grateful

I'm moving to New York!

Its official! I'm moving to the East Coast! It's been three years since living in Washington, D.C. and i'm so excited to be coming back for more East Coast adventures. So many opportunities have come into my life in the Big Apple and I can't wait to share all of my adventures with you! I will definitely have more free time to vlog more and update on the blog, I promise! Thank you ALL for your support. 

#Dutakestheworld: Europe!

So it's finally happening, i'm headed to Europe for the first time in my life and I couldn't be anymore excited than I already am, I think. A few months ago my doctors were planning for me to have surgery on my thyroid in April, but because of complications they postponed it and I had a few weeks off from work. Right then and there I looked up some flights around the same time and found a flight from LAX (Los Angeles) to FCO (Rome, Italy) for $400. I honestly couldn't believe it, so I booked it that minute. I decided to specifically visit, London, Italy, France and Switzerland. I honestly am counting the days until the day finally comes for my dream destination. I am so grateful to even have this opportunity and I can't wait to share it all with you!

#dineLA The Church Key 1.13.2017

Last night was definitely a beautiful dining experience to say the least for my friend Keisha and I. It was our second time celebrating #dineLA and we definitely enjoyed every minute of it. On the first night of #dineLA, out of the 300+ beautiful restaurants to choose from, we decided on The Church Key here in Los Angeles on Sunset Blvd. The ambiance was relaxing and the low lighting definitely gave a romantic dinner vibe. The price point for our meal was $39 and from all of the delicious food we received and the great service it was most definitely worth it. We had to choose between three menu items for each main course and two desserts.

The first two courses we chose were: a stuffed avocado with a tuna tartare, Japanese cucumber, radish and a ponzu aioli followed by crispy pork belly, Korean chili glaze, escarole "Kim-chi" with a fried egg and cilantro. The tuna was a refreshing start to our meal with all of the great qualities a tartare can have and it was elegantly executed. The flavors blended very well together and I also absolutely loved the crispy pork belly. It was both crispy and soft and I never thought the flavors of "Kim-chi" and the chili glaze would blend so well with the fried egg and cilantro. (Sidenote: But then again I love cilantro on everything.) 

Our main courses were: Tapioca crusted Tai Snapper, Green papaya salad, Thai basil nuoc cham, peanuts and crispy shallots followed by Red Wine braised beef cheeks, parsnip puree, and a horseradish gremolata. The Tai Snapper was just the right amount of crispy in my opinion and the green papaya salad with the nuoc cham all meshed together so well with my palette. The winner that night though was definitely Keisha's choice: the braised beef cheeks. They were so tender and cooked so perfectly and the gremolata was a nice touch of flavor to make it so savory and satisfying. 

For dessert: we both chose brioche donuts with a brown butter glaze and cinnamon caramel. The butterscotch pudding did sound quite appetizing, but we were definitely in the mood for some donuts. The donuts were spot on to end our beautiful meal. The sweetness of the caramel and brown butter glaze was something we both just looked at each other with approval about. There was also a hint of saltiness that we both loved and were trying to figure out where it was coming from. What's funny is that we both just planned on ordering the #dineLA menu, but there were a few carts going around the restaurant that caught our attention. The Church Key actually has dim sum carts that go around every 20-30 minutes to bring you small tapas type plates like mac and cheese, tacos or even popcorn (which i'm pretty sure they're known for). 
There's even a cart for alcoholic liquid nitrogen popsicles, which were very similar to what otter pops look like, but made in house. We ordered a strawberry tequila popsicle with some mac and cheese fritters and a fried halibut taco. ALL absolutely delicious and we wanted more, but we had to stop ourselves. I know for a fact that I will definitely be back for more another fantastic dining experience at The Church Key and i'm really grateful I had Keisha my foodie adventure partner with me to enjoy it. Thank you to #dineLA for making this all possible and i'm excited for the next stop on my list of bookmarks to eat. 

It's been a while..

