India and other stories

after a week of cold and rainy and grey weather best suited to curling up on the couch under a blanket, I'm happy to report that the sun has finally made an appearance again in Taipei. I just got back from a long walk and it felt a-ma-zing to have sun on my skin. they say March weather is in like a lion, out like a lamb but I've always found it to be all over the place from day to day, rather than a smooth progression.

but I have been trying to get out more, even when the skies are grey. a friend of mine is in town and yesterday she suggested we hike Elephant Mountain -- despite the weather I can't really complain about spending time together and being out in nature. and in a few days my mother-in-law is arriving for a three week visit. so it seems I need to charge up my camera batteries and get ready for some adventuring.

in other recent[ish] news... I went to India.

it was loud and beautiful and crowded and smoggy and colorful and uncomfortable and humbling and absolutely, utterly delicious. India was all of those things. India was everything, all at once.

a part of me feels like a "bad" travel blogger because I did not even take my camera with me [gasp!] but in truth, we didn't really go to see India -- we went to celebrate two amazing people marrying each other over New Year's. I got to stay in a palace and dance like a bollywood star and eat all the delicious things. I saw donkeys and horses in the street, a guy riding an elephant through a traffic circle, cows literally everywhere, camels and monkeys and even a wild mongoose.

it was actually pretty nice to just let our time in Udaipur be what it was. we spent most of our non-wedding activity days walking around the city. and eating. we took a complicated journey out to the Monsoon Palace for sunset, braved the crowds at the City Palace, and went shopping for traditional outfits... but mostly just ate.

I don't have a city guide or even a packing list to share -- or anything other than a handful of phone photos -- but I can tell you that India was both one of the most incredible and challenging places I've ever visited.

to be honest, I'm still a little bit in awe that I actually went to India. it's not a country I had on my bucketlist or ever really saw myself visiting. as someone who has issues dealing with too much dirt, or noise, or crowds... it got to be pretty overwhelming at times.

I would still say the trip was worth it. [it's tempting to say so for the food alone -- I'm seriously craving poha and papadams after writing this.] but we had a wonderful reason to visit and I'm glad we had the chance. there's a lot of India to see and we only experienced a slice.

but I think for us, for right now, it was just the right amount.

a life update

I try to make it a policy not to apologize for a lack of posting, but woah. I haven't consistently blogged since last October. there are several good excuses reasons that I've been absent from pretty much everything [except instagram] but now that life has settled down a bit, I hope to get back to blogging.

in true Jamie fashion, I'm going to start with a list-style post. here's a bit of a life update to catch you up on the last six months.

I wrote a book.

no really, I wrote a book! I completed NaNoWriMo -- that's writing 50,000 words of a novel during the month of Novmber -- and raised over $250 to help support education for girls around the world with the Malala Fund. and once November ended, I kept writing. it took me another 2 weeks to complete the first draft of my manuscript. but I did it.

I took a break for a bit after I finished, went back to read it with fresh eyes, and... it's really good! however, furiously writing a book in just over a month did not allow for the depth of character development and sub-plotting that I want my story to have. so now I am working on revising and restructuring, and weaving in new [and really awesome] threads to my manuscript.

I went to New Zealand. again.

just 48 hours after I completed my first draft, Husband and I boarded a plane for a two week trip through New Zealand. and it was amazing. we revisited some of our favorite places [like Queenstown and Lake Tekapo] explored new areas [hello, Wanaka] and got a second chance to experience places where we had bad weather last time [Mount Cook!] I even got to hang out with my brother! we had fantastic weather, and a lot of wine.

you probably saw me on instagram living that #campervanlife and gushing over mountain views. obviously I have a lot of new blogging material from our travels. [obviously I have a lot of blogging material stockpiled, period.]

we moved to a new apartment.

maybe a week after our return from New Zealand, we found out our landlord would not renew our lease this summer because he wanted to sell our apartment. if we waited until June to move, it would be right in the middle of our hosting visitors... so we decided to just go for it. searching for apartments can be a process, and when you add in a language barrier? well. one realtor showed me an apartment that had a propane-tank powered camp stove on the balcony as the "kitchen." and someone else tried to convince me I could afford a place $1,000 USD/month over my requested budget.

regardless, I went full-throttle into apartment hunting mode. it took me less than 3 weeks from the time I began searching until move-in day. we ended up finding an amazing place. the kitchen and bathrooms are brand new, the floors are a gorgeous Taiwan marble tile, and it's a 5 minute walk to the MRT station. but my favorite part? we have mountain views from our balcony!

