Sleipnir had languished, relegated to being a beast of labor and nothing more. Back and forth, the same old routes every week — work, work, work. The whole point of owning a motorcycle is the feeling of freedom that it brings, and I was only using mine as a commuter vehicle. So when my friends …
Asia
Five Things to Do in Hualien
Hualien is a smaller city of 100,000+ people on the east coast of Taiwan. Sandwiched between the Pacific Ocean and Taroko National Park, it is a great base from which to explore some of the finest natural beauty Taiwan has to offer. That said, here are five things to do in Hualien! Drive Through Taroko …
Riding a Scooter from Taipei to Taroko and Back Again
It’s been an adventure-less summer. Breaking my leg at the end of April meant that I spent most of the season getting to the point where I could walk again. While I’m still not 100%, I am finally able to be active, so I was eagerly awaiting my trip to Taiwan to meet up with …
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My Grandfather’s Coins
Travel is many things to many people. It is many things to me. But perhaps the thing I cherish most about travel is its ability to imbue meaning into other things. For memories of it to link to those of people and experiences, for it to entwine itself around the roots of who we are. …
Temple Stay at Golgulsa
The monk’s bones appeared to melt, turning him into a rag doll instead of an actual person. He wrapped his legs into a pretzel and pushed himself onto his fingertips. The crowd hooted and hollered as they took photo after photo, enthralled by the spectacle. I was at Golgulsa (골굴사) for the weekend, and we were …
Getting Your Alien Registration Card in South Korea
So, you’ve gotten a job teaching English in South Korea, and you might’ve even just touched down after doing a visa run to Fukuoka. Regardless, you’re stepping into a new world, but there are still a few things you’ll need to do before you can really settle in. The most critical thing is to apply …
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Doing a Visa Run from South Korea to Fukuoka
Sometimes, getting all your paperwork together to teach English in South Korea can take just a little too long. Or, you may already be in the country when you secure a job and need to head overseas to swap your visa over to an E2. Whatever the reason, visa runs are an inconvenience, but luckily …
Teaching English as a Foreign Language in Korea
You’ve completed the most important part of the process by merely making the decision to go. You’ve decided to take the leap and move to another country (Korea, in this case!) to teach students your native language of English. What next? How do you make the transition from living at home to teaching English as …
The Terracotta Warriors of Xi’an
A group of farmers worked the earth outside of Xi’an. It was early spring, and they’d need the additional water source for coming summer. But they found something there, buried underground, which would come to be considered one of the greatest archeological discoveries in history. The year was 1974, and the farmers had unearthed one …
The Longji Rice Terraces: Along the Dragon’s Backbone
In the northernmost part of Guangxi province, up along a winding road more harrowing than most, are the fabled Longji Rice Terraces — also known as The Dragon’s Backbone. The name comes from their appearance: like scales on the flanks of a giant dragon lying coiled in the hills. There are actually several terraces connected by …
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