Nate Webster

Last weekend I had the pleasure of spending an unconventional Thanksgiving weekend in London with one of my very good friends and recent graduate of West Point, Brent Bubany. To call him a friend is a bit of a disservice, he is more an inspiration and a model for what young people in our generation ought to strive to be. I don’t say this simply because he put me up in his amazing flat for free, but because I mean it. He was in fact the inspiration for this travel blog, he kept one during his semester abroad in Spain and turned me onto the idea before I left. Brent has led an incredible life, or in the theme of this blog, he has told a good story with it. From taking a year off ... read more

If you watched a movie about a guy who wanted a Volvo and worked for years to get it, you wouldn’t cry at the end when he drove off the lot, testing the windshield wipers. You wouldn’t tell your friends you saw a beautiful movie or go home and put a record on to think about the story you’d seen. The truth is, you wouldn’t remember that movie a week late, except you’d feel robbed and want your money back. Nobody cries at the end of a movie about a guy who wants a Volvo. But we spend years actually living those stories, and expect our lives to feel meaningful. The truth is, if what we choose to do with our live won’t make a story meaningful, it won’t make a life meaningful either. -Don Miller ... read more

How quickly summer is fading to fall here in Lyon. I ride to school with a sweater on, but usually in the afternoon it is warm enough for just a T-shirt, but I fear those days are soon to be over. I had the pleasure of watching the US Open over some good cold beer and very good French wine with my host Dad here. The time difference made for some late nights, but my very enthusiastic tennis loving host Dad has tennis club membership, and full access to their TV with the Tennis Channel, and fully stocked bar, so we enjoyed the splendid matches indeed. If you didn't see "The Shot" by Federer, check it out. Marc and I have been up to much mischief these last couple days. Monaco was our excursion last weekend. ... read more

Lots of movement in the last couple of weeks. Just to give everyone an immediate update, I am safe and sound in my new home in Lyon. The family is great so I think this shall be a wonderful stay. During my first night out with the siblings of the family (all ranging in the twentys) we went to a small cinema and saw Woody Allen’s newest film “Whatever Works.” It was very funny, but in English with french subtitles, which was actually good for me to pick up some new vocab. What was even better was sitting around for about 5 minutes following the film trying to discuss the meaning of life in french. I’m stretching the limits of my language ability with every passing hour and I love it. Now for a quick recount. ... read more

I've been a little slow on updating this blog (apologies for you who are still reading). I'm attaching some opinion pieces I've written for the Herald Standard, a local newspaper in Uniontown, PA. They haven't been published yet in the paper but the editor there is taking a look at them. They encapsulate some of the thoughts flying through my crazed mind the last few days. The language training in Rochefort has been excellent. There are 8 cadets here (including myself) as well as numerous international officers from Vietnam, Georgia, China, Tajikistan, Malaysia, Cambodia..etc. We have usually 5-7 hours of instruction each day with one teacher, all of whom thus far have been young attractive women. The "lessons" usually degrade into funny conversations in rough French about America and West Point. The teachers are all very ... read more