[which I somehow don't have a photo of to share?!?!?]

I've been exploring... everywhere.

somehow, even with all that going on, I still managed to get out and see some new parts of Taipei and Taiwan in general. I have been exploring both with new friends and old, by foot and by car, in the city and on the coast. some of the highlights include an overnight trip to Jiufen, finally making it to Dihua Street during Chinese New Year, and crossing Confucius and Bao An off my Taipei temple bucket list.

our new apartment is in a more central location, and so I've been walking everywhere around our neighborhood. I have easy access to the river trails and several parks, and have found so many adorable alleys to explore. Taiwan's spring season is short, but gorgeous while it lasts. I've been taking advantage of the weather before it goes into full-on melty mode.

I read a TON of great books.

last summer I finally bought a Kindle [which is crazy if you know how much I read] and also figured out my hometown's online library system. so I've been reading even more voraciously than usual. my taste is pretty varied -- I love everything from memoir and biography to historical fiction and paranormal romance. but lately I've been on a dark YA fantasy kick. there were a few books that I wasn't into [and one series I abandoned reading] but these 5 books/series were my favorites from the past months:

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
Queen of the Tearling [3 book series] by Erika Johansen
Uprooted by Naomi Novak
Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake

other than that...

ok there was still a lot that happened [hello, new blog design!] but we covered most of the big items. now that I am settling back into a schedule -- and have finally found a coffee shop that opens before 11am -- I have high hopes for blogging more consistently.

and possibly figuring out how to end my posts more gracefully? or maybe not. whatever.

mostly, it just feels good to be typing in this space again.

xo

life's adventures lately

hi, friends! it's been a loooong time since I've written you a little life update. with so much blog material from the past year's travels stockpiled, I sometimes miss out on the present happenings. [I haven't posted one of these updates since February!]

but -- here's a few things that have been going on around here lately

writing for a cause

many of you might recall that I've been writing a novel off and on for the past year. I kicked off my current project last November with a program called NaNoWriMo, which is an online collective that encourages people to write a 50,000 word novel in a month. well, I didn't quite make it that far. I have, however, gotten my word count over 30,000 these past few weeks. I had been planning to participate in NaNoWriMo again for some motivation to start writing more regularly [and to finish my first draft.]

enter: The Mighty Pens. authors Susan and Kat have put together a writing group that will fundraise for the Malala Fund with every word. when November 1st hits I will share a link to my fundraising page, and I hope you will consider a donation. not only will you get to motivate me to keep writing, but help fund education for girls who desperately need it.

celebrating fall weather

the weather has finally, FINALLY changed. temperatures have been in the mid to high 70s this week and it has felt fantastic after all the heat and humidity of the past few months. the overpriced pumpkins are out in the grocery stores [I had to buy myself a tiny one, it's tradition] and half the locals are already in puffy jackets. I am even wearing jeans today. jeans! we are also prepping for Halloween by planning a Stranger Things marathon and of course: Hocus Pocus.

adventures around Taiwan

I did a lot of hiking over the 10/10 weekend -- in no small part thanks to borrowing a friend's car. [we are very seriously considering purchasing a vehicle now, because being able to escape out into the mountains so quickly was amaaaazing.] in the past few months I have also taken a trip down to Hsinchu for a scoot adventure, biked across Taipei in search of giant lily pads, and revisited some of my favorite old temples and hikes with new friends. now that it's cooled off, I hope to be getting out even more.

