Archive for March 2015

Weekly Book Recommendation

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Hey Y'all!

 Book Fact for the Week:
 
Look below for my book recommendation for this week!


This week I am recommending the 2006 Printz Award-Winning book, Looking for Alaska by John Green. This is his first book and what a book it was! 

Unfortunately, I can't tell you anything about this book. I don't want to. I didn't know anything about it when I read it, so I'm going to extend the same courtesy to you. You can buy it from Amazon or from a lot of physical bookstores. Seriously. It's in almost all of the ones I've seen!
 
This book changed my life. That's all I can tell you.
 
What are you still doing here? Go read that book!

Cheers, DFTBA, and Good Night.

Dear Travelers

9:01 PM 0 Comments A+ a-

Uh huh. Oh yeah. Let's write a super ambiguous letter today!



Dear Travelers,

Whether you be old or young, you are doing something that will stay with you for the rest of your life! Congratulations! Now, here are a few things that people find annoying about you guys.

1. Boasting. You (well, we, but for the purpose of this letter it's going to be you) boast about the places you get to go. There are some people who don't get to go anywhere. Like, they stay in the same town for their whole life. So, when you are talking about your travels, don't lay it on too thick.

2. Seat-Hogging. When you're in an airport, does your baggage really need to go on the seat? Seats are for people and occasionally animals. Not bags and boxes.

3. Punctuality. Please please please be on time when you get to the airport or wherever you go really.

4. Foreign Cash. GET IT OUT OF YOUR WALLET AS SOON AS YOU GET OUT OF THE AIRPORT. Nobody likes being behind the guy who is sifting through baht, won, yen, and yuan to get to the USD. Believe me. I've been on both sides before. If you find other currency in your wallet when you go to pay, just let others go in front of you.

5. Be nice. Believe me, I know how it feels when you get off a 14 hour flight and someone picks you up from the airport and all they want to do is talk. Tell them nicely that you need some rest or that you don't want to talk. Don't snap at them.

That's just about it. Thank you guys. Keep traveling!

Cheers, DFTBA, and Good Night.
Anna Grace


New Destinations.

8:40 PM 0 Comments A+ a-

I have a new destination everyone! Tokyo, Japan, let's do this! Be sure to check my 'Places' tab to see pictures! Well, not now. My photos are stuck on my phone. Grr...

(The trip to Japan is just for hunting. What type? I'll let you decide. But it's not for animals.)

Cheers, DFTBA, and Good Night.

My Favorite Quotes Pt. 1

7:52 AM 0 Comments A+ a-

So, I try to keep my hipster self (no matter how small it is) in check. Sometimes, however, I need to let it out. Inspirational quotes anyone? They aren't all hipstery. I promise.




John Green:


Pinned By: Theresa Charron

Steve Jobs:

John Lennon:

Hank Green:

John Green:

J. K. Rowling:

Nora Roberts:






John Green (Again. I know.):

So, that's it for today. Sorry I couldn't post much. 

Cheers, DFTBA, and Good Night.








Sorry

1:55 PM 0 Comments A+ a-

Hafa Adai Everyone!

Sorry. There won't be a post today. I may find time later, but I'm getting on a plane home, so don't count on it.

Cheers, DFTBA, and Good Night.

Markiplier? Video Games Changing My Life?

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I won't give video game recommendations very often, but here are two games that changed my world view.
The two people that I really like to watch in the gaming world are Hank Green and Markiplier. They are just so funny! So, here are two games, in the style of Markiplier, that you should really watch!


Good Luck!

Cheers, DFTBA, and Good Night.

Dear John Green

4:13 PM 0 Comments A+ a-

First letter! Let's see how this goes...
Dear John Green,

Um, hi. It's always awkward starting these things. My name is Anna Grace. I'm a teenage nerdfighter and expat. There's not much that I'd rather do than read and write, although being able to do it whenever I want to is definitely one of the ways that I can keep in practice. You know what they say! Practice makes perfect. I'm sorry if this letter doesn't make sense. I've written this letter at least a thousand times, trying to figure out what to say.

