Bodacious Thought

MY LIFE IN PICTURES #17

noreply@blogger.com (Dorien) — Sat, 05 Sep 2015 17:27:00 +0000

Not that many pictures this time because I was pretty busy but I did have fun these last couple of weeks. By the way, you can always follow me on Instagram.

^ This is my favorite kind of morning. Reading a good book while eating greek yoghurt with fruit and muesli. | This picture was taken on Ostend Beach, I kind of always forget I have this tattoo.

I bought these pajama pants and immediately felt like reading Harry Potter. | Another picture taken at a party, at Spektrum. Love these colors!

My grandma has the cutest little kitten. | Pretty views in Ghent.

I moved into a tiny studio and had the best time decorating. (Almost everything is from Ikea.) | It's scarf weather!

My two best friends came to visit me at my studio and we had to test out my fisheye lens. | And the last party of the past weeks, a fairytale themed one. My friends were Tinkerbell and Hippienokio and I was Puss in Boots.

I didn't post this on instagram but this was my outfit and make-up by the way!

Hema 3-in-1 phone lens + giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Dorien) — Sat, 29 Aug 2015 12:40:00 +0000

normal - wide angle - fisheye

When I was in Hema the last time, I spotted this amazingly cheap package of phone lenses. I'm reviewing this with my iPhone but they should fit on practically every phone. The package comes with everything you need to apply on your phone. There are three lenses inside; a macro lens, a wide angle lens and a fisheye lens. The macro and wide angle lens are two in one, you can't use the wide one without the macro one.

normal (can't focus this close) - macro

I think they work pretty damn well! The only downside is that your pictures lose a bit of colour. But that's nothing a bit of editing can't fix! I think these pictures will speak for themselves. There's not really much I can say about them. I think the fisheye lens will be really fun for parties and the wide lens if perfect for citytripping. And the best thing about all of this? It costs 5 euros!

If you'd like one of these for free, enter below! I'll pick a winner next Saturday.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Travel wishlist

noreply@blogger.com (Dorien) — Tue, 25 Aug 2015 12:56:00 +0000

Hydeaway Bay, Australia

So far, I have visited 19 countries and I'm going to make it to 20 by the end of the year. But that doesn't mean that I'm always dreaming about destinations I haven't been to yet. I guess that everyone kind of has a wishlist of some sorts with all the places they want to go to as soon as possible. This is mine at the moment.

image

I don't know why but I really really want to go to Thailand, it's definitely on top of my list. Actually, the whole of South-East Asia is on that list. I'm dreaming of islandhopping, lots of scubadiving and heaps of delicious Thai food. Also, elephants, monkeys and tigers.

image

I've been really fascinated by Ireland and Scotland for a while now. I'd love to visit both of them and just hike around, take in the views. Scotland might happen next year since a friend of mine is going to study there, but Ireland is ranking pretty high on my to-dolist as well.

image

And yet another side of the world: South America. Since seeing pictures from friends, I can't get Cuba out of my head. I want to see the typical old cars, visit a cigar factory, give lots of present to local children and overall, take in the area and culture.

image

I'm curious about New Zealand because it seems like such a faraway, secluded place. I think this is one of the most expensive destinations to travel to though, so this probably won't happen that soon. I was so close when I was in Australia but it didn't happen. I have a fantasy of being totally submerged in the decor of Lord of the Rings when I'm there. Shouldn't be too hard with all of those beautiful mountains and valleys.

image

Another country in Europe I haven't had the opportunity to visit, but would love to. I'm crossing my fingers that this might happen in 2016, I'd love to make a roadtrip through the balkan area. It shouldn't be too hard to combine Albania with Montenegro and Macedonia, maybe even Croatia. Lots of people tend to overlook the Balkans but they look very appealing to me. Beautiful nature and don't forget that Albania has a few of the most amazing beaches in Europe.

If you had all of the money in the world, which country would you visit first?

New design

noreply@blogger.com (Dorien) — Sun, 23 Aug 2015 19:14:00 +0000

As you might notice, I switched some things up around here. It's not something permanent because I don't really like how it's looking right now either but my previous layout became a little too childish for me. I put a lot of work into the previous one and all the added gadgets but it was time to go. I'm a fan of a minimalistic design so it will still look like this one when it's finished. What I still want to change is my banner, my picture in the about me section and the width of the blog. I bought a template that doesn't allow me to change the width right now so I'll need to look for something else. Anyway, at least it looks less cluttered! What do you think I could still improve?

This was the previous one by the way:

MOTIVATING MONDAY #33

noreply@blogger.com (Dorien) — Mon, 17 Aug 2015 11:23:00 +0000

© Everyday I start my morning with a little round on the internet. Fixed stop is always the photo of the day of National Geographic. And then a round of daydreaming can begin.

© Oh god, isn't this the cutest? I'm looking forward to seeing the first hedgehog this year. That always tends to happen around october.

