Thanksgiving Week: Time to Give Thanks!

I know what you're all thinking...where was last week's post??? Well, I have a good answer for that. Well, kind of.

Last week was kind of a weirdly busy week combined with an inordinate amount of laziness. Not a good combo. Needless to say, this blog kind of feel by the wayside as I was trying to figure out my housing situation for next quarter at DU.

Good news is, I think we have finally found a place. So I won't be homeless.

Bad news is, there was no post. But luckily, you really didn't miss much. I haven't left Aix since I returned from Paris and it looks like I won't be leaving again until I head to Nice with my family right before Christmas.

Anyway, onto the subject of this week's post.

It's Thanksgiving Eve and I have to wake up for class tomorrow...WAIT, WHAT? Yeah, it's a very weird feeling and I don't think I like it. The good news is, it's a one-time thing.

Seeing as it is that holiday that causes a lot of people to reflect on the things in their lives for which they are grateful, I thought I'd jump on that bandwagon this week and share my thanks with you. Sit tight. I am thankful for many, many things. Makes sense, though, right?

1. First and foremost, I want to thank you. Yes, you. If you're reading this, I want to let you know that you mean a lot to me.

Some of you have shared with me the joy my blog posts have brought to you and others have told my mom that you read my blog, so thought it is kind of incomplete, I have an idea as to who my audience is.

So why be thankful for you? It's simple. You have given me a reason to chronicle my adventures in Europe. But more importantly, by reading this, you have shown that you care about me and what I am doing.

What more could someone ask for? This blog has been a pretty important part of my life abroad and you all are a part of that. So, thank you for caring.

2. I am thankful for Christmas music. Yes, I realize Thanksgiving hasn't made it yet, but hey, I'm in a country that doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving, so I think I have permission to listen to it this early.

But why am I thankful for it? Well, Christmas music is fun to listen to, no matter what. But beyond that, it has kept me company this past week (it's keeping me company right now) while I've been working on papers and perusing Facebook.

3. I can't talk about what I'm thankful for and fail to mention the city where I currently live. I am Aixtremely (get it?) thankful for this city, especially right now.

Aix is one of the most gorgeous cities I've ever seen during Christmastime and every time I venture downtown, be it for class or for a night on the town, I get to see the GORGEOUS Christmas lights on trees, buildings, strung across roads, and on the big fountain in the center of town. Yes, they have a very elaborate Christmas light display on a fountain. And we all LOVE it.

But more importantly, Aix has been a catalyst for my process of learning to see the world in a different way. As I've explained in previous posts, Aix is a gorgeous, older city. It is like nothing you'll find anywhere in the USA and I don't think my abroad experience would have been the same or as good as it has been if I had gone somewhere else.

So, for that, I am extremely thankful.

4. I would be remiss to not mention the people I have met since coming here.

I cannot begin to tell you how incredible my peers here are. They come from all over the world (not just my classmates) and have given me an entirely new perspective on what being "worldly" is all about.

I have friends from all over Europe and Canada. These are people that have transformed my study abroad experience into a truly international experience. I have been learning about Italian, French, Canadian, German, British, and Swedish cultures since getting here. And that's only scratching the surface as far as my truly international experience goes.

It's hard to believe that a white, upper middle class kid from an extremely conservative small town in the middle of Colorado has had such profound experiences and met such a diverse group of people.

5. I am so thankful for my French teacher and classmates from Junior and Senior years of high school. Madame Capp taught me more about the French language and culture in those two years than my French professor at DU could.

To be completely honest, had it not been for Madame Capp, I know I would not be studying in France, much less be able to get myself around the country.

I cannot even imagine what living here without that foundation would have been like.

Those two years of French class are the reason why I've had such a successful semester. So Madame Capp, if you're reading this, thank you so much for everything you taught us in those classes.

6. I am so thankful and grateful for my host-mother, Camille Jore. She does not speak a word of English and that is by far, the greatest thing about our relationship. Because of that, I have been forced to take chances with the French language.

It has definitely been a bumpy ride with my very limited vocabulary, but because of the closing of the language gap, our relationship has become so great.

