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I’ve pondered long and hard about how to continue this blog in 2026. I have an audience, mostly of close friends and family, who read my blog to hear all about my life in Taiwan. I really enjoy sharing my life here with you; as a way to keep in touch, but also keep a record of places I’ve gone and things I’ve enjoyed. It’s hard, however, to want ...read more

Chinese is hard. Even after nine (going on ten) years of studying the language, every day has its linguistic challenges. At this point, I’m able to navigate the daily functions of my life without issue. At work, I understand about 80% of what’s going on, most of the time. I’ve had two recent linguistic wins that show how much my Chinese ...read more

Today, I ran up all the stairs in Taipei 101! There’s not much more to say about it, although you may be wondering why in the world I’d actively choose to run up 91 flights (2046 stairs) on a Saturday afternoon (many of my coworkers and friends have also wondered, and sometimes I wonder too).  Through Princeton in Asia, I’ve gotten looped into ...read more

One of the best things about living in Taiwan is the fact that I can actually go to the doctor when I’m sick. If I have a cold in the United States, I take some benadryl and Tylenol, wear a mask, and suck it up. After all, why should I go to the doctor if it’ll cost an arm and a leg for them to tell me I have a common cold? Not worth. My coworkers were ...read more

As of late, my new easy card has brought me much joy. If you’re wondering what an easy card is, you’re likely not alone. An easy card (悠遊卡, pronounced “yo yo kah”) is a multi-purpose card whose primary function is a transit card. It can also be used for small payments ...read more

Happy New Year! It’s been a long time since I’ve written anything for my blog. My main excuse is busyness, but I’ve also felt relatively uninspired to write. My last post was filled with tales from my trip to China, meaning I haven’t written any updates from Taiwan for almost two months. So, without further ado: some stories from the past couple ...read more

I’m writing this post at the end of another typhoon day. Today, Taiwan was hit with super typhoon Kong-Rey, the biggest typhoon (typhoon = hurricane but in the pacific ocean) to directly hit Taiwan in over 30 years (today was a category 4). Taiwan’s typhoon season usually wraps up at the beginning of October, so to have a typhoon this late ...read more

I’ve wrapped my fifth full week of work, and since I now have somewhat of an idea of what I now do for a living, I’ll share some details with you all.  My job title is “Project Manager,” but I couldn’t really tell you exactly what projects I’m managing. At the moment, I’m assisting with a lot of random things, but I’m ok with that for now. Baby steps. I work ...read more

“Home” evokes so many emotions, memories, and stories. I think of Chicago as “home” and was alarmed when, during my sophomore year of college, I referred to St. Olaf College as “home” while I was in Chicago. “I’m going home to Minnesota next week!” Ummmmm. Since when has Minnesota been home? Chicago is home...read more

Hello friends and family! Welcome (back) to Tales from Taiwan! I’m happy to report that, after about 12 days, I am mostly settled into life in Taiwan. The past couple of weeks have been an absolute whirlwind of setting up my new life, spending time with friends, and starting my new job. I have all sorts of fun tales from the past couple of weeks...read more