Homemade Granola Recipe

This past weekend I made granola. I actually have been making granola at home for the past 4/5 years pretty regularly. I’ve had a lot of time to experiment – this weekend led to my best experiment to date (read to the end to find out the secret). I use a base of oats and buckwheat groats and throw in whatever other nuts and seeds I have laying around the house. This week had a combination of sunflower seeds, walnuts, and slivered almonds.

One of my favorite things that I started doing was adding turmeric to my granola. It adds a nice earthy flavor and beautiful color to the granola. It also has great anti-inflammatory properties. I also have moved away from using refined sugars and instead use brown rice syrup and a touch of maple syrup. I still use the maple syrup since it has the most wonderful flavor. I normally don’t measure out my ingredients since I am able to eyeball the ratios but I’ve listed what I think are about right below. You just need to make sure you have some base of oats, mix-ins, oil, sweetener, and flavorings + salt. 

 Now here is the secret for what makes this granola so great. After the granola has been in the oven for 20 minutes, sprinkle on your coconut so it doesn’t burn. Then turn off the oven and check in on the granola in about 30/45 minutes to an hour, although I left one batch in the oven for 2 hours while I did a run to the store and it turned out great. By leaving the granola in the warm oven, it allows the sugars to caramelize which adds a great crunchy texture to the granola, brings more flavor complexity, and allows us to use less sugar but still get plenty of sweetness. I personally I like my granola on the less sweet side as I find conventional yogurts to be plenty sweet and I add honey to plain yogurt. 

Recipe 

3 cups oats 

1 ½ cups buckwheat groats 

2 cups of nuts and seeds: I like to use things like sliced almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, pecans, - you can also add mix ins like dried fruit, raisins, etc. but I’m personally not a huge fan 

½ cup unsweetened coconut flakes (shreds are a-okay) 

½ cup brown rice syrup

¼ cup maple syrup 

1/3 cup avocado oil or coconut oil ( can also use butter or any other light flavored oil)

1/2 tablespoon vanilla (I really love vanilla so I use a full tablespoon usually)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon all spice

¼ teaspoon nutmeg 

1/4 cup turmeric powder 

1/2 teaspoon salt

1.     Preheat oven to 350F and line a cookie sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper

2.     In a large bowl combine the oats, groats, nuts, and seeds along with any other mix ins you are adding besides coconut (see note at bottom if you are using dried fruit or cacao chips ). Feel free to adjust ratio as you like – maybe you like more oats, maybe you’re a huge walnuts fan. Mix in the spices (sans vanilla) and salt as well 

3.     `In a microwaveable cup mix together the brown rice syrup and maple syrup. Microwave for 30 seconds to make a little bit more runny. 

4.     Add the avocado oil and vanilla to the cup and stir together to combine 

5.     Add the liquids to the dry ingredients bowl, folding till combined. It will be sticky and may take some muscle but everything should be coated 

6.     Lay the granola in a thin layer on the cookie sheet 

7.     Put in a center rank in the over for 10 minutes. Take the sheet out and stir and rotate the sheet for even browning. Put it back in the oven for another then 10 minutes

8.     Turn off the oven. Take sheet out of the oven, sprinkle coconut flakes all over the top, put the cookie sheet back in the turned off oven for 45 minutes to an hour – its fine if you leave it in for longer. 

9.     Take the cookie sheet out, mix the coconut in and enjoy. I recommend waiting till the granola has fully cooled before packaging 

Note: Wait till the granola has completely cooled before mixing in dried fruit or cacao/coco chips. The fruit will absorb all the liquid and your granola won’t be crunchy and the cacao will melt. 

Back to Blogging

So if you noticed, its been well over 3 almost 4 years since I last posted on this blog and the question really arises why didn’t I post in that time. The answer, I just didn’t feel like it. It wasn’t a priority for me.

I did keep myself busy during that time though. I traveled to France for a language intensive course; interned in Salt Lake City; got my Bachelor’s degree; got and started a full time job; moved to a new city; became a sailing judge and umpire; took on a leadership role within the Surfrider Foundation; attended an international plastic pollution conference; sailed around Croatia; became a pescatarian. As you can tell I did a few things.

At times I thought about blogging about these things but I never did. And that is okay. Not everyone needs to know everything about my life. But I recently decided I want to commit myself to blogging more in 2021. But I’ve decided that I am going to tailor my blogging more. I’m going to focus more on sustainable living, share more about my outdoor adventures, and most of all be true to myself. I won’t be sharing everything about my life and that is a-okay. I will share what I think others will find useful, inspiring, and hopefully enjoy reading.

cheers to 2020 almost being over and cheers to me restarting my blog and revamping my website!

See Ya Later Hong Kong

I’m sitting at Hong Kong International Airport about ready to board my flight to Seoul, the first leg of my journey home to Los Angeles / Long Beach. Well sort of, there has been a flight delay so I have some time to blog. It’s crazy to think that my time on exchange in Hong Kong is coming to an end. It will probably be a while until I get to come to this amazing city (and airport) again.

Hong Kong is an amazing city, exchange is amazing, and traveling in Asia is amazing. I am so lucky that I got have this amazing experience.  I made so many memories, did so many things, and I got to call “Asia’s World City” my home for 4 months. I also got to travel to the Philippines, Bali, Lombok, and Malaysia for the last month.

Hong Kong was so good to me. I got to do so much, visit some of the tallest buildings in the world, see so many temples, go on beautiful hikes, party until the sun rose, camp under the stars, eat delicious foods, and truly enjoy life. Hong Kong has everything. The ease to get to places – probably one of the best public transport systems in the world, if not the best. The people- they want to make sure everything is correct and right and are so willing to help, Hong Kongers are just good people. So many crazy things that I just never planed happening that at times I couldn’t believe how amazing my life is. I really couldn’t have asked for a better exchange.

