Summer Recap

It seems fitting that I'm writing this as I watch the rain come down in torrents from my apartment window on our surprise "Typhoon Day" off from school. I can't believe the summer went by so fast! I am already into my second week of my THIRD year in Taipei. Time really does fly when you're having fun :)

I decided to use my time off today to organize pictures from the summer (i.e. reminisce about all the fabulous moments) in order to actually get back into the blog world as I have been noticeably absent since...errr...April? So what better way to start a new year than with a look back at the past three months! Here we go (mostly in picture form, of course)...

Summer 2013 consisted of three major events:
1. Anna's wedding in Virginia Beach and my surrounding East Coast travels
2. My three week-long Europe trip bouncing from London to Rome to Ireland
3. Ben and Amanda's wedding in Cville for one last hurrah before returning to Asia

Let's start with Anna's Wedding:
There is no better way to start the summer than with old friends! The Bachelorette Party in Charlottesville was a blast and the wedding two weeks later was just gorgeous.

Loving my time on the Lawn with the bride-to-be!

TEAM BRIDE ready for action!

All of the ladies at the Rehearsal Dinner

Couldn't have asked for a better date!

Just about ready to walk down the aisle <3 

Next it was off to Europe for three weeks:
The purpose of going to Europe was for a Professional Development (teaching) course in London. The BENEFIT of going to Europe was getting to travel around and eat my weight in delicious food! Jordan joined me after the course, and we made our way from London to Rome and finally to Ireland. Rome has always been at the top of my "to visit" list, and it didn't disappoint! And to be honest, there was no way any of those locations could "disappoint!"

Stopping for the iconic Buckingham Palace photo while on our bike tour of London

Enjoying one of many pints during the London experience :)

At the Trevi Fountain! Good thing the crowds are cropped out of the photo...

Stop #3 on the most amazing food tour of Rome

Bringing a little bit of Asia to Rome

Biking the oldest existing road in the world: the Appian Way!

The best first stop to make in Dublin

Stopping for a scenic pic along the "Ring of Kerry" in Ireland

And finally the summer ended with one more wedding...for Ben and Amanda!:
This was definitely the summer of weddings! I flew back to Virginia for one more celebration the weekend before coming back to Taipei. It was for my friends Ben and Amanda from college, and it was a great way to end a fabulous summer. Having the chance to revisit my favorite restaurants, bars, and vineyards was just icing on the cake.

The happy couple :)

Beautiful friends on a beautiful occasion!

And that wraps up the summer of 2013! Here's to the next one!

TAS does MUN in KL

April travels bring...wanting to stay home in May!! The past month has been a flurry of plane flights, different countries, and unfamiliar beds. First Korea, then Hong Kong, and finally Malaysia, but I can't complain too much, right? I signed up for all of it!

This past weekend was spent in Kuala Lumpur at a Middle School MUN [Model United Nations] conference at Mont'Kiara International School. I traveled along with 13 8th graders, 2 high schoolers, and 1 other coach to represent TAS at the conference. Last year was my first year having anything to do with MUN, and I felt like I spent the entire year confused. But THIS year I actually have a vague idea of what is happening, so I was semi-helpful! It was fun getting to know a new group of kids, especially 8th graders as sometimes I feel like I'm stuck in the 6th-grade-Twilight-Zone.

Ready to get started on the first day!

The nice thing about traveling with TAS kids is that they are super attentive and really sweet, so the weekend was a breeze. Our team represented France, and right away all the other coaches were asking, "What school are the French delegates from??" It's a nice feeling to know that all of the hard work the kids [and the coaches!!] put into preparing were well worth it. By the end of the conference, almost half of our delegates won awards - a pretty major accomplishment considering there were about 250 delegates there!

Looking classy and ready to dominate!

Official group photo

Helping out in the Advisory Panel room. Luckily I kind of know what to do this year!

Next week we our hosting our own MUN conference, and then it will be time for a breather before the cycle starts again next year. I'm definitely looking forward to a travel free May!