haunted by a cockroach

the other day, I spotted a cockroach in my living room. while it's true that roaches are just a part of life in climates like this, it has been a long time since I've seen one in my apartment. [I've had plenty of ants and my ceiling sprung another leak though.] the cockroach was squirming around on its back -- it should have been easy prey. but I hesitated. and instead ended up flipping him back over, and he dashed under my couch.

so now I'm living in fear that he will climb out to interrupt my Netflixing Star Trek Discovery, Mindhunter, or Outlander. Happy Halloween?

so, I might be a witch

speaking of spooky things... the other day while skyping with my parents, my dad filled me in on some interesting ancestry facts. namely: that we have both a witch and a murderer in the family. I guess I should say falsely accused murderer. he was executed for killing his mother, who was then exhumed, twice, and it was determined he did not actually murder her. obviously, a little too late.

but I'm more excited about the ancestor who was tried as a witch. apparently she lived. so clearly, she must have been an actual witch and used her craft to survive her trial... and therefore I've got magic in my veins. [I haven't been this enthused about family history since my mom told me a great-aunt claimed we have gypsy blood.]

upcoming blog projects

I still need to complete my expat recap series, though year 5 has proven difficult to write. I am working on a blog redesign, but can't settle on a small tweak vs complete overhaul. [this also may be put on hold since November will be pretty focused on book writing.] I think there may be another reader survey coming, an update to my "visiting Taiwan" series, and of course continued posts from Turkey, Prague, and the Pacific Northwest.

also: I've just realized that publishing this will bring my number of posts this year to 31, which is how many I managed last year between several extended breaks away from my blog. so that's kindof exciting.

and since I've run out of both coffee and things to talk about... that's all for now. hope you all are enjoying October, wherever you are.

[if it's a place that has candy corn, please eat some for me, ok?]

life's adventures lately

it's a hazy monday here in Taipei, good for sorting through photos and making new plans. I thought I'd take a few moments to share what's been brewing around here lately...

family vacation in the Pacific Northwest

first - I need to ask for some help! my parents are spending a few weeks traveling around Seattle, Tacoma, Portland, and Eugene at the end of April, and I'm flying to the US to join them. my dad already has a long list of things for our itinerary, and my mom has booked us some adorable airbnbs [can you see where I get my travel bug from?] but none of us have been out that way before. I'd love to hear about your favorite things to do in the area - hikes, waterfalls, museums, food, whatever!

getting stronger + feeling better

the main reason for my early arrival in the US is that I'm planning to see a food allergy specialist. the last year has been quite a trial for me with all the new allergies and then a bacterial infection in my guts, so I'm hoping to get some clear [or more clear] answers on what exactly my body wants to be eating. that being said, my health continues to improve. and Husband has convinced me to go to the gym, so I'm putting back the muscle mass I lost. this is a good thing. I'm feeling stronger and healthier with each week that goes by. I even did my first weighted Turkish Getup with a kettlebell the other day!

making travel plans

since I'm going to be in the Pacific Northwest in April, I'll be heading east to Michigan in May. I should be hopping down to Austin for a few weeks to spend time with Husband's family before we head back to Michigan together, and then eventually depart via Chicago. in total we will be taking 12 to 16 different flights, depending how the connections work out. BUT we will have a chance to see all four of our nephews this summer, as well as other family and friends. I didn't visit the US last year so it's been a while and obviously I am really excited!

Taipei adventures

in the past few weeks I've been getting out and about more - I've wandered Dongmen with the lovely Geneva of A Pair and A Spare, climbed Elephant Mountain at sunset, ventured to Long Dong Bay for a picnic on a rock by the sea, and took a complicated route up to Yangmingshan for a solo hike. since I only have nine weeks left in Taiwan [until after summer] I've been making a list of things I'd like to see and do before I go. I'm hoping to cross off at least one adventure per week until then.

plot twists

among all this, I've still been working on my novel. sometimes it goes really well, and sometimes it's pulling fingernails.  a few weeks ago I hit a snag with my plot. to fix it, I made a pretty substantial change to the workings of my universe - which unfortunately requires me to rewrite quite a bit - but the story will be better for it in the end. I'm doing my best to just keep writing through it.

