It's Spring Again

"It's spring again, it's spring again. Do you know how I know? All the leaves are on the trees and the grass is starting to grow!"

I learned this little poem when I was in Kindergarten and decided that I was going to recite it in our school talent show. It has some other verses I don't remember, but you get the gist. Isn't it funny the things that stay with you?

Well, it is spring and I'm so glad! This picture is the view from out of my office window at the Harrison House. Isn't this tree beautiful? I love all of the blooms everywhere on campus right now! I hope you are all enjoying the spring! Isn't it fun to be outside again? I love all of the green and the flowers and the sunshine. What a wonderful time of year!

I'm only going to have this view for a couple more weeks, because I am moving offices as soon as we wrap up Dr. Ellis' inauguration. I went over and looked at my new office yesterday. I like the furniture and the area looks really nice! The sad thing is that I don't have a window at all. I'm going to miss my view out of my eight different windows, but I'll survive!

It's so hard to believe that I won't be working at the Harrison House any more. This has been my home away from home for the past 5 years. I started working there my junior year of college and have been around ever since. My friend Kristy's son Tyler even calls it "Kalie's house." He actually thinks I live there, although one day he was really puzzled about where my bed was. I know I'm going to miss having Kristy right across the hall, but change is good, right? I am looking forward to being in a more centralized place on campus. Hopefully this move will help me stay more connected with everything going on. It does double my commute, though. Instead of leaving my apartment at 8:00 and arriving at work at 8:00, I may have to leave closer to 7:57 or so, depending on the traffic crossing Austin Avenue. haha.

Le Jour de l'An

I have been back from Taiwan for two weeks and so I'm sure you are all wondering ... where am I going for my next trip? Well, good news! I just bought tickets to Paris for Le Jour de l'An (aka New Years)! I'm so excited!!! Danielle and I are planning to meet in Paris on December 28 and spend seven glorious days there. Her mom may be coming with us as well, I'm still not sure yet. Either way, it's going to be another great adventure! It was kind of complicated coordinating my travel from Dallas and her's from Taipei to arrive in Paris at the same time, but we worked it out. :) Now, I just wish that it wasn't nine months away!

This will definitely be the most exciting New Year's celebration I've ever been a part of! I'm looking forward to ringing in 2011 with one of my best friends in one of my favorite cities! What could be better?

Man, I Feel Like a Woman

I'm an adult. The signs have been creeping up for a while now. College graduation was the first tip off. Followed by the full-time job, bills, 10 p.m. bedtime, you know the story. Many of you are probably experiencing it too. My 25th birthday was definitely the turning point, there's no going back. It's not that I haven't wanted to be considered grown-up. I think I was born mature and I've always acted older than I am. I want to be grown-up, I just don't want to be old. You know what I mean?

This last week I realized that not only am I grown-up, and an adult. I'm also a woman. Haha. This sounds a little more drastic than I mean it to be. What I'm referring to is that I'm now being involved in "Women's ministries." Last Thursday I was elected for the third year as an officer in the HPU Woman's Club and during the meeting I was invited to be involved in the Women's Ministry at my church. I'm honored to serve in both ministries, it's just funny because it suddenly hit me - I'm an adult woman. Whoa! Times, they are a changing - and I'm glad. I'm looking forward to the Lord using me in new ways, it's just new territory and may take some getting used to.

Medical Masks and a 3D Wonderland

On Saturday we took a break. It had been such a busy week, that we really needed some down time, so that morning we stayed in pajamas and watched movies and just enjoyed hanging out. Around 4 we headed to Miramar which is a fun area about an hour from Danielle's apt. via the reliable transportation venue known as the MRT.

We met up with Danielle's friend Jenny and went to dinner at T.G.I.Friday's. (If you are keeping track, this was my second time at Friday's and yes, we ate American food a lot!) Jenny is another friend from the university, and she's really sweet! We had a great time hanging out with her, and she actually helped us film a little more for the music video. Danielle and I bought some cute medical masks the day before and so, we decided the Miramar mall would be a great place for them to make their appearance! We wore them up and down the escalator while Jenny filmed us and we did get a few looks! Then we went outside, where it was raining, but the ferris wheel was lit up and it was so fun!

