PNW --> SoCal

I can't wait to start my new adventure in Santa Barbara! Time is going by really fast! Meaning the summer is sadly going by "fast," as well...

view of Santa Barbara from the end of the Stern's Wharf. Beautiful sunsets always lined with palm trees :)

But summer won't stop for me, when I move to Santa Barbara! What's not to love, the 300+ days of sunshine! Right on the beach, beautiful campus, water sports... Close range to LA! What more can ya want..

Every place on campus has a view of the ocean. Literally steps down and across the street to the beach. 

I within a couple weeks, I went down to take some placement exams for English & Math down at my college. Also, used that trip to visit the campus and my dorm. Also, just main attractions in Santa Barbara as well.

Fell even more in love with my new city! So thankful.
If you ever get the chance, definitely go visit Santa Barbara!


My dad and I also got to visit my grandparents down in the valley and spend some time with them!

I'm Alive!!

Blue-footed boobies! in the Galapagos Islands.

Wow! Where to start...

Well for starters, I went to Ecuador and ending up lovin' it! Didn't want to come back to the US. I was actually thinking of delaying my plane ticket and visa. But in the end, as you can see i'm back in the U.S.A.

Here are just some photos summin' up my trip. In order from the beginning of my trip to the end of my trip.

Hayley & I in Atacames, Ecuador. I went with her host family on a weekend trip to the beach/coast! :D
- Ended up trying parasailing!

candid. Self timer :P ...my Ecuadorian host family! Super nice and friendly.

Hiked Mt. Cotopaxi to 15, 000 ft!! Plus, the fact that Ecuador is a few hundred feet above sea level on itself.

ECUADOR

Hello!

I'm off on another adventure! This one's different.

Most of my year off, is for traveling! So, the big trip is going to Ecuador for about 4 months, volunteering. You can read more about what I'm doing here.

I pay for the flight and pocket money. I will have 3 meals a day and free lodging (with a Host Family!!). We have lots of little excursions available to us, like salsa dancing, Spanish lessons (I'm pretty good at it though), a cooking class, going to the equator line, the Galapagos Islands!! :D

I'm so excited!! I leave NEXT WEEKEND! This isn't the first time traveling abroad without my parents, but being away from them this long. I'm actually not scared. I'm really looking forward. I know I will have fun. I will have to be responsible and independent. This is practice for when I go out of state for college.

I'm trying to get everything I need ready, before next Saturday. Vaccination, Medications, clothes, shoes, shampoo, lotion, body wash.... the essentials. All to last me until May... I might need a bigger suitcase!

I just got the information on my host family. - Very exciting! And that there is another volunteer there too! From Canada. She's about my age and there for the same duration! - ENGLISH!! :D

Wish me luck!

xoxo,
Julia

Best Moments of 2013

I hope every one's year has gotten off to a great start! Mine certainly has, and I couldn't be happier. I'm in a really good place.

I don't make a list of my New Years Resolutions, more so I have a mental list. And you might think, well, wouldn't you forget or just break the rule. No. It actually works like this. I think about what I want to try and do for the New Year, then once I get it down, then it kind up pops up like when you're on the internet and a pop up window comes up. Like a reminder! It knows which moment to flash up in my mind. Do you get me?

Well, a New Year Resolution that always stays with me is; Start fresh start with a new slate. Be more mature with your decisions. People who i've had a not-so-great relationship with, I tell myself "it's a New  Year" start with a clean slate. Just forget the embarassing arguemnts/grudges and just forget it because that's all in the past. And what's the point of holding onto something from the past. It's not going to help you in the present. So, it just makes me feel good. Oh! I have soo many great things to look forward too!

But first, let's see what great memories happened in 2013.

January --
My first trip of the year... to Los Angeles to visit my grandparents. It was for my grandpa's 90th birthday! I flew by myself and had a good friend pick me up at the airport, in his Mercedes. OooOoo, haha. We hung out for the day  We went to the Griffith Park Obersevatory, on eof my favorite places in LA. Never Gets Old. And had In N Out burger for lunch. Watched the sun set from the Observatory and saw a show. Very memorable day.

Oh! And my cousin and I went Snowy Owl siting in the Westport beach area...during January. 

March 10 --
I had my CP (Culminating Project) presentation. One of the most important presentations in  my life. So far. This determined whether we would graduate or not. My 20 min. long presentation on job shadowing my city's local photographer for the newspaper. With a pannel of judges. I had my notecards handy and would rehearse with my powerpoint numerous times. I PASSED!! 30 mins. later :D Best day in my life! My friends didn't present until late April so I was very relived.


April --
My dad and I went to New York!! It was chilly, but still a great trip! We went to all the tourist attractions, except The Statue of Liberty due to construction. Rockefeller Center, Empire State Building, Times Square, neighborhoods; Manhattan, Battery Park, Wall Street....

Don't know why this man is ruining a perfectly good photo!!

May --
PROM!! I went with a group of friends. We had dinner at one of my friends' house. Her parents made dinner and had cheesecake for dessert! Danced the whole night away and left with a great picture! "it was a good ab workout" haha. We had a sleepover and watched movies on the wall projector. Ate junk food and stayed up late. It was an unforgettable night.

My bestie and I about to meet some friends. (This is before Prom)

June 14 --
HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION
I did it!! I can't believe it. Time really flew by fast. I remember being in middle school, thinking time is going by sooo sloww! When will it hurry up! Now i'm off to college in the fall. Damn. After the ceremony was over, my friends and classmates went off to Grad Night! Didn't get home until 4am the next day. We went to Seattle and were taken on these fancy buses not told where we were going the whole night.

