My blog is one year old! – And a little about myself

A couple of days ago last year, I decided to “revive” my old writing blog and turn it into Ayundabhuwana’s Blog, the blog you see and follow today. I cannot believe it has been a year, and it was so lovely joining the book blogging community with all the book recommendations and unique blogs and wonderful people I found along the way.

I want to thank everyone who has spent a couple of minutes of your time to fill out my tiny survey and ask me questions to celebrate this little blogiversary. I hope to keep posting bookish content, talking to you, and commenting with all of you guys for many years to come.

Zoie @ Whisked Away By Words asked:

1. How many languages do you speak?
   Indonesian is my native language, and English of course. I’m also trying my best to speak Dutch.
2. What language do you prefer to read your books in?
   English, definitely. Even from a young age I didn’t really like reading books that were originally in English and then translated into Indonesian – I preferred reading them in the original version. However I do occasionally enjoy Indonesian books.
3. Were you born in the Netherlands? If not, how did you end up studying/living in the Netherlands?
   Nope, I was born and lived my whole life in Indonesia. I moved three years ago to start studying in The Hague, and here I am still living in NL! 

    

   

   

   

   

   (Some of the lovely places I’ve been to in the Netherlands)

4. If you speak Indonesian… do you have any tips on how to learn the language (because I started to self-study the language the beginning of summer!)
   Ooooh have fun and good luck with learning Bahasa! I think it’s quite hard to grasp in the beginning… the language is quite complex in terms of grammar, and it doesn’t have he/she, or past tense, which can be both a good thing and a bad thing. Keep in mind to practice by speaking and listening instead of just writing & reading, I know it’s a standard tip for all languages but it’s an important one in my opinion.

Hunida’s Blog asked:

1. What is the first feature you notice on someone’s face?
   Ooooh that is very interesting. Their hair probably, although that’s technically not considered a face… Then maybe their smile.
2. What kind of sandwiches are your favourite?
   I love sandwiches, but I would say peanut butter and jelly. Chunky peanut butter, with jelly, and toasted so that the bread is crunchy and slightly burnt and the insides are all gooey and warm UGH LOVE THEM.
3. Do you fold your clothes or hang them up more?
   Because of my lack of space (I only have a small wardrobe from Ikea), I fold all my t-shirts and sweaters, and hang up most of my blouses and shirts that easily get wrinkled. I would love to be able to hang them all up, though.
4. What color are your nails painted?
   My nails are currently not painted. But I did paint my toes with a dark-green color, which looks almost like black. I kinda dig it.

Marina @ Books of Magic asked:

1. How long have you’ve been living in Amsterdam and how do you like Netherlands?It’s my dream country, sorry. 😀
   Hahaha, like I said before, I’m actually living in The Hague, and have been for three years. Honestly I don’t love Amsterdam, it’s waayyy too crowded and tourist-y. I love The Hague, it’s smaller, also pretty, and has a lot of Asian restaurants. I love the country in general, there are so many cities to visit and the weather generally sucks but overall it’s a great place to live and study in.
2. Which other games do you like except Stardew Valley?
   Honest not that much. I did dabble on a little bit of Switch game called Octopath Traveller, which I borrowed from my boyfriend. But other than that, just SDV and some random games on my phone.
3. What kind of movies do you like and which are your favorites?
   Ooooh I have so many… I love basically all kinds of movie genres, but I adore those that are thrilling, has a plot twist, or really messes with your head. Also movies that are cinematographically beautiful, but not boring. I also write a lot about movies in this blog, so watch out for those.

Annemieke @ A Dance with Books asked:

1. Looking back to when you started this blog when you were 11, what are some of the things you have learned from this blog?
   Oooh, so many. I never really focused about blogging when I first started the blog, I mainly was intent on just posting my thoughts and writings (both fiction and non-fiction) into the internet. I have learned that blogging is so much more than numbers and stats, and that book blogging is definitely super fun 🙂
2. What are some of the things about yourself that have changed over the years and what is still very much so the same?
   Of course I generally have matured much over the years… over this past year I’ve definitely gone through a lot of life changes, and most of them are good but some are not so good. I think these changes have definitely made me more vulnerable, but I’m trying my best of become stronger and more confident with myself.

Someone asked:

Please tell us more about how your love for reading started.

My family were huge readers… in my home where people would usually display paintings, or porcelain collections, or CDs, we’d display our books. We had five bookshelves at home! My parents would read to me every day before bed, and I loved these bedtime books. When I started to learn how to read I began to read my own books and I never stopped loving reading until today.

Sophia Ismaa asked:

Which book character is your favourite?

That is really hard to answer! My all time favourite is probably Ron Weasley; I also used to adore Percy Jackson and Artemis Fowl – for some reason I just love main protagonists of my childhood books. From the latest reads I would probably say Cora Connor from Our Homesick Songs and Daisy from Turtles All the Way Down.

Additionally, I also have a collection of book tags that I have been tagged that have unique and fun questions I thought I can put in this post as well. You might not know but I used to have another blog: Tea and Paperbacks; and in that blog I was also tagged by a lot of lovely bloggers. The tags and awards span from the Infinity Dreams Award, Liebster Award, Sunshine Blogger Award, Real Neat Blog Award, and the Flawesome tag. Here are a curated list of some questions that were really fun to answer.

What is your favourite Disney movie? (Orangutan Librarian)
The Lion King is my absolute favourite. Mulan was also a constant rewatch growing up, as well as Lilo and Stitch.

