AT on UT

I've spent the last couple of days trekking across the great west with the dynamic duo of Kaye and Fei, Joy, and a cooler that fed us in Melodie's stead. 

In short, it was tiring and scenic. Unstoppable Kaye drove over 400 miles over the 4 days between driving from St George, Utah to Logan, Salt Lake City, Red Canyon, Bryce Canyon National Park, Cedar Breaks, and Kolob Canyon. That was just day 1. Day 2 included Pioneer Park, Zion National Park, and then Kanab. Day 3 was the North Rim of the Grand Canyon with several stops along different outlook points. Here are some highlights from each day. 

Night 1

We arrived in SLC and were scheduled to pick up food from Whole Foods and bring it to the Woolfs for dinner. Mom kept asking me where everything was in the Whole Foods and seemed surprised every time I told her I actually hadn't been to the Whole Foods in Draper, Utah before. 

We stopped at Kaye's son's house on the way to say hi and get a full tour of their basement renovations and garden boxes. Their 4 kids were delighted to show us around and pick all of their mom's vegetables to give to us. 

Pumpkin, Cucumbers, Peppers, Green Peppers, Tomatoes, Beets, Mom...just a few things in their garden.

The Woolfs were just as gracious and kind as I remember them. They're also just as old as I remember them...it's just like they froze in time. There just weren't any butter toffee or cocker spaniels this time. 

I made some friends at the Woolfs.

Day 1

Kaye picked us up at 6 am and we rolled out at 630 am so we could start our ambitious national park trek before rush hour traffic. That lady can drive. I can sleep. We used our fortes to multi-task. 

Our first stop was the Red Canyons, gateway to Bryce Canyon National Park. Here we learned about our favorite tree the whole trip: the ponderosa pine. It has reddish bark and the pine needles grow in groups of 3 in each piney growth. The best part is that the bark smells like butterscotch and vanilla. The connection to food really drove home with us. 

Kaye teaching Joy about Ponderosa Pines.

At Bryce Canyon National Park, we went to Sunset Point to the lookout point and then the Navajo Loop Trail. Kaye guided Fei to only go down a couple switchbacks so that she could also make the walk back up the incline. Fei kept wanting to go further down but Kaye kept her in check. Reports are that going back up 4 back and forth was plenty hard so it was the right decision. 

View down into the Navajo Trail.

Fei and Kaye

Joy and I continued through the Navajo Trail which is just a good 1.3 miles, though with a fairly steep incline on the way back. We loved it - the trail takes you through a deep crevasse and then around and back up to Sunset Point. What's really cool is how quiet it is as you go down, even if there are 2 tour buses of Japanese school boys right behind you. 

Made it to the rock where everyone takes photos!

After our hike and picnic, we headed to Cedar Breaks. It's called Cedar breaks because of cedar...and breaks refer to how the rocks break...away....I did read that informational panel Kaye led me to. I was too cold at this point that was 10,350 feet up so I promptly ran back inside after we took a photo with a ranger who excitedly took a picture with us instead of for us. I wore her hat anyway to humor her. 

The last stop was Kolob Canyon. At this point I was pretty tired and jaded by nature, even though I recognized it was pretty. Then Unstoppable Kaye charged us to her home to St George. She suggested we go to see the cactus garden, and I told her I would like to eat. 

Day 2

On day 2, I learned about the many climates of the West and especially the desert. It was cold when we got up, and then it was instantly hot. And it was so. Hot. I haven't really remembered feeling hot since moving to Chicago but a handful of times, so it was pretty rough. I tried to be a good sport but my body just kept shutting off instead and I'd go to sleep. Luckily, Joy was awake and cool enough to play with their granddaughter Natalie who ran around Pioneer Park showing us all her favorite holes in the red rock formations. They were pretty awesome. And she was pretty adorable. 

Cute Natalie

Joy and I tried out all the rocks.

Then we all went on to Zion National Park -- adventurers + Dave and Natalie. I fell asleep some more. We stopped to see ostriches on the way because I guess that's something you can do in Utah, raise ostriches just because they're ostriches. One came to say hi to us. 

At Zion National Park, we spent the first hour trying to find each other because we'd driven to different parking lots. This taught me that mind speak is not possible even if you've been married for 40 years. 

