TIA HERE with some videos for you! I've been doing a lot of stuff lately, but haven't had much to show for, unfortunately. It sucks when you put a lot of work into something, like a project or a paper, and then it sort of disappears into oblivion to later become a part of your GPA. But the good thing about videos is that you can hold onto the evidence that you did something and actually show it to the world. So that said, here are the films/YouTube videos/music videos I've been creating lately, both WIP (unlisted) and completed:
TIA HERE with our latest video! Now that we're back in Ithaca, Victoria and I decided we'd finally do our gift exchange. I grabbed some goodies while in Europe, and Victoria got some from while in South Korea, and this is a short video showing what we decided to give one another.
Tragically, my camera shut off before we could record our outro so expect an abrupt ending. Regardless, I hope you enjoy! Maybe you'll even learn a little about our experiences and the countries we visited along the way.
TIA HERE and, for my first post of 2015, I am going to teach you how to make your own personalized phone case in the cheapest and easiest way possible. I think this could work with any type of smartphone if you just follow the steps below, but it will turn out a little differently for each one (especially curved phones). I used an iPhone 5S for this tutorial, and it worked perfectly for me. Hopefully it will work perfectly for you, too!
VICTORIA HERE with an epic compilation of all of the famous people I saw while I was in Korea (yup, past tense! I am sadly back in the States now). Korea's entertainment industry is pretty expansive these days considering the amount of new idol groups being debuted every week, the rising popularity of Korean dramas, and the overall rise in acknowledgment towards the little peninsula across the world partly because of that damned Psy video. In this post, I list all of the events and places I have gone to ranging from music shows to film sets where I saw some of Korea's stars. I hope my little adventures help navigate you on your own journey in celeb-spotting! Remember that Korea has a lot more to offer beyond what I have done. If you are on a serious hunt for idols--visit their entertainment companies or strut around the streets of Gangnam. Korea is so small, you are bound to see someone!
TIA HERE with a different sort of video. I went to Netto (a common grocery store in Copenhagen) and bought one of almost every type of candy I came across, using my DIS stipend. Then, I wrangled a bunch of willing American participants from my LLC to try out all of the candies, rate them, and discuss. This is the result.
TIA HERE with a short visual tour of my living quarters for the past four months. When I first heard I was going to be in a triple, I imagined a cramped space with beds practically piled on top of one another. I could not have been more wrong! My triple with roommates Kayla and Robin was enormous with wood paneled floors and large, beautiful windows facing Vestergade. Being in the apartment above DIS offices gave us excellent wifi privileges and easy access to classes (a two minute walk, tops). I could not have gotten a better room in the entirety of DIS. Even my roommates and housemates were a perfect match!
TIA HERE with one of my favorite travel videos I've done so far! This time I went to London, England, for a class trip that involved checking out all of the most interesting cultural spots and touristy areas in the city through an academic lens. Check out the video if you want to see the National Portrait Gallery, the London Eye, the Globe Theatre, the Churchill War Rooms, high tea at the Dorchester Hotel, the Victoria and Albert Museum, platform 9¾, Daunt Books, and the East End. There are also some other fun sights thrown in there, from Buckingham Palace to the London Millennium Footbridge and much, much more. Because you can see most of the trip in the video (happy viewing!), I'm going to use this post to talk more about the class for future DIS students interested in taking it.
TIA HERE with a long video in which I attempted to include all of the pictures I took in the area known as Southern France (Nice, Fayence, Cannes, Monaco). It may not be the most professional video on the planet, but I thought it would be more important to showcase all of the photos, since below I'll only be including a few from the trip!
For those potential DIS students looking at optional study tours for their many travel breaks, I highly recommend "Culinary Southern France." Not only were the people who led the group fantastic, but the experience was amazing and has completely altered my opinion of wine (from meh to YES). You spend the five days eating amazing food, wine tasting, olive oil tasting, exploring markets, and traveling freely. It's both a structured and casual program, with plenty of free time in addition to really neat activities (and meals). I'll try to break down the trip with some pictures!
TIA HERE sporting photos and video from my trip to Amager Strand (name of the metro stop), where you can find the nearest beach around Copenhagen. Per usual, I feel as if the video and photos speak more to the experience than I ever could, simply because beaches are much the same everywhere and the only difference between a Copenhagen beach and a Florida beach is the holistic feeling you get from being there. Nonetheless, I'll try my best to capture it.
TIA HERE and this week I did a little interview/panel/open discussion with four of my LLC-mates, asking them all kinds of questions revolving around our apartment, the Living Learning Community we're a part of, and what it's like to live in Copenhagen through DIS in general. Meet Joey, Katya, Alanna, and Kayla (from left to right). All five of us, in addition to nine other people (and our Social and Residential Advisor) stay together in a six bedroom apartment in the center of Copenhagen. Our LLC is the "Creative Writing" LLC, meaning that we all have a similar interest in writing and hope to continue exploring that interest abroad. Here are the nine short videos covering some questions I posed that should hopefully give future DIS students a better idea of what it's like to live in Copenagen, an LLC, and/or our specific LLC. There's also an outtakes/blooper reel for those wanting a little more info and a better sense of what we're like as people. Enjoy!
