First Things First...

So, this is my first attempt at blogging.  An unoriginal intro, I know...I guess the best thing would be to start with who I am and how exactly I got here (here being Ankara, Turkey).

I am a thirty-something adventurous spirit from Ontario, Canada with an addiction to shoes and Sweet Tarts.  I have your average dysfunctional blended Italian family complete with black sheep and do-gooders.  But the defining moment of my life was when I lost my mother at the age of 12.  It was from this point on that I started to view life differently.  I started to do things more impulsively because you never know when your time will be up. 

I had a fairly normal life growing up...but I always felt there was more to see or do than what I was able to experience. 

About a year ago, I decided to leave my job with a large international company and see where life would take me.  As you can imagine, my friends and family were somewhat shocked at the suddeness but not really surprised by my decision.  For the first few days I vegetated...well, after I returned from my spontaneous visit to the Canadian Rockies for some skiing...and reflected about what I wanted to do.  I knew that above all I wanted to travel more, so I did.  For about 3 months - alternating between short visits around my home province and longer visits to other parts of Canada, the US and Europe. 

I was fortunate enough to be in Turkey (my mother's birthplace) for Mother's Day with my younger sister.  I felt such a connection to the country that when my cousin jokingly suggested that I move to Turkey, a small seed of an idea immediately started growing in my mind...maybe I could do this??