Costa Rica Pictures

Pictures Lost in Time

       As many of you know in the summer of 2008, I went on a tour across Europe with my mom. We got the opportunity to travel through Spain, France, Germany, Austria, and Italy. Now as luck may have it, when I came out of the plane and grabbed my camera to take a picture, the screen of my camera was completely wrecked. I was able to take a few pictures, but I couldn’t see what I was taking a picture of. After a while the camera was so wrecked it wouldn’t even turn on. Something like this would happen to me! So my mom and I were forced to buy disposable cameras and take pictures with those. It was the only possible alternative we had at the moment and for the most part it was okay. Eventually, we came back home from our trip with tons of luggage and bags. Because everyone and their moms wanted a souvenir. We ended up misplacing the bag with all the disposable cameras and all the pictures inside it. At the moment it was okay because the memory card in my broken camera had salvaged a few good pictures, Ignoring all the awkward floor pictures, and it was enough to show our friends and family. Unfortunately, bad luck struck again and a computer accident led to all my documents, pictures and all, to be wiped off of my hard drive. With those pictures being lost and the disposable cameras never to be found, those pictures and memories were lost in time. Today we were finally brushed with good luck; as I was going through some old boxes I came across a very old looking book bag. What did I find inside you may ask? None other then the disposable cameras I had lost long ago. I found a few old maps, pamphlets, and nine disposable cameras holding 27 pictures each. That’s 243 pictures of Europe that I thought were lost forever! Now, because times have changed and developing film is actually kind of expensive, especially for the 243 pictures, I decided to make a project of it. Why not every week or so develop one camera at a time? That way I could make looking through those pictures an experience. It will give me the chance to extend me reminiscing for a couple of weeks and allow me to value the pictures much more    

Cuban Artist: Rafael Villares

While on my trip to Cuba, I had the opportunity to meet an amazing Cuban artist named Rafael Villares; his work was both evocative and naturalistic. Villares presented one of two ideas in his artwork: the idea of creating function out of something that appears to be without function; and the relationship between Cubans and Cuban Americans, in regards to the Cuban migration. In one of his function pieces called ‘Breathe’, Villares installed a light box in the center of the floor and created a layer of cracked dirt above the light box. As the observers came into the room, they would immediately be greeted by the rhythmic sounds of breathing that was matched by the intensity of the light shining through the cracks. This would eventually cause the observer to sync their own breathing with that of the “earth” creating the idea that they are one with the environment. Another function piece with a similar idea was ‘Flight’, this piece consisted of a room that had air blowing from the ceiling to the floor, and from the floor to the ceiling. These two forces of air hold up tons of loose bird feathers that were collected for the piece, giving the observer the feeling that they are flying with these feathers. The feathers had already fallen of the birds they belonged to; so this piece emphasized creating function in something that had lost function.

One work that I personally got the chance to see was Villares piece on the Cuban Identity and Relationship. As many know, after the Cuban Migration following the revolution that led Communism, tensions arose between those that remained in Cuba and those that fled to Miami. Hostility has caused many Cubans to disassociate themselves with the ones that fled and consider those to not be “authentic Cubans”. Villares, who holds a different ideology, installed a lamppost in the middle of the central city known as Havana Vieja. This lamppost was split into two, holding two light bulbs, and intertwined with each other to represent a unity. One light bulb was from Cuba; the other was brought from Miami. This symbolized that the Cubans and Cuban Americans may seem to be different but they are in fact intertwined and are one. Villares was a phenomenal artist and I connected deeply with the message he was trying to present. Feel free to check out his website to read more about these pieces and see any new work he may create. http://www.rafaelvillares.com

Las Manos Pa' Arriba

       This is a short video I made of my trip to Cuba. Hopefully this gives you the chance to see a bit of Cuba through my eyes. Although this video gives you an inside look, it only gives you a taste of what I experienced there. Although, I hope it gives you a but more motivation to travel to the marvelous island that is Cuba. Sit back, enjoy y suban las manos pa' arriba!