First up! I ask everyone what their first impressions of the LLC and Copenhagen were, and how they may have changed since being here for a month. My first impression, unlike theirs, revolved more around the living space than the people. I couldn't believe how big the room was! Even though it was a triple, it was nothing like one of the forced triples I was used to seeing in the U.S. My roommates and I all got a corner of the huge room, and we all received a desk, chair, trashcan, table lamp, floor lamp, magnetic whiteboard (with three to four magnets), cubby, closet, power strip, and clothing drawer. The room has wood-paneled floors and three large windows that swing open to welcome in a view of the street below. Talk about a dream apartment!
TIA HERE with a break post--a little in-between look at my two week relaxing period between New York City and Copenhagen, Denmark. For most of this "real summer break," I sat around, sickly and pitiful, because I got my wisdom teeth removed and felt a little off for about a week. Note to anyone who might be getting their wisdom teeth removed: when you think you're good and healed, still give yourself a few more days of babying yourself, because you might hurt yourself again like I did and really regret it!
TIA HERE with a rave review of my new favorite place to get food in the entire world. There is a Korean bakery called The Paris Baguette (Confusing right? Is it Paris or Korea?) that you can find in Koreatown (near the Empire State Building). It is, by far, my favorite place. Have I said that yet? I'll say it again. It's the best. Starving and with Winnie, as always, we stopped at The Paris Baguette virtually at random and were entranced by the selection. The baked goods were all expertly crafted to look as beautiful and delicate as can be—and they tasted amazing. There were so many mysterious food items that I wanted to try, but (during my first visit) I settled for a brie and turkey croissant sandwich, a long bread-like pastry with chocolate chips, a very soft, strawberry-flavored cake of some kind, and a bubble tea. That was the meal that converted me to the church of Paris Baguette.
TIA HERE with seven posts left until the Copenhagen posts start, even though by the time you’re reading this I’ll already be there. The countdown has begun! Currently, I’m sitting in JFK (where I will be for HOURS) waiting for my flight to Copenhagen. What better way to spend this time than to write the rest of the NYC posts I have piled up?
TIA HERE with the dish on some of the dishes and restaurants I visited in NYC while my grandma was in town. While we did not eat at all of these places, we explored them with passion. First, we went to see Eataly, which is like an enormous, Italian-inspired market-meets-restaurant. It's incredible! Like a maze of food, it takes you from gelato to bread to meat to seafood with swirling aisles of shelves and tables--it's overwhelming, tightly-packed, and a delicious must see. We didn't get anything because we weren't hungry at the time, just visiting to see Eataly in all its glory. However, we did ogle other people's meals as we wandered by, and I filmed a lot of the store to give you guys a visual (see video above!).
TIA HERE with a little review on a little restaurant called The Little Owl. My often-mentioned friend Winnie Yelped the place and she, me, and my other friend Thelonia met up there. From the outside, I was already smitten. How could I not be? It looks so charming and nice!
TIA HERE with all the power of Beyoncé and Jay Z flowing through my veins. My dear friend Winnie and I were able to snag somewhat cheap tickets (around $50) to see Beyoncé and Jay Z as they stopped by MetLife Stadium on July 12 as a part of their On The Run Tour. I can't believe it's been a month since it happened! (If you haven't noticed, these posts are quite backed up/scheduled, so by the time you see this, I'll already be in Denmark, but still uploading posts about New York City. Crazy!) Anyway, how to summarize the experience of seeing Beyoncé in the flesh? Let's start at the beginning, shall we? When things went all wrong...
TIA HERE with the scoop on where to get a nice scoop of ice cream, a cup of crème brûlée, or some macarons. Of course, there are tons of places in the city where you can get incredible desserts, but I thought I'd offer my two cents on some of the places I stumbled across. These are, by no means, famous New York City dessert locations, but if you're looking for somewhere well-known, there are already a thousand lists all across the internet. Instead, I hope to offer a little peek at some places you may wander past on the street and not know much about. It's a very specific list of three different places I tried out while in the city, and will hopefully give you a taste of the vast variety of dessert places that may not be on any must-see lists, but are just as worthy of a try.
TIA HERE with a little taste of Brooklyn. On a sunny summer weekend, my dear friend Winnie and I trekked off to Brooklyn—one of the boroughs of NYC, just across the bridge from Manhattan. We decided on Williamsburg (well, Winnie decided because she did all the research!) to seek out some of the amazing graffiti that the area is well known for. Along the way, we made some cafe stops to fight off the heat, passed an art exhibit with an incredible line, and stumbled across Smorgasburg, a weekly Brooklyn food and flea market. Ever heard of a ramen burger? That's where you go to get one—if you're willing to brave the three hour long line (alas, we were not).
TIA HERE with the scoop on a little Brooklyn bakery called Bedford Baking Studio. I stumbled across the place while wandering Williamsburg in the hot summer month of July, and I stopped in mostly for a drink and something to eat, but also because it looked so darn cute. Although I didn't glean this information at the time, I now know that BBS is a family-run, Turkish bakery-meets-coffee-shop. When I was there, like always, I went for the cheaper menu items.
