Walkabouts

Turkey...
The Next Three Days...
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday...

Tuesday:
Isaac and I took a serious walkabout around Izmir. Aunt Sandy had suggested multiple sites around the city for us to hit up, so we took the whole day out to do just that. We walked almost literally all over Izmir (though we did cheat and take the bus some, and we also...but I'm getting ahead of myself). We started by mozying (in every sense of the word) through Goztepe park (a nice area not far from our house) towards the harbor, via the Awesome Elevator. This AE happened to be a random elevator that transports people up and down the cliff side of Izmir. It wasn't necessarily a spectacular elevator (though it did have a good view of the bay), it was just quaintly interesting to have such a thing stuck to the side of a hill. But we moved on from there without spending too much time dawdling, so I should do the same here. We hit up the bay (though not literally, as the water seems to have a reputation for being incredibly disgusting...), got some pictures of a cool clock tower, and moved on to one of the better known shopping districts in Izmir (which I have forgotten the name of). Despite some tempting finds, I decided to side (for once) with my better judgment and made very few purchases there (read zero)... at least this time. And then the fun really started. We stopped to eat lunch at this cool little restaurant that had all the employees dressed up in traditional (old fashioned) Turkish garbs and had really good food. Isaac asked for the "receipt" instead of the "bill" (in Turkish of course) and was kicking himself the rest of the day for it (I just kept laughing). And we walked. We walked and walked. And walked some more. We ended up walking the entire distance to the ferry (which are always fun; the sea spray and wind in your hair and all that) which we took across the bay, then walked (and bussed a little, sorry to admit; though it was only because we started walking the wrong direction...) to the next ferry and took it back across. Such fun! (I really do get a kick out of water travel.) From there we wandered by means of our feet and buses (still) in a very roundabout way to finally arrive back home after a full day.
(p.s. I had major stomach cramps the entire time, which most definitely alleviated the fun, but could not destroy it, hahaha!)

Wednesday:
The whole family took a short trip driving around Izmir, seeing the sites. We saw a pretty cool ruined castle of Roman make which was named "velvet" (no clue why), and wandered around in that for a bit. Then we drove on to a different little area that was being excavated. From ground level, it really didn't look like much, but then you go underneath the row of arches sticking up and there was a whole expanse of rooms that were simply beautiful. And then it was home and chilling for the rest of the day. Good stuff.
(p.s. I definitely have a good collection of poop stories. Probably not a good thing, but, you know. I can't exactly help it... But anyway, I discovered on Wed. what was troubling my stomach so much while walking around the day prior, and quite by accident. My tum had never really stopped hurting, and I had been passing a lot of gas, kind of as a side effect. And as I was doing thus, standing on top of the castle with a wondrous view of the city and bay...a little more than air came out. I beat a hasty retreat to the nearest restroom and did not come out for a while. (My underwear did not exit with me.) I hit up the toilets three or four other times that day. But you probably don't need to hear anymore. So we move on.)

Thursday:
Thursday was a very relaxing day. It was possibly the first day of the trip (or at least in a goodly while) that we didn't have sightseeing plans. (It was also my first day without stomach issues in multiple days, which was wondrous indeed.) And so Isaac and myself met up with one of our friends and tore up the bowling alley (in my case almost literally; I chipped the ball twice...). We then proceeded to the mall next to the alley for a completely pointless, but still fun time doing nothing there. Then we capped it off by all heading back to our house and watching Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events (Jim Carrey cracks me up so much in that movie). Good times.

And so I must leave you until my next post (which will be started in just a couple of minutes, actually).
-Nic


p.s. That post was written over a five day period... Yikes!

The Awesomest Pile of Rocks Ever

Whew, I'm starting to get behind on these blog postings! Time to try to catch up a bit. So, Monday.

Monday, the whole troupe (Uncle Alan, Aunt Sandy, Isaac, and myself) took a day trip to some of the (slightly) more distant places of Turkey; namely Thyatira and Pergamum (modern day Akhisar and Pergamon, respectively), two of the seven church locations from the book of Revelation. And I'll say right of the bat, I don't expect any of the other daytrips to even have a chance of topping this one.

