Backflips - SamTheCobra

Turkey. , a set on Flickr.Thoughts on Turkey.
I flew in to Ataturk International Airport, arriving at 11:30pm on May 20. I slept in the airport which was surprisingly not as bad as I thought.
Turkey. How the hell did I get to Turkey? I really have no idea what I was doing here. Istanbul sounded like a cool place… Honestly, I didn’t really put much thought into going to Turkey, I kinda just showed up. But as luck would have it, my friend from Syracuse, Beatrice, is finishing up her semester abroad there right now. She met me as I got off the bus from the airport and took me out to an authentic local breakfast place.
Turkey is a little behind the times. As we sat there eating some weird goat cheese thing (that’s the technical term), an overbearing loudspeaker came on. And not a loudspeaker in the restaurant. A loudspeaker over the whole city. A man speaking in Arabic calling for prayer. I look out the window and see men rushing and running to the nearby mosque to wash their feet in a foot-sink thingy (also a technical term) and then inside the mosque to pray. Now apparently this happens multiple times a day.
It was very weird. We happen to walk by a different mosque later that day and decide to peak inside. We were in there looking around, Beatrice in her fancy headscarf, provided by the front door man, and we’re both barefoot. Of course this would be the time when the loudspeaker comes on, calling for prayer. The men start flooding in, some in sweat pants, others in fancy suits, to pray. We stayed to watch for a little while (technically we were allowed to be there) but left shortly thereafter.
On a positive note though, the world is flat, thanks to the Internet. I posted on Facebook that I was going to be in Istanbul and a friend from high school messaged me saying she had an alumni event in Istanbul at the same time. I found myself on a fancy dinner cruise on the Bosphorus River hanging out with an old high school friend and some really cool people.
Basic networking, fast forward to the end of the night, I made a new photographer friend who lives in a Switzerland, and offered to let me crash at her place when I go to Switzerland later this summer. Boom. One Facebook post. Now that’s cool.

Turkey. , a set on Flickr.

Thoughts on Turkey.

I flew in to Ataturk International Airport, arriving at 11:30pm on May 20. I slept in the airport which was surprisingly not as bad as I thought.

Turkey. How the hell did I get to Turkey? I really have no idea what I was doing here. Istanbul sounded like a cool place… Honestly, I didn’t really put much thought into going to Turkey, I kinda just showed up. But as luck would have it, my friend from Syracuse, Beatrice, is finishing up her semester abroad there right now. She met me as I got off the bus from the airport and took me out to an authentic local breakfast place.

Turkey is a little behind the times. As we sat there eating some weird goat cheese thing (that’s the technical term), an overbearing loudspeaker came on. And not a loudspeaker in the restaurant. A loudspeaker over the whole city. A man speaking in Arabic calling for prayer. I look out the window and see men rushing and running to the nearby mosque to wash their feet in a foot-sink thingy (also a technical term) and then inside the mosque to pray. Now apparently this happens multiple times a day.

It was very weird. We happen to walk by a different mosque later that day and decide to peak inside. We were in there looking around, Beatrice in her fancy headscarf, provided by the front door man, and we’re both barefoot. Of course this would be the time when the loudspeaker comes on, calling for prayer. The men start flooding in, some in sweat pants, others in fancy suits, to pray. We stayed to watch for a little while (technically we were allowed to be there) but left shortly thereafter.

On a positive note though, the world is flat, thanks to the Internet. I posted on Facebook that I was going to be in Istanbul and a friend from high school messaged me saying she had an alumni event in Istanbul at the same time. I found myself on a fancy dinner cruise on the Bosphorus River hanging out with an old high school friend and some really cool people.

Basic networking, fast forward to the end of the night, I made a new photographer friend who lives in a Switzerland, and offered to let me crash at her place when I go to Switzerland later this summer. Boom. One Facebook post. Now that’s cool.

Posted 1 hour ago with tags:

