Horsin' Around

After a busy few weeks in October, I'm finally back in the saddle...literally. I have been continuing to ride this year thanks to my friend, Connie, who has a lovely stable and beautiful horses. I'm still trying to get into the dressage "mind frame" i.e. lean back and sit down!! It's not always easy when I'm really only riding once a week or every other week, but getting to be around the horses is what counts. The ultimate stress relief!

Jordan has also been wondering what I'm doing every Saturday afternoon that takes so long, so I finally decided to let him along to watch. Conveniently he is quite a good photographer, which meant that he was designated the official photographer for the day at the barn. He managed to capture some really cool shots of the barn interior and cool lighting in the arena. Too bad his main subject (me) didn't look better on the horse!

Carrot time for the horsies!

How could you resist this face??

Some of the horses got a bit greedy for more carrots...

There's just something about being around horses that makes everything feel special. 

Ready to show my (not so impressive) moves!

The hot weather was making both Lara and me feel tired...hence the slow walk :) 

I spy large man feet...

Trying to follow instructions that are half in English and half in Chinese is not the easiest thing in the world.

Gorgeous day for a walk outside!

Sometimes you just have to scratch that itch!!

Love horsey kisses!

Most content dog in the world.

Connie and her daughter with their new horse!

Hard to beat that view of Taipei!

An Asian Oktoberfest

Last weekend I had the chance to combine some of my favorite things: German beer, bratwurst, lots of friends, and Lederhosen. Every October the local German restaurant, Wendel's, hosts a rather impressive few weeks of traditional Oktoberfest shenanigans. They fly in German waiters and waitresses, German beer, and even a oompah band! This year we did the smart thing and made a reservation for a Saturday night rather than a Tuesday night like last year [let's just say that was a not a fun Wednesday to be teaching], and we managed to gather over 15 people to jump on the band wagon! Our group combined with the other TAS teacher group AND a bunch of TAS parents meant that we pretty much dominated the place! Overall, everyone had a blast and went home with a full tummy...and probably a Sunday headache :) Sometimes it's just worth it thought!

Oh hey giant beer tower...we're gonna finish you!

Giant cheese and meat platter

2nd Oktoberfest together <3 

Lori and me getting ready to delve into the cheese platter!

Two excited men: one in the background shouting about beer and the other in the foreground cheering him on.

Meat anyone? 

A happy group of Oktoberfest revelers :)

Back on the Blog Wagon

Okay, I will be the first to admit that I have gotten a little bit...ummm...behind on my blog project. And by "behind" I mean that I haven't written a post in almost 5 months. But it's not because nothing has been happening!! A lot has happened in those 5 months:

- Finishing my first year of teaching at TAS

- Taking a trip to Taroko Gorge and driving down the famous East Coast Highway of Taiwan

- Spending a glorious summer in America visiting family and best friends

- Visiting Japan with Jordan as a last hurrah before school started

- Starting my SECOND year at TAS [and realizing that second year is way better than first year]

- Celebrating my quarter-century birthday with new and old friends

- Surviving my second Camp Taiwan experience with a new set of 6th grade kiddos

- Drooling over Adam Levine at the Maroon 5 concert in Taipei

- Hosting an American visitor...one of my best friends from Boulder, Rosebud!

- Going to Hong Kong for a mini-vacation...and actually having time to take a Friday off!

See?? I promise that I haven't just been sitting on the couch doing nothing! In my typical gypsy-like fashion, I have been running around the world, enjoying new experiences, delicious food, and good friends. Can't complain about this life!

Next up this weekend: Oktoberfest Taiwanese-style! This will definitely be a blog worthy post...just you wait!

Double the Gaga

I have always wanted to see Lady Gaga in concert (born this way baby!) and last week I finally got my chance...twice! Yes, I went two nights in a row to see the exact same concert, but it was totally worth it. The first night I went with one of the parents from school because she had extra tickets - and the "seats" were SWEET (it was actually standing room). I'm talking right at the front where I could actually have legitimate hopes that Lady Gaga would notice me and pull me on stage (unfortunately that didn't happen but it could have). She sounded just as good in person as she does recorded - and she definitely wasn't lip-synching. Of course there was quite a lot of cussing and more than a few dominatrix outfits, but what else can you expect from Gaga?

The crowd (with large amounts of pink glow sticks) eagerly awaits the opening of the curtains at promptly 7:30 pm.

Ready to rock!

Can't remember what song this was for, but she glided around the stage like she was on a machine or something. Cool and creepy at the same time.

I wanted to reach out and touch her!

Dominatrix outfit #5

The second night I went with Lori and Georgina, and even though we weren't nearly as close to the stage, we could still see pretty well. The major difference was the fact that we had seats whereas the night before I stood the whole time. The three of us assumed that once the concert started, everyone would stand up because that's what happens at concerts...right? Apparently that is NOT the case in Taiwan. We stood up anyways to dance, and inspired a few other brave souls around us to do the same thing, which resulted in getting told off a few times by the security guards. Luckily we could play the "we're foreigners and don't understand" card, and danced around anyways. I mean come ON...it's a concert! Enjoy yourselves! Other than that minor mishap, Night #2 was just as good as Night #1...and going twice was totally worth it.

TONS of people lined up to buy their Gaga gear. We did not join the queue. 

Ready for the concert to get started! Notice the empty seats around us - that's because most people decided to get there 5 minutes AFTER the concert started. Weird.

Good view of the stage!

Totally on a post-concert high! Ready to head to the W hotel to stalk Lady Gaga.

Celebratory drinks for a successful concert and a legitimate attempt to get Gaga's autograph at the W since she was staying there.

I can now check two things off my life bucket list: see Lady Gaga in concert AND go to a concert in a different country. BOOM! Done.

Riding in Taiwan

I finally found a place to ride in Taipei!! I shipped my helmet and boots here last summer in hopes that I would come across a barn, but the barn actually found me. The mother of one of my students owns a beautiful stable in the mountains only 10 minutes from TAS, and she invited me to come riding with her. I'm so glad I took her up on the offer - the barn is gorgeous and the horses are just lovely. She rides dressage, though, so I'm having to go back to my experiences as a 10 year old (which I'm pretty sure is the last time I did dressage) which is note easy. My body doesn't quite remember what I'm supposed to do! Nevertheless, I am now eagerly looking forward to Saturdays for more reasons than just wanting to sleep in - I have rediscovered my passion on the other side of the world!

Begging for some treats!

Horsey power shower after a long and sweaty lesson.

Just hanging out waiting to get saddled up. Love the nice open spaces!

Oh hello! The horses are all extremely spoiled and love their treats - can't blame them!

Gazing out to freedom.

Spacious outdoor - unfortunately all the rain makes it hard to ride out there.

The biggest of the three barns. All the horses can stick their heads over the edge of the stalls and are quite happy about that!

This is Lara, my current partner in crime who is patiently suffering my attempts to get back into riding shape.