Jen Kerns attended Cd’A High (1992-93) and Lake City High (1994-95) and was an outstanding athlete in soccer and basketball playing on several Idaho State Championship teams. She was the Idaho H.S. Gatorade Player of the year in 1995 and was inducted into the Idaho Hall of Fame. She attended WSU on a Basketball Scholarship, graduated in 2000, and went on to play professional Basketball in Europe for 10 years. She recently became The Head Youth Coordinator for the Club BG74 and The Head Women’s Basketball Coach.
Reporter, Mara Münder.
Interview:
How come you play Basketball? Did you try other sports?
I play basketball because I enjoy the fact that it is a dynamic team sport and that it is both physically and mentally challenging.
I did play both soccer & fast pitch softball when I was younger, through out my entire childhood. Playing soccer was a big advantage for me once I began playing basketball because of the footwork and other aspects of the game including the overview of the entire court/field.
What do you think is so fascinating about sports/your sport? How come you did it professionally?
I think sports in general are fascinating because I could always find some way in every sport to challenge myself. I find basketball fascinating because it is very fast & dynamic and it is a huge challenge to get all 5 players out on the court to play & work together. Also, I found early in my childhood that I had the ability to make my teammates better and this was very rewarding for me as a person.
I played basketball professionally because it was an opportunity to continue to learn about the sport itself as well as playing in different countries, cultures and environments than I had before, this was very interesting for me. I also played professionally because I love basketball, it is my passion and because it is so fun! I always knew I wanted to coach and I wanted to expose myself to as many different types of basketball as possible as a player so that I could build my own philosophy and take what worked in different parts of the world and make it my own as a coach. Playing professionally in Europe gave me the opportunity to travel and experience new cultures and meet different people around the world; this is more valuable to me than money.
Do/did you have role models? Did they motivate you?
I had a couple role models growing up. A soccer player, the best woman player in the history of the sport, her name is Mia Hamm (sorry Birgit Prinz). I watched what she did and I emulated it and it worked! I noticed the impact she had on her sport and on the people around her and this made a big impression on me. I also noticed how much respect she had from the men’s players & and spectators and this was very nice for me to see. Michael Jordan was also a role model for me to follow because of his pure dominance in his sport. This was truly inspiring to watch and it was an incredible source of motivation for me.
Who supported you in doing your sport, and how?
My parents supported me as much as they could and my coaches & the community (city) supported me as well. I am one of 9 kids so my parents had 8 others to support, they gave me everything they could to allow me to go forward and succeed....they knew the importance of having good shoes on their children and I thank them for that!
When there was a tournament or a national camp that my family could not afford to send me to, my coaches got involved with the wonderful and generous Coeur d'Alene community and found sponsors to help me compete. As far as my education of the actual knowledge of the sport, that support came from my High School Coaches, Dave Fealko and Dave Stockwell. As well as my WSU Coaches, Harold Rhodes & his staff and Jenny Przekwas & her staff.
I feel like my basketball education and support I received in High School and in University have prepared me very well for my future.
Are there differences in the support of sports between men and women?
Of course there are some differences regarding the support between men’s and women’s sports, especially here in Europe. I would say that the difference is not so big in America as it is here in Europe.
Growing up as a child the difference was so big it was not comparable however, in the end of 1970’s & in the 1980’s this changed drastically. In 1995 I was graduating from high school and deciding where to attend University so that I could continue my education & my sports career. I chose Washington State University because of the influence that University had on Equal Gender Opportunity & Equal Gender Rights concerning the work place, school and sports. This law that was passed through government, it is called Title 9 (Title IX) and I am so proud to have gone to this university who passed this law in America because it affected every College & University System along with other Institutions across the United States of America! This law meant that whatever the men were offered, so were the women. However the men were treated, so were the women and if there were certain jobs or sport’s teams offered to men at the University, they were offered to the women as well.
This drastically changed the difference between the support of men and women’s sports and the ideals/mentality of the American people.
Here is a great article on Gender Equality in Sports from Washington State University, check it out:
http://wsm.wsu.edu/s/index.php?id=281
I have been in Europe since 2000 and the difference between the support of men’s and women’s sports are the equivalent of America in the 1970’ and 1980’s. Even down to the normal, everyday mentality between men and women….and of course this spills over into the sports world.