It was about 7:15 now, which meant we needed to rush upstairs for the main event - we were seeing Alice in Wonderland in 3D at the IMAX! Whoa! I know, sounds crazy and intense, right? Well it was! I had never seen a movie at the IMAX or in 3D, so both at once was quite a thrill. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it! I would recommend it!

Then we rode the fun ferris wheel and got a good view of the city lit up at night. Our way home on the MRT was an adventure as well. First, I didn't get the memo that we were changing trains at one point and almost stayed on while Danielle and Jenny got off. Seeing as how I hadn't been paying attention at all that week on where we were, where we were going or how to get back to Danielle's, I'm really thankful that I realized they left before the doors closed and I was lost forever.

Then, while we were in the Main Station, Danielle and I hopped on a train heading home (so we thought). We got to a stop that Danielle didn't recognize and we realized we were on the Orange line - which is not the way home. (Side note: earlier that day Danielle had mentioned that the orange line was the only one I hadn't been on yet, so now I can say I've been on them all). So, we waited for another train to take us back to the main station, hopped on and we were back again. We went down a level, got on another train and as soon as the doors closed, we both realized that we were on an orange train again! What are the chances? We both died laughing and I think everyone thought we were crazy foreigners. As soon as we got to the next station a train heading back to the main station was arriving at the same time, so we ran from one train to the other and headed back to the main station AGAIN. haha. I can report that this time we were certain that we were getting on a green and 30 minutes later than we anticipated, we arrived at Danielle's home MRT. Whew! It was so funny and every trip has to have at least one story like this, right? I don't think you can truly say it's an adventure if you don't get lost at least once!

On Sunday we went back to the jade market in the morning and then met up with Simon again for the much anticipated "Lunch with Kalie Lowrie" and the WT students in Taipei. We ate at this really neat restaurant called Five Dimes which looked kind of like a sunken ship. Several of my mom's former students met us there including Dana, Shiang, Alli, Joey, Ching and Vicky. We had a lot of fun and enjoyed all of the food they ordered!

That afternoon we finished filming our video with the rooftop scences and the cute little girls. Then we finalized "Just Dance, Taipei," had dinner with Ken and Sharyl and I packed up my stuff. Danielle went with me to the airport on Monday morning and then I headed back home via Tokyo.

Can I just say that I'm kind of sad to be writing this last post, because that means my trip is really officially over. :( Here are some other tell-tale signs that I'm back to reality-

1. I unnpacked my suitcase this morning, which basically meant putting all of the contents into my dirty clothes basket

2. I slept for 12 hours last night, hopefully helping me to finally get over the jet lag that has slowed me down all week.

3. My facebook pictures are posted -I condensed my 750 pics down to 132 for those who are interested, click here.

Well, this concludes the Adventures of Danielle and Kalie in Taiwan. I hope you enjoyed it! I have had a great time sharing all of my favorite stories from my amazing trip to the beautiful country of Taiwan!

Monkeys at the Zoo

Well, it's 6 a.m. and guess who's up? Me! Yep - jet lag and I have become good friends over the past few days. Apparently my body thinks that 6 is my new wake up time, but if that's the only repercussion from an awesome trip, then I'll take it! If you haven't been able to tell from all of my pictures and stories - this was one of my favorite trips EVER! And I'm having so much fun blogging about it and sharing all of my memories.

On Friday, Danielle went into work in the morning and I got to go with her. I met all of her co-workers and even got to be a part of a birthday party! There was some awesome chocolate cake involved, which was great!

This was our day to go to the Taipei Zoo and let me just share this crazy story from the way to the zoo. We got on the MRT and I just happened to look at this guy sitting down beside us and he looked familiar. Keep in mind that I know a whole whopping like 6 people in this country so I didn't really think it was possible to know him. He looked up at me, though and put his glasses on and it turns out it was Danielle's friend Eugene that I had met the previous Saturday. Isn't that so crazy! In a city of 3 million, the chances of running into someone I know is like 0.000000001% and it happened!