© I've been loving Merels blog lately, she always has the best outfits.

© Painfully accurate indeed.

© This is the most crazy story I've read in a while. Apart from the stealing, I truly admire this guy. I don't think many people would be able to live like this without losing their mind.

© I want someone to send a tiny package to!

© I already knew rats were smart but these little guys can do some amazing things.

© It's a little US-oriented but I'm sure you'll recognize a few of these.

© This guy has the best collection in the world. It's obviously really excessive and unnecessary but I love how passionate he is.

THE UNDERWEAR QUESTION

noreply@blogger.com (Dorien) — Sat, 15 Aug 2015 07:00:00 +0000

Usually people don't really write about underwear. It's pretty common to share your wishlist with a friend maybe, but with the whole world wide web? I don't think it really matters. It's not like you're actually seeing pictures of me in said underwear (even though I would totally post those too if they looked awesome). These days I'm obsessed with soft, wireless bras and if I would buy anything at the moment, it would be this style. I am going to buy the ones from monki by the way, they're too cheap to let go. If you want to know the brands or prices, click on the picture!

A few friends of mine don't like wearing those soft bras because they don't feel comfortable wearing something without shape or with little coverage, for example if you're cold (we all know what I mean). Would you care?

MY LIFE IN PICTURES #16

noreply@blogger.com (Dorien) — Wed, 12 Aug 2015 13:57:00 +0000

Well, this has been a while since I've updated! Let's catch up on these last months in pictures. I'm jumping back to April for the first ones and I'm ending in August. How the heck did it become August all of a sudden, right? By the way, you can always follow me on instagram to keep up to date. Leave me your instagram in the comments!

My second to last stop was in Byron Bay. I loved this mural. | And my last stop was at the Blue Mountains, these are the Katoomba Falls.

One last fabulous picture before I left. | The famous three sisters.

When I got back from Australia, I tried to do as much as possible to keep busy. I went boating with a friend in the Netherlands. | Found a nice lookout in my hometown.

And also took another trip, to Sweden! Both pictures are taken there, I might do a seperate post about it soon.

In June I spent another weekend in the Netherlands with my diving club. | And I had to take loads of selfies as well. This is the first one.

A few friends and I went to Pairi Daiza where we took loads of cool jellyfishpictures. | There was a musicevent with a Rockabilly dresscode, this was my look.

There was a photobooth on said event which we made good use of. | I visited Dour festival. Awesome five days!

I went to the Gentse Feesten as well. | And on the 24th of July I left for a surfing trip in France.

We went to Biarritz for a day.

I upgraded to an iPhone 6. | My dad and I went treasurehunting in a previous hoardershome.

Last selfie of the bunch. | This is my grandma's new kitten, she's a devil and a cutie all in one.

CRUISE AND A DAY IN TALINN

noreply@blogger.com (Dorien) — Mon, 22 Jun 2015 19:19:00 +0000

As you could've read on my bucketlist page already, taking a cruise was one of the things I've wanted to do for a while. I didn't think I would have the opportunity so soon because cruises are usually very expensive holidays. But when I was in Sweden at the end of May (more about this later), my friend proposed a daytrip to Talinn, Estonia. Basically, you spend two nights on the cruise while it's moving and you have one full day at your destination. The best part: it's pretty damn cheap. We had a cabin for four persons and paid about 35 euros each. That included two nights and breakfast on board.

I have to say I'm really glad I could experience a small piece of life on a ship this way because I don't think living on this for more than a few days would be fun for me. Even though this ship was massive, I know it's not the same as those really luxurious cruiseships where you would spend weeks on board. We were on the Victoria I and it's pretty impressive to be honest. It had 8 floors, several restaurants, two clubs, stores, etc. I felt kind of fancy.

This also means I got to spend a day in Talinn, Estonia. Another country to add to my list as well! I didn't really know what to expect because I've never even heard of anyone visiting Talinn or even Estonia but wow, what an incredibly beautiful city. We spent almost all of our time in the old part of town, it looked quite medieval. Small cobblestone streets, towers and churches everywhere. There's even a piece of the wall left. (I had all kinds of game of thrones quotes in my head.) I'll leave you with a few more pictures, you can decide for yourself. Have you ever taken a cruise? Did you ever think of visiting Estonia?

A LITTLE STORY ABOUT KARMA (AND RYANAIR)

noreply@blogger.com (Dorien) — Tue, 02 Jun 2015 18:09:00 +0000

If you follow the news, you will have heard about the electricity default in Belgium which led to a whole bunch of flights being delayed and cancelled. On this particular day, I was supposed to leave Stockholm and go back home (flying into Charleroi). I was travelling by myself to visit a friend and I basically spent all of my money in Stockholm.