In saying this, I have lived in 7 different countries in both Eastern and Western Europe and Germany is way ahead of most of the other countries I have lived in and is much closer to the American way of supporting both genders in sports.
However, sports are drastically different in America and Europe because of the culture, traditions, ideals, priorities and several other factors. The American people put A LOT of money and interest into sports in general but they also reap A LOT of benefits through their sports and this in turn, benefits many people, institutes, programs, cities and the economy.
I will say that it is quite difficult after growing up in America and enjoying the comfort of Equal Gender Opportunities and then coming to Europe and having to deal with the stark difference in support of men’s and women’s sports. I have found this much easier in Germany than other countries in Europe that I have lived in.
What do you think about the female role in our society today and in your sport? Do you feel discriminated against or in a disadvantage at times?
Overall the role of females in society today can be looked at in a couple different ways. First is the “housewife” or the “stay-at-home-mom” which is still a prevalent role today. There are many mothers that stay at home and care for the kids or just the house and their man, not necessarily for the same reasons we had this role 40 years or even 30 years before.
Second, you can talk about the role of a career woman or a “working woman” and the benefits of this role stemming from open-minded people in society and equal opportunity situations in government and in society. I think our institutions and education programs have become better and have offered the same courses to women as they do to men. Therefore women have the same opportunities to work as men.
Honestly I do not feel discriminated against at all here in Germany. I feel like Germany is one of the world leaders in this area. Angela Merkel is the first female Chancellor of Germany. In 2007 Merkel was also President of the European Council and she became the second woman to chair the G8, after Margaret Thatcher.
Here is an interesting site from all Women Presidents since 1945: (interestingly enough, many of these countries were communist countries at the time of a female ruler)
http://www.terra.es/personal2/monolith/00women2.htm
Third, I think it is important for the Military in every country around the world to allow women the right to defend their country.
I never feel like I am at a disadvantage living and working here in Germany because I do not look for these situations. I think many times there are women who want to be treated equal to men but don’t want to put in the same hard work or the same hours. I feel like when women look for these situations it is always possible to find something negative. However, if you go about your everyday life and you are an educated woman and you work hard I believe women can have a very nice life here in Germany, as well as in America. If something does come up which is a negative situation and the woman is educated then she will have the intelligence to find her way out of this problem and the knowledge to get to a “better place” for herself.
Our society is considered very emancipated, is it really? Why or in which way?
Emancipation is a term used to describe various efforts to obtain political rights or equality, or more generally in discussion of such matters.
I believe we do live in an emancipated society, especially when you look at living in Germany compared to many other countries around the world. I do think though, that this is a very relative question because you can find societies in other lands, which are more emancipated than Germany, and societies in other parts of the world which are much worse off than Germany. I think with women like, Tarja Halonen (The President of the Republic of Finland), Angela Merkel (The German Chancellor), & Hillary Clinton (Secretary of State, Chief Foreign Affairs Adviser) we have some very strong and intelligent examples of emancipation.
What are your wishes concerning emancipation for Professional Sports?
My wishes are that people in the future will be open-minded enough and can notice that both women and men are doing the same work and should be paid equally. That the amount of sweat and hard work that women are putting into their practices and jobs is the same hours as what men are putting into their practices and jobs.
It is interesting that many of the American men athletes over here are wondering why there is such a big difference and they also feel it is a bit unfair….but it is because of the way we were brought up. I must also say that we Americans look at each other differently than European sportsmen do. An American man looks at a woman playing sports as an “Athlete” not as a “women athlete” or a “woman basketball player”, just as an athlete and this is met with great respect from the women athletes. My experience here in Europe and in Germany as well is that every thing is divided with “mens” and “womens” and is heavily titled. I find this sad that there is such a great divide coming from the sponsors, to the clubs, the fans and all the way to the male athletes using the same facilities and playing in the same leagues. My wish is that someday the same funding and support is given to both genders in all sports throughout the world.
Why do you think it is important that women play sports and that they get supported?