We had lunch and then got ready to take the shuttle up to the hiking areas. When I learned that our shuttle stop was 40 minutes away, I laid back to conserve myself and not have a fit from overheating. So my mom yelled at me all the way up the mountain to wake up because I was missing the nature with my eyes closed. Luckily Kaye was there to discipline her. 

At the top, there was a nice stop by the river to enjoy shade and hang out. Then I felt more human. I laid on a rock to look up at the cliffs above, and then Fei's face hovered over my pleasant view. 

"What are you doing?! Are you okay!"

"I'm being peaceful!!"

Kaye then shooed her away. 

Kaye, Joy, and I went on a short hike to see the start of the Narrows which is a popular hike. We got to the end and took some photos for mom, and then we stopped and laid on a rock to soak up the scenery. I fell asleep. Twice. 

From Zion, Kaye had picked another hike at Checkerboard Mesa for us explore but recognized we were too tired so we skipped it. It's too bad though, because it seemed like the cooler hike between that and the Narrows hike. But it was for the better to just drive, stop, and take photos for everyone. This is mom's favorite way to enjoy nature anyhow. 

I'm trying to smile.

Joy really enjoyed this stop.

We drove on through the tunnel that connects Zion with the other side (don't know which exactly) and onto Kanab. In Kanab, population of Best Friends society and Grand Canyon tourists, we visited both grocery stores to see the sights. The visits were fruitful though because we continued to congratulate ourselves on how we were feeding 4 people for 3 meals for only $53 for the rest of the trip. 

Afterwards, we tried to go see stars on a secluded hill but it was too cloudy. But the clouds wee really beautiful glowing in the moonlight and we enjoyed those too -- in silence, which we had to keep reminding Fei was one of the instructions. 

Day 3

On the last full day, we walked across the parking lot to the church and attended sacrament meeting. It was at this time that I also discovered that I did not, in fact, pack a skirt. They let me in anyway. 

Then it was onto the Grand Canyon. The first stop was Jacob's Lake with a cute gift shop and bakery.  When Kaye told us about Jacob's Lake the night before, she told us there was a nice bakery at this stop that made a lot of homemade yummies. "Ooh!" was our collective response. There was no response when she followed with "North Rim Grand Canyon."  

Here's the bread, mom!

But we did actually ooh and aah when we got to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. It was spectacular! The Grand Canyon lodge provides a wonderful nature viewing room with rows of couches that just look out into the canyon. This was mom's perfect way to enjoy nature, I thought. 

Windows to nature...

We walked out to the easy lookout point and enjoyed the views of the canyon on both sides which were both different and beautiful. I think the Grand Canyon was my favorite. It was both grand and canyon. 

We felt energized from the grandeur of the canyon and told Kaye we wanted her to keep driving so we could see all the lookout points. So we went. "Where's the bread?!" my mom kept asking as we looked at the map of the Grand Canyon, not realizing Jacob's Lake was the bakery Kaye mentioned and still wondering when we would get to eat bread. 

We stopped at all the pull out areas on the way to Cape Royal at the end of the winding road. Our favorites were Vista Encantada, Woolhalla, and an unofficial stop close to Cape Royal (it was too late to go on the hike by the time we got there). Roosevelt Point was underwhelming in comparison. 

Vantage point from Cape Royal

Finally back to St. George to Kaye's home. We arrived around 9 pm, and then mom invited an old friend she'd rediscovered through another friend who now lives close to Kaye to come over. We visited for a while and glossed over what had happened to our families respectively over the last 29 years. 

They finally left and I melted down and went to sleep. 

Day 4

Joy and I chose flights out of Vegas since Kaye said a 2 hour drive is short for her and it made for better flight itineraries. We loaded out early and drove to Vegas. Don't worry, we stopped to take a photo at the St. George post office before we left for Vegas. 

We got to Vegas early so we stopped by the Bellagio to pee. Earlier in the car, Fei said she wanted to see the chocolate shop in the Bellagio but Kaye told her the Ethel M's chocolate was better so they didn't need to. As soon as we peed, Fei started mumbling in Chinese that she wanted to see the chocolate so she broke off to go ask the concierge where the chocolate shop is. She did this while Kaye was orating about the different displays the Bellagio sets up in the garden, and then when she turned around and saw Fei doing her own thing, she went and grabbed her over to listen about the garden. Fei said, "Garden?" And then we were allowed to visit the chocolate. Now the two 65-year old are on the loose tearing Vegas apart I'm sure (aka eating all the chocolate samples).