Back to this particular day. I arrived in the airport in Stockholm, not even knowing about any problems. Eventually, we were still at the gate when the plane was supposed to have left already. One of the staff members told us that the flight was cancelled, no further information. I didn't worry too much about it. I've been on more than 10 flights in the last year and I'm kind of used to weird announcements and airports by now.

A lot of the people were freaking out though, especially because there was a school on a fieldtrip with 40 children supposed to get on that plane. We were told to visit the servicedesk. Ofcourse, every single person on the plane had to go there and there were only 4 people that could help us. By the time it was my turn, it was pretty clear that nobody would be going to Belgium that day. The next flight to Belgium was two days later but it was already fully booked. People needed to get home so Ryanair decided to make other arrangements as well. I got a plane to Bremen, Germany and there would be a bus to take me from there to Brussels. This flight left the following day so in the mean time I (and a lot of other people) got a free night in a luxurious hotel with a spa, dinner and breakfast.

I made my way back to the airport the next day and walked over to the service desk. They had some bad news. They overbooked the flight to Bremen. They told us they would do everything they could to get us on that flight but we had to prepare for the worst case scenario. If this flight wouldn't go through, we had to get on a plane to Italy, then take another plane from Italy to Germany and then take another bus again. We hoped for the best and went to the gate anyway. They kept us waiting untill literally one minute before take-off and finally everyone could get on the plane, except me. Why? Because I was standby number 6 and there were only 5 seats left.. I have to admit, I was starting to get a little worried. My booked flight was on Wednesday and I wouldn't be able to get home untill Saturday. Also, I didn't have any money left and I would have to spend a night and a whole day in Italy.

When I called my mother, I had to cry maybe a little bit. The people from the servicedesk were apologizing the whole time but I knew they couldn't do anything about it. I told them I wasn't mad at them, I was just crying because I felt a little helpless. They left me alone for a bit and I could hear them making arrangements. One of the women came to tell me that they might be able to get me on the flight to Brussels the following day. It wasn't completely certain though, so they couldn't promise anything. I thanked them for helping me and told them again that I knew they were just doing their jobs the best they could. I mentioned before that I didn't really have any money for the Italy route and they arranged another free night in the hotel and even a taxiride to the hotel and back to the airport again in the morning. I left the airport feeling kind of uncertain because I didn't have an actual ticket, only a "we'll do our best" but at least I was glad I wouldn't be spending any money.

And now to the karma part of this story. I got picked up by the airport by a really friendly taxidriver who told me all about his passion for World of Warcraft. He even suggested to buy me a new subscription to the game (yes, I played it before) so I could play sometime with him and his wife. This conversation cheered me up quite a bit. I decided to spend the last of my money on a bikini so I could at least make use of the spa facilities in the hotel. Right before I was going to go to the pool, I got a call from the reception that I had two visitors. I went downstairs and the two women from the airport were there! They told me that I had been so friendly even though I had such bad luck and got left behind. And they brought me a kind of carepackage, full of candy, cookies, fruit and drinks. They both gave me a hug, wished me luck for next day (they told me they were pretty sure I could go on the flight) and basically they made my day. I don't think I've ever experienced strangers doing something so nice.

So, to the two incredible ladies from the airport: thank you so much. You made my day. I'll do my best to make someone else smile in return. And to Ryanair: you are not as bad as everyone thinks. Thank you for paying everything and basically give me a spaday.

AUSTRALIA IN A LITTLE VIDEO

noreply@blogger.com (Dorien) — Fri, 24 Apr 2015 09:55:00 +0000

Throughout my six months in Australia, I tried to film the most impressive views and moments. Obviously, I forgot a ton and you'll see only a tiny bit of everything I experienced but it still gives you a pretty good idea of my trip.

I filmed everything with my iphone in a Lifeproof Nuud case (which I was really happy with by the way) so it isn't the best quality. I am pretty happy with how it turned out though. If you didn't know, I'm back home now and I've watched this video several times each day. I hope you'll like it as well!

INKED: WORLD MAP

noreply@blogger.com (Dorien) — Mon, 20 Apr 2015 06:00:00 +0000

I didn't want to leave Australia without getting a permanent souvenir and what better than get a typical white girl tattoo?

What? A worldmap with Europe in the middle, since that's the version I grew up with.

Who? I got it at the Foo Dog studio in Cairns, QLD, Australia and it was done by Jake Hall.

Where? My right calf.

Why? I wanted something that represented my love for travelling. Not only my trip to Australia, but everything. I feel like nothing can beat a good old worldmap tattoo. The spot was kind of an in the moment decision but I'm quite happy with it. It's not too big and it's easy to hide (if necessary) as well.

Tell me about your tattoos or if you want to get one!

