August 24, 2019 Which Road Will You Take? As a kid, and even as a young 20-something year old, we get asked the same question: Who do you want to DO when you grow up?
August 3, 2019 A Simple Choice Every morning, Ted rises at six in the morning. He grabs his cup of coffee, makes some breakfast, and sits in front of the TV to see the news. It’s the same themes, different faces and locations. But Ted enjoys it. It fills his empty home.
February 20, 2019 Taking on Taiwan: The Ups and the Downs During the first six months of my time in Taiwan, the world was shiny and new. I remember–quite vividly–walking into any store (even a 7/11) and being over the top excited about everything that I saw. The snack packs of seaweed, sushi, soy milk, Coca-Cola, tissue, toiletries, disposable underwear, literally everything I saw, because everything was new. And for a long time, that’s what life was like in Taiwan: a mix of terrifyingly brand new and exciting. There is, however, that time when your everyday life becomes the norm.
February 3, 2019 Taking on Taiwan: Learning the Lingo Ah, Mandarin Chinese. I’m sure many of you know that it is one of the hardest languages in the world to learn, for speakers of alphabet based languages, that is. Here in Taiwan, Traditional Mandarin Chinese is spoken. It is nearly the same as Simplified Chinese when you hear it spoken, but taking a look at the characters, you notice the difference. Traditional Mandarin Chinese has more strokes and more complexity to it. Taiwan has kept the traditional writing alive despite China’s transition to a simple version of the original language.
January 20, 2019 Taking on Taiwan: The Unexpected Bonuses For those of you who keep up regularly with my blog, you’re probably familiar with my fun experience in the ER a little while back. I’ve never been a fan of the doctor–as I am sure not many people are–but honestly, visiting the doctor in Taiwan is one of the many bonuses to living here. As an expat, I definitely have a different experience than the locals when it comes to daily life, but there are bonuses to living in Taiwan, and perhaps living in Asia in general. So let’s break down just a few of the pros to moving to this island:
January 6, 2019 Taking on Taiwan: Blank Slate I’ve always loved travel, and my vacation in Taiwan in the spring of 2016 was a game changer. I can still remember the goosebumps I felt across my skin as we descended into Taoyuan Airport in Taipei. The first country I ever visited in Asia, and definitely not the last. Stepping off the plane, it was one of the only times in my life I felt completely anonymous. Everywhere I turned, Mandarin Chinese covered the signs and people spoke words I didn’t understand. Even today, I don’t understand everything entirely.
December 9, 2018 Culture Kids Recently, a coworker of mine lent me the book Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom. For those of you who don’t know, it was on the U.S. Bestseller list and it’s a highly acclaimed book, and rightfully so. Without giving too much away, the contents of the story are pretty simple: it’s about a teacher reconnecting with his student and their very last class together: a class all about life, and how to be a good human. And as you may guess, it only took place on Tuesdays.
