Last Two Weeks in Taiwan (for now)

Four months have already come and gone, and I am down to my last 2 weeks. Xmas and New Years were a lot of fun. For Xmas, we had a group of about 16 people drive down to Kaohsiung and ride go-karts and play paintball. After that, we drove into the city and watched the new TRON in 3D at the IMax. The movie was great, but it was a chilly drive back to Tainan (took about an hour)

For New Years, Nina and I took a trip to Taipei to visit Kyle who had came back to Taiwan from Australia for the Holidays. We took the 3:30am bus to get there around 8am. We got to rest for a while and then had lunch with Kyle and went to the Flora Expo. The flowers were beautiful and there were lots of them. Later that night we had dinner with Kyle's mom, dad, and grandma which was nice to sit down with a family and enjoy a good meal. For New Years night, we went to the Grand Hotel where his friend Lara (a pop start singer in Taiwan) rented a suite on the 6th floor with an amazing view of the fireworks to come. It was Taiwan's 100 year anniversary since the Qing Dynasty ended in 1911 so the year here is considered to be the year 100. Making me born in the year 75 :). That being said, the FIREWORKS were larger than previous years and we had one of the best seats in the area. Everyone at the party was really nice and it was a great way to end 2010.

So now in January, its my last month of teaching which I am looking forward to. Teaching kindies can be fun, but its time to put my degree to use. On a day off from work, I rented a 150cc motorcycle and took Nina to see Monkey Mountain. An hour drive each way. We got to feed them bananas and peanuts. One of them even tried to steal our motorcycle. haha It took a few minutes to get him off the bike. After monkey mountain, we drove to Anping to see the tree house (the old Dutch house where a tree literally grew inside it). It was a great getaway day until I was called into work at 4:30 to fill in for a teacher :(

The soccer guys had a testimonial game for me and another guy Jose who are leaving. It was nice for all the guys to get together and show how much that care. I will definitely miss playing with everyone.

Today, January 24 I got my diploma. This really made it set in that I only have 2 weeks before I am going home and need to make sure I get everyone sold and packed. Tomorrow Nina and I leave for Alishan. A beautiful mountain getaway with a famous sunrise view of a "sea of clouds". We are staying in Zen Zen (Kyle's g/f) grandparents hotel. They reserved us a top of the line room for 1 night for about $100. We leave tomorrow early to take a train to Chayi and then a bus to Alishan. There are talks of even seeing a little bit of snow. Hope we have enough warm clothes to and looking forward the the heated blankets at the hotel and some fresh mountain air.

Chinese New Year is Feb 2nd and 3rd this year, so I will join Nina's family for dinner and learning more about what they do for their big holiday. Hope there will be some more snow when I get home, but unfortunately I am missing the next UFC fight and the Superbowl on my flight home :( hopefully someone will record them for me even though I'm not a fan or either team. See everyone back home soon.

Luv Always,

Logan

Post-Graduation

I forgot yet again to update my life and this time its been almost 6 months. I don't plan to write about everything, but can hopefully touch on the main topics. After my last blog, I went on a scooter trip with some friends to the east coast (Taidong/Donghe). We rented scooters because I wanted to enjoy the ride and my old ORY didn't seem to have enough to go through the next few things. We had a 6.5hr (160km/100mi) to Taidong where Clark had one funny scooter crash going through the mountains as we (Marcin and I) told him not to try to race us as he was not as skilled as we were. Well the racing Clark tried to pass us with two large buses in front of us and a few cars and failed to see the pavement that was destroyed and left with dry rutted-out mud tracks. So Clark crashed and rolled over, but was fortunately left with a scraped knee and some jitters. Did that slow Clark down? NO!!! he continued to drive fast the rest of the trip. To drive back from the east coast we decided to go the long way which went through the central crossing (highest rd in Taiwan) and back around to the west cost. We drove 361miles 15hrs (all in one day).

Just before the trip I had my Final defense on July 4th which was an amazing amount of weight off my shoulders. I had to make a few revisions which I extended my thesis one semester to keep my student ARC and stay longer in Taiwan to study Chinese and be with Nina. It was finally August 3rd, they day I flew back to the US. My good friend Marcin took me the the Kaohsiung airport where we had a crazy cab driver with red lips due to the massive amounts of Bin-Lan he had been chewing. It was sad to say good bye to such a good friend, but I know we will meet again soon. (Europe trip summer 2011)

Finally back home my outlaw driving daddy (he was pulled over on the way to get me because he was driving down a blocked off highway for miles following construction trucks). Luckily he did not get in trouble they were all on time to pick me up. My mom with tears in her eyes and my brothers with smiles on there faces.