So ends the epic adventures across the Wild West. Or perhaps more aptly named, Mobile Nature Picnic with Fei and Kaye. 

2015: A very delayed Year in Review

2015 was the Year of Taiko, the Year of Mark, and the Year of Change. I have a wide range of feelings on the year, but I know it's a year I won't want to forget it. So I better at least make a list, 12 months+ later.

January 

For New Year's Eve, I basically threw a party for my friend's friend's friends and parents on accident. There was a gingerbread house that no one wanted to decorate and kept falling apart, and then midnight happened and I was upset like a small child. But it all ended well when I burned the gingerbread house a few days later. 

February 

It's fun to fill February with too many occasions: anniversaries, birthdays, Valentine's Day, and President's Day which nobody celebrates. My favorite February moment was when cherry blossoms came knocking on my door with a Mark. He gave them to me because I told him I wanted to go to Japan for cherry blossom season, but I wasn't sure if it would happen. So I had cherry blossom season in February in my living room. Insert lots of starry-eyed emoticons here.

March/April
In March, I left for a long trip to Asia for work that brought me to Japan right in the heart of sakura season. The cherry blossoms were a sign! Walking through Shinjuku Park full of cherry blossoms and silly picture-takers was possibly one of the most wonderful moments of my life. I remember whispering to myself, "This is why I'm here..." And my little friends agreed.

I visited Nagoya for the first time where I sampled all of the local specialties: kishimen, miso oden, azuki toast, hitsumabushi, and my favorite -- tebasaki! Every time I told one of my Japanese colleagues that I loved Sekai No Yamachan to eat tebasaki, they laughed really hard. I think it's like telling an American that you just love KFC. But they're just so crispy and good.

Here I am with the shachihoko, watchman of Nagoya.

I also went to my first cat cafe, which kind of felt like a cat brothel. They were bored and over-loved. Luckily, the trip in November gave me a better experience.

I tried going to see the Toyota factory but failed. I was 5 minutes late. Japanese people. I did get to see the exhibit center and some robots and cars there, which was pretty cool.

I had a bajillion course meal at Atsuta Horaiken which was absolutely amazing. Every course was basically an entire meal...so I ate everything of every course, of course. I don't know if I'd be able to make it to that restaurant on my own, so I will treasure this memory dearly.

And speaking of expensive food I might not have again, here's a delicious sushi dinner. That uni is from Hokkaido and completely unlike anything I've ever tasted anywhere. So fresh! I want to go to Hokkaido.

My favorite night in Nagoya was when I went to a local Okinawan izakaya that a friend recommended called Urizun. It was pretty close to the train station where I was working, and I just went after working. I sat down and took a really long time deciphering the menu and flipping through pictures, then I just decided to ask my neighbors what they were having. They were having some of the Okinawa soba which like ramen, umibudo, and "nomi hondai" or all-you-can-drink. We had a good time speaking choppy English and Japanese back and forth, and at one point we got the whole bar to cheer with us. Eri and Keita, that was a fun night.  I'd like to see you again.

I visited Osaka for less than 1 day and had the most delicious bowl of curry udon ever. It was SO hot and rich and delicious. That was definitely worth burning my tongue.

My last day in Japan, I got to go out to dinner with my Japan team where I kind of confessed my love for them. I meant it though when I said that all of my friends know them by name and they make me proud to work for our company. And then there was some scary monster that came out every so often to hang out with the diners. I'm still not sure the whole story behind him.

I ended up adding a leg of the trip to go to Taiwan. I got to participate in focus groups, which was a new and fun experience for me. It also was a funny experience to go between Japanese, Chinese, and English to get it done. I think I'd be a good moderator.

The trip was last minute, but I ended up seeing a good number of people there by chance. Donald and Hubert from my Austin life were there the same night, leaving the next day. We had an all you can eat hot pot for about $10 each. We were stuffed.

I also got to see Gan Ba and Gan Ma, Xiao Yu and Scott and Tang Yuan to-be. We had Taiwanese breakfast, went to the post office, stopped by the market, and then looked at photos and ate fruit back at their place. I think the most surprising thing was how delicious that fan tuan was. So good.

Last stop was Korea for the first time. I'm not exactly sure what I was expecting, but it didn't quite meet my expectations. I think I expected it to be more hustle and bustle like Tokyo, but instead I got big wide streets with lots and lots of traffic. Lots of traffic. I spent most of my time being toted around in car and I fell asleep a lot. When the toting was done though, I did get to enjoy a very nice meal that delighted me with many tiny things, including this tiny mousse of salmon and ikura. Like a tiny crunchy and creamy bite of the ocean!

