Pingxi Gets a Post of it's Own.

Pingxi, Taiwan. Officially one of my favorite places on this little Earth of ours. This charming little town is situated in a snug little corner of the mountains about forty-five minutes from the center of Taipei. It also happens to be an ideal location for my new favorite holiday: Lantern Festival. I wish I could successfully describe how magical this place was but I am far too clumsy with my words to do it justice. Just make sure to put it on your list of places to see and things to do before you die. It is one of those things that must be experienced in person. No pictures, no videos, no words can accurately capture it. But here is my feeble attempt to do so...

I love being with two ladies who want to try every kind of food we encounter. We definitely made the most of this in Pingxi. There were countless food vendors lining the street. These candied strawberries on a stick were one of our favorites. Even the tomato at the bottom was delicious.

There were so many people. As always. Here are some pictures of the lanterns being set off into the sky. 

So quaint.

There was a constant stream of lanterns floating into the sky...

Cute little girl watching her family paint their lantern.

And here is our lantern! Natalie's side. She wrote a little message to her boyfriend.

We wished we could paint ours in Chinese because it looked so much cooler! They could have written the most mundane things and it would have looked good.

Lauren went with what we think is the traditional method of writing her hopes for the new year.

I used some old favorite song lyrics to decorate my side.

And of course we used the fourth side to do a little shout out to the M Team! Wish Ashley and Kamille could have been there!

And there she is before we released her to the skies!

We were told that it is s good sign if it floats into the sky. I'm happy to say ours made it safely beyond our sight and didn't burn up in take off like several others we witnessed.

View over the river.

Lanterns hung up along this wall ready to be painted.

More lanterns.

Every twenty minutes or so about two hundred lanterns would be released together from a spot up on the mountain. There were audible gasps from across the city every single time.

More...

View from the path to the mountain top.

Burst of lanterns.

After we watched a couple of waves of lanterns we made our way to the line for the bus. This was quite the line. Easily a mile long. Luckily we had the most beautiful little city to look upon and excellent food surrounding us to make it go by faster.

Also there was this little boy with a wonderful sword. 

I LOVE PINGXI.

Has it really been a year?

When I left Taiwan on January 3, 2011 I thought I was saying goodbye forever. It broke my heart. I bored countless friends and family members with all my little anecdotes of my life here but I just couldn't seem to stop talking about it. Eventually life went on. I continued with school. Started living a "normal" American life again. Spent an amazing summer in China. And realized that my life on the isle of Formosa was far from finished. So here I am back in Changhua, waiting for my semester at NTUA to begin. And the strangest part is how normal it is.

My first week back. 

We got to go on a little trip with Barbie and Eilleen's family to Chiayi and Pintung for Chinese New Year. It was so great to see these adorably little girls who I thought I might never see again.

And we go to hold a snake.

We spent the rest of the week of Chinese New Year on a marvelous trip to Taipei. Did I mention that I get to be in Taiwan with Lauren this time? So Ideal.

 Here is the whole group. The M Team. 22-22!

The Year of the Dragon! I guess it is a symbol of good things to come. It is anticipated that lots of babies will be born this year in Taiwan and China.

Meet Uncle Davey. Natalie was conversing with him as we perused his glasses selection. Out of nowhere he pulled out two Ensigns. One in English and one in Chinese. Turns out he's a member! He showed us the English one and asked us to define the word "ensign." He was impressed when I was able to answer correctly. I guess he asks any English speaker he talks with just to test their intelligence. We had a good time chatting with Uncle Davey (as he asked us to call him once he learned that we were also LDS.) In the end he wouldn't let us leave until we had taken a couple of free pairs of glasses. Too, too kind. I hope that someday I run into Uncle Davey again.

Special markets for the New Year. All beautiful and all handmade.

We were strolling in a little park when we came across a movie in the making. We stood at a distance for a while until the director and camera crew noticed us and beckoned us to get a closer look. I do love me some Taiwanese films.

Sun Yat Sen

Wufenpu market. SO many people.

Waking up to firecrackers going off in the street. Love it.

When we first got to Taipei, Ashley and Kamille were very new friends to us and I had only known Natalie for a few days. Now it feels like I've known them forever. I can't wait for the M Team to be reunited!

Confucius Temple

I love the lighting and colors in this picture. I wish I had taken more pictures here!

One of our most favorite Taiwanese foods.

Taipei Bloom Art.

Two fabulous couples walking through the flower exhibit.

Taipei Zoo.

This zoo was so beautiful. I think it helped that it was created in a sub-tropical climate in the middle of a jungle. Also it was the most crowded zoo I have ever been in. This picture is when traffic was light.

After the zoo we made our way to Pingxi for the lantern festival. But Pingxi gets a post of its own....

It's good to be back.