I mean yeah some bad stuff happened- I got my phone stolen in Hong Kong 2 nights ago and food poisoning- I think that it’s HK saying “Hey it’s time to leave” and during exchange there were some moments where I missed home, or was just completely lost but all of these contribute to me learning lessons, making memories, and everything can’t be flowers and smiley faces. Also life can’t be only perfect weather either (so freaking hot and humid in the beginning) but apparently I’m just spoiled living in Southern California.

Anyways, the best part of exchange was the friends I made. I’m a super awkward person, and I’ll be perfectly honest I struggle to make friends. I’ve known my bestest friends since I was little and it takes me a while to make new ones. One of my goals on exchange was to open myself up more to new people and make an effort to make friends (plus who wants to do everything alone). I was so lucky to quickly meet two amazing girls, Sarah-Louise and Ivana, who became my rocks through exchange. We have a great girls group and did so much together. I know they are friends for life. I also met so many other great people who I spent a ton of time with and created amazing friendships with as well. I had my “Wolfpack” which was a super fun group of people to go out and just do fun things with. Within that group I formed close friendships, which I’m so grateful for. There are so many people that I met that seriously are some of the coolest people you will ever meet.

Hong Kong and exchange will always hold a special place in my heart. I came into exchange not really knowing what to expect and I received the unexpected, in a good way like how could I be so lucky to live a life where I am so blessed with so many great thing and opportunities. From Toursity Thursday to Tim Ho Wan and everything in between, what a ride it has been. I know I’ve grown as a person. I’m excited to go home; I’m excited to see my friends at home; I’m excited to go back to university life at LBSU; I’m excited to finally eat some proper Mexican food. I’m excited for life has in store for me because if exchange showed me anything, it's that life is better than what you expect it to be, it's amazing

Traveling Alone

I've always been an independent person. I actually quite enjoy doing things alone. But traveling alone in Indonesia had me a bit nervous and excited. I knew (and definitely now know) that it would be a time of self discover and growth. I was a bit fearful (probably not as much as my parents). I think it's because I've really only done travel  with others. I've traveled to some places on my own but I've either met up with people at the destination or have traveled to those places before. I like many, fear stepping out of my comfort zone, alas stepping out is how you grow. I think my friends at Göddigt ändå say it best "Life begins at the edge of your comfort zone". It wasn't that I was necessarily fearful to travel alone, it was more that I was nervous about being alone.

I've now been traveling alone for 3 days. The beginning was rough. Actually rougher than I expected. I know that it was rough for me because I had been traveling up until that point with some of my best friends from exchange and the last two days with two of my best guy friends from exchange. It was already super hard for me when I had said goodbye to my two best girl friends from exchange.

Me, Ivana and Sarah-Louise  

I had created amazing memories with them, laughed, cried, partied, went on hikes, explored, cooked meals together. It was really hard to say goodbye because they live in Europe so I know it will be a long time before I see them again.  When Sarah-Louise and Ivana left, I still had a community of friends there with me. This time when I said goodbye I was all alone. It actually felt like a real goodbye (even though I know it's really a see ya later).  No one there for me, no one to talk to about how I felt, no one to help me, no one to hog the blanket when I had to split a bed. Also because it's the Holiday season and I'm so close to going home I've been missing my family a bit more.

It was an emotional goodbye. I knew it would be. After about 30 minutes of me wiping tears and trying to figure out what I was going to do by myself, I realized one of the greatest things about traveling alone: I finally had time to myself. Time to catch up on journaling; time to think; time to plan out more of my trip; time to relax; time to do what I want when I wanted to; and time to blog more :)

I took a scooter up to a cliff side restaurant, sipped on a smoothie, journaled, and soaked up the beautiful scenery that is Kuta, Lombok. I was still tearing up but I felt much more at peace. I spent one more night at the homestay. I cried. I cried about missing my family; I cried about missing my friends at home; I cried about missing my friends from exchange; I cried about the poverty I witnessed; I cried about how lucky I am; I cried about things that made no sense to cry about. And I cried just to cry and it was good and natural to cry.

No filter needed for Lombok's beauty. This is the view from the cafe

 I woke up the next morning ready to go to Sengiggi. I was still a bit teary but I had worked out my travel plans more and feel really good about the rest of my trip.

I actually had talked to a girl at the hostel I stayed at in Sengiggi and she said that after two days of traveling alone, you get used to it and it becomes really fun and really good. I have to agree with her- after two days something clicked and traveling alone felt good, it felt right.

I had an awesome day to myself diving to see a waterfall - I will post about that later. I chose to eat at a restaurant because part of their menu was also in German and they had Bavarian Pretzels and German bread. I needed a break from noodles and rice. So yes I ate bread with butter and pretzels for dinner. And yes, it was delicious. I did that because I wanted to and no one was there to tell me no.

Me infront of Sendang Gila  

There is so much freedom provided by traveling alone. I had to ask others to take me picture at the waterfall. I've had to make an effort to connect with those at my hostel and ask others for advice. I had to rely on myself and locals to get me to where I wanted to go. I had to figure out how I was going to get myself out of situations. It's only up to me to say yes or no. Even though I haven't been traveling alone for that long, I can already see self growth and discovery and it is amazing.

While it's had its rough patches, overall traveling alone has been great. It's something that I think everyone should try. I'm so glad that I've been provided this opportunity. It is also true that travel is so much fun with others. You create so many memories when you travel and it is amazing to share those memories with others. You can debrief your day, have buddies to help you out, get discounts, split costs, and strengthen bonds. I think I want a mix of both in my life. I still have a few more days of traveling alone, and I also get to see some friends on journey back home. Since I have all this "time to myself" I'll be keeping you guys updated on the rest of my travels.

