Tagged - part 5

Places I’ve Lived

[1] New York City is home to me. After living here for 6 months, I went to see “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” – a good laugh. Many of the outdoor scenes were filmed in Chicago and I saw that and thought very casually, that’s where I’m from. I did hold any emotional attachment as it being home. It was bizarre as I’ve traveled the world telling people my home is Chicago and in 6 months, it was no longer. It is New York. I must add it is amazing how place plays a factor. I lived in the Chicago suburbs for years as I always got the best job offers there. For as much as I wanted to be in the city, I wouldn’t do the commute and just decided to make my own way and be me and blah, blah, blah. Stunning how being in the environment that is New York was perfect; I no longer felt as though I was fighting my surroundings but moving in step with them. Awesome!

[2] Chantilly, France. I posted earlier that it still feels like home. It was a wonderful year. CP was also an exchange student there two years prior to me.

[3] Orleans, France. The city is proud of its savior Joan of Arc. I did my sophomore year at the Université d’Orléans (Molière studied there). A good experience – I really got my French fluency down and I met some wonderful people.

[4] Glasgow, Scotland. I attended Strathclyde University and received my Master of Finance. A nice place, I’m still in touch with some friends there. (Today was a big day as one of the soccer teams was in the UEFA cup tournament.) I have plenty of stories to tell but I’ll save those for when we meet up. I must say it was bizarre that the shortest day of the year, the sun rose at 9 am and set at 3 pm. Summertime, I left the pub at 10 pm and the sun’s glow was still on the horizon.

[5] Bilbao, Spain. After finishing my Master’s I went to Spain and had a great time. The neat story here is that I worked for the engineering company that built the Guggenheim Museum designed by Frank Gehry. I left before construction, but I was the one who translated the firm’s bid into English.

[6] Rio de Janeiro. The last major stop on my sabbatical in 2000-2001, I lived for 6 months in Copacabana only three blocks from the beach. I have been told that the three greatest parties in the world are Carnival, Oktoberfest, and San Fermín (Pampolona). Well, I was at San Fermín when living in Spain (and I ran with the bulls) and it is a great party – incredible! Carnival is ten times better…truly amazing and beyond words. I was there for New Year’s, Carnival and Easter – an experience like none other.

I’ve skipped the towns were I grew up… Naperville, Illinois and Lima, Ohio. If you’re interested, google them. Last time I was there was for my sister’s wedding and I stayed with a friend. Gretchen has a nice home with a yard and was telling me all about home ownership. I explained that for me, I have two back yards: Riverside Park which is has the Hudson River, the famous George Washington Bridge and the Little Red Lighthouse, Grant's Tomb (guess who is buried there?), a trapeze school, a beautiful recreational port, the aircraft carrier US Nimitz, and people like Justin Timberlake film their videos there like Dick in a Box. Meanwhile, Central Park hosts amazing artistic triumphs like The Gates and every summer there are concerts typically with a headliner like Billy Joel. Billy Joel isn’t playing in no backyard in Naperville. And I don’t have to mow the lawn.

Honorable mentions

[a] Buenos Aires, Argentina. My brother now lives there; he married a Porteña, so it is clearly a sentimental favorite. But I was there first. Ahh, I love Argentina. I also fell in love there. I could tango forever...

[b] Caesarea, Israel – a great experience doing nautical archeology.

[c] Moscow, Russia – a little mission work way back when. I didn’t stay long but I’d have to say St. Petersburg was better. I was ecstatic to visit the Hermitage! Stunning!

[d] Mexico City – great city, great people and as they say, “Like Mexico, there is no other.”

[e] San Diego, California. My best friends live there and I go there a lot. I love it. But I must admit, if my friends were not living there, it would not make the list. It is making its way as a big city and cultural center but it’s not there yet.

Chantilly...still feels like home.

During my time is Paris, I snuck out to the suburbs to visit some friends who were my host parents for three months while on a high school student exchange (back in 1984-5). CP stayed with the same family; twenty years on, we're all still in touch.

Prior to meeting up for lunch, I strolled through town to see what was new. Not much had changed; it is still a lovely slice of French suburbia. The main road, rue de Connétable, was adorned with lights and the season's decor. There were also loudspeakers playing Christmas music; half the songs were in English.

Another tourist snapped a shot of me by the statue of the Duc Condé then I took a peak in at the horserace track (in the background of the picture). Finally I meandered down to the château. It was featured in the James Bond movie "A View to a Kill" along with a few others I believe. A bit of construction going on so my pics aren't anything special, check out the link.

Lunch with my former hosts - let me tell you, I was so lucky. I stayed in five families during those 11 months, and in each one, Mom was a fantastic cook. Lunch was heaven. My host sister, now married with two children, brought over the kids as they were out of school and she headed off to work. We all went for a walk to work off a wonderful meal at the Etangs de Commelle.