we have managed to spend a few lazy afternoons on the couch binging netflix, but overall, life has been busy but good. [and it doesn't look to be slowing down anytime soon.] I hope that life is well where you are, and please do let me know if you have any Seattle/Portland recommendations!

life's adventure lately

hello friends, remember me? it's been so long I'm not even sure where to begin. this year has been flying by in a whirlwind of ups and downs and adventures in between. and this past month has just been crazy. Taiwan has quickly shifted from sweater weather to sweaty weather, with a smattering of sakura blossoms along the way.

at times it has actually been pretty rough going for me. but I'm trying to remember that despite whatever happens around me, it's all temporary [the good and the bad.] in the interest of all our time [and easing myself back into this blog] we're going to stick with only a few major points. here's what has been happening around here lately:

my parents in Taipei

this is probably my number one excuse for the lack of blog action lately. my parents came for their first ever visit to Taiwan, and spent 10 days exploring Taipei with Luke and I. to be honest I was nervous before their trip - I really wanted them to love Taiwan and enjoy their time here. plus they had never been anywhere in Asia, and I kept thinking how overwhelming everything was when I first arrived [ok, and some days still is!] but they totally handled it like champs. and I'm pretty sure had a great time.

thanks to road closures in Taroko, a layer of pollution that blew over, and some really inaccurate weather reports - things did not all go according to plan. but let's be real: when do they ever? I'm not ready to unpack their whole visit yet, but I have some great memories to share involving chicken feet and pizza delivery by bicycle. among other things.

life without cheese

I've gone 45 days without eating cheese. and - surprise! - I'm still alive. but I've also gone without all that other stuff I'm allergic to, and my body has been much happier. especially once I figured out I needed to eliminate olives and olive oil as well [even though that meant almost zero options for dining out.] I've been trying to stay positive about all this, though I admit some days it's a struggle. I'm pretty exhausted from all the planning and shopping and label-translating and cooking.

having my parents visit forced me out of my comfort zone [aka my kitchen where I have total control] and got me to eat in an actual restaurant again. after, of course, asking a million questions. thank goodness I can still eat at Din Tai Fung! it's nice to have some options again, even though we've been saving a lot of money by eating at home all the time.

the never-ending leaky ceiling saga

our bedroom ceiling has been leaking again. and now the paint is literally cracking and peeling off. it's pretty upsetting, since we've had these issues off and on for about 6 months now. a lot of the places that are showing damage are areas that had previously leaked and were "fixed." even after we brought it up to the landlord they couldn't do anything to fix the roof until last week - since it was raining for pretty much all of March. things seem to have dried up now and they are [fingers crossed] coming in to repair and repaint our ceiling this weekend.

side note: this is not our first Taiwan apartment to have a leaky bedroom ceiling

all things Taiwan and the internet

maybe it's presumptuous, but I would assume that most of you have at least some interest in Taiwan if you're reading here. another Taipei blogger [Alexander of Synapticism] has assembled a list of Taiwan sites and blogs revolving around our island home. by no means have I finished looking through them all, but it's great to get a peek into how others view my expat home. [also, a lot of them have been to some amazing places I'm now adding to my Taiwan bucketlist.]

in somewhat related news: this list article about life in Taipei has been circulating for a while. it's pretty spot-on. and honestly I think it covers life in most of Taiwan, though you may not "get" everything if you haven't been here. and for those of you who still have trouble telling them apart, I came across this illustrated guide that explains 10 key differences between Taiwan and Thailand.

