Category: Taiwan

Taiwan, Travel

Tropical Oasis in a Concrete Jungle

I’ve mentioned before that I don’t really like living in the city. Yes, I’ve learned to truly appreciate the convenience of being able to walk most places, but I will never get used to gazing out our living room windows at the tile facade of another high rise. I miss the green of trees and grass and the blue of an open sky.

Last year when my parents were visiting us in Taiwan, they took a walk one afternoon by themselves and ventured into a beautiful park about a mile from our apartment. Charles and I had driven past the location many times, but since the park is surrounded by a high wall, we didn’t know what was inside. My parents described it as a small tropical oasis in the midst of our concrete jungle. Until today, Charles and I never took Mom and Dad’s advice that we should visit this little pocket of nature. Oh, how I wish we had gone sooner! Continue reading “Tropical Oasis in a Concrete Jungle”

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Taiwan

Getting to Know the Neighborhood

We live downtown in Taichung, Taiwan in an area that is close to just about everything. The hospital where we get our medications and see our doctors is a walk away. We have a pretty little park around the corner. There are bakeries and tea shops, clothing stores and hair salons, grocery stores and restaurants on every street and side alley.

Because there is so much packed into a tight area AND because we don’t read Chinese or even speak it very well, it’s taking us quite a while to really get to know the neighborhood. It’s always fun when we find a new place that fits us. Just last week, we found two new places to add to our list of regulars.  Continue reading “Getting to Know the Neighborhood”

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Cultural Experience, Foreigner in Formosa, Taiwan

{Foreigner in Formosa} Lee’s Restaurant

It’s funny how distance and travel time are relative. I used to think that driving from KY to NJ and back during a four-day weekend wasn’t so bad (only twelve hours each way), but now the thought of going four and a half hours to Kenting seems like a looooong trip. Maybe it’s because Taiwan is so much smaller than the expansive U.S. of A. Likewise, living in the city has definitely changed my perspective on how far things seem. When I lived in Dashe, we had to drive to everything, so even the “close” restaurants were a good ten minutes by car. Now if I drive ten minutes to a restaurant, it’s “far;” only places we can walk to are “close.” Lee’s Restaurant is one of those ten-minute drives, but it is totally worth it. Continue reading “{Foreigner in Formosa} Lee’s Restaurant”

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Personal Update, Taiwan, Travel

A Happy Hatchling Easter

In my last post, I talked about the season of life in which I find myself: one that has been challenging but through which I am able to see God’s grace and provision. One healing aspect of walking this difficult road is celebrating small victories and accomplished daily goals. One such victory was that over Spring Break (two weeks ago), I was able to travel down to Kaohsiung via the High Speed Rail by myself to spend four days with my sisters. I went down on Friday morning, and Charles (with Emi in the car) followed on Sunday morning for an Easter celebration and then Morrison Professional Learning meetings on Monday. Though we certainly did miss each other, Charles and I enjoyed our respective vacations: me with my sisters away from my home, and him with some peace and quiet in our apartment.

This post is dedicated to several very fun days of being a “Hatchling” once again. I have mostly pictures and short anecdotes to share, and I hope you enjoy. Continue reading “A Happy Hatchling Easter”

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