Sunday, November 30, 2014

Trip to Japan 2014


This past summer, I was given the amazing chance of becoming an American ambassador/exchange student to Japan. I basically achieved one of my life dreams! In July, me and eight other people flew to Kashiwa, Japan in the Chiba prefecture and stayed for three weeks, living with host families, trying new food, and exploring an entirely different country. The experience was a dream come true. Here's a recap of some of the stuff I did!


My first host family took me on a day trip to a planetarium in Tsukuba. It was also the day I first rode a Japanese train, an event that may seem simple but was actually super exciting! The planetarium was filled with cute little kids either with their families or on a school field trip. There were also cute little rooms with interactive science experiments. 



On one of the days, the delegates and I explored hot spots in Tokyo, namely the Sky Tree tower and the shrine in Asakusa. Sky Tree is the tallest tower in Tokyo, but we didn't get to climb the tower. Instead, we went in the 32 foot mall right next to it! There were lots of super cute shops and delicious foods. The Asakusa temple was the most tourist-y area we went to, but it was still fun to explore. There were a LOT of street vendors trying to sell rip-off souvenirs to other visitors. This is a god spot to go, but all of the people made the experience somewhat stuffy and annoying. 




For three days, we took a trip to Kyoto and Hiroshima! The top picture is me in front of the Kinkakujin, the famous gold temple. There were A TON of shrines in Kyoto that we visited, but the gold shrine and the meditation rock garden (also shown above), were among my favorites! We meditated in the garden and it felt so peaceful being there; although the number of mosquitoes was very unsettling. One of the biggest highlight in Hiroshima was the famous okonomiyaki! For those who don't know, okonomiyaki is something of a noodle and potato pancake. Trust me, it tastes incredible. We went to a small food court where there tons of vendors like that one, and I love how in all of them, the chefs prepare the okonomiyaki right in front of you! 



Probably one of my favorite days was when we visited Tokyo Disney Sea! It's basically the equivalent of California Adventure in Anaheim. The park was somewhat small (we lapped it quite a few times), but the experience was still super fun! There were some Japan exclusive rides like Journey to the Center of the Earth and Aquatopia, but they surprisingly had Toy Story Mania and Tower of Terror. One of my favorite parts of the park was the super cute accessories that they sold! EVERYONE had some kind of Disney gear on, whether it was a towel, cape, ears, or Minnie Mouse sunglasses. I bought Minnie ears with adorable pink lace, and I've received so many compliments for them! I definitely would love to go back and buy more cute accessories~ 






One of our final day trips was a visit to Nikko, a place famous for the native monkeys and being in a high mountain. Atop the mountain was a beautiful lake that we rode a ferry across. The weather in the town was much cooler compared to how humid it had usually been. The views were absolutely breathtaking! While driving, we even saw a family of monkeys! 



Of course, we couldn't leave Japan in the summer without visiting a local matsuri, or festival in English. My group competed in a dance competition for a traditional dance called the Kashiwa Odori. Many different groups also competed, some with their own variations. We didn't get a top spot in the results, but we still got a trophy for being an international team! The matsuri itself was absolutely insane and fun. There were so many people there! During the event, we walked around, trying food at vendors, specifically takoyaki and crepes, and playing some games. There were some girls dressed in yukatas, which I thought was amazing because by the end of the day, my friends and I were dying from the heat and pain in our legs. 


Finally, a picture of me with my wonderful host families. They treated me like one of their own, and I could not stop crying on the day we left. Japan was absolutely an amazing experience and I am definitely going to either live or visit here again some day~! 

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

A Day in LA

Today my parents and I took my cousin out for a day in downtown LA where we made stops at the Grammy museum, the City Target and delicious restaurants!

Notable grammy plaques we saw on the street! They didn't have 2014's Daft Punk plate yet though sobs 
The Pizza Studio had some great food. It's style is similar to Chipotle except with pizza! They had a starving artists special so my cousin bought a Margherita pizza while I got veggie lovers. It was amazingly good and they had some healthy alternatives for the crust such as flaxseed bread. The workers were sweet and the pizza filled me up, so I definitely recommend you go here if you happen to see one! 
First timing at Sprinkles cupcakes! Got the mini chocolate marshmallow and finally realized why so many people love coming here: cute delicious cupcakes!
The first thing I saw at the Grammy museum were these beauties. I DIEEEDDDD. They were the actual suits that Daft Punk wore when they played with Kanye West at the 2008 Grammy awards. I fangirled like crazy since it was probably the closest I'll ever get to meeting them. :-( 
The special Ringo Starr exhibit was wonderful. A lot of actual outfits, song lyric sheets, and photographs from the Beatles were featured and the exhibit blasted Beatles songs throughout the hall and it was just lovely. I felt so intimate especially reading up on the lives of the Beatles, particularly Ringo Starr! 
The day was hot but it was fun! I got to see some great stuff that you should too if you ever stop by downtown LA ~

Monday, April 7, 2014

Beachy Spring Break

Hello my cute readers!! Sorry I haven't been posting lately, 2014 has already been very busy for me, but i'll try to start updating more frequently on my life and anime! 
I recently started my spring break and since it was such a beautiful day in sunny California, my best friends and I packed our things and headed out for a day at the beach ~ 

Most of us went tanning haaaa
upside down cat eyes 
my favorite sunnies that i got for $15!!! 
sleepy ginger friend 

Me and my best friend Nina! She borrowed my white heart shaped sunglasses and I had my fab cat eyes! 
he took my sunglasses aha;; 
wah ~ my cousin is so cute
it was a great day to sun soak it up and play around in the ocean and play volleyball even though my skin is so dry now sob sob ;;; 
happy spring break to me!! 

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Kill La Kill Episode 18 Reaction


This week's episode of Kill La Kill was, arguably, one of its best episodes of the season to date. Not only did it answered a million questions, but it created a million more questions to be asked. But in the end, it basically BLEW ME AWAY. Studio Trigger, you crafty bastards!
The episode started off strong with Satsuki having just stabbed her own mother, revealing that the academy was her own personal army. This was already pretty shocking to me and it made sense, especially after the king of the hill battles. The uniform hunting was explained too, since now the Four Devas have boss ass armor. Everything makes sense!!!
The episode also talked about Satsuki's past, especially focusing on her late father (digging the hair). The past was pretty intense, only showing more how insane Ragyou is when she showed NO EMOTION when her second child died. 
Ragyou also ended up being incredibly stronger than I thought. She still lived even when her head was cut off!!!! Furthermore, she was able to basically kick Satsuki's ass and take Junketsu for herself. 
Aside from Ragyou being a boss ass bitch, Ryuko made a lot of progress, strength wise. It was super fulfilling seeing Nui thrown off guard. But of course, the most shocking, craziest, holy-fucking-shit part of the show was the end. 
Ryuko is actually the supposedly dead second child of the Kiryuins. 
WHHHHAHAHAHAHAHAAATTTTTTTTTTTTTTT??!????
And that, my friends, is where the whole show starts turning in a different direction. Not only is Ryuko the long lost daughter, but her body is just like Ragyou's: intertwined with life fibers. This will undoubtedly change the pace of the season and I am SO PUMPED to see what other hidden secrets and plot building events will happen next.