On the Hunt!

Well, it's been almost three weeks since I graduated from college. Three weeks of job hunting on a few different fronts. And let me tell you, it is NOT FUN.

First off, I've been trying to find a job here in the U.S. so that I can save up some money. This has not been going well. I live in a small town and don't have any form of transportation, so there are few job openings that I can apply for. I haven't found a job yet, which is sort of concerning me because I'm not sure I'll have enough money to get to Taiwan. But I'm still trusting God...if He wants me in Taiwan, He'll make a way for it to happen!

I've also been applying for jobs in Taiwan. That's basically all I've been doing for almost three days straight, but I also have been working on it casually for the past couple of weeks. So far, I have applied for 21 jobs in Taipei. One of those has to work out, right? I sure hope so.

Other than that, I've been doing some research online about what kind of visa I need and how to get it and how that whole process works. I'm still a little confused but I'll figure it out eventually.

All in all, I've been getting very excited to go back to Taiwan. It's my passion right now. I'm trying to be ok with the fact that God could pull me in a different direction. I don't want to accept that what I want to do might not be what God wants me to do, but I'm really trying to be ok with it.

So I'll leave you with a few more pictures from my last trip to Taiwan so you can see a little bit more of why I love the place so much :) 

 A street near the school I taught at during my internship.

 A rooftop prayer garden on the roof of a realllllyy big church I attended. 

 Signs outside of bathrooms that tell you which stalls are available. 

 Mango shaved ice...DELISH.

 The spiciest noodles EVER at Din Tai Fung.

 Cute little lizard friends outside our rooms. 

 MRT advertisements we couldn't understand and therefore assumed had something to do with Santa Claus.

 Fruits I've never heard of before but are DELICIOUS.

 Bathroom-themed restaurants.

 More delicious noodles. 

 The most delicious coconut you could ever find...subtropical climates have their perks, even though the humidity is killer.

 Local cover bands that play anything from Queen to Justin Bieber to Richie Ren at the local brewery.

Gondolas that take you high into the mountains to visit mountainside tea houses. Beautiful. 

Bear Donuts

I don't really have anything new or exciting going on when it comes to Taiwan things. But I do want to share one thing I love about Taiwan: BEAR DONUTS. Seriously. I would tell you about them, but THIS blog does a pretty good job of it. Just check it out. If this doesn't make you want to come visit me in Taiwan someday, I don't know what will. :)

Not Quite There Yet...

I need to get one thing out of the way right now...I'm not actually in Taiwan yet. I'm still in Wisconsin, finishing my last semester of school.

I'm starting this blog because I'm planning on moving to Taiwan soon after I graduate to teach English, and in the meantime I want to keep a sort of journal of my experiences in figuring everything out. Ultimately, I started it so that once I'm there I can keep all of my lovely friends and family updated on my life. I learned in my month in Taiwan last summer that the time difference makes it hard to stay in contact with people back home as much as I'd want to, so at the very least I can keep my blog updated so that my mom can rest easy knowing I'm alive and well even if I haven't gotten a chance to Skype her for a while. 

Right now, I'm still in the beginning stages of getting things ready. Thank goodness my friends Dayna and Lauren are also planning to move to Taiwan at the same time I am...it's really nice to have that support, you know? Anyways, I don't know if you know this, but there's a lot to figure out when trying to move out of the country. For instance, health insurance. I don't really know how that works in Taiwan. I have to put final touches on my resume and apply for jobs. I have to obtain the correct visas. I have to find out how to make payments on my student loans while outside the U.S. I have to find a temporary job as soon as possible so that I can save up some money for when I first get there, before I get any paychecks. I have to somehow come up with over $1,000 so that I can buy a plane ticket. SO MANY THINGS. 

That's basically where I am in my planning process. I'm starting to think about all the things I need to do to make this possible and realizing how much there is to do. But it's okay. I'm becoming more and more certain as time goes on that God wants me in Taiwan. So that's my goal. 

This is not a very exciting blog right now because it's just me talking about getting ready to do something exciting, and not me talking about actually doing anything interesting. But let me leave you with a small sampling of pictures from my trip to Taiwan last summer, which do a pretty good job of keeping me motivated to work hard on getting there:

Lover's Bridge

Really cheap, delicious tea all over the place (not to mention Lauren in the background of half my pictures)

Interesting snacks (this was literally two pancakes with ice cream in the middle...)

The beauty of the mountains and the excitement of the city all in one place...what could be better?

Night Markets! <3 

Again...scenery...beautiful...

Have you figured out that I love the natural scenery?

I just can't explain my love for this place. JUST LOOK AT IT. 

Teahouses in the mountains. Perfect.