Volleyball at NTHU

{In which there are photos of people in mid-air}

I love hanging out with NTHU FHL since being with them reminds me so much of the good times I had with Berkeley ICA. They're fun and quirky and kind and refreshing. I always felt relaxed and happy and cared for with my friends from ICA, and it's so comforting to find a group of people in Taiwan that can recreate that feeling for me.

So when I was a little stressed out over the wedding photos, way back in March, I decided a change of scenery was in order and made my way to 新竹 (Hsinchu) to see them. I was excited when I found out people wanted to play volleyball — I'm not that good at it, but I have fond memories of taking volleyball class with Brian, David, and Helen, and getting tips from Danny, and playing for fun at Willard Park.

Still Alive!

{In which I share what I've been up to lately}

I'm back! Did you miss me? :D It's sort of funny how I get more comments about my blog when I neglect to update it as often. I didn't realize people actually notice when I don't post! But it's nice to know that you care and want to see more, and I'll do my best to get back into the swing of things. I've been (kind of ) busy and (very) distracted and (incredibly) lazy lately, and it's so hard to fight inertia. So I'm making it easier for myself by starting with a quick update.

Knights Without Knives

{In which there is a mini Team K reunion in Taipei}

I found out last night that Daniel Hsu, E-camp mentor and NTHU FHL fellowship president, was in a motorcycle accident last week. He wasn't wearing a helmet; his injuries include internal bleeding and subdural hematoma (hemorrhage in the skull). He underwent brain surgery last Friday, and the doctors are keeping him under sedation in ICU. Please pray for him!!
As promised, here are the photos from last Sunday (2/13), when I had dinner with the Team K. Over summer, I participated in E-camp at NTHU, a leadership and English-learning camp for incoming freshmen. I Our team's name was Knights Without Knives (aka Team K, before we came up with the name) and — to be completely objective and honest — our team was the BEST TEAM EVER. I mean, we placed or tied for first in every competition, from camp-wide contests such as the scavenger hunt, tower building, and superlatives game, to the mini-games we had in our classroom (er, not to brag or anything. 'Tis the truth).

But the important thing is that we all enjoyed hanging out together and bonded as a team. Those two weeks were certainly very memorable ones for me. We had way too much fun, what with playing Killer (the card game) all the time, the group nap at Mr. Donut, watching the meteor shower, our long talks... and they are so sweet! I was incredibly touched by the presents and cards they surprised Dennis and me with on the last night of the camp. I'm glad that we can still keep in touch, and that they still hang out together. Sadly, not everyone was able to make the gathering — we missed you, Aaron, Anna, Janet, and Joe! — but I'm really grateful for the chance to catch up with everyone who was there. Dennis was visiting from China, Jerry and Michael came to Taipei from Taichung and Taoyuan (respectively), and Sandy, William, and Willie live in Taipei. It was also good to see Alex and Irene again (they weren't in Team K but hang out with my students a lot).

Exquisite

{In which 偉哲 continues to be ridiculously photogenic}

After the Gauguin exhibit, I had dinner at 西門町 (Ximending) with 偉哲 at the Pasta Bar. It was a cute place — I adored the salt and pepper shakers! (Don't you love how the photos turned out?) The table is tiny, but it felt intimate rather than cramped. "It's small but — how do you say 精緻 in English? —- exquisite," 偉哲 commented. I was impressed; I would not have been able to translate the same word from English to Chinese so effortlessly.

Last Saturday was amazing, and I'm glad I have these photos to remember it by. Thank you, 偉哲, for an exquisite evening. :)

A Date with Gauguin

(In which 偉哲 and I have an awesome time at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum and 西門町}

{Preamble, feel free to skip}

Happy 元宵節 (Yuanxiao Jie, aka Lantern Festival)! It's the last day of the Chinese New Year holiday, and it is traditional to eat 湯圓 (tangyuan, glutinous rice balls) on this day. My coworkers invited me to eat some with them, and both the sweet ones and the savory ones were delicious!

Roaming Taipei with Jack and Patrick

{In which we take photos all over Taipei}

February is shaping up to be a super packed month for me, what with New Years festivities, NTHU friends on winter break, and Brandon and Phoebe's wedding in two weeks (!!). I have tons and tons of photos and am slowly sorting/processing them, and wow it's a lot more time-consuming than I expected. Most of my posts in the near future will be photo diaries. But yeah, lots of exciting adventures! :D

Last Monday was my last day of break before returning to work, so Patrick came up from Taichung and hung out with Jack and me for a whole day. Our first stop was Jack's house, where Jack taught Patrick to fly a plane with the flight simulator while I napped or photographed stuff in Jack's room. Afterward, we went to 碧潭 (Bitan) for a stroll and for lunch before going to 美麗華 (Miramar) to ride the ferris wheel. After that, we snapped some photos of the 花博 (Flora Expo) entrance on our way to 士林夜市 (Shilin Night Market) for dinner and shopping. (It was super crowded there.) It was an awesome day of hanging out and running all over Taipei! Thanks for being great company, Jack and Patrick. :)

(I'm playing around with post-processing so that's why some of the photos look funky... I'm just starting out so I'm not great at it but I have lots of fun experimenting!)