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    A Recap
    • Jun 30, 2015
    • 1 min

    A Recap

    A recap video of my year in Taiwan living abroad as a Fulbright grantee!
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    Goodbye Taiwan
    • Jun 29, 2015
    • 2 min

    Goodbye Taiwan

    My last weekend as a Fulbright Grantee in Taiwan was filled with family, friends and so much happiness. I don't feel ready to leave!
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    Goodbye Su-Ao
    • Jun 27, 2015
    • 2 min

    Goodbye Su-Ao

    I just finished my last day of school as a Fulbright grantee and English Teaching Assistant ): It was a weird mix of emotions.
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    The Good, the Bad and the Just Plain Weird (Part 2!)
    • Jun 25, 2015
    • 5 min

    The Good, the Bad and the Just Plain Weird (Part 2!)

    Some of the odd things about Taiwan, I will just never adjust to...here's a continuation of the oddities I've found in this country (I love)
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    As We Go On, We Remember
    • Jun 20, 2015
    • 4 min

    As We Go On, We Remember

    I say my goodbyes as my students graduate and I get ready to head back to America for graduate school. My time as a Fulbright is almost over
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    A Foreigner Goes to the Second Hand Taiwanese Market
    • Jun 15, 2015
    • 3 min

    A Foreigner Goes to the Second Hand Taiwanese Market

    Trying to barter and sell things at the local market with minimal Chinese is a disastrous combo....but an experience none the less!
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    Run, Forest, Run!
    • Jun 7, 2015
    • 3 min

    Run, Forest, Run!

    I ran the International Olympic Road Race in Taipei! My first half marathon was (mostly) a success!
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    The Most Adventurous Weekend in My 23 Years of Life
    • Jun 2, 2015
    • 7 min

    The Most Adventurous Weekend in My 23 Years of Life

    I went to Taitung, Taiwan where I went hang gliding and spelunking all in one weekend! Adventure!
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    Happenings In and Around Su-Ao
    • May 27, 2015
    • 7 min

    Happenings In and Around Su-Ao

    As my time as a Fulbright grantee winds down, check out some of my most interesting events of the past month!
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    Cooking Veggies in Earth Water: A Taiwanese Hot Spring
    • May 20, 2015
    • 2 min

    Cooking Veggies in Earth Water: A Taiwanese Hot Spring

    My Taiwanese host family took me to a local hot spring to cook veggies! We also stopped at a mochi factory! A wonderful and food filled day!
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    Long Weekend Adventures in Nantou!
    • May 14, 2015
    • 5 min

    Long Weekend Adventures in Nantou!

    A trip to Nantou ended up being one of my favorite weekends in my entire year in Taiwan! Filled with sheep, roller coasters and gondolas!
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    It’s Not the New Year Without Some Lanterns!
    • May 11, 2015
    • 2 min

    It’s Not the New Year Without Some Lanterns!

    You can't experience a Chinese New Year in Taiwan without attending the lantern festivals! We went to the Taipei and the Pinxi Festivals!
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    A pit stop in Japan, then the Herrick clan arrives!!!!
    • May 8, 2015
    • 12 min

    A pit stop in Japan, then the Herrick clan arrives!!!!

    Living abroad in Taiwan all alone can be lonely...but my entire family came to visit! Check out the ups and downs of our trip here!
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    Chinese New Year Vacation in Vietnam
    • Apr 29, 2015
    • 6 min

    Chinese New Year Vacation in Vietnam

    A short vacation to Vietnam had me falling in love with Mui Ne and reflecting on my time as a Fulbright grantee in Taiwan.
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    The First Outing of 2015
    • Jan 19, 2015
    • 3 min

    The First Outing of 2015

    For the first day of 2015, we headed west to Taichung to visit the inventor of bubble tea!
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    New Year in Taiwan!
    • Jan 12, 2015
    • 2 min

    New Year in Taiwan!

