the sweetest

We were lucky enough to get to spend an afternoon playing games, drawing, and joking with young Burmese “refugees”. It’s a complicated situation as Malaysia infrequently grants refugee asylum to incoming refugees, and are often treated as illegal immigrants regardless of status. The whole experience was rather heart-wrenching. I lent my camera to a young boy who spent the day figuring out how the work the lens, focus, and taking wonderful photos of his friends.  

One of the most fascinating aspects to life in Malaysia is the complex cultural cohesion. You have vastly different lifestyles that somehow manage to live in relative peace (Buddhist, Hindu, and Islamic being the main three.) This creates an international, vibrant, and overall welcoming atmosphere to the country unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. We were lucky enough to visit cultural sites for all of the main religions, as well as stop by some main tourist sites. If you’re ever in the area, definitely hit up the Penang Butterfly Farm- it’s a little dorky but surprisingly fun. And definitely, above all else, don’t shy away from hole in the wall street food. It blows anything you’ll find in the malls out of the water and it’s truly unique to the region. You only live once! 

Malaysia. 
I promised to post some photos from my two weeks across the globe a few months ago. I’ve finally sorted through my photos and I’ve got three posts coming up! 

We flew into Penang and explored the city and surrounding area for a few days before heading off to Kuala Lumpur. Not only did we enjoy the touristic beaches and shopping malls, but we visited fascinating think-tanks, a Burmese refugee school for children, and ate absurdly delicious street food. It was an overload of new and exciting cultures; Indian, Chinese, and Malay lifestyles all mixing fluidly. 
I had an absolutely fantastic time and cannot wait to return to that corner of the planet. 

Best! 
Hannah 

Hi!

Sorry I didn’t get to send out any emails or say goodbye to anyone, but I’m running out the door to catch a flight to Malaysia! I’ll be there with my school doing crazy and wonderful things until the 23rd. Hope everyone has a great Spring Break!

Ciao ciao,
Hannah 

Alright, so as I promised here are a few photos from Barcelona. I was there last weekend and absolutely adored the city. There was so much life in the buildings that you rarely see in cities nowadays. The balconies and terraces put the stunning Italian villas to shame. This will be a three part set because I have a terrible habit of taking just a tad too many photos.
Firstly, the thing that struck me most was the cityscape. It was so unusual, different from Madrid where I visited three years ago. I had no idea what to expect and was completely blown away. It seemed as though every single apartment had its own balcony, terrace, or enclosed nook overlooking the streets. The entire city is more or less a constant eye-gasm. Fascinating colors, textures, patterns, it just never gives up. 

Hey all,

It’s been a while and I’m sorry for that. Been busy with school, coming home for the first time in forever, and finalizing my final year in university. I’m back at school, first week of my second to last semester. It’s strange to think that I’m almost complete with my time at Franklin, just a year left. I’m sure it’ll be a year to remember though.
Anywho, I had a fabulous time back in Washington for the month that I was there. Nothing too exciting went down, but I did get to see some of the most important people in my life for the first time in about a year. My brother finished his first semester in college, my parents were both moving ahead with their lives, sans kids. It was surreal, but a reminder of home and what that means to me. I’ve always been someone that can love from a distance, but nothing beats drinking a beer and watching football with your dad, having your mom kick your ass in Call of Duty, or dissecting vampire movies and RPGs with your little brother. I lucked out on having parents that support me traveling the globe and moving about as far away from them as possible as soon as I could. Hopefully my future will prove that it was a wise decision. 

As far as updates go, I still have a few things left from Iceland, and I figured I might as well upload a few older photos from Myanmar and Thailand as well. That’ll keep this thing going until my next venture abroad. 
Hope everyone’s new year’s was lovely and had a wonderful holiday.
Cheers,
Hannah 

Hi all, 

So I’ve still got a few photos from Iceland stored up to post, I will do so once I get back. But for now I’m off to Amsterdam to enjoy a non-traditional Thanksgiving with my roommate. Should be an exciting week, I’ll be returning on Saturday.

Happy holidays everyone!
Cheers,
Hannah 

A quick trip to the Whale Museum is Husavík was in order. We stopped to purchase snacks and did the two minute tour of the town. It was oddly reminiscent of some coastal town in Washington or Oregon. The boats, smell, and atmosphere were fairly Pacific Northwest with the typical Icelandic flair. The museum was filled with enormous whale skeletons and interactive displays. Fun fact: Orca whales have distinct dialects in their language depending on their clan and geographic location. 

Grimsey was worth its weight in gold. We took a three hour ferry ride up to the tiny island in the Arctic Circle. Unfortunately, sea sickness is extremely common and most of our class was ill. I managed to pass out for most of the journey and avoided any upset stomach. 
Once we reached Grimsey we crossed into the Arctic Circle, took the required photos, and then set off to go for a quick swim! Ten of us decided to hike down a ridge down to the waterfront and do a quick Arctic skinny dip,  haha. Definitely a way to get your adrenaline pumping. Plus everything feels extremely warm once you dry off and re-dress. Afterwards we packed into a tiny shop where I purchased my beloved puffin-adorned Icelandic sweater (photos will come soon enough for that). 
We boarded the ferry home, this time with relatively few hiccups.

Geysir at sunrise was an interesting experience. Though its eruptions are few and far between, we did manage to catch a few shows from Strokkur. The park was filled with mud pots, geysers, and hot springs. Epic way to start the day. 

Bless bless,
Hannah 

Alright everyone, 

I’ve been super out of contact with this lately. Focusing on school and trying to avoid the internet for as long as possible. However, I have numerous things to share. I still have a million photos from Myanmar and Thailand to post, but those will have to wait until I have my other computer fixed (ugh). 
For now though, I have a few glorious photos from Iceland to post! The past 10 days I spent exploring Iceland with a few students and a professor from my university. It was absolutely splendid. The picture is from our hike up Skogaá.

Despite having laryngitis and a sickening cough for most of the trip, I hardly noticed because of the incredible things we were doing. We hiked craters in gale force winds, crossed crater lips on sheets of ice, explored snow covered lava fields, watched the Northern Lights and the moon rise in silence, skinny dipped in the Arctic Circle, ate a sheep’s head, meandered around Reykjavik, sang awful karaoke, drank expensive Icelandic beer, and relaxed after hikes in hot springs.

All in all, one of the most fulfilling travels I’ve done while at Franklin. Instead of visiting museums, taking city tours, and listening to lectures we were engaged with the environment on a very real level and related everything academic to actual experiences.
Still adjusting to life back in Lugano.

Hope everyone had a great Halloween!
Ciao,
Hannah