Blog Reflection

What a journey it has been. I have always wanted to experience the other side of the blogger life. Now, I kind of now how they go. Always writing, always experimenting new things for a great posts, always on the edge of what's trending. Specially nowadays with social media being so active. For a person to like blogging you have to love writing. They go together like night and day. If not, it's going to consume you very slowly because you have to invest lots of time on it. Its basically talking to people. They read what you wrote like some sort of review or experience. This way, your blog followers can learn or even get encouraged to do something. It all depends on what type of blog you own and the style is very important too. It's not an easy task, honestly. The more people that follows you the more reach you have. So, more things you have to write about and on a more constantly basis. 

For me, this assignment was something I looked forward to from the beginning. I wanted to see how well or bad I could do. How the process of maintaining a blog will change me to love it or hate it. I am not the writer type of person so it immediately became a challenge. I am more of a content creator. But I do love going places and writing about how my experience went. Nonetheless, I tried to make the best of out it. I own some blog posts that are good and some not so good - in my opinion. I guess that's because of the interest I placed on that particular post. Maybe it was because I liked some readings or exercises and some I didn't. The ones that I liked are well written, they have more of my style of writing, more pictures, videos and analogues, they are more alive in a weird way. In contrast with the ones I did because I had to. They are, of course, well written and all, but I don't see myself in those posts.

At first, I thought the whole blog project was going to be a little bit more free. Yeah, with rules, parameters and standards, but more of a "you do whatever you like but maintaining these instructions" kind of free. We did that, but I thought we were gonna' travel. Like see places or restaurants. Experiments plays, expos and all those kind of things. Don't get me wrong, the exercises were all great, but in my opinion, less reading and more go out would have been funner. Thats the whole thing of blogging, isn't it? At least those are the blogs that people enjoy more. It's not that I didn't enjoyed the readings, which I really did and learn from them, but whenever we had to make a post from a reading my intentions on writing were all gone. There was no excitement or process of experimenting something and really loving it or disliking it, which propelled you to write about your experience. We had some exercises like this, and I loved them. All because I got to listen to others people process and journey.  It was interesting and fun to listen to my fellow classmates. The stories of each and every one of them. All so different. 

I discovered that my style is very informal, very casual. Not in a bad way, but its like if I were speaking to a friend about something. Also, with the advances in technology and everything and everyone now connecting via internet I don't see the "don'ts" in not having a blog. Specially if one is involved in any sort of way with people. No matter the area. When people are interest in what you do they tend to want always more. So connecting with fans or followers with a blog is something really useful and satisfying.  It makes you more real. And they get to see the most recent things you are up to. Oh yeah! It is a must. Now, for me, I will keep one. I love owning a blog. Its cool and lots of fun,  of course, you are doing it because you want to, and love to share experiences and knowledge with the world.

Internal Tourism with Freelance

On the morning of November 14, 2015, the group of Freelancers from the English class, Journey in Literature, and I, went as part of an adventure, hiking to "El Arbol Solitario" or The Lonely Tree, located at Salinas, Puerto Rico. We had been planning this hike for a month now. I wanted to share some cool spots with the group and with this being a traveling class we decided to make it happen. 

The Lonely Tree is a recently discovered spot of local tourism that has lately been explored and enjoyed by many locals and outsiders from all over the island and different parts of the world. Thanks to social media, mainly Instagram, more and more people decide to do this hike as part of their bucket list. I can see it becoming a must-do at Puerto Rico. It is located between the municipalities of Cayey and Salinas just after the Jíbaro monument. An off the route trail that goes up a mountain to where a flag, a tree, a swing, and a majestic view are. From there you could see the whole valley to the south coast of Arroyo to the wind mills of Santa Isabel. It's not the the tallest mountain here, but it does offer an amazing view and it does inspire calmness and relaxation. You get to separate from the fast and tiring things of the city. And for all those adventures and nature loving individuals this will highly be on their favorite spots from the island list.

Days before the actual hike we decided to do the trail on sunrise. That meant to wake up around 4 o'clock in the morning to catch dawn. The spot is at least 45 minutes away from the metropolitan area and the hike to the top of the mountain about 30 - 40 minutes - depending on the stamina of the person or group. Which can be intense at the beginning or if you are not an active exercise person, but it can be done. Sure, a little bit exhausting, but possible. So it is important to bring water. Once we reached the top everybody was astonished by the beautiful view. There even was a rainbow receiving us at the very end of our trail. Honestly, It was a very unique milestone and we got to enjoy it together as a group. We were all taking pictures like crazy at the beginning, but once we settled we just let the moment fill our memory part of the brain with how amazing everything looked. To just enjoy the cold breeze, the sound of wind, and the view while sitting on the rock at the top.

It brings me great pleasure in showing and seeing peoples faces when they get to see the stunning places Puerto Rico has to offer. I always try to bring friends along my adventures and share memories together.

