Introduction to a Navy Vet Nomad
Hi! I'm Harana. I'm a Filipino-German, born and raised in the Philippines until I was seventeen. I moved to the US during my senior year of high school and lived in California, until I relocated to Maryland for military training. During my time in the US Navy I've also been stationed in Japan's Aomori prefecture for over four years. Thanks to all that moving around I'm trilingual! I can speak English, Tagalog, and Japanese.
I was also living in Japan when the 9.0 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami hit, with my base being the closest to the epicenter. I was working at the American Forces Network then, so we recorded the aftermath on video and National Geographic used some of our footage in a documentary of the natural disaster here. Me and my squad show up at about 14 minutes in.
(Image Information: personal photo of myself in uniform;
photo from 2013.)
I'm an Information Studies Major here at OU and I graduate this December! The best class I took last semester was my Capstone. I feel it gave me real world, applicable projects to be able to place on my resume.
My favorite books are 'American Gods' by Neil Gaiman, 'The Secret History' by Donna Tartt, and 'The Night Circus' by Erin Morgenstern. With TV I've binged 'Queer Eye' for serotonin boosts but I also keep up with the animes 'My Hero Acadamia' and 'Kimetsu no Yaiba.' Me and my family also enjoy playing video games like 'Mario Kart' and 'Animal Crossing' together.
If I had an extra day to do anything? I'd want I'd spent it with my extended family in California.
(Image Information: the extended family;
photo from December 2018.)
We're a huge, tight knit clan and I miss them every day. I think that's been the hardest thing about constantly moving -- having to be away from them. But we make sure to meet during the holidays.
Hi Harana!
ReplyDeleteThat is so crazy that you were there for that earthquake and tsunami. I can't imagine what that would have been like and I am glad you are safe. Also I love that you are in the military and I have so much respect for you because of that. I have not yet taken my capstone class yet but I hear those are usually everyone's favorite classes. Hearing about your good experience made me excited for my capstone. Well I am not a huge book person so I have not read any of your favorite books but I am sure they are good ones. It was nice meeting you!
Hi Harana, I hope you are doing well and enjoying your classes!
ReplyDeleteI am jealous that you speak Japanese! My family is from Japan and my dad was even born there, but they moved when he was younger so he never learned or wanted to. I am so glad that you are safe after all of that and hope everyone from your team was as well, that is wild! I love Animal Crossing and Mario Kart! During quarantine my friends and I definitely found community through visiting each others islands and chatting on the phone while playing!
The detail about the earthquake is insanely interesting. I also come from a tight knit family and both my maternal grandfather and uncle are Navy Vets, My grandfather served during Vietnam and my uncle from about 1999-2009. My late paternal great grandfather served in WW2 on a Minesweeper. I also enjoy video games one of my favorites being Mario Kart, My little brother and I kept our Wii and my dad's 1996 Magnavox TV and would race each other for hours until the TV finally (literally) burnt out.
ReplyDeleteOhhhh, I am so jealous of your language skills, Karla! That is fantastic! And both the Philippines AND the Japanese islands are places that are full of stories. There is a Filipino unit coming up in class (so many amazing storytelling traditions among the different peoples who live there), and also some Japanese story units too. I remember you were looking at some cool Japanese projects as Storybook possibilities, and I'll add it one of my favorite Japanese resources online: the Hasegawa fairy tale books that were published in the 19th century... I am sure you will recognize many of the stories! Hasegawa - link ... and you can also make use of Japanese-language sources too which is great! I am so curious to see what stories you will write and share. :-)
ReplyDeleteHi Harana!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your video of the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami! I actually started writing a comment to you yesterday but got distracted watching that entire video. Then I went down a rabbit hole of other things related to that tsunami and others. But it was interesting to watch and got to me to look up other things, so awesome, curiosity engaged! I look forward to reading more things you share this semester.
-Eli
Hi again!
DeleteI never did figure out if we were supposed to leave new comments when we came back to the same intro, or replies. I'm going with a reply to my own comment this time. :) So one thing I didn't comment on last time is OMG THE NIGHT CIRCUS. I love that book. Now I want to re-read it. I think that's going on the list for winter break. Also I can't decide if I want to get...whatever Neil Gaiman's collection is called. I've got most of the short stories already but do I need the new book/collected version? Maybe.
-Eli
Hi Harana!
ReplyDeleteI bet you have some awesome stories to tell from your experiences moving around so much! I seriously envy the life that you lead by being able to move around so much, but I know that it probably does get pretty difficult not being able to be near your family so much. I have also read "The Night Circus," and it was definitely breathtaking in the way it is written. Out of curiosity, why would you rank it as one of your favorites?
Have a great day!
Hi Harana!
