I got this idea from fellow Americans-in-Taiwan Ben and Stephanie Francis: www.stephbenkinmen.blogspot.com
Looking back on the year, it feels like SO MUCH has happened! Which, in reality, is true. Here’s a brief summation.

January: 3-day bike trip with our friend Sandy and about 50 orphans in central Taiwan

February: A crazy journey in Korea. We saw the bustle of Seoul, heard Buddhist monks chanting in mountain temples, and spent a few days skiing at a world-class resort.

March: Lots of hiking. Here we are with our Aussie friend Hannah, taking a rest on the Caoling Trail.

April: Road trip with Sandy to Taiwan’s east coast and Taroko Gorge. We stayed with an aboriginal family and experienced a lot of eye-opening cultural encounters. We’re itching to get back during Chinese New Year break!

May: More hiking. Megan and Jenna lived close by, so we took advantage of it and went to find some hidden waterfalls in northern Taiwan. This is just before we could be found sitting on the rocks, getting pummeled by the water, belting out “In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight…” and laughing until it hurt. Good times


June: Camping on Taiwan’s northern Fulong beach (for free!) with friends. School ended and we went camping again, this time by ourselves, in Taiwan’s southernmost Kenting national park. It was HOT and beautiful!

July: Home in the States, enjoying best friends, family and the sometimes breathtaking Midwest. We also worked with a largely Amish crew in the cornfields, which was…something we may not do again.




August: Road trips! Emily went to Chicago with friends, then we both took a long journey first to Florida, then to Tennessee, and finally to Kentucky.


September: A visit to Emily’s best friend in LA is possible every time we fly back and forth to Taiwan. This is a good thing. Here we are with our hosts and a bunch of friends we made in Taiwan! Go figure. School starts again, and we do things like ride the bus and take the scooter to class.


November: We get treated to a traditional Taiwanese engagement meal. It’s as big a deal as the wedding day! And, MEGAN came for Thanksgiving weekend!

December: Schoolwork, parties, goodbyes to friends and a roommate, and celebrating Christ’s birth. We spent Christmas eve at a church nearby, listening to first a sermon and then beautiful music until the wee hours.

Happy New Year!
*Emily

Yeah, Emily, I hope you didn’t mind a bit of plagiarism… I just couldn’t resist such a priceless photo! :0) We had a great time with you guys too. We’ll have to do it again soon!
Cool idea to do the year in pictures. Just looking at the pictures one would never know that you are both full time college students! You really got around last year!
Emily, this is amazing!