Finally found a bit of time to blog again. I think this is the most I’ve fallen behind on posting an Instabits entry. It’s already April and here I am writing about my December IG activities. But the main reason I blog is so that I can look back on fond memories, so I suppose it still serves its purpose.
On the first day of December some friends and I went bowling as part of Tita Nenita’s early birthday celebration. She loves to bowl so we thought it would be the perfect way to make this day special for her. It was my first time bowling in probably about 10 years (or more?), so I was a little rusty. But I still had a great time.
We went to Round 1, where they had these colorful bowling balls 🙂
Around October 2018, Ray convinced me that I should take the JLPT N4 exam. Even though I wasn’t very confident, I decided to give it a try. My exam took place at Ritsumeikan University on the 2nd of December. After the test, I took some time to walk around the campus to relieve some stress.
Just like Doshiha (and KyoDai of course), their campus is beautiful.
University campuses always make me feel at home. Probably because both my parents were university professors (my mom still teaches to this day), so even as a child I spent a lot of time in a campus settings.
Ray’s birthday falls on December, and every year he holds a party at his house for friends. Since it’s the holiday season, people treat it as a pre-Christmas party and gift exchange games are usually done.
Guests were asked to wear festive colors 🙂
Anna, Mandy, Ray and I decided to use our USJ year pass again to see how the park looks around the holidays. As expected, it was beautiful.
We took photos by this giant tree
We even waited for the light up that evening
And of course no USJ trip is complete without dropping by The Wizarding World of Harry Potter:
At the Hogsmeade entrance
In front of the Hogsmeade tree, where the decorations “magically” rearrange themselves every now and then (you can see it on my stories video at the end of this entry)
Since it was quite cold, we ordered some hot butterbeer to warm up our bodies
(Using the drink as a prop just because)
The following day we attended the KAPS Year End party:
We played the White Elephant gift exchange game where I received a mini hot plate. I want to try to grill meat at home but Ray told me I should leave my window open when I do that unless I want to risk setting off the smoke alarm. It’s way too cold to open my window now so I guess I have to wait until spring (which is technically now, but it’s still really cold these days).
I didn’t really have the time (and materials) to decorate my apartment for Christmas, but I did end up getting a few garlands and these fairy lights to give my room a little holiday spirit:
It’s already April and the lights are actually still up XD But I have taken the garlands and “Merry Christmas” sign down.
Around the end of the month our lab had its annual year-end clean up. We had to thoroughly clean all the rooms. That included changing the air filters, scrubbing the floors, throwing away junk that’s been sitting around, etc. It was an entire day’s work. To celebrate, we had a takoyaki party afterwards:
It was my first time making takoyaki, which was a lot of fun. I ate so much that night and justified it by saying I burned a lot of calories cleaning up that day XD
On Christmas Eve, our church had a candlelight service. Ray and I were asked to help light the candles at the front, and the little candles that the congregation was holding.
Afterwards we were all invited to Pastor’s house for Noche Buena. Together we welcomed the birth of our savior Jesus Christ ❤
Ray took this photo of me earlier that day when we dropped by the mall so I could buy some medicine. I had a really bad cough and a slight fever that day T__T (pero todo smile parin sa picture)
December was very memorable for me because I was able to visit the Philippines again after almost 9 months 🙂 It may not sound like a long time for some, but for someone living alone for the first time in their life, going back “home” is very special.
What’s the first thing I did when I arrived? Why, go to Jollibee of course!
You have no idea how much I missed Jolly Spagetti and Chickenjoy 🙂 (This photo was actually from my 2nd Jollibee treat – my parents brought some with them when they picked me up at the airport because they know I missed it so much).
My mom usually holds a Christmas party on the 24th for the family, but since I decided to visit she pushed it back to the 30th so I would be there. We held it at Kamayan sa Palaisdaan, which was perfect because I missed Filipino food a lot.
Liempo, sisig, pinakbet, grilled tilapia, grilled talong, etc … I’m a happy girl ❤
The Tan Clan
With “baby” cousin, Deus. I’m on my tippy toes and I can barely reach his shoulder.
At the party I finally got to meet the newest member of the Tan-clan
Baby Chacha ❤ Super cuuuuute!
My dad loves her
I bought her this little duck plushie which she seemed to like
After the family party, I went home to rest for a bit then went back out to meet Camille, Brinks and JR for dinner.
We braved the rain and flooded streets of Pansol for some Korean BBQ. Originally we planned on eating at this place called Meat Here, but they were closed so we ended up at good old Matgalne.
Thanks for the Christmas presents girls!
On our way back home we passed by the Los Banos-Calamba border and decided to stop to take photos with the extravagant decorations there
Los Banos is indeed the home of the famous buko pie. (I brought some back to Japan for my friends when I returned home).
And it’s also famous for its Mernel’s cake. I brought some back to Japan for Ray. In my January stories (which I have no idea when I will post), you can see me struggle to pack the cake, but Brinks came to the rescue XD
That wraps up my December posts. This month was a great way to end 2018. It was an incredible year for me (I posted my 2018 Highlights entry HERE). There were so many changes and adjustments, but I enjoyed every bit of it 🙂 Thank you 2018 for being so awesome!
My IG stories for the month are compiled in the video below as usual:
What I have shown you is reality ... 