But alas, the time has come for me to move on.  I returned home to the Chicagoland area from Asia one year ago and have been busy with my new job as a staff writer, managing my travel blog network, and frankly—life itself.   It’s amazing how fast time tends to fly by these days and I feel I must focus my energies on goals here at home.

Taking on new adventures such as learning how to ski!

I would like to return for a visit in the near future as well as maybe write a book about the two years I spent in the country.  I’m sad to be leaving Bamboo Boulevard behind but I hope the information I’ve shared about Taiwan proves valuable to someone out there.

I want to say thank you to Beth, Lauren, and everyone else at Wanderlust and Lipstick for the chance to get to know and write with so many interesting people. It’s been an honor working with everyone and sharing our love of travel.

I wish everyone the best of luck in their global journeys—present and future.

If you’d like to check out what I’m up to, you can find me blogging at Midwestern Adventures, The Travel Pixie, and Bizarre Foods of the World.

If you want to see what I do for my day job, you can check out The Woodstock Independent.

I’ll sign off with these two great travel quotes:

“Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.” – Maya Angelou

“All travel has its advantages. If the passenger visits better countries, he may learn to improve his own. And if fortune carries him to worse, he may learn to enjoy it.” – Samuel Johnson

Here’s how it works.  After you’re nominated, submit a blog post that includes photos for the colors blue, red, white, green, and yellow.  The color should be prominently featured in each image and should include an explanation of where the photo was taken and other information people might want to know.

After this, nominate 5 other bloggers and finish following the contest instructions.

My photos:

White

In Taiwan, it’s traditional for engaged couples to take a ton of wedding photos before the actual wedding day, with the brides-to-be wearing a variety of different dresses. This photo was taken on a hillside of  Cingjing Farm, near Puli, Taiwan, where the happy couple strolled among sheep before settling into different poses for their wedding shots.

Blue

Tao Expeditions, Philippines, hosts amazing island-hopping trips from Palawan to Coron, and vice versa. I had the pleasure of participating in one of their 5 day trips and caught this image while hanging out on the front of our boat with the wonderful sea dog Annie-Mouse (who actually loves to jump into the ocean and swim to the nearest island—she has no fear!).

Green

I came upon this shiny, green, jewel-like creature while walking down a street in Sanxia, Taiwan. During certain times of the year, these large emerald beetles can be found in abundance all over the country.

Red

Though lanterns of this sort are quite common in Taiwan, they’re especially spotted during events such as the Taipei Lantern Festival.  Locals tie prayer cards to the lanterns in hopes their dreams will come true.

Yellow

In Woodstock, Illinois, Blue Lotus Buddhist Temple recently moved into a building that formerly housed a Christian church. Instead of removing the stained glass windows depicting Jesus, the head monk told me he wanted to keep them because of their beauty.

And without further ado, here are my nominations:

Harrison Jones—The Chicagoland Food Blog

Harrison is a personal friend of mine as well as an internet marketing professional and culinary enthusiast. He likes eating strange delicacies such as chicken feet.

Christina Fields—Connecting Coordinates

Christina is a writer and traveler who recently decided to make a brave move to Tennessee.  She writes about meaningful travel and life experiences that connect people.

Justen Tabert—Justentabert.com

Justen is a photographer who has enjoyed exploring places such as Central and South America, India, and South East Asia.  He strives to learn  about the people of each country he visits, capturing the experiences through writing and photography.

Chana Lesser—The Orange Backpack

Chana is a writer and English teacher based in South Korea.  We met while she was living and teaching in Taiwan.  She believes, as do I, that traveling makes a person really come alive.

Keely Herrick—Weekend Duchess

I became a fan of fellow Wanderluster Keely Herrick when she wrote this post on solo travel.  I like her writing style and sense of adventure.

Best of luck to all!