And then I finally got to go home.

May
In May, Mark and I rode the Hogwart Express aka Amtrak to St. Louis for a 3rd grade friends grown up reunion. We hung out with Rachel and her girls Sydney and Sabrina, and Sam and Susan came from Austin also. There was a lot of chasing the girls around (exhausting) and home hanging out. The gem of the trip is this photo where we reenacted my 3rd grade birthday party.

Then Joy came to visit! We went to our favorite Cellar Door Provisions.

Melodie is engaged officially. 2 days later, I figure out this means I'll have to move. Mom showed us her nostrils in excitement.

June
We went home to Texas to visit the family and eat a lot of food.

July
This year, we shifted our annual Rachel visit to July and did non-Lollapalooza activities. With Rachel's influence to not-be lazy, we packed our 3 days together full of fun activities. There was a lot of walking and 30 Rock, which proves that you can do a lot out of the house and still manage to watch a lot of TV.

I have a confession. I skipped taiko practice. Instead, I went to the Taylor Swift concert for free, and it was awesome. Melodie was right when she said I need to have my priorities straight.

The concert was awesome, and I only cried a couple times throughout the night. Whatever genius thought of programming a thousand light-up bracelets to sync up with the music and your seating area -- I'm convinced you've changed stadium concerts forever. I ended up watching the concert by myself when all of my coworkers bailed, but I had a fantastic time singing with my 60,000 BFFS and Taylor. We just get each other.

August
In August, I played taiko. We had a show just about every weekend -- exhausting but my summer is full of memories. Melodie's birthday weekend, we played a collaboration with a fine arts collective called MOZAWA. Taiko only had a small role in the show, and it was more experimental than I usually prefer, but in the end it grew on me. I still wouldn't have wanted to watch it as a spectator (Sorry, Mark).

Ginza is one of my favorite events of the year. Leading up to this Ginza, I volunteered to help the temple straighten out and organize some of their inventory and purchasing processes. I don't think there were a lot of big changes this year, but possibly there were some shifts to be more detailed. Either way, I'm glad I got to know the temple members better and work with them more closely. It's interesting that almost everything I do in my life right now is somewhat grassroots and in an attempt to put some changes in effect in a system that's been working off of tradition only. All of that is to say, I volunteered because I really love the community at the temple and what they do for Ho Etsu and also for me personally. I just really look up to a lot of them. Here is where I'd gush about Kiku, but I'll just leave it at that.

As far as performances for Ginza, we debuted our new original piece called Rotations that we played together with MBT Taiko. It was a ton of fun because we'd learned it together just the 2 weeks before, and we got so excited that we played it at turbo speed. But we survived and everyone was happy. Mark's brother Tim happened to come to visit him during Ginza weekend again, so he was delighted yet again with more Ginza and more Ho Etsu. Don't worry, Tim -- I put it on Mark's calendar so he knows to warn you next time.

At the end of Ginza weekend, I stayed late to help clean up. It's incredible that the temple has been putting on this festival for more than 60 years completely by volunteers. Why? Because they want to continue the tradition and spread joy. And the smell of teriyaki chicken grilling on homemade grills.

September
The first weekend of September, Mark and I went to Denver to attend one of his best friend's weddings. We went a couple days early to do some exploring and hang out together and with Tyler and Amber's families. Their families seemed actually close which I found to be interesting. What was even stranger was when we all sat around and joked around someone's uncle who had enjoyed Denver's specialties a lot during his stay.

My favorite part of the wedding was dancing -- both dancing with Mark and watching Mark dance with Tyler's mom. She was so happy.

The following weekends were taiko, taiko, and more taiko, in preparation for our big concert ROTATIONS. There were also some weekends of pointless postering which I'm sure led to 0 ticket sales. We won't be doing that again.

October
Finally on October 3-4, our year long vision of ROTATIONS came to life. We first started talking about ROTATIONS in February of 2014, 18 months before our actual concert date. I volunteered to lead the project management of our concert which I lamented on and off over the 18 months. I remember telling Mark the first week that I met him that I needed to step up and volunteer to manage the project. Funnily enough, it was in the top level of a really gross club called Castle which was closed by the time our concert happened. Anyways, by concert weekend, what was done was done and everyone was really happy -- I was relieved.