Bungeejump in Cairns

noreply@blogger.com (Dorien) — Wed, 15 Apr 2015 06:05:00 +0000

It has been on my bucketlist for quite a while and about a week ago, I finally had the perfect opportunity. I was ready to leave Cairns and start travelling again so what better way to say goodbye than doing something fun and exciting? I asked a friend to join me and got on my way to the AJ Hackett bungeejump site in Cairns.

I had to climb a hell of a lot of stairs and then I had to wait on the platform untill it was my go. I saw two people jumping before me and it seemed so much fun! Even though it was 'only' from 50m, it seems pretty freaking high when you're standing at the edge, ready to jump. I finally made the plunge (actually, I pretty much fell/got pushed off instead of jumped) and it was one of the most exciting feelings ever! The amount of adrenaline you experience is astounding.

Before and after my jump (yes, I got 'dipped' in the water)

I'm really happy I made it happen and I can't wait to do one from a little higher. How amazing would it be to do the highest bungeejump in the world? Right now, the hightest one is the one in Macau which is 233 metres. Would you do it? Have you already done a bungeejump?

My Life in Pictures #15

noreply@blogger.com (Dorien) — Thu, 09 Apr 2015 11:05:00 +0000

A few weeks have passed again so it's time for another life in pictures. Again, they take place in Australia and lately I've started travelling again, through some amazing places. What have you been up to the last couple of weeks?

Cairns has the biggest collection of bats I have ever seen. Every tree is practically full of them and every once in a while, you come across a dead one. They're quite handsome creatures actually. | I sent a picture to the Belgian magazine Flair and they published it!

The library in Cairns on a perfect day. | I went to the zoo on top of the casino in Cairns, it's really small but you can basically touch all of the animals or they just come to you theirselves, like this parrot.

Palmtrees everywhere. | A delicious smoothie as lunch.

Another creature from the zoo in Cairns, I could get in for 5 days with my ticket and I went back once. | I miss my own little friend really hard though, he's the cutest of them all.

Every zoo or park has koalas ofcourse, they are so beautiful. | A rainy evening was spent in a car with some friends and Bob Marley made an appearance as well.

Another bat, this one was still a baby. | Twinkly lights on an evening stroll through Cairns.

I did a bungeejump! This was the before and after. | Through the air.

I spent a day in the Daintree rainforest and everything is so pretty. | I went to Cape Tribulation as well, the only place where the rainforest touches the Great Barrier Reef. How amazing does this look?

I can't leave Australia without having cuddled a koala, right? | Some more rainforest.

At one of the gasstations my bus stopped at, I saw this huge kangaroo, called Matilda. | This is by far one of my favorite pictures. It's taken on Fraser Island and it shows off both incredible nature and my new worldmap tattoo.

We discovered Fraser Island in a 4x4 and it was such a cool experience. | We climbed rocks at Indian Head to get to this amazing lookout.

The last part of the climb to Indian Head. | This a picture from Ellen and Mikael in Eli Creek. Such clear water everywhere!

Read & Watched 2015: part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Dorien) — Sat, 28 Mar 2015 06:26:00 +0000

I absolutely can't believe that one quarter of 2015 has passed already. Time flies when you're having fun I guess. I've been reading and watching a lot of books and movies again so here I am with another edition of read & watched. If you have any recommendations for good books, let me know! (As usual, the bold ones are my favorites.)

BOOKS I'VE READ

- the Rosie Effect
- the Truth about the Harry Quebert Affair
- Under the Never Sky
- Roar and Liv
- Through the Ever Night
- Brooke
- Into the Still Blue
- the Help
- Eleanor & Park

- Wild
- the Revenge of Seven
- Fangirl
- If I Stay
- the Great Gatsby
- Girl Online (I love Zoe Sugg but I have to say this is the worst book I've read in ages)
- the Lightning Thief
- Sea of Monsters
- the Titan's Curse
- Battle of the Labyrinth

MOVIES I'VE SEEN

- Step Up: All In
- X-men: First Class
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallow part 1
- Filth
- the Help
- Jupiter Ascending

- Rush
- the Theory of Everything
- Wild
- Fifty Shades of Grey
- the Lightning Thief
- Sea of Monsters
- Chef

PROGRESS
19/52 books: I'm on track! We're only in week 13 so I've build up a nice reserve. It's mainly because I've been reading so many teenage books though. I just can't help it!
13/52 movies: On track as well, but I might fall behind soon. I usually prefer to watch some series instead of a movie. Also, especially here in Australia I don't exactly have a lot of time to watch a lot of movies.

My life in pictures #14

noreply@blogger.com (Dorien) — Sat, 21 Mar 2015 06:37:00 +0000

More pictures from the awesome Australia coming up! I took an awesome roadtrip, including the Great Ocean Road and have loads of pretty pictures. What have you been up to lately?

You have a few lunaparks throughout Australia, this is the entrance of the one in St. Kilda near Melbourne. | Melbourne skyline

I went on the Eureka skydeck in Melbourne which gives you this amazing view. | And more of Melbourne.

