I'm on a boat!

Funny how things never shake out as you expect them to. Crewing on Furthur for the past month has been an absolute blast and not at all like anticipated. Adjusting to the "work load" was probably the biggest surprise in that there basically wasn't much of one. I knew crewing on a powerboat, versus a sailboat, would mean less work but I didn't realize just how little. My main responsibility was keeping the captain happily fed.  Not so difficult for someone who loves to cook and feed people...


Despite the jokes (so, what's your uniform?) and many peoples' leeriness of potential creepiness in this whole situation, everything turned out fine. I'd be lying if I denied the obvious fact that the captain likes to have girls around and that he likes to brag a bit about that. Whatever, boys will be boys. But overall Brian was easy to get along with and a ton of fun to listen to. This guy has stories about everything! We listened to him chat about everything under the sun- riding into bars on horses, participating in political campaigns, swimming with sharks, being married (x3), being an alcoholic (formerly) and a debatably crazy hippy, etc etc etc. The stories were never-ending and endlessly entertaining.  He is one of those kinds of people who believes that anything done in moderation is a cop-out. And he lives by those lines- he's 60 and cruising around the world for Pete's sake!  I guess the strangest thing about being on board was dealing with his affinity for the local culture (i.e. girly bars) but hey, to each their own I guess. I learned so much from Brian and I will be forever grateful for all the good times, lessons taught and experiences shared. 


Now folks have been asking for this a good bit so here we go... The daily routine while on board went as such: wake up to Brian's coffee grinder around 7:30, have tea over a morning chat, read on top the boat for a bit, give Brian his breakfast (cereal mostly but some days we got fancy with eggs or pancakes). Then we'd either cruise to the next anchoring spot or start out on the day's activities.  Diving, snorkeling, swimming, hanging out on little beaches, kayaking through lagoons, caves, mangrove forests, etc, all were regular activities on Furthur.  After playing awhile we'd come in for lunch when I'd make Brian a sandwich and throw something together for myself (having fresh veggies, cheese and hummus at my disposal was like Heaven!) Around this time of the day is when Brian would have his nap or write on his blog.  We joked that we'd have to put him down for his nap like a baby... not too far from the truth :) I'd layout, read, swim, do whatever until he'd be up and ready for a chitchat.  Then we'd do another activity or take a dinghy ride to explore around the area we were anchored in.  (A dinghy is the small, inflatable, outboard motorboat that every big boat has to have in order to get to shore, boat around and go on shorts trips.)  Then one of my favorite parts of the day would come round; poo-poo platter time. I was unfamiliar with this lovely phrase but very fond of the idea: a plate of nibbles awhile before dinner.  My master poo-poo platters included meats, cheeses, veggies, crackers, hummus, chips and salsa, fruit, etc. with smoothies and maybe a beer or glass of wine (for crew, never Brian!)... needless to say I don't think I lost any weight while crewing but I definitely enjoyed myself/ ate like a king.  We'd then read, watch the sunset, I'd normally tidy up the boat and start planning dinner.  


I cooked pretty much every night on the boat because I missed cooking so much but sometimes we went to shore to have dinner and check out the local scene. I fixed everything from Thai stir-frys to pan-roasted chicken breasts to homemade pizza to pasta salad.  And even a chocolate almond pie!  Luckily Brian was easy to please and never led on if he secretly hated my cooking :) Dinner time, as it is at home, is always one of my favorite parts of the day.  What made it even better on Furthur was Brian's daily tradition of holding hands before eating and having everyone say what they were grateful for that day.  It was a very sweet and reflective way to end the day (and we had a lot to be thankful for!) After chatting often for a long time and cleaning up the kitchen we would settle in for a movie (1 of the umpteen million on his hard drive) and then call it a night. It's actually kinda embarrassing writing this all out... it was as ridiculous and enjoyable as it sounds...