Our concert started with Traveler, which begins with Tiana and me playing clave back and forth and walking towards the center of the stage. I was so charged with emotions -- happy, excited, nervous -- I started tearing up as soon as we started walking out. We'd been working on it for so long and this was it! People were in the audience! Some people we don't even know how they found out! Then I focused back in and played the concert.

Concert weekend was good. Everyone got along, no major major mishaps, the music was well-received, parents came to both nights, my friends and coworker friends came, On Ensemble was amazingly cool, we had good food, we had silly moments, we toasted our achievements...and then it was over. We had dinner after our last show, and we spent a good 30 minutes at least standing outside because no one wanted to go home. How could the concert be over after so much preparation?  The only thing I kept thinking over and over again was, "We did it!" We presented a great concert, composed and learned original pieces, brought together our group with an awesome world music taiko quartet, promoted the concert enough so that even strangers came, and all of it without hating each other.

Finally, we went home and then nobody wanted to see each other for the next 3 months.

November
As soon as concert season ended, it was straight into high work mode. I was excited about practice times being open, but I filled them with work things instead. I'm adding this to "lessons learned" in 2016, to be more protective of my personal time.

But, I do get to go to a lot of cool places where I've met a lot of cool people for work. I went to Taiwan, Korea, and then Japan this time. Highlights:

Taiwan
This trip was in preparation for the new Shop opening in December. I finally got to meet people I'd been talking to for a few months on the project, and the Chinglish game in Taiwan is pretty strong. By the end of the trip, we got into a pretty good rhythm of them speaking Chinese to me and me speaking English to them. It's the most efficient and comfortable communication for everyone.

I spent a lot of time doing computer work during this trip, and I wish I had spent more time exploring, whether it was for personal or work. I did go on a couple adventures though, one of them was a quick hike up Elephant Trail which is just next to Taipei 101. On the way up, I met an older couple taking photos and I offered to help them take a picture. They heard my ABC accent, and soon we were buddies because they used to live in Lombard and moved to LA to be warmer. They would be in Taiwan for 2 weeks. We took some photos together.

I also got to see my godparents which was fun. I know they love me because they walked around and let me choose soup for every course - appetizer, main, and dessert. They showed me lots of photos of Tang Yuan who is a real boy now.

Korea
One day, my Korean colleagues and friends will find this blog and know my secret: I don't like Korea that much. Granted, my experience is limited but it just hasn't been that great.  My associations are mainly of unending traffic and more traffic. Plus, I haven't been to North Korea and maybe it's really great there.

I made the mistake of saying that I really enjoy kimbap, and then my coworker kept buying me kimbap to eat. Once he even bought me a kimbap with American cheese into it -- luckily I had just bought myself food so I didn't have to explain cheddar hump to him. There's no way he would have ever understood.

I got to observe focus groups while I was there, which was pretty fun (minus the sweltering room). Focus groups are very interesting because sometimes what they say is totally expected, and then other times they bring up things you've never thought of. My biggest cultural takeaway was the discussion around what "nosh" or "kansig" means as a category. Apparently this is different than snack and different than meal, but also a very distinct category. But not really. But kind of. Well, it's important is what we mean.

The best day in Korea was when I got to meet up with Jay, Dave's girlfriend. She took me to Itaewon to walk around and then to Gyunyridan for lunch. We had one of the cutest meals I've ever had. It wasn't very filling, but I was willing to exchange full for cute. I mean, look how cute it is.

Japan
Finally, I made it to Japan where Mark met up with me. It was such a relief to see a welcome face! And he looked so fresh walking off a 2-stop international flight. I'm not sure how that happened, but I was delighted and giggled the whole (long) taxi ride to our hotel.

In Osaka, I attended some awkward meetings along with a Shop grand opening on the same day. That was an interesting mix of dynamics, so what I'll highlight instead was the really delicious bowl of udon that I had. They rolled out the noodles from a big block right there, and then they yelled a bunch of things and dunked them into boiling water. Then you choose your toppings, extra pieces of tempura, and top it all off at the end. Apparently this concept when introduced to Taipei 101 also caused quite a stir to regular operations because of the long lines.