I think it is really important that girls play sports because most importantly, it is healthy and it leads to a healthy lifestyle. Secondly, when young girls are given the opportunity to play sports, it helps them to build a great deal of self confidence along with learning how to work with many different types of people and if they play a team sport then they learn about how to work together in a team. Also, young people who play sports learn about time management and how to organize their schedules in order to fit in their practices into their daily schedules with school and home life. As well as how to deal in stressful situations and performing in front of people other then their family and friends. I think it is really important that these sports programs are supported because of these benefits stated above. When young people, boys and girls are given the opportunity to play sports, these benefits mentioned above are qualities that stay with them forever, life-long qualities.
Do you watch other female sports?
I watch sports whenever I get the chance. I don’t care if it is men or women’s sports. I enjoy watching sports in general because of the passion and the artistic value that comes from the athletes and from the sport itself. I really enjoy to watch WSU & BG74's Taylor Rochestie play, and I have the chance every week live here in Göttingen, Germany...talk about artistic!
This link is very interesting and was just sent to me by a friend, thanks Kim!
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/15/as-girls-become-women-sports-pay-dividends/?emc=eta1
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
My Time in Istanbul
Here is my first real blog…finally found the time! I wanted to share my experiences in Istanbul with you. As I started to write, I started to remember many things about my time there. I am so happy I decided to blog this because I have so many nice memories that I would love to pass along and remember as I grow older.
I know there are many mistakes in my writing but it is not the point for me, I do NOT have the time to sit and make these perfect, if so then they would never be read….so enjoy!
Istanbul Turkey:
A while back we had a 3 day weekend (which is unheard of) before the playoffs started and our coaches decided to let us be FREE! So a couple of us decided to get the heck outta dodge and go with my head coach and his girlfriend to Istanbul for the weekend. Mahmut (my old coach that brought me to Germany and I played under for 3 years) and Deniz are both Turkish and they found us some extremely cheap tickets. I was a little hesitant to go at first being that I escaped the country illegally after living there but Mahmut was confident that it would not be a problem and that he would take care of everything......he did. He told me that I had never experienced Istanbul with a native and someone I could really trust. HE WAS MORE THAN RIGHT!
It was one of the most fun trips I have ever been on and it was unbelievable to go to all these places with him and Deniz. I had lived in Turkey (Baliksir, Edrimit) a couple years before but it was totally different to be there with people you know and who know the land and culture first hand. Plus I lived in a village and this was a huge city! I was there a couple times before by myself but it was overwhelming because I didn’t know where to start and I hit all the typical touristy spots.
It was a different experience to buy things there and have the store men offer a price to me and then I turn and ask Mahmut and better yet…..Deniz if it was a fair price? The store men are afraid of the Turkish women because they know that the women always know the correct price and if they try to rip off a Turkish woman….big trouble is about to ensue—especially with their men standing there. I would just step aside and let Deniz go to work….what do you know…we got a more than fair price, often times with the store man throwing in extra things for us….It was AWWWESOME to watch! We ate like kings and queens and we visited the world famous Turkish Bizarre (where Deniz did all the work)! I was sooo happy to buy and return with some beautiful things from Turkey that I really wanted to buy and bring home the first time I was there but it was kinda hard to bring back handmade ceramic bowls and stuff like that when I was leaving the country in a hurry with one bag! The escape story is a whole other blog! ANYONE travelling to Istanbul must go see the underground Grand Bizarre….so much history and SOOO many interesting things to see, there are just over 4000 shops and over 250,000-400,000 visitors daily. The shops include jewlery, pottery, spices, carpet shops, etc...
My request to Mahmut and Deniz was to see the inside of a Mosque because it was something I could never do when I was living there. Of course, Mahmut found one that would allow us to go into and look around, it took some talking and convincing but he did it…I am so thankful for that because it was a great experience! We had to take our shoes off outside and leave all our belongings outside the mosque, we had to put a scarf over our heads (the women only) and then it was ok for us to enter. It was just as beautiful as a cathedral on the inside, beautiful in a completely foreign way because it was the first time I had the opportunity to see the inside of a mosque. The paintings, lights and detail were so beautiful and there was a great sense of peace within me….just the same as when I am in a Catholic Church. It was a nice experience first hand, as were the people…..so devout in prayer & education. We were in a pretty big mosque so there was A LOT to see. The experience of being inside was by itself, quite moving.