Back home, I tried to get as much hard work and errands finished before Nina was coming so I did not go out to much except to a couple Hopper's games and a trip to Raleigh to visit some old ASU classmates. I was good to see my family and friends again and catch up on some stories and all the hometown same ol same ol stuff. The hard reality of losing my Nanny just before xmas last year set in when I went to visit her house and saw all the changes and no smiling face looking back at me from her old chair. On a lighter note, Travis through me a big welcome home party with "The worlds fastest slip-n-slide". It was a great turnout and everyone seem to have a great time. Even my mama got loaded enough slide down the slide. I guess she still knows how to have fun after all :) Also a special thanks to Randy C. for DJing the party just like old times.

It was finally time for Nina to come visit. She had all the information I could think possibly fit into a 3-4pg note of step by step instructions on where to go, what to look for, etc.. I went to Raleigh to pick her up and met with Adrianna and Michelle to go to the airport. I had bought some flowers and made a welcome sign and waited at the baggage claim for her to come down the escalator. BAMMM!!! there she was with her beautiful smile on her face. Not sure if she really knows how proud I am of her for making the trip alone especially since it was her first "flights" ever. We rested at Audreys place for a bit and let Nina shower before going out to dinner and meeting with Garrett and his g/f Nicole. I was right. The Culture shock was there and everything was as wierd to her as things were for me on my first trip to Taiwan.

Finally back home, my parents were waiting in the driveway to finally meet the girl who stole there baby's heart. Tahoe, Roxy, and Maggie had to say hello first and then my parents welcomed her with a big hug. Nina quickly fell in love with Tahoe and later told me that she didn't think Roxy liked her (which is not true, Roxy loves Nina, but loves attention more)I gave her the full tour of the house and land, drove out the feed the cows and ride the tractors. Showed her how I cut trees and how a country boy can survive. She loves the American style houses and hopes to one day have one with a yard and porch she can sit on ;) We tried most of the fast food places and she loved the Arby's french dip even though I told her that its not really good and she needs to try a real fresh one someday.

We traveled to Charlotte to see a Kings of Leon concert with my old ASU roommie Evan and his g/f. Nina liked the music, but was not feeling well to really enjoy the atmosphere at the concert. We stayed the night at Evan's home and went to the lake the next morning in South Carolina (Nina's first lake trip). I happened to rain, but we still had fun and got a few wakeboarding runs in before driving back the High rock lake to meet up with Randy and my parents would come the next day. Randy and I cooked her a fresh sausage gravy biscuit and egg breakfast at the same time as Randy taught Nina a few dance moves. It was a beautiful day at the lake with the family which ended with a big Cheeseburger and homemade ice cream cookout.

The next trip was to visit ASU and show Nina where I went to school and also was able to speak to a few business classes on my experience in Taiwan encouraging students to study abroad. My old professor Dr. Chen (who is Taiwanese) invited Nina and I over for dinner with his family which allowed Nina to speak Chinese learn a little about how life can be for Taiwanese people in the US.

We then made our trip up north to Pennsylvania to visit my cousins and New York to visit my good friend Vu who is now working Downtown Wall st. for M Lynch. Vu was as nice as he could possibly be was a great host. Our visit fell on the same dates as the UN assembly meeting which Vu lives right across the street, so there was plenty of cops, secret service, undercover, FBI etc... patrolling the whole area.

Just as our NY trip was ending I got a call from my mom telling me our cousin Cris Malseed had passed away after fighting cancer for more than 5 years. We took a bus to D.C. to meet with Brant and his g/f Samantha who just got back from Italy and stayed the night before Brant left me drive his car home the next day. Nina's skin had also gotten infected so I was able to take her to an urgent care center back home and they gave her some antibiotics. She felt 100 times better the next morning and my parents and I left at 5am to drive to South Carolina for the service. It was sad to lose such a great person, but I am happy I was able to be home and make it to spend time with the family and let Nina meet some other cousins of mine. Unfortunately Allie was sleeping so Nina and I did not get to play with her, but Ella was happy to get the extra attention and of course looked as cute as ever.

It was once again sad to leave home, but the memories made this trip will last forever. Back in Taiwan it took some getting used to again. The majority of my closest friends had moved back to their countries and I no longer felt like a part of the IMBA family. Once I got signed up for my Chinese classes and started working, I created a good schedule that lightened my mood and put me back at peace.

I finally finished up my revisions for my thesis and completed the "leaving campus" procedure. I will get my diploma after the end of the semester around Jan. 20th. I have been trying to spend as much time with Nina as I can and do as many things together as possible since I am moving back home February 5th 2011.

November 2nd 2010 was another sad day for me and my family. My aunt Leslie Miller passed away who was also fighting cancer for a couple years. I wanted to be home with my family more than anything, but since I had just got back to Taiwan and am coming home in February, it was too costly to fly back and forth and miss class and work. I am very happy that I was able to see her again while I was home and she had the chance to finally meet Nina who I have been writing about these past two years. Leslie told me she always enjoyed reading my blogs and I hate I did not write them more often. She will always hold a special place in my heart and will always been remembered. Since I have been in Taiwan these past two years I have lost 4 family members. It has not been easy being away, and hope everyone cherishes the time you spend with each other and lets go of any unnecessary drama smothering the strength of our relationships.