I took the most amazing roadtrip along the Great Ocean Road and this is one of the views along the way at Port Campbell. | This is the Split lighthouse which some of you may know from the series Around the Twist!

Someone forgot an iphone somewhere... | Pandas for the Chinese New Year! These were really big by the way, the biggest one taller than me.

A view from Philip Island, with the ocean visible on the horizon. | I tried to kiss a kangaroo, he wasn't keen.

Murrays lookout. | And ofcourse, the most famous view from the Great Ocean Road: the Twelve Apostles.

I saw a very pretty sunrise from this pier. | Sometimes you need a breakfast like this.

After Melbourne, I continued on to Canberra. It's the capital of Australia but there's not really much to see except the National War Memorial. | A wall of poppies in said memorial.

Sometimes you just want to spend the day on the beach. | Did you know the emu is one of the two national animals in Australia? (As in, it's on the weaponshield, together with a kangaroo.)

And then I ended up back in Sydney. The opera house was worth a second visit. | I visited the Taronga Zoo and this guy was posing all day long.

When you take the ferry to Manly (or the zoo, or Bondi), you get to enjoy this view. | These guys are literally everywhere.

My only selfie this time around! I was really tired but so so happy to be seeing all of these wonderful things. | In Belgium, I always kinda hated seagulls because they were so noisy and going around in such big groups. But I'm kind of starting to like them here.

Initial packing list for 6 months abroad

noreply@blogger.com (Dorien) — Sat, 14 Mar 2015 05:44:00 +0000

Obviously, packing is a huge part of preparing for your travels. I looked at a lot of packing lists before I left so I thought it would be useful to share mine as well. This is everything I thought I needed before leaving for 6 months. In the mean time I've been travelling for about 4 months and the contents of my backpack have changed completely so I'll do an update soon, but this is what I left Belgium with.

CLOTHES & SHOES

These are are all of the clothes I took with me. Not pictured are the clothes I was wearing: jeans, a shirt and a sweater.

- 5 tanktops
- 3 normal shirts
- 2 shirts with 3/4 sleeves

- 2 long pants
- 1 cardigan
- 1 dress
- 2 shorts

- 3 bras
- 1 sportsbra
- 7 pairs of underwear
- 3 pairs of socks
- 1 pair of running shorts
- 1 pajama top and 1 pajama bottoms

- 1 bikini
- 1 tangle teezer
- 1 plastic bag

- 1 canvas bag
- 1 pair of slippers
- 1 pair of sandals
- 1 pair of all stars (worn on my travel days)

TOILETRIES

I bought a really useful toiletry bag from Eagle Creek and below you can see what's in it.

Pink little bag:
- medicine; painkillers, something for stomach aches, something for allergies
- hair ties
- monthly contacts
Other:
- daily contacts
- cotton pads
- female hygiene stuf

- sunscreen and aftersun
- extra pair of glasses
- headlight
- insect repellent
- toothpaste
- solid shampoo
- deodorant
- nail file, scissors, tweezers

RANDOM

Everything you've seen so far fits in my main backpack, these are the last bits and pieces that I put in there.

- rope; this was kind of a joke, I probably won't ever use it but a friend gave it to me as part of a 'survival kit' so I'm just bringing it with me anyway
- ziplock bags
- the survival kit as said above
- belt
- sleeping bag liner
- quickdry towel

I took a smaller backpack with me as well that contains my electronics and that I can use as a daypack. Inside I organized everything in different bags.

- mini laptop/tablet
- pink bag with all of my chargers and hard drive
- brown bag with my camera
- black bag with a few make-up items, extra medicine, lipbalm and a whistle
- clear bag for liquids; perfume, hand sanitizer, toner, sunscreen, moisturizer, toothpaste

- water bottle
- pencil case
- sunglasses
- earplugs
- usb stick (the little doggie)
- universal charger
- toothbrush
- diving logbook

And finally, my purse. It's small but really sturdy and the perfect size to take out everyday. It's small enough to fit in my daypack as well if I don't want to carry it.

- little book to use as a travel journal
- kindle
- wallet (I changed this one to another wallet before I left)
- passport and international driving license

Are you still with me after all of this? I already know what I did wrong while packing because I've been on the road for a while now but as I said, I'll let you know soon. Do you think you could go six months with this amount of stuff?

LOTM: Series galore

noreply@blogger.com (Dorien) — Sat, 07 Mar 2015 07:38:00 +0000

I've shared all of the series I watch or have watched before but obviously, that list has changed in the past years. Today I'm sharing all of the series I've seen and which ones are my favorites. It's a long list so instead of elaborating on each one, I've made up a bunch of categories! Also, these screenshots are from the app Teevee. No, they're not sponsoring me, I'm just absolutely obsessed with it. Best app I've come across to track your series.