We saw some museums and saw the entire city from a native standpoint. We walked around and saw all the Saturday markets and vendors, football Stadiums, entertainers, statues on the streets and in the squares, it was simply incredible!
What many people don't know about Turkey is that IT IS NOT A MUSLIM COUNTRY.........IT IS A CHRISTIAN COUNTRY. The Catholic churches throughout Istanbul were some of the most beautiful I have ever seen........the cathedrals were unbelievable! There are catholic churches and Muslim mosques everywhere you look, it is a very religious country! The Catholics and the Muslims live amongst one another in peace….which was again, re-assuring! The Skyline of Istanbul is incredible and by far one of the most unique and memorable I have ever seen. All the church steepals and Mosque Minarets (spires) and domes among the other buildings up against the ocean background was smashing. Even more beautiful is that they are lit at night so you can see them from where ever you are, this is when you realize how many churches and mosques there really are in Istanbul because you can see them all illuminated at night. My Turkish friend, Isa said that Turkey is known as a friendship country because so many different religions are practiced inside Turkey.
The sunsets are amazing too and this is one of the things I remember best about living in Turkey! I remember sitting on the roof of my apartment and watching the sunset over the ocean…..I did this everyday. The sun was so big it really was as if you held up an orange on the horizon and watched it sink beneath the water.
There are about 16 million people living in downtown Istanbul, half the downtown is located in Europe and is totally western and the other half is located in Asia. It is fascinating to see the difference in culture when you are in the city! You can most definitely see the European and Asian influences throughout the city depending where you are….in the people, clothing, textiles, food, & in the shops…..even the cars! My biggest fear in life was a dog, until I got into a car in Istanbul. The driving was kinda scary at times but think Mexico......no, no...think Mexico City with millions of people driving in a small area….with no rules! The only reason I just used the word “kinda” was because I lived to tell about it….it didn’t scare me to death but it kinda scared me to death!
As a western woman, I was able to travel though out the city in my normal clothes and not worry at all about whether or not I was offending someone else. Many of the women here are dressed in their Burkas, which is a long, loose, body-covering garment with veiled holes for their eyes. Another type of Burka covers the body but leaves the entire face open. Also, there were many women wearing only a scarf covering their heads and normal clothes otherwise. On the other hand, there are many Turkish women dressed exactly like me, in jeans or skirts with tank-tops or sleeveless shirts and in t-shirts as well. While travelling, I am very sensitive about other people’s customs & traditions and I try to respect their way of life completely while I am in their country…..I will say that while I was in Istanbul it was like this, but while living in Turkey and travelling to the smaller towns and villages, I put on more appropriate clothing to respect their traditions…..long sleeve shirts and pants or a longer skirt & that was fine. For me to live and travel among the women wearing their Burkas, at the beginning it created great interest, awkward feelings, curiosities, sadness, confusion, happiness, questions, beauty, etc… At the end of my time around the women wearing their Burkas, it was completely normal for me and my mind was at ease compared to when I first arrived.
The best thing was that one of our team's sponsors owns a world wide Bio-Technoloy company called, Sartorius and they have offices everywhere. The head office is located in Göttingen. My coach, Mahmut and some of my teammates work there. I also worked there for 2 years. Our sponsor for our team who happens to be the head boss-man called and arranged for us to be picked up at the airport by the Sartorius people in Istanbul who drove us everywhere the entire time we were there (until Mahmut decided he wanted to drive……geeeez).
The food was out of this world, restaurants on the ocean with fresh seafood and incredible Turkish dishes along with great company! The Turkish Doner-kebab is fresh meat or chicken cooking on a spit and is served in a pita bread with all sorts of veggies & sauces…..so good it melts in your mouth!
On to the sweets! Let’s just say that I could write an entire blog on the little shops we walked into where the many different types of Turkish Delights were sold. These places should be illegal because you have no idea what that sugar rush did to me….whoa! I don’t even have a sweet tooth but these Turkish Delight were so light and flaky, downright delicious….I couldn’t stop!
