Japan Trip : Kyoto

Hellooo, amigos! The 1st place we went was Kyoto (*^U^*) I have soo many pictures. I visited so many places in Kyoto. I definitely have to break this post into at least 2 posts. Oh, how I wish I was a Youtuber, so I could just film it and tell you how beautiful Kyoto is quickly and realistically. The first place we visited in Kyoto was ... (I always always wanted to come to this place and WE DID!!)

Toei Kyoto Studio Park

Can you find a ninja? Oh no, it's too fast. You might not be able to see him.

I really love Samurai, Ninja, ... Japanese traditional / historical stuff! I was super happy to visit Toei Kyoto Studio Park, obviously. It is like... Universal Studio. People still use this studio to film some movies. There are few fun attractions as well. If you are into Samurai movies, you should come here! Even if you are not into them, you should!! You can experience FUN STUFF!!

What a day! I have so many more pictures that I would like to share with you, but.. I think I shared more then enough. haha Sorry for this heavy post. We could watch a play that taught us how to film Samurai movie. I grow up with watching Samurai TV shows when other girls were watching girly girly kids shows. This is why it was Cool. Super cool. ('U')

Then, we came back to Kyoto and had a fuuuun.

talk to you sooooon!
:)

Japan Trip

Hellooo, amigos!!

Garfy and I just came back from our Japan trip! I was gonna blog about our days in Japan everyday, but ... we were extremely busy and my mom's internet was broken, so I couldn't even have a time to sit down and blog. Bummer (T^T) Everyday was just super busy and sooo much fun ☆ because many people supported our trip. Special thanks to my family, Summer, and her family.

Our flight arrived Narita International Airport about an hour earlier that it planned. As soon as we got off the airplane, my skin started feeling moist and my body started getting lots of heat. HOT HOT HOT!! HUMID HUMID HUMID!! I couldn't believe myself saying how cold our apartment was in Oregon. Plus, both of us couldn't sleep on the airplane because of fun movies although we tried, tried, and tried so hard to sleep on the airplane. Look at our tired faces.. We couldn't even open our eyes all the way. haha Anyway,

Hello, Japan!

Konnichiwa from Japan to you all!

I'm gonna write more about our Japan trip

so

talk to you soon

:)

Yogurt mask

Hellooo, amigos!!
So, finally, I did something that I had been super curious of: A Yogurt Mask. Ever since I read a comic book which talks about a yogurt mask (I was 6 years old), I really wanted to do it. BUT it was so hard for me to do because yogurt is my favorite food! I'd rather eat yogurt than waste it. I was a child. Now, I care about my skin care as much as what I eat.

Tadaaa!!!

 It's very easy! At first, you need to wash your face well. I do not like my black heads, so I took a quick bath to open the pore before I wash my face.

1. Pick a yogurt that you like (I used Greek Yogurt from Trader Joe's)
2. Scoop yogurt as much as you want
3. Put it on your face (it's cold and feels very very good!)
4. Rub it into your face a little bit
5. Let it sit on your face for 5 minutes
6. Wash it off or wipe it off with soft towels

 After that, you can do your daily skin care. I recommend you to refrigerate the yogurt (it feels very very good and cold, so that it might help your pore to close.)
I sadly have some pimples right now. I didn't want to cause any damage on my face by using some random chemical facial masks. Yogurt is something we eat, so we know what we are putting on our important face.
I think my skin got very very smooth and soft after this mask. Yogurt mask didn't make my pimples hurt or itchy at all. I was a little bit scared to do the yogurt mask, so I did it on Garfy's face as well. He felt weird about putting food, yogurt, on his face, but he liked how yogurt cooled off his face and made his face really smooth. He has a sensitive skin and a yogurt mask didn't case anything bad on his face (^^) yay

If you are interested or curious about a yogurt mask,

try it!

enjoy it!

have a lot of fun with it!

:)

My favorite American foods

One of my favorite things that I love to do in the world is eating, eating, and eating. No wonder, I am chubby chubby. Each country has many interesting foods and yummy foods that I have never tried. When it comes to American foods, I don't know what exactly "American food" is. However, I wanted to share some of tasty foods that I tried in the US. Maybe I should blog about some interesting foods I tried in the US someday. haha

Eggos

This is a frozen waffle brand. After coming to the US, one of my international friends told me about this. Get the frozen one from the box and toast it. BOOM! super easy! crispy waffle! ((w(´▽｀)w)) Ever since, I have been loving it. I haven't eaten Eggos for more than a year now, but ... thanks my friend for telling me about this. I told some people that my favorite American food is this. They were pretty sad that my favorite food is a frozen box food out of many other foods. sorry, but it's tasty.

Fruits with cottage cheese

I just had a peach with cottage cheese. I guess I have never tried cottage cheese and cottage cheese with fruits before, but this is amazing. This tasted sooo weird but tasty. Fruits are amazing because I'm in Oregon. (read HERE for more inf).

