boston, ma.

There's something that always gets me about the city.

Maybe it's the sky rise buildings. Or the culture that is just bursting at the seams of every street corner you turn. Or it could be the quick accessibilities of towns through the local transportation. (Something Los Angeles needs to get a move on!)

We stayed with our lovely hostess who showed us around and was a great tour guide. :) I loved getting to eat all the seafood I could see (hehe) and learn a bit more about our American history.

Davis Square - Boston, MA

Look, Ma! I went to Harvard! ;)

:)

Boston Public Library

amherst, ma.

At the end of May, one of my good friends and I visited another good friend of ours in Amherst, MA. This was the first trip we'd been on together in a long time, so it was great getting to travel, explore new places, and make more memories together. It was also fun because we all used to live together during undergrad! :)

We got to explore a bit of Boston at night when we first landed. The first half of our trip was spent in Amherst, MA, where my friend is getting her Masters at the University of Massachusetts. There's something about the universities in the East Coast. I loved how practically all of the buildings were built out of bricks.

But first, MIT.

They look tough here...

but really they're just a bunch of goofballs. ;)

Then the next day was exploring UMass! :)

getty villa.

For the longest time, I didn't know about the Getty Villa. It wasn't until I visited the Getty Center and heard very briefly about the Getty Villa that I told myself that I would visit it someday.

I have some friends at my church that love photography as much as I do. We kept on talking about doing a photo adventure, and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to go check out the Getty Villa. The weather was wonderful, the company even more so; it was a lovely day at the Villa. :)

Even though Marvin is a photographer, I'm pretty sure he does modeling on the side. ;)

 

Em is the sweetest and has such a creative eye. :)

san francisco.

Back in February, I took a short weekend trip up to San Francisco for an interview and to hang out with friends. I connected with my high school friend, who was such a great hostess! Honestly, it was very different from my other trips to San Francisco. My friend convinced me that San Francisco could very possibly be on my list of next places to live... maybe. :)

Uyen, thank you so much for being such a great, gracious, hospitable hostess and for showing me the less touristy parts of San Francisco, which I absolutely fell in love with!! 

A regular breakfast. BEST hash browns everrrrr!

Golden Gate Park!

Shakespeare Garden! So beautiful!

Then I ventured to SoMa (South of Market) to visit my dear friend Megan! We went to a hipster coffee shop called Sightglass. ;)

UGH, best pastries, everrrr!

My cutie of a friend, Megan. ;)

rikuzentakata, iwate.

On our way back to Tokyo, we stopped by Rikuzentakata, one of the towns hit worst by the 3.11 tsunami. I hadn't visited this area the last time I was in Tohoku, so it was an eerie feeling to visit a town where so many people used to live. There was also a boat that ended up on top of a building, but when we visited, they were already working on taking it down. 

Japan is really working on its way to recovery in Tohoku, but there's still a long way to go. I also know that it's going to be a long emotional recovery process. Keep on praying for those in Tohoku, and everyone affected by the 3.11 tsunami and earthquake.

As for myself, I do want to go back and visit...hopefully sometime soon. :)

Mirror selfie! heh