Xiamen Tour 2016 Experience


Hi guys!

We know that we've been gone for quite some time (jk) not just quite some time, we've been inactive for three months! We're really sorry for that but it's because we went to Xiamen, China! We went there on March 31 and came back last week! Pretty crazy, but we really did stay there for that long. It wasn't just any other tour, it was a study tour. You might think that that wouldn't be fun at all, but it was actually a really great experience. We got to familiarize ourselves with dorm life, being independent, wandering around a foreign country on our own, making new friends, conversing with others in a language you're not great at, and much more. Although it could get tiring and a little stressful at times, it was certainly an enriching experience.

Audrey: On my first day there, I remember thinking that the campus was huge and that I'd get lost in it everyday. I also remember being really exhausted when I got there after waking up having gotten nearly no sleep, and as I placed the luggage by my bed, I instantly flopped down onto the mattress covered in amusing green sheets that reminded me of green tea or matcha ice cream. I regretted that. The mattress was very thin, therefore I, jumping onto the bed, expecting it to be as bouncy as my bed back home, was thoroughly disappointed and also in pain. I also remember having this bruise on my hip because I was clumsy and had fallen, and it made sleeping on that bed seem like torture. Nevertheless, I grew used to the dorm beds, and they became the most comfortable thing I could find in China. It wasn't long before I started referring to my dorm room as "home", and to me, it really did feel like it. My dorm room inevitably became my home in China.

Even though it was a study tour, it was one of the best trips we've had! Studying wasn't stressful there and honestly you don't have to take it seriously haha. It's so fun because there's a lot of free time wherein you could just go out with your friends and go to the night market, cafes, restaurants and mall nearby!

One of the best parts of the tour was meeting new people! We met a lot of new and awesome friends there. Like seriously it's heartbreaking that we had to separate and return to the Philippines! This was truly an unforgettable experience!

Here are some of the pictures we took! :)
Performance day :)

Roomie :)

Umbrella dance x Fan dance

Signs Tea at Laughings Cafe :)

Wuyishan Adventure Day 2 :) 

At a milk tea shop located in the night market 

Wuyishan Day 1 with my roomie :)

Xiamen Buddies

Feeding pigs and monkeys at an amusement park :)

Room 104 ever

Beryl's best friend HAHAHA sorry Andrea

At a random temple :)



Heading back to the campus

Beryl, Nadine, Audrey and Andrea

Dress day at SM :)

Zhongshanlu with roomies (with a cameraman HAHA)
Our campus

Another gorgeous temple

Just a little Xiamen culture

Day 1 antics

Drinking one of the many milk teas I've had during my stay

Sunset in Xiamen

Shopping at Zhongshanlu

This cute little flower shop at Zhongshanlu

So cute, right?

What I do every break: take selfies, lots of them

Enjoying ice cream from this chemistry themed shop

River rafting at Wuyishan

Another one of the many temples we visited

A maze on water

Audrey's Wushu teacher

Eating Japanese food in China because why not?

Xiamen in our hearts


We've had a lot of experiences in Xiamen that are so meaningful and can't ever be fully expressed in photos. This has honestly been the best summer we've had, and the most memorable one. It felt like the trip was over way too quickly, but in that short span of time, we've experienced so much, learned so much. Xiamen will forever be in our hearts. 


ANNOUNCEMENT

Hey everyone! Along with our inability to post lately, we also haven't been able to read books or partake in blog tours, cover reveals, etc. This is not something that stems merely from irresponsibility or lack of time; it also comes from a lack of motivation. Reading is something that we've been neglecting for a while now, and it can be obviously seen from the lack of book reviews and all. This is why we just wanted to inform you all that there might be a lot less blog posts about books here for a while. We've been stuck in what seems to be a book rut. Nothing seems to pique our interest for long enough, and from that, we've lost motivation. This doesn't mean that this blog will stop being updated or that there will be no more posts about books. We will all try and start getting back to reading and hopefully begin to put up book reviews and get back to the same blogging frequency we've had before, but for now, we will be posting a different type of content. Geeky Chiquitas has always been a blog about all aspects of our lives, not just books, so now we're going to bring in the 'our lives' aspect of it all. We are sincerely sorry for not being able to keep up with the book blogging, but we hope that you all continue to read our blog. Thank you guys for all the support we've received from you until now, and we promise to make our content worthwhile. :)

-Geeky Chiquitas x (Kimi, Beryl, Audrey)

Guest Post: Dane Cobain on How My Book Blog Helps Me to Keep Up With Current Trends

It's always a great idea to get to know more authors and their insights! 

Since we believe that creating a book blog has benefited us in many ways, we would like to encourage you to create one yourself. We'll be handing the baton to Dane Cobain, who is not only an author but a book blogger as well, to show you his perspectives on book blogging. 

How My Book Blog Helps Me to Keep Up With Current Trends

Hi, folks! My name’s Dane Cobain, and I’m the author of a book called No Rest for the Wicked, as well as the proud owner and operator of a book blog called SocialBookshelves.com. In fact, that’s what I’m here to talk to you about today!

One of the perks of owning a book blog is that you get sent a lot of freebies – in fact, I’ve been offered free train travel and two nights in a 5* hotel in York so that I can cover York Literature Festival, and I’ll be talking about that a lot more in the coming months.

As a writer, it’s actually an invaluable source of inspiration, because I get sent books that I just wouldn’t usually buy. I’m a big fan of a lot of old authors, and so I could quite happily only purchase books from before I was born without being too upset.

But owning a book blog means that I get sent all kinds of stuff, from contemporary thrillers to children’s books, non-fiction and even erotica. One time, someone sent me an erotic novel which was customised to feature myself as the main character, and it was actually pretty good. Maybe not one to read on the bus, though.

If I didn’t receive this constant stream of contemporary work by the publishers and publicists that I work with, then I wouldn’t be able to compete with those same writers in the crowded marketplace. Plus, it’s a constant flow of new inspiration – literature is like a pool that we all swim in, and I find that the best thing to do is to just jump right in by reading any book that takes your fancy.

As a reader, I don’t confine myself to individual genres – in fact, that’s kind of what I’m like as a writer, but as a reader it’s even more noticeable. I don’t think that there’s a single genre that I wouldn’t be interested in reading, as many of my PR friends have found out.

So if you’re looking to be a better writer then you should work on being a better reader, too. Think about setting up a book blog – it’s a lot of fun, and you’re guaranteed at least one reader because if you do, I’ll check it out myself!


No Rest for the Wicked: Synopsis

When the Angels attack, there’s NO REST FOR THE WICKED.

Father Montgomery, an elderly priest with a secret past, begins to investigate after his parishioners come under attack, and with the help of Jones, a young businessman with an estranged child, Montgomery begins to track down the origin of the Angels.

The Angels are naked and androgynous. They speak in a dreadful harmony with no clear leader. These aren’t biblical cherubs tasked with the protection of the righteous – these are deadly creatures of light that have the power to completely eradicate.

When Jones himself is attacked, Father Montgomery knows he has to act fast. He speaks to the Angels and organises a final showdown where he’s asked to make the ultimate sacrifice.





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2015 Reading Challenge

2015 Reading Challenge
Kimi has read 3 books toward her goal of 100 books.
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