I'm sad to say we leave Taiwan in 7 hours. I don't want to go! If it weren't for silly things like having to work and earn money for school, I'd just stay all summer.
this has been such an incredible experience, and now I can genuinely say I love my boyfriend's entire family, his country, and his culture. I've developed relationships here that I hope will last for a very long time, and I hope and pray for the opportunity to visit again. From a traveler's perspective this trip is also amazing because my friends here are better than any tour guide I could ask for. I've seen so many beautiful places and experienced a new culture...and eaten SO MANY DELICIOUS THINGS. ^_^
And yet, the time has come to go back to my favorite place in the world. As some of you know, I love Alaskan summers. They are short but so beautiful that they make the dreariest of winters worth it. The month of May in particular is gorgeous, but this trip to Taiwan was worth missing my favorite Alaskan season.
On a somewhat related note, I'm not even hoping for nice sunny weather when I return home. I genuinely am praying for a very rainy summer, because I've heard through my friends that there's a MASSIVE wildfire raging through the Kenai peninsula. Smoke is still lingering in Anchorage, and supposedly since the land that's burning is refuge land, they're not allowed to use flame retardant on it so they're literally just letting tj burn right now. It's spreading and getting closer and closer to developed land and towns. If you could remember this is your prayers I would be so grateful.