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| The past 3 weeks have gone by quickly at a crawling pace. On one hand it's been fun "party[ing] like a rockstar" in Taipei, but on the other hand, I nearly miss my domesticated life back in SoCal. hahaha, Italy was a blast as well. A 15-day quickstyle tour around the country. We visited Rome, Venice, Milan, Sicily, Florence, Verona, Naples, to name a few; a breeze through the country, conquering a city a day, sometimes 2.
It was fun, but oftentimes tiring - I felt like Napoleon must've, storming church after church, castle after castle. It's not easy trying to take in centuries of art, culture, and history in a short 15-day span; Rome was the worst of all. Waking at 6 AM nearly every day, Rome's romp about town lasted til midnight. In near-40 degree (celsius) weather, I was about ready to call it a day by noontime. But like they say, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do". So I persevered through the unbearable heat, and irregularly oversized sun, which I'm glad I did. My profile pic is probably one of the better ones I took while on my Italian excursion with the 'rents.
Like all countries, Italy has it's darker side. Known for it's high rate of theft, and large population of thieves and pick-pockets, my family had it's own encounter. 12 days into our trip, just 3 days returning to our safe haven in Taipei, Taiwan, my mom had her purse stolen. We're still not positive how it happened, but I have a pretty good idea.
Our tour group was on the Eurostar (train that runs through Europe, as you may have guessed), and most of us were half-asleep, when 3 caucasians (assuming Italian), came across us. "Bologna? Is this Bologna (the city, not the sausuage)?" , they asked in primitive english, as they pointed out the windows of our carriage; Smoke-and-mirrors. As attentions were diverted out the window, trying to search for a sign as to what stop we were at, I'm sure the other 2 jackasses somehow got their hands on my mother's purse, and the 3 of them got it off the train without us even noticing til a stop later. We're still baffled as to how they managed, as my mom's purse was stored in the overhead compartment above us. Slick bastards.
It wasn't about the purse, wallet, money, or credit cards. They could have it all. The worst part of all was that my mom had her passport in her purse as well. 3 more days, and we would've been safely homeward bound, but instead, my dad was now in a foul mood, and both him and the tourguide were making endless phonecalls, pulling strings; trying desperately to figure out how to get my mother out of the country and back home. Luckily, the tourguide knew a few directors from airline companies, and my dad and his friends knew some people at customs. With a police report, and a photocopy of her passport, my mom was on schedule to return with us.
It was quite the adventure, really, and I'm not sure whether I'm glad or nostalgic that it's over. Nonetheless, it's good to be back in Taipei, and will be even better to be back in SoCal. I must've taken nearly a thousand pictures, but have yet to only post 8 on my myspace. I'll show 'em to y'all when I return on the 10th of August. :)
Farewell to Italy. Au Revoir to Taiwan. SoCal - I'll be seeing you soon! | | |
| time flies, huh? it's been 1 & 1/2 years since i've last blogged... and it's been quite a while since i've even *touched* xanga. qute amazing really, considering the frequency in which i used to blog. it didn't even occur to me til this morning/afternoon, when my roomie woke me up and said she didn't realize how close we used to be and how often we used to talk. stupid vicky. hahaha, i guess after living with someone for nearly 2(?) years, you run out of things to say. of course, the sarcasm remains.  while i could probably sit here for the rest of the day, writing a long, picture-ridden blog of my life these past 2 years, stupid vicky kinda just got me into the reflecting mood. 2 years. seems like an eternity, but flies by just like that... most of us are graduating/graduated, and finding direction in life, but sometimes it's scary that i still get that feeling; like the first day you step into your dorm room. hopeful, excited, scared, but above all - lost. i've matured, had my share of experiences, laughed, cried, regretted... sure, i'm closer to graduating, and i've seen more sides of the world than perhaps i've wanted, but all in all, aside from the obvious goals in life, i feel somewhat lost n confused. does anyone else feel that they themselves, at times, lack direction? i sure do. growing up kinda sucks sometimes... i miss the old days, where nearly everyday was fun-filled... maybe it has something to do with being associate in the fraternity, and seeing all the older heads graduated and gone. mistakes seem more costly now than it did 2 years ago, but i guess that's what growin up does to you. it's been more than fun being 21, but i had more than my share of fun being 18, 19, and even 20... life sure seems serious at 21. man... myspace is shallow. yet a sad, accurate reflection of society today. if you can't beat 'em, join 'em? no more being naive. | | |
| greece was amazing... word's can't describe. sooo, pictures will come soon... 
back in taipei til the 12th, then back to socal for more edumacation.  (what? mathemacation?) 
my number til i return to the US of A: 0921 757 074. call me!
*EDIT*
well... due to flying from athens -> bah-rain -> bangkok -> taipei with a good share of layovers in between, im relatively jet-lagged, and i have a good number of greece photos uploaded!  soooo...
prepare to be picture-spammed!
guess what's legal in greece? LOL
yummmm... absinth!
beautiful, no? santorini island.
a chapel by the aegan sea...
i like how every picture looks like a postcard. :)
dinner at a chinese restaurant in santorini. somewhat disappointing, but boy did i miss white rice. hahaha
the family after riding donkeys up numerous stairs... they had a good 50+ donkeys, and i must say... it brought new meaning to the phrase "smells like ass" to me... they poo a lot. >:P
greek beer. "Alpha Lambda Phi Lambda"... or just ALFA. haha, it was good! the other local beer was called Mythos, and they both taste a good deal like heineken. i'm still a fan of dark beer (a la Newcastle), but i grew attracted to Amstel in greece. :)
a greek theater with crazy acoustics.