Almost done with this blog.... It was finally Thanksgiving time again and my roommates and I hosted another big party. We bought a big TG dinner from a restaurant like the two years before and made lots of extras. I made mashed potatoes and cooked a ham in my crock-pot. Both were finished before the end of the night ;) We had a great turnout of friends and once again a great diverse TG.

Now my final months in Taiwan (for the time being) are coming to an end. I just finished my last soccer tournament where we placed 3rd (had a team which could have won it) but I am happy I scored a goal the first day with a header which won the game for our team at the last few minutes. I injured my knee a bit so I think its best to rest it for awhile and get ready to snowboard when I get home. I am finishing up my last days of Chinese class, but will probably find another tutor to keep practicing until I go home. I will have a lot of packing to do and things to ship home, so I am sure things will only keep getting busier and busier.

I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving and will have a Merry Xmas. Thanks again for reading my blog.

Luv Always,

Logan

Graduation and Finishing up the THESIS!!!

Well the semester is winding down and the sadness of leaving friends after being together for 2 years is starting to set in. Since the last Blog, I had a soccer tournament with my Tainan Phoenix team where we placed 2nd out of 12 teams and really hoped to be repeat Champions from last years tourny. It was a long hard fought match against a Nigerian team, which seemed to have the energy and speed in the second half to take home the Championship. I was sadly unable to finish with 4 good shots that were all on target and somehow could not find the back of the net.

My thesis has been a pain as I said it would be, I originally had to collect 280 questionnaires from Taiwanese respondents who have experience working in project teams. As there is a large language barrier, I had to depend on local Taiwanese friends to help pass around my questionnaire to their companies they worked for and other friends until I had to hit the streets on my own. The weather is hotter than anyone wants to be in not to mention the humidity is suffocating. So one can imagine that dressing up with business dress pants, long sleeve shirt and tie was not a comfortable outfit. So being dressed up and riding off on my scooter to companies hoping they had someone to speak english and willing to help pass around my questionnaire. The long process of asking people to fill out questionnaires (we all hate filling out questionnaires, but its worse having to ask people over and over to do it) got even better when quick rain storms would come up so the wonderful humid scooter ride, just got a little wetter. After having a lunch with my Advisor and some classmates, I found out I really only needed 180 questionnaires since I am doing 2 EFA's (exploratory factor analysis) and I only need to use the one with the most attributes instead of combining them when determining the number of respondents (# of attributes X 5) This was crucial as I was already running behind on my schedule so I was able to finish up collecting 208 usable questionnaires and start my data analysis. Because I did not take the class on learning how to use SPSS data analysis software program I ended up paying my co-advisor to run my data and create my tables where I then filled in the names and wrote my analysis on. Chapter 4 and 5 consisted of more than one 5am night in the research room, but was finally able to finish where I am now waiting on feedback from my Advisor and most likely have to make revisions before I can print off get ready for my Final Defense on July 4th (my own personal independence day from my thesis).

Its has been a struggle getting the school work done for this semester since I think everyone has had a birthday everyday or weekend the past two months which its rude turn down a celebration so the late nights don't make it easier to wake up, but a nice cold beer is relaxing when sitting with close friends. I think I have mentioned the place "Chicken Hill Academy" which is the oldest local bar in Tainan owned and run by two brothers ( I think the older brother owns and runs while the younger one drinks the whole time, but both are in their 60's or 70's I think) It's a great relaxing place with comfortable couches and good music from classical piano to local Taiwanese favorites. But the best thing by far about the place is the free "Dogan" which is a tofu dish boiled in soy sauce and sesame oil and served with sliced spring onions on top. The old man brings plate after plate even after we all said we are full and can not eat anymore, another one would come out (which we ate). Nina's bday was April 29th and she finally turned 21 which will be a good thing when she comes to the states this summer even though she doesn't drink. At least she can get into bars and not have to worry. I got a big group of friends to meet up at a bar owned by a guy I play soccer with. The pizza was great and the drinks were perfect, everyone seemed to have a good time, but I do need to teach Nina how to take a shot which was probably the funniest thing I have seen in a long time and we have a small video of it haha. She tried her best and I helped her finish the complimentary shots from the owner. We have been trying to make some short day trips spend some more time together, but our busy schedules and my thesis always seem to get in the way. We did make a quick 20min trip to the beach for a cloudy sunset which overall was a great date.

So moving forward in time, We (Nina and I) were able to get our plane flights booked to fly to the States this summer. I am coming Aug 3 and Nina is coming Sept 5th a day after finishing her 2 month summer internship at Chi Mei Hospital in Tainan County. I am not sure who is more excited between us b/c I can't wait for my family to meet her and I know she can't wait to see where I grew up and experience the same huge culture shock I felt when I came to Taiwan ;) (not the same childhoods) It is going to be Nina's first time on a plane and leaving Taiwan so this is a big experience for her. I am trying to prepare her with things to know and how to get around the airports and what to pack.