The gem of this trip for me was the concert I attended with Mihoko, Jun-san, and Mark. We went to watch my friend Yoko perform at a jazz club. She's originally from Osaka but has lived in Chicago now for 20+ years when she moved to learn more about jazz and ended up never leaving. She's got an amazing and contagious spirit and a world full of passion. Everyone who meets Yoko loves her. On top of that, she really knows how to work a room. I'm not sure what she was saying, but the audience's reaction clearly said that she is in fact a hilarious and captivating performer as much as she is in person. Jun-san loved her, which pleased me as well.

What also stands out for me is how special and rare the meeting of this group of people was. Jun-san, my dear beloved work uncle; Mihoko, my adventurous teammate; Mark, my honey who flew all the way from Chicago to just be with me -- all coming together to watch Yoko play a concert the one night that she happens to be in Osaka for the year. What are the chances! I hope that this memory forever sparkles in my memory.

From Osaka, I had a quick stop in Nagoya, and then it was off to Tokyo. In Tokyo, we got to meet up with Mark's friend who moved there a few months ago, Ran. That was fun to see him and especially convenient since he's fluent in Japanese so he could show us around and help me confuse the waiter because the English menu and Japanese menu had conflicting messaging. We went to a Okinawan izakaya, followed by another izakaya stop on the way home. The next night we went to Roppongi Hills but we didn't stop anywhere. We just walked very determinedly in a circle. I thought that was strange and a waste of time, but I'm remembering it now as a story so I guess it was a success.

I took a couple extra days just to spend with Mark, versus ignoring him all day and then coming back to see how much TV he had watched. Most everything was a quest for food as usual, so it was eating event + walking and looking at things + eating event + walking and looking at things. The best walking we did was when we walked in a literal circle looking for soft serve. It was the best soft serve we had on the trip though. After that, we switched our goals to pudding.

Oh we saw a robot too. His name is Asimo and he can jump on one leg. I have to admit that I tried really hard to remember some facts from the museum, but I can't remember any. There's a robot seal that helps autistic kids feel emotional connections.

The last night, we followed the Instagram posts to a pretty hidden curry spot called Cari Rio. We started out like normal people and ordered 1 curry each, and then one delicious thing led to another and we ended up ordering 6 in total. We learned that Mark really loves keema curry, the ground meat kind. We also learned that "dry curry" means fried rice. I'm sure that they were a bit shocked at how much we ordered and ate, but I tried to explain that it was our last night in Japan and it was just so good. I think he got the idea.

Things I loved about this trip: Having Mark all to myself, so I could be the selfish cat that I really am. And there was so much sushi to be had at the same time. I was a happy cat.
Things I want to do for next time: I want to research a bit more to give the in-between-eating-walking some more direction. And also a fancy dinner spot and be unapologetic for not being able to communicate in their language. And, better about turning off work things when it's play time. Better yet, make the vacation completely separate from a work agenda.

From Japan, I went straight home to Texas for Thanksgiving. This was my first Thanksgiving without Melodie ever, so it was kind of strange. Melodie was in Asia with Eric and his family having what we call her "land cruise" experience of hotels and hotel lounges. It sounded pretty fantastic.

We spent Thanksgiving with Charity and her family. I fell asleep there just like I did at everyone's house from being jetlagged. Her son Joshua called us a "pu tao" or grape a lot, success stories of Mom's Chinese teaching. I can't remember much else about Thanksgiving because I was falling asleep the rest of the time.

December
I spent 1.5 weeks back in Chicago, and then it was time to leave for Taiwan again. The mission this time was to open a new Shop for the popcorn people. I like to refer to this event as my boss's birthday party because the ultimate goal is to make him happy.

Melodie always reminds me that everything I do just helps me build up my library of stories. She's right, as she always is, and I came away from this trip with a lot of stories. And when I needed some extra support, Eric happened to be in Taipei also so we'd text about cats and cat cafes and pretend dinner plans that both of us knew we couldn't keep. But it made me feel better anyway.

The days were full of work-related things, hotel breakfasts, dou hua, sushi trains, and making a lot of new LINE friends. LINE is such a funny app that absolutely everyone has. Your contact information consists of your email, your phone number, and your LINE ID (which is sometimes your phone number and you should just expect people to find you that way).


Momotaro NYE (it is now July 1 and I started this post on February 1). 

Momotaro is a wonderful restaurant and delivers on making you feel special. 

The end, by Alexa of halfway through 2016. Should really work on that goal to blog more regularly.

AT in STL: Forever Friends

Some things never change.

And some things do.