Note to everyone: Attempting to speak Mandarin in a Mandarin-speaking business in Chicago’s Chinatown will result in one of two things: People will either answer you in English and look at you funny because they don’t understand why a white person with blonde hair is attempting to speak Chinese, or they will become super excited and talk rapidly for like five minutes, wherein if your Chinese skills are basic like mine, you will only be able to understand a small percentage while nodding your head and pretending otherwise.

After all this indulging, still, no bao. Heaps of food and a bottle of plum wine later (with our stomachs near to busting), we stumbled into a place called Lao Shanghai and lo’ and behold we found our sought after treasure on the menu in vegetarian form. Apparently I was a little too excited.

Heading over to Chinatown Chicago?
Be sure to check out these great restaurants:

Saint’s Alp Teahouse (Taiwanese and Hong Kong Style)

Lao Shanghai (Szechuan style)

And of course, be sure to stop in the numerous bakeries and tea shops for some tasty treats.

How is Bao Bing made?

A heap of ice shavings, crushed into fine pieces by hand or machine, are piled onto a plate. A variety of toppings are then dumped on top – the options are endless. Common toppings include syrup, strawberries, bananas, mangoes, watermelon, peanuts, taro, jellies, and beans of various kinds (shaved ice with red beans was not a favorite of mine).

Instead of a cherry on top, the desert is finished off with condensed milk or cane syrup water.  Enjoy!

Looking for a great place to try Taiwanese-style shaved ice in the United States?

Check out  The Shaved Ice Shop.

I can almost feel the air wicking the sweat off my skin, can almost smell the bin lang flowers drifting down from the mountainside. I can see the rice fields and water bamboo growing alongside the roads, hear the street dogs barking angrily after me as I pass through their territories.

While enjoying a father’s day drink at Chicago’s Signature Lounge with my dad on Sunday, I eavesdropped on the conversation of the two twenty-something girls sitting next to me. One girl appeared to be a college student visiting from Asia, the other, a slightly arrogant sounding Chicagoan who was bragging about all the countries she’d been able to visit on her employer’s dime.

I found myself wondering what she did for a living, as the green-eyed monster reared its head.

I literally get a pain in my heart, feel really envious, and at the same time, inspired, when I hear stories about others’ travels. Even if, in my opinion, a lot of travel bloggers now seem to have the same escape-from-the-cubicle stories. While I’m (mostly) happy for them, I look forward to the day when I’m roaming the globe again myself. Even it takes me until I’m 60, it will happen.

In the meantime, I’ll combat my wanderlust by continuing to share stories of my life in Asia. And by wandering around the Midwest and writing about my adventures in the U.S. Corn Belt.

For now, I will be content.

Summer in the Windy City brings beautiful sights such as this …

There is hope for those of us battling our green-eyed travel monsters.

I also try to remind myself how blessed I am to have landed a job where I write for a living. It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do (aside from travel, of course!). Though there are days where I just want to take off and join all the other travel bloggers out there rebelling against a life of conformity (and I say this with the utmost respect!),  I realize I am where I need to be for the time being. The present builds the stepping stones which will lead to the future. A future I suspect, that will be full of adventure.

Reminding myself I am exactly where I need to be makes life more inspiring.

I hope this perspective will help others too.

Don’t even think about eating the boxed Ramen-type noodles found in Taiwanese convenience stores. Here are a few authentic and more popular Taiwanese noodle dishes to try if you’re ever looking for a carb fix on the island.

Beef Noodles

Beef Noodles are a favorite in Taiwan. The city of Hsinchu is famous for its beef noodle soup. More like a stew, the noodles are thick and chewy, the meat is marinated and tasty, and the soup is often cooked spicy, though of course mild forms are available. Though not really a fan of pork or red meat, I did enjoy Hsinchu’s beef noodles very occasionally.

Rice Noodles

Though rice noodles are popular throughout the country, the city of Hsinchu is also famous for these thin, long noodles made from ground rice. Light in weight and clear in texture, the dish is often served with soy sauce, a sprinkling of vegetables and tiny pieces of pork. Rice noodles can be found in heaps (literally, giant heaping pots) at night markets around Taiwan.