Holidays far from Home

​This is the first Christmas I've spent away from my family. No drive down to San Diego, no ambrosia, no opening up presents under the the Christmas tree. To me Christmas is a time when families come together and celebrate. But this Christmas I chose to spend it away from my family. Actually I had chosen a long time ago when I booked my tickets to Hong Kong. Back then in what must have been May or maybe even April, I remember telling my parents I'm going to book my flight back for mid-January because I want to spend my winter break traveling- I just wanted to be back for my little sisters birthday. They said yes; they were (and still are) fearful, nervous and worried for me and hoped I would make friends to travel with after exchange was over. Deep down I hold the same fear and nervousness but I also had this feeling then that I needed to take the plunge and go and explore. I would travel, even if it meant I would be alone. I didn't know where- although I was leaning for Bali, Indonesia and/or Cambodia

I remember the first day when I landed in the airport, I started conversations with the other students I was with to see what their plans were for after exchange- many of them said travel, some already booked flights home for the day finals ended, some had no return ticket and no plan. Parents, you should be happy, I was already looking for travel buddies- also I really did not want to spend Christmas alone.

First days and already making friends. Crazy to think about who I became close to and who I didn't end up spending that much time with  

Anyways, I was lucky enough to make the most amazing travel buddies / friends on exchange- definitely some friends for life. And boy did we travel, not only during the school year to amazing places: Bangkok, Seoul, and Taiwan, but also after to the Philippines (very briefly- you can read more here) and a lovely Holiday in Indonesia. Really I would have gone wherever my friends wanted to go but I was really rooting for Bali and everyone seemed to want to go there as well.

Just some of the lovely friends that I made during my semester in HK. This is the crew I explored to Bali with. photo by Hugo Mattsson 

 I don't think I could have asked for a better way to spend Christmas away. I had my family of friends aka the B-Team with me. 

We rented a private villa in Canngu for a few days, did a secret Santa gift exchange, listened to Christmas music, and had an awesome breakfast of crepes, Maple syrup from Canada, eggs, and fruit.

Christmas Morning at our Villa. Picture by Hugo Mattsson

We spent the day at Finn's Beach Club, lounging in hammocks, eating delicious foods, sipping on Bintangs and fresh coconuts. They even gave us ginger bread cookies and had a Christmas tree made out of coconuts. The sunset was incredible.

B-Team at Finn's  

Watching the absolutely incredible sunset  

photo: Hugo Mattsson

And the night ended just perfectly. We are a simple dinner listening to music at the super cute and hip food court next door to our villa. (My friend Hugo made an awesome little video that you guys should check out) https://www.facebook.com/hugomattssonmedia/videos/1834215313492079/

Later in the evening we took our scooters to Deus Ex Mechina and watched and listened to a live band play awesome music and even play one my family's favorite Jack Johnson song's Taylor. When that song played I knew everything was right in the world. I was where I was suppose to be. I was in pure bliss.

Back when I decided to spend Christmas away from my family- I didn't know what to expect. I got everything I expected and more (in a good way). I really did have the most amazing Christmas - even if it didn't really feel like it in the 28C / 82F weather. Plus thanks to modern technology I was still able to join my family in San Diego to say hi to everyone. Happy (Belated) Holidays to everyone and I hope you had a Christmas as amazing as mine!

Touristy Thursday: December 1st Edition

Touristy Thursday lives on!  I know I had been M.I.A. on Touristy Thursday last week. I was being extra touristy and in a whole new place (using the word country is debatable) Taiwan, last week- maybe I’ll post about it.

Anyways, this week school has been both slowing down as classes come to an end yet at the same time just about to rev up into high gear as examination period is looming just around the corner. After a very productive morning of a presentation and studying, it was time to do something touristy to kick off the weekend.

I think this Touristy Thursday is probably the touristiest out of any of the Touristy Thursdays I’ve had or will ever have. So far during my stay in Hong Kong Ben and I had not once, not twice, but 3 times tried to take the Peak Tram up from central to Victoria Peak to watch the sunset. However we didn’t want to wait in the hour-long line and miss out on the golden hour. So this Thursday we came in with a game plan- take the bus up to peak and take the tram down after sunset (but before everyone queues up to go down). Our friends Sheng and Laura also joined us for this Thursday :) 

Laura and I at the peak 

After a beautiful bus ride from the central bus depot to the Peak Galleria, costing around 10HKD, we were able to watch a beautiful sunset over Stanley and Central. Hong Kong really does glow and has an amazing view. It was so cool to see tourists oooing and awing over how spectacular Hong Kong’s skyline is.  It is truly one of the most beautiful skylines in the world. My friends and I were commenting how spoiled we are that we get to see this beautiful view daily from our halls. We’ve almost become immune to its beauty.  

View overlooking Central and Kowloon 

If you walk just past the two shopping malls and the tram station there is a nice lookout with amazing views that makes a great picture spot.  We also went to the top of the Peak Galleria for a free view from their rooftop — no need to spend money on the view from the Peak Tower.

Ben, Laura, Me, and Sheng at the Picture spot 

Finally right when it got dark we took in all the lights of Kowloon and HK Island and queued up to finally get to ride on the Peak Tram.  You’ll want to queue up right when it gets dark because maybe 10 minutes after we lined up the queue had doubled in size going form a 15 minute wait (which we waited) to a 45 minute wait.

