East vs. West

Hello everyone!!

So since I haven't had anything major happening in my life lately, like visitors to Taiwan and/or traveling around Asia, I thought that I would write something simple and jot down all of the many wonderful and interesting things that I have noticed about Taiwan that are different from America. This is somewhat like a comparison blog where West meets East! Over the past couple months, I have been writing down little things that I have noticed in my phone when I am out and walking around! I believe these are things that many people may not notice right at first and some things you will only know after being here for a while. I think that many people who have not been to Asia, will find this blog to be very interesting, because let me just say, you will never fully understand Asia, until you come here personally! So.....let dive in!

The first thing that I think is different about Taiwan, is the fashion. Like the US, many more people are starting to develop their own personal "style" and create an identity for themselves. Taiwan is a rapidly growing and advancing country and many of the young generation wear the wildest things. For example, "short shorts" are DEFINITELY a trend here with many younger girls. I mean, lets be honest, if you can pull it off why not wear them. These girls have no body fat and are stick thin, so they can wear it! ha. Also, like I said in a previous blog, accessories are worn/put on EVERYTHING. Not kidding. Girls wear accessories not only in their hair, but on the glasses, colored contacts, fake eyelashes, Hello Kitty emblems, chains and diamonds dangling from everything possible....purses, phone, nails, shoes, etc. They really love to be "flashy" here.  In addition to the things that they wear, men also carry purses. These are not just leather "over the shoulder/cross body bags" they are legitimate purses with designs and embellishments on them and they not only carry one for themselves, but their girlfriends ALWAYS make them carry theirs as well. It is very interesting to see, because first of all a guy in the US would NEVER carry and purse and secondly, their girlfriend would never want them to carry their purse. Its definitely something to get used to, because it is very unusual. But, aside from that sort of fashion, many other people here in Taiwan dress differently, like the US and it nice to see that you don't have to wear one certain thing in order to fit in.

Moving on from fashion, I think another very interesting thing about Taiwan is that there is a HUGE divide between the people who "go out" on the weekends. I say this, because most Taiwanese people (majority are girls) don't go out on the weekends. They will maybe stay out or are "allowed" to be out until 11:00pm or 12:00am but they don't go out any later than that.  But then on the other hand, there are those other Taiwanese people who are wild partiers and stay out until the early morning hours. But, when these Taiwanese people do go out, since they never really have had the opportunity before, they go "too hard" and many times can't handle themselves while drinking. Additionally, since most Taiwanese people don't ever really go out much and don't have a lot of opportunities to dress up, when there is an organized event for them to go to or somewhere special to go, they GO ALL OUT! The dress up from head to toe and wear their nicest clothing, because they don't get to do this all that often. The girls where the most outrageous dresses, even if the event isn't that fancy, ha. It is very funny to see all of them come dressed up like Cinderella. This is one thing that I still don't understand, because I think that many of the girls are still allowed, even at an older age of like 26-27, to go out past a certain time, because their family doesn't permit it. I think that will change soon enough though, with this newer generation getting older.

Another note that is jotted down in my phone, was about "meal time" or eating. I wanted to write about this, because the way that Taiwanese people eat is completely different to the way Americans eat. This also may explain why Asians are thinner than most Americans. So, every time I have been out to dinner, I have observed and noticed how friends, family and couples eat together. First, at most traditional Taiwanese restaurants, they don't serve any beverages. So, ultimately they don't drink while eating. Secondly, nobody orders their "own meal." Someone orders a bunch of different dishes for the while table and then after that everyone shares and picks at what food they want. Therefore, there are a lot of small dishes in comparison to one person each having their own large dish. Furthermore, they don't have any "eating order" like we do. There is no order of having, soup or salad first and then an appetizer, main dish and dessert. They definitely don't do that and typically they don't have dessert. Its definitely a new experience to eat this way, but it also helps with portion control. hah. Maybe the US should try this!

The last thing that I thought I should compare and mention, was about the schooling system here and the extra-curricular activities children participate in. First off, I want to talk to you about the schooling system here. So, most children start school at age 2 or 3.....WAIT, WHAT? Did you say 2 or 3? Yes, I said that. They start school so young here in Taiwan that Taiwan had to make it "illegal" for children to attend actual school, where they learn and have homework (its not like preschool) for kids this age. Although, every school still admits children to come and go to school, they just keep it well hidden. Also, these children can be at school (not learning the whole time, maybe just playing) for up to 9-10 hours a day. Some of these young children have to be at school at 9:00 am and don't leave until I do which is around 7 pm. I can't believe it honestly. If they aren't learning/playing/singing/dancing or doing some sort of activity, they are attending their extra curricular activity. This brings me to another comparison that I have been between the US and Taiwan. Taiwanese children DO NOT often take up "sports" as an extra curricular activity, like the US. They either go to Violin practice, piano lessons, writing/speech class and or something else educational. Until they are in high school, these children do something that is very educational/stimulating for the mind for an extra curricular activity. I am not saying that this is a bad thing, but I feel as though they never get a break to just "have fun."

So I hope that you all find this blog interesting and that is has broadened your horizon and outlook and understanding about Asia. I know that there aren't any AMAZING pictures with this blog, like the last, but I promise you I will have another good blog coming soon.....as I believe my dad will be making his way over to Asia!!! yay!!!!

