The Travel Tag!

October 4, 2017

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Dear Reader,

So, I was browsing the interwebs, and I found this cool tag! Of course, I’m not currently traveling, so I was looking for fun things to blog about. I was this tag here, and thought, “oh, that looks like fun!” Thus, without further ado, let’s go!

1. Where in the world are you from?

I grew up in two place– Alaska and the Philippines. I’m a biracial child, and my parents are what Alaskans call snow birds; meaning we leave the state when the snow arrives. Although, not so much these days, because my little sister and I are in University.

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2. Have you been overseas? When/where? 

Aside from America and the Philippines, I’ve only been to the Tokyo and Taipei international airports! I plan on moving to either Taiwan or Japan after graduation though, so I’m really excited for that!

3. Do you prefer summer or winter? Why?

Ehhhh, this is hard. I actually prefer winter, but not the harsh Alaskan ones. I can’t stand anything below zero (degrees Fahrenheit), about twenty above is the coldest I’m willing to live through, so even if I don’t go to either Japan or Taiwan, I’ll go to somewhere where the temperature stays above twenty.

4. Summer or winter fashion? 

Winter for sure, I mean I also love wearing dresses, but I’ve always been more of a sweater weather kind of person!

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5. Where is somewhere you would love to travel to?

Singapore! We were supposed to go when I was a preteen, but my immune system was acting up, and my mom decided not to buy the tickets. So, I’ve always wanted to visit Singapore since then!

6. Name your essential makeup items for the beach.

Sunscreen, lipbalm with SPF, and a cute cover-up! LOL to my conservative Pinoy upbringing because now I feel weird wearing a swimsuit without one… Even though I know it’s fine, I’m not fine. Kudos to the girls who are confident enough without one!

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7. Are you currently saving up for a trip?

Yeah, I’m going to Florida with my childhood best friend this winter break (if we ever get around to buying the tickets lololol)! We went last year, but we spent a lot of time in the car because we went to Atlanta too. Hopefully this time we’ll get to see more of Florida.

8. Do you like/dislike traveling?

I loveeeee traveling! Especially the plane ride! I know it’s weird, but I love airports because it’s the ultimate cross-road; everyone is going somewhere, and it’s people from literally all over the world, it’s so cool seeing all the diversity!

9. Name a place in the world you’d like to shop.

Seoul, South Korea and Tokyo, Japan! I’ve always wanted to go to all the kawaii stores in Shibuya, and buy all the makeup in Seoul, so yeah, those two places!

10. What is your favorite accent in the world to hear?

Not to be a basic American, but I really like British accents! Australian accents are a close number two though!

11. How many countries have you visited?

Uh, four? No. Five, including Mexico when I was five!

12. Why do you travel?

I love seeing new cultures and experiencing new things! I’ve been traveling since I was a child, so I hate staying in one place for too long.

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13. Favorite city or country?

Why are you asking me to chose???? All countries are beautiful and special in their own way, plus I have many more to see, how could I know?

14. Most memorable experience

My last visit to the Philippines was right before I started high school when I was thirteen, and right before we left we stopped in Bacolod to see my grandparents. We took a bus from there to see my moms friend in a nearby town, and my little sister was reading a book on my Nook. She took a step backwards to get out of the way of a group of people, and fell into a open sewer ditch.

I still laugh when I think about it, she was okay but didn’t smell very nice for a long time. Even after she showered several times.

15. Best item purchased

You got me, I can’t think of one specific thing. I like handbags, so I guess any of my purses?

16. Advice for those who want to travel but think they can’t?

I know it’s scary, and unfamiliar, but honestly it’s life changing. You get to see new places, and meet all kinds of interesting people! It’s worth every dime, nickel, and penny. Also, start small if you find it to intimidating. For example, go on a car trip to the state next to yours, or even to a city you’ve never been to!

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17. Preferred method of travel: planes, trains or automobiles?

Planes! Although, train rides are fun too! You get to see more of the country/state that way, and it’s faster than a car (sometimes).

18. Top three travel items.

Smart phone, book for the ride (audiobook if I’m driving!), and a bag to carry it in!

19. Hostel or hotel?

Hotels for sure. A hostel is cheaper, and you can meet some pretty interesting people, but I hate sleeping with strangers. Even if they were friendly, I’m always afraid I’ll snore too loudly and they’ll hate me in the morning…

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20. Are you a repeat visitor or do you explore new places?

A little of both, honestly. I feel like two weeks isn’t enough time to see everything there is to see, but it’s nice to explore new places too!

21. Can you recite your passport # from memory?

No, but kudos to anyone who can!

