It’s been about 10 days since I got back to Taiwan from the Philippines. This past week was packed with seeing so many people and taking care of a lot of things. I was a bit worried about my next job at first, but things turned out way smoother than I expected. Fingers crossed for good news on Monday! Here are a few recent photos.It feels so good to be back in Taiwan and enjoying all the delicious food again!

Borrowed Time: My 3 Month Retirement It’s Monday! I spotted a hiking event posted on the school bulletin board today for Mt. Ulap in Baguio on July 25th. Before coming to the Philippines, one of my main goals was to go hiking here. I originally wanted to trek Mt. Pinatubo, but unfortunately, not enough people signed up, so it didn't work out. I’m super glad I managed to sign up for this one instead—fingers crossed for smooth sailing! 💪🏻 I also stopped by the golf course today to swap contact info with my coach and set up our schedule. Since I really want to beat the afternoon heat, I booked the 6:30 AM slot. I can’t wait to get started! 20260713

Borrowed Time: My 3 Month Retirement After dealing with a stomachache all day yesterday, I woke up today determined to get some hot soup in Korea Town. I was craving spicy kimchi soup so badly, but I behaved myself and ordered seollongtang (ox bone soup) instead. It was so bland it basically tasted like water! 🤣 After filling up, I checked out a golf supply shop. Starting next week, my routine shifts to a Golf + ESL program—three 1-on-1 classes, one group class, and an hour with a golf coach every day! Right after I finished browsing, it started pouring rain, forcing me to duck into a cafe. Well... despite the stomachache, I ended up ordering a whole table of things I definitely shouldn't be eating. 20260712

Borrowed Time: My 3 Month Retirement I woke up multiple times in the middle of the night with a terrible stomachache, and painkillers didn't seem to help at all. At noon, I had lunch with my Saudi Arabian friend who is heading back home tomorrow. Over lunch, he shared so many fun stories and awesome photos from his trip to Boracay—it sounded like such a blast! We had koobideh kebab and shawarma together. It was my very first time trying Middle Eastern food like this, and I actually found it super refreshing and surprisingly suited to Taiwanese taste buds! After lunch, I picked up some local stomach medicine and went straight back to rest 🙂‍↕️. 20260711

Borrowed Time: My 3 Month Retirement Our dorm suffered an unannounced, day-long power and water outage today. I literally paid extra to move into this newly built building, yet we get frequent blackouts and cutoffs ,it’s such a major headache! To make matters worse, when I returned to the dorm this afternoon, I found out the staff had unlocked and opened all the room doors for inspection. It felt like a total violation of our privacy... One staff member even barged right into my room while I was about to change! For dinner, I had Japanese food. I was torn between ramen and tonkatsu, so finding a combo set that came with both was absolute perfection. What a satisfying meal to end the day! 20260710