As the year started coming to an end, familiar traditions came back into view — Thanksgiving, festive lights, and travel plans everywhere. I even followed a YouTube tutorial for a Thanksgiving dinner (which, surprisingly, turned out pretty well). Learning a new culture is often about learning its traditions, and this season really felt like that.
Airports were packed, and you could feel the excitement in people’s plans — family reunions, short getaways, long-awaited breaks. It was a nice reminder to pause and reflect on our very human need to stop, gather, and be thankful.
For Thanksgiving week, I took a couple of days off and flew to Denver, where I spent the holiday and made plans with friends to go on a small hike in the Colorado mountains. We knew where we were going, but we didn’t expect it to be that cold — and especially not that windy. Once we reached the trailhead, we decided we could complete the hike in a few hours and just go for it.
The landscape was incredible. Everything was already covered in pristine, sponge-like snow, soft and untouched. The light was perfect, but the wind was intense. Our goal was to reach the lake — which, by that day, was already frozen. A fun detail: I had visited that same lake a few months earlier and had seen a mother duck swimming with her ducklings. This time, the scene was completely different.
We made it to the lake, and it was stunning. We didn’t see anyone else during the hike, except for one man peacefully fishing on the ice. We noticed the fishing holes, so we must have arrived early that day. After some careful walking on the frozen surface (and a few small stumbles), we headed back. Hiking in the Colorado mountains is truly a must — humbling, quiet, and powerful.
After that trip, I decided I wanted to visit my parents. I returned to my home country for a couple of weeks, and it was exactly what I needed. It was a deeply recharging experience — reconnecting, slowing down, and being surrounded by loved ones.
Now I’m back, excited for what’s next. Because life isn’t only about work — it’s also about those moments that help us recharge, reflect, and return with a fuller heart.
