In less than 48 hours, I will be getting on a plane and traveling to Asia. I am one of eight teachers that will be spending 4 weeks in Taiwan participating in a teacher exchange program. A group of us will then travel to China and S. Korea to further explore what Asia has to offer. Our day of departure is actually my 26th birthday so I will make sure to celebrate on the plane. I remember hearing that you should spend your birthdays the way you want to spend the whole year, so I have high expectations for 2012-13: meeting new people, seeing new places, and savoring new experiences.
I've been fighting a cough for the last 2.5 weeks and luckily gave in to my sister's advice and visited my doctor this morning. I now have an inhaler and handful of pills to take over the next week. The steroids already made me feel loopy so I have another excuse to avoid my to do list.
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To do: Decide on and pack clothes/medication/etc, prepare materials for presentations, locate all necessary electronic equipment, empty room for subletter, finish watching the the remaining 2 of 4 China PBS DVD's that my dad sent me, and puff my inhaler every 4 hours.
Quoting my grandpa and saving his thoughts: " a great adventure should be recorded; get a small, cheap notebook to use as a diary; luckily I did while in Navy and for every adventure after; it results in great memories that let you relive and pass on to the future...Love, G/P Jack"
ReplyDelete"Thanks so much for sharing your blog, I am so happy you are in Asia and I definitely encourage you to not worry about the details and experience the culture to the fullest, do dangerous things, crazy shit that you can't do anywhere else in the world, don't be afraid to eat anything you find amusing, go to where the tourists have never been, make the effort to see flamboyant, dramatic, or tranquil, beautiful things that even some Asians haven't seen." - Cousin Max
ReplyDeleteHappy travels. Today it all begins. Your 14 hour flight to Seoul gets you there on Sunday around 5PM local time, but to you it will feel like 4AM. Since you seem to rest easily, perhaps you can snooze enough enroute. Don't doze in the airport, though, since your connection to Taiwan departs a little later, reaching Taipei close to 10PM. You may feel as though it were early Sunday. It will take a few days to adjust to the time zone difference. If you have any sleepless nights, maybe they can be an occassion to update the blog. At other times, I'm sure you'll be busy.
ReplyDeleteJMK
I've been trying to leave comments for days! Let's see if I can get through this time. I love you and I hope this trip makes for an incredible experience. Indulge! - Alicia Jane
ReplyDeleteGreat to read about your travels, Val! I'm so happy you're seeing the world.
ReplyDeleteMuch love and safe travels.
Monica