She has, in a way, become my French grandmother.

There are times when I wish she spoke English, and it gets very frustrating because of the fact that I'm not fluent, but I could not imagine my experience here being any better because of her.

7. I am so thankful for the University of Denver and its study abroad programs. Study abroad is one of the most appealing things about my school and they make it so easy to spend a semester abroad almost anywhere in the world.

Had I gone to any of the other schools I applied to, I don't think I would be in the south of France right now.

It says a lot about a university when roughly 75% of its undergraduate students study abroad at one point during their time there.

DU encourages all students to study abroad if they can fit it in their schedule and it is even a requirement in the business school (it can be avoided by taking an international business class on campus).

DU has been the best decision I've made in my life. It wasn't my first choice when I was applying, but I can't imagine going to school anywhere else.

8. While I'm on the topic of schools, I should also mention that I am so thankful for Lewis-Palmer District 38 in Monument, CO and its AMAZING teachers.

Throughout my 13 years in the district, I received the best education and the best educators the country could provide, in my opinion.

At the risk of being redundant, I know that I would not be where I am today, literally and figuratively, without that foundation.

The teachers aren't there just to teach a subject and then head home at 3 o'clock. These people invest their personal time in their students. They believe that education goes well-beyond just the classroom. These teachers aren't just teachers, they're mentors.

In my 3 years at Palmer Ridge High School, I didn't have a single teacher who didn't care deeply about me and my peers. Sure, there were some students that were more frustrating than others, but they cared about all of us equally. They wanted us to succeed not just in their classes, but in life. At every sporting event that I either attended or participated in, I always saw multiple teachers in the crowd. The same can be said for all concerts and performing arts shows.

So, Mr. and Mrs. Eversole, Mrs. Raphael, Mrs. Troy, Ms. Howard (I know you're reading this from heaven), Mrs. Mann, Mr. Dall, Mr. Gabel, Mr. Ewig, Madame Capp, Mrs. Johnson, Mr. Gutowski and every other teacher I have had since kindergarten, THANK YOU. You have no idea (OK, well you probably have some kind of idea) how much all of your mentor-ship means to me and my fellow PRHS graduates.

9. Last, and certainly not least, I am extremely grateful and forever indebted to my family. Mom, Dad, and Julia, you guys are the greatest people in the entire world. You are my rock and the most supportive people in my life.

The last 20 years and 11ish months have been full of ups and downs, successes and failures, fights and celebrations, but the bottom line is, I can't imagine a better group of people to grow up with.

As I get older and realize that I'm becoming more independent and our relationship transforms as necessary, I've been able to reflect on my childhood and my entry into adulthood. The more reflecting I do, the clearer it becomes that you have done an amazing job raising me into the man I am becoming.

I know it hasn't been perfect and it definitely has not been fun 100% of the time, but you guys (well, we) have never tried to be the perfect family, and I think that is what makes us so perfect.

The couple of months leading up to my departure from the states to come here were extremely turbulent and stressful for all of us. I was going through a lot and through it all, you three were there for me at every step of the way.

Sure, you can say that's what family is for, but it goes beyond that. You three are not just my family, but you're my three best friends.

You can't pick your family, but you can pick your friends. I would pick you guys every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

To say that I would not be where I am today without you and your guidance would be the understatement of the year. Simply put, I am here BECAUSE of you and your guidance.

Dad, think back to when we were looking at potential study abroad locations. At first, I was entertaining the idea of going to Sweden, the UK, Australia, or even Canada to study abroad.

Through your help and guidance, we stumbled upon this program in Aix with IAU. We talked about the pros and cons of all of the possible locations and we both decided that Aix was the best location for what I wanted to get out of my study abroad experience.

I miss you guys so much and I absolutely cannot wait until December 19th when you get here. It's right around the corner!

Well, there you have it. There's my list of things I'm thankful for in November of 2013. It is by no means a complete list, but these are the things that immediately came to mind while I was writing this post.