American Sushi

"Hey, you are a Japanese. You must love sushi." yes, yes, I hear you! However, I do NOT like sushi at all. Sorry for not following your expectation... Raw fish and rice.. it always makes me sick and extremely full. Then..(oﾟﾛﾟ)ﾉ‥‥…━━━━━☆ WHAT IS THAT!? American Sushi!? cream cheese, mango, kiwi, fried sushi... GROSS!щ(´□｀)щ ... OH NO! DELICIOUS!! Sushi in the US is just so weird but very interesting. American sushi, you are so funny & I like you.

Quinoa Salad

Do you know what quinoa is? It's a tiny tiny stuff with lots of proteins

Hawaiian burger

The hamburger with pineapple in it. Whose idea is this? Is this actually from Hawaii? I should look it up. Then I did. Here is a list of hamburgers with some explanations & pictures. Anyway, Thanks for making this burger.

Sweet potato fries

Genius!! I have no idea if this is actually an American food, but I had them in the US for the first time... so... (^ U ^) I love them. I love them. I always order fries for sure when I go to American restaurants.

Froyo

Frozen Yogurt Ice Cream (○｀～´○) hehe We basically get ice cream as much as we want and toppings as much / many as we want, and we pay for it. It's super fun! My favorite taste is original yogurt taste (^^) I love sour. haha Also, it's healthy and low calories. (I don't know how healthy it is, but I like the words: healthy and low calories. ha)

New York Cheese Cake

The name is New York Cheese Cake, so this cheese cake must be from New York, right? Rich, tasty, expensive = what a wonderful cake. haha I am a cheese cake lover. It's my favorite cake ever in the world. You must try this when you come to the US, please. ha

Do you have any favorite foods that you like in the US?

I would like to try your favorite "American" food! You should share them with me in the comments below!

hmmm... I am hungry!
I am making some quinoa salad right nowww hehe

:)

10 countries that people thought I am from

Before I start saying any words, I gotta say this... "This is Weird." If you get offended for some reasons, I am very sorry. I am not making things up. These countries are ACTUALLY what people thought I am from ((o(;△;)o)). "Hey, are you from ... ?" "You are from ..., right?" I have gotten a lot of them. To be honest, I was very confused and couldn't believe them that they thought I am not from my country. But, there has been no reason for me to be offended or get mad at. I am a foreigner in the US. People want to figure out where I am from, try not to be offensive, and be nice to me/_・)/_・)/_・)/_・)/_・)/_・)/_・)/_・)I am actually enjoying to hear which country people will come up to judge me. haha

Where am I from?

I will give you 3 pictures of me which you have already seen on my previous blog post. If you know where I am from already, you can guess which countries people come up with. (10 countrieeees!)

Could you guess where I am from?

1. Japan
☆ I am from Japan! ☆ So this is the correct answer. Congratulation ｏ(*'▽'*)/☆ﾟ'･:*☆ It was easy, isn't it?

2. Korea
3. China
Japanese, Korean, and Chinese.. I think we look different. However, it's hard for some people to tell who is what. I understand that because it's still hard for me to tell the differences of latinos.

4. Vietnam
This is different. I actually get this from actual Vietnamese from Vietnam. They start talking with me in Vietnamese. As soon as they find out that I am not Vietnamese, .... "you look like my friend" ..... they tell me or show me their friends in Vietnam who look like me.

5. Mexico
I just love Mexicans so much. I have a best friend who I call hermana. She is from Mexico. She showed me how wonderful people from Mexico are (o‥o)/.. seems like some people get offended to be called Mexican. But I am not offended at all. I am happy!

6. somewhere in Europe
I can't agree with this at all. I wish I looked like European. I look 100% Asian, I think.

7. Philippine
I took a tour with my best friend, Summer, who looks like an islander (She is 100% Japanese, but people always always make a mistake and think that she is half). On the tour, everybody thought we were from Philippine. ha

8. Islands (Hawaii)
My first day of the school!! Orientation!! My adviser asked me which islands I am from. I said Japan (island, right? lol). He thought I was from Hawaii or somewhere around there. haha It was very funny!

9. Local (Oregon, US)
10. Jakarta, Indonesia
I went to Bali island in Indonesia with Summer. The local people told me I look like I am from Jakarta where I had never been to. Fortunately, we had to change out flight in Jakarta and could see what people in Jakarta look like. I agree. I look like people in Jakarta. ahaha (Summer looked like people from Bali, by the way)

I think there were some more others as well, but I can't remember them unfortunately right now. It's been very very interesting for me. I have learned in Psychology class that ALL of us tend to categorize others for ourselves to understand who and what they are. It is true, I guess. haha (*｀◇´*)/
I am gonna see Summer very soon. If you are curious Summer's appearance, her picture will be on my blog soon (if I get her permission). She is one of the gorgeous girls who I know. hehe

Anyway, how was it? Did you get it right? Did you get them right?

Hope you enjoyed today's blog post!