Before everyone starts cursing my name, let me come to my own defense. There was 1 week when we pulled the boat out of the water for some much-needed cleaning when we did a lot of work. Mainly the hull (bottom of the boat) needed to be repainted and scrapped clean of all the barnacles (so sooo gratifying) and scrubbed down in every corner.  That meant days filled with cleaning the bathrooms, moping the floors, rubbing down the entire boat with Murphy's soap to make it shiny, waxing all the chrome on the boat, cleaning out all the clutter, doing inventory of the food (after lots of crew and no organization things were pretty interesting), getting seat cushions fixed, etc! Don't feel too sorry for me though, we did spend the latter part of each day at the marina's swimming pool :)    


So maybe I haven't learned to navigate the sea by the stars but I did have a wonderful time. What's wrong with some good ole enjoyment for enjoyment's sake every once in awhile, hm? I feel very lucky to have been introduced to this incredible sub-culture of boating and the amazing people and places that come with it.  I think next time I would like to try crewing on a sailboat, even just to learn the differences, but it something that I most definitely would like to do again some day.


Below are a bunch of photos, some of Brian's, other crew member's and mine, from my time on the boat:

one of the first days on board, cruising to some beautiful islands

compulsory jump off the top of the boat,

taken in Maya Bay where the movie, The Beach, was filmed

Captain Brian hard at work

one of the many incredible sunsets we enjoyed at the end of the day

the disappearing beach between 2 islands that faded away with high tide

 kayaking through some big ole rocks

kayaking out of a cave

kayaking through a cave into a massive lagoon

kayaking up to beautiful, secluded beaches...

told you we did lots of kayaking!

rock climbing- not so scary when you can jump 

into the water once you don't want to go any higher

under the sea with some fishies 

Brian at his best, scuba diving

peace to the world, above and below the water's surface

dinghy ride through mangrove forests 

one of the million fishing boats that light up the horizon at night

adorable and very functional village on stilts in the middle of nowhere

our new Iranian friends we met on the island where the 

James Bond movie, Man with the Golden Gun, was filmed 

Furthur out of the water and in the boat yard 

while we did some serious fixing and cleaning up

see! told yall we did lots of work!

and welcome to Phuket, hop in line for your one of a kind massage

best way to celebrate my 24th!

birthday dive with the lovely Marina, 

other crew member from Germany 

lovely little family fishing boat

the close to another day in paradise 

lucky lady I am to have experienced beautiful places like this!

Thanks SO much again to the wonderful Brian Calvert for letting me come crew on Furthur- it is an experience I'll surely never forget! And you never know, maybe I'll be back sometime soon :)

byebye, Bali

Once I recovered from the temporary depression after my family returned to the States, I set out to enjoy my last week in Bali. I went to the beautiful and relatively remote Balangan beach for a few days to celebrate New Years with my fun and crazy Englishtown friends.  It's always difficult to leave a place and its people behind but I very much enjoyed my time in Bali and know that its time to go. I've been ready for the next adventure I have coming up...


As soon as I realized the Englishtown teaching gig was not what I wanted to do long term I knew exactly what I wanted to do after leaving Bali and before I found my next job. I wanted to work on a boat. And that's exactly what I will do. You could say that I like to consider myself a skills-oriented person and for some time now I've been wanting to acquire some new skills. Some nautical skills, that is. I may not have many skills but I'd like to add knot-tying, sea navigation, driving a dinghy, words like stateroom, starboard!, 7 knots ahead, and ahoy! to my vocabulary and list of capabilities. 


How does one with absolutely no boating experience do this, you ask? It's called findacrew.net. A friend told me about it awhile back and I've been a member for over a year. People like me, inexperienced but eager and willing to learn!, can get work exchanges on boats cruising all around the world. My list of competencies included things such as: cook, photographer, nanny, hostess, good conversationalist, etc. nothing certifiable, impressive or really even marketable. But low and behold, I have been contacted by boats the world over looking for crew.  Mind you, I had to weed out the ones who checked the "looking for romantic relationships" box and find those that seemed to be a good fit. And I've found him!