10k race training

it's been almost 3 years since I ran a race [the Crim 10 mile in 2013.] a friend of mine here in Taipei is training for a 10k, which happens to be happening on my birthday, so it seemed like a good idea to sign up. the weather has not been ideal. we went though weeks of rain, followed by heavy pollution, and now we are entering hot and humid for the next 6 months. but so far I've been sticking with my training plan and trying to balance things out with yoga to stay limber. it also helps that a group of us have signed up to run and have been meeting once a week to train together.

this morning we hit the river trail even though it was 88F/31C. I sweat my face off but I think the endorphins have finally kicked in, because I feel pretty amazing. [ok, and maybe a little sore and tired.] running an early morning race may sound like a weird way to start your birthday, but I'm pretty sure 31 is just going to be weird in general.

what's been happening with you lately?

life's adventures lately

sometimes you need to give yourself a little reminder - not so much of what you think you should be - but of who you already are.

it's been a busy few weeks around here. celebrating anniversaries and Chinese New Year, having girls nights and game nights, biking and hiking and yoga-ing and... well, a lot. here's a bit of a news update on what's been happening:

making summer travel plans

we've booked our airfare and accommodations, and I'm just too excited to keep it a secret any longer: this summer we will be traveling to both Turkey and Prague! Husband has been trying to get me to Istanbul ever since he first studied there ten years ago. and finally, I'm going. we'll be traveling around a few other places in Turkey before heading up to see friends in Prague for a week. Husband hasn't been to Turkey in 5 years, and neither of us have been to Prague - so consider this a request for recommendations!

exploring more of Taipei

while planning our summer escape, I've also been seeing much more of my home city. in the past few weeks I've been to several places for the first time. this includes: lounging with friends in Daan Park, followed by wandering the cute nearby neighborhood of Dongmen. accidentally stumbling into the opening of the Taipei Lantern Festival [to which I plan to return, camera at the ready] at the Taipei Expo Center. taking myself on a YouBike ride by the river and losing my phone for a half hour. and returning to shoot photos on Dihua Street, which inadvertently led to my first trip out to Tamsui.

waiting for results

in between all this activity, I've been trying not to fret over my impending results from an allergy test. I went in before the holiday to give blood for both IgE and IgG testing. though I've never had confirmation from a doctor, I've been lactose intolerant for 15 years, allergic to shellfish for 10, and have had issues with gluten for the past 5 [or probably longer.] and though I've been very careful with my diet, there seems to be something else upsetting my system. I've tried to keep from speculating what that might be... but of course I have my suspicions. regardless, I should have some definitive answers [I hope] at some point this week.

writing my manuscript

I've been working away [not each day but at least consistently] on my book manuscript. sometimes it feels hard, and a little selfish, to carve out time to write. but I'm learning to say no to things that aren't what I need right now, and to protect my time better. I'm 25,000 words into the latest draft. it's been gutted and the tenses are changing and I've reached one of the more difficult parts of my story. in fact, it was so difficult that I just skipped writing it the first time around. but. sometimes the hard parts are the ones that need to be told the most. so I'm writing it now.

celebrating expat wins

it seems silly that after nearly 4 years in Taiwan, I still have expat milestones left to cross. but last week I conquered a big one: successfully shipping an international package from the post office, all on my own. turns out it was ridiculously easy. we've always had someone to do all the forms and mail packages for us and so we never tried. yep, facepalm. but other than that, I've discovered that I look like I know what I'm doing in Taipei. I had a man approach me at the MRT station for help on buying fare and finding his station. and two girls were having issues returning their YouBikes and I helped them figure it out. obviously, I won't ever blend in like a local here. but it's nice to know I don't quite look like a tourist either.

so what's been going on with you lately? and do you have any recommendations or links for me on Turkey and Prague?

life's adventures lately

it's pouring rain today in Taipei, and so I find myself inside the apartment and sitting in front of my computer. I've been pretty absent from the internet lately. no particular earth-shattering reason why: I just wanted a break and realized I could take one.

so here's what's been happening...