It is a strange feeling being out of the USA for this holiday and having classes this week. That's part of adapting to a new culture, though. I would not have it any other way.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. Eat lots and lots of turkey, toss around the pigskin, watch some American football (yeah, I kind of have to call it that now), and enjoy your time with your family.

Paris!!!! And a Little Homesickness...

Well you got rewarded for your loyalty!! I did indeed give you a little hint as to what was to come this week: Homesickness. YAY!!!

However, before I get into that sticky subject, I NEED TO TELL YOU ABOUT PARIS!!!

So, over the weekend, I traveled to Paris with two great friends named Sam and Risa. This was one of the better trips I've taken since being here (I seem to be saying that a lot...).

If you have ever heard me talk about Paris before, you'd know that not only was I there for a few days in the summer of 2008, but that I also HATED the city. I thought the people were rude and that the city was just disgustingly dirty...and we didn't even ride the Metro.

Keep in mind that I was 15 years old...you know, the time of an adolescent's life when it was the cool thing to hate things that everyone else liked.

Well within roughly 15 minutes of arriving on Saturday, my opinion of Paris did a 180. I fell in love with the city almost as soon as I returned to it.

I guess you could say that is a reflection of how my life has been changed since coming abroad, but that's the really cliche and uninteresting stuff better reserved for a personal journal. So instead, I'll tell you all about how I fell in love with the city and what we did this weekend!

When we arrived, we decided to take our belongings to our hostel (which was located roughly 3 or 4 Metro stops from the Eiffel Tower) before going to grab some lunch on the Champs Elysees.

It was raining when we got there, but it stopped on our walk to the Champs Elysees, not that it mattered much because we were already soaked by that time.

As we walked, we passed by some pretty amazing historical landmarks. You know, stuff associated with the French Revolution...if your face is blank reading that, think Les Mis. Better? I thought so.

Anyway, we passed by some landmarks such as L'Hotel des Invalides, Pont Alexandre III (the famous bridge with the gold figurines atop the columns), Grand Palais, and Ecole Militaire. Oh and while we were at it, we really never lost sight of the Eiffel Tower.

When we arrived at the Champs Elysees, we were VERY hungry. None of us had eaten since breakfast thanks to an awkward arrival time in Paris and we decided to find a quick bite to eat before proceeding to L'Arc de Triomphe.

On our way to lunch...well OUR lunch at 4 PM...we passed by a movie theater and decided to see Thor 2 later on in the evening and that turned out to be an absolutely WONDERFUL idea. Yes, we saw it in English, though there were French subtitles. I must say that the movie was really good. I enjoyed every second of it. But you're not reading this to hear my critique of a superhero movie, so I shall move on.

After the movie, we went to Monoprix (a French version of Target) to get some food to cook for dinner at our hostel. We made pasta...for less than 3 euros...total. I'd say that was the "win" of the day. And it was delicious.

On Sunday, we woke up early, got breakfast at the hostel, and got an early start to the day by leaving for Versailles at around 9:30. When we got there we had to wait for roughly 20 minutes...in the pouring rain and cold...to get in. But it was all worth it when we found out that entry was free for students.

After spending a solid 4 or 5 hours touring the amazing architecture and the GIGANTIC gardens behind the castle, we left to head back to Paris.

When we got there, we headed straight for the Eiffel Tower. The last time I was there, I did get to see it, but I didn't go to the top because of how expensive it was. Though the price didn't change since last time, I felt that I had to see it.

We paid to take the stairs up to the second floor and from there we paid again to take the elevator to the top. It was very much worth the cost. The view from there was just amazing...especially because we were up there at sunset.

After that, we went to the store again to buy supplies for another pasta meal. It was a bit more expensive, but adding wine to the mix will do that. ;)

After dinner and friendly conversation with each other, we retired to our room for the night at around 11. Early, I know, but we were exhausted and were planning on waking up at 7:30 again the next day.

Monday morning, we did get up bright and early for breakfast and got another early start to the day. Our first stop: Notre Dame.

In 2008, we went to Notre Dame, but I didn't go inside (worst decision of the entire 2-week Europe trip for me). 5 years later, I finally got a chance to redeem myself for that mistake. And I must say, it was everything I had imagined it to be and more.