Thoughts Travel Turkey Facebook Religion Culture Pictures

Israel, a set on Flickr.Thoughts on Israel
From May 6 - 16, I took part in an all paid, all planned, awesome free trip to Israel through a birthright program called Amazing Israel: Extreme Israel.
Although it wasn’t very extreme for my standards, I had a blast, made some new friends and learned a lot about myself and others.
So here’s how it works. I am Jewish and have never been on an organized trip to Israel, making me eligible for a free 10 day trip. So it was me and 40 strangers from every last corner of the United States. 5 days in, we were joined by 8 active Israeli soldiers to accompany us on the rest of our trip.
We got to see so much, and it really makes you think. Everyone on the trip is there for different reasons, but they all come out with the basic same outcome; thoughts. The trip makes you think.
To be honest, I was a little underwhelmed by the landscape of Israel. Sure it’s gorgeous and there’s beautiful beaches and mountains and deserts. But you can find those things in other parts of the world. What boggles my mind is the fact that people have been fighting for thousands of years, willing to die for this place. And what it comes down to, is the sentimental value we bestow upon the place. A fundamental trait that makes us human is the ability to give a sentimental value or emotion to an inanimate object or place. It comes down to people. They wanted to be there because that’s where their families were. They wanted a place to call home. And what makes a home? The people.
My trip was awesome, but as soon as Birthright ended and I got to meet and live with my relatives for a few short days, my experience was totally flipped. In a good way. They welcomed me in like family, because, well, I am! They are my 3rd cousins I believe (our grandfathers were 1st cousins).
It’s so interesting to see the differences in our cultures. Some of the cousins are my age, (Shauli is 21, Yoav is 19, Aya is 19, Hamutal is 27, and Neta is 26). They all took me out to different parts of their lives throughout my stay. Hamutal took me to a delicious hummus breakfast, Shauli took me to the beach, Yoav took me out to the beach and to his friend’s music gig, Aya took me to a beach party and American pub, and Neta took me to the annual Taste of the City festival in town. Market, pub, beach, beach, beach….!
An experience totally opposite to my stay with Birthright. So cool to see how our cultures are so much different, yet so much alike.
Shauli is 21 and I think it’s interesting that, in a way, we are leading parallel lives, just 10,000 miles away. I’m sorry, 16,000km… He just got out of 3 years in the army and is taking a year off to work and then travel, and then start university. And me, I’m 21, about to go into my final year of college… But we have similar mannerisms, jokes and sarcasm. Maybe because we’re blood related. Or maybe because we’re both Jewish..
Here’s all the photos from my Israel adventures!

Israel, a set on Flickr.

Thoughts on Israel

From May 6 - 16, I took part in an all paid, all planned, awesome free trip to Israel through a birthright program called Amazing Israel: Extreme Israel.

Although it wasn’t very extreme for my standards, I had a blast, made some new friends and learned a lot about myself and others.

So here’s how it works. I am Jewish and have never been on an organized trip to Israel, making me eligible for a free 10 day trip. So it was me and 40 strangers from every last corner of the United States. 5 days in, we were joined by 8 active Israeli soldiers to accompany us on the rest of our trip.

We got to see so much, and it really makes you think. Everyone on the trip is there for different reasons, but they all come out with the basic same outcome; thoughts. The trip makes you think.

To be honest, I was a little underwhelmed by the landscape of Israel. Sure it’s gorgeous and there’s beautiful beaches and mountains and deserts. But you can find those things in other parts of the world. What boggles my mind is the fact that people have been fighting for thousands of years, willing to die for this place. And what it comes down to, is the sentimental value we bestow upon the place. A fundamental trait that makes us human is the ability to give a sentimental value or emotion to an inanimate object or place. It comes down to people. They wanted to be there because that’s where their families were. They wanted a place to call home. And what makes a home? The people.

My trip was awesome, but as soon as Birthright ended and I got to meet and live with my relatives for a few short days, my experience was totally flipped. In a good way. They welcomed me in like family, because, well, I am! They are my 3rd cousins I believe (our grandfathers were 1st cousins).

It’s so interesting to see the differences in our cultures. Some of the cousins are my age, (Shauli is 21, Yoav is 19, Aya is 19, Hamutal is 27, and Neta is 26). They all took me out to different parts of their lives throughout my stay. Hamutal took me to a delicious hummus breakfast, Shauli took me to the beach, Yoav took me out to the beach and to his friend’s music gig, Aya took me to a beach party and American pub, and Neta took me to the annual Taste of the City festival in town. Market, pub, beach, beach, beach….!

An experience totally opposite to my stay with Birthright. So cool to see how our cultures are so much different, yet so much alike.

Shauli is 21 and I think it’s interesting that, in a way, we are leading parallel lives, just 10,000 miles away. I’m sorry, 16,000km… He just got out of 3 years in the army and is taking a year off to work and then travel, and then start university. And me, I’m 21, about to go into my final year of college… But we have similar mannerisms, jokes and sarcasm. Maybe because we’re blood related. Or maybe because we’re both Jewish..

Here’s all the photos from my Israel adventures!

Posted 6 days ago with tags:

Thoughts Trip Israel Birthright

2 notes

Thoughts on my Trip Around the World.

Honestly, I haven’t given it much thought. I was sitting on Greyhound bus on my way back to Syracuse University after being home for a few days. It kinda just hit me. I was thinking about how my Dad’s Dad visited every continent in his life time. I thought that was the coolest thing ever. In a sort of tribute to him, I want to do a backflip on every continent.

