November 11, 2018 Travels from the Time Vault: Naples The tall mountains of the Mediterranean coastline seemed even larger from on top of them. I had spent the last two hours on a bus full of kids my age—twelve and thirteen years old—ascending the majestic peaks ever so slowly, each circle we did around them bringing us closer and closer to the point where I felt uncomfortable staring thousands of feet down to the small foreign fishing towns below. The mere sight of the distance between sea level and me made my stomach twist but also gave me a sense of wonder when I realized just how small the area was.
September 19, 2018 Where (And How) to Learn Languages Abroad About a year ago, I began seeing a tutor to learn a fair bit of Mandarin. The whole situation lasted about five months, before things were cut off and we both went separate ways. In that time, I made it through two and a half textbooks. So I like to tell people I learned what I like to call “survival Chinese”. I can order food, drinks, read numbers and basic signs, and ask for help for specific things. I recognize about 40% of what is said, and from what I do know how to say, I say it correctly. Only 50% of the time. Like I said, survival Chinese. I’m proud of it, even if I didn’t get as far as I originally intended to at the beginning of it all.
September 16, 2018 Crazy Girls Racing In the Rain A few weekends ago, the city of Taichung was informed that we would be having no work or classes. That meant for the first time in my entire time here, I had a three day weekend that wasn’t a scheduled holiday. Businesses and malls would be open, but I would not have anywhere or anyone to see. No classes to teach. Nothing. And ironically, it also happened to be the same week I finished my latest manuscript and had given myself a proper break from writing my books. I decided there was only one thing to do: reevaluate.
September 12, 2018 That Time We Stood On A Fortress About a year and a half ago, one of my best friends and I traveled by train down to Kaohsiung. We were going away for the weekend to the hottest city in Taiwan. It was, admittedly, the first time I had ever booked a hotel in my life without my mom or dad assisting. Aside from the moment I stepped away from my family at the airport two years ago, I like to think of that weekend in Kaohsiung as one of the first times I really felt like a responsible adult.
August 18, 2018 The Beauty of Using Tinder Abroad Back in the states, I remember when Tinder first became a big thing. It started out as just a small dating app that most…
August 14, 2018 How We Ended Up Hiking in Jumanji As part of a weekly series, #NoFilter, each blog post is a different story from my travels in Taiwan. Be sure to check out…
August 11, 2018 The #NoFilter Truth About Life Abroad I consider myself a rare breed of eccentric, seeing as I knew from a young age that somehow and in some way, I was…
July 25, 2018 Learning to Swim with Sharks: How to Survive the Traffic of Taiwan (And Life) Back in August 2016 when I first arrived in Taiwan, I’ll never forget one of the first information sessions our training group had. Most…
July 18, 2018 Waiting On Maria The day is Tuesday. July 10th. Here in Taichung, we await the arrival of Typhoon Maria, who seems to be escaping her planned parade…
July 4, 2018 On Coming Home Do you ever find yourself too close to a situation, so close that you come to realize the only way to gain perspective is…
