Tour of Romandie - Stage 2 Finish in Leysin

Here are some pics from yesterday's finish in Leysin.

Me, Ethan, Erin, Mike, Pezz, Shane

Me with the Liquigas bus

Some friends cheering in the rain - Paul, Krysten, Laura, Tiffany

The winner of Stage 2

Cadel Evans, ???, Alexander Vinokourov

More money than I can imagine in wheels.

Some Random Thoughts

Just outside of Interlaken

Riding near Neuchatel

I've only been living overseas for nearly three years, and in the grand scheme of things it seems like a drop in the bucket, but at times it feels like it's been forever.

Leaving the US and the bubble in which I lived has opened my eyes and mind to a large degree, but often times I still feel narrow-minded. Stereotypes exist for a reason. Traveling to different places, living with a variety of people, being immersed in different cultures, etc. have indeed opened my mind, yet the stereotypes still exist...and I'm sure I've done my fair share of perpetuating some of the American stereotypes.

I love cycling. I love skiing. I love the outdoors. But I've realized that I love the energy, flavor, and vibe that exist in a city. In Korea I had all city, and no (well actually just limited) cycling and skiing. Here I have the opposite. I would like to find a balance in between the two.

Keeping in touch with friends back home has been more difficult this year. Part of that could be attributed to the inconvenient time difference. I also think it's partly due to the fact that this is my life now; it's no longer new for me to be living overseas.

Despite looking Swiss (or European) I feel more like a foreigner here than in Korea.

I don't know French and I don't have much desire to learn it. I want to learn Italian even though it's useless outside of Italy...and I don't live in Italy.

I want to become more of a dreamer. I'm too realistic and pragmatic.

Year 30 has been a good one. Thirty is the new twenty, but when it comes to looking at my future, I feel 18.

Although I have many years ahead of me, I feel like it's not enough time to do everything that I want to do.

Those are just a few of my thoughts.

This past Saturday a friend of mine and I rode our bikes to Interlaken. If you come visit I will take you to Interlaken...it is amazing! This week is filled with bike racing, but I'm just a spectator. The Tour de Romandie is within riding and driving distance of Leysin. Stage 2 actually finishes here in Leysin. I will watch two other stages on Friday and Saturday. It's a treat to watch world-class cyclists do their thing.

I'm staying put in Leysin for a few weeks in order to relax and let my bank account recover. At the end of May I'll be going to Portugal with two other staff members and about 15 students to attend a surf camp for a few days. After that we have graduation and then it's summer vacation!!!! :)

Traveling

So I'm finding it difficult to keep this blog thing alive, but I'll keep trying...

At the beginning of March I gave up on the skiing here as a true winter never came. The only skiing I did in March was when I had ski duty on the mountain supervising students. Today it's 70 degrees here and very spring-looking. Yesterday was the same, so I went out on my bike for a few hours...didn't wear sunscreen everywhere that I should have...my arms look silly!

The month of March was busy...busy with work, then busy traveling. My bank account hurts right now although my account of cultural experiences is flourishing.

In mid-March I returned to Barcelona for 4 days. I was there initially for work, but due to the timing of it all I was left with a couple days to wander around, but didn't do much of that because of the rain there.

My most recent travels took me to Istanbul, Turkey and Rome, Italy.

In Istanbul I met up with my friend Greg who I know from my time in South Korea. We spent 8 days touring Istanbul and some places outside of the city as well. Istanbul is unlike any place I've been to yet. I think some 95% of the population is Muslim although its government is secular. We had a lot of famous mosques to visit and heard calls to prayer 5 or 6 times a day. The Turkish and Muslims cultures were inescapable there, but that was fine as I was there for new experiences. The Turkish people in Istanbul were neither friendly, nor mean...they were just there doing their thing. I'm glad to have visited there as most people rave about that place. I had a good time while learning some new things, and I also marked that off my list of places that I would like to live :)

Here are some pics: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=116289&id=1393045053&l=fb98a83bd9

After Istanbul I came back to Leysin for a couple of days and then went down to Rome solo. I reserved a bed in a hostel hoping to meet some people to wander around Rome with. I ended up being in a 4 person room where there was actually another guy from Missouri...how crazy! This was my 3rd time to Italy, but first time in Rome. This history of Rome is mind-blowing and to be there where so much of our history took place left me in awe. I would love to go back to Rome. My time there was spent on walking tours of the city, ancient ruins, and the Vatican. I got my share of history.

The only bad thing that happened in Rome was that another guy staying in my room threw up on my shoes during the night. That was not fun to wake up to. He apologized profusely the next day, so I did my best to laugh it off. Wish I had a better story to tell.

Here are some pics of Rome: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=116285&id=1393045053&l=4dd69afd82