Surviving Seoul

Over the past few years of living in Asia, I have typically utilized all of my vacation time to visit new countries...and especially new beaches. Spring Break is the holiday that seems to call out the most for beach time as it serves as a reminder that summer is close and gives a brief respite before digging into the home stretch. This year, however, I decided to spend my Spring Break a little differently: chaperoning a school trip to Seoul, South Korea.

How did I get sucked into technically working during my holiday, you might ask? Answer: Jordan is very convincing. He sponsors a club in the Upper School called ConNeKt - a group of students who work to raise money for North Korean defectors living in South Korea. They are connected with an organization in Seoul called Durihana run by a pretty spectacular man named Pastor Chun who personally goes to help rescue North Korean refugees. [Click here for a PBS video that is quite informative and moving about Durihana and Pastor Chun's work]. I decided that actually having an educational [not to mention free] Spring Break that might actually give back to others sounded well worth it!

The other question you might be thinking is: why in the world did you go to South Korea in the midst of Kim Jong-Un's crazy threats against the US and S. Korea?? Answer: Once again, Jordan is very convincing and assured me that it was safe. BUT I was still thinking the same thing as we got on the plane last week [especially since I was in charge of 10 students] - yet when we got to Seoul, Jordan was right. There were no signs of war or concerns from the people there. It seems as though North Korea's rhetoric has been heard so many times in the South that they just ignore it now.

We spent the first two days of the trip working with North Korean refugee children who live and go to school at Durihana. None of them spoke English, but most of them spoke Chinese and/or Korean, so it was easy for our students to communicate with them [though Jordan and I were left in the dark for most of the interactions, for better or for worse]. The last two days we spent going to various historical sites, shopping districts, and eating areas...and yes, we did go to the DMZ and saw North Korea! Pretty intense. And now that I've rambled on, I will explain the details of the trip via photos. Note: there are no pictures of the North Korean defectors because it's too dangerous for them to have pictures online as many still have family members in North Korea.

Arrival at Incheon Airport - definitely one of the nicest airports in Asia. Wayyyy better than Taipei's...

The first of many meat grilling meals. Yummy but my body was seriously craving veggies by the end of the week.

A view outside of Durihana. This is where we spent the first two days working with the North Korean defectors.

Seoul City Tour: stop at the World Cup Stadium.

GANGNAM STYLE!

Posing in front of one of the many palaces in Seoul, which was actually destroyed by the Japanese and has been completely rebuilt.

We missed out on the English tour, so the guidebook was the next best option!

Walking the back streets of old Seoul.

Locks of Love at the Seoul North Tower. Apparently it's a tradition to leave a lock to have everlasting love, but we didn't have a lock with us...oops!

I had to get a picture with this dude after I saw him chop bamboo in half with one swipe of his sword!

Enjoying the sunset at the Han River.

The official DMZ photo. Glad we didn't get caught in a war!

One of the kids was a great photographer, so he kept snapping pics of us!

Posing in front of the Korean War Memorial. Quite a dramatic statue.

Strolling along the Cheonggyeocheon Stream that runs through the middle of Seoul on our last day in the city.

All in all a very good trip, but I must say that I was a bit relieved to get off the plane in Taipei and know that we were on neutral ground.

Riding Time!

Spring Break has finally started [sweet glory!], and there was no better way to spend my first day of freedom than at the barn. Heike [the new German trainer at Connie's stable who is super nice] offered to give me a jumping lesson!! I convinced Jordan to come be the official horse photographer again with promises that jumping is much more exciting to watch than dressage. It also happened to be a super nice day, so he acquiesced.

I haven't ridden outside much at the barn because they seem to want to do lessons in the indoor, and I had forgotten how nice it is to be outside! Lara [the horse I ride, not a person] was also pretty pumped about the fresh air - she had her ears perked and was motoring along quite smoothly. And as soon as we started to jump, she was PSYCHED! Apparently she is an ex-show jumping horse, and it totally showed. Luckily I didn't give Jordan any heart-attacks, and he managed to get a few good pics of me over fences [please ignore the small height of the jumps...it's been awhile since I've jumped!].

