1.) I think this goes without saying that I'm very grateful for my family and the love and support that they have given me throughout the year. I'm especially thankful for the fact that it was so easy to communicate them while being abroad for seven months. I always realize when I'm away for periods of time, how important my family is to me. I am also of course thankful for all of the new and old friends that I have had throughout the year, life is always sweeter with friends in it!
2.) I'm extremely grateful for the opportunity that I had to go to Uganda Africa with my friend J in January. It was certainly a life changing trip, and I think that the organization 52 kids is such an amazing organization that is doing so many wonderful things for children and education in Uganda. I'm also very thankful to J's Mom who financially supported me on going on this amazing trip... like I said it is a trip that I will remember for a lifetime. I have never been able to get the precious children's smiles out of my thoughts.
3.) The scholarship that I received to go to Taipei, Taiwan and study for three months. I truly had a wonderful three months studying in Taipei. I never realized how much I could actually love a city. I think the one thing I was always amazed by was the transportation system( the subways and busses were great and so easy to get around in). I also loved the night markets in Taipei, I definitely miss being there just for the night life and all of the amazing food. Most of all, I felt so fortunate to have made some amazing friends in Taipei that I will treasure for a life time.
4.) I never would have imagined that with all of my travels, I would end up meeting so many of the families who have students at my old high school. I'm truly grateful for the families that I met both in Taipei and Shanghai that made my experience so special and made me feel very at home in a foreign country.
5.) The opportunity to visit my dear friend E in KL Malaysia. Being in Malaysia made me just realize how much I truly love Asia in general. I loved going to the Ramadan food bazars, getting to experience eating rotti tissue( I know sounds bizarre , but it is so delicious), going to Sabah and para sailing, relaxing on the beach in Bali, and of course just getting to spend time with E and the rest of her family.
6.) Spending my fall semester in Shanghai. It was such a great experience getting to compare two very different cities such as Shanghai and Taipei. I loved getting to explore a new city, though I realized Shanghai was a bit big for my liking( I think I would prefer a smaller city). I loved getting to experience food at the back gate behind my school, definitely an experience that I'm missing so much now being home. I'm so grateful for the amazing friends that I made while being in Shanghai as well. I'm especially thankful for my roommate who was so patient with me while learning the language; I so much appreciated being have someone to practice my Chinese with everyday and definitely improved so much within the three months that I was there.
7.) I'm beyond thankful that my mom, dad, brother, and sister were able to visit me in Shanghai in October. It was certainly such a huge gift getting to have them visit me and see my life in Shanghai and get to travel to a couple other places with them while they were there. It was so wonderful for my mom to be able to return to China after her first trip over 2o something years ago.
8). These past six months, one of my goals was to visit some orphanages while in Asia and volunteer a bit. While it was definitely difficult at first to find some places I could volunteer at I was able to volunteer at an orphanage in Taipei, and then I also got to visit one in Malaysia and in Xi'an China. I think it was really special for me when I got to visit Starfish Orphanage in Xi'an mainly because my family got to see the orphanage that I jumped through hoops and hurdles to visit on my first trip to China. It was so special for them to get to see, why I have such a passion for helping orphaned Children.
9.) This year has been another year of learning so much, but specifically for me it has been a year that I have focussed specifically on improving my Chinese language skills. I'm so grateful for all of my teachers and friends who have supported me in learning the Chinese language. It certainly has not been an easy road, but I hope one day that this language will be well worth all my struggles and efforts. I'm thankful for the great education I have had this past year and all of the people who have played such a pivotal role in it.
10.) The year 2010 really brought me on so many exciting journeys across the world and I'm so thankful that I have had all of the exciting opportunities to meet new people and see new places. I am thankful for my overall health and well being while I traveled to all of these amazing places, and so glad I didn't end up in a foreign hospital. Here's to 2011 and all of the upcoming adventures that it entails.
