the magic of Mount Cook

it's no secret I love mountains. climbing them, taking photos of them, even just looking at them. maybe it was growing up in the flat midwest, but every time I look up and see mountains my heart just lifts. strange as it may seem, mountains are kindof my happy place.

when I read Emma's prompt for this month's travel linkup -- a place that sparks joy -- my immediate thought was: New Zealand. I've been lucky enough to take two trips to this magical place. though many of the locations we've visited are dear to my heart, the time we spent at Mount Cook / Aoraki and it's surrounding area towers above the rest. [and not just because Mt Cook is the tallest peak in NZ!]

I think a big part of why I love Mount Cook is that our first visit there ended in disaster. our plans to hike the Hooker Valley Track were foiled by a snowstorm [in summer.] we had to cancel our second night of camping there, and the first was virtually sleepless -- spent battling gale force winds to keep our tent stakes in and trying to repair a snapped pole. in fact, we never even made it into Aoraki National Park.

it's rare in life that you get a second chance. and visiting a place as remote as New Zealand? I'm insanely grateful. things don't always go according to plan when you're traveling [as I'm well aware] but our return to Mount Cook couldn't have been more perfect.

the weather? fantastic. the upgraded shower facilities? amazing. mornings with my coffee and a view of the man in Mount Cook? yes please. our camp cooking skills were pro by this point, and we had the routine of converting our camper from drive mode to sleep mode down to a science. we climbed up to view the Tasman Glacier, and stopped to frolic in fields of lupin, and finally finally got to hike the Hooker Valley Track.

and at the end of the day we would throw the van doors open, or sit outside on our "porch" to watch the sunset. the brush next to our campsite was home to a family of rabbits, who would hop around with their floppy ears and adorable twitchy tails. and there was quiet, and reading, and of course some delicious New Zealand wine.

Mount Cook is definitely a place that sparks joy for me -- even just the memory of it. I could go on and on about the fresh air and sunshine, the blues and the greens, and how amazing even our sandwiches that we packed for hiking tasted. [is it weird that I remember that?]

maybe it was having a second chance at Mount Cook that sprinkled our experience with magic. maybe I'm wearing the rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia [or maybe blue-tinted based on the photos.] or maybe, it's just an incredible place to visit, and our time there sparked a bonfire's worth of joy.

on a somewhat related note, I've recently come to realize that this blog is another thing in my life that sparks joy. the past few years have been incredibly challenging for me. in trying to focus on taking care of myself, this space was somewhat set aside. I'm not sure if I'll ever be ready to go into the details of all that. but I do know -- at least for me -- writing, and sharing my writing, is an important part of living a happy and healthy life.

plus, I kinda missed it. so I'm back to blogging again, and trying to find a way to make it feel right. it might get a little messy as I figure it out -- but I'm a little bit messy right now. and, well, that's ok. I'll take a little joy wherever I can find it.

joining SilverSpoon London, Binnys Food and Travel Diaries, Adventures of a London Kiwi,

 and Maggie at Planes and Champagne for the March Travel Linkup

Christchurch // a tale of two cities

have you ever been somewhere that had such a deep emotional effect on you that it was hard to write about? for me, this was Christchurch.

when we first drove into town from the airport, I was annoyed with the construction that seemed to be everywhere. with all the detours and lane closures our GPS couldn't keep up. by the time we would be re-routed we had found ourselves making another unplanned turn.

maybe I was still jetlagged. but as we started passing buildings that had been completely decimated, I realized that this wasn't just construction. it was reconstruction.

Christchurch was still recovering from a 2010 earthquake when in February 2011 the city was ravaged by one of New Zealand's worst quakes on record. the damage to many already weakened structures was devastating, as were the nearly 200 casualties.

the collapse of just one building accounted for 115 of the 180 total deaths. the resulting inspection of buildings city-wide deemed many structures unsafe, including a large number of historical buildings and churches. some were demolished, some are still in the process of being reinforced and repaired, while many have been left to sit vacant. over 10,000 homes in the suburban area were determined to be unsafe. the cost of making the necessary updates forced many property owners to sell and leave the city behind.

I had never seen this level of devastation in person before. it was heart-wrenching. collapsed theaters. historic buildings, crumbling and defaced with grafitti. entire city blocks barricaded from access because the ground is unstable. brick storefronts propped up by metal bars in hopes of preservation - even when only a single wall of the building remained.

but for every gut punch that the destruction delivered, there was a moment of hope.

an entire village of shops and cafes, brightly colored and built from green materials. artists painting murals to brighten up abandoned neighborhoods. vacant lots being turned into community gardens. the Cardboard Cathedral, built for one of the congregations whose church was destroyed. some of the best restaurants I've ever eaten in. the botanical gardens which still continue to bloom. beautiful buildings which had been preserved and restored.