Keep reading and sharing your thoughts with me!!

Olivia

East meets west when family visits Asia (Part 2 of2)

I'm back with the second part of this Thailand adventure!!! Now lets complete this second portion of this blog with the adventures of the Berger family in Thailand!!

So, like I said before, Maria, Natalie and myself were all on a quick, jump hop and a skip 1 hour plane ride to the island of Phuket.

Our beautiful room

As we arrived in Phuket we immediately hopped in a cab and took a "quick" hour cab ride to our resort. As we finally arrived at the Avista Resort & Spa in Kata Beach, we were all greeted with not only a flower necklace, but a cool glass of fruit punch and a cold tower to wash our faces and hands with. WOW! What a greeting, I wish I could get that at my own apartment. Maybe I can conn my roommates into it!? Thank you Natalie for booking this!!! :) So we were then showed to our room by one of the sweetest Philipino men I have ever met and he gave us a guided tour of our room and the hotel. We all stepped into our room and I couldn't believe my eyes. The room was gorgeous, it was decorated incredibly and we had a fabulous view of the pool down below. As you walked further in there was a glass wall that connected the beautiful bedroom area with the bathroom, just in case you wanted to take a shower and have others be able to see you!! hah!! Don't worry we all thought that was only for couples/a little strange, so we put down the shade!! hah.

After getting settled in, we headed down to the hotel restaurant to eat some, once again, great food. Thai food never gets old! At dinner, we enjoyed the wonderful weather, sounds of the waterfalls in our resort and decompressed from all that traveling by shoving our faces with food!!! YUM!

At "The Beach" Island

The next day, we had to get up bright and early as we were going on a boat cruise around all of the Thai Islands. Thanks again to Natalie, she had not only booked a Thai boat cruise, but the #1 rated boat cruise on Travel Advisor!! Only high class for us! :) The next morning we arrived at the marina and boarded the beautiful speed boat we would be spending the day on. Our tour guides were a wonderful Aussie woman and English couple who have been doing these tours for the past 7 years! We were on our way to one of the most famous & beaches in the world, while the sun was rising and the wind was blowing through our hair and the smell of salt was in the area all around us. Pretty magical. The first island we stopped at was the island in which the movie "The Beach" was filmed with Leonardo Dicaprio. It was pretty spectacular. Since these islands near Thailand are a little different from other normal sandy islands, because they are large jutting rock islands that stick out from the ocean, the minerals in the rock, erode and drip into the ocean, which in turn, turns the color of the water a greenish-blue, instead a turquoise blue. It is pretty cool to say that I have now been to two islands in which 2 famous movies have been filmed. "Cast Away Island" in Fiji and now "The Beach Island" in Thailand. We finally pulled into the bay and walked around the beach squishing the sand in between our toes and taking more pictures that you could believe! It was then time to leave and head to another island. This area was somewhat like a "swimming-hole" like area that was surround by mountain-like rocks hundreds of meters high. This is where we were told we would get out and be able to jump off the boat and swim....so OF COURSE, I am going to get out and swim. Once we all dove off the boat, it was like we were barely swimming. The water was so salty, we barely even needed to kick our legs to stay afloat! It really was an incredible experience, swimming in the greenish-blue water with the tree covered mountains surrounding us.

Diving into the salty water

Maria,  myself & Nat taking a swim

Finally, we headed to another area/island, where we would have yet another chance to swim and this time also snorkel. We arrived at the area and all jumped in the water to check out all cool underwater life that was beneath us! But, before we could do that, we were told by Jenny, our Aussie guide, that we MUST bring in a piece of banana with us, because the fish would eat it. WELL.....little did I know, that once you brought the piece of banana in with you, hundreds of fish would swarm you and eat off the banana. While the banana was in my hand, I could feel the little nibbles of them bitting off of it (just like when Maria and Natalie got a fish pedicure.....YES, they got a fish pedicure.....YIKES!) AHH it was so crazy and creepy at the same time!!
Finally we arrived at our last island and it was time to eat lunch and relax on the beach. The tour served us wonderful food and all of us on the boat chilled either in the or the shade eating our food. Everyone also split up and walked around the island. The day was finally over, but I never wanted to leave these islands, they were too beautiful to leave. BUT, my skin was screaming "get me out of this sun." Yes, I got extremely burnt and for the next couple days were were in Phuket, I couldn't even tan my upper half of my body!! Ugh, and I used sunscreen. I guess the sun is just so intense! The day was finally over and we all headed back to the hotel and that evening we headed into town and ate dinner.

Bamboo Island-Where we ate lunch & relaxed

Our Boat!

The next day rolled around and it was a day to be lazy and lay by the beach. As we arrived on the beach we rented out 3 chairs to relax in the shade and drink tropical drinks. But it was very strange, when we arrived, there were all of the men and women in the skimpiest bathing suits that were so tan some of them literally looked African-American. I was wondering why there were so many foreigners especially those who don't care to be naked on the beach as well as wearing too tight of speedos, haha. Well, I was then told later that day that as of lately Russians have completely dominated and "taken over" the island of Phuket and now come down here for their vacations all of the time!!! I guess Phuket/Thailand is like America's Mexico for Russians. It was really hilarious though, because literally every single person we saw was Russian, no joke. After spending the day on the beach, we needed to head up to the hotel to get prepared for the Thai Cooking Class we had all signed up for!!