Furthur, the Selene Trawler I'll come home for the next month

The captain of the boat Furthur, Brian Calvert and I have been emailing back and forth for a time now and I've been invited to join his crew starting in early January. I'll be on board for a month and see how it goes from there. He has been cruising around the world starting in Seattle for over 2 years now and seems to have a good time wherever he goes. He has had over 30 people from findacrew on his boat who all give him rave reviews and highly recommend working with him. His emails are funny, enthusiastic and he's a 60 year old non-drinker, safety nut. I think I'll be in good hands :)


The plan is to meet the boat in Chalong Bay, Phuket, Thailand and cruise-scuba dive-enjoy our way around the many beautiful southern islands of the western coast of Thailand. Twist my arm. 


Here's to hoping that this isn't too good to be true and that I have sea legs...

The Pickrens do Bali!

I cut a deal with my beloved family when I decided to leave, more or less indefinitely, for Asia. The deal was that wherever I was over Christmas, they'd come visit. And the poor souls had to deliver and come see me in Bali.  When I say I was excited about them coming I don't mean your usual, everyday excited. I'm talking about the kind of excited that makes you miss sleep, unable to talk about anything else and tricks you into getting dates wrong so that your brain believes they're arriving 2 days before they actually are... Without a doubt the worst part of being away from home is being away from my parents and my sisters. I've missed them terribly so this reunion meant quite a lot to all of us. 


After surviving the hellish ordeal of flying stand-by, the evils of Air Asia (and lost luggage), and the #1 boat company on my shit list (Oceanstar), we were all finally reunited together on Gili Meno. We enjoyed the next few days hanging out on the beautiful beach, reading, snorkeling, and catching up. From Gili Meno we headed back to Bali and settled into a cute bungalow in Ubud.  We went to markets, explored the town, shopped, went on a wonderful bike tour (highly recommended but with a word of caution- only do the "uphill addition" at the end if you are really up for it. we learned our lesson:)), saw a traditional Balinese dance performance, and ate like kings.  I apologize for the quick recap of the trip but to be honest, what we did doesn't really matter. Of course I hope my family enjoyed the trip I planned out for them and I hope they love Bali as much as I do. But as cheesy as it sounds they could have come to visit me in a box and I would've been happy. 


Below is a random sample of some pictures of their trip. They were only here a short while before heading back before New Years to their respective lives in the US. It went by so fast and I wish they were still here!

 

mom and dad getting serious on a traditional long boat, Gili Meno

dad with his girls in front of our bamboo bungalow on Gili Meno

Merry Christmas!

hardcore. long boat ride back to Gili Trawangan

bike tour through the rice paddy fields outside Ubud

we love bikes! especially mom :) 

one of the beautiful fields we walked through

to learn how the farmers harvest rice

dinner after a traditional Balinese dance show

sistas

If you're not the corny type than I suggest you stop reading at this point and move along. We're not all saps, I understand. But what needs to be said has to be said: I love my family. Absolutley adore them. It actually hurts sometimes when I think about how much I love them. While I know I'll never fully fathom how lucky I am, I think I've always known how blessed I am to have the parents and sisters that I do.  Even with the accidental arguements, political differences and that fact that I'll most likely always be 11 in their eyes, they are everything to me.  Being gone helps to give me a nice perspective on exactly how fortuante I am to have them in my life. I do not know what I would do or who I would be without my folks' and sisters' love and support.  I'm so grateful for them taking the time off from their busy lives (coordinating 5 individual schedules is not easy!) and flying around the world so that we could be together.  I hope they know how much I love, admire and appreciate them. While its difficult to not be at home with them, I take them with me everywhere I go and look forward to the next time we'll all be together again. To the Pickrens, from far and wide, I LOVE YOU!

down on the farm

A few days ago at my weekly farming day with IDEP, the marketing coordinator came out and got some great photos that I thought I'd share... This also was the day I met another Georgian volunteering with IDEP. What a small world?! It was so nice to talk to someone from home! He and his wife have been traveling the world since doing the Peace Corps together.  They have recently started an international nonprofit that's doing wonderful things, check it out: The GROW Initiative

 

when not teaching...

