jessie ramirez

[patagonia]

Gosainkund, Langtang, Nepal

http://jessieramirez.com

[wakeupjessie]

Hello again, Patagonia! This is us soaking in the camp vibes at 4380 masl, before our fingers and noses started threatening to fall off.

[wakeupjessie]

April 25, 2015

Seven months ago, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked Nepal near its capital Kathmandu. Experts had warned that the country was vulnerable to a large earthquake any time in its future, and as fate would have it, we were there on the particular day when it happened. In such a short amount of time the whole world changed for us backpackers turned disaster victims turned refugees. The same can be said for thousands of people throughout Nepal that day.

[wakeupjessie]

The Loyola Mountaineers in Concerts, 2013 | Eco-concert and LM 20th Anniv Party (RIP Freedom Bar)

[wakeupjessie]

This is my good friend Rex. He lives in Davao City and works in the school where I taught as a tutor for a few weeks. One of the interesting changes he’s had since he’s moved to Davao is that he now chews betel nut, locally called nga nga. Chewing betel nut is a pastime done by many indigenous groups in the Philippines, and since Rex works closely with many of them it was something he picked up along the way. While I was there, Rex took me to the local market one Sunday morning where we had breakfast at a small eatery. It delighted me that the place was packed with locals who were there to have their usual morning fix as well. Old men were reading newspapers, others were enjoying their coffee over a chat with some friends, and some restless little kids in pajamas were playing while their mothers tried to hold them still to eat. It had a small town homey feeling that I enjoyed. Each table had a plate of puto maya (sticky rice cake with ginger) and a cup of tablea (thick native hot chocolate) on their tables, a staple treat in this side of the country, both of which taste amazing!

[wakeupjessie]

Davao City, Philippines | Pamlaan Center for Indigenous Peoples Education Datus of the Matigsalog tribe of Bukidnon performing a ritual involving the slaughtering of a chicken to ask the gods for guidance in the days to come. 

[wakeupjessie]

Always getting lost, sometimes in patterns (at Bhaktapur)

[wakeupjessie]

Mirador Jesuit Villa, Baguio City, Philippines

[wakeupjessie]

"Things I hope you remember: the missing part of your eyebrow, losing our minds to a sunrise on the Iberian coastline, lunches at ISO, forgetting keys to my apartment and running into minor Hollywood celebrities, all the crammed polisci education we shared together, spinny cups at Spanish playgrounds" There's nothing better than catching up with a friend who's come home from yet another crazy amazing only-in-our-youth travel and who knows exactly what sort of stuff (and stories!) to bring back for you.

[wakeupjessie]

Maxine, Singapore’s bundle of sunshine Nikon FE2 | Kodak colorplus 200

[wakeupjessie]

Bikers, Osaka National Park

[thetwodrifters]

Kathmandu in Color

This is how I best remember the city: vibrant, colorful and bursting with life. It’s a heavy feeling knowing that these may very well be the last few photos of the city in its usual everyday for quite a while. I can’t help but hope that somewhere deep under the rubble lies this version of Kathmandu patiently waiting to be revived. (April 2015)

[wakeupjessie]

Dotonbori eating, Osaka

[wakeupjessie]

Cherry blossoms bloom To teach us beautiful things Live outside of time Osaka Castle Park, Japan Nikon FE2 Fujicolor C200

[wakeupjessie]

I have yet to find the reason why we were lucky enough to make it out alive while 7,800 weren’t, but for now, I guess, knowing this is enough.

Gosainkund trek, Langtang National Park, Nepal

[wakeupjessie]

Manila Transit

[wakeupjessie]

“Love does not consist in gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction.”

[wakeupjessie]

I wonder whether the stars are set alight in heaven so that one day each of us may find his own again

The Little Prince; Antoine de Saint-Exupéry