Ok, now to the zoo - it only cost $2 to get in, which was awesome! Especially considering that this was the best zoo we'd ever been to! The Taiwanese are very visual people and this zoo was so aesthetically pleasing. The way they divided the animals up was by geographic area and when you were in that section, it looked like that part of the world! Australia felt like a jungle, the penguin area was like the Artic with evergreen trees and snowcapped glaciers, there was Africa and Asia and Formosa - it was all so neat! We saw Frankie the giant Panda - which was really cool! And you know - lions, tigers, bears (oh my!), monkeys, flamingos, koalas, giraffes, rhinos and hippos and just about anything you can think of, we probably saw it.

Our favorite animals were the monkeys - which is so funny! I think they were the most lively and entertaining, so we found ourselves drawn to them a lot. We had been saying all week that we felt like monkeys, because people liked to stare at us a lot, so it was really funny that they were our favorites! This little family of chimps provided us with entertainment for quite a while!

The zoo is also one of the great locations from our music video. Danielle set up her tripod and flip camera on the ground outside the entrance (drawing quite a crowd) and we did some dancing. There's a couple of times in the video when you see me dancing kind of awkwardly - that is was my warm up when I didn't know Danielle was filming ... hence the awkward, haha.

That night we went with Ken and Sharyl to "Green Tablecloth" which is their favorite restaurant in their neighborhood. It was really good food! My favorite that night was the Kung Po chicken, but I actually liked the pinapple shrimp too, which was really surprising if you know me and my disdain for eating almost anything under the sea. After dinner we filmed some more for the video in the night market area. Ken makes a cameo appearance during our awkward dance - he's the high five guy.

To close Friday, I'll leave you with my favorite picture and quote of the day from Danielle:

"There are so many good things about us that we like!"

Chasing Waterfalls

Thursday we went with Ken and Sharyl to a little village south of Taipei called Wulai to see the awesome waterfall there. No one had been before so it was quite an adventure! We took the MRT (metro) to a stop called Gonguan and then the only instructions that we had were to look for an unnumbered bus by a 7-Eleven. Amazingly enough we found a bus (which did have a number!), hopped on and away we went. It's funny because we had no idea where the bus was taking us really and so we just rode it to the very last stop and then started walking. It was fun to get out of the city center into a more rural area.

One thing that really struck me was the mix of cultures. We were in the middle of this small town in Taiwan and there were Mazda's and BMW's on the road and English music playing in the little stores. Wulai is known for their aboriginal people and so they had native headdresses and costumes right next to a can of Coke. Crazy!

We ended up walking all the way to the waterfall and it was so beautiful! We were on this windy road on the side of a mountain with wildflowers growing on it. There was a river that some people were swimming in, which we thought was crazy because it was still kind of chilly. But it turns out that there were hot springs there, so the people weren't as crazy as we thought.

The waterfall was breathtaking! It was over 300 ft. high and we took a cable car up above it into this mountain. At the top of the mountain we climbed lots and lots of stairs but it was worth it for the view! The scenery was beautiful!

There was this little amusement park up at the top that must have been closed for the season but it was pretty comical. Danielle and I also road a little ride which was so weird but we had fun! I think it was supposed to be scary because they had all of these things popping up at you and moving around. Danielle screamed when she heard a sound like a gun and then I screamed as a gigantic spider was attacking us. We spent about an hour and a half walking around then took the cable car back down and did some filming for our music video.

To get back to the village we took this little bitty train which was really funny. When we were back in Wulai I tried bamboo rice, which apparently is really famous there. It was sticky rice and other things (meat?) that had been cooked inside of a bamboo shoot. It was actually pretty good! I tried to be adventurous at least once everyday and usually it turned out alright. :)

That night Danielle and I went to dinner at a restaurant called The Diner which served all American food and even had Dr. Pepper! All in all it was a really fun day!

Foreigner Day in Taipei

I made it back to the good old U.S. of A yesterday around 4 p.m. our time, I think it was 5 a.m. on Tuesday in Taiwan. After such an amazing trip, I must admit that it was really hard to say goodbye to Danielle. We had SO MUCH fun together over the past week! I am so thankful for my sweet friend!