Taiwan elected its first female president

America isn't the only country with a potentially course-changing election happening in 2016. last weekend, Taiwan elected Tsai Ing-wen as their next president. she is a highly educated, multi-lingual cat lover who was highly supported by Taiwan's youth. this article gives you a brief idea of what she's about, while the New Yorker discusses more about how this could effect the country's future. I can't claim to be the most informed about the political situation here, but I'm interested to see how this turns out.

editing my book manuscript

remember way back in fall of 2013 when I decided to write a book? it took about 8 months of writing to get me to a very rough rough draft. I took a break before printing and reading it through for edits in summer 2014, slowly started making my edits and gave a portion to a friend for her notes that Christmas. in the spring of 2015 I started rewriting things into past tense. which first involved rearranging and gutting the first third of my manuscript. by the time I finished that and got to the actual changing of tenses it was so painful I had to take a break. I went back to it - maybe twice - last fall but I really wasn't ready to pick it back up until a few weeks ago.

right now I'm about 18,000 words into the revisions. sometimes that feels like I'm not very far at all. but looking back over what else has happened while I wrote this book - all the visitors we've had, keeping up with the blog and the teaching I did, moving to Taipei, traveling for nearly 3 months of every year - it's actually pretty damn impressive. and when I sat down at the beginning of this year to read through what I had already revised, I felt really proud of what I have written.

exploring around Taipei

before Anna [of Slightly Astray] left for Malaysia, we managed to have a few adorable adventures together - including the Taipei Zoo, a Disney Tsum Tsum exhibit, and a cat cafe. my friend Sharon took me to the historic Dihua Street, where all the shops are setting up for Chinese New Year. [and where delicious peanut-covered mochi balls can be found.] I met another expat downtown in Ximen to walk around and chat while drinking coffee, and have made habits of biking around our neighborhood, shopping at the local market for produce, and mid-week pho lunches with another friend.

planning travels for 2016

it's the time of year where everyone is talking about travel plans... and while I'm not quite ready to reveal everything yet, we've been making steps. a lot of this involves the least fun part of travel planning: making a budget. when I heard how gas prices have been dropping, I thought we would luck out on plane tickets... but no.

one thing I can say is that I won't be heading back to the states this summer. [I know that makes certain of you very sad - and me too.] but after three years of not planning to go back and somehow ending up in the US for a month or three each summer, I'm at a 99% confidence level that this will be the year it doesn't happen. but what Husband and I are trying to plan for instead should be pretty awesome.

what have you been up to lately?

life's adventures lately

popping in quick to share a bit of life lately! aside from my trip to Jiufen last week and still sorting through my thousands of New Zealand travel photos, here are 5 things that have been going on around these parts:

preparing for singapore

somehow this trip snuck up on me, and it's only a week away! Husband and I will be spending Christmas [and a few days extra] eating and relaxing in Singapore. this is the first Christmas since 2011 that he won't have to work, so we wanted to do something special. I'm really excited to get some sun, explore, and of course EAT.

decorating the house

this year we went to IKEA and purchased an upgrade from the disco dinosaur tree. [don't worry, we just put that one upstairs this year.] since it's become a bit of a tradition around here to share pictures of my tree, you can expect that post next week. also I feel it necessary to make the statement that I'm sure is cliche by now but: how the heck is Christmas only 10 days away?

battling sickness

I tend to avoid Facebook more often than not these days. but it seems like every time I popped in this past week it shared a "memory" of me posting about being sick, from just about every year since 2007. I suppose it's not surprising that this sickness thing is an annual tradition, because I've felt pretty crummy the past few days. hopefully I'll be on the mend by the time we leave for vacation.

cooking indian food

we've been taking cooking classes from another expat here in Taipei, and learning how to make vegetarian Indian cuisine. this has been both fun and delicious! I've already managed to make some tasty chana masala at home, as well as chai tea, and I'm hoping to tackle dal tarka this week. what I cook has changed dramatically since I moved abroad - thanks to increasing food allergies, unfamiliar shopping situations, and lack of kitchen equipment. so it's great to learn some recipes I know I can find ingredients for, and actually make and eat.

planning for the year ahead

though I think I'm skipping the annual "blog reader survey" this year I have been thinking a lot about where this space will go in 2016. I also might have maybe purchased some new fonts... which of course means a design tweak is likely on the horizon. this year - especially the second half - has been a bit of a struggle with the blog. so thanks for sticking around, and I hope to give you many more reasons to stay in the coming year.

what adventures have you been up to lately? do you have any holiday plans?

life's adventures lately

it seems fairly appropriate that I just wrapped up my series on tips for visiting Taiwan this week. it's been a whirlwind of sightseeing around these parts lately, since my sister-in-law is visiting and we've been showing off our favorite places around the island.