Every night I went to bed with so much anticipation to wake up in the morning……..for breakfast. A Turkish breakfast is something that everyone should be able to experience once in their lives. Fresh, fresh, fresh everything! Tomatoes, cucumbers, many different types of olives, eggs, Bread (which Mahmut told us that it tastes better if ripped apart instead of cut), all kinds of dips and spreads, feta cheese, and fresh honey…right off the honeycomb! Of course coffee is involved otherwise everyone who knows me knows that I would not have been so efficient getting here or there. The Turkish coffee is small and strong….think espresso and a normal coffee mixed together. They have a tradition after drinking the coffee, where they turn the cup upside down on the saucer and the remains of the coffee in the bottom of the cup is thick but still a bit liquid and it tells a story about your future and someone else must read the story in the bottom of the cup for you, then you read someone else’s story for them. It led to a nice and interesting conversation. The other warm drink they serve at breakfast is chai, a wonderful tea which is traditionally served through out the entire country.
The Turkish people were sooo wonderful and really nice to be around! They were so excited to hear that I had lived in Turkey, they gave me a Turkish lingo quiz over dinner (with Raki of course, Turkish schnapps), it was funny and they were impressed with how much vocabulary and sentences I knew and had remembered. In the evenings after dinner we went to enjoy live music and feast on the traditional nuts, sunflower seeds and fruits that are offered to the table when you come and sit in a bar/club. The live musicians and singers were fantastic (I was sitting in Istanbul and thinking about my big brother James and how he would love this musical environment). Every place we passed had live singers or musicians who were so passionate about their music, it was beautiful.
Next, we all enjoyed the traditional Shisha, which is better known as the Hookah. It is a water pipe that they bring to your table along with a huge variety of fruits. You choose which fruits go on top (we chose apples) and then it is passed from one person to the next and you smoke the fruit….which tastes excellent. No, there are no drugs involved, just fruit. This is very traditional in the Middle Eastern Countries, (& @ WAZZU) it was nice to experience the culture and tradition like that. I kept thinking of the Native American Indians and their peace pipes.
Anyway, we had a great time and came back refreshed to play in the playoffs. By far, one of the most charming and intriguing cities I have ever been to and the people were so warm and sympathetic. I highly recommend Istanbul as a travel destination to anyone looking for history, charm, culture, differences, great food & very nice people and a beautiful city with a very happening night life. I also recommend seeing the city like I did, on Turkish Coffee & Turkish Delight….nuthin' better than a good caffeine & sugar high to get you around a little quicker!
Here is another video.....it is a bit longer but you can really see the landscape and the city very well. Along with the Grand Bizarre & many other things I just wrote about:
Ok, so I told you that I would use this as a music platform as well. This was my favorite song while I was in Turkey....I fell in love with Mustafa Sandal's voice & the other guy in the video is a German artist named Gentleman (yeah, there really are German Reggae singers...he is good, really positive).
Even though you cannot understand what Mustafa Sandal is singing about, listen to his voice & the music in the background...simply beautiful.
I know there are many mistakes in my writing but it is not the point for me, I do NOT have the time to sit and make these perfect, if so then they would never be read….so enjoy!
Istanbul Turkey:
A while back we had a 3 day weekend (which is unheard of) before the playoffs started and our coaches decided to let us be FREE! So a couple of us decided to get the heck outta dodge and go with my head coach and his girlfriend to Istanbul for the weekend. Mahmut (my old coach that brought me to Germany and I played under for 3 years) and Deniz are both Turkish and they found us some extremely cheap tickets. I was a little hesitant to go at first being that I escaped the country illegally after living there but Mahmut was confident that it would not be a problem and that he would take care of everything......he did. He told me that I had never experienced Istanbul with a native and someone I could really trust. HE WAS MORE THAN RIGHT!
It was one of the most fun trips I have ever been on and it was unbelievable to go to all these places with him and Deniz. I had lived in Turkey (Baliksir, Edrimit) a couple years before but it was totally different to be there with people you know and who know the land and culture first hand. Plus I lived in a village and this was a huge city! I was there a couple times before by myself but it was overwhelming because I didn’t know where to start and I hit all the typical touristy spots.