Now, I'm going to continue sharing about our adventures:

Wednesday - Foreigner Day

This was probably my favorite full day of fun. We started out in the morning heading to the hot springs at Beitou with Bev. It was so beautiful! We went to this placed called Beitou Thermal Valley which was the natural hot spring. It was boiling water that was around 90 degrees Celsius! There was all of this steam coming off of the water due to the heat and it felt so mystical. Then we went to the public hot springs pools.

There were four levels of pools with increasing temperatures. We started out in the bottom pool and can I just say that they must not see foreigners often, because everyone was staring at us like we were monkeys or something. It's hard not be self-conscious when you have over 100 pairs of eyes staring at you, but oh well, what can you do? We went up to the third pool, and it was too hot to even stick our feet in. Danielle hopped out really fast and everyone laughed. I knew that if she couldn't handle it, I probably couldn't either, so we headed down to the second pool which didn't seem that hot anymore. After about 20 more minutes we were done with the hot pools. It was nice and relaxing, but you don't want to stay in too long or you get overheated!

That afternoon Danielle and I headed to Taipei 101. I don't know if you remember my post about this one, but 101 is actually a large skyscraper that was the world's tallest building until the end 0f 2009, not a class on the history of Taipei, haha. This was so much fun! Obviously it is the tallest building that I've ever seen in my life! We went up to the observation deck on the 89th floor and got an awesome view of this incredible city! Then we went up to the 91st floor which had an outdoor deck. It was freezing cold, so we didn't stay out too long, but Danielle was able to find the area where she lives, so that was fun! We also identified some of the big sights like the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Memorial, Miramar and the MacArthur bridges (named for Gen. MacArthur!!).

One really interesting thing about this building is that there is this HUGE gold ball in the center of the building (I think it was on the 91st floor) that stabilizes the entire skyscraper. When the wind blows the building, this ball makes sure it doesn't topple over - isn't that crazy? It kind of freaked me out. What if the huge wire cables holding it up snapped? We'd be crushed - literally!

After 101, we headed to the Shilin Night Market. Sharyl met up with us there and it was really neat! Night markets are really big in Taiwan - everyone goes to them. There are vendors everywhere with food, clothes, shoes and almost anything else you can imagine. I tried the famous black pearl milk tea here and it was really pretty good. It was black tea w/ milk and these little black tapioca balls. The weirdest part was chewing something while drinking - not something I'm really used to. I also tried dumplings and flat bread which were both really good. We went over to the food market area and it was pretty crazy! The smells were not so good - stinky tofu, oyster omelets and lots of other things. As you can see, this was a day full of new experiences - very different, but all so fun!

Just Dance, Taipei Style!

Check out the fun dancing adventures of me and Danielle throughout Taipei. Special thanks to Ken, Sharyl, Jenny, Simon, Dana, Shiang, Ching, Alli, Joey, Vicky, Melody, Carmen, panda, and the random others who didn't know they were filmed that helped make this video so AWESOME! When in doubt, just dance!

If you are having problems viewing this video, you should go here! You do not want to miss out on this. I promise!

Hao Kan

We have done so much since the last time that I wrote that I'm not sure where to begin! First of all, Taiwan is beautiful and Taipei is just amazing! I think it is one of the most unique cities I've ever been to. It's very metropolitan but then there are mountains and streams randomly dispersed everywhere. It's really green and pretty here. They are definitely in spring right now - flowers are blooming everywhere and everything is luscious and you know, gorgeous!

Monday - A Drive up the Coast

Danielle's boss' wife Bev (remember her name because I'll talk about her a lot!) took us on a drive up to the Northern Coast. It was AMAZING! Now I can say I've seen the Pacific Ocean from both sides - crazy! It was a rainy day so the water was really choppy and the waves were huge! We were kind of on a cliff, so we looked down a couple hundred feet to the water (I think, I'm not a good judge of distance).