More friends!! :)

Summer '13 --
I worked for the City of Olympia. Being a summer camp counselor for the  Parks, Arts & Recreation programs. My location was with the S.K.I.P.P. Met so many great kids! I grew up going to their camps since I was about 6 years old and to be a counselor was so great! Some of the counselors I had growing up were still working! And being able to work with them was shocking, but Amazing to say the least!

One of our little campers! :)

I volunteered for some huge events like The Color Run and similar ones like that. Also, Bumbershoot and Seafair. I got free tickets in!! ;D It was literally AMAZING.

Kendrick Lamar. Key Arena. Bumbershoot 2013.

December --
To top it off. My parents and I went to Chile! We did a 3 week trip. Still needed more time, but we got to see a lot. Easter Island, Punta Arenas (southern tip of the country), Santiago and Antofagasta. I got to stay at Valentina's house and meet her family and friends.
Overall, I left with the impression that Chile is a BEAUTIFUL country and I wish I could live there, haha. Soo amazing. The beaches, the SEAFOOD, the people, EVERYTHING I just really enjoyed. I want to go back!!

I started 2013 with a small trip and ended on a big one.

And now, starting 2014. I have many things to be looking forward to and the experiences I am thankful for. I am going to Ecuador for 4 months and staying with a host family. Then, I'll come back in the Spring! Missing the Winter :) and moving off to California to start college!! - Woo! I'm really excited and looking forwad for 2014, a new stage in my life, and an exciting, fun one at that.

I hope you have a Fantaastic, Full-Filled, Adventure-ful 2014!!

~ Julia

Happy New Year!! 2014!

Hey! Hope you all had a great Holiday break. I certainly enjoyed my vacation.

Chile is a BEAUTIFUL country and they have good looking people. I had soo much fun!! It was summer there so I definitely got a tan. My parents and I first stopped at Easter Island or Rapa Nui (as the locals call it). Got to see the famous 15 Moai's (heads). It was soo much like Hawaii. I basically called it Hawaii. The scenery, weather, friendly and tan people. The food was amazing! I had pretty good ceviche, with lots of lemon, of course. This is just one of the types of ceviche I had. Chile is known for their seafood, and it's soo cheap, but more specifically it's FRESH! Yumm :)

Iconic Easter Island Moai's!!

We then went to Punta Arenas. It's in the southern tip of Chile, very close to Antarctica. 

Here I am flying over Punta Arenas.

Magdalena Island

Here is a family of penguins in their burrow.

Then we went to Torres Del Paine.

There it is in the background. And no they are not llamas or deer. They're called "Guanacos." 

Then we flew to Antofagasta and visited, Valentina. The exchange student my parents and I hosted back in my junior year of high school. We got to meet her family, see where she lives and her city. It's next to the ocean. So many beaches!! :) My parents stayed at her house for a few days. Had some home cooked meals :D It was a fun experience. 

Our last stop, Santiago, before we had to go home back to the states. 

Part of the Plaza de Armas. They were changing the guard. Reminds me of London!!

Alpaca!! Just outside the seafood market. :)

Last seafood meal of the trip! So FRESH. So DELICIOUS! :)


We also stopped by Vina del Mar & Valparaiso!

Overall, BEAUTIFUL country. Want to go back! Still have to see the Atacama Desert. Delicious seafood that my parents and I definitely gorged on. Great sites!

Happy Holidays!!

Hello All!

So it's been very cold the past couple weeks in the PNW. It was below freezing for a whole week! And that's also when the furnace decided to die. And it couldn't get fixed until the following week. So I bought heated blankets and slept by the fireplace.

Getting out of this cold soon!
I'm going to Chile! To visit the girl my parents and I hosted for a school year (she was an exchange student). Also, to site see the country! - Easter Island, the southern tip and Santiago and of course, her city! to name a few... It's summer over there...I'm very excited to feel the sun and get a nice tan.

Our flights have longg layovers. So... right now I've just been packing, packing, packing!! Also, cleaning the house and getting ready for work tomorrow morning. One more shift before I leave!

Happy Holidays! :)
Talk to you in January!

November is gone.

That means Thanksgiving is over, stuffing our faces with turkey and mashed potatoes until we can't no more. AND crazy Black Friday shoppers are gone..! I make the pumpkin pie every year for as long as I can remember... which hasn't been that long, But all my relatives look forward to it and really like it. So that's the highlight of my ThanksGIVING. ... get it? ;D

Mine was more of a Thanksgiving Week. As it is every year. My grandparents fly up from Southern California and spend a week up in the PNW. It is fun. I get to be around my cousins and hang with them. We all only see each other once a year. So it's nice. Also, family-friends came up and that was a blast! 

Now that I'm done reminiscing..

I had my phone interview yesterday for my Ecuador (volunteer) trip. It went well! :D Then, she went over an overview of how it will be in Ecuador - weather, flight, first arriving and emergency info. It was all quite exciting and I'm getting more anxious! late January - early May eeek! It's coming up too quickly! I still need to get my vaccinations! 

On another note, I'm leaving for Chile in 2 weeks!!! I can't believe it! I never thought I would get to host an exchange student then actually go visit her! :D This will be a lifelong friendship and experience I'll never forget. 

I'm going to end it here for now. 

P.S. It's 19 degrees!!! Can't wait for Chilean summer @ 80 degrees.