    I thought Times Square New Years was cool...but the fireworks at Taipei 101 were absolutely amazing!!!
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    The Jew Brings Christmas to Taiwan
    • Jan 5, 2015
    • 3 min

    The Jew Brings Christmas to Taiwan

    As a Fulbright ETA, I try to bring American culture to Taiwan...which definitely includes Christmas...the only problem is I know nothing...!
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    The Bird.
    • Dec 30, 2014
    • 2 min

    The Bird.

    In a school completely surrounded by nature, you're bound to get a few visitors...today I got my first one!
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    Sammie Turns Taiwanese
    • Dec 29, 2014
    • 2 min

    Sammie Turns Taiwanese

    In true Taiwanese fashion...I got my hair braided at a local salon...and couldnt look more local if I tried
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    23 in Kaohsiung Taiwan
    • Dec 26, 2014
    • 2 min

    23 in Kaohsiung Taiwan

    I took my first trip to the South of Taiwan to Kaohsiung and explored the big city!
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    Taipei Fine Arts Museum...or not?
    • Nov 21, 2014
    • 3 min

    Taipei Fine Arts Museum...or not?

    I love a good museum but let's just say I was totally underwhelmed by the Taipei Fine Arts Museum...in fact, I even called PETA on the place
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    Happy 114th Birthday Su-Ao Elementary!
    • Nov 18, 2014
    • 2 min

    Happy 114th Birthday Su-Ao Elementary!

    We had a giant town wide celebration to commemorate Su-Ao Elementary's 114th birthday!
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    Fulbright Classroom Observation
    • Oct 23, 2014
    • 3 min

    Fulbright Classroom Observation

    I had my first observation by the Fulbright committee and it went better than I ever could have hoped!
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    Happy Birthday Taiwan!!!
    • Oct 14, 2014
    • 3 min

    Happy Birthday Taiwan!!!

    I had the honor of being chosen to attend the National 10/10 celebration in Taipei along with the President and other high ranking Diplomats
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    A Weekend of Ting!
    • Oct 13, 2014
    • 3 min

    A Weekend of Ting!

    This weekend I got to experience Ting's 1st birthday! And a visit to the Sun Yat-Sen Memorial in Taipei!
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    Thank goodness for ponchos
    • Oct 1, 2014
    • 4 min

    Thank goodness for ponchos

    I had my first experience with a typhoon. But for locals like my host family, it was apparently no big deal! We went on a full day adventure
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    HOST FAMILY!!!!!!!!
    • Sep 26, 2014
    • 5 min

    HOST FAMILY!!!!!!!!

    Today I got my host family for my time as a Fulbright grantee. Mine just happened to be my school principal and his family! SO HAPPY!
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    BEWARE: KILLER FRUIT
    • Sep 18, 2014
    • 2 min

    BEWARE: KILLER FRUIT

    I'm a huge advocate of smoothies and fresh fruit juice...but sometimes...it's just not worth it.
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    Sammie Learns Chinese….from a seven year old.
    • Sep 18, 2014
    • 2 min

    Sammie Learns Chinese….from a seven year old.

    Yuan-Chi and his family have taken me in yet again and this time we had a day packed full of adventure...and Chinese lessons!
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     A Lucky Day in Haulien!
    • Sep 17, 2014
    • 4 min

    A Lucky Day in Haulien!

    I took my first trip to Haulien and it was a more fantastic day than I ever could have imagined! We stumbled upon a surprise parade!
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    Principal Lu and the Second Bike
    • Sep 16, 2014
    • 3 min

    Principal Lu and the Second Bike

    I explore Su-Ao Taiwan with my school's principal...and it is gorgeous!
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    The Good, The Bad, and the Just Plain Weird
    • Sep 15, 2014
    • 5 min

    The Good, The Bad, and the Just Plain Weird

    When you move to a foreign country, everything is a bit weird. Culture shock is real. Read about my list of my weirdest Taiwan-isms.
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    The Taiwanese Moon Festival!
    • Sep 15, 2014
    • 2 min

    The Taiwanese Moon Festival!

    I experienced my very first Moon Festival as a Taiwanese resident, with BBQs, monkeys and more!
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    Fulbright Grantee Orientation in Taipei!
    • Sep 14, 2014
    • 2 min

    Fulbright Grantee Orientation in Taipei!

