For the past decade of my life I have been living out of a suitcase and traveling around the world eight months out of the year. It has been a blessing to travel the world and be able to experience many different cultures. I have competed in five different countries since January Austria, Russia, Cayman Islands, Guadeloupe and China. Although they were great experiences, I didn't perform as well as I wanted to. The main thing I enjoy is eating all of the food lol. My mother used to call me "Mikey" from the "Kix" commercial who ate everything. People usually dread the meals overseas but I look forward to it. My favorite food place out of the year thus far was Guadeluope.

The first question people ask me is "where the heck is Guadeloupe?" Guadeloupe is a group of the caribbean islands located in the Leeward islands in the Lesser Antilles (french caribbean). It was paradise. The last time I was there was in 2007 and couldn't wait to get back. I was so excited when I got the call that I would be competing there this year. We stayed at a beautiful resort that was right off the beach and walking distance to the track. There were thunderstorms the first day but the skies cleared up the day of competition. I was just recovering from a recent injury and placed sixth overall. Even though I didn't perform as well the magnificent resort amenities and food made it all worth it. We had three course meals and wonderful chefs every breakfast, lunch and dinner. The fruit and fresh juice was so sweet and the meat and fish were seasoned to perfection. Their hospitality was impeccable. The only thing that was a problem for me (usually everywhere) was the language barrier. I barely know how to speak french other than hello, goodbye and thank you. I communicated with hand gestures and a smile, but that got really old lol. If you love good food, sun and beautiful water, Guadeloupe is definitely the place to visit, just bring brush up on your french speaking skills before you go.