What is there to say?

My weekend overview: Friday night card games, ring of death, Taiwan beer, good friends, no sleep, music, photographs, laughing until I cry, hugs, acting a fool, dancing, teaching, reading, trains, work, beach, sand, swimming, getting knocked about by waves, deep talks, horror movies, jokes, kisses, pizza, group grocery excursions, laundry, walla-walla moose, singing.

The consensus? Quite possibly the best weekend I’ve had in Taiwan. Maybe one of the best weekends I’ve had since I went abroad.

And par for the course, lately.

With just a little under three months left in this country, life has been moving forward at a breakneck pace. It has been so busy that there has been little to no time to keep up with family and friends. (Sorry about that, everyone).

But in the last two and a half months, I’ve done some awesome things.

I went to the beach three times.

Fulong 🙂

🙂

I spent far too many nights dancing until nearly dawn.

I saw LMFAO in concert.

Party rockin’.

I visited the Taipei Zoo.

Wo ai elephants.

I said goodbye to one of my favorite yo-yo babies.

My “monkey,” Stanley.

Silly face.

All in all, the last two months have been nothing short of amazing. I nearly lost it every single day in May, what with having to practice with my kindy class for a Mother’s Day performance. But I got past it, and more importantly, my kiddos rocked it.

I can’t quite believe that June, my birthday month, is HERE. My departure date (August 28) is rapidly approaching. Quite honestly, my heart is hurting at the thought of leaving.

I work a lot. I get frustrated about that, and a lot of the time it puts me in a bad mood because I’m so tired. But my days are full. They are full of laughter, hugs, friends, new sights, joy, wonder. I didn’t have that at my job in the States. I plodded through each day, always looking ahead to when I would be finished and on my way to something new.

I’m not doing that now. I’m happy here — more than happy most days. I have so many moments of “I live here. I live here.” Rather than urging the days to pass by, I’m holding on tightly, hoping they quit slipping by so quickly. I’m making memories, letting go and living more fully.

Leaving will be hard, and it will hurt. It will hurt a lot. There’s things I don’t want to give up yet.

But once again, I will be starting a new adventure: Backpacking. I don’t know where my friend and I are going yet, I don’t know where we will end up. But it will be a grand adventure, and I look forward to it.

I still have two months and 25 days left. And there’s so much I have to look forward to: bungee jumping, my birthday, trips to the South, my best friend visiting. It will be a busy time, and I’m ready to welcome it with everything that I have. If this weekend is any indication, this summer will be the best yet.

I am happy. I am happy. I am happy. That’s all I wanted out of this experience.

Christmas in Taiwan.

If you had told me a year ago I’d be spending Christmas 2011 in Asia, I might have laughed in your face. My plan was completely different: I’d be in Prague for the holidays, wander around the Christmas markets at night, and ring in the new year somewhere in Europe.

Joke’s on me, apparently!

But I am ok with that. Like I’ve posted before, I’m truly loving my time in Taiwan. My students are wonderful, and classes are getting better and better. I’m getting to know my students…and truly care about them.

I mean, come on, they’re adorable. Look at this:

My yo-yo class, Dec. 17, 2011

As good as things have been lately, I have to admit that the holiday season has fallen a little flat to me this year.

Sure, it’s Christmas, but it’s not the same as back home. In Taiwan, it’s not so much a holiday thing as a commercial thing. There’s no meaning behind the decorations and the music here.

And without much meaning, December is just another month. I did my best to spread some Christmas cheer though. I made Christmas cards, learned how to say Merry Christmas in Chinese and said it simply to amuse my students. We decorated our hostel and hung snowflakes from the ceiling and wore Santa hats. We had a lovely turkey dinner Christmas Eve, and stuffed stockings.

Christmas Eve, 2011.

I went to a Christmas Eve service with my friends, where we were welcomed with open arms and smiles. Although I couldn’t understand much, it was wonderful listening to the Christmas carols and singing along in English. It was a wonderful way to remember what the season is all about: Love.