We just had our Graduation ceremony last weekend June 6th and had our Farewell dinner the night before at the same hotel as last years Shang ri La. It was a delicious dinner and we had a good party afterwards with a big group of seniors and some Juniors. I was asked to give a brief speech for the graduation ceremony so the night before I just tried to write something from the heart that I didn't feel I would forget on stage and I might as well post it here below so everyone back home can get a chance to read it:

Good Afternoon everyone, it’s a pleasure to be here today. When I graduated two years ago from undergrad, I never thought I would literally be living on the other side of the world, driving scooters everyday to class, drinking Lu Cha ban tang xiao bing, and falling in love with the most beautiful woman Hsu Chia-Chien. These past two years have been the greatest adventure and most valuable experience of my life. I created a family of friends from all over the world with a bond that I feel could never be broken. I think every international student can view Taiwan as their second home and hope we can all try to give back and show the same kindness and respect as everyone has shown to us. I wish everyone the best of luck and health in the future. Thank you all very much!

So my journey continues here and I am trying to make every opportunity to spend with my friends happen because thats what it is really all about, the friendships and relationships. I know it may seem like its been 2 years for my family and friends back home that I have been away from, but the 2 years flew by just like my 4 years of undergrad and 4 years of high school and so on. Life is definitely not slowing down so its important to focus on the important things and strengthen any relationships we may have before we leave each other. The internet has done amazing things and allowed me to keep in touch with multiple friends and family, but in the end a sincere hand written letter/card means more than any number of emails or facebook posts once could send.

Thanks again for reading my blogs and I look forward to reading through all of them again sometime in the future. I will be working on my final defense and group presentation as well as making any last trips around Taiwan with my friends before we all go back to our own countries.

Love Always,

Logan

Chinese New Year 2010 "Year of the Tiger"

Once again, I am sorry for not writing a new blog in quite some time, but if you have my picasa website, then you would have noticed all the pictures I have posted from my recent trips.

So since my last blog, A small group of friends and I celebrated the New Year with a cookout on Marcin and Ola's apt rooftop. We had steaks, chicken, salad, my baked honey with honey mustard salmon, and for desert we had banana's split in half with chocolate in the middle to melt. The banana's and chocolate were amazing, as well as everything else, but eating the banana's with a spoon really topped off the night.

After New Years, I found out I had a few key fixes to make on my Thesis before printing off the copies for my professors and then had to prepare my powerpoint presentation for my proposal on January 22nd. January 20th, my lease had finally run out and I moved in with Kyle and his dog Taco who he adopted from the humane society last year. Long story short,I successfully completed and passed my Thesis proposal.

Now my proposal was over with, we had our first trip planned for the 2010 Chinese New Year. Nina and I planned a week long trip to travel around Taiwan, but the first 2 days would be spent with (clark, kyle, marcin, ola, sander, maria, judy, isy,daying, nina and me) a group of great friends at Lisong hot springs which was an 1.5hr drive through the mountains from Taitung which is on the east coast of Taiwan (4hrs car drive from Tainan). Marcin's crazy self drove his scooter from Tainan to the hot springs which is about 6.5hrs each way. We finally made it to the place to park our scooters before the 1.5hr hike down to the river, but first we had to pay 50NT ($1.50) for each scooter parking. The guy collecting the money is about 235 years old, but can still make it down the small hill where his shack is. The pictures don't show it, but one of his legs are twisted out sideways and he walks with a stick and only says "wu shi" which means 50NT. Nina tried talking to him in Taiwanese and Chinese, but he only replies "wu shi" and then began to write it in the dirt with his stick.

Well we were all really excited for this trip, especially me since this was me and Nina's first camping trip together and she has never been camping or hiking, so this was a big step to take since this was no easy hike. Half way down, the narrow trail steepens and has guide ropes for the rest of the trail down do the rocky river bank. We were in no rush to get down and we all had heavy bags with tents, clothes, and food, so we took our time and slowly crept down the mountainside with Nina's confidence growing every step and obstacle she past. That is until the last 60-70ft of the trail which was not quite vertical, but it took a lot of strength and patience to work ourselves down the slippery, rocky terrain. Well we all finally made it and were very exhausted after setting up camp and it was time to hike a little further up river to get to the natural hot springs pouring from the mountain walls. I am not sure the exact temperature, but we could have boiled an egg in some sections. The key was to dig pools lined with larger rocks and let the ice cold river water mix to set the temperature the way you like it. It was fun laying down in the pool of scolding hot water and then jumping into the freezing (not really freezing like with ice) river and then quickly running back out to warm back up. The scenery was like something out of Jurassic Park with the huge river valley and steam rising up with the lush green trees and plants I never knew existed in Taiwan since spending most of my time in Tainan. To sum that it, it was very very beautiful and relaxing. The pictures will speak for themselves.

