First taste of Sevilla, España!

20 hours or so later I have finally arrived in Sevilla, España. It was a long journey (one that included me running like a madwoman through Heathrow Airport to catch my flight to Madrid.. yup) but my luggages have made it through with me and am now nestled in a hotel in the center of Sevilla. Orientation is tomorrow and we move into our homestay families on Friday!

Since I, and a bunch of other students, arrived early in the day, we of course went exploring around the area immediately! So far, Sevilla has proven to be a beauty. Exquisite buildings at every turn and we walk along signature cobblestone streets! Vibrants colors like red, blue, and yellow cover walls, windowsills, and archways and are a dreamy contrast to the bright blue sky. It was a gorgeous day with the temperature perfect at 21 degrees.

Today we have already had tapas (not pictured), sangria, and churros con chocolate! All delicious. However, I really have to prepare my stomach for smaller portions - those tapas went in a flash! We really tried to order and speak in Spanish as well even though we were all a little shy at first, inevitably. But I will say even after one day making an effort to speak Spanish, we are already improving and feeling more confident. 

We are really going to beat jet lag fast at how motivated we are to walk everywhere and explore with our intuition and senses. It is 1:50am and I can still type a post... that's something! So far, Sevilla is a gem of a city with a gentle bustling atmosphere. Can't wait to get to know this city more... 

Stay tuned! 

going places.

Here I am, enjoying my last bowl of noodle soup earlier today before I jet away to faraway lands that probably won't have said noodle soup...especially with FISH BALLS! Yes, those are fish balls. Nothing beats a bowl of hot soup and noodles.... maybe it's an Asian thing but it just warms up my heart!

What else warms up my heart? My family. Saying goodbye always causes the tears to flow and a lump in my chest. Although there have been quite a few of those goodbyes in the recent years and more to come in my future, they will never be easy. The immense support and love I get from them is just so amazing and I could not be a luckier daughter. They give me the confidence to make my own decisions in my life and are the wind beneath my wings. They are the reason I'm taking a giant leap of courage and faith and studying abroad! 

I cannot wait to step my feet in European soil. I cannot even imagine what it is like yet and I know even as I do I won't be able to believe that it's real. Spain, I cannot wait to discover you and make my mark. I  already know I am going to fall in love with you. 

I hope I keep this blog up while studying abroad in Seville, Spain. For those of you who aren't familiar with Seville, it is the third biggest city in Spain (behind Madrid and Barcelona) and south west of Madrid. It is quite close to Portugal.. and Northern Africa (ie: Morocco!). Home to bull fighting, the old royals, churches, Plaza de España... and flamenco! Home to me, real soon. 

I'm now sitting in Hong Kong Airport, waiting for my flight to board. All these thoughts are running through my head and it's hard to keep calm. But all that matters is,

Hasta pronto, España! 

Life Lately through words and Instagram

*A Hong Kong Dancers alumni dinner chatting with two women I admire

*A sugary donut and a chocolate covered custard roll is a great way to start the day, in my opinion.

*Had Pecking Duck after god knows how long... supremely crispy, juicy, and delicious.

*The waterfront overlooking Hong Kong Island from Kowloon is simply one of my favorite places to go...especially at sunset.

*Having recently gotten a haircut, I have these layers that can make it look like I have short hair! So I did this sneaky thing where I fooled some of my friends. If only I had the guts to actually cut it!

*Posing with none other than rockstar that plays a hot pink ukelele!

*I got this hat the other day and now I am only a bit obsessed with it. Also, my camera was broken but now it's fixed! Hurrah!

*Pretty mall decor. It's the little things.

*Proclaiming for the 100th time how much of an coffee lover I really am. Yes, I will always be up for a date over coffee.

*"It was about time for some Korean food!", I said. 

*Playing with shadows with my mama on a hike.

*Celebrating a wonderful 7 year old gal's birthday. Where I made her into a rockstar with said hot pink ukelele!

Life is good. 

P.S.: CUATRO DIAS. FOUR DAYS.

truth.

I couldn't sleep last night.
My heart was racing and there were butterflies in my stomach.
So excited, so anxious for a new adventure to start ONE WEEK FROM TODAY.
Somebody pinch me.

Excuse my jumping face. Photo taken by my cousin (or my mom) in the beautiful mountain side of Taipei. We took a little drive to explore the lush nature side of my home city. I was ecstatic (as for most things in life), can't you tell? 

happiness.

^^happiness, up on a mountain. Zen Mountain Retreat 2012.^^

^^an incredibly steep and treacherous {okay, i'm exaggerating but it was hard!} journey up to the top but as the old woman walking down from the mountain said to me, as I passed by her on the way up, "from up there there is no confusion". she was right.^^

And you know you love my sweater tied middle school style ;)

it's on my list.