We left around 10 on Monday morning and headed first to Akhisar, a little less than two hours away. It was a nice little town with a walking mall very reminiscent to the one in Winchester (albeit much smaller, as was the city itself). There the ruins of what many scholars believe to be a church building (one may or may not think it to have been the meeting place of the Thyatiran church) was hidden away by a large metal fence. After paying the fee to get in, Isaac and I climbed all over them, taking pictures and making fools of ourselves (though Isaac, being a hungry little boy at the time, was much less enthusiastic than his normal hyperly exuberant self). Nice little place, but not much there, really. And so we ate lunch and moved on.

To Pergamum!!
I'll say it now (and quite possible again, later on): Pergamum was one of my ultimate highlights of this whole trip in Turkey.
After driving through some absolutely gorgeous country, we arrived at the base of a small mountain. Upon arriving there, we drove up said small mountain. Upon arriving at the top, you had one of the best views I've seen so far. The parking lot had a beautiful view of a lake surrounded by other mountains on one side, and the whole valley spread out before you on the other. Right then, even before the fun started, I was completely drawn in by Pergaumum. But then the fun did start. Isaac and I went ahead into the historical area and were immediately met by rocks upon rocks soaring up the crest of the hill. So many ruins! We ran all over them, climbing every chance we got, trying not to touch the ground. I climbed around so much that I think I used up my whole trip's quota of energy on that one place. After much picture-taking, running, leaping, laughing, making fools of ourselves, and near-death experiences, we moved on to the real jaw-dropper of the mountain. The amphitheater. Ahh, that wonderful amphitheater! I simply cannot describe to you well enough the emotions that that stage causes (neither can the pictures of it which may be found on Facebook). But I'll try a little bit anyway. You walk down this steep (and very narrow) set of stairs into a short tunnel that leads out to the amphitheater. (It was a very efficient method of ticketing control.) And then you hit the exit and, BAM! You look out and see row upon row of stone seating soaring sharply down from your feet. And once you are finally able to pull up your eyes from the seats and the small but beautiful stage at the bottom, your jaw drops a little further (and in my case perhaps a little drool escaped) as you take in the sheer beauty of the valley below and the mountains immediately across. I simply can't do justice to it. I would say that after I caught my breath I moved down the steep stairs to the stage, but I don't think that I managed to catch my breath again until after we left. But leaving my breath behind, I did move on down the (very) steep stairs to the stage, raving the whole time (with Isaac dying of laughter at my obsessive reactions). After exploring for a while, we went back up to the top and just sat looking out at the view for a while. I fantasized about being able to buy the amphitheater and make it a working stage again (it involved invisible shelters, in order to keep the weather out, while still being able to enjoy seeing everything clearly, but I won't bore you with the details). And nothing looked the same to me after that.

So without further ado, we drove back down the mountain and into the valley to another historical spot still in the Pergamum area. And this was just icing on the cake for me. Imagine a beautiful temple garden area with lots of smooth white stone, and then throw in a healthy dose of the magic that the late afternoon sun has the ability to work on things, and you can see what I saw. Surreal beauty. After spending another almost two hours there (I had to take so many pictures, because that lighting in that setting was stunning), we packed ourselves back into the car and headed home.

Hardly any day trips in my entire life are comparable to this one.

Gobble Gobble

I've barely been in Turkey for five days, and my life is already significantly changed by my experiences in it. I have met with many of the truly amazing workers in Izmir. I have seen a people searching for truth. I have seen a God reaching out towards them through His own people who He has filled with a burning passion for life. I have seen a beauty and vibrancy that reveals itself in layers incomprehensibly deeper than the mere lushness of the landscapes and colors the eye takes in upon gazing at my surroundings.
Yesterday afternoon, the whole troupe of us (Uncle Alan, Aunt Sandy, Isaac, and myself) went to a college gathering that meets together on a weekly basis in order to have a time of worship, learning, and and socializing. It was much shorter running than a typical "service" (as an American might view it), but held such a punch that, despite me not being able to understand more than a word or two here and there, I could comprehend a level of true camaraderie and vivaciousness: life and liveliness in the full sense of the words that put me completely at my ease. During the worship time, I was not saddened in the least by my inability to sing along because the musical response of these believers to God's grace and love so transcended any cultural bounds that may have assumed their defensive positions.
I feel that I am not doing just to the power and tenderness of the moment, so I'll just leave it at that.
But that was not the only such time. Despite the rude appearances of the transportation (which is much like what was seen in Ecuador: pedestrians have no right of ways; in fact no one except yourself does, which leads to all sorts of runnings of lights, passings at random times and places, and a general concern only for getting to your destination) which I prefer regardless (Turks certainly seem to have less wrecks than the crazy Americans), there is scattered quite liberally in Izmir a genteelness and respect that is most definitely lacking in the Western World. Everyone that I've seen feels like a neighbor (the good kind), even the neighbors. (Except for maybe the full car of punks upon which my cousin Isaac, myself, and one of our friends (perhaps unwisely) pulled off the invisible rope trick on the way back to pick up a bus home after youth group.) I like to tease Isaac that he has more culture shock when he goes back stateside to visit than I do when I travel internationally. Though the friends of the Whites have definitely made that easy on me (completed by their allowance of my not unwilling use as a playmate and punching bad of the little balls of energy they fondly call their children; one family in particular had seven kids (the oldest of which was maybe 13 or 14) who swarmed me almost as soon as I entered the house). Much has happened in such a little amount of time.