It has definitely been a while since i've posted anything. Since i've been home i've been doing my best to focus on myself with hiking, biking, going out with friends and keeping my every day busy here in Los Angeles. I recently (when I mean recently I mean about 4 months ago) went through a break up before I left for Indonesia and it was definitely a hard thing to even come to terms with. I was with him for almost five years and throughout those years I learned a lot about not only myself, but what a long term relationship can teach you in so many ways. When I officially came home from my four months of traveling it finally hit me that I didn't have that someone to come home to anymore. That person that I would be excited to tell all of my stories to and spend almost every day with either going out to get ice cream or just laughing over some meme we saw earlier over dinner wouldn't be there anymore. These last few weeks being home were hard and painful to even think about, but my family and friends have taught me how to accept the fact that everything does happen for a reason. I am a lot stronger now and I just wanted to thank everyone that has helped me through all of this with your advice and love. I am forever grateful for all of you. 

#DutakesIndo Day 4

I met my host family today! Ahhh! They're so amazing. So this morning we had our last breakfast together for orientation and we were all so anxious. Once we were all packed we met in our usual meeting room and they briefed us on what was going to happen when we met our families. The coordinators told us that we have to figure out who our families were based on a paper slip given to us with a few sentences about them. It was pretty nerve wracking and I had no idea what to expect. It said both the husband and wife are retired lecturers and one of the daughters is a professor at Sanata Dharma University, which is the university that I will be attending for my intensive language course for Bahasa Indonesia.

After a few minutes I saw an older couple sitting alone and I luckily found my host family right away! My Ibu (Mother) is named Rosa and she is a retired lecturer and so is my Bapak (father). They both have been married for over 30 years and their wedding anniversary is actually this week (So exciting I know). They come from a huge family similar to mine and they have two daughters, Anna and Mita. Mita is the daughter that teaches at my university and has a son named Alex who is four years old. He's pretty adorable. I honestly am so grateful for my new family and for the amazing program. I can't wait for what's to come i the next few months. 

My host family, Ibu Rosa Dan Bapak Joni

My host family, Ibu Rosa Dan Bapak Joni

USINDO 2016 friends

USINDO 2016 friends

My new home!  

My new home!  

The beautiful garden in front of my house.  

The beautiful garden in front of my house.  

#DutakesIndo Days 1- 3

So its been three days so far (including an entire day of traveling) Jet lag is too real right now. I fell asleep in one of the presentations because we had another amazing buffet at the hotel. I knocked out hard at 7 pm, woke up at 3 am and could not sleep at all. I'm here with my new roommate Michelle and she's pretty awesome. These last few days have been pretty tiring, but awesome. The moment we arrived in Jakarta I could feel the heat wave and smell of smoke in the air. I thought I would be prepared for this kind of weather, but I know it will take a few weeks to acclimate. I'm still editing videos for my vlogs to start everything going so there's at least some visuals for my experience here. Here are some photos to give an idea of what i've been seeing these last few days. :D 

Graduation

So it's official. I'm a graduate of California State University, Northridge and it feels unreal.  It honestly hasn't hit me yet even though I had to go through two graduation ceremonies. Being at CSUN has been such a phenomenal experience because of all of the involvement on campus and also because of the amazing people i've met. Walking across that stage has made me realize that there's no routine anymore, no running across campus to clock into my shift right after my class. No more going to the pub for some $4 chicken strips and fries or farmers markets in the middle of the day for some horchata, pupusas and corn in a cup. Its been an unbelievable college career and I wouldn't have wanted to spend my time any other way.

Working for student housing and the university student union has given me so many opportunities these last five years. I don't know where I would be right now without these two organizations. I've learned so much about diversity on the campus and understanding and respecting it to become a respectful human being. It may sound cheesy, but these jobs I had on campus educated me not just through work ethic, but common sense to be a better person to anyone no matter what. I have reflected on myself and learned about myself through others because of the experiences of working and getting involved on campus. Being a part of CSUN as a fellow student, mentor and employee has pushed me to do such much more in my life, to work harder, to always be positive and see the greatness in others. 

I just want to thank my family, friends, mentors and people i've worked with for all of their support throughout my college career. I don't know where I would be without my support systems. Whether it was a great job or even small conversation, these last six years have taught me and given me the strength to never limit myself or feel embarrassed about how long it will take to accomplish a goal. Every decision I have made has been worth every risk and unforgettable moment that I will cherish forever. 

