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...

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...

 Maybe this post needs to start slightly before I made it to Singapore.  I guess it should start with the chicken...the one who wanted to cross the road....or should I say freeway... So my flight was super early in the morning, meaning I left the house before 5am to go to the airport, and my taxi was one of the only cars on the road. I had almost drifted off when I felt the driver slamming on the breaks. I looked up to see a chicken running right at us and then heard a bump. I don't know if the chicken was killed or not, but there was nothing the driver could have done to avoid it. On the left side, there was an accident scene, causing me to wonder if a chicken truck had somehow been hit, leaving poor little Kentucky to be hit by us. As he dropped me off, the driver said that he should have stopped and brought the chicken home for dinner. Anyways, chalk it up to ANOTHER weird thing that would only happen to me! Anyways, check-in etc was quite uneventful, and it was my fir...

Our first week in Yuli October 16, 2004 I arrived in Taiwan with no idea what I'd be getting into. I was originally only planning to be here for one year... but 7 years later I can say that I truly enjoy my life here. It still feels a little surreal that it's really been 7 years. They do all kind of blend together after awhile, there was the year in Yuli, the year I broke my leg, the year I started commuting to Taipei, and so much in between. A song that I've been listening to a lot lately is Never Once by Matt Redman, and part of the lyrics say: Scars and struggles on the way//but with joy our hearts can say// Yes our hearts can say// never once, did we ever walk alone// never once, did you leave us on our own// you are faithful//God you are faithful I've had plenty of struggles along the way, and one long scar down my left ankle, but it's true God has been so faithful in big and little things, and it is true, never once in these 7 years have I ever walked ...

Fun facts about Sun Moon Lake it is in Nantou county in the center of Taiwan it took us about 2 hours to get into the water after we registered there were over 20,000 participants in the swim I got kicked a lot we had a group of 13 we were interviewed just before getting in the water and were spotted on tv by friends  we swam 3.3km  it took me 2.5 hours I got a certificate, towel, and polo shirt for completing the swim they had rest stations every 100 meters where you could get water, chocolate, rice and other things for free we were required to wear the orange swim caps we were issued and bring a flotation device into the water the two oddest things I saw people bring into the water with them were a basketball and an umbrella maybe I should have brought an umbrella too, because I did get sunburned, and had a nice swim cap line across my forehead it was a great time... will I do it again? maybe in another 10 years... Before at the starting line ...

I'm already 1/3 of the way through my 30 before 30 goal, that's good news! I have a few more ideas coming up too, one of which is that this coming October will mark 7 years in Taiwan! But for now, let me share a little about my trip back to the cold west! 33-19 degrees - yes, it's a lot cooler here, which means all the pictures of me will be wearing the same hoodie since I only brought one! 24 hours of travel - including a very long trip to the airport. I booked a shuttle van to pick me up at home, and they arrived at 11:30am, to get me to the airport for 4:20pm??? I was thinking I'd get there quite early and could have lunch there, mail something etc. little did I know that after picking me up in Yilan, they'd go south (away from the airport) to Luodong, Nan-fang Ao, and then Su-Ao for other pickups! We didn't even leave Yilan until quarter to 1!! Then we hit torrential rain just past Taipei, so my ride was a little delayed. I flew to Hong Kong without inc...

南部 First thing to take note of is the drastic change in wardrobe!  On the first day I was wearing: A hat An undershirt A long-sleeved shirt A hoodie A scarf A thin jacket A raincoat Jeans Rain pants 2 pairs of socks As you can see, by the third day a t-shirt was just fine. The weather was awesome! I asked myself...why don't I live here?? I really haven't spent much time in southern Taiwan, but I've enjoyed every trip I've taken down there. It seems like it's always sunny! I don't know how I would do in the summer heat, but it's a great winter escape. There was also a lot of great food to try, including mountain pig and wild hen (or some kind of small wild bird), and giant shaved ice! I love this place in Kaohsiung! 

My good friend Naomi and I had a lovely weekend getaway that started very, very early on Friday morning. We went to Penghu, which is a set of islands off the west coast of Taiwan. It takes about 45 minutes to get there by plane from Taipei. Because of available flight times we went at 6:30am on Friday morning and came back at 7:45am on Sunday. Two days was not enough to see all the islands had to offer, but we did get a great sampling! The first day we were able to rent scooters, which we'd been a little doubtful about. Here's how the conversation went: "Do you have Taiwanese drivers' licenses?" "No." "How about an International Driving license?" "No." "Oh... well do you have a drivers' license in Canada?" "No." (neither of us do by the way! I've found a kindred spirit!) "Ok.. well just give us your passport number and we'll get those scooters ready for you." We drove over 30km from one end o...

I just got back from a fun weekend get-away in a place called PengHu with my friend Naomi. I've got fun stories and pictures to share soon!

The Chinese phrase Zha qi zha ba means "random stuff" First, I think I strained my foot! Not that foot, but the other foot, the good foot... wierd. I did a lot of walking this weekend, and on Sunday night my foot felt like it had a cramp, one that didn't go away. When I walked around on Monday it felt worse, and after 10 hours of class between Monday afternoon and now I'm walking with a limp! I didn't fall down or anything, but it really hurts. I went to the doctor and he said it might be a strain, since the pain is all along one area. Just got some pain meds though... hmm. Anyways, pray that it will get better... like by tomorrow! haha I am thankful though that it doesn't hurt to ride a bike! So I can still get around more or less. I haven't had to break out my crutches yet, though it did cross my mind at one point. We have a long weekend coming up next month, and I've been thinking of taking a little trip! Another colleague and I were looking into t...

Chinese New Year is over now, and did it ever fly by! I spent the first part of the holiday on a trip to Sun Moon Lake in central Taiwan with two of my colleagues. We really had a fun time, despite a bit of rain. Sun Moon Lake got its name because of its shape, since one part of the lake is round and another section looks like a crescent moon. It's the largest lake in Taiwan, and quite a popular tourist spot. We took a 4 hour bus ride from Taipei to get there. We stayed in a little B&B where we got great Taiwanese hospitality, including breakfast, free fruit, and discounts at some nearby places. It was a pretty nice place and soo cheap, we paid about $130 (Canadian) for 2 nights, divided among 3 people! We rented scooters the first day and cruised around the lake. We stopped at a temple and a stairway with 366 steps. It had a day of the year on each step, along with the names of famous people who were born on that day. We had a good time hopping down the steps and stopping on ...