Big Sis, Lil Sis: To Kiersten

The story goes that back in the day when I was quite young, my mom gained a little bit of weight and joked to my brother and I that she was having another baby. I started jumping up and down ecstatically, so thrilled to finally have a baby brother or sister. My brother, on the other hand, started bawling and said in exasperation, "AGAIN?!???" When my parents let us in on the joke, the roles reversed: my brother started jumping up and down with joy and I started bawling at the loss. Well, over two decades later, I can say that that feeling has never fully gone away. Despite my love for my older brother, I've always felt a little hole in my heart that's meant to be filled by a younger sibling. I never prayed for it because people generally grow out of that by the time they reach 7, but God clearly knew the depths of my heart better than I did. When I was 17, He answered my unspoken prayers. I honestly can't even remember exactly how I met Kiersten, but as the most bubbly and outgoing sophomore in the world, she somehow managed to infiltrate a group of us seniors that all went to La Jolla High and La Jolla Presbyterian's youth group. Only one or two months after we met, I felt a random little nudge in my heart that God wanted me to "disciple" her. I had only heard the phrase from Christian college fellowships where a younger student was guided by an older one. I really had no idea what it was supposed to look like, but somehow one night, I managed to muster up enough courage and say to Kiersten, "This is kind of random, but can I disciple you?" In typical Kiersten fashion, she excitedly said yes!... and then said she had no idea what that meant. So together for the rest of my senior year, we made our own rules and did what worked best for us. We met once a week at Don Carlos (only the best restaurant in the world) after school for endless Mexican food, and made ourselves little devotional schedules where we would read one bible passage one day, listen to worship music another day, journal another day, etc. It was so effective for the both of us to have someone keep us accountable, and we were able to talk about everything from what God was teaching us in our every day lives to the standard teenage things like boys...and more boys.

Throughout the years, Kiersten has become the sister that I was meant to have in this world. I think what's most amazing is that back when I first approached Kiersten, I thought God was calling me to be a mentor and a big sister to someone younger. And while I've been lucky enough to play that role for the past 5 years, Kiersten has been an endless blessing in my own life in ways I never even knew I needed. Even though she's my "lil sis", she's been one of the strongest support systems for me in times of pain, confusion, heartbreak, and just growing up in general. She's my life cheerleader: always encouraging me in anything I want to accomplish and always believing in me when nobody else does. She's grown so much in the past few years and though I used to make a silly attempt to "shield" her from my own problems, her amazing depth, compassion, and understanding has made her one of the few people I can truly be honest with and never face judgment. I'm beyond blessed to have been blessed with my Lil Sis, and I couldn't be happier to be her Big Sis.

In terms of photography, this shoot was a particular challenge because La Jolla was just. too. sunny. I know, our lives our really rough. But the brightness caused a lot of difficulty with squinty eyes, shadows, overexposure, etc. The editing process took a lot of toggling with the highlights/shadows and whites/blacks functions. Additionally, as cute as her dress is, the neon pink was a difficult color to accurately portray and often cast an orangey-pink hue on her face. All in all, though, being able to shoot at La Jolla Cove with someone as beautiful as Kiersten was such a fun experience! Even after 22 years, I can't believe we're lucky enough to live here.

And finally, my favorite photo:

[Stop #4, 5, 6]: Cambodia | Siem Reap, Sihanoukville, Phnom Penh

Even though our G Adventures tour was meeting in Bangkok, the majority of our 10 day guided trip was to go through Cambodia. Our first stop was Siem Reap to see the absolutely phenomenal Angkor Wat and various other ancient temples. There were many aspects of G Adventures that we absolutely loved - it was the first "semi-guided" tour that I had been on, and I loved the freedom to eat where we wanted to eat/shop where we wanted to shop, but still be able to have some semblance of organization (ie, hit up all the major sights & not have to worry about booking hotels or crossing the border - we actually crossed the Thai/Cambodian border by foot!). The people on the trip were absolutely amazing. We were the only Americans, but there was a good mixture of travelers from Germany, the UK, Canada, and more. I was absolutely amazed at how many of our group members were actually solo travelers! We realized that the traveling culture in other countries is vastly different to the US - it's not uncommon to go by yourself on a 6 month backpacking tour throughout the world. On top of that, G Adventures would often have a relationship with local community groups or families who would serve us the most amazing home cooked meals and the profits made would go to a school or program. It gave us the opportunity to meet some of the people in the area, and of course, the unbelievably cute little kids (she's holding a puppy! How can you resist?!)

