2009: Year of Adventure

As 2009 is coming to an end, it is time to look back at the year its been. For me, 2009 can be summarized in one word: Adventure. I adventured to numerous places this year and it was a lot of fun. I faced challenges along the way but overcame the tough obstacles.

First day of the year, January 1st, I hit the slopes with friends at Snow Valley. I went snowboarding for the 1st time ever. It took me awhile to understand how to balance everything out but I eventually kind of got the hang of it. I fell many times and was sore the next day. But snowboarding was a fun first time experience. Next time I go up to the mountains, I will snowboard again.

During Spring Break, I hiked the Grand Canyon with 5 other people. We hiked down from the South Rim to the Colorado River and back up in 3 days. We met all kind of weather imaginable. As we drove to Grand Canyon, it rained and snowed. Camping up at the Rim in snowy conditions was not pleasant as it was cold, even inside my tent and sleeping bag. But on the day we started down on the South Kaibab trail, the sun came out and we got perfect 75 degree weather. It was surprisingly warm down at the river. It stayed that way for the whole trip until our last night at the rim, in which the weather turned bad again. We all thought going down the Canyon would be the easiest but turned out to be the toughest day as it put a lot of stress on our knee and leg going downhill that constantly. Every part of my body was sore that 1st night. And I got to do something only less than 1% of 15 million annual Grand Canyon visitors had the chance to do: hike down to the River. And finally, I celebrated my birthday at the Grand Canyon. My birthday was on the last day of our journey, coming up through the steep switchbacks. That was a cool birthday experience. I still remember the wonderful feeling that struck me when I got back up to the rim.

A few days after school let out, I went to Cherry Valley in Catalina for a boy scout summer camp for 7 days and 6 nights. Catalina is a beautiful place and I got to do many water activities such as canoeing, kayaking, sailing, swimming, etc. But one I cherish the most from there is scuba diving. I was hesistant and scared at first about doing the scuba diving program but I overcame that fear and did it. I only got to dived once but it was something that only 5 of us out of many troops there got to do. I still remember putting on the wetsuit and going into the water. The instructor taught us how to breathe underwater with our gear in the shallow part of the cove. I was slow at first and didn't catch on. I was fearful of the unknown underwater. Finally when we were about to descend underwater, I just told myself that I was able to do it. I did it. We were underwater for about 60 minutes and I did many things such as purging and changing the breathing pattern. I saw a few schools of fush and most notably the garabaldy fish, the California State Fish. Scuba Diving was a fun activity to do at Catalina. I am glad I did not give up.

Then in July, I went on a high adventure trek with 10 of my fellow Boy Scout crew to Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, New Mexico. The 12 day 52 mile hike summed "challenging" up. The weather was pleasant at times and turned scary really fast. For the first 3 days, we got perfect Southern California type weather, sunny. But then Monsoon season kicked in and it was a wet last 7 days out in the backcountry. Our ranger had told us that we would get rain the last 7 days but we didn't think it was true. Every afternoon, we would get rain and it came down at us fast and heavy in spurts. One day there was thunder and lightning right above our head as we were in our campsite. We even got hail, marble sized!!! It was many of our 1st time experiencing hail. Imagine cooking your dinner in those conditions, not an easy task. Day 10 was the worse as we hiked downhill in the rain. Some of my crew almost slipped and fell down the hill. The rocks were slippery. I experienced something really scary on Day 4. After we had taken a nice first (and only shower) in the backcountry I was cooking dinner for our crew. Then suddenly I sneezed and blood started gushing out of my nose. I tried everything but it wouldn't stop. Luckily, we were at a staffed camp and there was staff there. They radioed base and were this close in bringing me down back to base, which would of probably ended our journey. But after 45 minutes and many tissue used, it stopped and I was fine. I thought I was going to bleed to death but I think I was just dehydrated. That shook me up. Overall, Philmont was a once-in-a-lifetime trip and something that is hard to explain unless you've been there before. We got to experience and do many things: baseball in the backcountry, Red Roof Inns, pilot and bombadeer, beautiful sunrise, branding, shotgun shooting and reloading, 30 .06 rifle shooting, rootbeer cantina, chuck wagon dinner, and many more.

In Late August-Early September, I traveled to Taiwan with my family. Best vacation ever. It was our first time back in my birth country since 2003. 6 years and Taiwan has changed a lot. We visited family in Taipei and Kaohsiung and my parents reunited with their college friends. Kind of like a homecoming. I really took in a lot from this vacation since I am older now. Anyways, we used the subway systems a lot. It was fast and convienent, a train coming every 2 minutes. Kind of like New York City but cleaner. Going down south to Kaohsiung from Taipei, the new High Speed Rail Train got us there in 90 minutes. Saved us so much time. The food was legit chinese food, all day long and priced real well. I went to night markets almost every night and each day brought something new, whether in food, or shopping. I also went down to Kenting, Taiwan, the southernmost city of Taiwan. That city was devasted by Typhoon Morakot and I saw typhoon debris as we drove down the highway. But Kenting, Taiwan was the most beautifulest place I've ever seen. We biked in Kaohsiung which was a cool experience. The bike lanes are so organized. I saw a beautiful sunset at Danshui which again was another site. It rained on us a few days but overall, it was hot and humid for the 15 days we were there. I love Taiwan. It is a wonderful country. I reiterate, best vacation ever and I want to go back, most likely in the summer of 2012 after high school graduation.

2009 has been the year of the adventure for me. I had a great time in each adventure and took A LOT of pictures for each adventure. I do not regret going each trip as it was worth it. Its been a dramatic and amazing year for me. 2009 will be a memorable year.

Happy New Year everyone!!!

winter break is here

So its finally winter break!!! actually the third day today. We get to finally relax and enjoy ourselves at home after 3 months of school for 2 weeks. Christmas is 2 days away and 2010 is coming up in 9 days. And I've been partying a lot (Saturday and Sunday) and will have a few more before the break is over.

Anyways, I haven't been blogging that frequently since I came back from Taiwan. Many reasons contribute to that as 10th grade has totally changed my lifestyle. I have been sleeping around 11:30 on most nights, sometimes going to 1 AM. Also, I have a lot of other activities that I have to tend to. So I'll try to blog more now but it'll be tough.

This past Saturday, I attended a family friend's Bar Mitzvah. For those of you that do not know what a Bar Mitzvah is, its a Jewish ceremony of a boy turning 13, becoming an adult in the process. It is similar to a baptism, except in the Jewish way. Saturday morning, I went to the Jewish synagauge and viewed the ceremony. Although they read many scrolls in Hebrew, I got a sense and taste of their culture. In the ceremony, I had to wear this Jewish hat since all boys were required to wear one. Then in the evening, I went to the celebration/party part of the Bar Mitzvah. I was impressed by it. I mean the whole party was well run with catering service and DJs hosting it. It is similar to a wedding in some degree. We were served with appetizers as we walked in and the chicken in peanut sauce was tasty. Then the fun began as we were assigned seats of the places they had traveled to. I was assigned to sit with the teenage group. That was nice getting to meet other people. The DJS called everyone up for a dance as we celebrated his Bar Mitzvah. The food was delicious. In addition, we got a lot of stuff such as ring lighters, shades with lights, and many more. Overall, I had a great time experiencing a Bar Mitzvah and what it really is. They must have spent a lot of money on it to accomodate so many people and the wonderful services. I had a fun time Saturday night.

Merry Christmas everyone and have a safe one.