The first 15 minutes of our time in Izmir was a blur. Our host nation advisor eagerly walked, or should we say sprinted, us through the city trying to share everything his home had to offer. As we took a sharp left down another colorful market-filled street bustling with women and men conducting business, running errands and gathering for lunch, children lined a three-storied balcony cheering boisterously to something starting in the courtyard. As we slowed our roll, our HNA looked at us inquisitively, as if to say, isn’t this normal? In that moment though, the roaring hustle of the city seemed to pause with us as we waited to see what could possibly have everyone’s admiration and attention – a potato sack race of all things.