Now that I'm a working lady, there are some pretty wonderful things that I have to look forward to outside of work. Truth be told, these are the things that are keeping me happy and engaged here in Bali. I know I am very fortunate to be calling Bali my temporary home and to have found these lovely little pockets...

1. The farm 

Here we have the organic farm where I volunteer at every week. I like to volunteer, I like to play in the dirt, I like farms, I like NGOs so when I found IDEP volunteering for them was a no-brainer. This local NGO is doing excellent work in everything from disaster relief to permaculture design courses for Balinese farmers. And every Friday they have an open Garden Day when anyone can come help out on the farm. I've been able to help with loads of fun stuff like composting, soil bed preparation, planting veggie seeds, etc. On these Garden Days, IDEP has a wonderful policy that everyone in the office comes out to work on the farm so I've had the pleasure of becoming friends with some remarkable people doing amazing work for their island. Below is the 1st Garden Day I worked when we laid out the design for the herb garden and readied the soil for planting in a few weeks. 

2. The yoga

I was introduced to this amazing yoga studio, The Power of Now Oasis, by 2 new and wonderful friends I met through couchsurfing (more on that in a minute). This place is situated right off the beach so when you're doing yoga you can see the ocean in front of you and literally feel the ocean breeze. Pretty nice spot for yoga, I say. The building itself is beautiful as the entire structure consists of a 2 story, open walled bamboo hut.  The grassy patch of land around it is peppered with hammocks and lotus flowers trees. This place is idyllic to say the least. The yoga classes are lead by local instructors and attended by locals, old lady expats and young yogis alike. I'd sleep here if I could convince the owner but I do well with the few mornings a week that I start my day here and then head to work.

3. The Balinese culture

At any give moment, on any given day there is a Balinese ceremony going on. This culture knows how to celebrate- full moons, weddings, 3 month olds' birthdays, funerals, you name it.  Dressed in their finest traditional garb, the family, the massive extended family and anyone that might know the family come to help celebrate whatever the occasion. It is highly likely that one such parade/ procession as this will cross your path when you're out and about on a seemingly uneventful day. These ceremonies normally involve visiting the local temple and giving elaborately constructed offerings of fruit and the like to the specific Hindu god of the occasion. Then a big ceremonial procession, either behind something like an extremely done-up bride and groom or an extremely well decorated coffin, will make the rounds from the house to the local temple. The participating crowd plays music as some have drums, symbols, xylophones around their necks and the others dance while moving along. It's an absolutely lovely thing to see.

4.The beauty that is Bali

It's never-ending. It just doesn't stop. You think you've found your favorite beach spot, temple or scenic drive and you instantly fall in love with another 5 minutes later. There are the beautiful and empty black sand beaches of towns like Lovina in the North that carry into the best snorkeling spots on the East coast like Tulamben and Amed. Then you wind down South towards the wider, white sand beaches of Sanur and Kuta that attract surfers from all over the world. Next is the Bukit Peninsula that's home to massive cliffs towering over deserted beaches and supporting ancient temples like Uluwatu. And where beaches like Panang Panang have a lagoon-like feel with its little pools of water separated by boulders and little caves. Once you start heading up the West coast you get into serious surf country that eventually leads to the national park area that protects miles of jungle and the various animals that dwell inside. Then of course there's the beautiful interior that makes you realize instantly that all possibilities of describing the terraced rice fields are futile. There just are no words and its simply too green to describe. And don't forget the looming active volcano, Agung, that sits just over 3,000 meters tall at once protecting and threatening the small island. Seriously, the natural beauty here just never stops.