22. Do you read up your destination for culture history or safety or do you just wing it?

How can you not read about the culture you’re going to visit? A) it’s too risky you’ll offend someone if you don’t, and B) I’m always excited to explore a new place, so I always do tons of research before hand to see what that place has to offer!

23. Where would you recommend a friend to visit?

Go to Palawan, and visit the Underground River! It’s so pretty, I’m pretty sure I’ve been there over five times!

24. You’re leaving tomorrow and money is no option, where are you going?

Uh, back to the Philippines. Mostly because it’s been a while, and I want to visit again!

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25. Favorite landmark you’ve visited.

This is so hard, I don’t knowwwww, they were all a lot of fun!

26. Beach or explore vacation?

I dislike the beach, because sand gets everywhere, and only Westerners like getting tanned. Also, as an Alaskan, I find the sun annoying, so explore vacation!

And that concludes my first tag! I tag anyone who wants to participate, and as always, thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in my next blog, later!

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Love,

Rin

Travel Blog: Fairbanks Days 2&3

October 1, 2017

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Dear Reader,

So, we didn’t do much on the second and third days. Mostly homework, and I ran around UAF a lot, but I didn’t take many pictures because there wasn’t much to see. I had fun though, so that’s all that counts!

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This is about to become a food blog post, because that’s most what I got pictures of, lol. On day two, I had coffee with my friend, and we studied in the coffee shop for a bit. To be completely honest, UAF’s coffee is way better than UAA’s coffee.

We get our coffee from Koladi Brothers, which is honestly really weak. Just the other day, I had a caramel macchiato at UAA, and they burnt my coffee. It was gross, and I didn’t finish it. Which ruined my day, so thanks UAA.

Anyway, I also had this pastry puff thing that was layered with nuts and honey, and it was really yummy! After that, I went off with a different friend (my childhood best friend), and I hung out in her room for awhile. I lived in the dorms at UAA when I was a freshman, and the walls at UAA were hella thin. So you heard everyone’s business. It was the same, if not worse at UAF. Her neighbors were getting it on really hard, and I commented on it. My friend is pretty innocent, and she was all like “maybe they’re roughhousing.” GIRL. They were definitely doing the do, the nasties.

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One thing that got me while visiting, was all the walking. Which wasn’t bad, but it was all uphill, which *wheezes* I am so not fit enough for. They had shuttles running on the week days, but you were on you own during the weekends. So that was an interesting experience. I lowkey wish they had told me head of time so I could have brought some better shoes. FullSizeRender (12)

I wore my black boot heels, I could have brought tennis shoes, but I thought it was going to be fine. I do most of my walking in heels, and I work in heels, so I’m used to walking on flat ground. But I had grown used to it by the time I went home, so I guess it wasn’t too terrible.

After spending some time with my friend, I went back to my other friend’s apartment. I ate dinner there, it was ham and beans soup, which was soooooo yummy. The best comfort food! We also had corn bread, which was subpar because she made it from the box, and she messed it up and it was too dry. Which made her sad, because she really loved cornbread. Then, after dinner, I watched as our other friend prepared her costume for a local anime convention, Senshi Con. She was beating holes into leather to make a pattern, so that was neat. Once that was over, my friend and I went back to her room, where I was spending the night. And that was the end of day two!

The next day, everyone had classes, so after we got coffee, I stayed in the library to work on homework (and blog). I actually got a lot of homework done, so that was nice! I had spent most of the Friday before getting homework done so I wouldn’t have to worry about it over the weekend, so I ended up working on stuff that’s due this weekend. FullSizeRender (13)

 

After that, I met my childhood best friend again for lunch, and the boxed sushi they had was actually pretty decent. I had a rainbow roll, and then some spring rolls. I

FullSizeRender (14).jpginstagramed a little, and then we finally took a shuttle back to her room. She had to work on getting her new cell phone set up, so we did that, and fought with AT&T for a bit.

However, at around 3pm, she had to go to class, so I said bye to her, and went back to my other friend’s dorm room. We were going to eat dinner in Fairbanks with other friends, so after she worked on her speech for a class, we left to go get Thai food.

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I had Pad Thai, and it had chicken and tofu in it, and it was probably the best pad thai I’ve ever had! It was honestly so good, and I would 10/10 recommend!

After that, we were supposed to go get crepes, but they closed at 7, and we weren’t watching the time, so we missed it… But that’s okay, the Thai food was really good!

After that, we went back to the dorms and hung out for a bit, but had to sleep early because I had a flight at 7:40am, and I needed to be up at six. I bought starbucks again at the airport, and they finally got my name right. The flight was pretty short and relaxing, and we had an awesome view of some mountains! Here’s a pic of that:FullSizeRender (19)

Overall, I had a lot of fun, and I would like to visit again! Although I don’t know if I’ll be able too, I’m glad I was able to make memories with my friends before my big move next July!

