Endings and Beginnings

As I was leaving my apartment today, I stepped outside and looked up into the late afternoon sky and an all to familiar feeling swept over me. Even though we are quickly approaching spring, their was an hint of autumn in the air that reminded me of my favorite time of year in Seattle. The way the hazzy blue sky looked as night slowly began to take hold made me feel peaceful for the first time in days. When asked, most Seattleites would say that summer is their favorite time of year for reasons I need not explain. For me, it's fall.

I have been struggling with my longing for Seattle since moving to Taiwan which ultimately, was one of several reasons for the recent demise of my relationship. Breakups are never easy and certainly not any easier that I am away from my family and friends. Truth be told, my immediate reaction was to get on a plane and go home. Home being Seattle. Home is where the heart is afterall and my heart is in Seattle with my family, friends, and of course, my cats. But as I reflect on the other reasons I came out to Taiwan, I realize that running home would be exactly what the Seattle Amanda would have done. Home is afterall, easy and safe. I have my mommy to hold me and tell me that 'this too shall pass' and 'the right person will love all of Amanda and accept you for who you are.' She still told me all that but over skype and not while she was craddling me in her arms. Not quite the same but it still made me feel better.

As much as I know Seattle holds all of my true loves, I'm here in Taiwan and am finding happiness in a sad time. Taiwan is truly a beautiful place if you can manage to escape the concrete jungle I temporarily call home. This past weekend I had the pleasure of seeing some of Taiwan's finest places and cultural events, Longdong and Pingxi Lantern Festival.

Even though I am approaching my 30th birthday, I still have a hard time saying words like 'Longdong' without laughing quitely to myself(or at least trying to). But if you ever come to Taiwan, Longdong is a place you must see. Off the Northeast coast of the island, Longdong is a rock climbers paradise. On a long row of gleaming sandstone cliffs, I worked my way up the wall with determination. I always knew I would like rock climbing and it wasn't until hanging out with John that I really had the opportunity to try it. I admit, my fear of heights made it somewhat intiminating at first but as I slowly began to trust the rope, belayer, and most importantly, myself, I wiggled my way up the sandstone until I reached the top and looked over my shoulder. The view was unreal. Miles and miles of Pacific Ocean, sandstone cliffs, and freedom. With everything I've been feeling lately, for the first time I felt really happy to be hanging many feet off the ground with the wind kissing my face and the smell off seawater lingering in my nostrils. I've missed you my friend. It's been awhile. Living in West Seattle, smelling salt water was a daily occurance and one I didn't realize I loved until moving here.

We packed up around 5:30 and headed home up the trail to catch the bus home. I wanted to get a good nights rest because the next day I was meeting my friend Elizabeth to go to the Pingxi Lantern Festival. Something not to be missed.

I met Elizabeth around noon at the Taipei Main Station and we began the two and a half hour journey to Shifen where the festival was being held. It was nice to be around someone, a friend that I could talk to. Elizabeth is one of those people that you instantly feel comfortable with and it was refreshing to be able to have girl time and just talk and sort throuh how I was feeling.

After a frustrating couple of hours hopping from one train to another, we finally arrived. Upon exiting the train, we were met with the sound of firecrackers being blown up and the smell of street food. Mission one, eat. As Elizabeth and I meandered up the street, we stopped at various food stalls and tried an array of treats from twice fried sweet potatoes (nothing is better then something fried at least twice), mushroom sticky rice you eat your hands, chocolate and apple slushy and of course sausage wtih garlic and onions. My tastebuds where more than happy.

As we worked our way up the street stopping to take pictures whenever possible,we talked with the comfort and ease of old friends. We shared various stories about our lives; where we came from, what we hoped for ourselves, and what we would wish for when we sent our lantern off into the sky. I forgot how much I love getting to know new friends. The little things that you connect on and the feeling you have when you realize you just talked for 9 straight hours with no awkward pauses. It's kindof like the feeling you get when you realize you met a guy you can finally be yourself around.

Elizabeth and I made our way to the area where they were sending the lanterns into the night. This was truly like nothing I've seen before and I have to say, one of the best days I've had in Taiwan so far. Watching the lanterns float off into the sky, I was overwhelmed with clarity and peace of mind. I do believe there is purpose and reason behind everything and yes, I now know this too shall pass. I deserve so much more. As I sent my own personal lantern into the night, I closed my eyes and made my wish. On the train ride home, crammed in like sardines, I was for the first time, at peace and filed with a confidence I have't had in quite some time. I smiled and thought to myself, there you are Amanda. It's been awhile.

