December 28, 2019 Amidst the Rubble “Gen!” I spun around at the sound of Thomas’ voice, immediately crushed by his arms around me. It felt nice to relax in his arms. He held me close, leaning into my ear. “I thought you were in there.”
May 11, 2019 The Power of Words As children, we spend much of our days dreaming. We wake up, daydreaming about last night’s fantasies of candy houses and fairy tales. During class, our mind wanders away to worlds unknown and situations unseen, thinking of another time. And then, we return to our slumber, to our special worlds that only we know, until we have to wake and reenter reality.
March 10, 2019 The Tragedy at Kingston Manor If it wasn’t for the full moon overhead, all of Boyston Lane would have been pitch black. A dim light lit some of the walkway, just enough so that anyone could see how dead quiet the neighborhood was, not that it was bustling normally. Boyston Lane was one of the safest parts of Oak Park, thus no one batted an eye. August 14th was just any other ordinary evening for the residents.
March 6, 2019 Taking on Taiwan: To All I Leave Behind Well, we’ve made it to the end of the blog series! As you read this, I will be home in Chicago, being greeted by my family at Chicago O’Hare International Airport. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t excited to head home, begin anew, and start the next chapter of my life. But I’d also be lying if I told you that I wasn’t upset about leaving behind Taiwan, a place I call home.
January 2, 2019 Taking on Taiwan: The Start It’s a new year, and it’s officially (when you read this, not as I type this) 58 days until I step onto the plane bound for North America. Believe me, I find it hard to believe that my time in Taiwan is coming to an end. It seems that it was only yesterday that I stepped onto the plane to move here, to start working as an English teacher. Honestly, I had no idea of the places and people I would encounter along the way. That is precisely why in honor of my time in Taiwan and all the memories I have collected along the way, this blog post serves as the first in a series I am releasing, titled “Taking on Taiwan”. And there’s no better place to start than right at the beginning, in October of 2015.
November 28, 2018 Tips and Tricks for the Long Flights In this day and age, there’s an influx of people traveling far and wide. Many of my friends–at home and abroad–buy a plane ticket and venture off to a new country or sometimes a new continent to get away for a little while. Here on this side of the world, the popular places to go are Thailand, Japan, Bali, and Hong Kong. And Cebu, too. For my North American friends, it’s a different mix. Just take your pick! Will it be Europe? South America? The Caribbean? Somewhere close to home but not too close?
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 26, 2018 Autumn Update! The end of September has arrived and boy, there have been plenty of recent developments worth mentioning to you all. First and foremost, another long month of teaching has ended. I started a new semester and my little kindergartners, bless their hearts, are so cute. It was Moon Festival here in Taiwan and we had a nice work barbecue, as well as a little three day weekend to relax and take time off from classes.