But in actuality, it was on just the second full day here that the most impacting moment (so far) made its move. At the Friday night youth group for the highschool kids of the workers in the area, one of the leaders of the group gave an interesting lesson. A really swell guy, and an almost better speaker, his message was one that dealt with what it truly meant to be "called" by God. The point that he made was that we are all called to God before anything else and that wherever we are and whatever job we may have, He will use that to further His glory. One does not need to be a preacher or go to some foreign land in order to be spreading the Gospel. Our talents all have a use (one which will definitely be fulfilled in ways we may never even realize) and God is equally pleased with everyone who uses them to the full extent that He provided, regardless of what that might be. This is a point that I've been preaching for a long time, so hearing this made me happy. However, that was not what hit me. It was his emphasis (both in the lesson and when I met him briefly in person before hand) on developing those skills and not being so stubbornly "holy" in our pursuit of ministry to the extent that we blind ourselves to the opportunities "secular" work give rise to that really caught my attention. Most of you know that I plan on going to Hawaii within the coming years to pursue the people there and in the Polynesian area. But what I should do once I get there has always been a bit of a mystery to me. And I've been sitting with relief on the fact that I have at least a couple of years to figure it out. But I started to realize not too long ago that I need to be more actively pursuing the answer to that question right now (a thought that was further pushed to the forefront on Friday). The recent months have been an exhilarating, frightening, sobering, and maturing time in my life; and what better place to put the gobbledygook behind me and move forward with more spice in my step than here in Turkey! May you be blessed with the same emotions wherever you may be that I have been bathed in here.

-Nic

p.s. Prayers are always acceptable and welcomed things, but if you could pray specifically for me over the next few months as I look to move into a new stage of life, that would be be most wondrous and heartening indeed! Thanks muchly! :D

The Rise of Love

Failure is trying
Why try to love what is lost
I will remain lost





I wander aimless
Graceless and foundationless
Sinking out of sight





Hope surrendered me
Darkness is overwhelming
Fear is all I see





I linger alone
Love sleeps with other lovers
But love is not dead





I reach out blindly
My lost hand is found in yours
Light can pierce my night





So this haiku series didn't turn out to have quite the punch I wanted it too, but perhaps you'll enjoy it regardless. It was a fun experiment for me to do, writing in haiku fashion. There is something about this Japanese structure that flows very smoothly and is a pleasure to write.


Hopefully,

ww



Copyright 2010 White Water and tributaries.
If your stream does not come into mine, it had better not leave with anything more.

The 75th Hour

Waking up fully rested to the sound of a morning thunderstorm is probably one of the nicest feelings you can have. "But wait," you say. "There is no thunderstorm here; just lots and lots of snow!" Well that, my friend, all depends on where "here" is. For me "here" is not there (where ever there might be for you). "Here" is here where I am. And that happens to be in an apartment. In Izmir. In Turkey. On the other side of the world. (Just for clarification.) And so I can say truthfully that I did rise this morning with thunderous applause.

"But wait!" you say to me (once again). "How in the world did you get to where you are in the world?! (And why did you not take me?)" To answer second things first: sadly three weeks worth of clothing left no room for stowaways in my baggage. To answer first things second: let me return to roughly 70 hours ago.

Monday night:
11:30 PM
I finally started packing for Turkey. It took quite a bit longer than anticipated, as I spent about an hour and a half on figuring out my music selection alone. (However, packing my clothes only took about 20 minutes. Yes, I have strange travel priorities.) And so at the wee hour of two in the morning I finally hit the bed (after a short debate with myself on whether or not to even go to sleep at all that night).

