my classmate offered me a free boat ride

around seattle since she bought extra tickets

for her family reunion. vanessa and i

took buses and ran all over seattle trying to

make the ride but unfortunately, we missed it...

so we walked around the city, visited parks

and talked about our childhoods instead.

a washingtonian's reflection of her visit to texas:

"i am so used to it being green everywhere,

but i realized that in other places,

instead of lawns, people have ROCKS.

but you can tell that every rock was selected

and placed so carefully. it was kind of

beautiful."

a seattleite's reflection of his visit to new york:
"GIANT RATS"

first day of [grad] school!
~~and a massive heat wave~~

met my cool new cohort friends (all from Washington)

listened to some inspiring professors,

had my first class, and got free pizza!

then i walked to trader joe's with my new friend vanessa

and noticed every item in my shopping basket

was orange, such as this popsicle:

 first time using

F A C E T I M E!

me sitting far away in my new living room

over the hills and
through the floating bridge

this is so cool.

to be working on a Masters degree

learning, researching and designing ways

  to get young people

to feel curious, compassionate, aware

and excited about the world.

& having the privilege to be a part of this process.

 that's why i'm doing this.

it'll definitely be challenging..

but i am excited, optimistic and ready to start!

ps: by the end of the year,
i will have gained 1,000+ hours of field experience.
* * * * * * *

a little baby white french bulldog

running through canadian grass

playing with a pink balloon

^ ^ ^

the cutest thing i have ever seen.

this year is going to be filled with

mountains, flowers, children,

and lots of thinking, creating and acting.

"If I don’t finish it this year, I never will."

-Dale Chihuly

"mops? mops?
"mops, where are y-   oh my god."

snoqualmie
the sunsets and clouds here are

ridiculous (in a good way).

it gets dark around 9:15 pm

and i find myself always eating lavender

ice cream in this city.

this was the day may skipped class

so we could go to the farm :)

and the Washingtonian
adventures begin!
**me with the fremont troll

under the aurora bridge**

friendly foam

the drive to the ORIGINAL costco in kirkland
was so scenic: trees, lakes, lily ponds,

cottages nestled into green hills

and a long low bridge stretching across a sound.
i am so excited to become a seattleite :D 

~*i made tiramisu~*

using this recipe.

 "can you please make me tiramisu?" said my sister.
"okay."

i graduated from college!

 now i have a BA in Anthropology

and Minor in Education.

I also received

highest honors for major,
university honors, and was nominated
for "phi beta kappa."
it was a happy day.

S P A C E * N I G H T

strange water towers & giant moths
mops and i visited maggie in the mountains!

 it was a tetra canine playdate :)
we discussed alternative education
while the dogs licked each other.

dear diana,

thanks for coming to my graduation,
buying me the biggest balloon

and taking over 1,500 pictures of me!

ucsc's farm is the most magical place

 big sur

i finally had a dream in a dream!

my 20 days of summer
begins now :D

i am going to get a pet

moss ball.

!!moving here in two weeks!!

graduating next week with a BA in Anthropology

awarded "Department Highest Honors",

and a Minor in Education!

 ~*~*~
also, my sister screamed in the bathroom just now

because she found a baby green cricket on her head.

we researched on the internet and found that

crickets in the house is a sign of good luck!

MY OLD EMAIL ADDRESS HAS BEEN SENDING OUT
SPAM ABOUT COFFEE, & TRAVELINGWOMEN.
So if you are reading this, and got an

email from me about these topics,

DO NOT OPEN IT.

'revolution

peasant

village

worker

countryside

picture

chairman mao'

Renee from Renee's Garden came into maryna's

gardening class to give a talk.

i am sad i missed it.
even though i love planting things,
something about "gardening" seems silly.
something about it being a "hobby"

when people around the world are caught
in the corrupt food systems and markets we create,

and while their livelihoods depend on their crops,

here i am, growing flowers.

(this is tea, not pee)

bought this book like 6 years ago because

i thought the cover looked cool. i tried reading it
then but had no idea what was going on.

now i'm reading it again and i like it.

clouds argue with each other, horses crave violence

and now i'm thinking:
"what it means when a crowd in a faraway
nation takes a soldier representing your own nation,
shoots him, drags him from his vehicle and then
mutilates him in the dust."

anthologies are like little pockets of fun.

THIS.

mops drooled like pavlov's dogs today.

miniature bone shaped biscuits

are his weakness (along with yams).

hiroki and i went to a store that sells

mochi, gelato, macarons and

gelato filled mochi (mochilato)! 
we also poked colorful squishy pastries
at a japanese supermarket and
got salmon onigiri with origami nori.

maryna texted me a picture today

of my bloomed johnny-jump up viola plant!
(grown from seeds in a little nancy's yogurt cup)

my sister and i planted nasturtiums
& iceland poppies today. and tomorrow, i'm starting
something new: chamomile~*

we found a baby praying mantis!

i tied/braided mops a toy!