ode to lovely

4 weeks and counting

Things I am excited about:

• 4 weeks and i'm done with the semester
• graduation dinner and ceremony next weekend
• going home to DC in less than 6 weeks
• a new flavor of my favorite mints
• buy one get one free at Coldstone again!
• that i learned how to say "to fart" in chinese (ha!)
• that i'm inspired to be crafty these days
• i found a thesis advisor
• a little certain somebody finally cut their hair
• to pick up my professionally taken MBA photographs
• a new month begins tomorrow. love fresh starts.

camly

This is Camly. She rocks blue wigs, is a huge foodie, and has a collection of makeup that would make any girl jealous. She is Vietnamese, but grew up in Idaho (and is also the first person from Idaho I have ever met). We love eating, shopping, and talking on gchat at odd hours (and during class). She is very lucky to have her family just 40 min outside of Taipei, and sometimes she'll invite me over for some authentic Vietnamese food. We have an ice cream date planned for this weekend and I can't wait. Love you Cam!

fantasia pool party

We went to this all day pool party at a water park a few weeks ago. I was beside myself when I saw Taiwanese girls interpretation of a "pool party". 

To me, the pool party meant: fun in the sun, water slides, acting silly with friends, no makeup (cause i'd be getting wet, duh!), summer dress, flip flops, dancing, beers, and getting tans.

To Taiwanese girls it meant: wear the smallest bikini possible, with high heels, a face full of make up, fake eyelashes, perfect hair, and go there to flirt with boys.

Even the girls that got in the water (there weren't that many who did because i've also learned that many Taiwanese can't swim), would run to the bathroom after getting wet to quickly touch up their makeup. 

Talk about cultural differences. If I were to see a girl wearing makeup and high heels and fake eyelashes at a water park in the states, I would just laugh. Here, its normal. Actually, is expected. Now I know that I have to look and dress hotter at my next Taiwanese pool party in order to fit in.

Enjoy the video. I'm barely in it, but you can still get an idea of what the pool party was like!

dating tips

Want to hear me speak three languages? Sometimes I even speak all three in one sentence. This is what happens when you hangout with a Peruvian and a German who can speak Chinese and English. In the video, the Peruvian is teaching the German how to flirt in Spanish. Its awesomely funny, but it might be kinda hard to understand. Take a look.

lourdes

This is Lourdes. She is from Spain and we met during my first week at ICLP. She is married to a Taiwanese man and they have two adorable little girls who are the most beautiful mixed kids I have ever seen. She is so sweet, and caring, spontaneous, independent, strong willed, and just a straight up awesome person. Her and her husband have such a bond, such a connection, that it would make any couple jealous. They are the coolest parents I have ever met I hope to have a life just like hers one day. She held my hand a lot in the last few months, especially to some really important doctors appointments.  I am so thankful for her friendship and the happiness she brings to my life. She makes me dinner when I'm sad. And lets me come over whenever I need girl time. I love her so much and she is truly an inspiration in my life.  Love you Lourdes!

reaching for something

Theres so much I want to do with my life. So much I want to accomplish. I want to travel the world. Get a great job somewhere different and exciitng. I want to make my parents proud of me, so that they know their hard work paid off. I want to live near my sister, always. I want to own a house, and decorate it to my liking. Simply put: I just want to live an inspired and happy life. But lately, all I keep thinking about how I want to fall in love again. And I want it to be for real this time. The goofy, giddy, stupid kind of love that makes you act out of control and happy beyond belief. I want to have romance in my life again. I want to dress up and go on dates. But most importantly, I want to take care of someone, and in turn feel taken care of. I wish I could stop these feelings, but lately I can't stop thinking about this. Probably because I'm no longer feeling 80/20 like I mentioned before but more like 95/5. Which means that 100% should be right around the corner. And maybe a cute boy will be too.

the bandwagon

So, lots of people first told me to jump on the Twitter bandwagon. The truth is it never really interested me. It kinda reminded me of AIM, back in highschool, where people just put away messages up to look cool, or say something funny, or just tell the world their every move. But sometimes, just sometimes, I feel a little left out that I don't participate on Twitter. BUT, just like AIM, I don't want it to consume my time, and my life. Lately, I've been considering making the switch to Tumblr. It seems like a much cooler place to be than typepad. But, I also don't understand, how people have the TIME to find the things they post on Tumblr. Do people just spend HOURS upon freaking HOURS online, searching for inspiration? I seriously feel stupid when I waste more than 20 minutes on Facebook. Or when I forget to read the news cause I spent all my time watching bad tv on Watch-Series. I know the internet provides a shit ton of inspiration and its so incredibly rewarding to see something that makes you stop and say: "thats awesome." But don't you also feel like you're wasting time "following" people? Is it just me that feels his way? Just curious.