I'm Off to Cuba

Ever since I was kid, I've had this tradition I follow before a trip. Right before I'm about to leave for the airport, I'll write a quick reflection about how I feel in that moment. Clearly I wanted to be a writer since adolescence. I figured now that I have this blog, I might as well share my thoughts with the rest of you. I am leaving for my flight in a few hours; I'll be spending the night in Miami and then leaving Saturday morning for Cuba. Somehow it still doesn't feel real, it doesn't feel like I'm going to be in Cuba in a day’s time. As always my anxiety level is at a high. Hahahah. No matter how frequently I travel, I can never get rid of that preflight anxiety. At least I know that the moment I get on that plane, all that anxiety will turn into pure excitement. I am so excited for this trip because unlike my other trips, I don't know what to expect. Few people have gotten the chance to see Cuba for themselves so there isn't too much advice out there. Although, I'm completely fine with exploring the mystery behind Cuba. I cannot wait to go walking through the streets of Havana and find hidden gems throughout the city. I'm packed and I'm ready. Wish me luck! 

Throw Back Thursday Travel Edition: London

I'm Young, I'm Sexy, and I'm Broke

 If you guys are really interested in traveling and want good advice on places to go/things to do, I would definitely recommend: Off Track Planet’s Traveling for the Young, Sexy and the Broke. It is hands down my favorite travel book! I first came across it at an Urban Outfitters, and it immediately left an impression on me. I didn’t buy it right then and there, but I made a mental note that I would to buy it soon. One day, I got really eager to find out what it was all about so I bought the e-book. I don’t know if I’ve ever inhaled a book that quickly, but it in a matter of a few hours I was done. I kept flipping back and forth through the pages; which got annoying after a while on my iPad. That’s when I decided I needed to buy the physical copy. Now that I have the physical book, I can flip through the pages whenever I want. What I love about this book is that it’s so relatable. When I travel I enjoy looking at historical monuments for a while, but I am much more interested in experiencing the life as a local. I like walking around the streets at random and getting my party on at midnight. A lot of other travel books I’ve come across always sound like they are geared towards older tourist who want to spend most of their time at historical attractions. This book feels like someone my age is talking to me about traveling and its giving me all the advice I was REALLY looking for. Also, if you get the book and immediately get hooked like I did Off Track Planet also keeps a magazine blog that posts a new issue every Tuesday. It’s my home screen when I open safari, hahaha. But seriously guys if you’re interested check it out. The book really opened my eyes to places I didn’t know I wanted to go to, Thailand for example, Check it out!  

54 Days til Cuba

            I am so excited for my trip to Cuba; I am literally counting down the days. For those of you that don’t know, in March I’m going on a study tour in Cuba with Fordham for a week. What makes this trip exceptional, besides the fact that it’s Cuba, is that Fordham is paying over 70% of the trip for me. This opportunity has been absolutely amazing and has made be twice as excited to go. I’ve been researching key things you have to do in Cuba, so I can get the most out of this trip. I have to try Cuban rum (apparently is not available anywhere else). I’m not really a fan of cigars but since I am already there I might try a Cuban cigar. Being a frequent coffee drinker, I’m so eager to try the Cuban coffee. I want to try that authentic cup of real and natural Cuban coffee. While I was looking online, I came across this awesome activity that I am excited to try once I get to Cuba. Since Cuba is filled with vintage cars from the 1950’s, you can actually get the drivers to drive you around the city in one of those cars and visit Cuban landmarks. That would literally be so awesome to get to ride along in one of those cars. I can’t wait to visit the Malecón, the Plaza de San Francisco de Asìs, and Plaza de la Revolución. There are so many beautiful things about Cuba, my list is going to be extensive hopefully I can complete everything while I’m there. If you guys know of anything I have to do while I’m there let me know.

Summer Intern in Thailand

So I've been thinking long and hard about what I want to do this summer. I wanted to travel but at the same time, I also wanted to starting interning and getting some work experience. After taking some time to think about it, I thought about interning abroad; I'd get the best of both worlds. The place I wanted to study abroad would be the next step to decide. I was looking into all the places I wanted to go, which would be more economically convenient for me, and which would provide me with the greatest culture shock. Which is what brought me to decide on Thailand. There are so many beautiful sights to see in Thailand and the culture is vastly different from my own. So I'm applying to this program called World Endeavors and if everything goes well, fingers crossed, I will be in Thailand by the summer.