Reflecting on Taipei, a year later

cheap and surprisingly delicious lattes at every 7-11 (mmm City Cafe)

riding our scooters fast through busy, vibrant downtown

every type of restaurant you could ever want at your fingertips... and the BEST Indian restaurants

the adventure of living in a big place.  Yes, i know that Taiwan isn't exactly a huge island, but it is much, much bigger than our island now.  

scooter day trips through the mountains and just seeing where we ended up 

our coworkers... couldn't have asked for better ones at Hsin Hu and Dahu!

20 minute exercise time every morning with the whole school before school started.  This was such a brilliant idea- it woke you up and got you energized for the day... especially needed on the days when we were drinking our coffee during exercise time.

"oh Taiwan... really?" moments

the excitement of learning and the accomplishment of speaking a new language.  I really miss hearing Mandarin Chinese in my ears everywhere I go.  It is such a beautiful language.

yoga classes in Taipei and carrying my mat on my scooter

the initial feeling of independence found in living overseas.  I still love this.

oh the shopping.  the cheap, wonderful shopping

our first few months in Taipei, everything was a curiosity and it was so fun!

cheap electricity

holing up inside of our apartment during most of the rainy week of Chinese New Year and watching 2 entire seasons of LOST

 all of the events that were constantly going on in Taiwan:  Lantern Festivals, Dragon Boat racing... there is never a dull moment

the enormous amount of gas money we saved while only riding scooters all year... although I would have given anything for a car when it was pouring rain on the way to work!

tall, misty, green, mysterious, breathtaking mountains

Taiwan is a gorgeous country and the people are incredibly kind and friendly.  We had the best experience there as English teachers for a little over a year.  If anyone is contemplating teaching there, we would love to answer any of your questions!

Happy Anniversary! 3 years and 3 countries

Today we're celebrating three years together! 6 years ago I walked into Tulakes Church, where I was starting my freshman internship, and met Brian. I was attracted to his sincerity, kindness, the way that he always treated me with respect, and how he loved to have fun. He still has all of those wonderful qualities and as we've spent the last three years living and traveling together, I've discovered so many more that make me fall more in love with him each year. I love you, baby!

A snow day in Oklahoma City. I remember snuggling up in his apartment on campus and watching movies, cooking, and drinking red tea during this snow day my sophomore year of college.

A roadtrip to St. Louis the summer before my junior year. We took countless roadtrips back when we lived in the states- something I'm really excited to do again one day. When we moved to Taiwan, those roadtrips turned into scooter trips, where we'd spend all day on our scooter exploring the mountains and towns of Taiwan.

Hiking in Mt. Scott- one of my first and favorite pictures of the two of us.

My senior year at a banquet dinner for the church I interned at.

Senior year- getting coffee at the Red Cup with our friend Holly.

In the airport getting ready to move across the world for the first time. It was a scary and exciting feeling to pack most of our things in a storage unit and the rest into our suitcases, to move to a country where they didn't speak our language. Now, we both agree that we wouldn't have traded moving to Taiwan for anything. Traveling was a huge passion and so important to both of us, and I'm glad that I went right out of college.
Halloween at Hsin Hu Kindergarten, the school I worked at last year.

And finally... moving to Saipan. We're here to stay on this little tropical island until we find a job in the states.

Happy Anniversary Brian, and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you!

Sayonara Taipei.... Hola Saipan!

Well hello....

We're here in the Taipei airport waiting for our flight to the Philippines. We said our last goodbyes yesterday :( (more difficult than I even expected!) and now it's time to move once again!

Here's what Brian's eating:

Here's what I'm drinking:

And here's our life in 6 bags... minus one that's under my feet right now

Countdown.... Saipan in 8 days!

Hello Everyone,

You all should check out the link on the post below to Brian's biking trip- the pictures are amazing and he had a great time.

Today was such a nice day: packing... lunch at an Indian restaurant in Taipei 101 (Indian food is my absolute favorite)... packing some more... then going for a swim/workout at Dahu Pool. I've been learning how to free-style swim and I've finally gotten to the point where I can make it a few times up and down the pool... it's a really big pool! I've found that I really love swimming, and I can't wait to get Scuba-diving certified when we get to Saipan. I can't wait to check out those beautiful coral reefs that people talk about there. I also want to get a really cheap little bike and do some cycling around the coast.

We received our itinerary for our flight next monday: We'll be leaving on Monday the 16th, flying to Manila (the Philippines), then to Guam, then on to Saipan. We'll officially arrive in Saipan on the 17th, and spend the next few days searching for housing, registering for my nursing classes, and getting to spend some time with our friends who live there. It's finally hit us that it's so soon and I'm starting to get really excited!