Then we went to this little village called Jiu Fen which was so quaint and fun! It reminded us of Europe. There were cobblestone streets and tiny little roads with shops all along - that is one thing that I have not had a hard time finding here - shopping! It's everywhere! I've had to try to contain myself b/c I could go pretty crazy very easily! Especially when the money I have feels like play money and I don't have a good sense of how much everything is in American dollars. (For instance I accidentally ordered $6 gelato the other day - that is ridiculous in any country, but oh well, I'm on vacation!)

We had lunch at this little restaurant with an awesome view of the coast! This was also my favorite Chinese meal so far - I got pepper beef and it tasted like pot roast. Pretty wonderful! Then we drove back to Taipei, which took about an hour and a half. We were pretty wiped out by this point because we had been busy for three solid days, plus I was still recovering from jet lag. So, we had dinner at this cute little pizza place by Danielle's apt. called Mary Jane's then stayed in that night.

Tuesday - An American Day in Taipei

Danielle went into work on Tuesday morning and I took a while getting ready. Then, Bev came and picked me up to go get a haircut. I was a little nervous about getting my haircut in Taiwan, because I was afraid I would turn out looking Asian, haha. But Danielle said it was so much fun that I just had to try. The whole experience took an hour and half - including a hand, neck and shoulders massage with scented oils, calming tea and a great head massage! It was so relaxing and a great way to get refreshed! Danielle met us there and got her hair cut too. Then we headed to the National History Museum to see the Van Gogh exhibit that was on display.

I didn't realized it before I went, but I have seen a lot of Van Gogh in my life - in Paris, London, Chicago, New York. I've seen a lot of his really famous works too, so I wasn't really that impressed with this exhibit, but it was fun to see it with Danielle and impart a little bit of my knowledge of impressionism on her. She was enlightened, of this I am sure. Haha. The painting that I liked the most was called "Flowers in a Blue Vase." We even got to ride on a Van Gogh bus to the exhibit. It reminded me of the Sound of Music tour bus we rode on in Salzburg, so it was fun!

That night was went with Danielle's sweet co-workers, Ken and Sharyl, to Ximen which is a super fun area that reminds me of Times Square in New York. They have the big video screens, tons of American stores and lights everywhere. It was a lot of fun. We had dinner at T.G.I.Friday's and then walked around. I said this was my American day, because it felts like things we would do in the states. (that's what they call the US here)

Adventures of Danielle and Kalie in Taiwan

Greetings from Taiwan!

I am having such a wonderful time on the beautiful island of Taiwan and I already feel like I've seen so much in just a few short days! I arrived on Friday evening after about 24 hours of traveling and was pretty exhausted, BUT Danielle picked me up at the airport and it was so wonderful to see her that I forgot all about being tired! I have missed my sweet friend so much and seeing her face was just amazing!

We caught a taxi into the city and Danielle was able to tell him how to get to her apt. in Chinese! I was so impressed! We spent a lot of time talking (we had 3 months to catch up on!) and I saw her really cute apartment and then gave her a suitcase full of gifts that I brought for her. Her family and friends had sent all kinds of goodies and it was so fun to see her face as she got each present. Thanks to everyone who sent something! Believe me, she loved it all!

On Saturday we grabbed breakfast at Starbucks then took a walk around her neighborhood. There are so many people, bikes, cars, crowded streets, alleys, buildings, signs and advertising everywhere that it is very visually stimulating. But it is so neat!

That afternoon we went with some of Danielle's friends from the university to this place called Danshui. It's this beautiful area north of Taipei city that sits right on the Danshui River. There was a mountain across the river with mist all around on the left and then a market on the right. Danielle's friends would go buy food from the street vendors and then bring it to us to try. Here are some examples of things that were offered to us: black eggs, octopus balls, shrimp cookies, watermelon juice, fried mushrooms with cinnamon, tarot root ice cream, candied strawberries (my fav) and oyster pancakes. It was quite an experience! I didn't try it all, but I tried my fair share, and I must admit that Danielle was braver than me. She actually sucked a tiny sea urchin out of a shell and ate it. All in all it was a wonderful day! Her friends are so generous, kind and fun to be around! I was amazed by their English and how much Danielle is already picking up in Chinese! I stuck to my "ni hao" (hello) and "xie xie" (thank you).