AT in TW: Formosa Hospitality

The first time I went to Taiwan a few years ago, my godfather asked me on the first day, "How do you feel about Taiwan?"

"It's not so different from China." Spoken like a true white person.

On the last day of the week we spent there, I made sure to tell him that I was very wrong about what I'd said before. Because Taiwan is clean and orderly, and the people are friendly and hospitable. Sorry, China. I'm sure some of you are great.

On this trip, I went to Taiwan with two colleagues from Japan. We will call them M and K for ease of conversation. M has always lived in Japan and has excellent English, and K grew up in Korea but she is Japanese and Chinese by heritage. K's English is good, but not as good as her other languages. So between the 3 of us, we spoke a mix of Japanese, English, and Chinese in various orders:

A: English -> M: English to Japanese -> K understands

K Chinese -> A Chinese to English -> M understands

M English -> A: English to Chinese -> K understands

K Japanese -> M Japanese to English -> A understands

and so forth.

Anyway, despite our varied backgrounds, we all agreed that Taiwanese people are very hospitable and it seems like they genuinely want to talk to you. And they have a lot to say. 

From the day I arrived, I eyed a 大餅 "da bing" stand that was across from my hotel. I thought about it every day until I finally went to go check it out. The pieces they served were MASSIVE though, so I asked if she could sell me a smaller piece. She didn't even pick up her head and snarled a terse, "No. Cannot." So I just got a giant piece of 大餅, but I only got one variety instead of two.

When I realized that I was in Taiwan and this giant piece of bread cost me pennies, I went back and got the other variety (pumpkin). When she saw that I'd come back, she launched into a monologue about how this was a company policy to only sell huge pieces of bread and that it made sense because if they sold smaller pieces then people would buy smaller pieces and then they would have smaller profit and that the company has changed a lot and it used to be different and now the owner says that...

I didn't actually understand most of what she was saying between the street noises and her Taiwanese accent and my poor comprehension, but I got the general idea. I couldn't help but thinking, "Could I have that bread now?..." as I pretended to understand, nodding and staring at her missing teeth. She just needed someone to talk to. I just needed that piece of bread. 

On my last night in Taiwan, I left M and K and got into a taxi. In one simple sentence, I asked the taxi to take me to the hotel and the name. "Where are you from?" he asked. "Your Chinese doesn't sound like you're from here." 

I explained to him that I'm an ABC and apologized for my Chinese being so bad (this is my best conversation in Chinese). He said it wasn't bad, but it sounded like I just don't use it very often. I told him that he's right.

When I told him that my parents are from Taiwan, he warmed up a lot. "Welcome home! Oh it's so good you came home." This is a reaction I get a lot from Taiwanese people. They seem glad that I've come to my senses and returned to my true homeland, a place I'd never visited. Still, I do feel connected and I'm glad they'll still consider me their people.

The nice taxi - you can go into any convenience store and have them call a taxi for you.

We made arrangements for him to pick me up from my hotel in the morning (early flight), and then he gave me his card and told me to call him if I needed any help getting around. He got off work later and he could accompany me to one of the night markets if I wanted to go eat. This would be creepy in a different context, but he was genuinely concerned for my well-being.

His concern for my well-being continued in the morning. 

"Did you get breakfast?"

"No, I didn't."

"You can ask the hotel to make you a breakfast! Did you ask the hotel to make you a breakfast?"
"No, I didn't ask."

"Because you didn't know you could ask? Do you want to ask now?"

"No, it's okay. I think I'll be fine."

"Well...okay...I guess you'll know for next time...You're sure you're okay?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine! No problem!"

"Okay...guess you'll have to eat breakfast in the airport..."

Skipping meals is not an option. In fact, skipping meals between meals is not an option. When I was with my colleagues, the host Taiwan office kept bringing us giant snacks in case we were hungry. We weren't hungry, but the snacks were always welcomed.

Egg scallion pancake, the size of my hand and folded over several times.

Just a GIANT fried chicken quarter on top of everything.

I had to save room for the best part of Taiwan - Taiwanese breakfast! That rice stick on the left was actually the most surprising. So good.

It's a little island country filled with little people with big hearts. Who walk around the park hitting themselves to strengthen their meridians. I guess they are my mother's people, after all.

#LostInDubai Brings New Beginnings

December 2013
With no one to feed him peanuts, Simone was feeling lonely.  And hungry.  Not to mention that Monkey's pile of bananas was quickly turning brown with Monkey nowhere to be seen.

