Animal Kingdom 2015

Hello everyone! Long time no post. I've been lazy and rundown when it came to this blog during the school year, but now that it's summer once again, I'm going to pick up the pace with posts. To kick i off, I wanted to do a few posts on the Disney World trip I went on last week! We hit up all four of the theme parks, so I'm going to do one post on each park. The first that we went to was Animal Kingdom!

Outfit rundown (although it's hard to see)

Ears: Tokyo Disney Sea

Minnie Mouse signatured heart eyes sunnies: Animal Kingdom

Cat-eyes tee: Cotton-on

High-waisted pink gingham shorts: H&M

Sandals: Birkenstocks

The first thing I saw when I went into the park was Dug and Russell from Up. The line was super short since the park had just opened for the day, so I knew I wasn't going to get an opportunity to get a picture any other time of the day. The two of them were so cute! I hugged them both but Russell began acting scared because I had a cat on my shirt, hehe. 

One of the biggest highlights about Animal Kingdom was the fact that the park was practically drowned in nature, making it truly seem like you were in a jungle. The tiniest details and lush plants impressed me so much! There wasn't a single area where the park was barren. Trees, bushes, leaves and flowers sprouted everywhere. Florida weather at this time of the year feels super humid, hot and tropical, so I was grateful that the plants provided shade. The park also had multiple zoo-like attractions where attendees could sight see animals native to dense jungle areas. I freaked out when I saw that they had a Komodo dragon! 

Around 2pm, I started getting a mild heat stroke since we had been walking in the heat for over 6 hours. Luckily, we were nearby a small venue where they were hosting a show called "Festival of the Lion King." The inside was air conditioned, so we popped in to watch! The show was a celebration of tribal and African culture, brought by characters from The Lion King, including Simba, Timon, and Pumba. The music was sung by live singers, all of whom were wearing traditional tribal clothing. The show also featured acrobatics, my personal favorite being a couple who danced to "Can You Feel the Love Tonight." Festival of the Lion King was a beautiful watch and a wonderful celebration of culture that needs to be more widespread in our society! I definitely recommend going to see it.

The biggest highlight of the theme park was its safari. This isn't some lazily thrown together drive tour, this safari was amazing! The line was 45 minutes long when we got to it, but it was one of things we wanted to ride before leaving. Passengers get in a tram/jeep and their driver guides them around the vast animal reserves that Disney owns. There were so many different animals to see! The pictures below were my favorite sights of the tour. 

I forgot the scientific name, but this plant has a more commonly used name: the upside down tree. It looks like its roots are growing upwards rather than into the ground! It was much larger in person than it seems in the photo.

Giraffe booty

There was such beautiful plant life throughout the safari

The animals seemed to be incredibly at peace in the wildlife. They weren't restrained in a single area but rather they were allowed to roam a vast land as they pleased. Some animals, such as the lions, we weren't able to see because they were roaming a different area. It truly felt like I was taking a safari tour through a savannah! 

The trip to Animal Kingdom suited my tastes very well. As a lover of nature, I was enamored with how in touch Disney went to recreate African and Asian jungles! For those who would rather have easy-going and relaxed theme park days like me, Animal Kingdom has more than enough attractions to fill up your time. For thrill seekers, the rapids ride was very exciting and Expedition Everest is an amazing ride to experience! (Much much much better than the Matterhorn at Disneyland). Keep in mind that if you go in the summer to stay cool with a wet rag, water mist, parasols or fans! 

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~! 

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 ~

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!!