生日快樂 to me :)

中文課! (Chinese Class)

So for the past four months, my friend Amy and I have been taking Chinese class together at Tunghai University, a beautiful university in 台中 (Taichung). I have loved it. Absolutely loved it. We always have an adventure getting there. If the weather's decent, we take my scooter, and if it's pouring rain, we take the bus. We have learned so much. Unfortunately, Amy's going home soon. So starting in July, I will be taking class all by myself. (It was just the two of us before.) I know I'll still love it, but I will definitely miss her!
Amy and me with 白老师 (Bai lǎoshī , which means Bai teacher). We love 白老师. He's so much fun. He's finishing up a PhD in Chinese philosophy at Tunghai. I think he just has a really cool perspective on life (he loves to learn everything he can), and he's a lot of fun in class. We always have a good laugh. Oh, and he sings. He has sung some traditional Chinese songs for us a couple of times in class. He's really good. We didn't know when we were paying for our class that we were paying for concerts, too! He's awesome.

The Tunghai campus is gorgeous, as you can see. :)

The unique Luce Memorial Chapel is a well-known building on campus.
It was designed by world-reknowed Chinese American architect I. M. Pei,
who is probably best known for his glass pyramid at the Louvre (in Paris).
(Tunghai was founded by Methodist missionaries in 1955.)

Beautiful, no? It's so much fun to venture over there every
week and learn more 中文. Just one more reason why I love my life! :)

6/5/10: Happy Moink Ball Day!

So my wonderful friend Megan is practically famous. Her dad invented moink
balls: meatballs wrapped in bacon strips, dipped in your favorite glaze or sauce,
and BBQed to perfection. We were among the first to celebrate World Moink Ball Day,
as we do live in the future (I'd like to thank my good friend Mary for that phrase).
Many of you were still snoozing in bed as we were picnicking on the rooftops of Taiwan.

For more info on moink balls (they're delish!), check out bbqgrail.com.

Yet Another Fun Adventure in 台中 (Taichung)

Megan and I always joke about how our friends are always headed to all these other exciting destinations, and we're always headed to 台中 (Taichung). There are so many fun things to do there, and it's so close. :) I've done a lot of cool things all around Taiwan, so I don't feel the need to be going off to other places all the time. We have tons of fun discovering the third largest city in Taiwan, which is right next door. And a lot of the time, we have the best tour guide ever (our friend Kevyn) to show us around. It doesn't get any better than that.

On this particular adventure, we went to explore the science museum, which is really, really nice. I want to go back and spend some more time there. So we walk in, and it just so happens it's International Museum Day, and we get in for free! Are we lucky or what?! The day's festivities were just beginning with this aboriginal dance performance. :)

Then we set off to explore the museum. I love this pic of Kevyn. :)

We enjoyed this superb American restaurant for lunch. Mmm mmm good. It's amazing the foods you appreciate when you live in Asia. Don't get me wrong. There are plenty of good things to eat here. But it really makes me appreciate good food from home.

Precious Memories

A few weeks ago, we had the incredible opportunity to
hear Elder Christofferson of the twelve apostles speak in Taipei.

me and FennyThe LDS Taipei temple

Party Time

A few weeks ago, it was Brandon's birthday, and it also happened to be the night of my friend Wala's party. So we headed to Costco for a birthday dinner (the things you do when you live in Taiwan...), and then over to Wala's party.

Whit, Susan, Megan, and Erin on the train

We set up some decorations for the birthday celebration. :)

Susan and me

Whit and Megs

After dinner, we went over to Wala's party.

Wala and me

Wala is a creative genius in many ways. He definitely thinks out of the box. He wanted to throw an original party. He came up with the theme, "Don't forget your camera." At the party, we had to pay an entrance fee. But then we got most of it back at the end if we submitted 12 pictures of us with strangers of the opposite sex (that we had never met before that night). It was a cool idea. I know I had fun with this little project. Afterward, he posted all the pictures on Facebook.

me and Megs

Kevyn and Megs striking a pose. :)

東勢 (Dongshi)

A few weeks ago, Kevyn, Amy, and I spent an afternoon in 東勢 (Dongshi), in hopes of seeing more May Snow. Once again, most of the fallen flower petals had been damaged by rainfall the previous day. We did get to see a few, though, that hadn't been damaged. Some other people had gathered these flowers and arranged them. Cute, huh? :) It was gorgeous over there. It's a place I definitely want to visit again.