Australia

Australia! Somewhere I had only dreamed of going. It was everything I had hoped for and so much more. I went in January of this year and am only now posting some pics! I am so bad at this blog thing.
One of the reasons I started to write a blog was to keep a history of my time abroad, but also to keep my family up to date on what I am doing.
While in Austrailia, I went swimming/snorkerling in the great barrier reef, I went in a helicopter, went 4 wheeling in the muddy rainforest, soaked in the sun at the beaches, went to one of the worlds most beautiful beaches (where the sand is so white and made of a substance that does not retain heat...so nice on the feet) , camped on a remote island, went to Fraser Island, a place that has no roads so only suv's and 4 by 4 trucks allowed, went hiking through the rain forest, swam in 2 remote lakes (one of which was green), ate kangaroo steaks, and played on a jet ski.....to say I love Australia is a gross understatement. It was the most amazing place, however, I had no idea there were so many things that could kill you! It seemed like every time you turned around there were warnings about snakes (that could kill you), jellyfish (that could kill you), spiders (that could kill you), sharks (that could kill you), dingos (they attack so watch out, they could kill you), sun (so hot, it feels like it could kill you)...lol you get the theme.... I did not care though! It was such a fantastic place, and I could take a year exploring it and not have seen all there is to see in Australia. I will write more soon about this fantastic place, but in the meantime, here are a few photos, and some postcards....

Taiwan and learning lessons

Hi there....have not posted in some time so I have a lot of catching up to do this month......
I will start with a vacation I took during a 6 day break I had at school...Taiwan.....

Now, to start with I did no research on this destination (which is strange I know), but I was studying for my GRE's (grad school entrance exam) and a friend was coming with me that lived in Taiwan for a year. So, I relinquished control and told her to have at it! I cannot tell you how much I appreciated all of her hard work, and she did a great job (Nina, you are wonderful). However, I would not go back to Taiwan. Some parts of it were fantastic, and I am glad I went, but there were some difficult times that challenged me. One of which was my back. As most of you know I have back problems, and at times it is of no concern in my life and at other times it is so painful that it is difficult to stay upright. Unfortunately, in Taiwan I was having trouble staying upright (that sounds really funny). Anyway, Taiwan was a very concrete (and I mean literally concrete everywhere!) place. I thought I had gone there will no expectations, but I guess I did. I expected something tropical and beachy with lots of water to swim in (here is where research would have came in handy) but unfortunately the only clean water to swim in in was a pool (a beautiful pool, but a pool nonetheless).

My friend took us to so many amazing places (once again, thank you Nina!!), but I am the kind of person who re energizes herself through nature. I go for a ride in the country here in Korea, and I feel better just getting away from the concrete buildings for an hour. I love nature and hate big big cities.

Even thought this trip was different that what I had anticipated, I learned some valuable things about myself and while I am still trying to figure some stuff out, I do feel stronger because of it.