The Peak Tram is a cable car / railway system that takes tourists (and I guess locals because there were 4 intermediate stops but I don’t really think they would use the tram) to the upper levels of Hong Kong. The tram has been running since 1926 and is 1,364 meters (4,475 ft) long and goes up a height of 368 meters (1,207 ft).  It was fun, steep ride. I was just happy that I finally got to ride on it and check it off my bucket list. The view can be very beautiful from the tram and it is also really cool how you are at times sandwiched in between Hong Kong’s skyscrapers.  However, I will say the bus ride is a more beautiful ride overall. It was super fun though and I totally understand why the Peak Tram is so touristy- it’s just fun and cool and much faster than the bus (well if there isn’t a line for the tram hahaha).

Us on the peak tram! 

Once again another great Touristy Thursday! 

Also here is some more pictures in a gallery because my little sister complained that I didn't post enough photos. This is for you Hanna.

Hong Kong's Little Differences and Quirks

Living in Hong Kong for almost 3 months now I can’t help but notice the differences between Hong Kong and Southern California. A lot of these differences are little things or quirks of Hong Kong (Don’t worry I know SoCal has it’s quirks too).  Here are some of the most striking to me.

1. Not Moving for Emergency Vehicles: The first time I saw cars just continue traffic as usual when an ambulance came by with all its lights and sounds, I thought to myself “hmm maybe the drivers are just not paying attention”.  The second time I saw the cars not move for the ambulance it clicked to me that cars don’t move for emergency vehicles. I can understand why with Hong Kong’s small streets, busy traffic, and close proximity. But still every time I see the ambulance wait for a red light or get stuck in traffic it is so weird to me.

2. Going to get Run Over: While pedestrians have priority in SoCal, Hong Kong drivers seem like they are going to run you over even when you are walking “safely” in the crosswalk.  Cars do not stop for pedestrians at all. They also stop very suddenly close to pedestrians —especially taxis. I say a little prayer every time I cross the street in Hong Kong.

3.  Holding Doors: For some reason in the past 2-3 weeks this has really emerged as a difference to me. Southern California may not have the best door opening etiquette in the US, nothing can rival the hospitality / the number of people who will hold a door open for you that one finds in the South, but at least people will usually hold the door open for you if you are walking behind them or are walking towards them and you both reach the door at the same time. Locals in Hong Kong just don’t hold open doors for others. The thing that has to be the weirdest to me is when I hold open the door for others. I get really strange looks; people don’t know how to react when I hold the door open for them. Yes, I’m holding this door open for you to walk through. I feel like I have to motion for the people to walk when I hold the door open for them. If anyone can explain to me why this is I would love to know.

4. Gated Sidewalks: In Hong Kong a lot of the sidewalks have a sort of “safety barrier” separating the sidewalk from the road. It is usually a metal gate like barrier. I’m not really sure how effective they are at preventing accidents (or really the reason why they are there) but boy do they serve as an annoyance while walking. Sometimes I just want to cross the street at the corner or from one side of the road to another but I have to walk another 10 meters or so to get to an opening. This is especially annoying when there are no cars coming, and I’m just lazy hahaha. I totally understand why Hong Kong uses them, it definitely keeps pedestrian traffic more organized although I sometimes see people walking on curb / on the road outside the barrier. It fits with the order and crowd control that I have noticed is a large part of Hong Kong. 

Touristy Thursday: November 17th Edition

Two Thursdays ago (Nov. 10) my friend Ben and I, after realizing we had been doing a bunch of stuff in Hong Kong that was not so mainstream, decided to something super touristy with our Thursday afternoon and thus “Touristy Thursday” was born.  

Side note: Thursday is the start of my weekend, so naturally I enjoy going to do something fun to kick off my few days of freedom.

This past Thursday, Nov. 17, Touristy Thursday continued. Initially some friends and I tried to take the peak tram to the top of Victoria Peak to watch the sunset, but we underestimated how touristy Victoria Peak is and didn’t want to wait in the over hour long queue and miss the sun set. Some of my friends decided to go shopping, but I was determined to keep Touristy Thursday alive.

Ben and I decided to do a very touristy thing and take a ride on the Hong Observation Wheel.  Located between Central piers 9 and 10, the Hong Kong Observation Wheel is a 60m (197 ft) tall Ferris wheel on the Hong Kong waterfront. Before riding the wheel I had heard mixed reviews. Some say it is overpriced and not very fun, others told me that they really enjoyed the ride and the view from the wheel. After shelling out $70 HKD ($10 USD) for a ride — this was the student ticket price, adult tickets are $100 HKD ($13 USD) — I was ready to judge the ride for myself. Our ride was about 15 minutes and went around about 4 times. I really enjoyed the comfy cabins, beautiful view of the Hong Kong skyline, and the ride overall. We went just before sunset so the light was beautiful and reflected against some of the windows making Hong Kong glow. It was a little expensive for what it was (as is everything touristy) but both Ben and I agreed that it was a fun way to pass the time. 

Tip: If you go at a non peak time / not on the weekend you can get a cabin all to yourself and not have to pay extra for a private cabin 

The only picture I took was for snapchat...so this is what you get folks

Touristy Thursday continued with a ride across Victoria Harbor on the Star Ferry (also located at the Central piers). In Tsim Sha Tsui we decided to end our Touristy Thursday by getting dessert at one of Hong Kong’s most popular, if not it’s most popular, dessert place Via Tokyo. Via Tokyo is known for their soft serve ice cream desserts, especially their matcha ice cream, served either to go in a cone or you can sit inside and get a bowl with mochi, azuki/red bean, and other yummy Asian goodies. Warning on Wednesday’s they “reserve” one of their flavors meaning it will not be available. Ben and I both decided to get ice cream cones with Match and Sweet Cream. Holy delicious!!! I understand what all the hype is about. My ice cream was so creamy, tasted strongly of matcha, and was just perfect. Via Tokyo is a bit pricey, we paid about $35 each for a cone, but probably the best ice cream I’ve had in Hong Kong.

