Less than 2 weeks to go!

We're getting down to the line, and some of our preparations haven't been very exciting - going to the bank, the DMV, starting to pack, etc. On the other hand we have been trying to enjoy our time with friends and family. Here are some of the things we've been up to:

Sailing on the Columbia

Visiting family in Sunriver

Celebrating Courtney's birthday at Uptown

Camping at Paradise

Playing hurling at the Portland Highland Games

I am also excited to spend the day with my mom this week in the midst of doctor and dentist appointments!

hurling in taiwan? kind of

spent a couple hours looking around online to see if anyone had even heard of hurling in taiwan a couple of nights ago. imagine my surprise when i found a gaa sanctioned club called taiwan celts! their main sport is gaelic football, which is a lot like hurling, but without a stick... and a bigger ball, but a couple of guys practice hurling afterwards sometimes. they practice every saturday at noon.the only catch is that they usually play in taipei, but it is only a 45 minute high speed rail ride away. i think allison will like getting up to a different city every once in a while, so she is all for it. they play in a few asian tournaments a year, and are signed up to compete in the 2009 asian gaelic games in bangkok in october this year (no, that wasn't a mistake, they actually have gaelic games in asia). guess i'll be packing my helmet, hurleys, and cleats. will keep you posted with info and pics when (not if, when) i get injured. hot damn!

Once upon a time

Here is our trip to Disneyland in pictures:

We ran into Walt and Mickey...

...got up early to use Magic Morning pass...

...went on LOTS of rides...

...found some treasure...

...and saw some disney characters! And to top it all off:

Jeremiah surprised me with dinner (the place you see when you go on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride) and then front row seating for Fantasmic.

We had a wonderful time!

Only 37 more days

We have been busy little beavers the last couple of days getting things ready. First we went to REI and bought rain jackets in preparation for the monsoon season that will greet us when we arrive in Taiwan. This is Jeremiah's... mine looks similar (but is not exactly the same - we are not one of those couples that dresses alike!)

We also went to AAA to get international driving permits (no test required) that will allow us to drive for 6 months before we get Taiwanese driving licenses. Side note: I would not recommend Walgreens for passport photos.

Finally, today we drove up to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Seattle to sort out our resident visas. We could have done it through the mail, but the process was a little confusing and the website no help at all. Screwing up our visas was not something we wanted to risk and the drive was pretty quick. Once there we each filled out a form, wrote a check and handed over our passports. They will mail it all back to us in a few days.

Another trip to the pharmacy

We are all set now for shots and prescriptions... I hope. We each have 4 bottles; two for Taiwan (and one of them was the typhoid that we finished today!) and two for traveling in other countries in SE Asia.

Mickey Mouse, here we come!

What a better way to get our last bit of American culture than going to Disneyland?! I wish I could take credit for the idea, but Jeremiah deserves all accolades in this department. In fact, he did a great job surprising me with tickets. It started with a text leading me to a note. From there I was taken on a 2 hour scavenger hunt through Portland (Vita Cafe, Powells, Jake's Restaurant, El Nutri taco cart, Crazy 8 and finally the Disney Store) with an envelope at each location filled with a rhyming letter giving me clues to where I needed to go next. I finally found him at the Disney Store with tickets in hand. Pretty amazing, right? He's awesome!

So we head out June 29th for 5 days. I can't wait!!

Summer break started for Allison!

Today is my first day of summer vacation! It brought mixed emotions. My school provided me with many things this year - challenging students, new learning, lots of change. Yesterday as I pulled away I felt like I was hit with a truck. I find comfort in my job, the people I work with and the kids. I'm leaving this for something that is new and different, and while I'm so excited to be doing it, that first step away from my comfort zone was hard. No feelings of regret or wanting to change my mind, just overwhelmed by the unknown. I'm remembering that my therapist friend at school told me there would be something wrong with me if I wasn't nervous :)

I'm also remembering these:
"To avoid situations in which you might make mistakes may be the biggest mistake of all." - Peter McWilliams
"Nobody got anywhere in the world by simply being content." - Lewis L'Armour


In other news we just got back from getting our first Hep. A shot and typhoid pills. Apparently they aren't doing flu shots anymore so we'll have to get that when we get to Taiwan where it is flu season year round.