I’m in Europe

I’m in Europe. 

Am I having fun?

Both of my parents have sent me that exact text. To stay consistent in my ways, I gave my mom a very stock/short answer of “ya.” In regards to my dad; I have yet to reply. It’s not that I’m not having fun, it’s just that I sincerely don’t have that much to tell them. It is almost as if the expectation of having some incredible story to tell covers up the enjoyment of the simplicity of what I’m actually doing.

Let me explain.

I’m currently two weeks into a month-long trip across the pond. On October 12-13 I have a tournament that is a qualifier to gain status on a tour in Germany. Instead of coming over for a couple of days, I decided to make a trip of it. 

I flew from Chicago straight to Portugal. My teammate and roommate for the four years I was at the University of Illinois, Giovanni Tadiotto, was playing a tournament just north of Lisbon. My initial hope was to maybe get an invitation into the event and be playing as well. My backup plan was to leave the spikes off for the week and put the caddy bib on. In the end, that’s what I did. While I certainly would have loved to play, it was a blast to caddy for my friend. It allowed me to take a physical step back from golf, while still get my daily fix for competition. Unfortunately, my services were not as helpful as I had hoped and we had the weekend off. While it wasn’t the ideal result on the golf course, we were able to take advantage of the fact that we were in flippen PORTUGAL. We spent time on the beach and explored the local town of Obidos. *Side note* I am now a big advocate for Obidos. 

Anyways, after Portugal, I went with Gio back to his native land of Belgium. I kicked his sister out of her room and made myself at home in the Tadiotto residence. Beyond my embarrassing inability to communicate with 95% of the people I meet, I have slowly slid into the normalcy of Giovanni’s daily life. We wake up, eat, chill, eat, golf, eat, chill, and go to sleep. Giovanni’s dad is a great cook as well as a tea enthusiast. Both of which I have begun to admire and appreciate. 

So back to the initial question of whether or not I’m having fun? I would say, “ya.” I recognize my extreme fortune to be able to travel and play golf. I recognize the fact that I am across the globe mooching off an incredibly generous and giving family. I am well aware of the abnormality of the situation that I’m in. However, there is no incredible story. That being said, I don’t want to neglect the fact there have been some absolutely electric spots for some Instagram photos. Other than that, I am simply living my life with truly good people. So in a way, it’s exactly what I do in America, it just so happens that I’m halfway around the world. 

So yes, mom. I am having fun