Getting ready to "cook" 

We were so excited to see how to actually make and prepare Thai food, so we could then try to do it at home! As we arrived, we realized this wasn't actually a "cooking" class, it was a "everything is already in a bowl for you and all you need to do is put it in the pan class." So we really didn't know what was actually in any of the sauces or soup dishes, we just pretty much were told to dump things in and that is what we did!! haha! Oh well at least we got some funny pictures and made & ate our own Thai food. It was a cool experience and the chef was really great.



So the day finally ended and of course, we had to go out and eat some more great Thai food and walk around the Phuket area and buy "real" purses that were being sold on the street, haha. But I was very excited for the next day, because I was going to meet up with one of my friends, Brock, who I went to high school with at Mahtomedi, who is now currently teaching in Phuket. WHAT ARE THE ODDS? The two of us grow up together on one side of the world and meet up again on the other....in Asia of all places. The day before my big adventure with Brock, I had to get a traditional Thai massage. This was one of the best massages I have ever got in my entire life and it was not only amazing, but it was 2 HOURS....it was soo long that I almost got bored, haha. I definitely am going to get another when I return to Thailand. Then I got ready and met Brock at my hotel and hopped on his scooter and he showed me around the other parts of Phuket Island. We first headed to the "Big Buddha" which resides at the top of this large mountain. As we were scootering up, we saw a bunch of elephants on the side of the road and HAD to stop to feed them bananas and take pictures with them!! (Man, I fed a bunch of different animals bananas on this trip)! I felt bad though, because some of these elephants were chained up and of course you know they are just being help captive, because all of the tourists (like me, unfortunately) want to see them, pet them and feed them! Hopefully they aren't beaten. But as we left there, we soon arrived at the Big Buddha. This Buddha is the largest in Phuket and is totally made out of what looks like granite or some sort stone. It was very beautiful and you could see all of Phuket while standing at the top. The view was breathtaking and you could see all the way to some of the islands. Brock and I then spent the rest of the afternoon into the evening with each other, catching up and getting dinner. I still could not believe how cool it was to meet up with someone all the way over in Asia who I had grown up with all my life!!!

Me & an elephant!! 

Well the day and our time in Phuket had come to a close that next day and it was our time to say goodbye to Thailand. It really was an incredible trip and all 3 of us really enjoyed ourselves. I highly recommend that if anyone is going to travel to Asia, they should go to Thailand. What a beautiful place with so much color and culture. I can't wait to go back when I am done here in Taiwan and explore more of what that country has to offer.

In the mean time, please look out for more blog posts....although I don't have any trips planned anytime soon or any visitors coming, there is always something to write about....maybe about my birthday that is happening in 3 days!!!

Keep reading and thank you for doing so. I really appreciate the support!!!

Olivia

Brock and I

East meets west when family visits Asia (1 of 2)

Sawatdee Kaa! (Hello in Thai) 

Well.... February was a whirlwind of a month, and over these past two weeks, many amazing things have happened!! My sister and cousin came to Taiwan; we explored Taiwan and then headed off to Southeast Asia to explore Thailand. When my cousin and sister first arrived, we saw all of the "touristy" sites one needs to see when they come to Taiwan. While site seeing, we decided to go up the Taipei 101, which was a first for everyone, including myself. (I have been here for 6 months and had yet to go up).

**Quick fact: Did you know that the Taipei 101 is the second tallest building in the world, after the Burj Khalifa in Dubai? **

On the 88th floor in the 101

When we went up the 101, there was a whole show that happened inside the elevator. The lights dimmed and a video screen appeared showing the people inside the elevator, how fast we were going and how many seconds it took to get to the top. If you would like to know, it took 34 seconds to get to the 89 floor. pretty incredible. So as we arrived at the top, you could see all of Taipei. There was a audio tour that told you what you were looking at as you stood on each side of the building, well not so much an "audio tour" but a promotional tour of Taiwan and all of the many ways people can spend their money doing touristy things around Taiwan. Great, thanks, like we really need to spend more money! 

The next day, we headed off to the most famous museum in Taiwan. The National Palace Museum. The National Palace Museum holds some of Taiwan's most prized items. It holds a lot of the artifacts that were taken from the Taiwanese who fled from Mainland China and that were never taken back. We ended up taking a long, I mean long, free-guided tour and I am pretty sure I learned enough about bronze artifacts to last a lifetime! I tried to take an interest in it! The only bronze I am interested in, is when your skin gets it from the sun, hah! But as the day progressed we headed out and explored the city a little more. 

