10 Kasim Da

Today started out fantastically as I actually got up when my cell phone alarm told me to, get out of the house by 7:33, and managed to look semi-attractive in a red vest. This might be due to the fact that today was a sort of "holiday." A death day, one could say (yes, in reference to Harry Potter.)

Today was the honoring of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk's passing. I'm hard pressed to find an American hero that is comparable to Ataturk, simply because not all Americans give all the credit to the same person for the founding of the American republic. Rather we give it to a group of men that embodied the "American" ideal. Just imagine having Lincoln's face put in every school room, every auditorium, even city council sign, even as people's facebook profile pictures. Yes, turkish people like Ataturk that much.

Anywhey, today was a day to commemorate his passing, and to honor him. I got to sing the national anthem twice (I think I actually got the lyrics now) and we had a moment of silence, while we stood at attention. During the 8th or last period, we went to the science part of the high school to the auditorium, where we listened to multiple presentations and speeches about Ataturk. It was full of singing, hand-clapping, and listening (obviously.) All in all, it was quite an interesting experience... to have a day completely devoted to one man who made the turkish republic.

During lunch some of my friends asked me, "Really, do people know about Ataturk in America?" and I said, yeah... all the turkish people...

I got some high fives for that.

But srsly now folks, gotta have some R-E-S-P-E-C-T for that man.

I mean, without him, I probably wouldn't even have this blog.