation. We were carrying on about the morning's game, the upcoming NCAA tourney, life and love and happiness and then the Holy Ghost. When, from the corner of my eye, I notice a lady from the other table very openly staring me down. She's an older lady with at least 6 gold teeth (that's all I could count). I make eye contact, give her a head nod, and a polite, Turkish, "Hello." This is how it goes from there.
GoldTooth: Hello.
(pause)
GoldTooth: English?!?
Me: No, we're American.
GoldTooth: This is Turkey.
Me: Excuse me?
GoldTooth: Turkish. Turkish. This is Turkey.
Me: Yes, I know. We know Turkish, but English is easier for us.
GoldTooth: Ah, you know Turkish. (Turns to husband) They know Turkish.
Husband: They know Turkish?
GoldTooth: They are speaking English, but they know Turkish.
It's sad that no matter how long I am here, how many people I know, how much of the language I can speak, what kind of service I am giving to the community, that some people will still not want me here based solely on the fact that I'm a foreigner.
Pile all of that on top of the usual stress and frustration from living in a strange place, with strange people, who speak a strange language, living with two roommates who are very different from myself, trying to carry on a relationship with a girl half way across the world (who's got a world of worries of her own at the moment), and sprinkle in a little Turkish pollen to get my nose running and you have the perfect recipe for a frustrating couple weeks.
Lane gave me a pep talk last night, reminding me to look at the positives in my life instead of the negatives. It's true, you can never overstate the power of positive thinking. The positives in my life far, far outweigh the negatives. Thanking God for what he's given us and for his faithfulness to us changes the outlook of any day. I need to do that more often. Maybe then I can understand that these things are nothing more than slight, momentary afflictions. And easy ones at that.
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