Always an Adventure...

1.           I've been having too much fun being 30! 2.           I got assigned to a new work project in May 3.           I traveled around Taiwan doing workshops in May and June 4.           I was visiting Turtle Island for the first time 5.           I was teaching myself how to use Microsoft Excel so I could finish my MA research paper 6.           I was only sleeping 4 hours a night prior to finishing said paper 7.           I was editing my paper 8.           I was finding somewhere to get my paper printed and bound 9.           I was preparing my resear...

One of my 30 before 30 goals was to do more hiking in Yilan. There are so many amazing hiking trails around here, and many I didn't even know about before. The first thing I did was make a list of all the trails I knew how to get to on my own, and checked off each one as I hiked it. Since I love making lists, this really did help me to achieve my goal. There is one trail that I haven't made it to yet, but I do have one more week to go! I think this year, I will try to do each trail a 2-3 more times. Another thing I did was suggest hiking as a group activity or accept invitations to go hiking with others. This led me to some new places, including a botanical garden with an amazing English garden on the top of a mountain. There were "Watch out for monkey" signs, but to my disappointment, I didn't see any.  The view from the top was incredible. We could see the whole Yilan area. Another hike I did was to a waterfall, that turned out to be 4km each way! Unlike the...

I've been home for almost a month now, and when people ask me "How was Thailand?" I say, "Great!"   The weather was perfect. The food was amazing. The bargains were cheap. Evening entertainment - Settlers of Catan In class The company was fun. What more  could you want? But when they ask, "Did you do anything exciting?" I struggle to find something to share. This year, I really didn't do much, and that was OK. Part of the reason was that I've been there before, and I've done the elephants and tigers already. Part of the reason was that part of my fun budget was devoted to my layover in Singapore. And part of the reason was that I was there for other reasons... like to study and reconnect with my cohort members. Both of those goals were certainly achieved. It was kind of sad to realize that this was my last winter study term in Thailand. I may have to find an excuse to go back though! It was sad and happy, because that means...

January: my first trip home to Canada since coming to Taiwan. I got to spend one great month visiting friends and family. That seems like a really, really long time ago! P.S. Going back on February 11-26 , a month after my next surgery, January 11 . February: I just remember lots of teaching, bust one highlight was going to Yilan's lantern festival with the Pastor and his family. March: Green Expo. I actually ended up going 3 different times because so many students invited me to go there with them. But it was fun, and situated in a really beautiful area! April: A Chinese painting lesson! Still waiting for my second lesson ha ha. Maybe that means I wasn't a good student? May: I did lots of bike riding in May down by Yilan river, where they also had dragon boat races at the end of the month. I wonder where my Hello Kitty bike is now.... I hope she's happy with her new owner... June: without a doubt the highlight was my trip to Korea!! Here are Attack, Rosalee, Amanda, and ...