how I spent my summer vacation // 52 weeks project update

I was really tempted to write you another list, but two list posts in a row might be pushing it. even for me. and because there is an enormous pile of photos to be shared and stories to be written from this summer, we are going to have ourself a little recap by way of instax photos. [see, I knew this 52 weeks project thing would come in handy!]

25// exploring the Hsinchu city gate
26// Chiang Kai Shek memorial hall
27// white goddess at Pu Tian temple
28// remnants of Typhoon Soulik
29// on the beach in Railay

the first batch is from July. life was pretty much a blur between my mother-in-law visiting, our trip to Thailand, and packing to leave for the states. oh, and that typhoon. we spent a lot of time in Bangkok this time and I have a lot more than just cat photos to share... prepare yourself for some seriously gorgeous temples and enchanting ruins in the weeks [months?] to come as I catch up.

30// sunrise on my first morning back in Michigan
31// Target, my personal Mecca
32// visiting the bean in Chicago
33// Detroit Tigers game
34// walking the pier in Ludington
35// Eastern Market grafitti

my first month back in the states was... an adjustment. I loved being able to grocery shop the American way, and stuff myself with all the bacon and bbq pork and ranch dressing I could get my hands on. and Target, my beloved Target. I went at least twice a week. sometimes just to wander aimlessly... though usually I walked out with a new nailpolish. I dealt with reverse culture shock [some days better than others.] I went to Chicago and played tourist with my cousin, I went to Ludington and soaked in the Lake Michigan summer, and I spent some time in the Motor City.

36// my Papa's stamp collection
37// the SS Badger carferry
38// dunes on Lake Michigan
39// Hart Plaza in Detroit
40// Blake's apple orchard

and then September hit. suddenly I was closer to my departure date than to my arrival date, and life kicked into high gear as I tried to cram in as much as humanly possible. there were tailgates and manicure dates, a photography workshop and bike rides along the riverfront, muffin baking and apple picking, friends married and a baby born, shopping and packing, having mom take in some unfortunate online purchases [thanks mom!], meeting friends for quick drinks or sitting on their couches for hours, and a last-minute haircut. and on top of all that, I participated in a blogging challenge. yep, I'm nuts.

actually, looking back at all the posts I managed... I did a decent job keeping up. right now I'm diving deep into the Everyday Happy e-course, and still trying to find the right way to schedule my days and adjust back into expat life. but I want to try making a better commitment to sharing things before they are forgotten or lost forever in my photo archives. I've been thinking a lot about the future, and this whole book thing, and what I want for this space. not that I've finished these thoughts or come to a solid conclusion... but I'm thinking them. and that's a start.

other 52 weeks project posts:

weeks 1 to 14

weeks 15 to 24

from the land of dragons + dumplings

I'm home. back with Husband. in the land of dragons and dumplings. let's kick things off with a list, shall we?

1. jetlag is a biatch. I slept from 1-6am the first night I arrived, 11pm-4am the second, finally made it midnight - 7am only to give up and take some melatonin and go to bed at 8pm last night. if you know me in real life you know how cranky I get without enough sleep. thankfully I did some napping so I was mostly just completely out of it. hoping that after today I'll be back in the groove... the melatonin makes me feel like I'm in outer space, but I slept until 7am.

2. I had a really awkward moment before I left the states. my parents dropped me off at the airport in Detroit, and since I had 3 bags which were 50 pounds or more we decided to use the curbside bag drop. well. this lady scanned all my document and went in to get an overweight bag tag and took care of me. my dad tried to slip me money to tip her, and maybe it was the emotional trauma of leaving or residual crankiness from fighting with verizon over ending my prepaid service or because people don't tip like that in taiwan, I waved him off. she had to give her little "I'll be handling your bags from here" speech about 4 times before it sank in, yes you idiot you should tip her. so I slipped her the money and scampered away in shame to the security line.

3. on the long stretch of my flight, the guy next to me decided to fall asleep propped up on our shared armrest and totally invaded my personal space. as a result I had to twist myself into some interesting positions in an attempt to get some sleep and not have my butt go numb from sitting so long. one of the passengers who was also on the Tokyo to Taipei leg struck up a conversation with me by saying "I was watching you sleeping..." and because I was twisting myself up like a pretzel she thought I must be an interesting person and wanted to talk to me. a little less creepy than it sounds because she was actually a very nice middle aged Asian woman going to visit her uncle in Taipei, but still. this is why I hate sleeping in public.

4. saturday night we went to- where else?- Din Tai Fung with friends. I've been dreaming of soup dumplings and fried rice ever since mid-August. I avoided Asian food while in the states because I knew it just wouldn't measure up. [ok, there was that one time I went to Pei Wei and was totally wierded out by the Asian family at the table next to us... must be like when we go to "American" restaurants here. the Chinese food they serve in America is not real Chinese food, people. there is no such thing as sweet + sour chicken over here. it's all a tasty sham, created to cater to American tastebuds.] anyway. we stuffed ourselves on pork and mushroom dumplings, sauteed spinach and hot + sour soup until we couldn't eat another bite. and it was beautiful.

5. post-dumpling feast we played cards against humanity. it's sortof like apples to apples, only in an adult and totally inappropriate and my-face-still-hurts-this-morning-I-laughed-so-hard way.

6. I got back on the scooter yesterday. ok, well, I got on the back of the scooter while Husband drove. we went downtown to our favorite curry spot. they always give you a bowl of broth when you sit down. it was really cloudy yesterday and tasted very basil-y. and while I was stirring up the stuff on the bottom I realized there was a tiny fish in my spoon. staring at me with its eyeball. the broth was really tasty, and tiny dried fish/shrimp are not rare to find in your food in Asia. but it totally wigged me out. I spent the rest of my meal thinking I had a tiny fin stuck in my teeth... and regretting I didn't bring my phone/camera to document the moment. thanks for the welcome home, Taiwan.