On our way to Toroko Gorge

The following I had taken off work and we all decided it would be a perfect day to head down to Hualien where the famous Toroko Gorge is. Although, I have already visited this place, you can't come to Taiwan and not see the beautiful landscapes, mountains and rivers it has to offer. So as we arrived in the town of Hualien, we all rented our own scooters and took off. I think it was really enjoyable for the girls to ride them and to see a different part of Taiwan, other than the hustle and bustle of the city. After a good 3 hours of exploring the gorge, we decided it was time to head back into the town because it looked like rain.... oh and we were right. As we headed back into town, it started to sprinkle, and then drizzle and finally it was pouring. Me, being the smarty that I am, decided to stop in 7/11 and get a poncho, but poor Natalie and Maria, they didn't get one and ended up getting soaked. Let me just say, it wasn't a pleasant train 3 hour train ride back to the city!! 

But we couldn't get too down, because the next day we were leaving for.... Thailand!!!!! 

**BANGKOK**

I was so excited; this would be my first trip outside of Taiwan since I have been here. (Can you believe its already been 6 months? wow).  So that morning, we packed up our things and boarded our flight to Bangkok. As we arrived in Bangkok, I could immediately tell the weather was going to be hot. It was 7:00 pm at night when we arrived and we were already sweating as we waited for our cab. 

**Quick fact #2** Taipei city has 7 million people (and I thought that was a lot). Bangkok city has 12 million people and I believe it is about the size or a little larger than Taipei, so you can imagine how much more crazy and frustrating it can be at times. 

I am telling you this fact, because as we arrived in Bangkok, we not only had to stand in line sweating, while waiting for a cab, but we had to wait for about a good 40 minutes while just to get one. So I knew could get very frustrating and complicated at times. But nevertheless, we were in Thailand! As we rode into town, and as we looked out the window driving into Bangkok, we could easily tell that this city, although extremely large, was definitely not as advanced as Taipei. Thailand is definitely still a developing country, but I believe it is moving and advancing quite fast. That night we headed to our fancy hotel and just crashed, as we were all so tired from traveling. 

Temple along the river

The Big Budda

The next morning, we headed down to the all you can eat buffet at the Marriott hotel and shoved our faces with food. YUM! (Well, there go my plans to eat healthy!!) So we headed out down to the Chap Phraya River. This river is the main river that runs throughout the city of Bangkok. This river is the main waterway and transportation way for many boats and touring companies. It is a great way to see the sights of Thailand while enjoying time outside on the water. So that is exactly what Natalie, Maria and myself did. We headed onto a long boat and enjoyed a cruise down the river, looking at all of the other boats passing us by, temples along the river and cool architecture of the city. As we arrived at our next destination, we were disappointed that it wasn't open for another hour, so what did we do!? Well, we did what any other normal foreign tourist would do, we were convinced to take a ride in one of the FAMOUS TUK TUKS in Thailand to see the other surrounding sights. If you don't know what a Tuk Tuk is, well let me just tell you it is pretty much a tricycle on wheels and it is definitely not made for 3 people to sit it, definitely not 3 American people!!! hah. So after being on the Tuk Tuk, we found out it was some sort of "National Tuk Tuk day" and there was a special deal going on (which we didn't know about until we had agreed to take a ride) that if you paid ONLY 40 BAHT (which is like 1 US dollar) you could get driven around to all the sights you wanted to see. So as we were driving to the "Big Budda Temple" and all of the other fascinating sights, out Tuk Tuk driver made us stop at many of the government owned shops to promote Thailand and get the tourists in Thailand to try and buy things. So the first stop we made, was to a Travel agency, he had us go in and we instantly left! We were so confused, hah, why were we being brought to all of these weird places?? Well.....I will tell you. If the Tuk Tuk driver brought us these shops, we would be reimbursed for the money he spent on gas!!! OF COURSE he is going to do it then! So then after that stop he brought us to a place where they tailor and make "beautiful silk" suits, when we were in there, we saw other foreigners who had been conned into this process...we instantly left again and told him, NO MORE STOPS, otherwise we are leaving. It is quite hilarious to think about it now, but at the time we just wanted to get the heck out of that Tuk Tuk. Just think about it, 3 fairly tall American girls squished in the back on this Tuk Tuk when it was 95 degrees outside....yuck! 

Our Tuk Tuk driver!

At the Wat Phra Kaew Temple

Wat Phra Kaew Temple 

So, we FINALLY arrived at the Wat Phra Kaew. This temple is the MOST important temple in all of Bangkok, maybe even all of Thailand. This temple is very strict, so any person cannot wear anything that shows their legs, any tight pants or short sleeves. So Natalie, Maria and I all had to rent out sarongs and shirts just to enter the temple. The Wat Phra Kaew is famous for its Emerald Budda, which was carved out of just one piece of jade stone. The temples in Thailand are nothing like the ones in Taiwan. The statues and structures are dripping with gold and different shining colors. This temple is exceptionally beautiful as it has many different areas to walk around in and it so large. It really was one of the greatest sights that I have seen while being in Asia. One I recommend seeing. After spending a few hours there, we decided to head out and do some more exploring. We headed to KhaoSan Road, where it is famous for having "knock-off" things and great food to eat. So, of course we had to try some famous Pad Thai that was being cooked on the street. I was a little hesitant to eat it, but once I did, there was no turning back. It was delicious!!! So the day was coming to a close and we headed back to the hotel to get ready before dinner. We hailed a cab and let me just say, this is where the thing about too many people living in Bangkok comes in, we could have walked fast home. I think we sat in that cab in the same spot for 20 minutes and after that we couldn't take it anymore and decided to walk. I am telling you....too many people!!! 