thursdays = manuel

This cutie's name is Manuel. He is from Venezuela, but grew up in LA. We laugh a lot when we're together. He calls me monkey and I call him conejito (which means rabbit in spanish). We hangout every single Thursday night, since as far back as I can remember.  He is a social butterfly, loves lemon tea, and has the prettiest eyes and eyelashes I have ever seen on a man. I teach him chinese and in return, he teaches me random things and keeps me up to date on current events. He lets me cry whenever I am sad and always rubs my back when I do. Words cannot describe how much his friendship, company, support, and our hundreds of breakfast/lunch/dinner dates have helped me survive the last 6+ months.

clare

She's president of our MBA program. She's British. But half Chinese. She is so incredibly thoughtful and sweet and really easy to talk to. I love going to coffee shops around town with her, with our Macs, and her dog Jimmy. We go shopping together, get our make up done for fun, and both love scooting around town. She's the only other foreigner girl that has a scooter and lets be honest, scooter chicks rock! I don't know what I would do without her and our random crazy fun days.

intermission

So, I totally sucked at keeping up with Friend's Week. I had one person lined up for every day of the week, but life got super busy from Thursday to Sunday so I'm just now catching up with emails and my to-do lists. I'll finish friends week this week, but for now a little intermission break of random stuff.

• I saw Pitbull on Friday night. I got in for free. VIP access and everything. We were promised to meet him, but in the end, it didn't happen. We did, however, sneak into his dressing room and stole 2 bottles of vodka. Good stuff.
• Went to an all-day pool party on Saturday. Fat Joe performed, but it kinda sucked. I was really disappointed.  My bestest friend Toby made an awesome video about our day. I need to get him to send me the link, and then i'll post it here.
• I am on a roll with my school work. I am in "get-this-shit-done" mode. 5 more weeks until the end of the semester.  
• I am feeling SO much better these days. Positive outlook. Happy thoughts. Not worrying as much. Life is good.
• I am almost totally caught up with HIMYM. I am so in love with that show. Now I need a new show to love. Any suggestions?
• I have a feeling that this is going to be a really productive week.

sarita

Oh Sarah, or Sarita as Luis has nicknamed her. She calls me Natalia, but pronounces it like na-ta-LEEE-A. She is such a high-spirited, high energy, always happy person. She is American. She speaks fluent Japanese. Has a British boyfriend.Loves cooking and baking. And she is a great listener. She was my "date" in Malaysia and we have been great friends ever since. Thank you Sarita for your amazing support and your contstant smile. You rock!

thoughts for today:
i have the worse memory ever
i hate professors with attitude
my scooters name is Beaula Rochelle
i will never think of room 203 in the same way ;)
i accomplished one of my taiwan goals today
i cannot wait to finish my midterm on thursday
i hope I don't regret my decision to forgive
i go home in exactly two months. Effing awesome!

tobias

Hi name is Tobias, but I call him Tobes. He is my bestest friend in Taipei. We totally clicked from the very first time we met. He is German. He has the most perfect English, and barely has an accent. BUT, he makes one little mistake: he pronounces his W's like V's and V's like W's. I giggle every single time he says "value" in our finance class because he pronounces "walue." He is so incredibly smart but one of the most humble people I've met. He loves rap music and is a crazy cool dancer. I am SO thankful for his friendship.

friends week!

This weekend I spent time with some awesome friends and realized how lucky I am to have them in my life. So I've decided to make this week friend's week and say a little something about all my favorite Taiwan friends. I'm going to start with one of my favorite people in the world. His name is Luis. He is from Peru. He has the CUTEST english accent ever! He has claimed my scooter as OUR scooter.  He is the sweetest person in the world and he takes such good care of me. Love him to pieces!

mountain drive

meet my scooter

She is old, and a little banged up, but she is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I love her oh so much! I took her on a scoot to the Muzha on Friday, to the beach on Saturday, and to the movies on Sunday. I can't believe I waited this long to get a scooter. Best decision ever!