The second I set foot inside, I was overcome with awe at how gorgeous it was. Being a Catholic, it was somewhat a pilgrimage for me. I really wanted to stay for Mass, but I didn't want to impose on Risa and Sam.

However, I did take the opportunity to sit down (no pews, surprisingly) and pray. I sat there for a good 10 to 15 minutes in silence appreciating where I was and saying a few prayers for people in my life.

As I was sitting there, I realized who I had been meaning to say a prayer for: my sophomore year AP European History teacher, Ms. Howard, who died just a little over a week ago.

I said a prayer for her and as I did, I shed a few tears remembering the great times I had in her class. She was one of my favorite teachers in high school and being able to say a prayer for her in Notre Dame gave me a little bit of closure to it.

After Notre Dame, we decided to head to the Louvre...you know, the museum with Mona Lisa in it. And again, we were shocked to find out that it was free entry for students, but we weren't complaining one bit. We spent a solid two and a half hours there looking at the Egyptian and Grecian exhibits and then finding Mona Lisa. Risa and I had already seen it, so we stayed back while Sam got a little bit closer to it to take a picture of the disappointingly small painting.

After the Louvre, we went to grab lunch and head to Montmartre and Sacre Coeur where there was another awe-inspiring view of Paris. By this time, we were pretty worn-out, so we didn't stay long before heading back to our hostel to take a nap.

Prior to heading back to the hostel, we were planning on splurging a little bit for dinner Monday night and then seeing the night life, but when we woke up, we decided to nix that plan and order pizza and ice cream and have dinner at the hostel. It was a wonderful idea because we had to wake up even earlier to catch our train back to Aix.

That is a run-down of my trip to Paris. I must say that Paris is an amazing city that is actually quite easy to get around as long as you know where you're going. And there is no reason to dislike it. I can't imagine why I ever disliked it. There was nothing about the city that could make me hate it.

Anyway, onto homesickness...yes, I have a case of it. I wouldn't say that it is a bad case, but it's definitely there.

And it's not really about America as a whole, because honestly, the way of life here is way more appealing than that of the USA. Please don't take that to mean I don't love the USA with all of my heart or that I'm no longer a true American. I do love my country. But there are things that I have realized since being here that I don't really appreciate about the States.

However, I miss home a lot. What do I miss? Well, for starters, my family. More than anything, I miss them and the joy they bring to my life. Since moving to Europe, I've realized how much my family really means to me. I wouldn't be here without them and their support has been absolutely amazing throughout my life.

Basically, I'm getting REALLY excited for them to get here on December 19th.

But what else do I miss? MOUNTAINS. I miss my Rocky Mountains so much. Mostly because ski season is starting and I won't be able to ski until 2014 (don't worry Kenchels and Hendersons, I'm not missing Vail this year!!), but also I just miss the views Colorado has to offer. The mountains are home for me and they always will be. I can't wait to see them again.

I miss DU too. I knew I needed a break from it at the end of sophomore year, but I really can't wait to get back to campus and watch some DU hockey and lacrosse again.

But I also miss my friends. A lot. Coming abroad has really made me think about who I truly value as good friends in my life and who I've made an effort to keep in contact with on a regular basis (if you're reading this, obviously you're important enough to me to keep in touch with through this blog!).

More than any of my friends, though, I miss one of my best friends in the whole world: Lexi Smith. I don't think there has been more than a day or two that has gone by without us talking. We have bounced ideas and advice off of each other for the past few months and I really can't wait to get back to Denver and eat at Tocabe and go to DU hockey games with her again.

In essence, I miss Colorado. Regardless of where I am in the world, I will always be a Coloradan and the Rocky Mountains will always be home.

They always say that home is where your heart is, and while I'm loving my time here immensely and I can't wait to see what the next month or so has to offer, my heart is in Colorado and always will be.

I'll be home soon.

Here you go, Mom!! Heading into Notre Dame!

Casual windy picture atop the Eiffel Tower at sunset.