My very own hashtag

"Having the opportunity to travel and learn about an entirely new place is something I have always wanted to do. I'm really excited to explore and meet new people in a city i've never been to."

This was the first part of my journal entry right before I left for my adventure in Washington, D.C. Oh how time has flown by so fast. It was really was an unforgettable experience. I met so many people, learned how to cook foods I never thought I could and most importantly learned a lot about myself. I can't believe I even made my own hashtag to have all of my friends and family reference me to. I believe it was a smart choice though. Even though living in the district was only for five months, it was one of the most memorable times of my life. 

Guess who's employed?

This is the first summer that I haven't worked since I was 17 and it feels really strange. I always like keeping busy and since I've been back from D.C. I feel this void where I would be doing something more productive with my life. I realized though that it is okay to take a break and time for yourself is always important. After weeks of searching, I'm really excited to say that I have a summer job now! Even though it technically is the end of summer. I am going to be a part of the a grand opening of a new REI store near my house. It is retail, but there are so many beautiful growing opportunities in this company of outdoor recreation. My first training is in a few weeks so i'm excited to share it with you. 

NatGeoIntern

I honestly can't believe I'm interning for National Geographic. This is one of the best things to ever happen to me and I am so grateful to even be chosen to be a part of the geography intern program here. My first day here has been pretty epic. I mean i'm interning for my dream employer. We did some paperwork for HR and then split up to meet our individual supervisors. There are seven of us interns for the program so its a good sized group. My supervisors name is David and he's really nice. He's kind of local to the area, he likes Game of Thrones, which is awesome, and he seems like he's going to be really nice. He took me to this restaurant called Nage and we had nice conversation about the normal introductions about where i'm from and what do I like to do and what made me want to apply for NatGeo. I had an amazing lobster mac and cheese, which was a plus. I got my first assignment doing a background check on a company that was pretty interesting. Time went by pretty quick. Then the other interns and I went to Barcode and celebrated. It was a great first day. 

Roomies

Honestly, no offense to any of my previous roommates, but this it the first time in my life where I feel a really deep connection with my roommates. I know its only been a a little over a week and its probably the honeymoon phase, but I feel so happy to be living with women that known what they are doing. They are responsible adults and understand what cleaning up after yourself means. I know it sounds weird, but it really is a blessing to be living with these girls. I'm excited to bond with them and create unforgettable memories. I know i'm cheesy. Deal with it. I'm lucky to be in a room where we all get along and all of us are in the DC Scholars program together. Time for some introductions: Melissa is one of the people I actually know and she is also a geography major like me. Stephanie goes to CSUN as well and the two of us love Above&Beyond and I love her for that. Noor is the youngest in the room and has awesome Spongebob Squarepants impressions and Tran is an amazing cook and is like the mom of our apartment. They both go to CSUF. Yuri is from Cal State San Marcos and is an artist that has great taste in music that i'ver never heard of, but I will definitely learn soon.

Day 3 continued

Its already our third day here and our group had the opportunity to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day in our nation's capitol. There were about 20 or more of us that took the metro to Anacostia, an area we were not to supposed to go to which I thought was pretty funny. Being able participate in the peace walk today and witness it was a wonderful experience. Signs everywhere and people walking hand in hand celebrating a man that made history was a beautiful sight to see. Afterwards, we all went our separate ways and my group ended up heading to Dupont Circle and had some awesome burgers at BUGR. Then we walked all around and got a bit lost and finally found the White House and took selfies obviously. From there, we headed to the Washington monument, reflecting pool and Lincoln memorial. We did not realize how long the the reflecting pool was and automatically regretted our decision to walk the entire way home. It was the best first memory being here. Those 15 miles of walking was well worth it. 

Grateful

Today I have officially been here in Washington, D.C. for two days and it is astounding how much I have acclimated to being so far away from home so fast. I mean, I do miss my family, friends and of course James, but I just have this breath of fresh air feeling. These few days here have been fantastic meeting everyone and exploring what this new city can offer.