Always an Adventure...

I'm back in Taiwan now after a long flight. We had some "technical problems" on the flight, so once we finally boarded, we ended up sitting on the plane for almost 3 hours! It was a little disconcerting to look out the window and see a bunch of people with ladders, flashlights, and tools working on the wing of a plane that is about to carry you over the ocean...but obviously they got the problem fixed, and I didn't end up on any mysterious islands except the one I'm supposed to be on. Did I mention that the air conditioner for the plane doesn't turn on until the plane is in the air? It got pretty hot and stuffy inside...maybe it was to help me prepare for the Taiwan heat, since summer is still in full swing here! Anyways, I AM back now, and fighting jet lag as best as I can. Some of my classes will be starting next week already, and the rest, the following week. I should be over the jet lag by then! Actually it isn't that bad this time around, coffee works...

Make a Smilebox postcard

Well my updates have been few and far between since I came back from Saskatchewan, but here are a few things I did: ~Spent time with my family in Alberta, went to my Dad's dragon boat practice, and got caught in a freak storm. ~Went to Calgary and reminisced about high school and college days with Melissa, Shelly, Joella, and Carmen. ~Flew to Vancouver to hang out with Amanda and Dwight and got to meet Krystal's adorable boys. Fun, fun times. As I head back to Canada my heart is filled with thankfulness at how many incredible people I am privileged to call friends, and at how they'll go above and beyond to see me, drive me around, feed me, and give me a bed, couch or floor to sleep on! This has been such a memorable trip home, probably one of my favorites since I've been in Taiwan. There are about 300 pictures to show, not including the wedding, and I'll be posting some here and on Facebook (don't worry, I'll link to the album). I feel like I haven't st...

This week, I returned to the province that I fondly remember as a cold white place, and saw it in a way I rarely did when I was going to school there! It's been a week full of great reunions! It all started with an eventful Greyhound ride. The bus was an hour late, and then when it arrived in Medicine Hat, they took a 30 minute break. When we finally got on the bus, the air conditioner wasn't working! We stopped after about an hour of driving in an increasingly stuffy bus, and got off while they tried to reboot the bus computer. It did start working again eventually. Then because of all the delays, by the time we got to Swift Current (originally the dinner break) the store and bus depot were all closed up, and happened to be situated in the indus trial area of the city where there were no other shops around, so there was no food, drink or bathroom to be found! I finally made it to Regina around midnight, but the original arrival time was 10:30. I spent the evening and morning ...

My younger sister got married last Saturday! We had a crazy busy week beforehand doing preparations, including making the wedding favors, having a bridal shower, and a couple of trips to the beach, which happened to be right next to the place where they got married. Here's a picture from the shower with Sarah sporting a glowing "Bride to Be" button. You can also see the favors which were some ceramic spoons from Taiwan with Hershey's kisses on them. The tag said "A spoonful of kisses from the Mr. and Mrs." The night before the wedding we had a rehearsal at the B&B where they were getting married, and a rehearsal dinner BBQ. Then the girls stayed the night there. As you can see in this picture, the grounds were just beautiful! We did nails until the power went out. Actually, I shouldn't say "until" because they just kept going by flashlight and cell phone light! We spent the next morning getting ready for the wedding at 2pm. It was beautiful...

I'm writing from the Vancouver airport today/tonight? I had a really smooth trip to Canada, and was actually able to sleep on the plane for about 6 hours! When I checked in, the guy was really friendly, and got me a window seat in the very first row on the upper deck of the plane (I didn't even know the plane had an upper deck!). The extra space was MUCH appreciated. After I woke up, I watched 17 Again, which was fun. The first thing I did when I got to Vancouver was have a Timmy's while I waited for my dear high school classmate Johnny to come pick me up! It was so fun to see him, and when he spotted me, he threw his cell phone up in the air in excitement, it was like something from a movie! W e got some Indian food and went for a drive in Stanley Park and saw these awesome raccoons who I swear, were posing for my pictures! I got a tour of CTV where Johnny works, and did a quick wander up and down Robson Street. Vancouver is getting ready for the Olympics, and they have th...

Today was a once-in-a-lifetime event for us here in Asia. There was a solar eclipse! About 85% of the sun was covered this morning. I tried to look at it with my sunglasses on, and tried to take a picture, which didn't turn out at all. It was pretty cool, but not as cool as the solar eclipse on Heroes . Fortunately, Jake, one of my semi-expert photographer friends has a special filter for his camera for just such an event, and got some really cool shots: I'm still waiting for my mysterious superpowers to exhibit themselves.