We had to get back to camp to start the fire so we could have dinner. Marcin is always the man for this job, and by the time i made it back to camp, he had the fire trying to start which is a difficult task since most of the wood was damp. For dinner (for 11 people) we had two bags of potatoes sliced, 5 or 6 ramen noodle packs, a couple packs of sausages and some bread. We mixed everyones food together and it turned out really tasty and everyone was full. We had as much water as we needed straight from the river, but of course we boiled it first before using. I will admit, i did not sleep to great that night as the ground was hard and it was pretty chilly. I was glad to see the day light the next morning and slowly got out of bed to make my way with the others to the hot spring pools. It was a perfect beginning to a day and my skin felt so soft and smooth after laying in the pools for over an hour. We finally left the hot springs and made breakfast with whatever leftover food we could find and packed up to head back up the mountain.

It took just as long to make it back up the mountain, but we finally made it back to Taitung where Nina and I stayed one night before catching a train to Hualien to stay with her friend Jiu Jiao and his family. They had a nice home which had just been cut in almost 1/2 since the government was putting a highway in front of there home and need more space. Their family was very economical and had an outside wood stove to heat there home and water. They made a nice dinner with shrimp, corn, fish, and a few other snacks, but it was delicious and got us ready for our day trip the next morning. We woke up early and Jiu Jiao took us to rent a scooter to take to Taroko gorge which was about a 45-1hr scooter ride. Its weird to say, but the scooter we rented was really cool. It was a red yamaha 125cc sports scooter which made my poor ORY look terrible. It was nice to have a good dependable and fast scooter for the mountain roads we encountered driving through Taroko national park. There were many stopping points to check out the beautiful scenery, but it really is a must see place to really grasp its marble gorge natural beauty.

We made it back to Jiu Jiaos place before night fall after hiking some of the trails around the park and taking lots of pictures. The next morning Jiu Jiao took us around Hualien and to a beach beside an airforce base to take some pictures and then took us to a huge farm where they had just about any animal you can think of from camels to zebras. Since the farm was so big, we rented bikes which ended up being much more work than we expected since the bikes did not seem to be well maintained. After a few hours and Nina getting to bottle feed a baby calf (so funny and another first for her) we were ready to go so Jiu Jiao picked us up and it was time to head farther north to Yilan where we would meet and stay with Nina's friend Ashiang (the spelling is probably not correct.

Ashiang was also very nice and welcoming to us and his father was high up in the police ranks so just mentioning his name would have probably got us a discount or something if we really needed it. They had a nice place and since it was night time we just relaxed the first night and went to bed early. The next morning Ashiang took us to rent a scooter to take a day trip, since he had to go to Taipei for the day for work and to meet his g/f. So Nina wanted to visit a National Traditional Art center which turned out to be a lot of fun and we saw some really cool things like a store that specializes in cardboard (hats, bags, statues, etc..), a charcoal carving museum, and even an old ink stamp store where we made our own envelope stamp (which we lost later that day :(. After the art museum we went to a "water park" which was just a river to do rowing activities or ride around the river on a doubles bike which we did :)

Skipping on to the next day Ashiang took us to another hot spring which is not even possible to compare to the Lisong hot springs we were just at. These hot springs were located where tourist can easily get to hence all the garbage littered across the river bed. We boiled eggs to eat, but I was happy to leave that area especially after seeing some nude hot spring bathers a hundred yards away. The next stop was a good one. It was the Kavalan Whiskey distillery which is owned by a very wealthy group called the King Car Club. The Kavalan whiskey is Taiwans first whiskey ever (made in 2008), but they built a beautiful factory near the mountains and hired a whiskey specialist from scotland to help them get started. At the end of 2009, Kavalan has already won awards from the International taste competition in California so be on the look out for this whiskey near you.

We finished the night off with some karaoke at Asiangs place and the next day took our rental scooter back and caught a bus to Taipei and then back to Tainan to end our week long trip. It felt nice to get back to my apt (1am) and take the next week to unpack and move things around in my new apartment before I left on my other vacation trip to the Philippines.

My Philippines trip was set to take place over Valentines so Nina and I had to celebrate a couple days early. Since last year she made me a delicious candle lit dinner, I felt it was my turn to spice things up. So I made chicken quesadillas. We prepared and cooked everything together, which saved me a lot of time and was also a lot of fun and good bonding experience. I had bought some tortillas (before i found a store that sold them) from TGI Fridays so they started the day off on a good note. To make them a little different, I sautéed some onions and mushrooms to add inside the quesadillas. They turned out amazing and I would recommend trying them with the onions and mushrooms as we did. I bought her a big brown teddy bear which was another first for her, so now she has a cuddle buddy when im not able to be around.

So finally off to the Philippines with a few upper classmates of mine (Sarah and Tim) and a couple they knew as well as a friend already in the Philippines waiting for us. We found some great tickets from a new airline which just opened called Spirit of Manila and got our round trip tickets for around $220 US. I was really looking forward to going to the Philippines again since this time would be at the beaches which they are world famous for since last year I went up north to the rice terraces in Batad. After spending one night in the capital (manila) and seeing some old friends who just had graduated, the next day we flew to Busuanga, Philippines which is a remote airport where we took another 45min shuttle ride in to Coron where we would stay at a hostel. To get to the beaches we would have to rent a boat man to take us island hopping which is exactly what we did the second day after a long night of tasting the Filipino rum called Tanduay which left me with a bruise and scrape on my arm the next morning which will come into play a little later in the story.