Until I return to my true loves (when that is is still unclear) I will be exploring as much as I can. I may have moved out to Taiwan for love but in the end, maybe the love I find is not with someone else but even better, with myself.

I cannot tell a lie...

It's been over a month now since I made the move to Taiwan and as I sit here at my desk starring at the grey pigeon perched on the ledge of my neighbors window, I have many things on my mind. At the forefront of those thoughts is more of a realization. I'm actually doing a pretty great thing here for my life. I'm not going to lie first, because everyone knows when I'm lying. I believe it was my Aunt Linda who once said to me and I quote, "Mandy, you wear your emotions on your face. You could never hide anything" Second, what good is lying anyway? It never does anyone any good. Let's be honest, out of all the lies that I've told in my life, I've ended up confessing about 99% of them. But then again, maybe that was from my good Catholic upbringing? Ha...right. So here it is, truth be told...are you ready? That was one of the hardest months of my life. And I'll admit another thing too...my mom called it. She didn't dare say anything to me but we know each other well enough to know what the other is thinking. Until recently I was struck with a serious case of homesickness. I knew I get a small case of the 'I miss my family, friends, cats, etc' blues but I guess you just never know what you are going to miss until it's not with you anymore. But things are looking up and each day brings with it hope and happiness. As I venture out and explore this island little by little, it does indeed "Touch My Heart" more and more. (that's the Taiwan slogan for those of you that didn't know)

It was my decision to move here and I intend to make the most out of everything I do and every person I meet along the way. July will be here soon enough and I will once again find myself resting my sweet head on that all to familiar pillow in my parents spare bedroom...or maybe, just maybe, I will come to love the life of an expat and move on to another land? Only time will tell I suppose.

Alright, so here a rundown of what I've seen and done over the last month or since I've last written. My friend Katie came for a visit for about two weeks. It was great having a familiar face here while I adjusted. True, I have John and I love having him here with me but sometimes you just need girlfriend time so for that reason it was great having her here. We spent New Years Eve in Taipei watching Taipei 101 explode with fireworks at the stroke of midnight. After a sleepless night, we took an early train to the East Coast to a town called Hualien which sits at the base of the Taroko Gorge National Park. Here is a link to some information on the gorge. I'm too lazy to sum it all up. Sorry! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taroko_National_Park. Anyway, we spent the first day walking around Hualien, visiting the beach, and several markets along the way. We were all pretty beat so we crashed early in our hotel room along with the couple of cockroaches that called our room home. We woke early the following day and the three of us loaded into the back of a minivan to take a tour of the Taroko Gorge. If you ever find yourself in Taiwan, I think seeing the gorge should be on the top of your list of things to do. It's a true showcase that reconfirms to me that there is something so much greater than us out there and we are only small specs of sand in this great big world. Not only this, I realized how important being close to he mountains and ocean are for my personal happiness. Living in the concrete jungle called Jhongli reminds me of that fact daily. But anyway, so I spent the first weekend of 2010 surrounded by this natural beauty and good friends. I really can't complain.

The following week was spent hanging out around Jhongli and Taipei. A local hike, a couple night markets, Karaoke, a few yoga classes, nothing too out of the ordinary. Katie's two weeks came to an end last Wednesday which was followed by me getting the flu that night. Perfect timing on Katie's part. Nobody needs to bare witness to me hugging the toilet which I proceeded to do for most of that night. I suppose two colds and the flu is the price you pay for working with kids on a regular basis. But I'm finally feeling like myself again and just in time. With about two and a half weeks until I leave for Thailand, I need my strength to prepare for the strain of laying on the beach and frolicking in the clear blue seas.

So, there you have it, the past month of Amanda's life. Nothing too out of the ordinary but still everyday brings something new and unfamiliar and in most cases, just downright funny or perplexing.

Oh, I forgot to mention this past weekends adventures which included seeing Hachiko (Do not go see this movie with anything less than a box of tissue and yes, boys will cry too), going to the Taipei Zoo (all zoos really are the same regardless of where you are in the world), and seeing my first play in Chinese in which I'd recommend bringing a translator.

Until next time...I hope you all are happy, healthy, and enjoying 2010! Much love...

It's a pretty big world out there...

And I have finally decided to take full advantage of it. As of December 9th, I will no longer reside in Seattle, Washington and instead call Jongli, Taiwan home sweet home. I decided to move to Taiwan on top of a mountain about a week into my trip. What may seem likely a hasty decision is actually one I've been thinking about for a very long time. Maybe not Taiwan but overseas for sure. It just so happened that everything fell into place nicely and I will begin what could be a very interesting 'career' teaching English to little Taiwanese children. Now I know what you are thinking. How can someone who barely speaks proper English herself teach children the language. Well, my answer to that is: I have no friggin idea but I suppose that is part of the challenge and excitement and I'll figure it out along the way.

