It was unfortunate, but Brittany and I had to make her departure a very secretive one. After our trip from Barcelona we remembered how the other half of the world lived and treated other human beings and realized that how horrible we were being treated. So we made a quick decision to get home ASAP. Another reason for us to leave was that my family has had some bad news and I needed to get back to be with them. When we approached our club about allowing Brittany and myself to get back to America, they said no. The club would would only honour my contract if Brittany stayed behind to complete her playoffs. A valid point, but we had no idea when the playoffs would be played or when they would end and we couldn't handle living below the poverty line trying to find money to pay for food everyday. Yes, if we didn't have a credit card, we would have been going everyday with no food!!! Despite that our club claims that we are 'family' and the just want us to be happy, they wouldn't give us the money that they promised to us.
So we told a little lie and said that Brittany would stay if the club honoured my contract and bought my departure ticket. But honestly, how could I leave my new fiancée behind with this club that treats less than humans! So Brittany used her credit card to book her own flight back and we just prayed that we could be on the same flight back.
On our last day in Turkey we had a meeting with the president to try to get all the money that was owed to us (food and game money). We invited one of the Swedish players from Ankara University to be a witness to what our lives were like everyday playing with Baskent. After the heated meeting, our Swedish friend was shocked at how they talked to us and how much patience had to have. He said that he had a hard time not getting up and reaching over the presidents desk and not punching him in the face!
We managed to get some of the money owed to us having to knock off more than we wanted so we could get some money in our pockets to get home.
After having a little farewell party at our place, our friends and coach went to get some early morning soup and it was during their drunken departure that Brittany made her escape. We grabbed all her stuff and found a taxi in the street and I sent her off to the airport. Previously that day I had tried to tell the club that I had a friend that would give me a ride to the airport in the morning, but they insisted on having one of our board members take me to the airport at 6am (my flight was at 9am and it takes 45 mins to get to airport). Brittany snuck out around 5am so I waited in the apartment for my ride to show up. And it never did show up. After calling the board members cell phone for 45 mins, I decided I'd better just jump in a taxi and get to the airport.
Flight went well, only problem was at customs in Chicago when they detained me and said I was going to be deported back to Istanbul because there were some problems with dates assocaited with my student visa from last year. But after an hour of searching they found the proper information and cleared my entrance into the country (was sweating bullets for few minutes in the detainee room!). However we missed our connecting flight to Boston, but managed to get a later one.
While waiting for our flight we checked our emails and used Skype to call her family to let them know that we were going to be late. Upon checking our emails we recieved one from our roommate (Britt's teammate) telling us how her day was. Kate decided to stay in Turkey, just because she has nothing else to do right now and plans on travelling through Europe for the next 3 months. Well the club was not happy about the departure we made, which we expected. But what shocked us and hurt Brittany the most was that the club promised that they are going to send people after us and the one board member that was going to pick me up for my flight said "Her life is finished." Yes, no lie. A death threat from a hockey club in Turkey. How very classy.
Anyways, we are so glad to be back. I promise to start revealing more information about what life really was like over there and share things that honestly I was too afraid to say while on Turkish soil.
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