Lara wasn't sure what to make of Jordan and his camera. Look at those perky ears!

So much more fun to ride outside!

Here we go! Time to start jumping!

How can you resist that face??

Taking a breather after a couple of fences...more for me than for Lara.

Yay! I haven't forgotten how to do it!

All in all, a pretty great day :)

Spirit Week 2013!

What an exhausting week. Between history tests, MUN meetings, finding Spirit Week costumes, working on the bulletin board, and daily assemblies, I've had a lot on my plate! But we all survived! Spirit Week is an exciting time in the Middle School, but it definitely involves a lot of work.

On Thursday the lightbulb seemed to go off for most of the 6th graders, and they jumped whole-heartedly into the cheers and Spirit Week games. It's always nice to end the week with a bang! Here's a photo week-in-review:

Ready to start the games in the Upper Gym!

Multiples Day! 

The Grade 6 Team is always good at matching :)

Oh hey, Seneca Crane, President Snow and Effie Trinket. Hunger Games for the win!

Apparently a child decided that the Kung Fu Panda head was just too much to handle...

The 6th graders eagerly awaiting the next game!

History Teachers win the best costume award on Character Day! (In my opinion)

How preciously cute is this costume?? A brilliant Food Day costume!

Food Day: Black-eyed Peas! Brilliant!

6th grade bulletin board: Deep Sea theme. Sadly we only got 3rd place :(

7th grade bulletin board: 2nd place finishers.

8th grade bulletin board: great art, but I thought ours was cuter!

Yay! One whole year till the next time! My favorite quote about Spirit Week from Tom, the English teacher I worked with last year who retired: "The best part about Spirit Week is Friday at 4 o'clock." Touche.

Elephant Mountain

Last weekend was one of the most gorgeous I have yet to experience in Taipei. Clear skies, 80 degrees, pleasant breeze, low humidity...in other words, perfection. To utilize such beautiful weather [and to get off the couch] Jordan and I decided to head out on a day trek across the city to Elephant Mountain, near Taipei 101. It's been awhile since I have hiked despite my determination to do more of it this school year since there are lots of great trails super close to the city.

Our first stop on our way down from Tienmu was, of course, some food. Jordan and I have been wanting to try a new salad place that opened up down in the Daan district, a bit of a trek from our suburb. The place is called Dressed, and it felt like walking into America! Great salads and REAL avocado - a total novelty in Taiwan. It was a great healthy start to an outdoor day!

Massive cobb salad with an almost caterpillar-like pile of avocado. Yum!

Delicious prosciutto sandwich with arugula. Both of which I can't resist!

After our refreshing lunch, we decided to walk over towards 101 and explore the back alleys of Daan. Much to Jordan's chagrin, we happened upon the pet store street, and I had to stop and look at every single kitty and puppy along the windows. A fluffy animal is definitely on my birthday list this year...

Random Taipei street market in the back alleys.

KUNG FU INTERNET!

Pet store street. Le sigh.

Yet another bad Taiwanese store sign. What in the world does the name even mean??

Attack of the koi fish!

The hike ended up being a perfect excursion for those of us who haven't walked up a mountain in a while [cough, cough...me]. The beginning of it was super steep with lots of stairs, but then it leveled out and offered up some pretty incredible views of the city and Taipei 101. We wandered around up on the mountain for about an hour, but there are trails that you could wander down for an entire day if you had the time. Despite the nice weather, there weren't too many people so we totally lucked out. After the hike we treated ourselves to a cold brew at Gordon Biersch...a perfect end to a Taipei city adventure!

Cute elephants to start us out on our hike!

Either that's one giant plant or we're pretty high up!

Artistic view courtesy of Jordan the photographer. 

Yay! We made it to the top!

A perfect treat after a successful hike :)