a very stupid and dangerous trend.

 "planking is a very stupid and dangerous trend. basically, you lie like a plank in weird places. that’s it. sometimes you get run over. welcome to the internet." (oscar, the office)

‎this summer, my dad left this AJC article about a new fad called "planking" on the stairs for me to read. (the stairs are the typical place to exchange interesting news articles, trinkets, etc. in our family. that kinda sounds strange now that i wrote it out...haha)

after reading the article, i just knew i had to incorporate planking into my life in east asia.

then, one of our first weeks back in country, the office aired an episode featuring, you 

guessed it, PLANKING!! we were so excited.

(here's the clip about planking.)

here are two of the best of our planks thus far.

‎"planking is one of those things where, hey, you either get it or you don't...and i don't, but i am so excited to be a part of it." (erin, the office)

i couldn't have said it better myself, erin.

my country tis of thee.

In October, the university students have a whole week off of school for National Day! Though we still worked during that week, we did have a few days to play! 


We decided to go to a really beautiful part of our province about 2 hours away...it is a valley where you can hike and see beautiful scenery, including waterfalls! Lauren and I had been there before in the Summer of 2009 and loved it!

Kelsey and me

 me, Kelsey, Harrison, and Lauren

For the weekend, we headed to our favorite nearby city. I've mentioned it before in this post.

Of course, one of our first stops was IKEA! And lucky for us, we witnessed this little one literally making herself at home!

We ate lunch at the Sultan Turkish Restaurant! We sat on the floor and everything! Love it.

We visited an "ancient" part of the city -- circa 2004.

We ate pizza DELIVERED to one of our friend's house!! I can't express how BIG of a deal this was! Food. delivered. to your house. What a concept!

And we ended our weekend at the newest music district in the city--a refurbished factory/warehouse! It was really, really cool! I can't wait to go back when more places are open there!

We so much enjoyed our little break to see the sights and experience new things!

i see the world in team colors.

i guess growing up a fan of all things college (well, actually, all things georgia tech), i learned team colors (and mascots) at a pretty young age. and in the south, what you wear to games can be just as important as your team winning the game. you better believe sara beth and i always were on the hunt for anything yellow and black for the next tech game. (though now, it's orange and blue dress shopping! war eagle!) 

i've noticed since being in college and being overseas (maybe it's a coping mechanism), i often think things like, "oh, that could be a cute game day dress..." or "a (insert college name here) fan would like that..."

so from my travels during my teaching abroad in europe and my time here in asia, check out these collegiate people, places, and things!

war eagle to this orange and blue benz taxi!

slubice, poland

ramblin' wreck man van

berlin, germany

go gata to this lady in our neighborhood!

east asia

(if you don't know what i mean by that...check out this video. you won't regret it.)

roll tide on that sand...only for you, kate!

east asia

to be fair...an uga fan.

east asia

and my favorite....

there's a beer here called "tiger" and its label design is even orange and blue!!

east asia


WAR EAGLE, Y'ALL!

dazzled and overwhelmed.

I love my new school. (Literally across the street from my old one.) It's actually on of the top fine arts schools in our region and in the country! And it's gorgeous! Here's a little pictorial tour of the campus...from pictures taken throughout last year.

(me and Sara Beth last march!)

I also love text messages from friends. They can be so hilarious. This is one I got this week:


Hey meg. How are you! Today I went to your classroom. We were dazzled and overwhelmed by the endless array of beautiful flowers. And climbing plant with dark green shiny leaves. They are Boston ivies on the wall. You and your classmates are warm-heart. Wish you have a good time. 


So, with no further ado, here are a couple of pictures of my dazzling classroom!

lauren, anna, and scott

(notice the window on the left! the wall is entirely glass)

happy fall, y'all!

i am thankful that september is here. in august, i felt like i had one foot in america and one foot in asia, and it's just a weird feeling. september marks the start of a new month. a new season. a new school year.

while many of you spent your labor day weekend tailgating at a college football game or jet-skiing on the lake...my weekend consisted of these things:

dinner at a "western" restaurant with other friends from our city

a midnight viewing of the defending national champions' first game!

(i stayed mostly awake until 3:30 in the morning. so i am especially glad we won! war eagle!)

a trip to the junk market to search for some "treasures."

(i bought an old, wooden trunk for storage in my room. the lady i bought it from said it was from an old dynasty...hmmm...mulan, anyone??)

a visit to the hair salon to get our hair washed!

this country does this funny thing where they turn off the water without warning. 

(read my post about it here.)

total cost of a hair wash and style: $2.35

a trip to the meat and produce market on monday morning.

 it was bustling! and always a sight to see!

so, even if it is still 100 degrees here and the leaves are still as green as they can be...

happy fall, y'all!

a little sun, sand, and sunflowers!

less than a week after we got in country, we got to go to a little conference in one of the prettiest provinces in our region! it was such a treat to get out of the 100 degree heat of our city, and hang out in a little beach town. but i must warn you, it was not your run-of-the-mill beach town like we are use to in the panhandle. maybe it was more like asia meets jersey shore? you can make the call from this photo evidence...

the man-made beach with spider island across the lake

this guy was pushing his girlfriend in an inner tube and carrying her purse! hahah!

we bought sunflowers and ate the seeds right off of the plant!

ready to raft!

(me, sam, kelsey, and anna)

the lake was a really popular place for wedding pictures...we saw so many brides and grooms, and also models for bridal magazines!

 floaties for ALL ages!!

a different way to eat crab...

i'll just take a maryland crab cake. thank you very much.

"Hi Meg. Are you come back?"

(Yes, little Blanche! I have come back!) 


It was so nice to walk into an apartment already set up. It is really cozy and really cute. Lauren and I are just tickled we get to live in such a great apartment. We still have a little more decorating to do, but it's totally livable and we are thankful. Looking forward to all the events and people and memories this place will hold throughout the year.

Oh, and we are armed with lots of goodies from Mei Guo (America)! You better believe I used every pound of my 100 lb. limit to bring back cake mixes, icing, cooking spray, etc. with me! American comfort food does wonders for us throughout the year, and especially on birthdays and holidays!

With a new year comes a lot of new people, places, and things...it's been a strange transition without some of my besties. But I am so glad that this little guy came back with his wonderful parents! (See his mama's blog here!) Just like I am learning how to deal with the changes I am facing here, Maddox is also learning to adapt to new things! Like how to eat with chopsticks! :)

I don't want to jinx anything, but my internet has been AWESOME here, so far! I hope to blog a lot more this year...and if I don't, I want y'all to keep me accountable! :)