UPDATE 6/16/2013

For the past month, I've been happily busy strolling my busy life around in Taipei. Or should I say, rowing by? After taking 4th place for the Taipei City Dragon Boat Festival last weekend, our season finale put Team Max at 3rd place for the New Taipei City Competition. We lost by .05 seconds to our rival team and that was that. It was hard not to be a bit sad since we had trained SO intensely and had won 1st place at the same race last year!
But the friendships and team spirit that were cultivated became stronger than ever as we partied anyway! A crazy blend of 20-30 something year old expats from all over the world: India, Japan, Hungary, USA, Guatemala, Latvia, Germany, England, Australia, Mexico, Taiwan...I love Team Max and I love everyone on my team. It's weird now, we still hang out almost every day but we're wearing normal clothes (not sweats or lifejackets) and it's not 6:30 am anymore when we see each other. It's amazing how ONE passion can bring so many individuals together despite language, culture, personalities, religion or background. We all love to row, and I am very proud to say that this season we all bled orange. Joining a dragon boat team has been one of the best things I've ever chosen to do.

Semi-Final at New Taipei City (I was drumming this one!)

Day trip together!

Taipei City Speaker Cup

Speaking of seasons, this upcoming September will mark my 3rd year in Taipei. Taiwan is like a time warp-an actual Neverever Land. People come here, fall in love with the people and culture-and time 

flies. I can't explain it-you just have to experience it. So many people come and go, but just as many people buy a scooter, sign cellular data plans, furnish their apartments, and stay. Life here is good, there is no denying it. But for me, I've been here long enough to have friends leave and come back, and I don't really have any updates for them. Call it chronic dissatisfaction. Or wanderlust. So ready for my big news?

**OKAY HERE'S MY BIG NEWS!!!**
I'm leaving Taiwan in September. I'm going to back up all my things again and fly to HONDURAS. Tickets have been purchased-it's official!
I'm going to volunteer teach beautiful little children, and play at the beaches after school, and sleep in a bunk bed with a fan and eat lots of fruit, learn Spanish, and fall in love with a new place. I am going to backpack around Central America and build bathrooms on weekends, and I will be happy. I've always wanted to do this, ever since university days it has been a dream of mine. I graduated with a BA in Public Health, you know! I want to experience a simple and happy life with people that have so few materialistic things but are so full of joy and fun. I want to learn how we can help where there aren't enough resources for people to help themselves.  Honduras is the poorest country in all of Central America. I am so beyond excited for this next adventure. Basically, I am checking out of this modern, crowded city life and going to live in a small countryside village because I want to. I need to. More updates on this later on, time for touch ruby!