WINTER BREAK!! Semesters here are very long, so everyone here is dying for winter break. We get a little less than a month off, and I’ve jam packed these days jetting around SE Asia. Following the Fulbright mid-year conference that essentially kicks off winter break, a few ETAs and I are heading to Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Afterwards we’re splitting up to do our own thing; I’m headed back (!) to the Philippines for a little less than a week to check out Cebu, which I never made it to last time, and of course Puerto Princesa. I’m so excited to see former colleagues, get a few boxing sessions in, and wander around my old stomping grounds. I think it’s definitely going to be very weird being back; I’ve heard that the city has really changed—I’m sure I’ll record my outrages in a future blog post. After Puerto, I’m making one last secret stop (hehe) before the second semester starts on Wednesday, February 21.
Beyond winter break, I do still have a few things on my bucket list that I want to cross off before the end of June. I definitely want to do a tour of the west coast, which I hope to do during winter break, including the city of Taichung and the famously beautiful Sun Moon Lake. By the time we come back from winter break, it will be warm enough to do tours of Green Island and Orchid Island during the weekends.
It’s strange that we’re nearly halfway done with the program. At times, these past few months have felt laboriously long, but in hindsight it seems that they went by in a flash. I’ve accumulated so many stories, challenges, friends, adventures, and laughs through it all. I’m excited to see what next semester has in store!
Wenbo in Taiwan 