Friday, September 17, 2010

Looking Back

So here I sit at my dinner table enjoying a nice cup of good ol merican coffee trying to discern everything that I took in this past season. It is quite overwhelming to think about what all I got to take in and what I had the opportunity to learn. Was it a difficult year? Without a doubt. Was there times where I asked myself what the hell I was doing? You can bet on it. Did I mentally crack a few times? For sure. But did I stick it out and grow a bunch? Yep.

So here are a few highlights of the past year:

  • Getting lost not 2 miles away from my house and doing laps around my village trying to find where I live. All those little one lane farm roads can get to be a bit confusing
  • Eating raw horse meat, and not just once, but on multiple occasions
  • Upon completion of the Paris Roubaix recon ride deciding to ride from Roubaix, France back to Izegem, Belgium with Andrew Talansky. What should have been 35 kilometers turned into 80 kilometers and even time on the Belgian freeway. We were lost out of our minds.
  • Eating real Italian pasta, pizza, parmigiano reggiano, and amazing wine.
  • I actually think I learned another language. At least I now make less mistakes in French, but still have a long ways to go.
  • Hitchhiked all across Normandy.
  • Was served raw eggs more than once and still can't stand them. They cook a crepe and when done cooking the crepe, crack an egg over the top and the thinking is that the heat of the cooked crepe will cook the egg on the plate. Yeah, I know.
  • On my very first time to Europe, got to race in France, Italy, Spain, Germany and Switzerland.
  • Got the opportunity to see the Alps, Pyrenees, and Dolomite mountain ranges.
  • Was in a car during 3 different accidents in France with 3 different drivers. They sure do drive uniquely.
  • Broke more stuff than I want to think about.
  • I swam in the Mediterranean Sea
  • Raced in snow, sleet, and hail on more occasions than just riding in dry, sunny weather.
  • In my own little village, over the course of 7 months, switched my housing 9 different times.
  • Had the opportunity to learn a lot about different countries political and economic systems in a real life setting, not just in the classroom.
  • Grew to love America even more than I did previously.
  • Won some races even if no one thought I could.
  • Fell in love with Belgian Beer. I tried my best to taste as much as I could.
  • Shopping at the street market weekly and getting to know the farmers, butchers and the cheese shop owners.
  • But, the biggest highlight is the actual fact of living in a foreign country. Not just visiting, but living. Getting into a routine and rhythm in life.
In a few days I will get some photos up that give a little outline of the year. Thanks for reading.

2 comments:

  1. i'm curious... what was your favorite place to visit and why?

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  2. Toscana, Italia. Hands down, Italy is by and far one of the coolest and prettiest places I have ever visited in my life. Amazing food, wine, mountains and some on the friendliest people in the world. What more does one need?

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