5. The friends

I have met some fantastic people so far... the other teachers at Englishtown who know about everything that's going on and are always up for a beer, a dinner or a chat (normally centered around making fun of our jobs and students). My farm friends who love playing in the dirt even more than I do so we automatically get along. And then there is the wonderful network that is couchsurfing. For those of yall who are not familiar with couchsurfing it is an international network of like-minded, travel-crazy, people and culture-loving individuals who open up their homes to travelers. You sleep on the couch, in their extra bedroom but above all the point is cultural exchange and to gain an insider/ local's perspective to the place you are visiting. I've recently starting using it much more and could sing its praises for days. I lucked out beyond belief when I incidentally started my stay in Bali with a lovely French-Indonesian couple who might possibly be the most welcoming human beings on the planet. Not only have they opened up their home to me but they have been extremely supportive friends while I've been figuring out what to do about the teaching situation. The moment I knew I wasn't going to stay at the teaching job they told me I was welcome to stay for as long as I needed. At one point when I feared I was overstaying my welcome and told them I was going to stay at friend's they asked me what the problem was and if something was wrong, for why else would I leave? How nice! Besides the couple who adopted me, I have met some fantastic people here that are all part of the couchsurfing community. 2 of which have become very good friends that I truly truly hope will be in my life far into the future. Please meet the lovely Leslie (that's her with me on the farm) who I spent hours talking and scheming up plans for our lives with. And Joseph who I don't know what I would have done without him here in Bali. We spent hours talking about everything under the sun- international work and NGO banter to sourpatch kids and talking trees :)

welcome to Englishtown everyone!

Almost immediately after Vasae left in mid-August to go back to the States I started looking around for English teaching jobs in Asia. After lots of considering, applying, interviewing and hoping, I got a job with Englishtown in Bali, Indonesia. I worked it out to continue traveling for awhile and then try it out for the month of November before signing any sort of binding contract. 

Like I mentioned before, because its an online school where you basically teach to students through skype, I was a bit apprehensive. My teaching style relies very heavily on personal interaction and connection with the students and playing around... Those are all rather difficult when you are not actually with your students. But I wanted to be optimistic and wanted to give it a try. Also, I was able to be a substitute teacher for the after school English classes next door with Englishtown's partner school, English First.  A new challenge (and living in Bali!) right??

After light training I was thrown into my class and started with my new work schedule. It took awhile to get the swing of things. I'm not a very technical person/ I'm technologically challenged so the fact that my job revolves around computers is pretty funny.  It's multitasking galore at Etown. First and foremost you have to make sure your students can see the slides (just like a power-point presentation), that they can hear you, and that they know how to use their microphone to speak back to you. Sometimes tricky when hello is difficult. Then you conduct class to a group of 2-10 Chinese, Russian, Brazilian, Mexican, Indian, German, Japanese, French, you name it!, students of about the same level. That's gets tricky as well because the students chose their own level :) Throughout class you lead the discussion as all the classes are conversation based while trying your best to type out corrections to individually evaluate each student. Again, this can be tricky when you have 8 Chinese students screaming into their microphone as you get only every other word. The connection normally is good but when it's not and you have beginner students, good luck.

Here is my little set up: cubicle with the class presentation loaded on the computer screen, notepad and pen ready to take notes on each student, headset plugged in and hopefully working, water- I get thirsty, and me laughing at myself, which is an essential component to this job and my life in general.

Class topics are varied in subject material and teach-ability... most motivate pretty interesting discussions and debates. One of my favorite topics was "All about America" when the 1st slide of the class asked: "What are the first 3 things that come to mind when someone says the USA?" The answers that followed were awesome. For example: fast food, fat people, guns, cars, blue jeans, McDonald's, McDonald's, and McDonald's, smart people, etc. My favorite was a nice lady from China that was convinced, and I mean convinced, that we all shoot at each other in the US. One such statement of hers was: "in America everyone has gun and everyone shoot gun. Police know not do nothing and all people verrry scary." I don't even know where to start- amazing.

