Packing Woes

Sooo...this post is a little late...maybe I was avoiding the trauma that  ensues while attempting to determine the most valuable 99.5 pounds of your life {sorry family & friends...you apparently tipped the scales!}

In typical Tracy fashion, I didn't start packing for Taiwan until about 2 days before I was to leave for the year...I mean...what's the worst that's gonna happen!

I am proud to say though, that everything I pulled out fit and my checked luggage was actually about 2.5 pounds until the 100 pound limit! (please don't ask about the weight of the carry on's...that's another story!)

Single Digits!

I can't believe this! 9 days.... 9 days...9 days!

I am now in the single digit count down until I leave for the adventure of my lifetime and I couldn't be more excited/nervous/ready/unprepared/scared-out-of-my-mind to begin this adventure!

2 weeks ago I had my orientation and met with 3 other girls who will be going to Taiwan as well...although we are scattered throughout the country. Needless to saying talking about our fears together as well as voicing our questions to a couple people who had taught for 1+ years in Taiwan also helped to alleviate some of my fears...like will I survive?!?! :P

More exciting than that though? I got my visa in the mail today....things can't get much more real than that! I am now the proud owner of a 1 year Taiwense visa, an international drivers license, and a 1-way ticket to the other side of the world!! What's there to worry about?!

Also, it appears as if they have found an "apartment" for me! They are waiting for me to get there and approve it before I sign off on a year, but it's comforting to know I'll have a place to sleep! Lol

Before I go, I'll leave you with the top 5 things I have learned thus far about apartment hunting in Taiwan!

Things that I have learned about apartments in Taiwan (through my own personal research and hunt!):

1. Kitchens are amenities (yes you read that right!)

2. Apartments generally consist of 2 rooms; a bathroom and everything else

3. Finding an apartment under $175 USD a month is not difficult in the slightest (yay for me!)

4. A furnished apartment may mean the apartment includes both a bed and a toilet!

5. Having a window in your apartment is not mandatory!

The Countdown has begun!

26 days....26 DAYS!

Folks this is seeming all to real right about now! The countdown is ticking away, the stack of paperwork to complete before I leave is growing, and my to-do list seems to be never ending; but the time's   still ticking away!

I have an orientation this week in Columbus and it'll be the first time I get to meet some of the other crazies that are embarking on this amazing adventure with me as well as hopefully getting at least a chunk of my million questions answered.

I'll leave you go with a funny from a student of mine that I ran into at church the other day.

After running up and giving me a huge hug, he looked up at me with his big blue eyes and asked, "Miss St. John, when are you leaving to Tilwaynia?"   You've got to love them!

Taiwanese Foods?

I have been asked countless times during this preparation "journey" what I plan to eat for a year while living in Taiwan. If you've read any of my Semester at Sea blog, or shoot even if you just know me at all in general :) you know that I LOVE to eat! Needless to say I'm excited to try new foods.

That doesn't go to say though that I know exactly what I'll be getting into food wise though; so, I've been doing a little {actually a lot!} of research on what I may be eating for the next year.

Travel CNN has quite a list of foods that one should {supposedly} try while in Taiwan. After a year of living there I'm hoping to try quite a bit, and I will be sure to let you know what I think about them! (As a side note, I can't wait until smell-a-vision is a real thing, let's be honest smells of delicious foods are what I want to remember when I get home from trips!)

and without further ado... 

{clicking on a picture will give you a little more detail about what it is!}

Beef Noodle...sounds simple enough!

Bubble Tea..."tapioca" in tea

Iron Eggs...a chewy egg marinated in soy sauce {a little worried about this one!}

Pan Fried Bun...fried bread with pork inside

Stinky tofu...sounds self explanatory!

Any foods that you're dying to try or that you wouldn't dream about even touching?!

I Have a School!

OK....well technically 2! I continue to be asked if I know where I will be teaching at and I now have an answer (on a side note I'm not 100% sure why I was so excited to find out, it's not like I know any of these schools anyways! But nonetheless!). Initially we were given a list of each of the counties in Taiwan that had positions open and asked to rank the counties that we would like to live in, not knowing where to start I began ruling out places that were not options in my mind; counties that only had middle school openings, counties located on the western and much less populated side of the island, the teeny remote (like 11 sq. miles remote!) island off the coast of Taiwan...you know, rule out those types of options! I then, more blindly than anything, began to rank the remaining counties.