Christchurch was still damaged, but they were rebuilding.

and the city I could see emerging from the literal rubble around me was strong, beautiful, artistic - and above all - resilient.

have you ever been to a city after it experienced a massive disaster? how did it affect you?

behind the blog: a relationship Q+A

I hope you all had a lovely weekend, whether you celebrated Valentine's Day or not. Husband and I actually don't - we celebrate February 13th instead, because it is the anniversary of the night we met. this year we marked the occasion by hiking Elephant Mountain together and indulging in some tabletop Japanese barbecue. the weather this past week in Taipei has been gorgeous and sunny - pretty much perfect for a hike - and somehow I hadn't yet managed to drag him up that mountain.

my mind is pretty boggled to think it's been twelve years since that night on Beal Street, when two Michigan State freshmen met after a certain gentleman slipped down a flight of stairs thanks to the slushy, snowy weather. I don't think either of us could have predicted then what kinds of adventures life had in store for us. but eventually we ended up here. which is a pretty good place to be.

with all the anniversary and love business going on, it seemed like an opportune moment to answer some of your questions relating to Husband and I, and our relationship. first I want to clear up one thing that is often asked and for some reason I haven't shared: Husband's real name. it's Luke.

go ahead and do the arithmetic - our last name is Walker. take a moment if you need, but it probably makes a lot more sense now that we are both big Star Wars nerds right?

now that that's out of the way... I have more of your questions to answer below. I've combined and reworded a few things but hopefully stayed within the spirit of what was being asked. let me know if you have any more expat or travel questions down in the comments. and because I'm me, there's also some unrelated photos involved [from the gardens on Lake Wakatipu in Queenstown.] so, enjoy:

whose idea was it to move abroad?

Luke had always talked about wanting to spend a few years teaching abroad - so I guess his idea originally. I was open to the concept, but pretty particular on where I thought I wanted to live. Taiwan was definitely not on my list. about a year after we were married though, I was getting really frustrated with my work and was stressed out and unhappy all the time. he was teaching in the Philadelphia public school system then, and was going to lose his job due to budget cuts. I wanted to leave and he couldn't stay - so we signed up for an international teaching job fair.

how did you decide on Taiwan?

once we started looking at job openings, we realized that the most opportunities [and best cost of living to salary ratios] were located in Asia. Luke interviewed with several schools at the job fair. of the options available to us at the time we had to decide - Taiwan seemed like the best fit. in retrospect, it was a great choice we made. despite the occasional expat struggles, we are happy here. we've been able to pay off our debt, save for retirement, and travel the world.

what does your Husband teach?

Luke is a Social Studies teacher at an international high school, which follows an American curriculum [as most of the students are applying to go to university in the US.] World History has been his main course for a while, though over the years he has covered everything under Social Studies from Economics to African American History. he has such a wide variety of knowledge - I am constantly surprised when he rattles off some in-depth information on a place we're traveling to or some situation I'd never heard of. and he's always wanting to learn more. I think this is the part where I'm supposed to brag about what a dedicated and amazing teacher he is, in addition to being a Fulbright scholar and holding a Master's of Education from an Ivy League university, right?

why didn't you decide to teach in Taiwan as well?

I did consider becoming certified to teach when we moved abroad. but with the program being longer than our initial contract, it seemed silly to just dive in without knowing if I actually wanted to teach full time or how long we would stay abroad. I also thought about privately tutoring students or teaching English at a cram school [a place where kids go after regular school for English lessons.] those jobs are widely available here, and the reason why many English speakers move abroad.

I tested the educational waters by doing a lot of substitute teaching at our last school, for almost all grade levels 1-12. I also taught a non-academic blogging course for 2 hours per week [to some really great students!] and gave conversational English lessons to a few of the local teachers. but despite that, teaching isn't my passion. I'm lucky that Luke is supportive [and our situation financially viable] and I don't have to work just for the money.

how has moving abroad changed your relationship?

I think moving abroad was the best thing that we've done for our marriage. I can say without doubt that our relationship is stronger now than ever. but it certainly wasn't easy. we had a lot of challenges to face: from adjusting to being a single-income household to culture shock. and all at the same time. this experience has changed both of us, and we've been lucky that as we grow as individuals we can still grow together.

being an expat can be isolating. yes, we've made friends here and do our best to keep in touch with family and those back in the states. but we had to learn how to rely on and support each other - through situations we'd never imagined. food poisoning. job hunting. scooter crashes. mysterious allergies. writing a book. grieving a family member while not being able to travel home. through these trials we might not have otherwise experienced, we've grown closer and stronger, and learned to be more honest with one another.

how do you survive traveling together?

I think the most important thing is learning how to effectively communicate your needs. whether it's half an hour of alone time at the pool or a coffee break, you have to say what you want. your partner is not a mind reader. it also helps if you do your best to take care of those needs on your own - I always travel with snacks because I know I will be hungry. [and hunger leads to hanger, and no one wants to deal with that on vacation!]

our travel styles don't completely jive - I'm a spreadsheet-making planner and Luke is more "roll with it" - but over time we have found ways to work both into our trips. I know I need to speak up if there is something particular I have to do or see, but also try to leave room in the schedule for aimless wandering and spontaneous stops for ice cream. we also have come to accept it's ok not to spend every moment together. I don't mind if he wants to relax in the hotel and watch a movie while I go to the beach and take pictures. we both get to do what we want and everyone's happy.

when are you going to move home and have babies?

mom, was this you? first I should say that those events won't necessarily happen in that order. when I first told people we were moving abroad, the question I was asked most was: are you going to have a baby? that concept was a pretty scary to me then. but my opinion has changed with time, and after meeting so many incredible expat parents and their amazing internationally-minded and multi-lingual children. having a baby while we are still living in Taiwan is definitely possible.

but as far as when we might move back to America - this is actually a pretty difficult question. Luke and I have obviously discussed this, at length and in depth. we definitely miss a lot of things and people from the states... but there are also a lot of great things about our life here. the best answer I can give is: when it's right for us. [whether that's before or after babies, only time will tell.]

phew. I hope you enjoyed this peek into our lives! and again, feel free to leave any other questions below for me to answer later on :)