105 days of Summer

A qiuck shot while walking to Santa Cruz beach. Love those flowers, and the radiant sunshine!

Berkely wall art

A yellow building in Gloria, Rio

Summer is coming to a close, and it's always bittersweet looking back on it. I've counted the days off of required reading, studying for tests and waking up and getting dressed on time for a full day, or rather, rushing to get out of the door. But those days have been behind me for a while, though they are on the horizo to be here soon once again, very soon. 105 days. One hundred and five days of Summer. It feels like a long time, and granted it was. I feel that I soaked up every day, as best as I could. Although Fall is my favorite season, I think Summer is my favorite time of year. I wanted to reflect on this Summer of 2016, of all that happened and that I wanted to accomplsih and do. Overall, I feel pretty proud of myself and glad I could squeeze some things in last minute.

Remenbering the sacred days of June feels like a long time ago, the beginning and onset of Summer, and looking back on all that happened. It started out with my trip to Rio de Janerio, Brazil. My first trip to South America, and better yet, my first trip out of the country! What a great expereince for two long but short weeks, with classmates and peers. I would say the theme of the trip was self discovery and interpersonal reflections, sometimes happening in my hotel room, sometimes while riding the metro, or even while eating a delicious Brazilian meal and people watching on the streets. I felt I learned so much about myself in a crash course style. My 24th birthday was celebrated during the trip, embracing a new age and new people around me. It was a personal birthday, another one with out close family members, or even well known and kinder spirited friends, but it was still special, in its own way I guess. Sometimes birthdays are a nice and perfect time for reflection, and I feel I got a good amount of that.

Some summers, such as this one had simple moments that had great value and that were precious to me. Day trips, eating out, good and quality time spent with sisters and my mom, but also a balance of business and schedules but also close to more than enough of free time and leisure, making lists of ideas, thoughts, reflections, goals, and reading like the book worm I am. I guess all of the things introverts like to do:). Anyone out there agree with me?

Not just being able to go abroad to Rio, but also to be able to go to my sister's wedding, in San Salvador, El Salvador in mid August felt like a dream. A place I had heard about a good amount and now I finally could experince it myself, and be that loving support for my sister and brother-in-law. To see the different yet beautiful world of El Salvador, to take in the humidity, the loud thunder and huge raindrops and more than delicious food that even still makes my mouth water. Paposas, can't get enough of them! And to celebrate the happiness of my close friend and sister, and to see her marry the love of her life. I don't speak Spanish but I could still take everything in just as well, enjoying the moment.

How much I love them, and love this pic!

I think some great goals that I had for myself this summer included become a literacy volunteer at the library, which I have already done training for and will soon help an adult with reading and writing! Another goal of mine was to finish 12 books! This kind of seemed like a lofty goal at first but then a feasible challenge that was more enjoyable than daunting. I did finish 12 books, and am excited to share them with you soon! A place I wanted go to was also crossed off the list, going to a cafe in Berkeley. Of course, I would be happy with any cafe in Berkeley, but I decided to go to not just any cafe, but one that had special memories to it, like going back in time and remembering them all again. Cafe Roma is the name, and I had fond times with other liked minded girls, and being able to spend some time in Berkeley made me miss those days, going on 4 years ago. Being able to experince the creative urbaness and chaotic artistry of this city was a nice change. I like cafes since they bring that creative energy back to life and also can slow down time although time seems to go by pretty quickly also. 

Some other pictures that I think highlights this summer, going to Half Moon Bay, Santa Cruz, bookstores, the library, cafes (not sure how many times Starbucks was used this summer), long runs and walks and taking in all my surrondings and the nice cool summer air with the glowing orange sunset and bright, dancing moon smiling back at me, reading on the front porch with the majestic dusk sky stealing my attention from the pages of my book to its beauty. Sleeping in and late night reads, calming me and putting me into a deep sleep. Studying Chinese. Studying Arabic, but also wondering about other languages too, and perhaps being interested in too many things at once?!! Finding books at the library too easily and clothes at conseinment stores too quickly. Walks and bike rides at Sycamore Grove. Having good discussions with good people and thankful for them. Having a powerful and real yearning to meet good friends and to make the most of Autumn and this time of year. Getting more and more into cooking and trying out new and exotic dishes. Finding new songs that inspire me and bring me back to good moments every time and re- listening to already known ones. Taking a dance exercise class, and wanting to try to fit into my schedule again, though it seems unlikely. Re- learning how to sew with my mom, and enjoying the process. Tutoring my students and enjoying every minute, and also grateful that I have this opportunity to teach them and help them not just with Enlgish but a lot more. Trying a fig and a moon cake for the first time. The moon cake is in honor of the Chinese celebration of Mid- Autumn Festival. And also starting this blog, Plum Tree. So glad I did!

Half Moon Bay

A full moon! Happy Mid- Autumn Festival

The nice view from one of my student's window

An outfit I seemed to wear a few days in a row this summer! Ha

A nice lunch with my Mom, quality time can never seem to add up to enough!

Overall, I feel very grateful for this summer of 2016! So much has happened, been learned, accomplished and enjoyed, Memories, memories, good good memories. As my Uncle would say, "This is good, this is very good." And so it is.