As soon as I landed, I had a 10am class, and even though I was a bit tired, I don’t regret being able to spend that extra night in Fairbanks. So, that’s a wrap! Thanks for reading everyone, and as always follow all my social media @love_rinnn, and I’ll see you in my next post!

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Love,

Rin

 

Travel Playlist: Fairbanks 2017

September 28, 2017

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Dear Reader,

Whenever I travel, I always have jams to accompany me. I primarily listen to kpop and jpop, some j-rock, and some american rock. This trip I primarily listened to kpop and jrock. So, here is the music I liked while in Fairbanks.

Anna Tsuchiya – 黒い涙

I had just finished rewatching NANA the anime before leaving for my trip, so I had the soundstrack stuck in my head. Kuroi Namida is currently my favorite song!

BAND-MAID – Daydreaming

I discovered Band-Maid recently, and I’ve been obsessed ever since. Their music is so good, and their style is sooooo pretty and elegant, I feel so blessed by their existence.

BAND-MAID – Choose Me

Like I said, BLESSED.

BABYMETAL – KARATE

I was actually watching this PV when BAND-MAID was recommended to me. This is also a pretty good song!

B1A4 – Rollin

Love this song! B1A4 is a group I’ve been following since middle school, so give them a listen. They don’t usually do songs like this, but it worked out really well, and I enjoy it!

HyunA – Babe

HyunA is queennnnnn, so give her a listen. This is officially my favorite song by her (actually every song by her is my fave, but ya know lol).

Li Gikwang – I Know What You Like

I love Beast (aka Highlight), so I always listen to the individual members solo songs as well. If you’re looking for a good bop, this is the one for you!

BTS – DNA

Ha, while I have many qualms about their fandom, I really like BTS as musicians. So I’ve been listening to their latest song a lot, and it’s pretty cute!

So, there you have it, all the songs I enjoyed while staying in Fairbanks, and on the plane. I hope you enjoyed it, and it gave you some recommendations while on your own trip! As always, thanks for reading!

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Love,

Rin

Travel Blog: Fairbanks Day One

September 25, 2017

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Dear Reader,

I went to Fairbanks to visit my friends going to the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF)! I haven’t seen them for awhile, and most of my hometown friends attend school there, so it made sense that I would go visit them instead of them visiting me. I only have school twice a week, so I finally had time to do this! I’ve been saying I would make this trip since we finished high school, so, finally after three years– I made it!

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I currently live in Anchorage, which is about 300 and some miles away from Anchorage, however, because I didn’t feel like making a eight hour drive, I flew. It was probably the shortest flight of my life at 40 minutes. I was also functioning on 3 and a half hours of sleep, because I have terrible insomnia and that wasn’t the best night for me.

After my sister fumbled with her contacts for twenty minutes, and we were thoroughly

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late, we finally made it to the airport at a decent time. This was my first flight checking-in using the Alaska Airlines app, and also using a digital boarding pass. In the past I was against it because I liked to keep my old boarding passes as a souvenir, but I was lazy and didn’t feel like printing it out. On top of that, the check-in stations were a crazy mess,  thatI didn’t feel like wading through.

Then I had to deal with TSA, which was an utter pain in my ass. Literally, we inched through the line, and they opened several people’s bag, including mine to look at some candy I had as my snack. The Ted Steven’s Interational Airport is pretty small, so usually TSA is a breeze, but not this trip. It was so painful.

After that, I stopped to get coffee at Starbucks. Normally I go by my legal name when I order coffee, but it’s a long name and I didn’t have that much time, so when they asked for a name to write on the cup, I said “Rin” and I even spelled it out. However, what name did I get on my cup? RAIN. I was flabbergasted. How do you mess up the name “Rin!?” I mean, they weren’t even that busy, but whatever.40c8b35fe6a96308e2f3666316870d21b7beff7d_hqSo, then I got on the plane, and read “My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness” by Nagata Kabi, and I listened to some j-rock and k-pop (which I’ll have a travel music playlist out soon). Twenty minutes later, they announced our decent into Fairbanks. Which really surprised me because I was just getting comfortable. I’m from Alaska, so in order to get anywhere our flights are usually six hours long for West Coast trips, and more for anywhere else.

We were twenty minutes early, so I had to wait for my friends to pick me up. Luckily, the weather was super nice so it wasn’t bad! Afterwards, my friend drove us to her apartment where we all chilled for awhile. She recently got a new dog, so we took him (Akela, what a cute name!) for a walk and got coffee.fairbanks campusAfter that we hung out for a little more, and then I went to meet my childhood best friend for dinner. Dorm food is nasty, and UAF was no better, I had mushy macaroni and cheese, and I also had a salad, which had baby corn, and that was pretty good. After that, I took a nap while my friend played on her new phone (our foster grandma bought her a new phone, and I flew it up). After that, at 8pm, we went to a party. Okay, it was a FullSizeRender (10).jpgUniversity event, and she had to volunteer at her church booth, and I met up with my friends from earlier.