Tuesday morning:
6:15 AM
I somehow dragged myself out of bed (it had to be a miracle sent by God). I promptly wanted to get back into bed. I resisted (again, only through God's miraculous work).
7:15 AM
My mom (who drove me to the airport) and I were off. I finally started to wake up slightly, and the true excitement of an adventure beginning decided to come along for the ride. After a long drive (worrying about making it to the airport on time) we arrived with plenty of time. And so I kissed my mother dear farewell and headed off into the wild blue yonder!
2:00 PM
The flight to Dallas was uneventful. I slept a bit. Enough said.
3:30 PM
I headed off to Frankfurt. This flight was a huge score in one way. They had in-seat tv monitors, complete with a variety of semi-entertaining games, and a huge collection (for an airplane) of movies and television shows. I ended up watching three different movies in a row (and would have watched more, but didn't have time), all of which were quite good (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs; Night at the Museum 2; and The Boys are Back). However, in another way the Frankfurt flight was a huge bust. Because of the wonders of the glowing screen in front of me, sleep escaped from my clutches entirely. And also, there was an almost literal bust at the end. I've always had a bit of trouble with pressure change hurting my ears on the descents. But landing in Frankfurt gave me a new definition of pain. This particular pressure change phenomenon was not content with destroying my ear drums, but insisted on bringing my eye along to the party. I actually felt as if a blood vessel had burst. Combine that with the fact that this pain started almost half an hour before we landed, and I had never been more happy to get off of a plane before!

Wednesday morning:
5:40 AM
I finally left Frankfurt, and was certainly glad to do so. I spent the entire four hour layover wandering around the airport waiting for my gate number to be revealed. It wasn't until half an hour before the scheduled take off time that it was finally posted.
10:00 AM
I somehow survived getting to Istanbul (the pressure was almost as bad as Frankfurt; helped slightly by my memory of my ibuprofen stash) and was getting on the final plane of the trip! (p.s. Turkish Airlines should get with it! I (once again) did not find out which gate I was boarding at until right before we boarded. Also, back in Frankfurt, they didn't open their check-in counter until almost ten in the morning local time!)
12:00 PM
No more flying!!!! After getting off what had to be one of the shortest plane rides I've been on (about 45 minutes in the air), I had another long wait before I could make a proper exit. Somehow they "misdirected" my and four other people's luggage to the wrong part of the airport. So after we stood around aimlessly looking at the empty conveyor belt with sad, puppy eyes for a long enough time (close to half an hour), they bussed us over to the completely other side of airport and there we found our long lost friends: Baggage&Co. (for some reason in the international terminal, instead of where we arrived in domestic). It was here that Aunt Sandy rescued me from my nearly 30 hours of floating through the world. And after meeting up with Uncle Alan (who had the car at the domestic terminal as they never know for sure which one travelers will end up at, such is the consistent inconsistency of the Izmir Airport) we finally headed home.
12:30 PM
We made it home without any other events and I was finally able to not worry about the next place I had to get to. The Whites live in a fairly nice (on the inside anyway) apartment complex (as do almost all people in Izmir). It was a very comforting view after such a long time in wide open airports and cramped planes.
5:45 PM
After much socializing with the family and a wonderful dinner (at which I discovered the second weirdest drink I've ever tasted) my cousin Isaac and I stayed up playing games on our respective computers and generally enjoying each others' company until we managed to pull ourselves away to bed. Then, snuggled comfortably under my covers, I was out before the lights. (They have an interesting incandescent glow for a little while after being turned off.)


And that brings me back to the thunderstorms of this morning with which I began this blog (quarter 'til eight local time/12:45 AM in VA). From then I have had a spectacular breakfast, more great socializing with Isaac and Aunt Sandy (Uncle Alan had already left for the office), checked the good old Book of Face (I always feel out of civilization after multiple days of not checking), and have spent a relaxing morning doing very little. But now that morning is over (it's after twelve here) I believe it might be time to get the RTA (Real Turkish Adventure) started! Isaac and I are leaving soon to go pick up lunch and go bowling. Then I have no clue what happens. But that's part of what makes and adventure so exciting! So until I find myself typing away to you next, fare ye well!

