ExploringTheOrient

Traveller. Youtuber. Vlogger.

[annadarnley]

So here we are… So I disappeared for a while didn't I! I decided at the end of last year to move to a nice new site so I've been busy getting it ready for all of you lovely people.

[annadarnley]

When the Korean auntie at the bus stop goes all nosey and started asking, much to our amusement, if we were a married couple. When we said no she looked somewhat unimpressed and said "Well you're both old enough to get married..!" Oh dear 🙈 #bestfriends #matesbeforedates (at Fairmont Suites And Raffles Residences Makati)

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There was a Japanese man in the pub

There was a Japanese man in the pub

We could hardly have Taka going back to Japan without having been to an English pub. Thankfully, my Dad was of a similar opinion so the three of us hopped in the car and went off in search of a good Sunday roast!

We definitely got what we came for –  the food was great and they even had port and lemonade so I was happy! I introduced Taka to port and lemonade while he was here…he decided that it…

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Safety is my priority. And for that reason.....#xmasexcuses #cake

[annadarnley]

I Have No Interest.

I Have No Interest.

I’ve developed a habit recently…wait, let’s start that again because god knows I’ve had this habit for a long time but I’ve just been doing it more regularly recently. My cheeky little habit is eavesdropping. Bad, I know, but in my defence, if people insist on having personal conversations loudly on public transport, you can’t complain if I listen in and ending up writing my observations here.

On…

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HSK Journey Update : Week 4

HSK Journey Update : Week 4

26 days to go. This is getting serious now, isn’t it!

The stress is kicking in a little but that’s good, it’s making me get my head down and as such, I spent most of today with my head in a textbook.

Youtube and life in general has taken a bit of a back seat as I buckle down in preparation for the test. Is it really sad to admit I have study hours planned even on Christmas Day?

At least it’ll all…

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The day Taka came to stay

The day Taka came to stay

Taka and I met back when I was studying in Beijing on my year abroad. We were put in the same class on the first day and while I have no idea how we became friends, since our first day of class I can’t remember us not being friends.

You know when you meet people and you just know you’ll be friends? We’re like that.

I’ve visited Taka in Japan three times now. I saw him for the first time back in…

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'Advanced Korean' Review

‘Advanced Korean’ Review

I think I’ve spoken about it before – and by ‘it’, I mean the difficulty of learning a language. I’ve spoken to many people on the topic of language from university professors to fellow linguists, polyglots to those just starting out.

 I often hear those who are just starting or have yet to begin complaining that learning a language is hard. They say the grammar doesn’t make sense, the words…

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HSK Journey Update : Week 3

HSK Journey Update : Week 3

So a lot of this week was spent catching up with work work rather than catching up with HSK work which is a bit of a shame. I can’t believe there’s only a month left to the exam…

A lot of my time was spent updating my Anki decks to include all the words for levels 1-6 because even at my level of Chinese, there are days when I forget how to write the likes of 啤酒 (beer) or 漂亮 (beautiful). I think…

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Preparing for the JLPT 

As if I wasn’t busy enough, one of my 2016 targets is passing the JLPT – the Japanese language proficiency exam. 

I’d initially planned to do it in December (this weekend in fact) but  it was not to be. While travelling over the summer, I tried to apply multiple times but the website kept refusing to process my application, the deadline passed and I was left with two options; travel up to…

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'500 Basic Korean Verbs' Review

‘500 Basic Korean Verbs’ Review

If you ask anyone who is learning Korean what the hardest part of learning the language is, they will inevitably say the grammar. There’s no getting round it. Unless you speak Japanese (which has a remarkably similar grammatical structure) the likelihood is that you will find Korean grammar a right pain.

Or unless you’re just a bit weird like me and really like grammar….but what are the odds of…

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HSK 6 Journey Week 2 Update

HSK 6 Journey Week 2 Update

It was all going so well for the first week…

That is until one of my best friends came to stay for 8 days and I did zero studying for the duration of his visit. Thankfully, I had expected this to happen – both the him arriving and me not studying parts, don’t worry, he didn’t just show up, I did know he was coming to visit!

 I had hoped that I’d manage to do a little bit of studying while he was…

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What a way to make my week

What a way to make my week

So my Dad got home from Switzerland on Friday and while we were catching up, he mentioned that reading my blog post from last week titled ‘Being More Aware’ had really made him think.

He told me that after dinner out in London that evening, dressed in his suit and winter coat and looking every part the wealthy businessman, as he was running to the station to catch his train he saw a homeless man,…

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Like I needed another reason to love @bootsuk - check out the surprise I just got in the post!! ❤️ #ScentWithLove

[annadarnley]

I miss Moscow...time to get my backside into gear and properly learn Russian then I'll go back to Russia and have an even more awesome time. Learning languages has taught me you can never really appreciate or know a place until you know the language and the culture #russia #moscow (at Moscow, Russia)

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And the prize for the oddest collection of bedtime reading materials goes to....ME!! Am I the only person who has about four or five books on the go at once? #bedtimereading

[annadarnley]

I miss Thailand so badly...I thought that after my third trip there I'd be ready for new adventures. I am ready but I'm not done with Thailand quite yet~ #thailand #chiangmai (at Chiang Mai, Thailand)