*Melaka, Malaysia 2010. Beautiful warm tropical country - my natural habitat! 

less than 2 weeks

In less than 2 weeks, I will be on a plane to Seville, Spain. Needless to say I'm beyond excited but I'm also trembling with anticipation and nervousness. I've kept most of my thoughts on studying abroad to myself and still really do but I feel like I can't keep it in much longer. Mostly because it hadn't really hit me yet that I really am going away all the way to Spain... I mean, I've only said oh I'm studying abroad in the spring of my junior year to Spain nonchalantly ever since my first semester as a freshmen. It was this intangible idea in my head that I started making reality only last semester and it really only was a week ago when I got the call (finally) that I could pick up my visa - which literally kept me up more nights than I'd like to admit - that it really began to sink in. I was going. After months of stressing out, it was official.

So that day, I went and bought two books: "Seville & Andalucía" by Eye Witness Travel and "Spain" by Lonely Planet. Of course. Flipping through the books, I found myself turning page after page, occasionally reading the text but mostly just being captured by all the beautiful pictures...

It got my heart racing.

Then, I went online and found a few blogs that were written by previous students that went on the same program as I will be going on...

As I read-- My god, WOWw, how--?!, so lucky, I wanna--!, will I?. Their experiences...pictures... adventures... My eyes practically bulge out of their sockets. Can I do this??? 

I quickly closed my laptop and laid back on my bed, feeling my heart pound in my chest. Expectations hinder experiences. The phrase popped into my mind at that exact moment. I learned it last semester from a professor in an incredible class. It taught me, well, that phrase is absolutely true. And I needed it right then.

Doing the research... is good. It's necessary. Those students' blog made it seem like a dream. It was what they had done, felt, and seen that particular day that made their words come alive as I read them. It was their experience. The photographs in the travel books I purchased, well, they got me for sure.

So.

This will be my journey. With my visa (my precious, precious visa) in hand I will be getting on a plane to Seville and I will be the one to write the words, tell the tales, and photograph the beautiful world out there waiting for me to embrace it.

spice girl

I don't know when it happened but at some point growing up I found myself a lover of spicy foods. Just ask my friends and family, I'm the one always reaching over for the tobasco/tapatío/sirarcha/chili sauce/the amazing sauce they have at mexican restaurants. You'll find me popping jalapeños in my mouth like people do chips alongside a subway sandwich. I don't care if my eyes tear up or I'm practically blowing fire and I can't feel half of my face, I just love spicy. I'm always up for the challenge in the hot foods arena. 

Pictures of spicy:

1. "Saliva" chicken {don't worry that's just literally translated from chinese. So spicy it makes your whole mouth water, hence "saliva"}

2. Yu-nan noodle {pickled veggies, bean sprouts, "medium hot"}

3. Taiwanese beef noodle {+ chili oil, always}

4. Taiwanese black pepper sausage in a bun {the bun being rice filled in sausage casing. comes with pickled cabbage and an emphasis on the black pepper}

5. Dried tofu and fish with green and red peppers.

6. Green peppers cooked with garlic bean sauce. 

a new day, a new adventure

Come the 29th of this month I will be embarking on an adventure. As someone who has been lucky enough to have a fair share of traveling the world, I am willing to admit that I am beyond terrified of what's to come on that adventure. I will be away from friends, away from family... and away from everything I am familiar with. I will completely immersed in a new world that I have only imagined and heard of... 

At 20 years old, I have been to more than ten countries and can call three of those countries my home. It's weird to think that three completely different places can be my home but that's how I grew up, bouncing around and establishing my favorite streets, restaurants, shops... For the rest of the places I have been to, they have become memories with family, friends, and teachers, never to be forgotten and eye-openers to all the different cultures and histories waiting to be learned. 

Why I am so terrified this time is that I will be alone and almost jumping out of my shoes because I'm afraid I won't be able to take in the beauty that is out there all on my own. I have a body, so ready and healthy, to soak up every moment... and I just hope I do. I couldn't bear it if I missed any second of it. It will be my own vendetta and my own will in all that I do come the next few months. If I've learned anything at 20 years old, it's that everyday is a new adventure wherever you are and that is about to be as true as it gets in the new world I'm about to discover.

...

*Pictures taken this week on a hike with my mama. It was a beautiful day for a hike... the sun was shining and the light wind was comforting and it made for meaningful conversations about love and life.

nothing beats family time.

It's been a long time since the Liaos have taken a photo with all of us together. Big bro Jay has not been back for almost two years so all the photos I've had have just been me and the parents or me and him only! So finally... 

Big bro and I with a beautiful backdrop we can call our home.