It was a different experience to buy things there and have the store men offer a price to me and then I turn and ask Mahmut and better yet…..Deniz if it was a fair price? The store men are afraid of the Turkish women because they know that the women always know the correct price and if they try to rip off a Turkish woman….big trouble is about to ensue—especially with their men standing there. I would just step aside and let Deniz go to work….what do you know…we got a more than fair price, often times with the store man throwing in extra things for us….It was AWWWESOME to watch! We ate like kings and queens and we visited the world famous Turkish Bizarre (where Deniz did all the work)! I was sooo happy to buy and return with some beautiful things from Turkey that I really wanted to buy and bring home the first time I was there but it was kinda hard to bring back handmade ceramic bowls and stuff like that when I was leaving the country in a hurry with one bag! The escape story is a whole other blog! ANYONE travelling to Istanbul must go see the underground Grand Bizarre….so much history and SOOO many interesting things to see, there are just over 4000 shops and over 250,000-400,000 visitors daily. The shops include jewlery, pottery, spices, carpet shops, etc...
My request to Mahmut and Deniz was to see the inside of a Mosque because it was something I could never do when I was living there. Of course, Mahmut found one that would allow us to go into and look around, it took some talking and convincing but he did it…I am so thankful for that because it was a great experience! We had to take our shoes off outside and leave all our belongings outside the mosque, we had to put a scarf over our heads (the women only) and then it was ok for us to enter. It was just as beautiful as a cathedral on the inside, beautiful in a completely foreign way because it was the first time I had the opportunity to see the inside of a mosque. The paintings, lights and detail were so beautiful and there was a great sense of peace within me….just the same as when I am in a Catholic Church. It was a nice experience first hand, as were the people…..so devout in prayer & education. We were in a pretty big mosque so there was A LOT to see. The experience of being inside was by itself, quite moving.
We saw some museums and saw the entire city from a native standpoint. We walked around and saw all the Saturday markets and vendors, football Stadiums, entertainers, statues on the streets and in the squares, it was simply incredible!
What many people don't know about Turkey is that IT IS NOT A MUSLIM COUNTRY.........IT IS A CHRISTIAN COUNTRY. The Catholic churches throughout Istanbul were some of the most beautiful I have ever seen........the cathedrals were unbelievable! There are catholic churches and Muslim mosques everywhere you look, it is a very religious country! The Catholics and the Muslims live amongst one another in peace….which was again, re-assuring! The Skyline of Istanbul is incredible and by far one of the most unique and memorable I have ever seen. All the church steepals and Mosque Minarets (spires) and domes among the other buildings up against the ocean background was smashing. Even more beautiful is that they are lit at night so you can see them from where ever you are, this is when you realize how many churches and mosques there really are in Istanbul because you can see them all illuminated at night. My Turkish friend, Isa said that Turkey is known as a friendship country because so many different religions are practiced inside Turkey.
The sunsets are amazing too and this is one of the things I remember best about living in Turkey! I remember sitting on the roof of my apartment and watching the sunset over the ocean…..I did this everyday. The sun was so big it really was as if you held up an orange on the horizon and watched it sink beneath the water.
There are about 16 million people living in downtown Istanbul, half the downtown is located in Europe and is totally western and the other half is located in Asia. It is fascinating to see the difference in culture when you are in the city! You can most definitely see the European and Asian influences throughout the city depending where you are….in the people, clothing, textiles, food, & in the shops…..even the cars! My biggest fear in life was a dog, until I got into a car in Istanbul. The driving was kinda scary at times but think Mexico......no, no...think Mexico City with millions of people driving in a small area….with no rules! The only reason I just used the word “kinda” was because I lived to tell about it….it didn’t scare me to death but it kinda scared me to death!
As a western woman, I was able to travel though out the city in my normal clothes and not worry at all about whether or not I was offending someone else. Many of the women here are dressed in their Burkas, which is a long, loose, body-covering garment with veiled holes for their eyes. Another type of Burka covers the body but leaves the entire face open. Also, there were many women wearing only a scarf covering their heads and normal clothes otherwise. On the other hand, there are many Turkish women dressed exactly like me, in jeans or skirts with tank-tops or sleeveless shirts and in t-shirts as well. While travelling, I am very sensitive about other people’s customs & traditions and I try to respect their way of life completely while I am in their country…..I will say that while I was in Istanbul it was like this, but while living in Turkey and travelling to the smaller towns and villages, I put on more appropriate clothing to respect their traditions…..long sleeve shirts and pants or a longer skirt & that was fine. For me to live and travel among the women wearing their Burkas, at the beginning it created great interest, awkward feelings, curiosities, sadness, confusion, happiness, questions, beauty, etc… At the end of my time around the women wearing their Burkas, it was completely normal for me and my mind was at ease compared to when I first arrived.