[so I guess you can consider this a preview of things to come, as well as a list of random thoughts I've had accumulating over the past few weeks.]

I actually signed up for NaNoWriMo this month, with a little encouragement from Helene's Novel Blogger group. I thought it might push me to get on with my editing. well... we've been a bit busy so I'm just under 10,000 words through. hopefully I can dedicate some more time to it once I'm done playing tour guide. [not that I mind playing tour guide - it just makes for a busy few weeks!]

rather than catching a city view from the deck of Taipei 101, we hiked Elephant Mountain. it was a bit sweaty but we had clear weather and a lovely picnic lunch. I had also climbed the elephant with Anna of Slightly Astray earlier that week... but with views like this who cares? I think from now on I'm adding this to all visitor's itineraries.

we hit up some of the "classics" like Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall and National Palace Museum, but have also been visiting places that are new for me as well.

one new place being the Taipei Zoo - we had a rainy day where we saw the famous [and adorable] pandas. and though there wasn't much in bloom, we spotted lots of birds and bird photographers at the Taipei Botanical Gardens.

I also finally figured out how to register my EasyCard so that I can rent YouBikes. and so today we rode down to the local cat cafe - 小貓花園 or Cafe & Cats - which happens to be credited as being the world's first cat cafe, ever.

we also spent a very lovely weekend in Taroko Gorge - one of my favorite places on earth. I know I've written about the gorge before, but we explored a few new trails this time and the weather made for beautiful photos. you can expect a lot of mountainous things in the near future. maybe even a Taroko-specific guide. which reminds me:

Margo from The Overseas Escape is collecting submissions for a City Guide Database. I'm really looking forward to seeing what other bloggers have to say and using this resource to plan future travels! if you have a guide you've written, you can submit your guide to the database.

and if worldwide travels are not in your future, consider checking out Polly's newly re-branded website: Let's Love Local. she's all about encouraging people to get out and explore what's right around them - and is even issuing local adventure challenges you can participate in each week. even though I'm living an expat life, I still need motivation to get out and explore my city sometimes.

have you come across or been up to anything exciting lately? with all our traveling and touring I've fallen a bit behind on keeping up with everyone. but I at least wanted to pop in to say hello + happy friday. that's all for now - I'm late for a date with the night market!

life's adventures lately

aside from scooter adventures, catching up on our New Zealand road trip, and climbing every mountain I can see - life has still been happening. in an effort to keep the small stuff from falling through the cracks, I've assembled a life update. here's a few random things I've been up to lately:

becoming a bus girl

I'm not sure why, but I kindof love taking the bus. it makes me feel so accomplished to have figured out how to get from A to B without springing for a cab or spending an hour walking. the other day I discovered a new bus that has the most convenient route from my house to the MRT and I got so excited. maybe that's strange but I'm just going to embrace it.

girls weekend in Kenting

two weeks ago I went on my first Taiwan beach day. that led to planning a girls weekend in Kenting over the 10.10 holiday. we had such a great time! the weather didn't downpour the whole time like it was supposed to, we found a gorgeous hidden beach, ate some truly tasty meals, and made friends with the coolest bartender named Mars. I'm so glad to have found friends that understand food allergies, have the occasional need for wine o'clock, and will jump on the beach 40 times for a photo op.

loving on Taiwan

it's kindof hard not to after these past few months of exploring. the whole weekend I was just in awe that the beaches of Kenting were on the same island as the mountains of Yangmingshan and towering marble walls of Taroko Gorge. I could have been in Hawaii or New Zealand, but I was only a few hours from home. I know I'm biased, but I'm so grateful to live on this island. and in case I haven't sold you on visiting yet, you may want to read this article on how Taiwan became the hottest food destination on earth. it also gives a succinct and straightforward summary of Taiwan's political history.

