My semester ended on Friday + with it the ICLP school year. As a result, many of my great friends have already left Taiwan for jobs, school + life elsewhere in the world. Most of my buddies who, like me, plan to stay in Taiwan are on vacation, so the next few days are mine alone to reflect on my first 6 months (!!) in Taipei, plan my approach to my play, free write, read + plan my trip to Hanoi + Bangkok!

As happy as I am for the break from school (+ also the somewhat enforced break from having a social life), I would be lying if I didn’t say that it is tainted by all of the goodbyes.

Goodbyes are bittersweet no matter how you cut ’em + the situation here is a bit different. When I graduated high school, I knew that seeing my buddies wouldn’t be an issue, because whether they moved out of the NYC or not, we would all see each other for holidays. After college, most of my friends moved to NYC + those who didn’t ended up just a few short hours away.

The people I have met + friends I have made at ICLP are from all over the world + will remain all over the world. I guess that makes planning my next trip a little more exciting, but it also makes seeing each other again pretty hard. I feel lucky that I call NYC home because most people roll thru New York at some point or another if they make it to the States!

Truly, though, I am so impressed by the caliber of people that I have met–just such a special bunch! Smart, motivated, supportive, loving, charismatic movers + shakers who I feel privileged to be able to follow thru their careers.

Even saying “so long” to friends that I’ll see in a matter of months was hard. While those bye-bye’s are really just 再見, see you again, the next time we meet we’ll be well into our next chapters. Our shared Taiwan adventures will be a collection of precious memories until we can get back. Hopefully together.

Ok, so now that I’ve succeeded in making myself a little weepy, here are some of my fave shots of some of my fave people from one of our last big hurrahs: a Friday night stop to the Taiwan Beer 346 Warehouse Restaurant (lovingly called, “the Beer Factory,” by us)!

taiwan beer 346 warehouse restaurant, taipei/may 2013

me, tai + mags/346, taipei/may 2013

viktor + alec/346, taipei/may 2013

kay + sophie/346, taipei/may 2013

kenny + graci/346, taipei/may 2013

andrew + tai/346, taipei/may 2013

the band/346, taipei/may 2013

the crew: dancin/346, taipei/may 2013

paparazzi moment + hank/346, taipei/may 2013

the crew/346, taipei/may 2013

i love you guys!!/346, taipei/may 2013

We ended that night with a trip to KTV. This might be the most memorable song of the evening +, given most of my generation’s 5th Grade Graduation Song of choice, is totally relevant. I love you crazy kooks!!xoxox