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I use this blog to tell interviewers that I have a blog

[whatiamtrying-blog]

This is my first Lightroom-edited photo that I want to share with Tumblr. I’m starting a #SpringBreakChallenge, where I post at least one photo a day, along with a small story.

I believe I was 13 or 14 years old when I was very dramatically cat-called while I was approaching the beach during spring break. I was wearing a large straw hat, a redish-black summer dress, a beach back the size of my torso, and my signature flip flops when I walked onto a busy boardwalk in Hollywood, Florida (Florida stole the name from California, according to a middle school teacher I had). I was about to step onto the sand when a mid to late 20-year-old guy about 200 feet away from me jumped off a rope hammock that was tied in between two palm trees and yelled at the top of his lungs, “HEY... YOU’RE HOT.” Considering how he was so far away from me, looked like the stereotypical kind of guy that would jump off a hammock just to yell something at someone (he had red hair, cargo shorts, flip flops, a floral vacation shirt, and a straw hat that was small than mine) and I was surrounded by a bunch of other people in broad daylight made this strange encounter weirdly humorous. My reaction to this verbal harassment resulted in me walking a little further down the boardwalk until I found a more peaceful spot to lay my towel on the sand. Oddly enough, I believe I found the same guy a few years later on Tinder and felt very satisfied in swiping left.

[whatiamtrying-blog]

I made a graphic of a poem for my Writing Club. This one is by the Polish poet, Wisława Szymborska, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1996.

[yoursummerdreamz]

[curiosamathematica]

Moo-thematics.

[memecage]

When you see a meme

[awwcutepets]

“I can explain…”

[catscenter]

[courbet-deactivated12311877-dea]

[ulibeanzz]

[newyorker]

Jocelyn Lee’s Painterly Portraits of Nudes Immersed in Nature

The fifty-six-year-old photographer Jocelyn Lee has been making frank and intimate portraits for twenty-five years—of teen-agers, of teen mothers, of women of all ages and stages of life, including some near the end of it. Her process is slow and meditative; she prefers to photograph her girls and women unclothed. “I’m interested in vulnerability,” she has said, “and what arises from it.”

Read more.

[life]

A young woman standing on a dock painting at the Saugatuck Summer Art School in Connecticut during the summer of 1946. (Wallace Kirkland—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Image) #Summer #1940s

[yoursummerdreamz]

[yoursummerdreamz]

[thingsorganizedneatly]

Personal items surrendered by migrants, taken into custody by USCBP (US Customs and Border Protection). 

Recovered and photographed by Tom Kiefer, an ongoing project since 2007. 

See more: @tomkiefer.photographer 

[plantfaun]

This is Scarface, the bantam Rooster who appreciates the humans who saved him when he was born 🐓

[whatiamtrying-blog]

My grandma kept the dog off of me for the entire day. When she left, I had to witness the same dog almost bite my mom’s butt off.

Sigh.

Other than that, I had a cool day. I walked around the city with my mom and sister.

We bought ice cream (honestly one of the best things to try in the world) and kvass (another amazing thing to try).

Kvass is best described as non-alcoholic beer. The drink is sold on the street and it is like drinking the sweet beautiful bread of heaven (if heaven bread is bliss, then this is what it tastes like). It’s also amazing because of how filling it is.

But the bathroom situation really fucking bothers me here.

Even in one of the most beautiful buildings in the city (as seen in the white photo above), the bathrooms are filled with stalls that have a hole in the ground for a toilet.

I talked to my cousin who lives here about this and she was surprised that this bothers me.

I mean, I guess the environmental side of me is happy that material isn’t overused to make toilets.

But the Western feminist side of me is not happy because I believe that such stalls are better equipped for male usage as a male can simply stand and piss without fearing that their dicks might touch the damn fucking floor (unless they’re bittersweet-ly lucky). (and yes, I have a fear of my vagina touching the floor)

But then the stereotypical Russian slav side of me is proud because the bathrooms here allow its people to never forget how to slav squat (Refer to this hilarious video to know what the fuck I’m talking about:)

Besides that, the bus rides around the city are lovely, the people are calm, and there’s not as many homeless people (and animals) around like there were five years ago. 

Now all I need to accomplish is how to best avoid the sex offender-like dog that lives in this house.

And so, до скорого)

[whatiamtrying-blog]

I woke up to a dog humping my leg and had to shower from a bucket.

I am currently in Belarus, my mom’s home country before she moved away from her entire family to live with my dad in the United States.

It’s not my first time here- I have been coming to this Eastern European country every 3-4 years; it’s been 5 years since my last visit because of complications with getting a visa last year.

The process of being able to attain a visa takes up the time and energy of about half a year. And even though my mom is a Belarusian citizen, she was never able to get her children that same privilege because of the fact that we were simply born in America.

Belarus is a largely unknown country to Americans as it almost never reaches the eyes and ears of American media.

Even though it lies to the west of Russia and is right above Ukraine the attention Belarus gets remains small, while the battles of Ukraine and Russia continue to fire up.

The Belarusian president, Alexander Lukashenko, has long been an ally of Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin. While Putin has been running the country for over 14 years over two terms, Lukashenko remains the first and only president of Belarus for almost 24 years.

Now, I didn’t come on here to complain. I wish to share the stories and experiences that I find intriguing as an American young adult. I wish to express the beauty of this amazing country and laugh at how humorous the people can intentionally or unintentionally be.

As I fell asleep last night, I thought about when I would be able to get a new SIM card for my phone so I can finally use the home WiFi. For now, I can only use Tumblr and Facebook Messenger as social media to share my adventures.

And so, до встречи)

[whatiamtrying-blog]

How to Avoid Getting Bit in the Ass by a Dog in Eastern Europe

Long story short, I woke up to a dog humping my leg and then getting a gentle bite on my right butt cheek.

So what are the ways to avoid such an upsetting encounter?

Honestly, if you encounter a friendly dog who just doesn’t know any better, ALWAYS CALL THE OWNER

That’s honestly the only thing I’ve wished I’ve done

But if you encounter a mean dog (one that is obviously acting aggressive or has acted aggressive in the past towards over people) go up to it to try to pet it, especially if it’s a chihuahua, and then cry yourself to sleep after a lovely experience of almost getting your hand ripped off