I avoided feeling homesick, because I could have gone off the deep end that way, and focused on how incredibly lucky I am to be at this point in my life. There is not one thing I would change. I am so content with life in Taiwan.

And that’s a pretty damn cool feeling.

But this holiday season I was reminded of just how much I love my family.

Christmas 2010, Abilene.

It reminded me just how much I love spending Christmas at home, literally wrapped up in my home with those who are most important to me. It reminded me how lucky I am to have that safe haven to return to each year. It reminded me of what Christmas means to me: being with those people I love. The people I couldn’t get through life without.

And that’s what got me through this holiday season. All you guys who sent me an e-card, a text message, talked to me on Facebook?

You made my Christmas feel Christmas-y. And that is a big deal.

Thank you. And Merry Christmas. It was a good one.

The right place, at the right time.

I had a good, long conversation with my sister yesterday. It was desperately needed. It was so nice to catch up on each other’s lives, since we’re living on opposite sides of the world for a year. I found out we’re both going through some of the same emotions.

One thing I noticed is that we both have some moments of ” What the heck am I doing here? Why am I not at home doing something ‘normal’?”

No matter how much I love Taipei, those thoughts are inevitable. They just are. On bad days, and even sometimes on good days, thoughts like that creep into my head. It’s a struggle to get past at times. Especially when my students get rowdy. Or I’m homesick.

However.

More often than not, there are so many moments where it hits me: I’m teaching English. In TAIWAN, of all the places. A year ago, I never would have imagined that this is where I’d end up. Never.

And I love that. And I know, despite all the struggles of living in Asia, this is where I’m supposed to be right now.

I’m meeting wonderful, interesting people — from every corner of the world. I’m working with some truly amazing students. (I mean, come on, my class of 2 year olds knows the American ABC’s, and colors and the names for fruits and veggies. Brilliant little babies.) Right now I live two minutes away from both a bustling night market AND a mind-boggling clothing market. Rows and rows and rows of clothes, shoes, jewelry. Heaven on earth, maybe? I think yes.

A year ago I had a vague idea for myself: I would take a time-out from “real life” and a job I, to put it nicely, couldn’t stand. I thought I would travel and teach for a year, then come home and figure out things from there — whether that meant going back to school to get my master’s degree or finding something better to do as far as a job went. But I planned on staying in Prague, or at least somewhere in Eastern Europe. That was the plan. I thought it would happen naturally.

And despite all those plans, here I am: Literally on the other side of the world. It just goes to show: You can plan all you want, but that doesn’t mean life will unfold the way you want it to.

I’m laughing at myself now. I love that I thought I knew what would happen. Ah, well. That’s just how it goes, I suppose.

You can plan all you want, but that doesn’t mean life will unfold the way you want it to.

So my new plan? Just live life.

When I moved to Boston I spent all my time analyzing every single thought I had. I picked over every experience, and every interaction. It made for some good blog content, but seriously? I know I missed out on some good things. I got too stuck in my head.

Since I’ve been here, I’ve been focused on trying to enjoy the moment, to commit things to memory a little more, rather than just writing a blog post in my head.

There has to be a happy medium, right?

Anyway. To the point: I may not know right now what the point is of me being here. Maybe it’s just to experience some new culture. Maybe this will lead me somewhere else I never thought I’d end up. Maybe I’ll just have a fun year, go home and get on with life.

Who the hell knows? I don’t. I just have to keep holding on to some faith in something: Faith that the decisions I’m making are the right ones for me.

And here’s my inspiration for this post, from the show “How I Met Your Mother”:

“The great moments of your life won’t necessarily be the things you do, they’ll also be the things that happen to you. Now, I’m not saying you can’t take action to affect the outcome of your life, you have to take action, and you will. But never forget that on any day, you can step out the front door and your whole life can change forever. You see, the universe has a plan, kids, and that plan is always in motion. A butterfly flaps its wings, and it starts to rain. It’s a scary thought but it’s also kind of wonderful. All these little parts of the machine constantly working, making sure that you end up exactly where you’re supposed to be, exactly when you’re supposed to be there. The right place at the right time.”

Good stuff, that.