Hello everybody! Well, this is my third draft of this blog and I expect it to be my final one. I have always written my blogs as just stream-of-consciousness and I don’t know why this blog is different, but I just don’t feel like I can get it right. I don’t want it to be fifteen pages either. Clearly brevity is not one of the things that changed about me this past year. It’s taken me a while to get to writing this one and I think part of it is because I knew what a daunting task it would be. Attempting to write a sum-up blog about a whole year is nearly impossible. So, I won’t do it. This will just be a quick reflection, if you will. There are the obvious questions, but I ... read more
Hello again! This is a long one guys, so bear with me. :) Well, well left off with the climax of my trip thus far: playing with baby lions. How could things possibly get better? I had no idea until we went to Kruger National Park. The entire trip thing had just been on an upward track, each experience more exciting and wild than the next, literally. We had started with animals in just enclosures, moved up to animals in a reserve and now we would be seeing animals completely in the wild. While Kruger is mostly surrounded by a fence there is essentially no human interference with the animals there. They are not fed, they are not vaccinated or cared for; obviously they are familiar with humans since there are roads around the park for ... read more
Hello everybody! Well, there will be many people who ask me what my favorite part about my year abroad was and the answer will always be my last two weeks, including Normandy and Paris, South Africa was without a doubt the most amazing part of my whole year. If you remember my Paris blog from October I split the trip into about five parts, well, I could probably split my South Africa trip into about 10 or 11 parts, if I wanted to. I won’t do that of course, now that I’m home I’m finding that I don’t have a lot of time or motivation to sit down and write that much and quite honestly the photos speak louder than my words because I really can’t find sufficient words to describe most of the things I ... read more
Hi all! Sorry it took so long to get out a blog but I sent my computer home for my trip to South Africa and it has been a little busy getting readjusted. But, before I get to that though we have to finish up my trip with my parents around Europe. After leaving the sauna that was Rome, we headed to Paris where everything is wonderful including the weather. It was a comfortable upper sixties to mid-seventies. We didn't spend much time in Paris, though. After we arrived we only enough time to check into our hotel get some amazingly delicious, albeit over-priced, lunch and head to the train station to leave for Bayeux, France. This was the part of our trip that I was most looking forward to. While Mom and I were working ... read more
Hi everybody! Firstly, today is Grandma Heiden’s Birthday! So Happy Birthday Grandma! :) My parents and I have sweated our way through Rome and have now made it to refreshing Paris! I think the word I would use to describe Rome is “impressive,” from a historical point of view. Maybe it was the heat, maybe it was nearly being killed by cars a few times that just don’t stop for red lights, I’m not really sure, but other than the ruins I wasn't a huge fan of Rome. I really think the heat did it. I’m pretty sure people who live in Rome are just in a constant state of dehydration during the summer. Italy is a very warm place. We arrived by train from Florence fairly early in the day, maybe around noon or one, ... read more
Good day all! First, I added a video above that is for fun! Its sort of the opposite situation my parents and I are in now that we don't have Chiara to help us out with Italian, but its a funny way to show how difficult it can be to communicate between cultures! :) Well, Mom and Dad and I have successfully conquered Firenze (Florence) and are headed to Roma! Mom booked us a pretty nice little Bed & Breakfast near Florence city center, which worked out great because everything was within about a twenty minute walk from the apartment. We got in fairly early and the owner of our B&B suggested Mario’s Trattoria for lunch. She warned that it could get crazy if you wait long to get there so we headed out, but apparently ... read more
Ciao all! Well, after an exciting tour of Andalucía my parents and I made the flight from Málaga to Milan, well, some may call it a flight, it was more of a super nap at a very high altitude for me; I think I was awake maybe 5 minutes and was awoken by my head being smashed into the seat in front of me on landing. A rough landing well worth it to see Chiara waiting for us in the terminal. From the very start Chiara’s Dad, Emilio, and my Dad had a bond. They would spend the next four days talking about…um…things. We just sort of let them be talking out on the patio. The days usually followed this pattern: Wake up, breakfast, Dad and Emilio have a deep cultural chat, lunch, Dad and Emilio ... read more
Hello everybody! Well, since I last spoke to you from the terminal of the Seville airport my parents and I have traveled southern Spain and have now made our way to Milan, Italy to visit Chiara and her family! First, I have to say how nice it was to finally see my parents after ten months and really now that they are here it sort of feels like nothing has changed, like it’s only been a few days since we last saw each other, not months. So far it’s been an interesting trip traveling around with them. Just to remind you, I haven’t really traveled with anybody all year except for the little trips I did with my friend Ryan, so sometimes it’s a little odd having others around. Mom and Iris retrieved my Dad who ... read more
Hello all! Well, we are getting to that time; the time to say goodbye to cyber-Devin and maybe a few of you will finally get to see me in person for a change. On that note, I would like to say that the blogs will continue through my trip with my parents and my trip to South Africa, so no worries, I know you all just can’t imagine your lives without my blog; it’s just the gift that keeps on giving. :) Officially I have until this Saturday as a “student” here at La Universidad de Cádiz and only one week from today I will be departing the city with my parents (although by the time I get around to posting this it will be less). Lately, my life has been all about being a “student” ... read more
Hay-low y’all! Well, to celebrate the last weekend before exams begin naturally Carly and I spent the weekend inside with our heads in our books studying. Actually, we did the exact opposite. Carly and I made plans to go to Tarifa on Friday but since the forecast predicted a good beach day we altered our plans and slept in until about 11 o’clock, laid around the house and then around one o'clock headed to the beach with our friend Alex. It really was a good day to lay at the beach and, in all honesty, I haven’t actually been to the beach to just lay around since about October. I go to the beach all the time but usually I’m running or walking along it, very rarely do I ever just go and sit. I don’t ... read more