Other topics include "Cafe Culture" because every beginner student needs to understand the ambiance a Starbucks' latte creates.  "Crazy Things" where my students admitted the craziest things they've ever done.  My out-of-control Chinese students confessed to doing ridiculous things like staying up all night to read the latest Harry Potter book. Then there was "Law Enforcement" class when my Brazilian students talked about selling drugs and drunk driving while the horrified Taiwanese students embarrassingly admitted to running traffic lights and jaywalking.  One of the most riveting topics was "Getting a Job" where we talked about power point presentations, job interviews and our strengths and weaknesses. Excellent subject material for students who are at the appropriate level. Torture for the beginner students who have no idea what is going on:

me: "What is the man doing in picture #1,class? What is he doing?"

Pingtang: "TEACHER, TEACHER, TEACHER ANNA!!! HE IS READ. TEACHER, HE IS READ BOOK! OH NO HMMM, NO TEACHER, MISTAKE. I MISTAKE. HE IS STUDY, YES YES, HE STUDY. HE STUDY, TEACHER. RIGHT?? HE STUDY. TEACHER ANNA? YES?

After gently breaking it to Pingtang that the man in picture #1 was working, we carried on :) 

One of my favorite things about teaching at Etown had to be the students' names.  Just as they can pick their own level, they can pick their own screen-name. While some names made sense and were sweet, others were so wonderfully random that I'll never know how they picked these words as names. I have to give it to the Chinese for coming up with the most creative names. You know its going to be a great class when your class list includes: Robot, Rainbow Lee, Count Dracula Wang, Kitten Lee (a man), Peter Xou (a girl), and my personal favorite, Crocodile.

While I have genuinely enjoyed teaching at Englishtown, I know that it is not the job for me. After working for 5 weeks (the allotted "trial period") I decided to not sign a year long contract and begin looking for the next job, adventure, country, etc. I have nothing bad to say about the school or its methods. Its an amazing system that allows people all over the world to effectively learn English at their own pace and at their own convenience. But, not surprisingly, online teaching wasn't a good fit for me. Many teachers see their job at Etown as a means to an end to living in Bali but that's not the arrangement I'm looking for.

I'll certainly miss the teachers, the students and of course Bali. Even though it wasn't for me I have to say that some of the discussions I participated in in class were wonderful. I can't think of many situations where its possible to immediately delve into cultural issues with an involved audience from all over the world. 

Stay tuned to see what I have cookin' for the next adventure :)

from Folkston to Taipei...

Who would've thought? A mini Pickren family reunion in Taipei, Taiwan... in Asia rather than the Okefenokee Swamp??

When my crazy self started thinking up this entire journey to Asia my dad, after suffering another near heart attack due to my travel aspirations, immediately contacted his cousin Dan who has lived in Taiwan for the last 20 or so years. After informing my dad that I would most likely not die upon entering Asia, Dan was kind enough to extend an invitation for me to come visit. As a trip to Taiwan was never in the original plan with Vasae and I, I hoped that I'd be able to make it over before settling down into a teaching job in Indonesia. I've been looking and applying since Singapore and I think I found a great job! I'm a bit apprehensive being that its an online gig but I'll also teach real classes to kids after school as well...  so we'll see how that goes come November. But for now, we're in Taiwan!

The last time Dan and I saw one another I was most likely up to his hip and wearing an outfit my mom picked out for me. Dan has more or less called Taiwan home ever since he ended up staying after a backpacking trip back in his thirties. Hm, that person kinda sounds familiar... Now being kin I knew that Dan and I would of course get along great but I was thrilled upon learning that we have loads in common.  We had a blast chatting about our wonderful, albeit crazy, Southern family back at home. Also being the Southern gentleman that Dan is he spoiled me rotten over the trip. I would have gained 91 pounds if it wasn't for all the outdoor activities we did :)

My trip basically consisted of excellent food adventures, wonderful sight seeing trips, loads of amazing outdoor activities, day trips and one over night trip with Dan, his trusted vehicle and friend, Paul, and most importantly, countless conversations with Dan about everything under the sun- from family to plants to politics to music. I thoroughly enjoyed every single moment.