Eating at the traditional Thai restaurant After arriving at the hotel and taking some much need R&R by the pool with a pina colada in hand, it was time to get ready and head out for a authentic Thai meal....sorry 'Ha Long Bay', it put you to shame! (inside joke). The restaurant we ate at that night was honestly incredible. Not only for its food, but for its service, and authenticity. All of the servers were wearing traditional Thai clothing and the food was served in very creative, festive ways. Then in the latter part of the meal a traditional Thai dancer came out to perform for all of the people eating. It really was magical and made me really start to love the Thai culture. But, it was time to see other parts of Thailand....The wolf pack was headed out of Bangkok and down to the beautiful island of Phuket.  YUM! Pad Thai STAY TUNED FOR PART 2 of 2!!! KUP KUN KA (Thank you in Thai)

Wishes in the Sky

Hao Jiu bu jian (好久不見) Long time no see!

Hello everyone! So it really has been a while since I have last written a blog. But, that is because within these past couple weeks, it has been Chinese New Year and I have been busy traveling around the world. Literally, I went home over this past CNY to see my family and friends. It was a very spur of the moment decision and I am so glad that I did! It was amazing to catch up with my family and friends and enjoy the beautiful MN snowy winter. It was nice while it lasted, but now I am back in Taiwan and getting back into the swing of things....like work and studying!

Since it is the start of a new year and the most important year here in Taiwan, The Year of the Dragon, I there has been a lot happening here and many things to write about. Like I said, this year is the year of the Dragon. The dragon is seen to be the most special year. Dragons symbolize power and excellence, valiancy and boldness, heroism and perseverance, nobility and divinity. A dragon overcomes obstacles until success is his. People born in the year of the dragon are considered to be energetic, decisive, optimistic, intelligent and ambitious. As I stated before, this is a very special year, so many, many women are pregnant here is Taiwan. They are intentionally pregnant, because they want their child to be born "in the year of the dragon." As I found out about this, I started to notice pregnant women everywhere! It is actually quite funny! Taiwanese people are very superstitious.

In the town of Pingxi

Also, since this is such a great year, many celebrations happen and go until the middle of this month (15th). People are celebrating constantly. For example, the largest celebration that happens here in Taiwan every year is called The Lantern Festival.  The Lantern Festival is held in a different town every year and each year, thousands of people flock and congregate in this one town to light and "send off" their lantern into the night sky. There are many different beliefs about the origin of the Lantern Festival, however, it is thought to have had something to do with celebrating ad cultivating positive relationships between people, families, nature and the higher beings that were believed to be responsible for bringing or returning the light each year!

So of course my friends and I had to go to the largest celebration in Taiwan. So we headed down to the town of Pingsi, where it was held. As we arrived at the bus station pick up to head to Pingsi, there was a line of people waiting for the buses, that went down the road and wrapped around the corner. The buses left every 5 minutes and were running constantly for the next 6-7 hours, picking up and dropping off people in a town about and hour and a half away from Taipei City. Let me just say, I had no idea what I was in for!!!





















As we arrived into the town around dusk, people were already lighting off lanterns and sending them off into the sky! I think the whole island of Taiwan was in this one town, I have never seen so many people in one area before! Well here goes nothing.... so we all headed in and walked through the town, eating local street food and making our way to find the perfect spot to "light off our lantern." As I stood there in amazement and awe of this beautiful celebration, I couldn't believe that I was going to be able to take part in this as well. But, before that, I just just stood there, starring up into the sky, watching families light off their own lanterns and make wishes for their future. It is a tradition to write "wishes" on your lantern in hopes that it will come true after letting it go. It really was magical and so beautiful. It looked like there were little twinkle lights all over the night sky. Pictures don't do it justice.

Getting ready to let our lantern go

So then it was our time to shine!! We bought a lantern and got to work, painting on our wishes with a traditional Chinese calligraphy brush. It was so fun and many of the local people were taking pictures of us painting our wishes onto the lantern, hah, maybe because they thought it was so strange that a foreigner was taking part in this traditional Chinese celebration! When we were finally done, our lantern was then lit and 1....2....3.....we sent it off into the night sky!! Brittany and I's lantern was the best one in the sky!!

Well it was finally time to head out and catch one of the many buses back home, but.....before you could get onto one of the buses you had to stand in a line of thousands of people also wanting to get back to Taipei. GREAT! My friends and I saw the line and it went on for what seemed to be miles. We stood in line for a good hour and a half and by the time I got onto the bus, my feet were numb and my back hurt from standing for so long. I never want to do that again. But, all in all, it was an amazing experience and I will never forget how beautiful it was and what a great experience it was.

Decorating the lanterns

I hope that everyone is having a "lucky" and good start to the new year so far and don't worry, there will be more blogs on the way. I have many things planned around Taiwan and will have many stories  to write about as my sister and cousin are coming to Taiwan and we then "jet off" to Thailand next week!!!

Stay tuned.