family @ the theater.
and of course - for the bros. hahaha, i told ya guys i would!  our greek letters in greece!
with the family outside the biggest museum in athens.
example of the crazy-sculpted marble statues they had inside.
and an example of the crazy oldschool guards. hahaha, i swear it was friggin hot outside... i was sweatin bullets. but i guess it must be relatively cool when you're wearing a DRESS. haha, sucker. jk
family in front of the hotel in mykonos. that island was my favorite. 
all the houses in mykonos looked somewhat like our hotel - little square white houses with blue doors and shutters. very charming.
the 5 famous windmills in mykonos.
the city by the sea.
my dorky family at lunch.
i fell in love with the cats of greece... there're so many stray cats there, but they're all well-fed, and friendly.
awww...
saw some of these gangster birds too. pelicans?
the aegan sea.
another pic of mykonos. :)
my sister felt compelled to take pictures of a random family's porch.
and then to zoom in on the lil chubster. ;)
don't think he quite appreciated it though... :\
one of my favorite pictures, taken by yours truly. haha, if only it was a reaaal camera instead of my sister's P200, and i could get the sun better. 
another postcard pic. :P
my sister took that one. i really like it for some reason...
sun-setting.
sunset.
me
and mother.
and the father.
and my favorite - the parthenon.
well... it's nearing 4 AM now, and i'm getting tired... sooo if i get less lazy, i may or may not post more pictures. haven't gotten a good nights sleep in a while now... we went to santorini, and had to take a eeextra long boat ride back.
we got on the ferry in santorini at 3 or 4, and arrived in athens at like 1 AM. -_-||| a 9 hour boat ride is NOT fun... especially when the waves are big.
then we woke up early the next morning to see the parthenon, olympic stadium, and some theater. ;P THEN, we had lunch, rushed back to the hotel, and hopped on the plane.
athens -> bah-rain = 3.5 hours. + 2 hour layover, bah-rain -> bangkok = 7 hours. + 4 hour layover, bangkok -> taipei = 4 hours. *sigh* goodnight, everyone. will update later. maybe.
-ryan | | |
| well, i've been back in taipei for 4 or 5 days now. it's hella hot n humid here, but i'm getting used to it... feel considerably lost here, after not returning for a full year. everything feels somewhat foreign and detached to me, but i'm adjusting... friends are makin it easier.
so far, i've seen stef liu, cindy tsai, sonia im, carmen luk... and i ran into wonjun on the MRT and jeff fang (feng? 04 guy) at the ACC... hahaha, where are you james chou?  and i don't have your number, brian... lol, i may have had it last year, but im somewhat cellphoneless for right now.
anyway, haven't been spendin thaaat much time with friends... been doin lotsa family-oriented stuff. like hiking. and gosh darn do i HATE hiking.
so my parents decide that their favorite hobby is hiking, and they wake my arse up at 6:30 AM to go with them. and i'm not talking about the "nice worn dirt path"s but rather the "in-the-middle-of-nowhere-jungley-and-mosquito/leech-infested-path"s. like, you hafta use ropes sometimes to get uphill, and you hafta watch your legs for leeches and other creepy crawlies...
to make a long story short, i HATE hiking with my parents... as beautiful as nature may be, i'm just not a big fan of coming home with dirt all over my legs, and bug bites everywhere. not my idea of a good saturday morning. especially when i'm tired and grumpy and hung-over at 6:30 in the morning. definitely not my cup of tea.
BUT, i'll end my complaining here, and post some nature-y pictures.
on the way to the base of the mountain - the coolest lil things ever. my favorite one is the black one with the brown!
all at once now - AWWW... haha, there were like 7+ of them, but after playin with them for a while, the parents came out and started barkin. 
my mommy and i in the middle of nowhere. 
more nature. -_-||| i'd rather get my exercise from bball.
nice view, no?
btw for the taiwan ppl, we went hikin by wu lai, and ended up here. i got to play with the whole bow n arrow gig.  it's a lot harder than it looks.
the lil wu lai train... haha, deja vu. reminded me of the good ol' days, senior year @ TAS w/ Youth Vision. it's been a while...
well that's it for now... these're the only pics i have - i jacked em from my dad. prolly get another camera sometime... haha, but yea. tomorrow i head out for taitung til friday i think. i may be able to worm my way out of it, so i can stay in taipei til wednesday night at least so i can kick it with carmen n christine before they take off for taichung and hualien.
then off to greece on the 26th, back on the 4th, and chill here til the 12th. 2707 5619. give me a call - i want to see you! yes, you. let's kick it! | | |
| well, just updating before i disappear. for those of you that don't know, i'm jettin for summer break. plans:
07/12 - 07/26: Taipei
07/26 - 08/04: Greece
08/04 - 08/12: Taipei
if any college buddies want anything, just let me know. (however, despite what certain people think, i do have a budget.) lol
well, it's 5:17 AM, and my room's still a mess from moving, and i still have yet to begin packing... yes - it's the procrastinator in me. what can i say? i work better under pressure. so with that, i must bid you all a hearty farewell; off to the homeland i go. hopefully prior to returning, i'll have updated with pictures of a country foreign to many of you. if not, my apologies! haha, adieu.
-ryan
*EDIT* 7:02 AM
for those of you already in taipei, please leave your contact info. i'm not sure of my cell # yet, but my house phone's 2707 5619. ring me up! see you taipei'ers soon... | | |
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