Serbia and Montenegro

I'm finally back after a long week away from Adana. On Saturday we left for Istanbul to play Migros on Sunday. We won this game by about 6 or 7 points. It felt great to finally get a win! We then stayed in Istanbul the next day and practiced. I was able to see Seb for a night. We went to dinner with a couple of her teammates/roommates. It was great to see and catch up with her. There are 6 teams in or around Istanbul so I'm sure I will get to see a lot more of her. And hopefully I can stay with her and see the city as well one of these days. I got to walk around our hotel, but that's about it. Istanbul is definitely more European than Adana. For one, they have a Starbucks! Everyone I talk to says it's a fun place, too so hopefully I will see more of it this winter.

The team bought us all winter jackets in Istanbul before we trekked up to Serbia and boy did we need them. It was so cold! It was a couple hour flight to Serbia and then we actually drove 6 hours to Montenegro where we would play. It was a long drive, but one of the most beautiful as well. We drove through snow and huge mountains. We also saw the evidence of a war ridden country. Although it is no longer dangerous, apartments still had bullet holes all over the outside. Our coach said snipers would shoot at the houses even through the walls. The drive was still very beautiful, however, especially when it got dark. Even growing up in Wyoming, I've never seen so many stars in the sky shine so brightly. It really took my breath away. I took some pictures and will get them up soon.

We ended up losing that game by 5. We started the 4th quarter down 16 so we came back but it just wasn't quite enough. We'll put together 4 good quarters one of these games. Our next chance is in a couple of days when we play another Turkish league team here in Adana.

I'm anxiously awaiting a care package from my parents! Anything from the states is always a treat. Can't wait for that! I wouldn't object to any care packages from anybody.

And congratulations to my Stanford team!!! They upset the #3 Rutgers team on ESPN. I had to watch it live and stayed up until 5:30 in the morning. And it was definitely worth it. I was so proud! It was great to see them in action.