Dry Noodles

One of my favorite Taiwanese dishes (also found in copious amounts at restaurants and night markets), I ordered Gan Mian (hot dry noodles) on many occasions. The best part was when the cook would dump the noodles into a clear little bag sans bowl – the Taiwanese version of fast food.  The bag handle was perfect for hanging off scooter handlebars.

I don’t know how many times I drove down the road with my bag of dry noodles flailing in the wind.
Dry noodles can be cooked a variety of ways with a variety of noodle sizes.  My favorite was the thin noodle version cooked in scallion oil and served with light vegetables (minus the meat), and chili or soy sauce.  Other mixtures include dry noodles with sesame or peanut sauce.

Oyster Noodles

Found in many a night market throughout Taiwan, transparent oyster noodles are cooked in a starch-like soup and tossed with fresh oysters. I had them once or twice and though I’m not a fan, they’re definitely interesting.

Taiwanese style spaghetti

I tried “Italy Mian” numerous times while living in the country.  I frequently visited a little corner stand down the street from where I lived in Puli.  The stand, managed  by super wonderful ladies, offered snacks such as chicken sandwiches and Taiwanese style spaghetti. Though it took some getting used to at first, I grew to love the Taiwanese version mixed with light sauce, vegetables, corn and chicken.

This is just a mere sampling of the many types of noodle dishes visitors can find in Taiwan. Some other tasty offerings include thick noodles slathered in mushroom sauce and endless options of noodle soup dishes.

Taiwanese cuisine is delicious!

Photos © Rhonda Mix and Google images.

She laughed, corrected my Chinese and mumbled something about how I was an American, excusing my mistake.

Learning a new language really is like trying to ride a bike. I fell down numerous times on my way from knowing only two words of Chinese to developing toddler-speaking capabilities (or survival Mandarin). Sometimes the frustration was intense but it was better than being frustrated with myself for not trying.

The thing I found most encouraging practicing Chinese in Taiwan was that even though people would sometimes laugh (and call me a moron no doubt) overall they were very tolerant and supportive. I’m sure I made a fool out of myself numerous times but people generally seemed happy that I was even trying to speak the language (and not expecting them to just bust out the English). There were a few incidents when communication just wasn’t getting through on either end and during those moments the locals would actually go out of their way to find someone who could speak English (a friend, relative, acquaintance) to assist.

Experiencing this acceptance made me feel ashamed of how some people in the United States treat foreigners. While I do think it is important anyone living in any country attempts to learn the national language, I also know that learning a language is definitely not easy and perhaps people should try to view the issue from another perspective before saying things like “Speak English or get out of the country.”

A lot of the time it just comes down to humiliation. After awhile I learned that even if some Taiwanese locals could speak English, they held back, afraid of embarrassing themselves.  I especially learned a lot about language acquisition through working with my students. We helped one another become more confident in regard to our language learning fears.

I’m not saying everyone in Taiwan was so accepting. I once had a truck driver go off on a tangent, his face shiny red and looking as if it were on the verge of exploding, questioning why I wasn’t fluent in Mandarin after one year of living in the country.

(For the record, it’s been said it takes a good 4 to 10 years to become fluent in Mandarin).

That was one moment where I felt like I understood how foreigners in the USA must feel when attacked for not knowing enough English.

I think practicing Mandarin with my students (after our English lessons) helped the most. Children are supportive and clap when you pronounce something correctly. Their laughter was less “Hey, you are an idiot,” and more “Hey teacher, that sounds funny. Here, let’s show you how to say it.”

We should all be as patient when it comes to communicating with speakers of other languages.

My first chopsticks challenge came a few weeks after I’d arrived in Taiwan. The large omelet sat harmlessly next to the pieces of battered coconut shrimp. An odd combination, yes, but pretty much the norm in the lower level food court of Taipei 101.