My stomach was trying to recover from the night before so we went to a beach to relax for the day and the boat guys cooked us fresh fish, rice, and veggies. Before heading back to our hostel we did a quick snorkeling ship wreck that ended up being just a hollowed out ship that looked like a big canoe. Back at the hostel I talked with the owner "patrick" a real nice swedish guy who moved there with his Filipino wife (3years ago who grew up in Sweden and opened up a nice homestay for backpackers. The next day we planned an all day scuba trip to dive 3 WWII Japanese ship wrecks.

After a 2hr boat ride we were ready to make our first dive. I felt great and was real excited to dive 34metes or about 115ft into a Japanese warship and actually swim inside using flash lights to navigate our way around. There were some really tight squeezes to fit into and since I have not dived in over a year, it took some time to get my buoyancy back to normal. I got the hang of it again and Its really hard to describe the feeling so I would suggest getting an open water dive license and dive a ship wreck. After the first dive I felt some pain in my shoulder, but didn't think waited around until we were told to get ready for the 2nd dive an hour later. It was another ship wreck dive, this time an oil tanker which they said burned for 22 days before finally sinking to the bottom around 60-70ft down. It was another beautiful dive going in and out of old doors and wholes in the ship which haven't been used in over 50 years.

After finishing the 2nd dive they made a big lunch (our dive master was also the cook) which consisted of chicken, fish, rice, and of course fresh vegetables. My shoulder pain was still there and it had moved down to my elbow and within an hour my whole arm was aching as if someone had been standing on it for a long time. I knew this wasn't normal so I told some of the dive masters and they quickly put me on oxygen since I showed signs of having the "BENDS". It did not feel like it was getting much better so I went to the local doctor to see if I need to do the decompression chamber or not. The doctor said I showed some signs, but not the major ones, but could still get into the decompression chamber for a couple hours. I found out the price was 30,000 peso's which is about $700 USD which I did not have so I talked with the dive master and asked if he really thought it was necessary and he said no since I did not have the dizzy symptoms and the blue skin rashes, so i decided to do an hour of oxygen treatment and wait it out until the morning. The pain got worse so I called home to get the insurance information and since it was around 11:30pm the dive store with the only decompression chamber on the island was closed so I had to wait until the morning. A friend had some 600mg Tylenol pills, so i took one and went to bed. Amazingly I woke up the next morning with no pain and looked forward to the over night safari trip we were planning. I didn't have a chance to use a computer to call home and tell everyone I was ok which I found out 2 days later I had given everyone back home a big scare and I am really sorry to upset everyone and really want to thank all of you for caring and praying for me. My own conclusion was the bruise in my arm from the night before had so much pressure when diving that it just caused some type of painful reaction to the deep levels.

The over night trip was really nice. I have never seen so many stars in my life and the milky way was so bright, it looked like white band was wrapped around the earth. Our boat man June was really nice and made some delicious meals through out the day and for dinner. The over night trip consisted of island hopping where we went to two lakes, one called Barracuda lake which was some of the prettiest water I have ever seen and the other lake called twin lagoon where the water had fresh and salt water mix which created an oily look to the water. It was really cool to see the water clear and if you waved your hand across your face, then it was blurry from disturbing the water.

For that trip we met up with Tim's g/f and her brother and a friend of theirs, who are all from South Africa. It was great getting to meet and learn a bit about them and enjoyed listening to their accents. So we all enjoyed the trip so much and our boat man June, we planned another over night stay and June promised to take us to a very excluded island far away from anywhere. That is exactly what we got, our own private island 2hr boat ride away (slow boat ride). We stopped on the way to snorkel another ship wreck we could swim down to which was exciting and I impressed myself with my ability to dive down around 20ft without fins. We finally came to our private island which had one small family living on it who were there to maintain the island and sweep the beach every morning. I probably saw 20 shooting stars on another beautiful star filled sky. It seemed like every place we went, there could not be any place better than the last. But sure enough as we continued on, it only got better from the snorkeling, to the food, and to the scenery.

It was a very memorable experience, especially since we woke up every morning around 5am due to there being a rooster every where we stayed, even on the private islands that crowed at 4am well before the sun was coming up and even the sounds of pigs being slaughtered every morning outside our hostels. The trip was from Feb 12-22nd where I made it back just in time for my first class of the semester.

Its now April 03 and Easter Sunday is tomorrow morning. Nina and I plan to wake up and ride to a temple called Madong I think and its theme is heaven and hell. I have seen pictures from friends who have gone before and it really looks like a must see place. I will post pics as soon as I can.

So now, I have class mon-wed, chinese class wed-fri, and teaching tues-fri. I have a lot to do on my thesis so it is crunch time now.