My all time favorites:
- big bang theory
- game of thrones
- modern family
- new girl
- suits
- the walking dead
- vikings

I have to catch up on these or I'm watching them now:
- avatar: legend of korra
- masters of sex
- pretty little liars
- true blood
- breaking bad
- reign
- sons of anarchy
- narcos
- blue mountain state
- workaholics
- sense8

I've seen all of the episodes and am now following them up:
- america's next top model
- brooklyn nine nine
- chicago fire
- downton abbey
- fear the walking dead
- geordie shore
- girls
- grey's anatomy
- keeping up with the kardashians
- mr. selfridge
- orange is the new black
- the flash
- the vampire diaries

I've seen all of the episodes but (unfortunately) the series were discontinued:
- 90210
- Arn
- avatar: the last airbender
- blue mountain state
- dexter
- freaks and geeks
- glee
- gossip girl
- happy endings
- hart of dixie
- how I met your mother
- jersey shore
- make it or break it
- nikita
- one tree hill
- pan am
- prison break
- revenge
- the carrie diaries
- the client list
- two and a half men
- veronica mars

What I want to watch soon:

- six feet under
- house of cards
- the wire

What a list, huh? I like series because it keeps you in a story for a long time and episodes usually don't take that long. 20 or 40 minutes a day is perfectly manageable while a movie takes up so much time. So, do you have any other recommendations for me?

Diving in the Great Barrier Reef

noreply@blogger.com (Dorien) — Fri, 27 Feb 2015 09:00:00 +0000

When I was in Cairns, I finally made it happen: I went diving in the Great Barrier Reef. It has been on my bucketlist since I started diving more than a year ago and I'm so happy I got to experience it. Before the GBR, I dived in Belgium and the Netherlands and once in Spain. Spain was a colorful reef sure, but you honestly can't compare the two. Ofcourse, I don't have that much experience yet so I can't say that much about it but I can tell you about my underwateradventure.

I originally started diving with CMAS but since almost every diving company in Australia (or the rest of the world) is Padi, I decided to get my PADI advanced under water certification. I was working in Cairns and had only one day off each week so I searched for a company that could give me my certification by doing two day tours. Down Under Dive did a perfect job. When I got on the boat in the morning on the first day, we got to know our instructor (Kelvin) and he gave us a welldetailed briefing and told us what was expected of us.

I won't make it too technical because that won't be interesting for most of you, but what I liked most about my training dives was that Kelvin also integrated some games and other fun bits. We swam through a ring as dolphins and did a counting game to test our intelligence 20m below the surface.

For the second day of my advanced program, I rented a camera and was able to make some amazing pictures. Every picture in this post was taken by myself, except the one on the top which my diving buddy took of me. I had a lot of fun identifying all of the fish I saw later. Besides everything you see on these pictures, I also saw and cuddled a Napoleon fish, swam with multiple turtles, saw some reef sharks and one stingray.

As you can imagine, I really want to discover more of this beautiful reef and I hope I'll still have the chance later on. But for now, I'm already so glad that I got to experience at least one small part of it.

(I dived in the Norman and North Hastings reef and got there with Down Under Dive, based in Cairns)

My life in pictures #13

noreply@blogger.com (Dorien) — Fri, 20 Feb 2015 13:52:00 +0000

Yes, I am still alive! I survived 3 months in Australia already without getting stung, bit or eaten. (Well, if you don't count mosquitos.) I think that's quite an accomplishment! Keep reading if you would like to know what I've been up to for the last 2 months. By the way, you can follow me on instagram here.

20/12: Just a selfie, to praise the fabulous weather in Mackay and my new playsuit and necklace. 22/12: I got myself a cheap car (which I got rid of again two weeks later), it was quite the experience driving on the left side of the road.

22/12: I drove the car from Mackay to Airlie Beach where I stayed in an awesome hostel called Backpackers by the bay. These fellas visited every day. 24/12: Beautiful view, right next to the lagoon in Airlie Beach.

25/12: This is the first Christmas that I spent outside of Belgium and on a beach for that matter. 28/12: I did a sailing trip to the Whitsundays with the Derwent Hunter.

29/12: Together with some friends I met in the hostel, we drove to Hydeaway Bay. I think this is by far the best beach I've been to in Australia. 01/01: My last sunset in Airlie Beach.

02/01: My mom sent me this ridiculously cute picture of my cat watching tv. 04/01: I developed a kind of fish and chips addiction since I've been travelling along the coast.

13/01: Before my first dive in the Great Barrier Reef. 15/01: I had two jobs in Cairns, one was working at the reception of a hostel so I could have free accommodation and the other one was working in an icecreamshop. These were both of my views.

16/01: Another selfie to praise the weather. I should stop doing this. 22/01: Delicious and cheap pancakes.

23/01: The second day I went diving, I did some fish identification. It was really fun doing this underwater. 28/01: My diving buddy took an awesome picture of me, even if I say so myself.