What is your top three book genres?
At the moment: mystery/thriller, fantasy, literary fiction.

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Do you remember the book that really got you into reading? (Rainy Thursdays)
Honestly no, because ever since I was young I had always loved reading. So I would say, all the picture books my parents used to read for me before bed.

Are you also a writer or do you enjoy reading just someone else’s stories?
I used to love writing fiction (short stories, novels, and even fanfiction), but now I’m mostly writing articles in blog posts, or essays/scientific articles for school/work. I would love to get back into fiction writing, though.

What is  the one genre you will never touch?
I will never say never, but I am not really a huge fan of full on adult romance.

What other hobbies do you have besides reading and blogging?
Loads! I love watching movies and traveling (as my blog title suggests), but also I adore playing games on my laptop, cooking, and recently I’ve taken up crochet, which I’m quite loving.

What would your dream job be?
To be a scientist in an R&D department in a chemical company and working in the lab.

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What is your earliest book memory? (Rachel @ Bargain Book Reads)
Probably being read by my dad of a picture book that is in Indonesian, but he would translate the sentences into English one by one so that I can improve my English. I don’t remember the story exactly but I remember loving it.

Do you collect anything?
I used to collect paper cranes (origami), but now I’m only collecting one thing: bookmarks!

Aside from necessities, what is one thing that you couldn’t go a day without?
My hair band in my wrist, probably? Other things came up like water, glasses, deodorant, but they all fall in the the category of necessity I think!

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What is one thing you absolutely must do every morning, or else you feel like something is missing from your routine? (Sara Letourneau)
Brushing my teeth is of course a must, but I always feel lost or empty (mostly just hungry) if I do not have breakfast. I have gotten into the habit ever since I was young to having breakfast every day, no matter how late I am. I love a good, hearty, delicious breakfast.

Describe your sense of humor. Is it dry, snarky / sarcastic, silly / slapstick, etc.? What kinds of things make you laugh?
According to a lot of people, I have a horribly bad sense of humour. I personally think I’m hilarious, though. My personal favourite are puns, they often make me laugh when no one thinks they’re funny.

What is your favorite time of day (e.g., sunrise or sunset, morning / afternoon / night, etc.)?
Mornings! I love breakfast, I love the morning sunlight streaming into my windows in the morning and lying around in bed.

You’ve had a bad day, and a loved one offers to make whatever you want for dinner. What would be your “cheer-me-up” meal?
Spaghetti and meatballs is something that I would love. Indonesian food like rendang, sate, or even a simple nasi goreng would also cheer me up a lot.

Name five (5) things you would want in your dream home.
A huge bookshelf filled with my books, a bathtub (cause I never live in a place that has bathtub), a huge and comfy sofa, a koi pond, and huge windows that allows lots of light to come in (or a skylight!).

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What is the weirdest food you like? (Holly @ Nut Free Nerd)
I don’t know if this is weird but there’s this Chinese-Indonesian dish that’s basically fried frog’s legs that me and my family love and it’s so difficult to find in Europe. I also like my cornflakes slightly soggy, which I know freaks out a lot of people.

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Is the glass half empty or half full? (Vrushali)
Half full, most of the time.

Why do you like your blog? And if you dislike it, why?
I like my blog because it’s unique to only me, and that it looks nice (I’m a sucker for themes and blog aesthetics).

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What is the prettiest book that you own? (Calliope the Book Goddess)
Hard to remember all the books that I own, but I do love the editions of The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater – the illustration and color schemes are gorgeous.

What’s your current favourite TV show?
Just finished The Office and I’m still not over it, I’ve been binge-watching it for two months almost exclusively.

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Who was your favourite author as a child? (Claire @ Cup of Books Blog)
Enid Blyton, Laura Ingalls, Cornelia Funke.

What do you love most about blogging?
The people! I get to read about so many unique people from all over the world, all with amazing book tastes. And of course the amount of motivation I get to read more ❤

Do you prefer to read on holiday out in the hot sun or inside on a cosy winters night?
I love both, but I think I would prefer the latter, just because I love sweaters and I function much better in colder temperatures.

Who would you rather be best friends with: Ron Weasley or Harry Potter?
Definitely Ron, he’s my soulmate.

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What do you do for a living? (Zuky @ BookBum)
For now, I’m unemployed.

What would you choose as your last meal?
This is very difficult, but I would say the rendang like I mentioned before 😉

Who is your favourite (musical) artist? Why?
Recently I’ve been loving Daniela Andrade (gorgeous voice), Daniel Caesar, and my all-time fav is Ed Sheeran.

 

Do you reread books? Why? and if you do which book have you read the most?
Definitely, although not as much as I would like to. I just love coming back into a well-loved book, or reminding myself of the small details I might have missed or forgotten the last time I read it.

Where’s the best place you’ve ever visited?
I’ve been lucky to travel to a lot of places, and I adore the beach (Belitung is gorgeous); the forest (Hoge Veluwe, Gunung Leuser National Park); old towns (Tallinn, Prague); and of course home sweet home, and I absolutely cannot pick a favourite.

If you could only have one for the rest of your life, which would you choose – fruit or veg?
Fruits hands down!

Phew, that was a long one! Thanks to everyone for asking me questions, congratulating me on my previous posts and visiting my blog in general. Also like I mentioned a couple of days ago, I made a new Instagram account! So check that out if you haven’t, I’m at @interlacedbookmarks. Love you guys!