I will talk to you tomorrow

:) 

11 favorite English expressions in the US

Hellooo, amigos! Every language has some kinds of expressions. The expressions are very interesting to me. Why? It's very unique that idioms in the US mean totally different meanings in this country. I believe that many languages have some kinds of idioms. When I don't know the expressions, I just think that the speaker must be a joker.. or I just pretend to understand what the speaker is saying.. Do you understand what I mean?

Quiz Timeeee !!

Q. what do these idioms mean?

1. Piece of cake
2. I'm broke
3. Rain cats and dogs
4. Keep your chin up
5. You are what you eat
6. Chicken
7. Drive one nuts
8. Keep one's fingers crossed
9. Blow one's mind
10. Cross the line
11. Hang in there!

Could you guess what these idioms / sayings mean? I should put a random picture here, so that you guys don't need to see the answers before you think of your answers.

a bit of me and goats

Did we destruct you? haha

Answers (- U -)

1. something that is very easy
2. I have no money
3. Raining very hard
4. Stay positive
5. Eat healthy
6. A person who is NOT brave and is scared to do stuff
7. To annoy sooo much, toooo much. (nuts = crazy)
8. Stay hopeful (fingers crossed = luck)
9. Something really surprised
10. Go too far
11. Don't give up! Don't stop trying

How many did you get correct? These answers are from eflnet, IdiomSite.com, and Garfy! If you have better answers to any of the idioms, please leave a comment below on my blog! Thank you!
I don't use idioms and sayings as much because I am not familiar with many of them. I love learning idioms. They always drive me nuts though. haha (*> _ <*) What is your favorite US English expressions / idioms / sayings?

Hope you had a fun !

:)

12 reasons why I love Oregon

Have you thought about why you love where you live? job, school, family... etc. I bet there are many reasons that keep you there. After coming to Oregon, many many many people have asked me why I chose Oregon (which I kinda answered Why United States? click there & read more!). Also, people ask me why I don't want to move to a different state such as NY or CA.

"why don't you move to ...?" ... I don't move because I love Oregon (´vωv`*)。ｏ０○

Let me tell you good things about Oregon

1. Friendly Oregonians

I have heard A LOT of international students saying that "I came here, but it's hard to make local friends..." "I don't have any local friends" etc.. It it hard. Many of us get shy mainly because of the language barrier and cultural differences. We, international students, have to encourage ourselves to be friendly. Of course, like everywhere, there are some rude people in Oregon. However, many people seem to be very friendly to international students as well. As a proof, I have met many nice & friendly people here.

2. Oregonian English

This is totally my biased opinion. If you don't agree with me, please let me know nicely in the comment section below. I think Oregonians speak clear and slow for me compared to other native English speakers who I have met in different places. When I got here, I was afraid to hear Oregonian English.. Because my English was super limited, I hoped I could "hear" what they said as some kinds of language at least at the time. My host mother spoke, my advisers spoke, and other Oregonians spoke.. Oh, thanks Oregonians. I could understand & recognize their words. Very clear. Slow enough. This is what I thought, and I was super happy.

3. Hungry squirrels

I had never seen wild squirrels before. Then.. BOOOOOM!! They are everywhere. The other day, I saw a squirrel carrying a cookie, maybe OREO. He was happily walking in front of me, then he found a giant fat monster (me) walking behind him. He got super scared and ran away very quickly.... without the cookie. The monster felt bad for him & he felt bad for the cookie.. (;_;)(;_;) they are too cute...

4. Rain

I love rain sooo much.

5. Natures

It's beautiful. I can share some pictures with you, but You just need to see it.

6. Fruits

Because it rains all the time(?), Oregon gets super delicious fruits ヽ(　　´　　∇　　｀　　)ノ yes, my favorite food in the world. During the Summer, you will be able to buy very yummy fruits and vegetables with great deals.

7. Hiking

Nature = hiking!! Oregon got many hills, mountains, water falls, ocean, creeks, .. what else? haha Hiking trails everywhere＼(^▽^＼)(/^▽^)/ Beautiful sightseeing (nature) everywhere 

8. Portland Hipsters' Fashion

I promised you that I would blog about this, and I will! I have been writing about it (^^) You are more than welcome to google it. Portland Hipster Fashion is my first and the only fashion that I have liked so far!!

9. Antique shops

As you already know, I love antique shops. Because there are not many stores that I like except these antique shops, I don't spend a lot of money on clothes, beauty items, and more as much as I did in Japan. Antique stuff is the bbbbbiggest one that takes my money now.

10. No Sales Tax
Did you know that Oregon doesn't have sales tax? This is the most amazing thing for a shopaholic = me.

11. Rainbow

Seriously, it rains A LOT here. Even when the Sun comes out, it rains. After That??? Rainbow!!

12. People's reaction of weather

I honestly had never cared about weather in Japan. However, people here get really really happy when it's sunny. This is so cute! My first blog post about was this, remember? If you don't, click HERE to read it!

There are many more things that you guys might love.

But this is just a sneak peak of why I, Vivian, love Oregon (-U-)

ho ho ho!
Now, you like Oregon a little bit too, right?

:)