The next 6 months are about just that. Figuring it out as I go and being hopeful. I've lived a charmed life here in Seattle and have been quite fortunate and blessed It's time I set out on a little adventure and see where it takes me. Maybe back to Seattle or maybe on to a different country. Who knows. All I am sure of is that this decision feels good and right and that is all I need right now.

I hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving and I'll be here until the 9th of December. Oh, my phone will be disconnected on December 8th....

So long Taiwan but I'll be seeing you soon...

I leave in a few hours and I am overwhelmed with emotion. My time here has been nothing short of amazing and my eyes have been opened to so much and I am grateful for that. Many things are on my mind and a few new decisions have been made which I will share soon enough. I've learned some valuable lessons, met some great people, and am open to all the possibilites that life is throwing my way at the moment.

For now I have to say good-bye to Taiwan but I know I'll be seeing you soon.

Culture Shock for the Little White Girl

I've been here for a week now and have noticed many things that are VERY different from the states. Naturally this should be so but I thought I would touch on a few and share my thoughts.

1. The Squatter. Now some of you may know this about me but most probably don't nor do you really want to but I'm going to share anyway. Here it is, I never perfected the art of squatting and in doing so, I often find myself pissing down my leg left trying to figure out how to hide the obvious. Here in Taiwan the public toilet is first, few and far between and second, basically a whole in the ground that you are left to spread eagle over to do your business. On my first account with the squatter I almost turned around and held it but part of the experience of this trip is to force myself to step outside my comfort zone and try new things. So, I did my business and surprisingly I managed to walk away with dry legs and shoes. John can't seem to understand my disgust with the squatter toilet to which I argue, "you only have to do your business squatting half the time. You've got a 50/50 chance." Oh well, I tackled and mastered that one.

2. The Face Mask. We live in a society where no one really cares who is subjected to their germs. You have H1N1 and you are still trekking to work, sweaty, sneezy, sick and ready to share. I knew that I would see many people wearing face masks but why I thought they were wearing them is actually different. John's friend Kaivan explained to me that it's all about 'saving face' which is a knew subject on it's own that I will save for a later discussion. The mask isn't really about their fear of your germs as much as it is about them not wanting you to catch theirs. It's more of a respect thing. With that being said, some Taiwanese have designer ones. Plaid, paisley, cartoon you name it.

3. It's 80 degrees plus humidity and they wear winter jackets. So I'm walking along and noticing that many of the Taiwanese are wearing jeans, long sleeve shirts, scarves and a jacket. And then there is me. Shorts, tank top, sunglasses, and still very sweaty. This puts into perspective how hot it actually gets here in the summer time.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not exactly complaining about the above. It's more of an observation. One that I'm starting to adjust to and actually find comforting. Here are a few things that I really like here....

1. You don't tip. I know I sound cheap but it really makes life easier knowing you don't have to figure out how much to tip.

2. Street Vendors. If you're hungry and it's 11PM, you just step out your door, walk down the street and wallah! You have a plethora of vendors to choose from. Just beware of the stinky tofu. I tried it last night and it really does taste exactly like it smells....like dirty feet.

3. Scooters everywhere. I love that everyone owns a scooter or takes the train or MRT. If I lived here I'd be so excited to get a scooter. Makes me want to get rid of the red beast and get a Vespa back home but then I remember I live in Seattle. I would only be able to ride it 30 days out of the year.

4. Everyone is nice. Besides the mildly offensive comment I received on the street yesterday walking to the store, everyone is nice and they like to stare but I can't blame them. I look like a blonde curly hair freak in a sea of black hair and face masks.

5. There's an earthquake and the city doesn't shut down and it's not on every news channel on T.V. Yes, there were 2 earthquakes here yesterday. They were strong enough for me to look around the apartment and realize everything was shaking. I thought it was pretty cool actually...my mom on the other hand didn't find it as cool.

So that is it for now, I'll write more later~!

Oh the places I have seen...

Hi Everyone! I'm sorry for not posting sooner but I've been having too much fun! But this one should be a nice and long one so here goes ...

For those of you who are terrified of spiders I would suggest NOT going into the jungles of the Taiwanese mountains for there are very large and frightening 8 legged creatures all around which I had the pleasure of experiencing first hand. Meet George.


