keep truckin

The following is an email I received on Friday while printing a paper right before class.

Hi Lauren:

This is to let you know that you have been placed at Murcia for next fall. Your placement still has to be confirmed, but this is a great first step.

Bahhh!!! Oh my gosh!!  It may not seem like much, but I almost cried.  I definitely yelled, and most certainly hugged people near me (that I knew... I'm not that weird) til they couldn't breathe.

But yeah, that was neat. Things are pretty much stellar beyond that.  Classes are rad.  I think I dominated my first Core test, radio show is extremely ballin' and we're learning a sweet routine in my ballet class.  I have overflowing amounts of reasons to smile right now.  Oh and I get to go home Thursday (3 day weekend, word app!) and it will be awesome.  I haven't seen my mommy since before Hawaii!! Yippee!

Here's a few iphone photos of life/babysitting.

Oh and this is a photo from a Richland High basketball game.  Bombers vs. Blue Devils.  That's my brother dressed up like Jesus, with a pack of angels.  It's possible I've never been more proud.

being back

So I'm back! No more references from Hawaii-I may end up crying if I think about how much I miss it sunshine and beach on the daily!

The weekend I was back the fam and I took a quick jaunt up to Seattle. My dad and I rocked matching shirts at the WSU-UW game. Yeah, that was a trip but we ended up winning. GO DAWGS!

After that I hung out with Brent and we sauntered over to the Jemina Pearl concert I'd been crapping myself to see. IT WAS AWESOME. I hugged her, told her I love her, then her and the rest of the band signed my iphone case. Yes I cried. Embrace that fact and love me more because of it.

That's her signing my phone, and that's my hand shaking uncontrollably. Rad.

Now back to school! Classes are pretty neat. I love theories of human communication. Da best! Also, radio started back up so I can stop gushing to everyone how badly I miss it. That's Adam and I getting hyped and being mega queso-y.

That's a huge dog I met this week. His name is Grant and he's cool.

Other than that things have been pretty laid back. My passport came this week (woo) but 8 more weeks til I hear back from foreign exchange people. I WANT TO GO SO BAD! I cannot wait. The new Vampire Weekend CD is getting me through this for now, so I'm hoping I'll be fine.

Salutations and I hope everyone is doing well! I miss everyone a ton right now, so imagine a great big Valentine's Day hug from me. Muah!

lots of stuff

Aloha!

Alright this is a big'un. I haven't blogged in a while and it's time to get all caught up. Assuming you're interested, that is.

Oh, here's a photo from the Buddhist temple I forgot to post on the last one, I really liked this bench. It's not everyday you are given great advice from a chair.

TUESDAY: Sunset sail! And cake for my birthday, as well as Matt's birthday later in the month. We all had a grand time :)

WEDNESDAY: My birthday! I'm twenty! Thanks to all who called, and to those who sang happy birthday! I was really happy to hear from you all. Yay!

So we went to Hanama bay! Here's a photo of the sunny shine, before it rained us out of there.



Haha, so we caught the bus back, got ready and hit up Cheeseburger in Paradise. Yes, red eye is considered beautiful in some cultures... aka mine. Alright alright, I'm too lazy to fix it.



WEDNESDAY: Shangri La, Honolulu. Collection of Islamic art within Doris Duke's Hawaii home.

This was absolutely incredible. Doris Duke inherited money from her father, a lot of money. She grew up and found herself falling in love with Islamic art and acquired priceless pieces and brought them to her home in Hawaii, creating her own personally sanctuary and incredibly impressive art collection. She also built her house from the ground up to follow the Islamic style, which is why it is so architecturally breathtaking.


They didn't allow photos inside, so I took as many as I could documenting the insane beauty outside.

Guest house + pool + view = Me + gaping mouth + complete awe

FRIDAY: Polynesian Culture Center. We learned about Tonga, Fiji, New Zealand, Samoa, Tahiti and of course, Hawai'i.

Ps: we were really hot.

SATURDAY: Bishop Museum. Super cool exhibits, too much for me to handle! Sensory overload with all the artifacts, art, presentations and everything in between.

Oh, then we went to the kids part and tried on Hawaiian bugs/animals costumes on. We're cute.

So that's it for now! Yes, I've been having a blast and yes, we've been super busy! We had our last lecture today and our exam is on Monday morning. Until then we'll be cramming in all the fun stuff we can, I mean... studying our brains off. Out to dinner tonight, snag bubble tea tomorrow on the way to the beach, eat some legit pho before we go (my plans span far and wide, you can see a food trend...)

But I'll be flying out Tuesday, which means I'll be seeing you soon :)

jib-ney

Jib-ney is my english phonetic interpretation of how you say "cheese" in Arabic. Our teacher Raja always says it when he takes our photo, it's neat.

