About
I was born and raised on the beautiful island of Palawan in the Philippines. At 11 years old, I exchanged my humid island paradise to live in the dry heat of sunny Southern California. The Valley was so different from the New York buildings, rolling San Francisco hills, or the friendly towns of suburban midwest I was expecting from the movies I have watched. I found myself in unfamiliar surroundings, in a culture I did not understand.
Two weeks after my arrival, I was enrolled in a local public school. Having been homeschooled for most of my life, I was faced with yet another unknown. I have never even heard of the term “middle school." It has always been just elementary then high school but, eventually I figured it out…well… that’s debatable. If you look at my school transcript, you'd probably think I'm a troubled child, transferring from one school to another. But, that’s a story for another time.
Fast forward, I joined the Girl Scouts, travelled to Costa Rica, visited Japan, fell in love, and the rest is history. To clarify, that’s “fell in love with Japan." I’d love to tell you about all the adventures in between but that would be spoilers. This is just a brief introduction of my journey, so you know where I’m coming from.
As the title of this blog, “gjLifestyle,” suggests, this website is about my life and how I live it. As a Christian, I try to live an upright life that will bring glory to God. However, because of laziness, compromise, or outright sin, I find myself moving away from God. A big portion of this blog is about holding fast to the faith as a college student in a foreign land. I’m not some theology expert or perfect example. On the contrary, I am someone looking for wisdom and discernment, to develop a character that would withstand difficulties and stay true to Christ regardless of circumstance. If sharing my story helps and encourages someone else along the way, then exposing my struggles and failures will be well worth it.
Major themes include food, poetry, and travel. As a vegetarian, I have to figure out how to maintain a balanced diet, how to do it without breaking the bank, and how to practice it in a country where I don’t speak the language fluently. I enjoy cooking traditional Filipino food but want to try my hand at Japanese dishes as well. I’ll be sharing my recipes and the substitutes I use for creating vegetarian dishes that stay true to the original flavor of that dish.
I write poetry and short stories as a hobby. Recently, I have been more focused on narrative and spoken word poetry. I post most of my poems on Poetizer, a social media platform for poets. Now I'll be posting them here as well. I hope to get some feedback on my writing so I can improve.
Being in this country, travel is a must. I will be posting travel tips for Japan, itineraries, and things I learn along the way. I’ll also be sharing about modern and traditional culture and daily life.
I’m so glad to have you on this adventure and hope that you will also share your stories with me. I hope that this blog would be an exchange and not a one-way conversation. I would love to hear your questions, experiences, and advice. I look forward to continuing this conversation!
Till next time,
Gabriella Jeane