Kate here!

Well, today is June 27th, and its my sister and my final day in Illinois. Tomorrow at 7am we fly to LAX, and later that day we leave for Taiwan! We’ll be teaching English for nine weeks with an organization called World Passport. We’ll be working in summer camps all around the country, but our offices are based in Tainan, Taiwan, which is the snack capital of Taiwan :D

Today we packed. I started making my packing list last week. It included lots of clothes, sandals, my awesome (new!) Kindle, laptop, power adaptors, toothbrush, camera, etc. You know, the standards. We’ll also be bringing some cheesy English movies to show our classes (note to TSA, that is why Legally Blonde is in our suitcase). 

I’m super, super excited to leave. I’ll miss my mama and my boyfriend (he’ll be in Korea!), but I’m glad to leave Illinois for awhile. I graduated college earlier this month, but I’ll be returning in the fall to complete a post-bac fellowship. I”ll be taking classes in addition to working on a project in the history department and ta-ing classes. So, this will be a much needed adventure.

Travel is my passion. Taiwan will be the 17th country I’ve visited since I was sixteen. I’ve been to Germany, Italy, France, Spain, England, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, India, Nepal, Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, Peru, and Chile. (And the US, of course). The longest I’ve been gone is four months when I was in South America, so this two month trip will go pretty fast for me. 

I’m so glad that I get to experience East Asia with my amazing sister! She has only spent a week abroad. She went to Egypt (fucking awesome, right?). So, we’re really, really lucky to get to adventure around Taiwan with each other. She’s my best friend!

That’s about it. I’m so excited. Maybe we’ll have wifi on our flight, and I can blog from China Air!

love.

My thoughts have been a whirlwind of mystery, fear, anxiety, enthusiasm, and love for the last few days. I slept for about four hours last night dreaming about everything I could have forgotten. When I woke in the morning, I hugged my mom over and over again as tears poured from her eyes. I kissed my dog and walked out into the dark world of 3am.

Panic is a feeling I’ve been trying to avoid. What would bring about this feeling? How about two months in Taiwan teaching English? Yes, that. I don’t speak Chinese. I’ve never been away from home this long. I haven’t left the country for more than ten days. I’ve never taught. I don’t even like kids.

So why am I on a runway in a huge China Air airplane about to take off on a 13 hour flight to Taiwan? I wasn’t really sure why until a few moments ago.

Right before boarding the plane, the airline attendant ripped our tickets, checked our passports, and passed through the gate. I went first and waited. Orit and Ryan came through the gate next. Finally, Kate rounded the corner. “Let’s do it!” she said as she through her fist in the air. We all smiled and stepped forward to board the plane.

And that’s why I’m here now in Taipei. One flight to go. One big adventure to be had. 

 -Krista

We have a little over one week left here in Taiwan, so of course we have been starting to think about going home. I personally have been dreading it. This trip has been so amazing. I know no one will be able to understand how this trip has impacted my life. So when all my friends and family ask me immediately when I get back, “How was Taiwan?”, I want to have some good answers prepared.

Here are some of my responses to the inevitable question that is impossible to answer:

- “Simply the best two months of my life.”

- “The most concentrated time of fun, laughter, and happiness.”

- “Similar to the first two months of college in that it was a new experience in a new place where I met friends I will remember forever. Better because there was no class, I was in a beautiful foreign country, and the food rocked my world.”

- “Insane.”

- “Like a surreal dreamland where time stood still and the laughter never ended.” 

- Long sigh ”Too perfect.”

- “Imagine meeting 8 extremely diverse 20-something year-olds. Then put them all together in an office where they are forced to break down any sorts of walls or barriers around themselves and just be silly everyday. They explore a new country together and make complete idiots of themselves. Despite differences in personalities, they fit together like a perfect puzzle. Now let that simmer for two months.”

- Although I haven’t left yet, I guarantee this will be true. “I cried on the plane home.”

- “I’m moving there.”

- “You must go.”

- “Think about the happiest moment in your life. Add the following: Friends, Adventures, Mountains, Beaches, Family, Dancing, Alcohol, Asian Culture, and Food. Multiply by infinity. Yeah, something like that…”

And this is why I love Taiwan.
- Krista 

Hey everyone!

It’s been quite some time since Kate and I last posted. How are you guys? What have you all been up to? Kate and I were on a high from our adventures in Taiwan for many months. Wait, who am I kidding? We still are! In fact, Kate is going back to Taiwan this summer, and I am more than jealous. She’ll tell you all about that another time.

Although I’m not going back to Taiwan this summer, I do have a few adventures coming my way. I’m actually leaving for Japan in two days!! (It’s so soon!) My amazing school gave me a grant to do a little research in Japan this summer. I’ll only be there for two weeks, but I plan to share all my stories with you here!

Kate and I decided to turn this “Taiwan” blog into a “Travel” blog. We’ll be posting about all our adventures across the world. Asia, Europe, whatever comes next!

So here we go! Enjoy my cultural mishaps, pictures of food, and most likely tales of failed research.

Love,
Krista :) 

After the most exhausting day of traveling possible, I arrived in Tokyo! 

Quick recap:

I had a 6:30am flight from Chicago to Los Angeles, which I almost missed. I actually had to to SPRINT through the airport to my gate, which was already closed. Fortunately, the plane door wasn’t, so they still let me on. Last person on the plane. I slept the entire 4 hours.

Next, I had about a 4 hour layover in LAX, so I ate outside and tried to get a lot of fresh air before my 7+ hour flight to Honolulu. I flew United Airlines, and they tried to be all cute about Hawaiian things because most people were on their way to a vacation. It made me weirdly uncomfortable.

I then had a 3 hour layover in Honolulu, which was so beautiful. I walked outside and looked at the mountains for awhile, but I was also insanely exhausted and a bit lonely. The combination of stress, exhaustion, discomfort, and loneliness kicked in at the Honolulu airport. Hawaii, thanks for letting me cry in your bathroom for a little bit. It really did help.

Finally, I got on my last flight! The best flight by far. It was about 8 hours, but since it was international, it was so comfortable. The best part though was the conversations I had with the man next to me, Benny. I’m seeing our conversation as a sign that my research is going to go very well. After talking about Buddhism for a bit with Benny, he told me that he is actually a Catholic priest in Hawaii (native of Indonesia). Let me tell you, we had one of the most productive conversations about religion that I have ever had. We talked about the difference between Eastern and Western religions and the difference between religion and institutionalized religion. (If you don’t know me, these are some of my favorite topics to discuss in regards to religion). Anyway, we exchanged e-mails, and I now have a place to stay in Hawaii. Next vacation? 

Now, I’m sitting in my friend Hannah’s apartment watching the Japanese news. They are showing food that looks like the new Sky Tower that is opening in a few days. Food in tower form is extremely impressive to me.  

I had some time to kill after my temple visit, so I decided to go to Roppongi. My guidebook said it was sleazy, but it was the only place I knew how to get to on the subway.

It wasn’t sleazy. At least not during the day.

I spent most of my time simply wandering the streets. I ended up at Tokyo Midtown first, which was just a really really really expensive shopping center. It did have a nice “garden terrace” with great views.

Then I went to Roppongi Hills, which was built before Tokyo Midtown and reminded me of the Water Tower in Chicago. It had lots of shops, an art museum, movie theater, etc. I just walked around and took in all the sights. 

Today I learned that I don’t like to travel alone. I don’t necessarily mind it. In fact, I like making my own decisions about where to go, and I get there faster. But I miss sharing the sights and sounds and tastes with people. It gets a little boring.