I hope everyone is doing great back home and I miss ya and love ya. Don't forget to look at my pictures from the trip on my picasa web albums.

Luv always,

Logan

PS: sorry its another long blog ;)

My new address!!

5F #55-5 Lane 141
Datong Rd. Section 1
Tainan City 701, Taiwan (ROC)

Wrapping up 2009

Well I did it again!!!!!!!! I have not updated my blog with stories for a few months. I have wanted to write, but ever since Alex left Taiwan I have been working on my thesis. The first month and a half after I had been back, was spent on reading articles day and night trying to build a background to start my thesis. After more than a month of researching hiring practices and attributes in Taiwan, I ended up ditching the whole idea and switched to "Determining the impact success factors have on project performance in Taiwan". So once I switched my research topic it took another month of reading, reading, and more reading just trying to create an outline for my thesis.

Well before the thesis stuff gets to boring I will mention the first big party I had which happened to be Halloween. What I have realized over the past few years is my best ideas for costumes come to me at the last minute. This year I took my left over blue face paint I still had from last year, and with my blue swim cap, I became a BLUE MAN. It ended up being a big hit for the night and Nina wore her belly dancing outfit and looked so beautiful. We had a good group of people stick together and went to the Armory to party for the night.

In between Halloween and Thanksgiving was more long days and nights in the research room (RR) working on the thesis and slowly getting the outline created. I wanted to have another Thanksgiving party this year and a perfect place to host it ended up being Clarks new place with his two ASU alumni roommates (Jimmy from Charlotte and Bryan from Northeast Guilford area). I created a facebook group to have it planned out and it soon spread like a wild fire. As it was originally planned to be around 10-12 people, there was easily 30 people who came by during the night. It could not have turned out better as it became a large pot-luck where everyone brought a dish or drink and each person only had to end up paying 150NT which is just over $4US for an all you can eat dinner with great friends for company. I tried to count up the different nationalities at one point and stopped at 13 because my food was getting cold and everyone was moving around a lot.

Well December 2009 is definitely a month I will never forget. As the thesis was digging in to every patient bone in my body with the nights becoming the early mornings in the RR and with only a few hours of sleep was back to work again. I call home to check in and Dad tells me nanny has been put in the hospital and has a blood clot in her leg and growing weaker every hour. The next day I call to check back in and dad tells me things have gotten much worse and they didn't think she had a whole lot of time left. With the stress from school, the little sleep, and knowing im 9000 miles away from home every daily task was becoming difficult and I could see my personality completely slipping away. Dad gave me the hospital room # and said they were going to move her to another floor soon and I should try to call. I said a quick goodbye to dad and dialed the # to have Uncle Keith pick up and try to fill me in on the latest news which was she had about a day left. He handed the phone to mom and she was able to put the phone by nanny's ear and with the little energy she had left, told me she loved me so much over and over and then that was it. That was the last time I was able to speak to my nanny and feel so blessed that I was given that chance to hear her voice one last time. Nina was here to comfort me as it hit me hard when I hung up the phone. The next day I just felt numb and had to still prepare for a final presentation for a class without knowing whether or not she had passed away. I had to wait until it was morning time (NC time) to call back to check in and the message came later from clint saying nanny didnt make it (Dec 18th 12:01am my time or Dec 17th 11am NC time when I found out). I know she is in a much better place and she will always be in my heart with so many great memories.

Christmas was less than a week away and I still had some shopping to do for Nina and also the two xmas parties (xmas eve and xmas night) for secret santa presents. I wish I could be home with the family as everyone is going through a tough time, but the best part was being able to watch my nanny's service on skype that was held at home. Randy did an great job setting up the camera and singing. It had been a long day for me and it was difficult to stay up until 2am, but it was great to be able to see the family and talk with everyone together.

Christmas eve was spent at sander and maria's house with marcin, ola, kyle, zen, zen, nina, clark, and two other friends of marcin and ola. We all made a dish to bring. I was able to put together a quick crockpot chicken, cream of mushroom soup, potatoes, and carrots while marcin made his famous polish dish called Bigos which is sauerkraut, four types of meat, allspice, and 4 days of cooking and cooling until it was ready. I will have to learn how to make it his way because it was delicious and i still have some sitting in my fridge. So Nina and I got to have our first real xmas together because last year we had just began dating. So yes, you guessed it, we just had our one year anniversary December 27th. I bought nina an MP4 player (similar to an Ipod) and she got me exactly what i was asking for, a cooking stone to go on my stove :) I will be testing it out shortly and im sure the steaks will turn out great.

So I have finally finished my thesis chapters 1-3 and currently working on my questions and will be having my thesis proposal January 20th. For new years we are planning on grilling out on top of Marcin and Ola's apt roof which has a nice open area to put their charcoal grill. Im really looking forward to cooking some steaks and lighting some cheap fireworks. I want to wish everyone a Happy and Healthy New Year.


