WINTER AND HOLIDAYS IN THE US

Being, as well, my childhood dream, the beauty and feels of the winter season got me after the ‘Winter is Coming’ was a sensation being the motto of House Stark, one of the Great Houses of Westeros.I’m talking about Game of Thrones, but my trip was not lethal but more of a roller coaster happy castle household life with long lost family members on the other side of the world, and a happy-ever after.I am putting on top this photo of me and my Aunt as she has the happiest face when we met at Spokane Airport in Washington State. She was jumping in glee and deep inside I felt sooooo happy I almost slid myself on the snow fields when the plane touched down.We visited the Grand Coulee Dam. By how it looked, it indeed deserves the word grand.It is a gravity dam on the Columbia River in the U.S. State of Washington. It was built to produce hydroelectric power and provide irrigation water. The biggest dam in Northern America.We also dropped by the universities of my cousins. And since my Aunt and Uncle love me so much, and they know how much I adore collecting caps, they got me a complete set of university caps of my cousins, now proudly hung on the wall of my room.Hail my very first snowman.Look at my very first snowman. We did that for two days (two mornings to be exact) because we couldn’t stand the freezing temp.It’s only the four of us Christmas eve as my cousins were deployed at work, and the food I couldn’t take in.We also went on a cruise in Idaho, a neighboring state of Washington.I met Santa and his friends. Saw his house. And reminisced my childhood.You will love the snow in the first five minutes. Beyond, ‘Winter is Coming’. It is dangerous. It kills, so beware and be always ready with your warmers and layered outerwear, hoodies, gloves, insulated boots and coats.Imagine spending the holidays, Christmas and New Year, on the other side of the world and lying on the 2-ft high soft snow for the first time. It’s priceless, especially for a Pinoy like me.This is the area where I forgot that the snow really kills and I had semi-frostbite on my first day.This trip by far is my most memorable international trip. Spending time with my cousins and new American friends, using the language I studied for the longest time, (lol!, OA) And, one of my cousin’s friends told me: Oh, you’re from the Philippines? I thought you’re from another State. You speak English well. Can’t barely hear the Filipino accent is a reminder that somehow ‘indi buki ang mga taga-Guimaras, FYI”.One wish from my international bucketlist down. More to go. Going home with a fairer skin, earning 5 kilos for 31 days and bruises from snowboarding, I am planning to go back there within the next ten years. So there, (deep inside, I’m so happy, giggling to post, I got to finish this blog which has been a draft for 5 months now) thanks for the read, monkeys! This is just a fraction of my happiness. Can’t fit in everything but I hope you like what I just shared.