I decided to break down and do one of these memes for kicks. The idea, apparently, is that you pick a band and answer the following questions with only song titles from that band. I would have done Porcupine Tree except my friend already did that.

And thus, I'm using song titles from Katatonia.

1. Are you male or female?
I Am Nothing

2. Describe yourself.
Fractured

3. What do people feel when they're around you?
Consternation

4. How would you describe your previous relationship?
Had To (Leave)

5. Describe your current relationship.
Dissolving Bonds

6. Where would you want to be now?
Right Into the Bliss

7. How do you feel about love?
Journey Through Pressure

8. What's your life like?
One Year From Now

9. What would you ask for if you had only one wish?
Inside the City of Glass

10. Say something wise.
No Good Can Come of This

So I've been in Peru for two weeks now, hanging around in Arequipa. The orphanage that I volunteer at is incredible. The kids are resilient and affectionate and love hugging, despite my lack of coherent Spanish and the fact that they can't understand me at all. I only took a week to memorize all their names (around fifteen kids), and they took a week to memorize mine (Tia Lala for the little ones, since Laura is SO hard to remember). I've been taking two hours of Spanish lessons everyday. I haven't improved at all.

So far, I've done the following:

- Gone to see the Toro Muerto petroglyphs: Inca rock carvings that remind me of the Anazazi part of Timelapse, best computer game in the world
- Gone to see the seaside town of Camana, riding a boat with the fisherman to see the sea lions and penguins
- Accidentally poked a passing Peruvian in the eye while trying to hail a taxi
- Got a lot of crepes for my birthday dinner on July 24
- Hiked on a three-day long trek to Colca Canyon, bathed in hot springs and saw huge condors
- Mis-asked a kid their age SO horribly (I said: "how do you have years?") that another girl had to translate for her
- Drunk coca mate a LOT
- Developed a British inflection in my speech
- Aaaaand various other shenanigans

And it's a little startling to realize that I can make friends wherever I go.

Wow, I definitely haven't posted in a long time. I think I've gotten out of the habit of updating journals. I can't decide if that's a good or bad thing.

I'm home from London for the summer, which was a good experience. I learned a lot of good things abroad, and I'm glad I did it. I ended up seeing a whole lot of countries, like France, Spain, Denmark, Belgium, Scotland, and the Netherlands.

I'm here in the US for two more weeks, doing summer things like copious reading, drawing, practicing Spanish, sometimes visiting friends... that kind of thing. Then I'm off to Peru for five weeks to volunteer in an orphanage/school in Arequipa and take intensive Spanish tutoring.

As you all may have noticed I've been posting a lot of what I call "calendar art" lately. Things that are pretty but don't take that much skill if you happen to be in the places I've been. I've collected a ton of these kind of pictures during my travels, so I'll be posting a bit of those. I've been a little bereft of creativity in terms of conceptual art, unfortunately, but I'm going to try to delve a little bit into a couple new black and white series before I leave for Peru.

Hope everyone is doing well!




i'm just scared
i'm just scared
i'm just scared
everybody is

Goodbye US and hellooooo foggy Londontown.

Read all about my adventures abroad, if you wish.

[link]

Tagged by ~Kunochi

1. I think it is the height of sophistication to spout 'your mom' to random, obscure questions or comments.

2. I often 'lose myself,' or dissociate, very easily during fictional stories such as gripping books or television shows. When I inevitably return to reality, I get very depressed.

3. My priorities are as follows:
School work
Sleep
My friends' mental health
My health
Volunteer work
Socializing
My photo society (lol notice how low it is here?)

4. I love saying lololollolol frequently and often because it's hilarious.

5. I always get depressed friday nights.

6. I love obscure music.

7. I think maintaining boundaries are possibly the most important thing in relationships.

8. That said, I really don't socialize that much. I love my friends, I just like to spend a lot of time alone.

9. I'm trying to learn how to say 'no.'

10. I want to volunteer in an orphanage in the Peruvian mountains this summer.

I take... ~AquaDragon and your mom.