Our first night in Siem Reap we got a chance to explore the night markets. Interestingly enough, it was actually extremely similar to the night market on Khao San Road in Bangkok -  throughout our trip we would actually notice the exact same souvenirs but with different countries on them hahah. One thing that was really unique, though, was the Mr. Fish foot massage parlours! You  literally sit with your feet in a tub filled with tiny fish, and they nibble the dead skin off! I couldn't decide if it was hilarious, gross, unique, or bizarre. As we finished up at the market, we headed over to some of the bars and found the cleverly titled "Angkor What?" bar. Dancing on elevated surfaces may or may not have happened. And of course, as the only sober person in the group, I somehow managed to DGAP in every single photo we took. No shame, no shame.   The next morning, we woke up before sunrise at 4AM in order to catch the sunrise at Angkor Wat and see the reflecting pool. To say that the sight was incredible would be an understatement. The details in the architecture were mind blowing, and the reflection in the water just added to it all the more. The photographs speak for themselves: Believe it or not we actually ran into almost the entire graduating lass of PiKapp while we were there - turns out we really weren't kidding about the whole everybody-in-our-graduating-class-is-going-to-south-east-asia thing. With the sun risen, we went back to our hotel to try and nap before getting up again to actually visit Angkor Wat (the stones are too slippery that early in the morning).

After that, it was temples, temples, and more temples! One of my favorites was the "Tomb Raider Temple" thanks to the movie being filmed there. Our tour guide told us that the French helped restore a lot of the temples but kept this one overrun by plants & vegetation to show the extent that the jungle had taken over. The result is an unbelievable mixture of nature, history, and architecture. 

Done with all of the amazing sites in Siem Reap, we headed on down to the Phnom Penh, the capital! We were welcomed with yet another glorious home cooked meal eaten on the ground, Cambodian style. My new favorite? Taro egg rolls.  The majority of our trip to Phnom Penh was actually very sad and a dose of reality. We don't learn much about it in school in America, but the Khmer Rouge's rule of Cambodia absolutely devastated the entire nation. Despite having a population at the time of only ~8million, in just four years, over 2-3 million people were slaughtered for the smallest of reasons. Any signs of education or rebellion could lead to jail time, torture, death, and targeting your family. Even owning a pair of glasses was enough of a justification. We went to S-21, a prison infamous for its activity, and The Killing Fields. Even though they have uncovered over 20,000 mass graves, still now, when the rain comes and washes away the dirt, fragments of bones still come up. I almost didn't believe the tour guide until I saw "white rocks" on the ground beneath me. Learning about the genocide in Cambodia was heartbreaking - there are barely any families in Cambodia who haven't lost a direct relative to the regime. What's even more mind blowing is how recently all of this took place: 1975-1979. I didn't take many photos during my time in Phnom Penh - at times it felt almost disrespectful to do so. But with this tree I was moved - both by the atrocities that we don't even think can happen, and by the respects paid from visitors around the world:Our last stop in Cambodia: The beach community of Sihanoukville! As a Californian - scratch that, as a La Jollan, I have prettyyy high standards for my beaches. But wow, Cambodia, you just blew me away. I had no idea these colors and that warmth could exist in the water! It was the epitome of #vacationproblems when the water at the beach was actually a little too warm for our liking and we needed to get out to cool down. Tough life. Unfortunately I only have photos on my iPhone since I didn't want to ruin my DSLR with the water and sand. Nevertheless, the trusty Camera+ app was able to take some gorgeous views!

Next up? Vietnam!

[Stop #3]: Bangkok, Thailand

After weeks of insane and fun-filled weeks traveling through various cities, I'm finally able to blog a little bit! Things have been supremely delayed since I haven't had my computer up until recently, and I just started work as a real person this month. Looking back at all these photos, I honestly cannot believe how blessed and fortunate I am to be able to visit so many phenomenal places.So, rewind back to the month of May, and we start with Thailand, the first leg of our South East Asia excursions!

Originally we had booked a 10-day tour through G Adventures, but we wanted a few days to ourselves in Bangkok to explore and get over our jet lag. Thanks to our friend, Trisha's, recommendations, we stayed at D&D Inn in the heart of Khao San Road, the main backpacking area with food stalls, bars, clothing that looked like it was from Urban Outfitters but cost a fraction of the price, and so much more. It was insane to see how the street itself transformed from day to night: storefronts would turn into bars trying to out-blast their neighbors with Top 40 hits.

Unfortunately, our first day was off to a little bit of a rough start. We fell into multiple scams pretty early on. Long story short, there is a massive scamming network in Bangkok - so large that it's possible for them to have hundreds of people on the streets telling foreigners the exact same lies ("Why are you going to that temple? It doesn't open until 3pm!") and able to coordinate the scam with others without even talking about it! However, even though we definitely overpaid for many many things, we were able to go on a river boat tour and see a lot of the temples from the water. It was amazing to also see so many houses built on stilts - it was definitely a stark contrast from certain wealthier areas in the city.