Olivia

Lanterns in the sky 

Its a New Day, Its a New Dawn...Its a New Year

大家好， 新年快樂 (Hello everyone and Happy New Year)!

I hope you all had a wonderful time ringing in the New Year. Can you believe it is 2012? Many people that I know rang in the New Year in style this year as some people jetted off to New York and experienced NYE in Times Square. Well I never thought that I would be able to say this, but I was in Taipei Taiwan to celebrate the beginning of 2012. It will definitely be a NYE to remember, as I will probably never has this experience again (unless I stay in Taiwan)!

Taipei 101

Fireworks!

So as the New Year approached, my friends and I were trying to figure out what to do, when we were told by one of our Taiwanese friends, that she had rented out a restaurant near the Taipei 101 building for everyone to come and enjoy dinner and drinks all night long. All of my closest friends that I have made here along with many other people I had never met before all arrived to celebrate the ending of 2011 and the coming of 2012. It was great, all of us girls got dressed up and headed downtown. Of course all of us girls got fancied up, because thats just what girls do on NYE, wear their nicest clothing and head out on the town. Of course I wore my stiletto high heels and was towering over all of the Taiwanese men and women...but that is not a surprise as I do anyway without heels on, ha!

Mary and I

The evening was great and by the time 11:30 pm rolled around we knew it was time to head out to "try" and get a decent standing place to watch the fireworks. As we all headed to watch the fireworks, people had already filled the streets and there was almost no room to watch the fireworks. But, I weaseled my way in and out of the crowed and found a perfect place to stand with my scottish buddies! The 101 was so beautiful that night, because it was lit up like a rainbow, every floor a different color. So we waited and the time finally arrived, and it sounded like all of Taipei counted down...3....2....1....HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Then the fireworks went off.....blasting from all sides of the Taipei 101 building. It was fabulous....although I have seen fireworks many, many times before, this was different, because they weren't just shot into the sky. They were actually coming off of the building and it looked great!

So as the fireworks ended, everyone cleared the streets and it was time to head back to all of the parties going on! My friends and I ended up staying out dancing and having fun until early morning, but I guess that is expected on NYE!

Just some of the HESS teachers

In addition to NYE, just this past weekend I had a HESS school event at the Taipei International Convention Center for ALL of the Chinese Teachers and English teachers from Northern Taiwan. Just to give you a little idea about HESS, which is the school that I work for here, it is like the "McDonalds" of English schools. HESS is a very large corporate English language school company and there are many schools run through the head office or privately owned as a franchise (I work at a franchise). Every year HESS hold its Annual End of the year banquet for all of its employees. I honestly don't even know how I can describe this event to you. I felt as though I was walking into some sort of "rally" or "event that was trying to brainwash people" into liking HESS. GO HESS. HESS IS THE BEST. I am not saying that it was a bad thing, but there were so many people there dressed in HESS uniforms and cheering for Hess, that I was very overwhelmed and couldn't believe how large this event was. OH, and remember this was ONLY just the teachers from Northern Taiwan...tomorrow was the event for Southern Taiwan. WOW!

Me, Joe & Rachel (My co-workers)
At the HESS Banquet

Also it was very funny to see all of the Taiwanese teachers so incredibly dressed up in their finest dresses and their hair all done. When Taiwanese girls have the chance to get dressed up and go out, they go ALL OUT! Since many Taiwanese woman do not go out on the weekends/stay out late and many of them don't drink, they really take any opportunity they get to dress up. It is very funny to see how dressed up they really get! I believe it is just a cultural thing here, where many young Taiwanese girls can't stay out late, because they are either living with their families and they need to be home at a certain time, or they need to get back to their boyfriends because they are "waiting for them." It is really hard for me to understand this, because many of these girls, or should I say women, don't ever have the chance of personal growth or fulfillment, because they have never been "alone" their entire life. If it is not living with their families or doing something for their grandparents or parents, they immediately get into a serious relationship where they are always with their boyfriends. But, I guess that is just the way some things work around here. It definitely is not like that for everyone though!

Anyway, it was a great experience and I had a great time with my co-workers as well. But, that is all for me now! Once again, I hope you all had a great NYE and I hope 2012 has been good to you so far.

Sincerely,

Olivia

An Asian Christmas

Chocolate covered pretzels

YUM....You want some!? Well, you should have come and celebrated Christmas with me in Taiwan....too bad! Just kidding!! Well since I made these for my Christmas celebration, lets talk about Christmas!!!








Dear friends, family and other readers of this blog, first of all, look at how quickly I have written another blog!! YAY! You didn't have to wait any time at all. Secondly, I wanted to write this blog before the new year and tell you all about the interesting (to say the least) Christmas season I had this year in Taiwan.

My "christmasy" apartment

So as the holidays were approaching, I was slowly but surely getting myself into the Christmas spirit, even though there wasn't any holidays music playing on the radio stations, snow on the ground or family to share my LOVE (if anyone knows me, they know I am OBSESSED with Christmas) for Christmas. I am ALWAYS the FIRST one to put up all of the decoration and decorate the tree at my house when I am back home, so I started to do the same here and decorate some of my apartment with little trinkets here and there and little mini poinsettias!!! I hope my roommates appreciated it, hah! But to tell you the truth it was very weird walking around on the streets of Taipei knowing that is was almost Christmas time and that I wouldn't be home in MN.