Thus Touristy Thursday ended, although we did try to continue by eating shrimp wonton soup at Mak’s noodles but when we arrived they were closed. Guess Mak’s will be for another Thursday. Look out later this week for a recap of Touristy Thursday Nov. 10 edition and next week there will be a special edition of Touristy Thursday.

Hong Kong's Top 5

I’ve been in Hong Kong for a while now so I figure I should do my top 5 for Hong Kong. These are in no particular order; it’s too hard for me to choose a favorite 

1. Sky line

Hong Kong has the largest skyline in the world (according to Wikipedia), and it is breath taking. With beautiful big buildings like the Bank of China building, the Arch, and the HSBC building, Hong Kong’s skyline is an architects dream. While both the Kowloon side and Hong Kong Island side offer awesome views — the tallest building in Hong Kong, International Commerce Center, is on the Kowloon side — I don’t think anything can beat the view from the Tsim Sha Tsui promenade looking at Hong Kong Island. One must go at night to see the buildings all lit up, and to make it more special (although definitely not a big deal if you miss it) at 8pm every night there is a laser show “A Symphony of Lights” with music and narration.  No matter now many times I’ve seen the skyline I can’t get over how amazing it is, my jaw drops every time (even looking from the 19th floor rooftop of my campus)

2. Public Transport

Hong Kong has spoiled me with their public transport. It is truly amazing. The light rail system known as MTR is probably the best subway system I have ever used. I can transfer from one line to another going in the proper direction on the same platform – it is extremely well organized with lights on the in train maps to help one navigate where to go or where the train is going. I don’t think I’ve ever waited more than 2 minutes for a train. The buses are also really good in Hong Kong, I can take a bus directly from my campus to the airport and there are many bus options, including mini buses that travel just about everywhere, so one can literally get to all spots in Hong Kong. Also all of this is ridiculously cheap. I have a student discount so my rides are usually 50 cents or less (and you get at discount for each additional ride you take during the day)  but I know even for full price every ride is normally less than $1 USD.

Me enjoying a PB&J outside of one of the MTR stations 

3. Nature

This has been an unexpected gem about Hong Kong. There is so so much nature and it is so accessible. There are so many hikes in Hong Kong and so much green open space. In fact about 70% of Hong Kong is protected green space. I’ve gone camping on the beach, rock climbing on islands, hiking, swimming, the list can go on about all the outdoor opportunities Hong Kong offers. There are many beaches as well and many small islands that one can visit or kayak at as well.  Hong Kong is home to a GeoPark, which is a UNESCO site. This has been awesome because sometimes I just need an escape from the busy city. (Also you can get tents for ridiculously cheap, I spent about $25 USD for a two person tent that packs up small and has held up to multiple camping trips and is rather roomy)

4. Octopus

Octopus is the payment system used for public transport in Hong Kong and it makes life awesome! Why? Because not only can octopus be used for public transport — MTR, buses, ferries — but Octopus can also be used at many other places all around Hong Kong. I can use octopus to buy a water at 7-11, pay for groceries, or even for the purchase of a pencil at the University Book Store. It is so awesome that Hong Kong has implemented a simple to use tap payment system – although if you don’t keep good track of your expenses it can be easy to over spend.  Also it can be loaded up at just about anywhere, which is another big plus.

5.  Markets

I love outdoor markets and stalls and Hong Kong is filled with many. There is so much to choose from: Ladies Market, to what me and my friends refer to as “Cheap Street”, goldfish market, jade market (not that good tbh), bird market (actually really sad), Temple Street Night market, wet markets, and many more that I haven’t discovered. While sometimes it can be a pain to haggle. I love going to markets and just wandering around- and grab some street food for dinner. I also cannot talk enough about how much I love going to Wet Markets. These are were fresh fruits and vegetables are sold as well as home to butchers, fish mongers, dry good vendors, and normally a few restaurants. I love looking at all the funky food items.  I’m lucky to have the Lok Fu Bazaar market near me and make a weekly stop for fresh fruit and veg. 

Fresh Sea Food at the Wet Market 

Marvelous Macau

Yesterday my friends and I went to Macau for a day trip. I wasn’t really sure how I was going to make it through the day since I had gotten horrible nights rest the past 3 nights and went to bed super late the night before our trip. Either way though I was excited for our trip to Macau and can’t offer any review of the ferry ride besides it was a great place to sleep J. One tip though- buy your tickets for the ferry in advance online and print out your ticket invoice to bring with you to the counter, it makes your morning much easier.

Once we got off the ferry all of us were very lost and confused although we did have the complementary maps / guide books of Macau in our hands. (I would recommend grabbing one as it has a great path you can follow through the historical center of Macau.) We ended up taking the wrong bus and got a view of the residential side of Macau and after transferring to another bus we eventually made our way to what was the last stop on path and worked our way through the city’s sights. 

One of the first places we went to was the Ruins of the Church of Saint Paul. And even though they were so so touristy, it was awesome!! I loved looking at all the details in the wall. It was beautiful and touristy as excepted but so cool. Be sure to get a stamp while you are there at the visitors information stand behind the ruins. Walking down the streets of the historical center of Macau, I felt as though I had been transplanted into a European Village, with Chinese signs and language hahaha. There are so many samples down the touristy main roads. If you forgot snacks you can fill yourself up with samples of cookies and jerky offered at every other store.  We had a quick lunch of a meatball bun that was delicious. We watched them cook them fresh in a clay kiln. The insides were a peppery meat mixture along with green onions all covered in a toasted and crunchy outside topped with sesame seeds. SO GOOD!!!! And only 18MOP. 

