The Epilogue

Taipei, Taiwan
Population: 6.9 million

The minute we stepped off our plane to Taipei from Beijing (which was the single largest expense from our entire trip) we started stripping off layers.
Beijing was FREEZING but Taipei was a wonderful 65*.
Check out how tightly packed my bags are, we bought too much crap in China!

We spent a day touring around Taipei.
Here we are at the Sun Yat-Sen Memorial...

..and Taipei 101....

..and then we ran into some authentic Thailand Ladyboys.

I already miss Taiwanese styles. The guys and their haircuts, need I say more?

We stopped at the school to say good bye to our darling little friends. (old pics)

Evence with a mouthful of bread!

My students are OBSESSED with their pens, erasers and 'computers'.

Here's a classic case of show-and-tell going on before class!

In Taiwan, I grew to love the people...

...the language and culture....

...and all the great food.

I took about 10,000 photos living Taiwan, here are some of my favorites:

(can you tell by this photo how much better the bldgs are taken care of in Taiwan vs. China?!?!)

we rode scooters to the church...need I say more?

I sat at this pond for hours watching people feed the GIANT fish....

My Asian trek is over.
I lived in a backpack.
Rode an elephant. ziplined through the jungle.
Didn't do my hair for 7 months.
Ate shark and loved it. Laid on the beaches of Thailand.
Visited 3 Wonders of the World: Great Wall, Angkor Wat, Terracotta Soldiers.

I hope in years to come I'll look back and remember only the good days in Taiwan. Living abroad was hard for me, especially because of the language barrier. I've never felt so helpless before. But what a great opportunity it was to travel and make friends when I needed them most.
I struggled. I learned. And I grew immensely.
I left Asia with no regrets (except that I should've learned chinese).

My first day on the beautiful island of Taiwan.

My last day in Taiwan.