Other than that, and not wanting to find a summer internship, I’m a little lost as to why I’m traveling around the world. I really don’t know why. I think I’m trying to find answers to questions I haven’t yet asked myself yet. And I think that’s the point; to try to find those answers, but more importantly, to find the questions..

I think people all over the world are the same. Sure there’s different cultures and traditions, but people are generally looking for the same thing. I hope this trip can reconfirm that belief.

There comes a lot of self reflection when traveling alone. So much time to think, to compare, to see, to explore. I love it. I didn’t have much time to myself to think last semester. I was at a point in my life where I was in a slump, waiting for the next chapter. And this is it! I’m excited, let’s rock.

Posted 6 days ago with tags:

Thoughts Trip World Travel

The Start of my 110 Day Trip

Mom and Dad took me to the airport this morning (?…idk I’ve been up for Basically 2 days since the flight was and 11 hour red eye, getting into Ben Gurion International Airport at about 6am…)

Met with the group, already having a great time in Israel, about to pass out now!

Posted 3 weeks ago with tags:

Israel 110days Samthecobra Travel

In Haifa, 3rd largest city in Israel. (Taken with Instagram at Haifa (חיפה))

Posted 3 weeks ago

3 notes

May or may not have just put a knife through my phone… I will not have a phone from now until the end of August. Any and all booty calls can be directed at my Twitter account or FB message.

Posted 3 weeks ago with tags:

phone summer

In the Media

My dad bet me $100 that I couldn’t do one backflip a day for a whole year. I won the bet. See the video that got >500,000 views in the first 5 days.

And read about it in the media!

Posted 3 weeks ago with tags:

media interview Backflip flip New Year's Resolution SamTheCobra

#140Challenge - Sam Morrison: Change your life, One backflip at a time (by SyracuseiSchool)

I am trying to create a social network that allows people to set daily goals for themselves and lets others follow along and watch as they progress throughout the course of a year.

“Flip your life by committing to a 365 project.” backflip.me

Posted 3 weeks ago with tags:

backflip flip backflip.me goals

Around the World in 110 Days: The Technology Behind My Summer Trip

Original Article on the iSchool’s InformationSpace Blog

For 110 days this summer, from May 6 through August 24, I will literally be traveling around the world. Armed with just a backpack and my intuition, I will travel to Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia during my summer break in order to find myself, by getting lost in the world. And since I like to do backflips, I want to see the world, and backflip all over it.

That said, here’s a list of what I will be taking with me on my trip:

1. Gregory Baltoro 65 - First and foremost, I need a backpack to keep my belongings. It needs to be big enough to allow me to carry everything I will need for 3 months, but small enough that I can easily carry it on my back. Along with my few sets of clothes, the backpack will be the least technological item in my inventory.

2. Apple New iPad w/ AT&T 4G – I need a way to stay connected with the world, and since I will not have a cell phone during this trip, I need a device that allows me to connect from anywhere. I will be paying for the international data plan ($99 for 275MB) so that I can checkin on Foursquare, so that my parents and friends can see exactly where I am, and so that I can communicate via email and Twitter. At night, I will hopefully have WiFi at wherever I’ll be staying to upload photos and videos to my blog.

3. GoPro HD w/ GorillaPod – In order to film myself doing backflips and other potentially crazy antics throughout my trip, I will be taking my GoPro video camera. It shoots at 720p at 60fps, and is 100% waterproof. The GorillaPod will allow me to strap the camera to a bench or railing so I can film myself if no one else is around. (foreveralone.jpg) I also have an extra battery, in case I don’t get a chance to charge it for a few days.

4. Nikon D90 w/ 18-135mm Lens - I love photography, in fact, it was what I originally came to Syracuse for. I want to get back into taking photos.

5. SD Card Reader for iPad – I need a way to get the pictures and videos off of my cameras and onto my iPad. Bingo, $5 on Amazon. Then I can go about distributing the content on Flickr, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.

6. Dropbox – With only 16GB of local storage on my iPad, I am limited to how much video and pictures I take. But I figure, for $19.99/20GB/month, I can take as much as I want, dump it onto my iPad with my sweet SD card reader, and then upload it to my Dropbox account.

6.5 Google Drive – Google Drive just came out. I might just sell my soul and arguably the rights to all of my information by signing up for only $2.49/25GB/month.

7. Stereo Vinyl Cruiser (Mini Longboard) – Probably the most important item in my arsenal. There should be no reason why I can’t do something I love in all parts of the world. I found this little guy for $80. And the cool thing is, that at just 22″, it literally fits right in my backpack.

I am overwhelmed, scared, and extremely excited for this trip. I hope some of the stress will leave me as I leave the ground. If you are interested in following my travels, or want to connect with me on the other side of the world, you can reach me on Twitter (@SamTheCobra) or check out my website to see where I am at all times, and follow my updates on my personal blog, as well as right here on Information Space.