02/02: Before I went to work in the morning, I liked to admire the view for a bit. 03/02: I was going through my pictures of the Great Barrier Reef and saw this. I had to laugh so hard!

04/02: I was craving this dinosaur donut for so long when I finally bought it! 05/02: I took a little trip to Palm Cove.

07/02: Some more fish and chips from Frydays in Cairns. 08/02: A typical view in Australia. You have a nice beach, a very tempting ocean on a hot day and then these signs everywhere.

10/02: I treated myself to these vibrant hotpink Nike roshes. 11/02: I went out a couple of times in Cairns and this was one popular outfit. I would never wear this at home but over here it felt kind of normal.

13/02: It was really bad weather the last days I was in Cairns. Oh and Cairns is full of bats, it's absolutely ridiculous. 14/02: And it was time to move on again! On the plane to Melbourne.

Harry Potter tag

noreply@blogger.com (Dorien) — Mon, 02 Feb 2015 23:12:00 +0000

Seriously, how did I not come across this tag earlier? I saw it on Ines' blog and I filled it out immediately (but scheduled it a bit later haha). I tag every Harry Potter fan to do this one too.

Favorite book?
This is a hard question, especially because I kind of grew up with the books and I loved each one in a different stage of my life. I think I'll go for the 6th one: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. I think it's mainly because I have read this book so much, I even did a huge high school project about it (I compared the English and French versions) and I'm highly aware of every single detail in it. Even though it contains a horrible event - I think we all know what I'm talking about-, there's also a lot of humor in it.

Favorite movie?
Definitely the first one. I can't even begin to describe how magical it all was (and still is) when I first saw this movie. The letters from Hogwarts, picking out a wand, the first dinner, flying lessons, wingardium leviosa, ... The directors really translated this book perfectly and I think they did a brilliant job casting all of the actors. I will always love everything about it.

Least favorite book and movie?
Nope. Just nope.

Parts that made you cry?
I am one hundred percent serious when I tell you I can't even count them all. Since I don't want to spoil, I'll just say that every death affected me a lot (especially two of the funerals).

Who would you hook up with?
Haha, this is some serious business. This question would be so much easier if I was gay, then definitely Luna Lovebottom. How awesome is she? But since I'm not, I think I'll say Teddy Lupos. We don't know too much about him but he seems awesome. Or maybe one of the Weasley twins, I love their humor. This is solely based on the books by the way.

Favorite character?
Hermione, always and forever. She is smart, passionate, forgiving and basically one of the best friends you could ever have. I also love Luna, as seen above.

What would your patronus be?
Hmm, I think I'll have to pick an animal that kind of represents me but I'm not sure I know enough about animals to give a good answer. If I can choose, it would be a wolf. They're smart, strong, handsome and ridiculously loyal.

Which deathly hallow would you choose? (Cloak, stone or wand)
The cloak. If you have read the books in detail, this will make sense to you. The other two are way too dangerous.

Which house would you be sorted into?
I would like to think Gryffindor but if I'm honest I think it will be Ravenclaw. I think I'm courageous but I'm not sure on what level.

Have you played one of the games?
Yes, I remember playing the games on playstation and gameboy. I also have an account on Pottermore ofcourse but I don't really do that much with it. I would love to be able to play books of spells once!

You can meet one person of the cast, who would it be?
Emma Watson.

If you were in a Quidditch team, which position would you be in?
Hmm, definitely not a beater or a keeper so that leaves chaser or seeker, I would like both I think. Ofcourse you have a bigger responsibility when you are a seeker, could be both positive or negative. I'll stick with chaser!

Were you happy with the end?
Yes. I would have liked it to be a little longer and not so sudden but yes. And also the part before the end where a lot of things are explained is awesome.

How much does Harry Potter mean to you?
It was the book that made me believe in the impossible. It made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me fall in love with reading. I will be forever grateful to Harry Potter and JK Rowling for introducing me to the magical world of books. Also, I have a Harry Potter tattoo, that's a pretty good indicator of how much HP means to me.

Read & Watched 2014: part 4

noreply@blogger.com (Dorien) — Fri, 09 Jan 2015 08:00:00 +0000

As always, time goes so fast! The last two months were mainly spent in Australia so I haven't had that much time to catch up but (spoiler) I did make at least one of my goals. Also, as you might notice, I spent a couple of weeks looking after a 6 and 8 year old. Not that I can't enjoy Barbie otherwise... Again, send some recommendations my way! (Bold = favorite)

BOOKS I'VE READ
- Shopaholic to the Stars
- the Scorch Trials
- the Death Cure
- Diary of a Whimpy Kid
- Dragonkeeper
- Geisha: a life
- Nick and Norah's Infinite playlist
- the Rosie Project

MOVIES I'VE SEEN
- the Fault in Our Stars
- Step Up Revolution
- Wolverine
- the Maze Runner
- Now is Good
- Maleficent
- Guardians of the Galaxy
- Mockingjay
- A Million Ways to Die in the West

- Boyhood
- 22 Jump Street
- 17 filles
- Barbie in a Mermaid Tale 2
- Tinkerbell
- Let's Be Cops
- Monsters University
- Australia
- Movie 43
- Bridesmaids
- Cowboys and Aliens

45/50 books: Not bad, not bad at all! I can't believe I've read so much this year but I absolutely love it. I'm trying this one again in 2015!
61/52 movies: I more than made this goal! I think it's mainly because I spent so much time on plains and busses the last months, Australia is so huge after all.