The yummy meatball bun 

We continued on to the Largo de São Domingos. I really liked this square and was mistaken many times (2) for being Portuguese. Saint Dominic’s Church was also really pretty, especially the ceiling, and has a stamp inside as well (many of the tourist spots in Macau have stamps).  The rest of our day consisted of looking at city squares, churches, historical buildings, and temples. The A-Ma Temple is really cool with all of the incense coils. From the A-Ma temple we took bus MT4 to the Venetian hotel on the other part of Macau, Taipa. Taipa also has some historical stuff and many big casinos and hotels call this place home. By this point in our trip we were all tired and hungry. Some of the girls mustered enough energy to walk through the Taipa Houses- Museum, which shows how people in Taipa used to live and Macanese culture.   We also stopped quickly at the Church of Our Lady of Carmel.  

Our dinner was also very simple as we were to lazy to look for a restaurant (or at least a non-touristy restaurant as there are many that line Rua da Cunha and in the casinos) and just bought delicious pork chop buns at Tai Lei Loi which I later found out was recommended in my Lonely Planet guidebook. For desert I had to try a Portuguese Egg-Tart. I really enjoyed it and find it to be much yummier than the Hong Kong Style Tarts. 

Our night finished off in the Venetian and Parisian Casinos & Hotels. We strolled through the “streets of Venice”. I wasn’t really impressed because I have this so close by in Las Vegas but my friends thought it was crazy that there is a fake city, with water and gondolas in the middle of a building. I’m not sure why but the fountain in the Parisian really had me in awe. We skipped the viewing level of the Eiffel Tower ( I would too) and just went outside the Parisian to look at the Eiffel tower and take pictures in front.

(sorry for the low picture quality, we took this on our phones

 We then took the Parisian shuttle bus back to the outer harbor. I would give their bus a 10/10 because there was no line, its free, the seats are comfy, it has free wifi, and there are USB charging outlets at every seat. We than waited in the standby line for the ferry ride home (our tickets home were for 11:59 but you can leave any time before your stated ticket time, but not after). 

Overall it was a long and tiring day in Macau but I had a really great time with my friends. I couldn’t gamble and don’t find the glitz and glam of the big hotels and Casinos attractive so I don’t feel bad that I didn’t spend the night, granted laying my head on a pillow that was a little closer than Hong Kong did seem very attractive when I was sitting on the floor of the Venetian waiting for my friends to finish using the restroom. I was able to do everything that I wanted to do in Macau so I was very happy.  My day in Macau was awesome! 

Hong Kong Culture

Immersing myself in the culture of Hong Kong has been amazing. It is so cool to compare the differences in American Culture to that of Hong Kong. The people of Hong Kong have all been very nice- well except for the workers in my school’s cafeteria but that’s the exception. Hong Kong is very much East meets West or as my roommate so perfectly described it “Asia Lite”. I couldn’t agree more with that. I have been able to get by very well with out really speaking any Cantonese.

There are many stores that cater to western tastes and the same can be said with the food. I originally came in thinking I am only going to eat Chinese food, but as I’ve learned, eating a variety of foods- Chinese, Western, Japanese and even Indian, is very much apart of the Hong Kong diet. I think for me the biggest problem is eating enough fruits and vegetables. I’ve had to request many vegetarian dishes to get in my veggies as almost all the dishes in Hong Kong have meat in them.

I will say that one of the greatest things about Hong Kong over Los Angeles is the amazing Public Transport system. The MTR is super fast and efficient, so much nicer and better than LA’s metro. I have yet to really use the bus system but the double decker buses here seem so cool and I will let you guys know. The best part about MTR — and this seems to be a reflection of Hong Kong’s culture — is all the shopping that one can do in the MTR station and it seems that every MTR station is connected to a Mall. It’s kind of cool that I can just pick up a loaf of bread at the MTR station on the way back to my dorm or buy some shampoo. 

Hong Kong truly is an amazing city. I can’t speak enough about how nice most of the people here are and how much there is to do in Hong Kong. I’ve been here for 3 weeks now and I’ve only scratched the surface.

-Julia 

Hello from Hong Kong!

It’s crazy that I’ve already spent over a week in Hong Kong. So much has happened in that short amount of time. I’m going to be blogging all semester long to keep everyone updated on what going on (and serve as a memory place for me since my One Line a Day journal doesn’t have enough space to write everything I want).  I will be posting different things about the people I meet, the stuff I see, the things I do, and really just anything that I want to share with you all.

People say that you’re time studying abroad will be amazing, it will go by too quickly, and you will become a better person because of studying abroad. I can already attest to all of that. I want to make the most out of my study abroad experience, so I’m writing some guidelines to get the most our of my experience.

Here are the guidelines I’ve given my self so far:

1. Try Everything:  this means taking a bite of a weird looking food, going out even if I normally wouldn’t, trying a new sport, etc.

2. Never say No*: If someone presents me with an opportunity I’m going to take it, even if I’m tired because I’m only studying abroad in Hong Kong once so I want to experience it all. *Obviously within reason. I’m not going to say yes to buying illegal items, breaking laws, etc.

3. Be Open and Patient: Things take longer when you’re in a new place and can’t really communicate. I will embrace the cultural differences even if they are vastly different than my own and give myself time to do things and not worry so much about the mistakes, challenges, and hick-ups along the way.

I’ve also written out a giant checklist of things that I want to do during my time in Hong Kong. I’ll post the list in another blog post!

再見 !

-Julia

Visiting the Broad

This was originally posted on Nov. 25, 2015 in my old travel blog

Yesterday my friend Trevor and I decided to head over to Downtown LA to take some pictures and see if we could get into the every popular Broad museum. After an hour and half of waiting in the standby line (Pro-tip. Come at least 30 minutes, if not an hour before they open if you weren’t able to make a reservation), we got to go in and see what everyone is making such a large deal about. 

