I can tell you one thing. If you were to spend one day in Turkey I can promise you would see a few things that you have NEVER seen before. I have been here for over 2 months and I am still seeing new things everyday. The other day I was driving down the street and what did I see? A HUGE CAMEL! It was all dressed in bright colored costumes and of course I wondered what it was for? Well...you'll never guess! The one and only "Camel Wrestling!" I was amazed. The things you'll see here in Turkey! Supposedly a camel can sell for 1 million dollars. I don't know if that is completely true but at least that gives you an idea of how much they love their camels! A camel takes priority over the owners children. I hear that if it comes between a camel and and the owner needing medicine the camel wins. I want to see camel wrestling in action someday!
I thought I would do a quick post of what I usually come home with from the Bizarre. In this picture I have dried apricots, clementines, apples, bananas, grapefruit, pears, almonds, black simple gloves, 2 huge pens for my niece and nephew and 3 pairs of ankle socks. Want to know how much this all cost me? 25 Turkish Lira. Want me to convert it for you? A little over $16 U.S. Dollars for all of this! The Bizarre is a wonderful thing and I am definitely a fan! I usually get the most amazing fresh pita but Ryan is out of town and it is too much to eat on my own. Jess + Cheap and amazingly fresh produce = love

Here is a few replay clips of the huge win against Fenerbahce! Ryan had an amazing 29 points! This is a really great win for Karsiyaka because Fenerbahce is one of the top couple teams in Turkey AND Europe! WAHOO! GO RYAN! (Excuse me talking the whole time! I was really excited and was talking to my father in law on the phone!)

The Village of Tuzburagzi

I had the opportunity to go with the Humanitarian missionaries that are here in Turkey to a small village called Tuzburgazi. It was an amazing experience. This village was started by immigrants from Afghanistan. The people are living in very poor circumstances and have close to nothing. It is very humbling to go and see these smiling and laughing children that are happy with absolutely nothing. They look forward to getting a new notebook and a pencil. The other problem in this village is that there is a huge population of handicapped people that don't have any of the medical care that they need. The majority of the children don't have wheelchairs or crutches let alone even blankets. LDS Charity Services is hoping to be able to help this village with Education Kits, wheelchairs, hygiene kits, blankets and if possible even some computers for the school. For the entire village they have only one nurse, one policeman, one engineer and there has only been one person to ever leave the village to go to school in Istanbul.

The adorable little girls! So sweet!

They love to have pictures taken and then see them on the digital camera

We found a little boy that had an LDS Charities wheelchair

I am so happy I was able to go to this village. It was a big eye opener and it really makes me realize how lucky I am to have all the things that I do. It was an amazing day and I look forward to more opportunities to visit and meet more people!

I miss these people

I want to snuggle with this little guy! My nephew Benton

All the girls of my family!

My amazing mother in law Cheri

My fabulous sister in law Mckell
My sweet brother Cody and Paislee (Stef and Allen's baby)
Saders and Sammers
My Mom and Dad
MY CRAZY SISTERS!
My Best Friends!!

If you're not on here it's not because I don't miss you! It's because I don't have a picture of you on my laptop. Living in another country has made me realize even more that I'm lucky to have amazing family and friends! I love you all!

A little shout out!

We went to Ephesus...here we are on the library steps!
Cesme

Sitting on the toilets at the Public Bathroom! Talk about NO PRIVACY! Ephesus
Cesme
We created "Tuesdays in Turkey!" Where we cooked fun foods from the Bizarre
We went on little adventures! Including Danielle's shoe breaking in the Turkish Bizarre right in the middle of hundreds of people while being shoved around like cattle!
Turkey is worth it as long as I get to be with this guy!

My mom and my sister Danielle came to Turkey with me to help me get adjusted. They were amazing! They helped me completely transform our apartment from a bachelor pad where a bunch of Basketball players have previously lived into a perfect little sanctuary for ryan and me. It was so much fun to have them along and I can't thank them enough for coming to Turkey and helping me out so much! LOVE YOU!

I finally had a random girl email me and explain to me how to blog in Turkey!! What a great help! I will now be blogging here and telling all of our stories! Sorry that took so long...my goal was already destroyed to blog every other day! It's back on now!