blogging from the heart

last week I started an e-course through Susannah Conway called "blogging from the heart." I've always loved her end-of-year workbooks and have been considering this for a while. I really want to get back to the guts of blogging, and this course seemed to line up with my philosophy more than any others out there. I'm a little behind on my lessons [what with the long weekend and all] but I'm hopeful this will have a good impact on my space here.

homesickness for fall

as awesome as it was to spend a weekend on the beach in October, a part of me longs for sweatshirts and crunchy leaves, apple cider and tailgate. I always miss Michigan in the fall. [if you've ever been, you know why.] I also just watched the New Jersey episode of Bourdain's Parts Unknown... and was completely caught off guard by how nostalgic I got for the state that was my east coast home for 4 years. fall is the season where we would visit the apple orchard, shop at the farmers market, order wings or hoagies and host football parties. Taiwan weather has been attempting to cool off, but it's not quite to the fall I remember just yet.

planning for the end of 2015

I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who is feeling stunned at how little time is left in this year. we've been working on booking our Christmas holiday, preparing for my sister-in-law to visit in a few weeks, and dreaming up an expat Thanksgiving menu. we are also trying to sort out our big plans for next summer. destination[s?] have not yet been set but I can tell you that I'm going to be exploring a new continent!

and that's about it for now. anything exciting going on in your life lately?

life's adventures lately

life is full of little adventures. this morning, I woke up to what sounded like rain. but then I realized it was coming from inside my apartment. I thought maybe Husband hadn't turned the shower off all the way and went in to check, when water started dripping on my head.

because nothing says "happy monday!" like a leaky ceiling.

I freaked out and called my realtor, who of course didn't answer because it was 7:30am. I would have tried to call my landlord but he doesn't speak enough English and I don't speak enough Mandarin for that to be productive. [also, I don't think I have his phone number.] so what else can you do but set buckets under the leaks and wait?

it's also frustrating as only a few weeks ago we had a leak starting in our bedroom, a few feet from the bathroom. they're been doing work on the roof to [hopefully] address that issue but it seems they may have just diverted it. I've since gotten hold of the realtor, who got ahold of the owner, who sent someone to check on things. in theory it will be fixed tomorrow.

I think the urgency of "there is water dripping from my ceiling" was lost in translation. in Taiwan [as in many cultures] tomorrow can literally mean "tomorrow," or it can mean "sometime in the future." so I'm not hoping too high. especially given our experiences with the last major leak we had.

despite the rude awakening this morning, this past week was actually quite awesome.

the weather has been clear and sunny so I took advantage by going on three different hikes [the first of which was Elephant Mountain.] if you haven't figured it out by now, I have a serious thing for mountains. and I am just loving that Taipei is surrounded by them. the forecast isn't looking as great this week, but I already have another hike planned.

I've also been making friends with the new teachers at husband's school - we had a bbq with a view to die for this saturday. and of course a TON of food. but it's also nice to meet people who are more on my schedule. thanks to the large yet small world of blogging I was connected with another expat in my neighborhood, who in turn introduced me to a whole network of expats here. [if you're into sewing at all you should check out Alisa's blog at A Stitch in Between.]

other than that - there's been yoga classes and finally starting to watch True Blood. we've also started planning our trip for over Christmas. we are hoping to swing through Hong Kong and Singapore [though nothing is booked yet.] I think we have our HK plan pretty set, but I've never been to Singapore and am open to suggestions on what to see and eat! please send me your links, friends.

sometimes I get wrapped up in sharing the "travel blogger" side of life, so I want to be sure I also keep you up to date on the daily adventures like this. maybe a monthly thing. next up: more Taipei discoveries and the never-ending backlog of New Zealand. I hope you all have a great week, or at the very least: that your ceilings are not leaky.

xo