I stabbed the yellow mass with one stick, slowly raising it into the air. The sunny blob escaped my grasp, falling to the plate with a wobbly thud. My attempts with the coconut shrimp didn’t fare much better. I’m sure I made quite a picture that day…the strange white blonde trying to figure out how to eat eggs with chopsticks. But I learned quickly. Soon, I graduated to eating salad, and eventually to picking up one grain of rice between not only wooden, but also those slippery PLASTIC chopsticks that always tried to best me. I didn’t think much of my newfound skills but some of the locals seemed mightily impressed. As if most foreigners were incapable of such a feat. As if I could give Mr. Miyagi a run for his money.

“Wow, you are so good with chopsticks,” they’d say, and for a moment I’d feel like I was seven years old again and just received a yellow star from my teacher.

But this post isn’t about how great I am because I’m now a Chopsticks Master.

I wanted to share some of the funniest chopsticks pictures I’ve found on the web. Feel free to post links and I’ll try to add them to this collection.

photo © rfleming.net

photo © www.icanhascheezburger.com

photo © www.sodahead.com

© www.childsplate.com

*Sunset photo courtesy of peasap, Flickr Creative Commons

When you step off into the great unknown and leave life as you know it behind, some funny things happen. For awhile, your new life is fresh and exciting. But eventually, everything—every moment that has led up to the present point in time, catches up with you. You never outrun yourself. You’ll have to face your monsters again, possibly while alone on a deserted island, or stranded in a foreign hospital bed. You are also never too far removed from the people you left in your “old life.”  Carrying them with you into this new world, you begin to view them in a different light. Maybe you think about things you could have done better in certain relationships. At other times, you realize how much some people held you back, or how others were full of inspiration. Your loved ones become dearer in your mind while you sit in a crowded night market thousands of miles away, wondering what they’re doing as you try to understand the foreign language of a thousand strange voices interrupting your reverie.

When it’s time to move again, ever marching towards the next chapter, some funny things begin to happen. Carrying all you’ve experienced, you see the world in a different light. You find yourself sitting behind a computer, trapped in a cubicle, wondering what your friends across the globe are doing as you’re trying to live and understand the American Dream. Which suddenly seems like a foreign language.  And you remember with fondness the people you left behind.

This post is dedicated to:

Miky—from New Delhi, one of the most gentlemanly men in the world. Thanks for being a great friend.

My students—for showing me I had the strength to succeed and for believing in me like I believed in them.

Joe—for showing me kindness and reminding me of the importance of family.

Rachel—my first local friend in Taiwan. Thanks for leading me around those first few months and putting up with my awful attempts at Chinese.

Those Taiwanese girls at the hospital—for taking the time to stop by and attempting to chat with the plague-ridden, Chinese-challenged foreigner.

Stephen and Rachel—for giving me my “American” fix when needed and helping me through some embarrassing moments.

The lovely people I met in the Philippines—for teaching me much about myself and all the things I take for granted.

There are many more, and you are not forgotten.

I loved the time I spent in Puerto Princessa.  One of the more interesting tourist spots in the city is The Crocodile Farm—otherwise known as The Palawan Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Center.  Climbing onto a tricycle and taking in the sights and sounds of Puerto Princessa during the 40 minute jarring and wild drive to the farm was one of the highlights of the trip.

During my visit  I participated in a guided tour. In the museum at the beginning of the tour,  the group learned about the largest man-eating crocodile caught in the Philippines.  A glass box displayed the 5 meter skeleton and the massive hide of the creature hung above the box on a wall.  Our group listened as the guide told us the tale of the half-eaten unlucky soul found hidden in the crocodile’s stomach.  Not exactly the kind of news you want to hear before walking above a pit of huge hungry crocodiles. Which we did moments later.  As we stood on a rickety wooden bridge mounted precariously over the crocodile holes, I gazed down at the ancient-looking monstrous beasts and shuddered at the thought of what would happen if someone accidentally fell over the thin railing.

Another highlight of my visit—holding a  squirmy young crocodile.   I almost dropped it a few times but I enjoyed the experience.