As a disclaimer I am not the largest fan of contemporary art; however, with that said I still appreciate art, it’s hard not to when your dad is a professional artist , so I came into the Broad with an open mind. Going in there were many pieces that I was excited to see since they had been popping up on my friends Instagram accounts. 

Once you make it to the top of the escalator you are greeted by Jeff Koons’ Ballon Tulips. I am not really sure how I feel about Jeff Koons. I know that as a person I do not like him and I question a lot of his work, he seems narcissistic and embodies everything about commercialism to me. I actually ran into another friend who was also visiting the Broad and he brought the question of Koons being an artistic genius or impostor. We both agreed that the balloon stuff is super cool but some of his other pieces seem gimmicky. Case in point the basketball floating in a fish tank, I do not like that piece but they have it at the Broad if you are a fan of it. Personally I did not like seeing his work as the greeting piece, but that has more to do with my personal hatred of Koons.  However Trevor and I did come up with a selfie replacement, which I like to term the “ballon-ie” since you take a picture of yourself in the shiny balloons.

There were many pieces that I loved at the broad such as the larger than life dining set, aptly names Under the Table by Robert Therrien. His giant dishes also greet you right when you enter the Broad.  There were works by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Cindy Sherman, Keith Haring, Barbara Kruger gracing the walls and floor of the Broad as well. I loved seeing Roy Lichtenstein’s work because his name has been popping up in my dreams even though before visiting I hadn’t seen much of his work or even known much about him.  My favorite piece in the Broad was Kara Walker’s African’t, which were these larger than life paper cutouts that graced the walls. It seems to portray a happy scene but upon closer examination one sees the hardships of life and slavery, I don’t really know how to describe it, all I can say is that there is shock value even though the work isn’t that shocking if that makes any sense. It is a very moving piece that all should see. Her smaller paper cutouts titled Burning African Village Play Set with Big House and Lynchingis also on display and they are beautiful as well. With her amazing art she is able to tell a story. 

Overall the Broad was super cool. Trevor and I unfortunately didn’t get to see Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirrored Room but more reason to visit back. The Broad is a cool museum, We both agreed that it wasn’t as large as we had imagined it to be, but the Broad still boasts a sizable and tasteful collection of modern and contemporary art. If you are looking for something fun and free to do in LA I highly recommend seeing the Broad. Plus they have the world’s coolest elevator so what more reason do you need. For more info about the Broad visit their website www.thebroad.org

Road Trip Essentials

    This was originally posted on Jan. 23, 2015 in my old travel blog

 Personally, I like to think of myself as a pretty good traveler, I have been on my fair share of flights, road trips, camping, etc. The only really thing I have left to do is go backpacking, something that I cannot wait to do. Anyway getting back to the main point of this post: Road Trip Essentials. 
    For me essentials means the things you need to have to survive. I’ve come up with a fairly short list but I think that these are things that are necessary on any road trip whether it be one hour or one week of driving.  They are in particular order, except for number one, but I think it’s pretty self-explanatory why it is number one. 

1.    Food and Drink
  I really like having some healthy snacks, ie fruit, cut veggies, etc. some crunchy things, such as pretzels or my current obsession is half pop popcorn (warning: it is highly addictive). And most importantly drinks; I like to have a couple boxes of apple juice to help with low blood sugar levels and plenty of water because it is so easy to get dehydrated. 
2.    A change of clothes
  accidents can happen, so can spontaneous stops at the beach. It is so important to be prepared. Extra clothes can also be used as layers if it gets colder, or can be used in place of a pillow. 
3.    Entertainment
  This varies from person to person some people like to read in the cars, others listen to the radio, some like to watch movies. Everyone is different but car rides, even with beautiful scenery can get boring. My favorite thing to do for entertainment is to take pictures or watch movies in the car. 
4.    Patience
  I think this is often forgotten at the door when we embark on a road trip but is super important to take. Patience is needed not only for the traffic, but when someone in the car has to go the restroom for the 5th time in one hour, or when the restaurant you wanted to eat at is closed. Patience makes the trip a lot more fun and bearable. 

I know that there are a lot more things that one might consider to be a road trip essential but these are mine. Let me know what you think is necessary to bring on a road trip in the comment section below. 

Cheers,
Julia

Mini Session with Asa

Today I had the opportunity to do a photo Mini Session with my good friend Asa. He just came back from a fall semester of college on the East Coast. It was great being able to catch up with a good friend of mine. 

Asa 

Even though it was high noon when we took the pictures, the cloudy weather provided for some great natural light. I'm really pleased how these came out. There is one more teaser photo from the session posted below but a gallery will be posted later this week. Let me know if you are interested in your own session and we can work together to create something. 

The East Coast has made him a very serious guy hahaha. 

College Decisions

It’s officially over. The stressful 9 or so months of researching, applying, writing, anxiously waiting, getting in, getting rejected, choosing where to attend, the College application and decision process, it is all over for me now. It’s kind of crazy, if you asked me when I started if I would have gotten in to where I got into, received the opportunities I have received, and received rejections from certain institutions, I would have never guessed.

For me personally it has been a whirlwind of emotions. I never really truly fell in love with a school, except for Stanford. (side note: it is really bad to fall in love with one of the most selective schools in the nation). And as far as the other schools I applied to I never really felt like I found the one, even after touring and visiting, I felt like I had to convince my self that these schools were good and that I would be happy there.  And I know that might sound pretentious, but that was just how I felt.  I never was and I’m not sure if I even am now content with any school for that matter. But I think it stems from the message sent that you are suppose to find the school that has everything you want, but that is really hard when one of the things you want is prestige- I know it is trivial, and you aren’t even really sure of exactly what you want.