In Loving Memory of Nanny (December 17th 2009)

Back in Taiwan for Year 2

Well its amazing that so much time has past by since I wrote my last blog before i left June 23rd. My fun filled summer flew by quicker than I could have expected, but I was able to do a lot of things with friends and family. The first big experience i had back home besides seeing my family which was amazing, but it was also getting to drive my truck. After driving a scooter for almost 10 months i forgot how much i took it for granted of the peacefulness of driving and listening to music without scooters or people trying to run you over the whole time. I loved driving to see friends and my nanny and gramma or just to run errands like getting milk and ice cream from the dairy.

After hanging around and visiting old friends for a month, my friend Toni from Italy who i have mentioned many times before came to visit me for a month. It was his first trip to the States so I felt i had to show him an awesome time. I picked him up in Charlotte where we went straight to meet Alex's family at his dads restaurant 131 Main. I have to say Toni's first meal in the US was amazing. After two days in charlotte we drove to Mrytle Beach, SC to meet up with Brant who I grew up with. We stayed the weekend in Ocean Lakes taking Toni around to some great spots. Then it was back to NC to take him to my home to finally meet my family. He got a big warm welcome and a nice country style dinner. Everyone seemed to enjoy having Toni around and he came to visit just in time for my 23rd Bday. I gathered some friends up and went out to a bar for the night where it was dollar beers and that pretty much explains that night ;). After showing Toni around my home for a few days, the family took a trip up to Delaware to meet up with Barb and Frank and the kids for 5 days at the beach house. With jet skis, crabs almost everyday, and the beach, it made for a great visit which i hope to do again next year. From Delaware, the family made it up to Maryland to visit with Nick, Kim, and the rest of the gang. Toni still felt that Conner was the funniest one out of everyone he met here with his wild random stories and hyper personality. We all enjoyed the trip downtown to the Harbor and the Bar where we played some games and enjoyed a nice dinner. Toni and I also got to see O.A.R. in concert with Amanda, little Nick, and amanda's b/f peter. I loved it, but not sure if that was Toni's taste of music.

From Maryland, Toni and I split up from the family and took a bus to NYC for a 6 night stay in a hostel which turned out very nice and only $50 a night where most hotels are around 1-200+$. We never went to any plays or fancy dinners since i was on a budget and we really didn't care for those things anyways. I am not sure how many miles we ended up walking, but we so most of the major scenic or tourist spots around taking pictures, but never entering in since they were all around $20 or more.

By the 4th and 5th day, we could both tell we were ready to leave NY, but before we did I was able to meet my friend Sander (from estonia) sister who was working in NY for the summer. She was really nice and fun to hang out with. Toni was also able to meet with a friend from his region in Italy who was working there this summer and I think it was good for him to hang out with her since he could speak his on language and dialect with her to feel a bit closer to home.

So from NYC we took a bus to Maryland to meet back up with Brant and his friend Samatha who he goes to school with. She lives just outside Washington D.C. which was our next day's destination. Unfortunately Sam had the flu bad and had to go to the hospital the next day, but her mom and dad were extremely nice to us and took us to dinner and made breakfast while letting us stay in their home. We took the metro into DC and walked around the Smithsonian, to the white house, washington monument, Lincoln memorial, and my favorite was arlington, but was not able to find my Grampa Al's grave. It was really amazing to see our nations capitol since last time i was there I was in 8th grade and did not really understand the meaning of everything. Im glad we made the trip and the next day we had a long drive back to NC where we hit some bad traffic, but made it eventually. Toni's trip was up and I drove him back to Charlotte and stayed with Alex a night and then drove to Greenville, SC to see my cousin Nicole and her husband Brandon and two beautiful baby girls Ella (2) and Allie (4months at that time) It was the first time i met allie and I fell in love quick and also loved watching movies with Ella and helping babysit to give Nic and Brandon a little break. It was a great weekend, but I was ready to get back home and spend my last week and a half back home working around the house cutting up trees and having a big bonfire. The weekend before I left for Taiwan I made one more trip to ECU to watch App state play them in football and spend time with my lil sis jessica cole and then getting to see Brant and Sam again. App lost 29-24 but it was a great game and a fun last weekend.

So coming back here was yet again a long trip like always, but this time my friend Alex came back with me to spend 2 weeks in Taiwan to see how I live here and what its like on the other side of the world. I tried to show him as much as i could and what he wanted to do. We went to a baseball game and a few different cities, but I think his favorite part was the food. The Jet lag stuck with us for a week or so which kept us from wanting to go to far, but overall it was great and I had fun hosting him around here and letting him meet my sweet heart Nina ;).

Well I started school back and I have a lot of catching up to do on my thesis. So far I know its going to be something about internal services, but thats about it for now. I have a lot of reading to do and more and more research. It feels great to get back here and see my friends I made over the last year who i grew so close with. I hope this year doesn't go by to fast, but im sure like always time fly's by. Thanks again for whoever reads my blogs. Leave any comments or questions you may have or something you want to hear more of.

Love Always,

Logan