It was a huge bond fire event, and we watched them burn several student made mounds of wood. Several of them were Game of Thrones themes, and I do admit I wouldn’t have been surprised if the mother of dragons had walked out of the ashes. We stayed for about two hours, but my friend and I were standing in the stoner pit, so I consumed a lot of secondhand smoke, and was feeling pretty lightheaded. A feeling I usually didn’t feel unless I was walking through the Vegas Strip, but you know.burn

 

So after that, I went to my friend’s dorm, and we talked until 1 am, gossiping about life and catching up.

So yeah, that was the first day of my Fairbanks trip! Hopefully you enjoyed this post, and if you want me to review My Lesbian Experience, let me know! Also, follow me on all my social media @love_rinnn and I’ll see you later!

Love,

Rin

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Diary Entry: 9/18/2017

September 19, 2017

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Dear Reader,

So, I’m twenty now~ It honestly feels surreal; at the bank today my teller asked me how old I was, and it felt weird to say “twenty” instead of # plus teen! So strange.

Aside from that, I took a break from adulting on Friday, it was extremely nice! I just stayed at home and watched Chinese dramas! I stated “The King’s Woman” and “It’s Not Easy Being King” which are both period dramas, but the former is a melodrama, while the latter is a comedy. I usually go through periods where I’ll watch exclusively k-drama’s, c-drama’s, or j-drama’s. Sometimes I also like to watch Filipino teleserye too, but I usually just watch pinoy movies.

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Uh, I did a lot of adulting today, but nothing major. I went to the bank, paid my tuition, the usual. I will admit I was procrastination a little last week, but I’ve come to realize that if I really want to leave home next fall, I need to get my butt in gear. My family stresses me out so much, and my anxiety is at an all-time high. I really need to get out of this place.

On a brighter note, I’ll be leaving for Fairbanks this Saturday! So, that should be fun! I’ll see all of my old friend, and it’ll be great.  It will also give me a chance to start travel blogging, so that should be fun! Anyway, I really need to do my homework, so, catch you all later!

Love,

Rin

Diary Entry: 9/10/2017

September 10, 2017

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Dear Reader,

This week I started preparing my resume for job applications. The JET programme application date is upcoming, so I’ve been preparing for that. Later in the year, I’ll make a separate post detailing that experience. It is a highly competitive program, so I’m 50/50 on whether I’ll get in or not. (For those who don’t know it’s basically a program where native English speakers can apply to work in Japan as an English teacher!)

I’ve also looked at online programs to get my TESL certificate, so it looks like I’ll be pretty busy this semester. I started a new manga, called P to Jk, which is about high school girl who calls in love with a young police officer. It’s pretty cute.

I also read a poetry book called The Princess Saves Herself in this One By Amanda Lovelace, it was really touching and relatable. I teared up a bit, and I would highly recommend it!

I wonder if I should start a goodreads page? I do read a lot, and I want to recommend

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books to people, but I’m not particularly interested in book blogging. Oh, I also read My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness by Nagata Kabi. It’s a really cute manga based off a true story about the author who struggles with mental illness, and how it affected her life. I could also relate to this story because she’s socially awkward, and same.

This is my birthday week, I’m going to be twenty. I feel nervous, I hated turning 18 because I suddenly had to do everything myself; make doctor appointments, my bank wouldn’t talk to my parents anymore, I had to handle my school funds directly. For an introvert like me, it was shear torture at first. I’m okay now, but I’m still weary of turning twenty. It’s the dawn of a new decade, and I’ll be leaving the safety of my teens. It’s exciting, but nerve racking none-the-less.

Anyway, thanks for reading my diary rants!

Love,

Rin

 

Diary Entry: 09/03/2017

September 4, 2017

Dear reader,

Welcome to my site! I’m kind of nervous to write for the first time, but I really want to keep this up, so I can preserve memories! I’ve tried keeping a real diary before, but as a millennial I have terribly failed the traditional ways.

I started school last Monday, and it was bittersweet. I’m excited that I’ll be finishing my undergrad program this spring, but I feel a bit sad. This is my last year in school as a student, for sometime to come, and I’ll then also be leaving the safety of my parents home, and moving away.

Well, I want to keep this short and sweet as I have no other content to post. In the future it would be nice to accompany my diary entries with pictures, but I literally just started this blog today and I’m not prepared. I still have to buy a real domain name too. Well, ta-ta for now.

Love,

Rin