Right before leaving Bali, a huge and wonderful coincidence revealed that my roommate and beloved friend from my TEFL certification course back in Prague was moving to Taipei the same day I was arriving. How crazy?! Not only was I able to visit and run around with Dan, but also I got to catch up and hang out with Katy when Dan was busy working. She and I basically talked each others faces off while simultaneously eating everything in sight at the night markets :) It was wonderful to see her and I'm so grateful that we randomly crossed paths again, and in Taipei of all places!

I could devote an entire blog, not just a measly post, to my trip to Taiwan.  It was extremely pleasant having a likeminded tour guide in charge and full of ideas :) Dan made my visit action packed with a range of activities and sights to see.  I have to start out by saying that Dan is active, and I mean active. He works extremely hard and plays at about the same level. At times it took a lot for me to keep up with him- hiking up a mountain, biking up a steep hill, zipping around town, a walk here, a tai chi lesson there, etc. He wouldn't have you believe it but he is an active and involved fellow, indeed.  


Apart from all the shenanigans and tours about, I had a really nice time laying low at Dan's homey apartment. He lives in a nice residential neighborhood where the most consistent noises are kids playing in the school yard below his apartment and banter from the market around the corner.  One of my favorite things from the trip was simply doing some of Dan's daily things with him.  Breakfast around the corner, afternoon vegetable and fruit juice from the market, bike ride in the park along the river...  But my absolute favorite part about doing these things with Dan was the reaction he evokes in these daily outings. I kid you and exaggerate not when I say that everyones' faces light up when Dan walks into their shop. Whether it was the lady who has cut his hair for years, the juice lady, the fruit stand man, the family at the duck restaurant whose kids treat him like an uncle, the couple at the ice-sweets store, the kids in the school yard who wait for him every night to play badminton or ball... everyone in his neighborhood adores him.  This goes far beyond admiration for the token white guy in Asia, these neighbors and friends of his truly treasure him. What was best was hearing Dan rattle off in Chinese and then turn to me to jokingly translate into English with his undeniable Southern twang and a welllllp and yall thrown in there. A wonderful marriage of two cultures wrapped up in one man :)


I should give a word of thanks to some of Dan's wonderful friends who helped make my trip as memorable as it was. Particularly to his friend Stefanie for the bike rides, night out and amazing experience with an accupressure doctor, Gloria for showing me around the markets, Thomas for the loan of his son's bike, Jerry for the thai chi lesson, and Paul for the good times and guiding on our over night trip.  Like I said I could type for days about the trip but this is already long overdue and nobody wants to sit and read that much.  So now I'll let the pictures do the talking...

meet Dan, my guitar pickin' 2nd cousin :)

visit to the Long Shan Temple

one of the many night markets with Katy 

adorable riverside cafe I stopped at on my day-long bike trips

marveling at one of the remarkable and 2,000 year old "sacred trees" at 

Lalasan Park a few hours outside Taipei

Dan walking along the fall forest 

city amongst the hills 

rolling hills and mountains on  beautifully clear day!

Dan and I in the middle of a swinging bridge
on one of our beautiful hikes in Taroko National Park

drive inside the massive gorges of Taroko National Park, 

some reach as tall as 3,000 meters!

Tai Chi lessons at the riverside park with one of Dan's good buddies, Jerri

visit to the hot-springs just a short metro ride from the center of Taipei!

amazing traditional dance performance

incredible (and windy!) walk around Yeliu Geographical Park 
on the Northeastern coast of Taiwan

visit to the beautiful and impressive Ju Ming Sculpture Garden and Museum

going away dinner with Dan's wonderful tour-guide friend, Paul and his lovely wife 

After 2 wonderful weeks I felt like I had gone on a vacation from my trip.  It was a treat to be in someone else's trusted hands, have some nice, chilly weather and visit with family you love and admire as much as I do Dan. I'm so grateful to him for letting me come stay with him and for showing me the awesome country of Taiwan! Here's to hoping for many more reunions in the future, whether in Asia or in the States :)