Yesterday (Sunday) we went to a jade and flower market in the morning and then met up with my friend Simon, one of my mom's former students, who lives in Taiwan and wanted to take us around the city. First, we had lunch at a Cantanese restaurant Danielle refers to as "Ducks in the Window." Why, you may ask? Because there are literally roasted ducks and chickens hanging in the windows. There's no doubt about what you are eating because they just take it off the stick, chop it up and hand it to you.

Then we went to the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial (pictured) and saw changing of the guard and LOTS of boy and girl scouts, Longshun Temple and the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Memorial (where they were having a lantern festival! Here's a great quote from one of the lanterns - "Clouds at the riding by fully energy to the New Year!") Simon was a great tour guide because he could tell us the history of the city, the significance of the people, read all of the signs and translate for us! He was so kind to take us around and we had a great time. We had dinner at a Japanese restaurant called "Mos Burger" and then Simon went home. We'll met up again with him next Sunday for lunch along with several of the WT students that live in the area.

That's all for now! Look forward to more adventures of Danielle and Kalie coming soon!

Bachelor Jake Finale

Ok, so my bachelor predictions back in January may have been a little off. But I must say that I did pretty well. I predicted that Jake would pick either Ali or Tenley. Ali made it to the final four but then made her own choice to leave the show for her job (how could I have seen that coming?). She was my favorite, and apparently America's too because last night they announced she is going to be the next Bachelorette! I guess this time she's going to choose "love" over her career. Definitely will be tuning in next season, what can I say? I'm addicted to this crazy, improbable show that almost never works out!

Then on to Tenley, who made it to the final rose ceremony last night. She was such a sweetheart, and I will admit that she made me cry a little last night when Jake rejected her. Tenley expressed so much dignity and grace as Jake told her she wasn't his choice. She actually thanked him for being honest with her and not leading her on when there wasn't more there. How many people do you know that would thank someone for breaking their heart?

Jake ended up picking Vienna, who was probably my last choice. I have to say, even though I read the spoilers and knew it was coming all along I was still hoping down to the very end that it wasn't true. Sorry guys, I just did not like that girl for Jake. I hope they are happy, though. Everyone deserves happiness, even though the likelihood of Jake and Vienna staying together after meeting on The Bachelor is like 2 to 11.

While watching the finale last night, my sister Lorin called me to tell me this crazy story. Her husband Philip was watching for a few minutes with her during the segment when the girls were meeting Jake's family. Phil thought that he recognized one of Jake's brothers and it turns out that he was Phil's tutor in medical school. Isn't that so crazy? He's actually a student at UTMB in Galveston. It's such a small world sometimes.

Taiwan: Country #10

In two short days I am heading to Taipei, Taiwan to visit one of my best friends, Danielle. I'm amazed to say that this will be the 10th country that I have had the privilege of visiting in the last 5 years. I never dreamed when I got my passport in 2001 that I would have so many stamps at this point! I mean I didn't even use it for the first 4 years!

In case you are curious about the countries I've been to, here's a list:

1. France - 2005 trip with Cassie to Paris
2. England - 2005 (see above) to London and 2009 to visit Erie in Oxford
3. Canada - 2005 trip across the border with family
4. China - 2006 mission trip with Dad to Guilin
5. Italy - 2007 trip with Cassie to Venice, Florence and Rome
6. Mexico - 2008 cruise with Katie to Cozumel and Progresso
7. Austria - 2008 European adventure with Danielle to Vienna, Salzburg, Innsbruck
8. Czech Republic - 2008 (see above) to Prague
9. Hungary - 2008 (same trip) to Budapest
10. Taiwan - 2010 trip to Taipei to visit Danielle

This trip will be my longest travel experience yet - a 13 hr flight from DFW to Tokyo and then another 4 hrs to Taipei. But it will be well worth it when I get to see Danielle at 7:30 p.m. on Friday! (I think that's 5:30 a.m. our time) I will try to give an update or two while I am in Taiwan and then will definitely give a full report when I get back.