Anyway, back to what I was talking about.

John (may I call you John?), when I stumbled upon your book, Looking for Alaska, and then TFIOS and later An Abundance of Katherines, I knew that I needed to figure out how you wrote all of these meaningful and amazing books. That's when I stumbled upon your brother's musical about Tumblr. I saw that his last name was the same as your's, and I just had to know more. By this point in my life, I didn't know that I was a nerd. I just thought that I was really weird and didn't really belong. That was essentially my introduction to Nerdfighteria. Then I found CrashCourse, but that's a story for later.

You showed me that YouTube wasn't all bad. That it wasn't all weird and full of strange swear words that I didn't know. You showed me that writing isn't a waste of time. That it's ok to be weird and nerdy in the literature and history type way. You, you changed my life in such a way that I just feel like this letter doesn't do it justice. 

There was this one part of my life, it wasn't the best part, and you helped. You didn't even know it! 
I wasn't clinically depressed. They call it situational depression. It's basically depression caused by certain events. Reading your books, it was both therapy and made me need therapy. Your videos were so encouraging and uplifting, even if it was about Ebola. You gave me hope, and hope was just what I needed at that point in my life.

So thank you John. Thank you, and DFTBA.

Anna Grace


(Want to reply? I know it's not especially good to put my email on the Internet, but whatever. atomic.annagrace@gmail.com)

Dear (Insert Random Vaguely Famous Person Here)

5:37 AM 0 Comments A+ a-

I have a lot of words. That's something that I don't think anyone will deny. I have a lot in me that needs to be said and if you know me, it will come out one way or another. There are so many people who have impacted my life that deserve to know what I think of them or what I really want to say to them. I know that the intended recipient probably won't see this, but the Internet is a wild and wonderful place. Maybe it will find it's way to whomever it's addressed to. Maybe.

Anyway, I'm starting tomorrow. You'll see letters to Youtubers, Presidents, Viners, News Anchors', and many more people! Maybe I'll just send letters to people with certain characteristics! I have no idea.



Cheers, DFTBA, and Good Night.

Anna Grace

Favorites?

12:37 AM 0 Comments A+ a-

*These are a few of my favorite things*

My favorite things....my favorite things...what are my favorite things?

Cereal: Original Frosted Mini-Wheats

Movie: Back to the Future, The Fault in Our Stars

Song: Um, at this moment? It will change, but right now it's this mix of Sugar, We're Going Down and This is Gospel. Here's the link.

Band: A mix of Panic! at the Disco, My Chemical Romance, Maroon 5, and Zac Brown Band

Book: In the words of John Green, I don't have a favorite book. I have hundreds!

Colour (Yes. I spell it that way. Got a problem?): TARDIS Blue or Royal Purple

Drink: Chocolate YooHoo, Cream Soda, or a Shirley Temple

Food: I...I really don't know.

TV Show: Sherlock, Doctor Who, Supernatural, Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek (All), Once Upon a Time. I could go on, but I won't.

Sport: Dance.

That's all I have for today! So...

Cheers, DFTBA, and Good Night.


Writing? Writing.

4:00 AM 0 Comments A+ a-

Hafa Adai Everybody!

So, today I'm going to talk about writing. I love to write. To my friends, that's no secret. I also love reading, so I'm not usually at a loss for words.

I am currently writing 3 drafts. One with my friends (Again, Aisha and Anna) and 2 by myself. Sometimes it's really hard to come up with an idea that hasn't been done already. How do I get my ideas? Let's see.

I have 2 methods.

1) I think of books that I like. I then think of authors that I like. Some of those book ideas I can tweak in big ways so that I can make them my own. Change the plot, change the characters, change the setting; change it all, but be careful.  This method is a risky one. If you don't change it enough, you could run the risk of being sued for plagiarism, and this isn't something that anyone wants to have to deal with.

2) Pinterest. Well, not all of +Pinterest. Just the parts that involve writing. There is this one board that I follow that I absolutely love. It was created by this amazing girl. She has awesome ideas for writing and RPs. I don't do RPs, but the ideas for all of it is just gorgeous! The board is here.