We're so grateful that we've had such a wonderful experience in Taiwan, and it's hard to leave the people here, but we're both ready for the challenge of a new place, new job, etc.

Below are some pictures for your viewing pleasure :) Rach

Central Cross Island Highway

CIMG1605, originally uploaded by BriMorris82.

2 days - 220 kilometers - 3500 meters of climbing - Cycling the infamous Central Cross Island Highway = One of the best bike trips I've ever done. I feel lucky that my pictures turned out so good. Most of my shots are taken while riding. I'd love it if you check them out, click the picture and it will take you to my flickr album - Enjoy!

For the LOVE of Taiwanese food - by Brian

This post goes out to my favorite cook in Taiwan. Our "Auntie" at my DaHu Kindergarten.

I took a few photos of what we had this week.

Shredded Pork with Orange Flowers

Green Vegetables and Rice

I've never eaten flowers before... they taste great!

Sweet and Sour Pork with Scrabbled Eggs

Topped with Bean Sprouts and Rice...YUM!

Shredded Pork with Vegetables

Quail Eggs and Rice...Delicious!

Shredded Pork with Green Peppers

Pineapple and Breaded Shrimp which is supposed bring me some luck!

I LOVE TAIWANESE FOOD!

Thoughts on Leaving

Hello Everyone,

We've been trying to update our blog more often, and I'm actually starting to really enjoy it! Here's a plethora of thoughts right now:

- Today is my day off and I've been packing and packing. Something I really love about traveling/living overseas is that it keeps your possessions simple. When you move around a lot, you just can't have a lot of stuff, and it's a really good incentive to get rid of old clothes and things we don't really use. I've got a coworker who is my size and she is going to get lots of presents on Monday!

-Brian's work gave us free tickets to see Inception tomorrow, at the new theatre that opened in Taipei Main Station. We're going with all of his coworkers tomorrow night- can't wait I've heard its amazing

-Yesterday was our one year anniversary in Taiwan... and I celebrated by getting my foot ran over by a taxi! It was really painful, but thank goodness nothing was broken! Crazy. I was on my scooter at a stop light, and the taxi behind me (and to the right) just couldn't wait for the light to turn green. He drove up right beside me, and right over my four toes and half of my foot! AND, the entire time, he was beeping his horn at me, like I was in his way! Taipei taxi drivers are actually really dangerous, and when I told my friend Alex, he said the same thing happened to him awhile ago... guess it's pretty common around here!

- I only have 15 more official days at work... I'm actually really sad about it. This year, I've had just about the best team of co-workers that you can have. Hopefully, though, we can all visit each other sometime in the future- they are all from different, really cool places all around the world: Canada, New Zealand, London, and America.

- Brian is taking a weekend biking trip through the mountains of Taiwan next weekend, so get ready for some beautiful pictures pretty soon! And be sure to check out the video he put in the post below- it's really cool.

Rachel

This a great video I found that shows a lot of what we see here in Taiwan - Enjoy!

Hello everyone! Our time in Taiwan is going by quickly. We will be leaving our little island for a smaller island in the Pacific. In three weeks Rachel and I will start a new adventure in Saipan. I will be a Guidance Counselor for the island's Junior High School and Rachel will be going back to school for Nursing. We are both really excited about our new location but at the same time we are noticing all the little things we will miss in Taiwan. I saw this video the other day and thought it was a great take on Taiwan. Enjoy!

Brian

The day we saw a cobra

This is an incense offering in Bishan temple. People who come to worship here will light their stick of incense and go through a ritual of bowing and praying.

Bishan temple

A super popular milk tea stand in the Nangang area- when we passed by, there were over 30 people lined up for one cup of milk tea!

Our pretty city- Neihu, Taiwan, as you drive by Dahu Park

Yum! fresh squeezed orange juice

Don't look down! This hiking trail was so fun- there were 4 mountain peaks with these stairs built into them, which let you climb all the way to the narrow peaks.

Brian climbing to the top of one

The view on the way up. These trails were in Pinxi, which is the same city that hosts the famous "Lantern Festival" every year.

Here are pictures from another hike that we took with some friends from work. The hike was in the mountains right behind our apartment, and the trail started in the park at the end of our street.

This was.... right after we saw a cobra. Yes, a real, live cobra blocking our path on the trail. We were all walking up the trail steps and heard a loud hissing noise, and saw Austin (our friend's golden retriever) freak out and jump out of the way. A giant "Chinese Cobra" was sitting there, like 4 feet away from us! He was hissing and had his hood all puffed up... but soon just slithered away into the woods. So crazy!

We made it to the top of the trail

The trail ends at Bishan Temple, and overlooks Taipei City