But, I think that you all are interested to know.....Does Taiwan celebrate Christmas? Do they even put anything up outside that vaguely resembles Christmas? Well let me put it this way......OMG YES! There are decorations everywhere. There are decorations in ALL of the department stores and huge discounts on clothing and everything you can imagine after Christmas as I believe they are trying to follow in America's footsteps. But, I believe that not many families actually "celebrate" christmas and understand what it is really about....obviously the birth of Christ. I truly do think that it is a "consumer holiday" and it presents a perfect opportunity for companies to display holidays "specials" and products for many Taiwanese people to buy gifts and go shopping. But, all in all, a lot of people really do like Christmas and I am happy that there was something here to remind of it!!!

At the X-Mas Eve party!

So as the time rolled around and Christmas Eve was approaching, I got ready and headed to my friend Jordan and Conner's place. They were hosting a Christmas Eve party and pretty much....no everyone I know in Taiwan was there, aha. The party started off with nice relaxing Christmas music playing, then further into the night it was changed to Hip/Hop & Rap Christmas music and then ultimately to regular loud party music, ha. We also had some Taiwanese friends there, so they taught us how to play a really fun, Taiwanese drinking game, where you use chopsticks! It was pretty funny to watch everyone learn, especially when the Taiwanese friends didn't speak English perfectly!!! All in all though the night was great and it was so nice to gather with the friends that I have here, meet new people and all be together to celebrate Christmas. It definitely could not have gotten any different though from the gatherings I have back home, where we all eat a big dinner together, open presents, read Twas the Night Before Christmas, and watch TV together....and end up going to bed so early from be so full and tired as I didn't eat a big dinner, didn't get/open any presents, definitely didn't read a Christmas book and again definitely didn't go to bed early, hah!! But, I did try to make the best of my Christmas eve!

SOME of the food at my Christmas day party! 

Then the next day, it was MY turn to host the Christmas Day party and dinner. As I said before, I am very accustomed to large gatherings with my family where there is so much food, NOBODY ever finishes it, unless all the uncles/men keep picking away at it throughout the night....or if I eat all of the desserts!! (YUM, sweet tooth) So I decided I wasn't going to have this Christmas be any different or "make any stops" since I was in Taiwan. So, the week before I went down to the most westernized grocery store here in Taipei and ordered a whole turkey and a pumpkin pie!!! YUM! The store cooked it and all we had to do was pick it up on Christmas Day! Then, I went to an even further extent and decided I would peel and mash 12 sweet potatoes, make corn, cranberry sauce and bake a loaf of corn bread!! (Mmm, my mouth is watering as I write this!) Then I asked for everyone else to try and bring one thing when they came. We ended up having about 15 other people come and they brought deviled eggs, veggies and dip, stuffed bell peppers, pigs in a blanket, wine, homemade Taiwanese fried rice, tiramisu, chocolate cake and more!! It really turned out to be a HUGE success and everyone was so thankful that I ended up coordinating it, because otherwise we would not have had something to do!!! So as the guests started arriving, we sat down and ate a large dinner, listened to Christmas music...that I MADE everyone listen to, because I am obsessed with Christmas music and just enjoyed each other's company.

At my Christmas Party!! 

It was also a pretty cool Christmas, because not only were there about 15 people there, but it was very international as well. We had a couple Scotts, a Romanian, a couple Taiwanese people, a bunch of Americans, Canadians and English folks! It was pretty neat to realize how all of us, who never knew each other before had come together on this night, in Taiwan, to all celebrate Christmas with each other!!!

So, after a long day of cooking, eating, playing more games, talking, more eating and cleaning the apartment, I am exhausted and ready for bed. It was very sad to not be at home for the holidays, but now I know what it feels like to be away and I know MANY other people have to go through it as well and I definitely made the best of it!!

Mary, myself & Colleen

So, that is all for now folks and have a good NYE celebrating wherever you may be!! Look for another blog soon...most likely about Taiwan's huge NYE's celebration!!!

Sincerely, your friend

Olivia

Playing X-Mas games

A Little Bit of Home

Hello Everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and great time celebrating with your family & friends.

My Christmas this year, was definitely a different/unique one, as I wasn't with any of my family for the first time! But one thing definitely did make the holiday season a little bit better. That one thing is named Courtney! My friend Courtney ended up coming to visit me the week before Christmas. She was my first visitor....and I hope I will have many more. It made my time here so much more amazing and made me forget about missing home (as I am getting pretty homesick right about now).

But, since I had a visitor, I had to forget about being homesick and show her all around Taiwan. I am pretty sure we did everything people/visitors could do within a short amount of time (4 days!) Not enough time!! The first day she was here, we walked all around some trendy areas and shopped, shopped, shopped! (She had a good exchange rate!) After we were done shopping, we headed out to one of my favorite places and ate Pho. YUM. Then after that we headed to my school. Courtney really wanted to watch me teach the little Asian kiddies, so I asked my school manager ahead of time if she could come in and watch. This was a pretty cool experience for her, because watching Taiwanese children learn English is an amazing cultural experience in itself. So as she sat there watching all of the kids call me "Teacher Olivia" and be so "incredibly eager" to participate and learn, it was something that not many other visitors to Taiwan could ever see. Also during class, all of the kids kept turning around to look and stare at Courtney, it was very funny. It was probably because they thought she was so beautiful. Then after that long day of site seeing and teaching, we headed back home for the evening, and to also rest up for our next adventures!