I'm really happy with the amount of books I've read and movies I've seen this year. On to the same goals in 2015!

My life in pictures #12

noreply@blogger.com (Dorien) — Sun, 04 Jan 2015 03:26:00 +0000

Happy New Year!! I hope you had fun. The first Australian MLIP is finally here. I've been loving (almost) every second of being here and especially the weather! Take a look at what I've been up to (more recent pictures will appear soon).

23/11: My first few days were spent in Sydney and ofcourse you have to see the famous landmarks while you're there. I loved seeing the Opera House in real life. - 24/11: There are a lot of art installations in Sydney and Forgotten Songs is one of my favorites so far.

28/11: After Sydney, I went on a ranch course with Outbackpackers. We went on a horse ride and had tea in the middle of the outback. - 29/11: Just a part of the shed, skulls & bones are nothing special over there.

29/11: Then I went back to Sydney for the night (after a week) and went on the Sydney Tower. - 30/11: Some more relocations: I flew to Mackay.

1/12: Then, took the bus to Clermont for my first job (through Moranbah). - 3/12: You see a ton of insects and other critters in Australia.

3/12: And I managed to take a selfie with a kangaroo! - 4/12: I'm working on a farm right now and the surroundings are crazy, everyday again.

5/12: This was before I had to help with some mustering. You actually have to wear a hat for the sun all of the time. So it wasn't just a prop ;) - 8/12: I kissed a frog but it didn't turn into a prince!

9/12: It's not work all of the time! I was watching some sweet kids most of the time and this includes taking them 'swimming'. - 10/12: Another little critter.

15/12: Mustering! One of the coolest things I've done so far. - 19/12: A little piece of a little town called Clermont.

New page: bucketlist

noreply@blogger.com (Dorien) — Sat, 03 Jan 2015 10:11:00 +0000

I finally, finally finished this longcoming page: my bucketlist. This is just a quick heads-up to inform you it's here so take a look!

What do you think I could/should add?

You know you're in the Australian outback when...

noreply@blogger.com (Dorien) — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 09:04:00 +0000

... the nearest town is 2 hours away

... you start calling a cowboy hat a wide-brim hat

... you're on the toilet and a gecko comes crawling through your legs

... you have to add half an hour to your travelling time because you'll have to slow down for kangaroos and cows obstructing the road

... you are no longer surprised or excited when you see a kangaroo

... you look like a cooked chicken with that ridiculous tan

... you overcome your fear of spiders in about two days

... your biggest worry is how to get those goats back in their pen

... you can ride at least five different vehicles

... you're drinking milk that came out of a cow the same morning

... you get huge scratches on your ass from falling out of trees (although that might just be me)

... going on a horse ride and then stopping in the middle of nowhere for some tea is no big deal

My Life in Pictures #11

noreply@blogger.com (Dorien) — Sun, 23 Nov 2014 00:16:00 +0000

Another round of MLIP! These are some older pictures already (I'm currently in the sunny Australia) but I still want to share them.

23/09: I'm always trying to make pad thai either with chicken or shrimp), my favorite Thai dish. This is the closest I've come so far.- 25/09: Car selfie.

27/09: I like to add old stamps when I send a letter or postcard.- 01/10: It was my birthday in September and my father surprised me with this awesome buffet. My family came over and it was really fun.

03/10: I said goodbye to my sweet baby. I had this iphone 4 for 2 years and it served me well, It actually still worked but it was losing it's power. It survived two broken toilets and being flushed down the toilet once, - 05/10: This was an outfit in October, surprising Belgian weather (it's usually so cold by then.)

05/10: My uncle gave me this coke for my birthday, loved it! - 10/10: Flashback to the previous autumn.

14/10: This guy is a demolisher. - 16/10: Bought my fourth pair of black all stars already.

18/10: Tired but happy selfie. - 28/10: Little sausage.

31/10: Halloween! I actually just wore a skull dress but decided to add some freaky (and cliche) make-up. - 05/10: Black cat (would have fit the halloween theme well ofcourse.)

7/11: Good morning selfie! - 11/11: I decided to soak up as much fall as I could in my last week in Belgium and it didn't disappoint,

12/11: See the above.