One of the things on my "list" was to try as much food as possible. Our boat tour dropped us off at a local open market with endless amounts of fresh fruit like rambutan (the spiky red fruit) and my new favorite fruit, mangosteen (the purple plum like fruit):

The best, though, was the sticky mango rice. The woman cut the mango fresh for us and poured sweet coconut sauce on top. It was heaven.

Finally, we were able to go to Wat Pho, a large temple complex and home to the enormous Reclining Buddha. Believe it or not, we ran into 3 of our freshman hallmates: Eric, Sam, and Bobby! Turns out everybody from our graduating class had the same idea as us and decided to travel South East Asia after gradution too hahah. We all joked that this was the new "backpacking through Europe." What amazed me was how one temple complex could still have so many different designs and styles. All of the following photos are from one place!

When we were originally planning our trip, we wanted to be on the same tour group with Jeremy, Katie, and Sophie, but there wasn't enough room. They picked a trip that was two days earlier than ours, but since we were starting and ending in the same locations, we had some overlap! Jeremy took on the ultimate role of "Travel Dad" and guided us from place to place with map & tour book in hand hahah:

Our third day, we decided to go with Bangkok Day Tours' Extraordinary Elephant Day Trip, and it was honestly one of the best decisions we made the entire trip. Even though the elephants were about 4 hours away, our personal tour made stops along the way which was a great way to break it up. We first went to the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market - it was clearly set up for tourists hahah, but it was still a great experience and really cool visually! Then we stopped for an amazing brunch of authentic Thai food right next to The Bridge on the River Kwai. I seriously ate unlimited amounts of mangosteen - I just couldn't stop! The insides are kind of fleshy like a tangerine, but it's tart, tangy, and sweet all at the same time. Seriously delicious!

After that, it was off to the elephants! Not only did we have a chance to ride them on land, but after a guided ride, we each got our own elephant to ride bareback into the river! The elephants were seriously fiesty and loved to play. They bucked us off multiple times, and the trainers would have us climb on their trunks or stand on their heads. At first I was terrified of hurting them, until I realized they actually couldn't feel me at all and I'm probably 1/20th of their weight! And then? We got to have an actual waterfight. Using elephant trunks. It was amazing.

It was seriously one of the most amazing experiences of my life - I don't think I'll ever forget it. On our last and final day in Bangkok, we visited the Grand Palace on what was probably the hottest day of our lives. On top of that, there's a dress code at many of the temples & government sites - that meant putting on long sleeves and long dresses!

Last but not least, we got to see Wat Arun! We decided not to climb it since we had to go meet our tour group that night, but it was still such an impressive construction feat. I seriously can't believe the architecture on these buildings. That's it for now on Thailand! Next up (whenever I get around to it): Cambodia!

[Stop #2: Annapolis, Maryland] The Hayes Wedding

For my second stop, I headed out to Annapolis for The Hayes Wedding! In previous posts I've talked about the amazing Natalie Franke. A sister in Chi Omega with me, Natalie is honestly one of the most hardworking and dedicated people I know. She's poured her entire life into her photography company, Natalie Franke Photography, and never ceases to amaze me with her love for her clients. Though she's usually behind the lens at weddings, tonight I was blessed to be a part of her and Huey's celebration as they officially became husband and wife. Natalie & Huey have been a unit since I met them 4 years ago. They've been together since Natalie was 15 and Huey was 16. Of course, the story was told tonight from so many different perspectives: Thanks to the seemingly random pushing from their parents, the two independently joined the Annapolis Rowing Team and met each other on the first day of practice. Their story was set in motion immediately, and here they are now 7 years later! It's crazy how two individual decisions changed the course of their lives forever. I think if anything, it should encourage us all to take more chances, make more split second decisions, and just try more out there- you never know how it might change your life! The two of them have been such an amazing example of what it looks like to be in a loving and devoted relationship. What I loved the most is how the two of them expressed their love for one another in their own ways- while Natalie read a beautiful letter, Huey built the altar above out of driftwood. Natalie and Huey, I'm so thrilled for you guys on this new chapter in your lives. Thank you so much for letting me share it with you!

Some quick iPhone photos from the night! Terrible quality, I know, but most of the wedding was "unplugged," and it wasn't worth wasting precious dancing time, anyway! I'm actually doing this entire post on the WordPress iPhone app - gotta love technology!

Now we begin our 34+ hour journey to South East Asia! Madeline and I left Baltimore at the crack of dawn this morning, and we're on a train to Princeton to meet up with Mallika. Then it's off to JFK and a layover in Shanghai! Let's hope my Mandarin is at least good enough to get us some food!