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June 26, 1990 was the hottest day in Phoenix history with the temperature reaching 122 degrees Fahrenheit. I was a college student at the time, pursuing my undergraduate degree in marketing. I was paying for my education with a full-time job, working as a delivery driver for a Phoenix advertising agency. This was before the emergence of the Internet and the ability to transmit documents and other communications electronically, as opposed to hard copies. So my job meant driving all over Phoenix delivering layouts, artwork, and other documents…
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My 17-day European trip began in Switzerland. It seems like no matter where in Switzerland one is, wherever you look, you are bound to see something beautiful. And in many places, the beauty is absolutely breathtaking. My first visit to Switzerland was in 2021. Then, as now, I was there to see Nils, whom I hosted during the 2019-2020 school year. Nils and his family live in Meisterschwanden, a small town about 23 miles west of Zurich. Their amazing home has a lot of floor-to-ceiling windows which provide…
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If there is a country, other than the US, that I could most see myself living in, it is Denmark. It is not necessarily the most naturally beautiful country I have been to, although it is pretty beautiful, and some might say it Is a little boring. But at least based on my now two visits to the country, I love the quality of life there. I love the sense of community that seems to exist everywhere. I love how it is more common to bike or walk…
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Nils from Switzerland, an exchange student I hosted during the 2019-2020 school year, joined me on my first-ever trip through Germany. We took the train from Zurich to Munich. Our train car was filled with a school group of pre-teens who ran amok for most of the journey and our train experienced several delays, but we arrived in Munich in the early afternoon. At the train station, we met-up with Dean, my German exchange student, whose train was also delayed. Dean lives with his grandparents and his younger…
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Norway was the last stop on my European tour with exchange students. Aksel was our Norwegian host for this part of the trip. Aksel was an exchange student in Phoenix during the 2019-2020 school year, and although I did not host Aksel, he was friends with the exchange students I hosted that year. Joining me on the Norway portion of the trip, in addition to Aksel, was Matti from Finland, Roland from Estonia, and Christian from Denmark. Our international delegation arrived at the Oslo airport on a Wednesday…
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For eight years I have hosted high school foreign exchange students in my home. Each spent a year living with me while attending high school in Phoenix. Hosting so many students means I now have an extended family of those students, plus often many of their family and friends that I have gotten to know as well, all over the world. The last few summers I have been fortunate to have the opportunity to travel and visit some of those students in their countries. This summer, I had…
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Hello world! I created this blog as a medium for sharing a wider range of content than what I can typically post on social media. Like my social media, you can expect a variety of topics. I recently returned from my summer travels in Europe, so the first posts will be about those adventures. But there are other things that I could post about that you might find interesting or useful. I mean, if I had started this blog when I was in college, I could have, over…
POV: David Lujan 