#winter break

12.14.19 - This semester is officially over. I have one semester left before I graduate with my associates and move on to bigger things. Now it’s time to relax.

› Enjoy the holidays!

10 December 2020 // final day in aberdeen before going back home

tommyholland:

me on winter break: *rubs hands together* time to destroy my sleeping schedule

Winter Studying Challenge

27th December: What was the best moment (of your Christmas)?

This Christmas I didnt have the difficult family moments of previous years. It was a quieter, more grateful christmas. I hope everyone had a nice time. Xx Emily

One word. Relaxing.

This time I spent in Thailand was nothing short but amazing. This was my second time going and I absolutely loved it even more. I had a ton of more time in the country so I spent a lot of it just roaming around and just relaxing and soaking the sun.

The first 5ish days were hectic. Flew into Bangkok and from there flew to Koh Tao where we took our scuba diving courses. Quite a challenging yet rewarding experience for I am not a great swimmer nor am I comfortable with the deep water so I feel like with this experience, I really pushed myself beyond the boundaries of what I was capable of doing and it has opened my eyes to yet more a world out there of something different. And what made it fun was that we met up with my friend’s friend whose from the states but is currently traveling around the world and doing a lot of freelancing work. But not too long after, she found a love for Koh Tao and found a job as a Yoga Instructor. You go girl! So happy for her. Wishing her all but the very best.

From Koh Tao, we took a ferry to Koh Samui. And in Samui, it rained the entire time. Like the entire time. It wasn’t hard rain, but moreso little drops. The island is much bigger than Koh Tao, a bit more laid back. There’s not too much to do for things are quite spread out, but it was still nice. When I travel, I enjoy walking around and just seeing the spots hoping I run into a hidden gem. I like to have places that I want to go but I also don’t mind exploring on my own for a lot of expected things can come up and turn out fun.

Flew north to Chiang Mai. And before we get to Chiang Mai, can we talk about the Koh Samui Airport!!! Because its on an island, I guess half of the airport is inside but mostly its outside. Its looks almost like an indoor mall, but its outside. There’s a ton of storefront shops you can visit and they also have these platforms you can sit under for shade (well needed for it was raining pretty hard) and they knew I didn’t eat. The airport provides free snacks, yes FREE snacks. I was soo happy. You don’t understand how hungry I was. They had a few thai snacks that I wasn’t familiar with, but they had this ham sandwich, some juice, and water. I was in heaven.

I went solo in Chiang Mai, but it was awesome for I was on my own, I can do what I want, when I want and no one to hold me back. The city itself was super neat. Tons and tons of temples, lots of bomb ass food (per usual) and tons of great things to offer. There, I got to take care of elephants which was a very cool expereince. Elephants are pretty smart and they eat a lot! The younger kins were so playful esp when it came to bathing in the water. It was so cute. They all had some interesting personalities. I think it would be cool to volunteer for a few weeks hanging with elephants. Definitely gonna look into that in the future. I also ran into these two women from Las Vegas from this cheap city tour I went on. They were so sweet and down to earth. I really enjoyed them so much that I hung with them on the next day. We went to a night market and tried local Thai wine. It tasted pretty good. Students from the local university make the wine (amazing) and I believe each glass was like 50 baht (a dollar y’all). I was in heaven.

We flew to Singapore in which also rained the entire time we were there. We still had a nice time. WE had a very lavish dinner at a buffet in a hotel in the Sentosa area. Then went out to a club that we thought that it was Hip-Hop but just another shitty EDM club. Missed the countdown for i was too busy in the bathroom but you know, we still had a good time. Even though it was raining, it was crowded. There were tons of people out and my feet were killing me (damn you heels). Taking a taxi was impossible so we took a bus back to our hotel. It was crazy.

The following day, we went out to downtown area to the Marina by the bay where they have that amazing green lavish garden. Then, we went shopping and my friend was going ham in the beauty section for the items sold in Singapore are much cheaper than back home. And you know what’s crazy, from there we walked from downtown to our Airbnb in Geyland. 45ish minute walk (which I don’t mind). It was dark, yet nice and quiet and the weather was amazing.

Flew back to Bangkok where we ended our trip by meeting my friends that I met in China from my A+1班 class at Fudan. We had such an amazing time. Bittersweet moment and my friend really liked them. I was so scared that she wasn’t gonna click with them or say something crazy but man it was a good time! We had these amazing cakes, reminisced about our times in China, we even talked about bitcoin and the future of currency and investing along with lots of good laughs.

Waking up during Winter Break and remembering you don’t have school 

The struggle between Thanksgiving Break and Winter Break…

studywithchrissy:

• get plenty of rest, but not too much. you should be getting 6-8 hours of sleep. don’t mess up your sleeping schedule with staying up late and/or sleeping for too long. wake up at a reasonable time.
• catch up on tv shows/watch Netflix. you’ve worked hard this semester, reward yourself and fulfill your craving of Netflix and tv shows.
• assigned readings. if you know of any assigned readings, make sure you do them asap. that way you can be prepared and relax for the rest of the break.
• read for fun. make sure you are finding joy in reading books that you enjoy or genuinely have an interest in. reading for an assignment or a grade can be exhausting so remember how it feels to read for fun.
• clean and reorganize. (if you’re anything like me, i actually enjoy cleaning and reorganizing. I literally clean and reorganize every other day.) redo your desk space, your pencil cases, your bag, anything! also go ahead and start planning next semester’s schedule.
• catch up with old friends and keep in touch with new ones. being on break is fun. you have a bunch of time so why not reconnect with friends you didn’t get to see at college or were too busy to see during your semester. also keep in touch with those new friends. (I know I definitely miss my roommates and my friends a bunch already so I’ve been facetiming and snapchatting them a bunch!)
• exercise. make sure you’re taking care of yourself during break and maintaining your physical health and eating healthy!
• self care. take this time to make sure not only your physical health is well, but focus on your mental health. focus on yourself and what you need.
• create something. art, music, anything! don’t lose your creative side and reconnect with it while you have time.
• try picking up a new hobby or learning something new. and if you already have a wide array of hobbies, focus on those. learn something new, it doesn’t have to be academic, it could be learning an instrument or how to bake or writing. virtually anything you’re interested in!

I hope everyone enjoys their breaks and happy holidays! I know I’m already enjoying my break, but I can’t wait to get back to school and really start up my studyblr with all of my notes and school work.

- chrissy

27.12.18 being my own barrista has its perks

studygram: @procrastinationlikeapro