I'm Not Usually One for Proverbs, But...

Conversation at dinner the other night gave me the idea for this post.  "You can't judge a book by its cover" has to be one of the most overused sayings of all time.  But if you look at how my close group of friends came together, it actually has a lot of relevance.

Being completely honest, I hated my three closest guy friends when I first met them.  Two of them were dickheads who introduced themselves with self-given nicknames, and the other was "that guy" who knows everyone and wore nothing but American Eagle button-downs.  Go figure those three would go on to become my roommate and my two other closes friends at school...

So I guess what I'm trying to say is just because a saying is old and played out doesn't mean it loses its meaning.  I can't speak for everyone, but if you look at your inner circles of friends I'm sure there's at least one who you began with a bad impression of.  Three guys who I wanted nothing to do with ended up being like brothers to me, same thing could happen to you.      

Feels Good to Be Home

After 3 1/2 months galavanting around Europe, it definitely feels good to be home.  Yeah I'm bored as fuck most of the time, but there's so many small luxuries that are so good to have again.  Things you don't even tend to realize until you dont have them anymore.  For example...

1. My Own Bed - I don't think I've ever slept as well as I did my first night back in America.  Probably helped that I had been up for about 40 straight hours that point either.  Finally I didn't have to curl up in a ball to fit in my bed.  People in London don't seem to feel the need to make beds for peole over 6 ft: my feet were always hanging off the end.  Nicest surprise to come home to...new memory foam pad on my bed.
2. A Stocked Fridge/Pantry - For about the last month in London, we barely had any food in our apartment.  And for some reason every time I walked into the kitchen I'd still always open the fridge to see if we had anything good.  Being able to open the fridge and actually having something other than beer is a comfort.
3. No Time Difference - No longer do I have to think about what time it is at home when I talk to people.  Everyone's on the same time as me.
4. High-Def TV - No more sitting around watching football on my computer on Sundays.  Coming back to HDTV makes me feel like I've been watching TV without my contact in for 3.5 months.
5. Driving - Can't tell you how excited I was to be able to drive again.  Nothing beats being able to cruise around obnoxiously blasting music.
6. Sleeping In - In London the only day I got any sleep was Wednesday.  Being able to sleep in everyday is a godsend. 
7. Being Able to Look Like a Bum - Having work three times a week, along with everyone around you always looking like a million bucks means you can never bum aroundin sweatpants or a sweatshirt.  That's pretty much all I've worn since I got home.
8. A Dishwasher - Pretty self-explanatory....

I'm definitely having London withdrawals, the height of which was finding two pounds in a jacket pocket last night.  But on the whole I'm glad to be home.  Seriously I'm bored as fuck though, time to get back to Stonehill.

The End?

This entire blog was more or less a spur-of-the-moment idea.  I really had no intention of doing one, and the day before I left it started as a way to procrastinate packing.  And no way did I think I'd stay with it, figured after the first month or so it'd lose it's novelty.  So on that account alone I'm slightly impressed with myself.

Now that I'm back though, it's decision time with what I want to do with the blog going forward.  Like I said, I'm suprised I made it this far, and definitely did not envision continuing on with it once I got back.  So here's where you come in...I'd really like to know what people think of this: whether you liked it or think it absolutely sucks, I'd like to know.  All I'm asking is a quick Facebook message or a text if you're lucky enough to have my number (KIDDING...).  Maybe if I hear back from enough people I'll keep going with this, otherwise I'll just leave it chilling in internet purgatory.

Lastly, whether you've read this from the beginning or just glanced over a page, thanks for being along for the ride.  This was easily the greatest 3.5 months of my life, and I'm glad I got to share my stories.  If you're like me and lucky enough to get the chance to study abroad, don't hesitate and miss out on your chance. 

Did I make a lot of amazing memories in Europe? Yes. Did I do a lot of really stupid shit along the way? Also yes.  But do I regret any of it?  Not a single thing, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Much Love,
Matt

PARIS

Just dawned on me that I never did a post for Paris.  Figured after every other trip got a post, I should at least show Paris some love.  This was our last trip in Europe, and even though we were only there for 36 hours we planned to do it big.

*Before we left I kept hearing the Charles de Gaulle, the airport we were flying into, is always voted as one of the worst in the world.  And now I know why.  The entire place is one giant clusterfuck, and we had to about half an hour to get from our gate to the train station.  Couldn't imagine trying to navigate that place with bags.  One of my biggest regrets of the trip was not booking a Eurostar train into Paris...

*We get on a train from the airport, and a couple stops later this guy gets on carrying a microphone and an amp.  When the train starts moving he starts singing "La Bamba" in French.  At the next stop he goes around and starts trying to collect money for his "performance."  He got mad at my friends and I when we didn't give him anything, but maybe try singing a little better bro.


