Life Through My Phone

This past week was super busy.

Thankfully, I have my phone to capture every moment.

 Our school went on a photo shoot "field trip" to an area painted and decorated to the nines.

 Time well spent with friends.

I was lucky enough to be given tickets from my co-teacher to watch some volleyball during the Asian Games being held in the city I live in.  

Kuwait vs. Pakistan
2014 Incheon Asian Games

              

Two girls that couldn't be any cuter.

Stay true, stay real.

H.

Wai'ao, Taiwan: Day Two

I wish I had a riveting anecdote for day two in Taiwan, but, honestly, all I did was soak up the glorious sun.  My body was burnt, my hair was ratchet from the salty sea, and I loved every minute of it.  Among the many hours I spent laying like a beached whale on the black sand, I managed to muster up the courage to take a surfing lesson.  So much water landed in my nose and mouth.  I was terribly thirsty and tired after, BUT it was such a fun part of the trip.  Did I accept the offers from many locals to surf again after the initial surfing experience?  NO, but I thought about it, so that has to count for something.  

(left): This was my burger--sorry it was half eaten before I remembered to take its picture-- and coffee.  All drinks in a cup came pre-packaged with a plastic covering.

(right):I enjoyed pineapple, mango, and grape beer while I was in Taiwan.  The locals don't consider it beer, but rather "juice."  Either way, it tasted good to me.  

I made a friend.
His name is crab.
He's elusive sometimes, but if you squint really hard you can see him.

Stay true, stay real.

H.

Getting to Taiwan

Before I can start about how lovely and marvelous Taiwan was, I must bore you with the details of the arrival to said majestic country.

Step 1: Board the plane.

Step 2: Arrive in Shanghai.

Step 3: Wait in the wrong line while everyone gets in the correct one, thus making the wait longer.

Step 4: Finally make it through customs.

Step 5: Freak out because you think your flight leaves in 20 minutes and you still have to check-in AND go through security, when in all actuality, it leaves in an hour.

Step 6: Run back and forth through the Shanghai airport because no one actually knows where the check-in counters are.

Step 7: Make it through security and board second flight.

Step 8: Wait an extra hour before second flight actually takes off.

Step 9: Make it to Taipei.

Step 10: Have an adorable man write a letter in Chinese stating how to get to my destination. 

Last step: BREATH!

Day one in Taiwan.

All of these are motorized scooters.
ALL. OF. THEM.

I met this girl on the train.  We couldn't communicate very well until she turned on a WiFi hotspot so we could add each other on FaceBook.  Then, we wrote messages on Google Translate for the next hour.  My heart was, and still is, super happy.

For all those independent women.

There's a super long story behind this photo, but in the end, he helped me figure out exactly how to make it to my hostel.

THEN, once I did arrive, this is what I found!

And this is only day one...

Stay true, stay real.

H.

Hanbok Day: Iris Edition

All the photos you're about to see occurred in the span of 45 seconds.  

And they're all awesome.

A more, ahem, serious representation of hanbok day will be coming your way in the coming days or possibly weeks.  I'm a busy girl.  

 I hope you enjoyed this installment of the Iris cam.  

I'm sure there will be many, many more to come.

Stay true, stay real.

H.