Aaaannywho. Our Monday was jam packed. Here goes:

Here's Pali lookout, so pretty! Even with the clouds its pretty amazing.

Then we went to a Buddhist temple, it was rather breathtaking as well. I got 6 mosquito bites that morphed into giant ouchies, so it was a successfuly visit overall.

People feeding the birds were cute.

We continued on our trip over the island, stopping by the North Shore to say "waddup brada" to a sea turtle. Its name was Kaipo, meaning Sweetheart :)

So we also visited the Dole plantation... pineapple ice cream! Yum yum yum. Then we had EXTREMELY good sushi for dinner. Man oh man, it was a grand day.

Love love love it.

Kuhio-and-Ohua

Alohaaaaa!

So we've been having ourselves a grand time here on little ol' Hawai'i. I guess I'll catch you up to speed since we've done some neat stuff.

Iolani Palace! Where the last two reigning Hawaiian monarchs lived. This is one of my favorite field trips, so far. We got to check out everything: hang out in the parlor and throne room (my favorite), and see the room where Queen Liliuokalani was imprisoned until she gave up the rights to the U.S. That was not the best feeling, being in there and wondering how awful it must have felt to give up her country.

The photo below is of Sara and I about 2 hours after studying for our exam. Pretty nice situation, if you ask me.

Alright back to the good stuff. So we took our exam and had a free day, so of course we went to the beach. THENNNN we got all gussied up and walked around town, got some cold stone (yumm) and hit the hay, prepping for the following day's great festivities.

So I'm bad at this and got no photos, but we went to the Aloha Stadium swap meet! So many vendors, selling everything. Over 700 vendors to be exact! This is where Sara got a coconut! I didn't like it very much, but that's where you go to get a good one apparently! I snagged a few bracelets and Japanese candies, but that's about it.

After that we ran (literally) to the bus and went to the Arizona Memorial, which was cool. I feel kind of helpless when I go to things like that, and it's hard not to just feel sort of crappy and leave it at that. Instead I decided to remember what happened, preserving the memory of those who died when Pearl Harbor was attacked as well as everyone else who serves our country in the military.

So that was yesterday, today is Sunday (free day) so we slept in, hit the beach, got some Puka Dog, and now we're getting ready to go out on the town, aka California Pizza Kitchen. Yes, this is the second time we're going there. Hey, it's good stuff!!

This is Puka Dog. Anthony Bourdain went here!! I think I almost crapped myself when I saw it, then again when I tasted the yummy-ness within. I got the "hot" secret sauce with pineapple relish. Sooooooo gooooood.

Side note: I CANNOT believe I turn 20 in two days. I'm (almost) not a teenager anymore! Life is rushing full speed at me, leaving nothing behind! Anyways, I'm excited. Ask me how it feels to be old, and I'll tell you it's never felt better.

Catch you later.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BROSKI!

Happy 18th birthday to my dear brother Tyler. He's the best.

I love you!!

So that's all I wanted to say. Stay tuned for updates when I feel more "blogging inclined."

Oh and, check this out.

Tan lines = MY LOVE. I think JT wrote that song about tan lines... dang that makes so much more sense now.

Honoruru

What's up happy people!

A week ago I arrived here, time is flying. Let me give you an idea of what's going on here:

Been to the beach everyday but one

Sunburned-not once, not never

Bus pass used to the full extent
2 bubble tea escapades

best pho I've ever tasted (aside from the homemade pho at Lan's house)

Sara says I look sedated in this photo. No arguments here-I was extremely happy for this occasion. Who would blame me!

We've been on quite a number of field trips so far. First we visited the mission houses, where the first Christian missionaries to Hawaii lived and set up camp. Friday we hiked Diamond Head which was great! Such a beautiful view. I think I could stare for hours! The next day we took the bus over to Ala Moana shopping center and tried some ethnic foods. We bought mochi and spring rolls and shared them, then I had to go try the pho. In the photo above you can see an unidentifiable soda can. This, my friends, was grass jelly drink- honey flavor. It was delicious! Sort of like bubble tea, in the aspect that there a squishy things hanging out inside waiting to be enjoyed. From now on I'm asking the cashier to recommend me a delicious treat, it was a great success!

Pearl Harbor was our destination the next day, but the boat taking people out to the Arizona Memorial was not in service. We checked out the museum instead, and a submarine! Yesterday we went to Fort DeRussy, and learned about everything military related within the Hawaiian islands. I was a little freaked out at times, little Tyty is going to be heading off in that direction of life soon. We love you!

I'm sure I could go on and on, but I'll leave you with that. Enjoy whatever weather conditions you are falling victim too. I wish you were all here to experience these great times with me. Friends and family: I LOVE YOU and can't wait to see you soon.

Also! My application to Spain was turned in this week!! please if you will pray, think good thoughts, cross your fingers or throw some salt over your right shoulder for me I'd be forever grateful :)