It was time to enlist outside help.  The stories of of P.I.Robot's successful investigations had been circling about the watering hole lately, so Simone went to seek help.

It wasn't hard to find him -- she found him near the watering hole.  He talked about his successful investigations a lot.

Learning about Simone, Monkey, and Leo's friendship and travel adventures, P.I. Robot immediately began the investigation.  There was no time to lose. But where to begin?

February 2014
First following a tip that the missing pair had been seen in Costa Rica, P.I. Robot and Simone hopped on a plane to follow their trail.

But they always seemed to be a step behind of the tips and selfies left at the scene.  And why were they wearing funny hats and bowties?

October 2014, 11 months after the initial missing report 
P.I. Robot and Simone were getting weary.  11 months of searching and little to be found except for banana scraps and mane clippings every so often.  Would they ever find each other again?

Downtrodden, P.I. Robot and Simone decided to return to the scene of the disappearance, the Burj Khalifa, to pay a last homage to their two friends they may never see again.  The irony that the sight of a building that inspires so many could bring such pain to little Simone was too deep to be spoken.  The two looked up at the twinkling 828 meters of lights in silence.

But then...
the tiny hoots of a monkey and the yowling mews of a lion who's struggling to grow up as fast as his peers broke the quiet night air.

"Simone! Simone! And...stranger robot?"

Simone couldn't believe her big floppy ears.  "Is that really you?"

In a mighty whirl of emotion, the three friends embraced and celebrated their reunion in the glow of The Dubai Mall Fountain dancing in the background.

Latest Updates from the Investigation
as of October 23, 2014

In November 2013, Leo and Monkey were asked to leave immediately on a one-off covert mission with the Secret Safari Society. The SSS was part of their past that they had never shared with Simone, and it was a tough decision to leave without telling her. But it was for her own safety.

The two stripped their old identities and took up new ones as Ferdinand and Bernadette.  After completing their 11 month mission with SSS, the two returned to the Burj Khalifa hoping to pick up their old lives where they left off.

Since the happy reunion, Simone, Ferdinand, and Bernadette have been traveling again to make up for lost time. See more of their adventures here. They have also agreed to always meet at The Assembly Point in the event anyone is missing in the future.

AT in CR: Blue River Summer Camp

This is Alexa's guide to enjoying your stay at Blue River Resort, or as I like to call it, Blue River Summer Camp.

To arrive at Blue River Summer Camp, you will need to drive down the World's Bumpiest Road for 60 minutes at 15 mph. Please pack Dramamine. On the up side, you will see some very nice views along the way.

Upon arrival, please check in at the main cabin. If you have not scheduled any excursions, please look for Camp Counselor Felix in the Mess Hall. As all the staff will tell you, he is the only black man on the grounds so you can't miss him. You also can't miss him because he's the charming one that's best friends with every guest at Blue River Summer Camp. Don't worry - in just another day, you too will be sharing a hearty guffaw with your BFF Camp Counselor Felix.

Camp Counselor Felix making memories with the campers

The mess hall is open from 7 am - 9 pm. Sometimes we refer to this as the "restaurant," but as it's the only place to eat within 50 miles (remember the hour long drive on the bumpy road), we all recognize that it's actually a mess hall with tablecloths. Say hi and thanks to the chef who has proudly prepared each of your meals.

We have botanical gardens where you can enjoy the lush abundance of the Guanacaste region, a butterfly sanctuary, a (questionable) volcanic mud bath, and four mineral hot springs for you to relax the day away.

If relaxing in all this beauty leaves you antsy, then book an excursion with Camp Counselor Felix. He'll take you on hikes, horseback riding, zip lining - "Felix" is synonymous with "fun" around here, so just let him know what you're looking for.

At night, we'll meet over dinner at the mess hall to chat about what fun things we did at summer camp that day.

"I went zip lining over the trees!"
"I rode a horse for the first time and my butt is raw!"
"I rode a military convoy fitted with car seats up to the mountains for a hike!"

Oh, how we'll laugh as we reminisce about the memories that we just made together hours ago.

And when dinner is done, we'll push aside the tables and cue the dance party. With lights, music, and Counselor Felix leading the way, we dance into the night.

Alright, this part of the guide is wishful thinking.
But look how much fun we would have!

We look forward to your stay at Blue River Summer Camp.