In front of the sulfur pool in Xinbeitou

Tea before our massages

Since I had a couple pretty stressful and busy weeks before Courtney arrived, I wasn't feeling too well and just knew that I need some R&R (rest and relaxation); (Mom and Lorna- that one is for you)! ha. So, I thought although this would be incredibly beneficial for me, this was another perfect way to show my visitor the Taiwanese culture. So we both headed up north to Xinbeitou. Xinbeitou is one of the furthest stops going up north. Xinbeitou is known for its hot springs, public and private, and its natural beauty, having open sulfur pools and nature trails for the public to look at. So, we thought about going to the public hot springs, but then realized, NO, we want something really ridiculously cool and well somewhat expensive, ha! So we headed up the hill to where all of the hotels are located in Xinbeitou and just so happened to choose the 5 star hotel that is there! Wow, what a coincidence. So as we were browsing through the massage and hot spring brochure, we finally decided on a combination package of a 40 minute massage and a 30 minute private hot spring bath. I know you're curious, NO the baths were separate, ha!! As I and Courtney relaxed in our separate hot spring baths, all the stress of teaching screaming little Taiwanese children, taking Chinese class, taking tests, private tutoring and pretty much the little stressors of every day life over here went away. After prying myself out of the hot spring, I headed for my massage. Well, I must say, the words full body massage just got a WHOLE new meaning....You all can just think about that one yourselves. No explanation needed. But, it really was one of the best massages I had ever had and I have not felt that relaxed since I have been here. I truly did need it! But, Courtney and I had an amazing day and we walked around and saw the amazing sulfur pool and after that we headed home and had a low key evening, because we had a BIG DAY ahead of us!!!

SCOOTER TIME!

"OMG, its 5:45, why are we doing this?" This is the first thing I was thinking and Courtney and I dragged our butts out of bed to catch our 7:10 am train to Hualien! Hualien is a town that is located on the east coast of Taiwan and it is best known for this place called Toroko Gorge. I am almost positive that Toroko Gorge has either been named on the 7 Wonders of the World, or one of the top places in all of Asia to visit! So as Courtney would say, "there is NO WAY I am leaving Taiwan without seeing this place." So as we started our 3 hour train ride down to Hualien, it was definitely MORE than worth it to get up at 5:45. The train ride was fabulous and the views were even better. Not only, we Courtney and I the only ones in our car on the train ride down there, but there were stunning views of the ocean for almost the whole entire ride. If it wasn't the ocean we were looking at we were starting in the tree covered mountains or old dilapidated Taiwanese villages.

Entrance to Toroko

So as we arrived in Hualien, we couldn't wait to start our adventure. Oh also, I am not sure if I mentioned this, but the only REAL way to experience Toroko Gorge to its fullest it to go by SCOOTER!!!!!! Heck ya! So Courtney and I rented each of our own scooters and TRIED to head directly to Torko. We had some minor set-backs as we didn't really know where we were going....so thank heavens I could stop and ask someone Chinese. BUT DON'T WORRY.....they are SO easy to ride and it is probably the most fun thing that I have done here while being in Taiwan!!! I LOVE SCOOTERING! So we finally made it to the entrance of Toroko Gorge, and as we headed into the gorge on our scooters, I felt like I was Ashley and Ben was sweeping me off my feet into the mountains of Toroko Gorge. (That is a reference to the Bachelorette, for those of you who watched it!)

Temple in the mountains

But, honestly it was so jaw dropping. The stunning, magnificent views that Courtney and I got to see were so surreal. It was so amazing, because whenever we wanted to stop and take pictures we could just hop off of our scooters, point and shoot! Really, it is hard for me to describe what this place is like, because I won't do it justice. It just really is that beautiful, with waterfalls running in every direction down the mountain side and water running through the mountains that is so blue you think that it may even be fake. Also, it was so cool, because there were little temples that just seemed as though they were squeezed into the mountain side and they looked as though they fit like a glove right in the mountain side.  But, as the cold, damp wind was whipping through our faces, while scootering, I couldn't care even the slightest bit, because I was too focused on the natural beauty that was surrounding me. I guess I will just have to have A LOT more visitors to come here to not ONLY see me, but Toroko Gorge!! So as the day came to an end, I really had the best 4 days with Courntey since I have been here. Although I really enjoyed spending a lot of time with her, it really did make me miss home that much more and realize how easy and nice it is to have people who understand you and make you feel happy and comfortable.

Waterfalls everywhere

Toroko 

Hopefully I can make it home at some point during the year!

Well, that is all for now, but look for another blog coming SOON, about my Christmas holiday here in Taiwan.

Thanks again to all of you who are reading and PLEASE, PLEASE pass my blog on to any others you know who may be interested, because I trying to start an formal blog for any person to read!!

Happy Holidays,

Olivia!!