    We had our first official Fulbright event with every Fulbright grantee in Taiwan in attendance. There was lots of learning and lots of wine!
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    The Second Major Mishap in Taiwan
    • Sep 12, 2014
    • 3 min

    The Second Major Mishap in Taiwan

    So…not so long after my first major mistake...here comes a second one. This one also somehow involves a call to the police...sorry Taiwan!
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    Sammie Teaches Junior High School?!?!
    • Sep 4, 2014
    • 3 min

    Sammie Teaches Junior High School?!?!

    My first day teaching 7th and 8th graders in Taiwan...and big surprise...I actually loved it!
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    Day Two as a Fulbright Grantee at School!
    • Sep 4, 2014
    • 2 min

    Day Two as a Fulbright Grantee at School!

    My second day as a teacher in Taiwan found me standing up in front of the entire school!
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    My First Day of School...in Taiwan!
    • Sep 4, 2014
    • 3 min

    My First Day of School...in Taiwan!

    FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!!! Monday, September 1st. I wake up at 5:30am (ew) and get ready for my first day of school! I take the shuttle bus...
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    The First Major Expat Mishap in Taiwan
    • Sep 4, 2014
    • 3 min

    The First Major Expat Mishap in Taiwan

    As an expat I'm curious about everything...but I learned sometimes it's better to not be so curious....
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    Babies and Bikes and Blogs, oh my!
    • Sep 1, 2014
    • 3 min

    Babies and Bikes and Blogs, oh my!

    Becoming acquainted with the local culture is easy when you have colleagues like Yuan-Chi. He went above and beyond after just meeting me!
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    Taipei Take Two
    • Sep 1, 2014
    • 2 min

    Taipei Take Two

    A day in Taipei isnt complete without a visit to the zoo and a ride up the famous Maokong Gondola 貓空纜車
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    A Day Out in Su-Ao
    • Aug 17, 2014
    • 5 min

    A Day Out in Su-Ao

    My first day exploring my schools (and attempting to memorize the routes to get there and the Chinese symbols on the maps along the way!)
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    SU-AO and DONG-GUANG!!!!!
    • Aug 14, 2014
    • 6 min

    SU-AO and DONG-GUANG!!!!!

    So I know it is 5am in America and no one is awake to read this but….I GOT MY NUMBER ONE CHOICE SCHOOL!!!!!!!!!!
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    Fulbright Cultural Exchange (for real!)
    • Aug 13, 2014
    • 2 min

    Fulbright Cultural Exchange (for real!)

    Landlords in the United States are not known for being especially nice. But here in Taiwan, ours is the absolute best.
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    Becoming a True Taiwanese Resident
    • Aug 12, 2014
    • 3 min

    Becoming a True Taiwanese Resident

    These three experiences made me feel like I'm really integrating into Taiwanese life!
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    Travels to Southern Yilan
    • Aug 9, 2014
    • 2 min

    Travels to Southern Yilan

    Visiting the aboriginal villages in Taiwan was an experience different from all other places I've been so far.
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    The Motorcycle Diaries
    • Aug 6, 2014
    • 3 min

    The Motorcycle Diaries

    Today I rode a scooter from the first time, which was mildly terrifying...but I lived to tell the tale!
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    Hot Pot and Bottomless Ice Cream
    • Aug 6, 2014
    • 2 min

    Hot Pot and Bottomless Ice Cream

    Hot pot is the coolest. You sit down and there is a hole in your table. They come put a big metal pot in there and it is filled with water.
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    Bubble Tea, bubble tea and even more bubble tea
    • Aug 5, 2014
    • 3 min

    Bubble Tea, bubble tea and even more bubble tea

    Today was the first day of touring schools! In Taiwan's gift giving culture, we were greeted with gifts at each school...namely bubble tea.
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    Exploring Taipei 101 & Beyond
    • Aug 3, 2014
    • 2 min

    Exploring Taipei 101 & Beyond

    We went to see Taipei 101. It is formerly the world’s tallest building and it is one of the most beautifully constructed building.
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    ©2019 by Sammie Herrick | sammie@sammieherrick.com

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