Em <3

Half way done

See how I’m living abroad!

So, I haven't written too much about my time here and how I have been doing. I’ve been living in Taiwan for over 5 months now. WOOOW. This is the longest I have lived in another country. It’s crazy. I have made a pretty legit routine and I am feeling pretty healthy! Getting fit is my main goal of this year, but also reflecting more on my teaching and getting more involved in the city and doing stuff after work. BUT ALSO SAVING MONEY FOR TRAVELLING. I know, Emily you have to set realistic goals. Well, this is going to happen.

So this year, until the end of June… I wanna meet some new people. Maybe go out to different groups on meetup and see what’s out there. I have used the app- meetup around 3 times and it was pretty good. I have went to a board game meetup, a hiking meetup, and I started to go to a meditation meetup once a week.

I think the hardest part about living abroad is making friends with the locals- or just making new friends. It’s like invading people’s inner circles…

So, this semester I am going to make some new friends. (hopefully) I don’t know how but I am going to try and get back to you.

I have been here for 5 months and I love the convenience of everything. I have so much selection on everything in life., but what happens when the novelty of living abroad wears off. Now you are completely comfortable and those days of firsts are slowly disappearing. You need to keep exploring. I know we all develop our routines, and I LOVE MY ROUTINES, but once a week you should eat something new (or eat at a new place) or go somewhere new. Try to make the novelty stay as long as you can.

It’s hard to build a good support system here- so you rely heavily on the people that are close to you. When you’re good, you are at a high point- busy doing things, smiling, no time for writing blogs.. But all of the sudden, C-R-A-S-H. You break down, you need someone to talk to and sometimes the time difference just screws it up and you don’t wanna be a burden(or feel like one) to the same people over and over again.

For me, it is a weird balance of really highs and really lows. I am still looking for a good middle point. Sorry for that tragic turn of events in my writing. Living in Taipei has surely tested my abilities to cope and to slow things down and see the BIG picture. (Don’t worry guys, it’s mostly HIGHS)

There are so many things I am grateful to have here. I am started to realize that I am going to miss so much once I arrived back to Canada. This place has started to feel like a real home to me.

I think to keep it feeling exotic and brand new, I need to continue doing things for the first time. Going to new restaurants, going new places, which won’t be a problem because there is so much to discover here.

Alright, enough sitting around and writing, I gotta go accomplish these goals…

Thanks for reading,

P.S to quote Passenger-

only know you’ve been high when you’re feeling low.

only hate the road when you’re missing home.

Leave some love

And maybe some tips on making friends… LOL