And then the rain came...

The months of June-August are the rainy season in Taiwan. We've heard stories after stories of people getting stuck on campus at the aquarium during a typhoon with only instant noodles to eat. So when the first two weeks of being here were bright and sunny and happy, I got spoiled. But of course, I had to be put in my place.

This weekend 6 of our friends came down from Taipei with high expectations of beach house living and beautiful sun drenched days. Boy were we all in for a surprise. The rain came, and it came good. Luckily the tropical depression never developed into a typhoon, and we didn't let the rain slow us down. In fact, I think it had quite the opposite effect. Naturally this weekend would have been amazing with some of the coolest individuals I've met, but the rain made it unforgettable in every sense of the word. Naturally our only mode of transportation was scooters. So we rain geared up and hopped on, then to the beach we went. I have never been so soaked for such an extended period of time.

We took advantage of the dry moments and got some great beach time in , and we discovered a great pizza place/bar in this little surf town called Nanwen. This area is probably my favorite visited yet. It's very laid back, very international, and has great surfing.

 (Peter at the beach bar literally soaking it up)

 (With James and my hot pink sunglasses)

 (Sarah and I on the beach)

 (Filling up our rides)

 (A moment of sun)

(The troopers, unfortunately missing Cammie and Alex)

Lesson learned this weekend: make your own fun! It's easy to look at a situation through negative eyes (which I felt myself doing occasionally this weekend), but it's the moments of complete chaos where you can break down and not leave the house or buy ridiculous sun glasses to protect your eyes from the pelting rain and go out and laugh. Always choose laughter!

Love to all!

- Jules