*Had abosolutely no clue how big Paris actually is.  Maps make it seem like the Eiffel Tower and Louvre are right next to each other.  Found out the hard way its more like a 30 minute walk.  Just a fair warning to anyone visiting there soon.

*Gotta love when words don't translate into a certain language.  So walking through the Metro in Paris I saw these signs:

REALLY creative title.

*I ate unbelievable amounts in Paris, baguettes and croissants all day.  But all the walking helped me from putting on like 10 lbs.  Especially the hike up to Sacre Couer, which was my favorite thing we did.  The weather was shitty but it still is the best view of the city.



Well I wish I had more stories, the rest of the trip is one giant blur though.  Even though it was really expensive and the people were kinda rude, Paris was definitely one of my favorite trips.  Wish we could've had at least one more day there, or been able to go out to Versailles.  Just something else that still remains on the bucket list...

Well That Didn't Last Long

This is pretty sad.

First street I cross coming out of Logan yesterday, I look the wrong way and almost walk straight into a car.  Think it's time to go back to London... 

By the Numbers

My dad has had a subscription to Sports Illustrated longer than I've been alive.  It's really the only magazine I read with any regularity.  Probably my favorite section in SI is "By the Numbers," where they give a random number and then explain it with a statistic.  For example, "21=time, in seconds, it took for Real Madrid to score against Barcelona in last night's match."  So without further ado, here is my semester in London, by the numbers...

105 = the number of days I spent in Europe.  I left September 3rd from Logan and head back on December 16th.


7 = countries that I've been in over those 105 days.  Starting with the US, then UK, Czech Republic, Ireland, Switzerland, Italy, and France 



11,401.82 = approximate number of miles I've traveled on this trip



$38 million = amount of money I lost at work one day.  No joke.  Thankfully I figured out it was all a mistake...


More than I could possibly count = both the number of memories I've made and the amount of money I've spent. Fuck the pound and the euro....


Well, 3 hours til I leave for Heathrow.  Thanks for everything London.  Boston bound finally, cue the music...

Unintended Consequences...

Well, reality's definitely starting to set in.  5 days left in London, and then I'm hoping on a plane back to Boston.  At this point, my mindset is that I'm ready to go home, but don't really want to leave.  Right before I left, one of my friends who went abroad last fall gave me some advice that has really stuck with me.  He asked if I was bummed out to be leaving Stonehill and home, and I said naturally yeah.  He told me that he was the same way, but leaving Europe to come home was so much harder than it was to leave home in the first place.  I didn't really believe this until a few days ago, when it started to hit me I barely had any time left.

This has been the most insane 3 1/2 months, and I'm barely beginning to process all of it.  I've done so much crazy shit and made some amazing memories, but this trip definitely has had it's unintended consequences...

1. Liking Rugby

I came to London with the intention of getting to as many soccer (for blog purposes I refuse to use football) games as possible.  And I did just that, managed to get to 3 different games at 3 of London's biggest stadiums.  But what I definitely didn't forsee was going to more rugby matches than soccer.  I guess I never got into the sport because I couldn't figure out the rules for the life of me.  But having a roommate who plays rugby and was interning at a pro team definitely changed that.  We managed get free tickets to 5 games, and each one was sick.  I have the utmost respect for rugby players now, the shit they do is unreal. 

     2.  Toblerone

There are three undeniable truths by which our world operates: America runs on Dunkin, Sundays are for football, and Toblerone is the best candy bar ever.  Somehow the first 20+ years of my life were spent unaware of the greatness that is Toblerone.  On our trip to Switzerland, they were giving out free samples in the airport.  From that moment my life was forever changed.


      3.  Prague & Skydiving

When I got over here, it was always my plan to travel to Florence, Ireland, and Paris.  Those 3 places are where a lot of my friends are studying, and so those were the three trips that I booked right away.  The other two trips, Prague and Switzerland, really came out of the blue.  Really if it hadn't been for my roommates I don't think I would've gone on either of those trips, I never had any interest to go to either of those places.  Looking back those two trips were some of the best days of this whole trip. 

      4.  Walking Way Too Fast

Living in the Sem freshmen year was a struggle, I tend to take my time getting from my room to class.  Even though I'm tall and have long legs, I never really walk quickly.  What's worse is that the majority of my friends in the Sem were pratically professional power-walkers.  But living in London, and walking everywhere, has definitely changed that.  The normal walking speed here is a lot faster than back home, everyone looks like they're running late for something.  So if you see a tall, lanky kid who's power-walking in and out of Stanger next semester, it's more than likely this guy...