The three of us atop the Eiffel Tower.

Self-explanatory, I would hope.

Sunset from the Eiffel Tower.

View of the park at the bottom of the Eiffel Tower.

For those of you who are friends with me on Facebook, in the coming days (maybe weeks), I will be posting more pictures from this trip there. If you're on Facebook and wish to see these pictures, don't be shy and add me as a friend!! Only if you don't mind seeing somewhat frequent posts about sports and other abroad musings.

Fall Break...Wait, That's a Thing???

Well, here we are again...another two week break. This time, I'm not very sorry for it only because I was in Spain all of last week.

Barcelona from Saturday through Tuesday and Madrid from Tuesday night through Sunday afternoon. If I could have spent the last three or so days sleeping, I would have. It was a very very busy week of travelling.

I should warn you now, though. If you were looking for one of my typical deep and thought-provoking posts worthy only for the eyes of New York Times subscribers (HA!), you should probably just stop now and look for some other DU junior's most recent blog post.

This is going to be simply a recap of my week in Spain. Ok, maybe not simply, but I'm not planning on coming up with any earth-shattering revelations about life this time.

Anyways. Spain. It was fun.

Does that suffice?

I didn't think so. So I should probably go chronologically. It's the only way to go, I suppose.

Well, on the first Saturday of break, I had to wake up at 5 AM to catch the bus from Aix to Barcelona. I could sugar-coat it and tell you that it was one of the absolute hardest things to do after a Friday night abroad, but....actually we'll just leave it at that.

But the bright side of that whole situation was that we had a 6 hour bus ride ahead of us during which we could sleep. And you can bet your you-know-what that I did just that. The second the bus started moving, I was out.

Six hours later, we found ourselves in Barcelona and sure enough, we were dressed very poorly for the weather. Why? It was a casual 80 degrees Fahrenheit. As soon as we could, we all changed out of our pants and jackets and into shorts and tee-shirts.

After a lunch of some questionable paella, we began to wander around the touristy part of Barcelona, which turned out to be somewhat boring. Shocker.

So after this, we received the AMAZING news that Real Madrid was in town to play Barcelona in El Clasico. You know, just the biggest rivalry in all of sports. There is a reason why it's called "The Classic."

As soon as we found this out, we decided to head over to the stadium and find a bar with a TV so we could watch the game like a real fan, you know, with a beer in hand.

After we all bought scarves at a table vendor outside of the stadium, we started the search for a bar...which probably took ENTIRELY too long.

Once we finally found a bar about 10 minutes into the game, none of us left our seats until the game was over.

Barcelona ended up winning the game 2-1 and it was an amazing experience to be among such amazing fans of the game in the bar. For a sports fan like myself, being around people who actually know what they're watching was such a breath of fresh air. I was able to actually enjoy the game instead of spend most of the game explaining what was going on to someone who hasn't watched the sport before.

After the game, we went out to experience the legendary night-life of Barcelona...and it didn't disappoint.

The next day, we had a bus tour of the major parts of Barcelona and that was pretty darn breath-taking. We got to see some amazing views of the city from a hill above it and we saw Sagrada di Familia, a church designed by the famous Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi. It is actually currently being constructed in the center of Barcelona.

That night a lot of us went to the beach to hang out and listen to the waves and it was probably one of the highlights of my time in Barcelona.

The next day, we all woke up in the early afternoon, which was probably for the best. We were all extremely tired from the day before and we needed our sleep. During the day on Monday, we stayed in the area around our hostel, which was the touristy part of the city and spent some quality time with each other.

That night, our last one in Barcelona, we went to karaoke night at an Irish pub near the beach. That was an absolute blast! In fact, I sang Hakuna Matata with a girl from New Zealand and we nearly won first prize at the end of the night for it!

After karaoke, we all went to one of the hottest clubs in Barcelona called Opium. We got in for free and a number of us were able to get into the VIP area for no cost as well. It was the best club experience I've had since being in Europe, by far.

That night was hands-down the best night I've had since coming to Europe.