Aside from the spiders there are cuter creatures such as the mass amounts of mountain monkeys at the campgrounds we stayed at just outside of Taichung. Late Friday night John and I caught a train south of Neili, where he lives and stayed the night with Jody and Oliver, friends of his from his days in Colorado. Lovely and generous people. We stayed at there apartment Friday night and headed to the mountains Saturday afternoon. Two of their friends joined us and we hopped on our three scooters and drove 40 minutes up into the mountains to camp.

Camping in Taiwan is a unique experience. One I can't say I'd love to do again but I'm sure I will. First, the zipper on our tent was broken so John and I were eaten alive all night long. Don't be surprised if I come home with some rare disease. That mixed with the jet lag I was still experiencing made for a 'happy' Manda the next morning but I turned my frown upside down and after breakfast and coffee, I was in a better head space.

Before we headed south to Taichung on Friday, I spent the day with John's friend Kaivan. He was raised in the states but is Taiwanese, moving back here 8 years ago. I'm so happy I had the chance to hang out with him. I definitely saw stuff I wouldn't have otherwise. He took me to lunch at a very authentic Taiwanese restaurant and then we walked the street in search of cute little shops and a jade market. We came across a little tea shop and although it was closed, the owner invited us in and explained (which was translated to me by Kaivan) the process of drinking tea. It was quite the unique experience. After that, we went to a park that reminded me of Central Park in Manhattan. Kaiva plays the violin and there was a big amphitheater and he got up and played a couple songs for me. From there we headed to Taipei 101, the tallest building in the world...for now. Dubai is in the process of building the new tallest building but until it is open, Taipei 101 is still number one. Such a beautiful view.

So, after my day exploring parts of Taipei, John and I headed south to camp with the crew. The following day, on our way out we decided to go to a waterfall to swim. On the way back to Taichung, we stopped at a few places, one being a man made bat cave and the other a monastery. I was almost killed by a bat. John would say I was exaggerating but seriously, the little blood sucking flying rat came straight at my head. This tunnel was about 5 feet high and 3 feet across and pitch black. I was the 'leader' with the camera light and all of the sudden I was dodging a nose diving grey bat that I just know what aiming straight for my neck. Needless to say, I screamed and we were out of there. Fun times for sure! The Monastery was beautiful. Somewhat haunting and we were the only people there. There were a couple wild cats running around and I'm not sure what I was more interested in. The beauty of the scenery or chasing the kitties. John would say the kitties.

We got back to Neili late Sunday night and Monday morning John called in sick and we headed to Wulai, a small mountain town known for their hot springs and hiking. I'm not sure I could do it justice by trying to explain how cute it was but just think small village with street vendors and homes built into the hills. We hiked around a bit and then took the gondola up to this hotel and some kind of amusement area. Pictures should explain a little better.

Tuesday I stayed local. John took me to the local gym and I ran and swam which felt really good. I'm consuming everything that my body can't digest very well but it's so worth it. John's friend Karolese, a South African woman, invited me to Yoga night with her friends which actually turned out to just be dinner, wine drinking, and talking. It was really nice having a 'girls night' experience here and meeting some new friends. One of my goals while here was to meet people and form contacts for future travels. I'm meeting a lot of nice people. One of the girls from that night and I are hanging out tomorrow (Friday). She is from England and has only been here for 2 months. We are going to go explore a town called Danshui.

Yesterday I went two train stops north to a little town known for their ceramics and pottery called Yingge. Mom-you would have been in heaven. Who knows, maybe I got you a little something from there. There is a section called Old Town and the streets are cobblestone and it is quaint and charming.

Today I think I'm going to go one more stop past Yingge and go hiking a bit. Stay tuned...here are some pictures to keep you entertained...

A World Full of Possibilities

If you would have asked me back in August what I would be doing on October 27th, getting on a plane headed for Taiwan would have been the last thing I would have said. It interesting how quickly life can change. The past 6 months have been nothing but continuous change for me. Once a creature of habit, I’m starting to wonder how much I actually crave and need change in my life.

I’m going to see a friend I barely know in a foreign place I have never been. In truth, we went to junior high and high school together but I have really no memories of him other than a casual hello as we passed by each other in the hall. Thanks to an all too popular social networking site, no ma, no a dating website, we somehow managed to reconnect, all leading to this moment where I am about to get on a plane heading for Taiwan.

With something that started out with little thought, unexpectantly turned into a friendship full of possibilities. Maybe romance, maybe a lifelong friend, maybe only two ships passing in the night. One thing is for sure, it's bound to be a good time.

So I'm about to board this plane to sit for 15 hours. I'm sure I will read a little, watch a few movies and what is true of my nature, get lost in my own thoughts. Fifteen hours is a mighty long time ...