-Nic


New Words:
Sut: Water
Ayran: The second weirdest drink I've tasted (pretty much liquid yogurt that is sour and salty instead of sweet and fruity)

A Summary of Inspiration

So as my first "real" post since my revamping of my writing (and adversely my blog), I decided I would put out a little teaser of all the ideas that I am currently banging around in my head. (It's been painful letting the little buggers just run around crazy like that inside. They need to get out and play every now and then.) So here goes:

CURRENTLY WRITING:
More Poetry!!!!
-If you need an explanation of what this entails, then perhaps you should find a different pursuit of life than reading my material...

Tides (co-authoring with Nathan J. Vencil aka http://theresidentphilosopher.blogspot.com/)
-A murder mystery set entirely on the beach
-Being written as a full-length screenplay

Grand (working title)
-The amazing adventures of a man's flight around the world
-Set in an early 1900's steampunk society
-Written in diary form

UPCOMING:
The Chronicles of Pan
-Being the account of the many adventures of each of the Pans (Peter being merely the most famous; not the first, nor the greatest, and certainly not the only Pan)

CONCEPTS:
A Romance of a certain sort
-I have some images and concepts floating around with this one, but nothing more solid than that the main character is a teenage delivery-boy in (probably) New York who falls in love with the musically inclined daughter of the owner of a small (but popular) restaurant.

Japanese Samurai/Ninja epic trilogy
-Each book told (in first person narrative) from the point of view of the main character
-First book: A girl who masks her identity to become the hero the people need
-Second book: A young man who dreams of joining the legend's trusted followers
-Third book: A foreigner who joins the merry band and chronicles the end of the war

Pirate+Ninja Wars
-I already started working on this one, then dropped it for a while (or maybe closer to 10-20 years) after I realized that what I am going for with this story is so far above and beyond what I can currently write.
-Ask me about it if you want to know more, because I have a lot more detail on this one than I feel like writing down right now.

Post-apocalyptical novella
-That's pretty much all I've got on this, other than that I want it to be rather harsh.

St. George and the Dragon retelling
-This has always been one of my favorite stories. If you don't know it, look it up immediately!!! I highly recommend this version: http://www.amazon.com/Saint-George-Dragon-Margaret-Hodges/dp/0316367958

Beauty and the Beast retelling
-Quite possibly my favorite fairy tale ever (and not just the Disney version, though I love that too).
-If you don't know this, then you are simply a very uncultured, sad person.

Soccer serial
-There's something about sports stories that are very compelling, so I'd like to try my own hand at it sometime. Soccer is obviously the best choice, seeing as it is my favorite sport.
-The story will follow one boy's career from his first stages as a young child all the way up through his stint in the World Cup as a young adult.

Steampunk epic
-Involving a large war. I don't know much else yet.

Assassin
-Set in Renaissance Venice and Rome
-Centers around an assassin who is hired to kill the pope
-Will not be written for many, many years, as what I want to do with this is utterly and ridiculously difficult.

WWZ
-(Stands for World Wrestling Zombies)
-A team of misfits, headed by a superstar professional wrestler, attempt to fend off a zombie invasion and maybe save the world.


And there you have most of my ideas so far. Hopefully some piqued your interest. I'm interested to know what you think about these stories and what I can do to make them spectacular. In the meantime, keep looking for more to come at a less distant date! Let the great writing adventures begin!!!

In excited anticipation,
ww


Most definitely Copyright 2010 White Water.
So if I find myself reading any of these ideas in story form without my name being on the title page...I had better not.

Finally... (!)

So I realize that it has been many moons since my last posting. You probably thought I fell off the face of the earth, or that I had gotten into a terrible accident and secluded myself from the rest of the world to be overwhelmed in self-pity, or (horror of horrors) you haven't been checking up on my blog and never even noticed, or maybe you simply know me well enough to remember how lazy I can be and have more than likely just been waiting for me to announce the return of my presence. In the first case: that would have been a grand adventure indeed, but sadly it did not happen. To the second case: that would have been truly annoying and I'm quite unannoyed that it did not. As for the third case: I would be rather saddened to hear such, but will strive harder in the coming days to make sure that such does not continue. And if you chose the fourth case: well, honesty prompts me to say that you would be correct in your assumption.

But! (Oh how wondrous the fullness of power and depth which can be so sublimely and subliminally contained in one word!)
But, I have a proclamation to proclaim!
From henceforth, there will be a tumult of writings pouring out from this very blog! You are not convinced? Then let me begin to convert your doubting Thomas by ending this post and beginning the next! See you in a minute or two!

Sallying forth,
ww


Copyright 2010 White Water.
There was a special spot in my heart for plagiarizers. I cut it out and burned it.