The next day, Diego, Jared, Peter, and I left Barcelona for Madrid on a high-speed train. It took us less than 3 hours to get to Madrid, which is actually a considerable distance from Barcelona.

That night, we all went to the center of town to meet up with some friends of Peter and Jared. To start the night, we went to a restaurant and had some really good paella.

After dinner, we went to another Irish pub to have a few drinks, further our new friendships, finalize plans for going to the Real Madrid-Sevilla futbol game the next night.

The next day, the only thing worth noting was the game. AND MY GOD IT WAS SO MUCH FUN!!!!!!

I have never been in such an amazing sports atmosphere in my life. Let me just recap the game...

We saw 10 goals scored total (7-3 in favor of Real Madrid), which in itself was amazing, 3 penalty kicks (2 went in), Cristiano Ronaldo (yes, that Cristiano Ronaldo) had a hat trick, and we saw a red card given to a Sevilla player. WE SAW EVERYTHING!!!

The next day was Halloween...I will leave that one open to your imagination...we didn't really do anything special...except go to Museo Prado during the day. That was definitely amazing to see such amazing Renaissance artwork. We all were taken aback by the sheer detail so many of these artists were able to capture in their paintings.

On Friday, we woke up extremely late in the day. But instead of letting the day go to waste, we went to a nearby park called Parque del Retiro and rented bikes for about an hour. We biked all over the park and had an absolute blast doing this. It was an awesome workout and we got to see a gorgeous park at the same time. This was one of the major highlights of the entire trip to Spain, no doubt.

That night, I was feeling kind of under the weather, so I stayed in while the other three went to a 7-story club called Kapital. I definitely wish I had sucked it up and gone with them that night...I heard amazing things about it. I'll just have to go the next time I'm in Madrid!

The next day, we woke up fairly late again, but again, we didn't waste the day. While Diego went to go spend the afternoon with his cousin who lives in the Madrid area, Jared, Peter, and I went to Reina Sophia, one of the most famous modern art museums in the world.

We spent a solid 3 hours there and were absolutely overwhelmed by the sheer amount of art in one building. The best part was probably the surrealism room...you know, Dali. Salvadore Dali is probably one of my favorite artists. His surrealist paintings capture so many different prevalent themes that it is difficult to dislike any of his work.

After the museum, we went back to the hostel, paid 2 euros and got to eat some AMAZING homemade (well, hostel-made) paella. This was by far my favorite meal of the entire week.

After dinner, we went on a bar-crawl that took us to four different bars and finished at a local club. It was definitely a great way to finish our trip to Spain.

As you might have guessed, we woke up the next day and headed straight to the airport to head back to Aix.

One thing I did notice while I was in Spain was how much I missed the French language. It was a very odd and scary feeling not being able to understand what anyone has to say.  Thank goodness Diego is fluent in Spanish, otherwise our trip would not have been nearly as successful.

When I got back to Aix, I realized how much French I actually knew. It was as if this trip to Spain was a tipping point in my competence with the French language.

As soon as I returned to my host-mother's house, I was able to form fluid and concrete sentences. Since getting back, I have not stumbled over my words nearly as often. It is definitely something that I've been very pleasantly surprised about.

But there ya have it! That is about as brief a synopsis of my Fall Break as I can give you. Look below the text for some pictures from break. I know there aren't many, but many pictures I have are somewhat repetitive.

Next week, I'll try to have a deeper, more thought-provoking post. I promise. Maybe it will be about homesickness...or maybe it won't. There's only one way to find out!!

So, until next week, au revoir!

Statue of Christopher Columbus pretty close to our hostel in Barcelona. 

Picture of FC Barcelona's stadium from afar.

View from above Barcelona. 

View of the Mediterranean from above Barcelona.

Sagrada di Familia

Barcelona beach at night.

Real Madrid v. Sevilla. 3rd deck. 20 euros. SO FUN.

Casual selfie at the game.

4 of the 10ish of us after the game.

Parque del Retiro in Madrid.

Not quite Colorado Fall colors, but this will suffice for now.

Gorgeous random structure near Parque del Retiro.