The best thing was that one of our team's sponsors owns a world wide Bio-Technoloy company called, Sartorius and they have offices everywhere. The head office is located in Göttingen. My coach, Mahmut and some of my teammates work there. I also worked there for 2 years. Our sponsor for our team who happens to be the head boss-man called and arranged for us to be picked up at the airport by the Sartorius people in Istanbul who drove us everywhere the entire time we were there (until Mahmut decided he wanted to drive……geeeez).
The food was out of this world, restaurants on the ocean with fresh seafood and incredible Turkish dishes along with great company! The Turkish Doner-kebab is fresh meat or chicken cooking on a spit and is served in a pita bread with all sorts of veggies & sauces…..so good it melts in your mouth!
On to the sweets! Let’s just say that I could write an entire blog on the little shops we walked into where the many different types of Turkish Delights were sold. These places should be illegal because you have no idea what that sugar rush did to me….whoa! I don’t even have a sweet tooth but these Turkish Delight were so light and flaky, downright delicious….I couldn’t stop!
Every night I went to bed with so much anticipation to wake up in the morning……..for breakfast. A Turkish breakfast is something that everyone should be able to experience once in their lives. Fresh, fresh, fresh everything! Tomatoes, cucumbers, many different types of olives, eggs, Bread (which Mahmut told us that it tastes better if ripped apart instead of cut), all kinds of dips and spreads, feta cheese, and fresh honey…right off the honeycomb! Of course coffee is involved otherwise everyone who knows me knows that I would not have been so efficient getting here or there. The Turkish coffee is small and strong….think espresso and a normal coffee mixed together. They have a tradition after drinking the coffee, where they turn the cup upside down on the saucer and the remains of the coffee in the bottom of the cup is thick but still a bit liquid and it tells a story about your future and someone else must read the story in the bottom of the cup for you, then you read someone else’s story for them. It led to a nice and interesting conversation. The other warm drink they serve at breakfast is chai, a wonderful tea which is traditionally served through out the entire country.
The Turkish people were sooo wonderful and really nice to be around! They were so excited to hear that I had lived in Turkey, they gave me a Turkish lingo quiz over dinner (with Raki of course, Turkish schnapps), it was funny and they were impressed with how much vocabulary and sentences I knew and had remembered. In the evenings after dinner we went to enjoy live music and feast on the traditional nuts, sunflower seeds and fruits that are offered to the table when you come and sit in a bar/club. The live musicians and singers were fantastic (I was sitting in Istanbul and thinking about my big brother James and how he would love this musical environment). Every place we passed had live singers or musicians who were so passionate about their music, it was beautiful.
Next, we all enjoyed the traditional Shisha, which is better known as the Hookah. It is a water pipe that they bring to your table along with a huge variety of fruits. You choose which fruits go on top (we chose apples) and then it is passed from one person to the next and you smoke the fruit….which tastes excellent. No, there are no drugs involved, just fruit. This is very traditional in the Middle Eastern Countries, (& @ WAZZU) it was nice to experience the culture and tradition like that. I kept thinking of the Native American Indians and their peace pipes.
Anyway, we had a great time and came back refreshed to play in the playoffs. By far, one of the most charming and intriguing cities I have ever been to and the people were so warm and sympathetic. I highly recommend Istanbul as a travel destination to anyone looking for history, charm, culture, differences, great food & very nice people and a beautiful city with a very happening night life. I also recommend seeing the city like I did, on Turkish Coffee & Turkish Delight….nuthin' better than a good caffeine & sugar high to get you around a little quicker!
Here is another video.....it is a bit longer but you can really see the landscape and the city very well. Along with the Grand Bizarre & many other things I just wrote about:
Ok, so I told you that I would use this as a music platform as well. This was my favorite song while I was in Turkey....I fell in love with Mustafa Sandal's voice & the other guy in the video is a German artist named Gentleman (yeah, there really are German Reggae singers...he is good, really positive).
Even though you cannot understand what Mustafa Sandal is singing about, listen to his voice & the music in the background...simply beautiful.
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