I received an email the other day stating that I had been placed in 2 schools nearby each other and that both schools were relatively small. Both schools are located in Hsinchu county on the northwestern side of the country just over 50 miles southwest of the capital Taipei (if you use the map above it is the light purple county).

The schools I have been assigned to are Hsin-Fong Elementary School, and Fu-Long Elementary School (again...like I said before I'm not sure why I was so excited to find out, clearly I have never heard of either of these places before! :) )

Since finding out my placements I have been scouring (ok trying to with the language barrier!) their websites. If you click on the pictures below they will take you to each schools' site to have a look for yourself!

Fu-Long Elementary School

Hsin-Fong Elementary School

BIG NEWS!

I guess it's time I finally make the big announcement....although if you have stumbled upon my blog you probably already know the new! I have recently accepted a teaching position for the 2015-2016 school year in ....drum roll....TAIWAN!!!!

There are still many unknowns and questions that I don't yet have answered about my upcoming school year, but I couldn't be any more excited about this amazing opportunity!!! I ask for each of your prayers and support as I begin to prepare for this next step and great change in my life!

 First a little glimpse to get you situated with the where abouts of Taiwan.

A closer look at the island country that I will soon call home.

 

The Taiwanese flag and symbol of the country.

 

August 8th can't come soon enough!!

It's Like Magic!

July 15, 2010 

So the most amazing thing happened on Wednesday, I got a phone call that there was something for me in the gangway and when I went down there they gave me something called luggage! This luggage thing that they gave me was really cool too! It was full of lots of clean clothes and shoes that fit me and all the shampoos and lotions that I used to use at home and it even came with complementary camera chargers and clean underwear! I’m not sure who thought of such a neat invention but I have definitely put it to good use since I have gotten it and have also started to make more friends since I don’t smell quite as much anymore! But in case anyone from home finds it as humorous as people on the ship do here are some final numbers as far as I know concerning my poor bag!

30 days MIA -- 15ish airports -- 5 countries -- 4 airlines -- 1 severely exploded conditioner -- 1 exploded toothpaste -- and countless wrinkled clothes!

Also I found out that you can survive a month with…

2 shirts…1 pair of pants…2 pairs of shorts…1 pair of underwear…and a partridge in a pair tree (oh wait that was in my luggage)…I guess it was a pair of old navy flip flops instead!

It's Time!

June 12, 2010

I can't believe it's almost time for me to leave....as I am typing this now I have less than 2 days left here in the States and I'm not sure that it has quite hit me completely yet that I will soon be on a boat headed for Europe and traveling around the world. It seems like it was just yesterday that I applied and got my acceptance letter in the mail and here I am months later actually ready to set sail.

So now, I'm just hoping that my to-do list can some how begin to magically shrink on its own!...but I'm doubtful that that will happen

- find my passport and we thought I lost it it...check!
- pack for Ashland for when I get back home..check!
- make sure all my paper work is in place....check!
- hang out with all my friends before I leave...check!
- Actally pack for Semester at Sea.....umm oops I should probably get on that

Well that's about it for now so I'm thinking next time I write I will be on a boat...someplace warm!

Getting Closer

May 29, 2010 

I can't even believe it 17 days until I leave...just over 2 weeks and I still have so much yet to do. Delta switched times for my flight home making it too early for me so after canceling that less than 3 weeks before  leaving, that's my current concern (I think I'd rather get stuck in Europe than Virginia if I had to get stuck somewhere!) On top of looking for plane tickets I'm also spending all my lunch breaks at work reading over travel guides, country printouts, and scouring maps of the Mediterranean trying to figure out what I'm doing where...talk about overwhelming!

Needless to say I'm still super excited for my trip and can't wait for this awesome experience!

Counting Down

May 12, 2010

So my boat leaves in exactly 34 days (not that I'm counting or anything!) and I couln't be more excited! I still don't think it has hit me yet that I am going to be seeing so much of the world in only 5 short weeks and that is truly going to be an oppertunity of my lifetime. I get more and more excited every time I talk to someone new that is going to be on the boat with me or every time I get another email update from Semester at Sea. I can't even imagine how excited I'm going to be the day before I leave! Until then though, I'm working 40 hours a week here in Bryan at Anderson and Vreeland...I guess making money for later in the summer! Well I guess that's about it for now...maybe by the next time I write I'll be in the middle of the ocean!