ReplyDeleteThat is so awesome that you lived in the Philippines before moving to the US. I'm sure you have experienced many amazing things in life. I also think that is awesome that you joined the US Navy. I also love the show 'Queer Eye'. It makes me very happy to watch and I love seeing how happy everyone get and how confident they are after their makeover.
Hi Harana!
ReplyDeleteThat is so amazing that you were featured in a National Geographic film. I'm sure the earthquake was so scary, but that is a memory you will always have! I think it's really awesome that you have such a close extended family. I have a really small family, but I'm really close with them. I wish I had a big family like you, that has always been a dream of mine! I'm looking forward to reading and commenting on some of your stories this semester!
Hi Harana :)
ReplyDeleteI think that's so cool you're trilingual and got to live in the Philippines! I know my wife would've loved to have grown up there instead of moving around all the time. That's really amazing you got to show up in the National Geographic film and even though the earthquake and its aftermath must've been terrifying, I think that's really amazing you got to record it and see it firsthand. I'm also really happy you have a large tightknit family, those seem hard to come by!
Hi Harana! Wow how was it growing up in the Philippines?? Do you like it over there or here in the US better? I'm sure you have so many stories. That's amazing that your trilingual, I would be over the moon if I could speak two languages fluently. You seem like you have experienced so much in life already. Good luck this semester and with everything in the future!
ReplyDeleteHi Harana,
ReplyDeleteThis was quite the introduction! I think its incredible you can speak three languages, especially with such different variety. I speak spanish and english and I'm working on Chickasaw, my tribe's language, right now. I also wanted to learn swedish but i might have to save that one for later. That's crazy you were so close to that earthquake! I'm sure that was terrifying, especially being stationed in another country that you weren't from. I hope you're able to get back with your family soon, and good luck with graduation!
Hey Harana! Can I just say that I am incredibly jealous that you're trilingual? How impressive! I love how you shared about your relationship with your extended family in California. Family is something that is super important to me as well, so seeing that picture of all of you and reading about how tight-knit all of you are together made my night! I think family is the best support system so I'm glad you feel the same way too!
ReplyDeleteHarana - what an introduction! I'm super jealous that you've gotten to live in so many different places and travel. I've never been to Japan or to the Philippines, but my grandparents and my mom lived in the Philippines for a while back in the 70s and 80s. My mother was too little to remember the language, but my grandfather can still speak Tagalog and some dialects of Manobo (they lived in Northern Mindanao, I believe). It's super cool that you are trilingual! I hope that you are enjoying this class so far. Good luck with everything and congrats on graduation!
ReplyDeleteHi Harana- getting to travel/live in different countries is definitely on my bucket list for the future... when I have the funds to do so! Do you have a favorite place you've lived? Or somewhere you would love to move back to? I also think it's really special that you were raised in a different country, and that you lived there long enough to actually remember it. Not sure if that makes sense, but I hear a lot of stories about people living somewhere when they were ~3 years old but don't actually remember it. I bet you have lots of cool stories about all the different experiences/cultures you have lived through.
ReplyDeleteHi Harana! Wow! I loved getting to read your introduction post. It is so wonderful that you Filipino-German, born and raised in the Philippines until you were seventeen. That is so interesting to me! I also think it is cool that you are a Information Studies Major at OU. I am an advertising major. I want to go to the Philippines one day. It looks so beautiful. One of my best friends from high school is Philippine. She is the best! I loved reading your post and getting to know more about you. I always enjoy learning more about my classmates. I wish you well and hope you have a great time at OU this semester despite ups and downs with online school.
ReplyDeleteHi Harana! What a intro! I, unfortunately, have never lived outside of Arkansas until I came to college and even then I only made it to Oklahoma! I think it is amazing that you have such a strong, close knit group around you because that can make or break situations. It is always beneficial to have those types of people to fall back on when the going gets tough. I know that is why I have both of my brothers on speed dial!
ReplyDeleteHi Harana,
ReplyDeleteI also grew up in California, so I understand that feeling of wanting to go back! I am so jealous of your big family. It seems like you are really close with them, and I envy that! I hope you have a great rest of the semester. I am done in December too, so good for us!
Hi Harana!
ReplyDeleteThat's crazy that you were so close to the epicenter of that massive quake that struck Japan!
I think it's really cool that some of your footage actually got picked up by National Geographic!
Also, I'm really glad to hear that your Capstone experience helped you get some real-world experience to place on your resume, that's always a huge plus!
Hi Harana! Your introduction post is probably my favorite so far. You seem like such a nice positive and full of life person! I am so jealous you got to live in japan it is one of my dreams to visit one day. You have lived such an interesting life for sure. I think it was also great that you were there to help with the aftermath. Congrats on graduating this semester! I am graduating as well! WHOOO! YAY US! Keep up the amazing work girl! I wish the best in all your endeavors.
ReplyDelete