I applied early to Stanford and got rejected in January, it was extremely deflating for me, but I also realized that there are so many amazing applicants it basically comes down to a lottery  (even though it isn’t) at the end of the day.  I ended up applying to in no particular order UC Berkeley, UC San Diego, Brown, Columbia, Georgetown, Boston University, George Washington University, Fordham, Cal Poly San Louis Obispo, and CSU Long Beach.  I personally think I applied to too many schools and should not have applied to Fordham and Boston University because I only applied there because I knew I would get in and not because I wanted to go there.

I did get into UC Berkeley early in February as a regent’s scholar candidate. When I received this I was so fed up with the college application process, and I never really saw myself at UC Berkeley, so I didn’t really care. I also had expected to get into Cal. I never saw myself as never not getting into Cal, which probably stems from the fact that I saw myself as being a much better applicant than many of my friends who applied to Cal last year and got in. I know that is not a good attitude to have but I saw myself as being a shoe in, especially considering how Cal sends about 13,000 kids acceptance letters each spring. I now realize that it is a big deal to be a regent’s candidate, but just a few months ago it never dawned on me how prestigious UC Berkeley is and how hard of a school it is to get into.  But for me, most likely because my school get almost 20 kids each year into UC Berkeley, I never really felt like Berkeley was for me, I saw my self destined for more, at an East Coast Elite Private Institution such as the three I applied to Brown, Columbia, and Georgetown.

I would have to wait until the April 1 announcement date to find out if I go into these institutions or not. Before that date came I found out that I had been admitted, to all of the school I had applied to besides, the elite 3 which I had yet to hear from, and the rejection from Stanford.  

To Be Continued…

March Song of the Month: Sugar by Maroon 5

Okay this song was following me around on March 1. It was the last song on in the car while I was driving to the sailing center for the regatta. Yes, I did stay in my car to listen to the end of the song.  I really like it, what can I say. And then when I got back in my car after finishing up for the day, guess which song came on? That’s right Sugar by Maroon 5. Personally I am not that big of a fan of Maroon 5. I think Adam Levine has a kind of screechy voice- sorry to all the Adam Levin lovers out there. But I really like this song because it has a really positive message and is super sweet (pun totally intended).  I think the reason why I like this song the best is the music video. See below

 While the vocals may not be the best and yes it is defiantly commercialized pop. The music video is so adorable and I could watch it about 100 times. Sometimes we just need to listen to commercialized pop music. I think is song is successful for good reason. It is also really cool how the music video features all the members of Maroon 5 not just Adam. It is called Maroon 5 for a reason; there are 6 band members.  I know that makes no sense, but there were at one point 5 members, it is just that there are 6 members now. I think they should change their name to Maroon 6, but that’s just me.

Anyways the song for the month of March is Sugar by Maroon 5. Maroon 5 is a American pop rock band that originated from Los Angeles, California. They were found in 1994, a long time ago in my opinion for the band, as Kara's Flowers while its members were still in high school. Other hit songs of Maroon 5 that you might know of are Moves Like Jagger , Makes Me Wonder, and Misery.  The band consists of members Matt Flynn, James Valentine, Adam Levine, Jesse Carmichael, Mickey Madden, and PJ Morton.

Song of the Month (February): Shut Up and Dance - Walk the Moon

February Song of the Month:  Shut Up and Dance  from Talking is Hard by Walk the Moon

© Walk the Moon

It is safe to say that I am in love with this song. Every time I hear I can’t help but move. It is so groovy, cliché, and perfect. I really like the electronic sound. Walk the Moon might be seen by many as an overrated band but this song is not overrated. In the words of my father “really makes you want to Shut up and Dance”. It is very reminiscent of 80s pop and is a very fun song and always brightens my day. The lyrics are catchy and while I don’t think this song particularly strikes any chord within my heart, it is uplifting and has an extremely positive tone. 

This song comes from Walk the Moon’s most recent album “Talking is Hard”.  Walk the Moon is a is an American pop/indie rock band based in Cincinnati, Ohio.  The band was found in 2008 by lead singer Nicholas Petricca. 

Sailing Team Shoot

Yesterday I had the awesome opportunity to take pictures of some of my teammates. If you didn't know this already, I am on my schools Sailing Team. Granted we are a super small team as we really only have 9 active members, but we still make do and have a great time sailing. There is nothing like sailing out in the water, personally my best moments are on a boat.  
Anyways I got to snap a couple of pics that I wanted to share with you. Well actually I’m only going to share two in this blog post but you can find more pics in the sailing team gallery. 

Jake and Meredith 

nd Luke took a couple of pictures of the Senior girls, and some others too! so major props to him. I got a really cool one of him doing a hair flip but it's slightly blurry so here is his nice portrait shot, but he is a lot more spunky, trust me 

Luke. This photo is unedited  but I still think it's not half bad. 

All in all I'm super lucky to be apart of my schools sailing teams. It has been a roller coaster but I'm so grateful for the experience and I can't wait to finish off my senior year on the team. 

Hike with Maison

Two days ago I went on a trip with my best friend Maison. It wasn’t a very far trip we both walked over to the Nature Center that is near our homes to exchange gifts, talk, get exercise, take photos, laugh, and just relax.

I love the Nature Center because it is a little bit of wild in a very busy city. While we were there we saw lots of squirrels, some birds, a lizard, and some humans. It was really cool. We also took some silly pictures that are mehh but whatever I like them. You can see the gallery below.

I really enjoyed talking to Maison. She is so easy to talk to and a really awesome person. She also gave me the most beautiful sailboat/ocean themed bookmark! It is so perfect for me J

I hope you guys enjoyed the holidays. I know it has been forever since I have posted and I plan on posting more stuff soon, so look out for that.

Lots of Love, 

Julia