I am going to start a writing tab on the nav bar and you guys will be able to see my stories as I write them. Feel free to leave comments!

Cheers, DFTBA, and Good Night.

(PS, comment if you got that reference.)

Restaurant Review: Guam Edition

10:48 PM 0 Comments A+ a-

Hafa Adai!

What a better way to start my restaurant reviews than with my first meal in Guam?

So, right now I'm at King's, A beautiful breakfast diner that serves food 24/7. I've been here before an the food was amazing. This time, I got the blueberry pancakes. The sauce is supposed to be house-made. I guess we'll see.

Blueberry Pancakes:





It was just as delicious, if not more, than it looked! Not too sweet, not too sour, the pancakes were fluffy, it was perfect! We'll probably come here again, so I'll do a different dish next time.

King's:




My rating? 4.5/5.
Reason? The pancakes took a bit to get out. Longer than it took my parents' and brother's. But other than that, it's amazing.



Cheers, DFTBA, and Good Night.

Travel Type?

6:55 PM 0 Comments A+ a-

Hi All!

When it comes to travel, I like to consider my family non-resort type family. When we go to places, sure we might stay at a resort hotel, but we won't stay there for the duration of our trip. We like to get out and experience the culture, immerse ourselves.

This time, however, is purely pleasure. At home, it's been really busy and tiring. The photos you will get from this trip will mostly be of the beach and maybe Main Street. More to come later!

Cheers, DFTBA, and Good Night.

Types of TCKs (And where to find them)

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There are many types of TCKs around the world, two of which we have already defined. Let's see who else is in the mix...

Military Brats: Usually American kids who generally live on a military base. Their parents are either in the military or work for the government. These kids aren't exposed as much to the local culture, so when they move back to their passport culture, they aren't very different than before.

Non-Military Government: These kids are usually the children of diplomats. They are more exposed to the local culture and are more likely to go to an international school than Military Brats.

Missionary Kids: These are...you guessed it! Children of missionaries. They generally spend more time overseas than Military Brats and Non-Military Government Kids. However, they spend more of their time in a single country. These kids are usually fully immersed in the local culture.

Business Kids (Me): These are the kids who move because of their parent's job. These kids are liable to move anywhere in the world because their company is international. They are usually fully immersed into the local culture, but they still go to an international school.


Trans and inter-continental TCKs can be applied to any of these types of TCKs.

Most of this information was paraphrased from the TCK website.

Cheers, DFTBA, and Good Night.

Anna Grace


What is an Expat?

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So, you've probably heard me say the word 'expat' quite a bit by this point, and you're probably wondering "What the heck is an expat?!"

Here's how the Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines the word as:

an expatriate person

Wait, what does expatriate mean?

to leave one's native country to live elsewhere

In non-dictionary lingo, it means that you go to live in another country. Now, while Mexico and Canada are different countries than that of the United States, we're just going to say that they're a continental expat and leave it at that. The same goes for European expats that move throughout Europe. 

I, personally, am a trans-continental expat (One that moves overseas.). I am also a TCK, or Third Culture Kid. This means that I moved to another country at a young age and stayed there for a good amount of time during my developing years. (There will be more on TCKs later)


Expats, no matter what age, tend to have a different view on life and the world after they return to their passport culture. This is mostly because of being immersed in a different culture as well as all of the traveling they have had done.

That's it for right now. More on expats and how they live is to come.

Cheers, DFTBA, and Good Night.
 Anna Grace 

First Post!

8:42 PM 0 Comments A+ a-

Hello all!

So, if you haven't read the author tab, I'm Anna Grace and I'll be the author of this blog. I hope you guys don't get too bored, but it is for expats and people who are moving. If you want to just see things about me, then go down to the labels tab and click 'Personal'. Just a tip.

So, this blog was originally my Genius Time project and after I finished my design on the blog, I figured maybe it would go beyond that.

You'll also see photos from my trips around the world! I also have a Pinterest account if any of you are interested. Just Click Here.

So, I hope you stick around and all.

Cheers, DFTBA, and good night!

Anna Grace
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