You ARE NOT an Ugly Person

“You are not an ugly person all the time; you are not an ugly person ordinarily; you are not an ugly person day to day. From day to day, you are a nice person. From day to day, all the people who are supposed to love you on the whole do. From day to day, as you walk down a busy street in the large and modern and prosperous city in which you work and lie, dismayed and puzzled at how alone you can feel in this crowd, how awful it is to go unnoticed, how awful it is to go unloved, even as you are surrounded by more people than you could possibly get to know in a lifetime that lasted for millennia and then out of the corner of your eye you see someone looking at you and absolute pleasure is written all over the person's face, and then you realize that you are not as revolting a presence as you think you are. And so, ordinarily, you are a nice person, an attractive person, a person capable of drawing to yourself the affection of other people, a person at home in your own skin: a person at home in your own house, with its nice backyard, at home on your street, your church, in community activities, your job, at home with your family, your relatives, your friends - you are a whole person.” (Kincaid, Page 14 - A Small Place) 

Nowadays, with all the advances in technology and all the misguided conceptions we have about ourselves and the rest of the world thanks to social media we get so caught up in all that drama. We start rating ourselves and those around us based on trivial things like how many likes this that post, status or photo got; how many comments a photo we posted reach online. We categorize people's beautifulness by how many interactions they get on all this social platforms. How popular they are online is how "popular" they are in real life. Which is a wrong conception. We get to feel alone in a fake world where everyone is connected by no one is connecting. To not get a notification online is to believe that you have nobody cares about you. To receive not one single text or call in one day means that everybody dislikes you. Because of how cybernetics has influenced us lately we surround our life  on untruthfulness.

Tourist for a Day

For an English assignment, all the students of the course where supposed to play the role of a tourist for a day. I went to the city of Old San Juan in order to experience first hand what's like to be on the shoes of a non local. That way, see how people treated me positively and/or negatively. By having looks of a North American I easily blend in with the tourists around the area. It was also cruise day, so they where everywhere. It was around 11:00am. A friend of mine tagged me along on this fun and interesting experiment.

First, we walked around the area for a while with camera on hand and some backpacks. We where looking for a map of the city, so we entered this gift shop where all of the tourist restaurants where and we asked for one. This was our first experience of the day. The cashier, a woman in the mid forty's, was suddenly surprised that we came into the shop asking for a map. She didn't know how to act or say at the beginning, but then she remembered she had an old touristy map of the fort San Felipe del Morro just below her purse. She gave that one to us. My friend decided to open it immediately. We exchanged some uncomfortable glances when we started speaking english. The woman didn't know how to respond to us and in a broken not so perfect english she told us to keep the map. But no sentence was used. Just a "kept it" and some hand gestures. We could obviously see how uncomfortable she was with our presence there.

Some time passed before our next experience. We were walking around the city with stops along the way for pictures and confirming locations with the map. After minutes of intense walking on the streets we asked two police officers where "Señor Paleta" was. A new establishment where they sell artisans popsicles. One of the guards didn't know where it was. The other one knew, but he was scared of speaking in english or giving us directions in that language. They took our map and kept talking between them in Spanish. Of course, we knew what they were saying but we kept the act going. They were seriously struggling with trying to give us directions in English. We could see they were trying to help us. So we acted we understood everything they told us. They police officer that was pointing us in a direction was speaking in both languages. He was really bad at it though. But he was trying to help us. We said our thank you and off we went to where we told us.

On the streets, we came across this store where they sold lots of souvenirs that changed colors with the sun.  It was pretty cool. The girl who worked there spoke perfect English and she eagerly showed us around the store. We didn't wanted to buy anything - a lot of the things were kind of expensive - but we tried and looked everything they had. We happily said goodbye to the lovely woman and we kept on our way.

Finally, by mistake, we found "Señor Paleta". As locals we also didn't know where it was. It was our first time there. Before we entered we decided to end the experiment, but once we entered the establishment the employee greeted us in English. So, we went with the flow. We ordered the most popular popsicles they had. The strawberry mojito - which was delicious by the way - and a coconut one for my friend. When we finished eating our popsicles we wanted more. To this day we still want more. I really loved how they tasted. That is a must now overtime when visiting Old San Juan. Oh, it's located at Teutons street, just near the Fortaleza.

The experience went pretty well. Around the city, locals looked at us differently rather than when we are dressed normally. The energy we felt was completely different around the streets. We could obviously feel the stares and the looks passing by locals gave us. But we didn't care. We where on the zone, and we wanted to get to know how tourist felt. As the person conducting the assignment, I was shocked about how weird the energy was. I have never felt that way before in San Juan. I am normally comfortable there, but with a slight change of language big differences were experienced.

The Time My Brother and I Sled

Winter, the favorite season of most people. There is something about it that makes us feel warm and cozy, even though is the coldest stage of the year. I can not say precisely what it is about it that people love so much, but like Andy Williams says in his song “It’s the most wonderful time of the year”. Cool and ugly sweaters are used by almost everyone. Warm beverages like hot cocoa and coffee along with some gingerbread cookies and delicious pastries are shared between family and friends. People get together all over the globe to see each other. There is just something in the air that makes us feel happy and appreciative of the little things. At peace with with our surroundings. A time for love and comfort. A season where each of us has to make the other feel special regardless the situation. A time for giving.

Every time this beautiful winter season presents itself, my brother and I get reminded of an epic moment he and I shared together. We still laugh at it every year, and we really like to tell the story to our close friends and relatives when together at a get or family party. My mother, loves the story, she laughs at it every time, but also reminds everyone about how mad she was with us that day, and the pain she went through because of us. It was between the holidays of thanksgiving and christmas. At the time, we were around eight and nine years old. My brother is a year younger than me. People say we look a like, twins they say, but honestly they are completely wrong. We are opposite poles. One of us is clearly adopted and it’s him. I am just kidding, we sort of have some similarities.

Anyway, we woke up this Sunday morning before our parents. It was really early, the sun wasn’t even up yet. I say Sunday, because I can clearly recall that on this day we were all at home and our parents slept until 10 o’clock in the morning. So, with being awake so early and with nothing to do we quickly got bored. We started eating things out of the fridge and doing random things around the house. It was, until I went to the laundry and found these two ginormous boxes of detergent for washing clothes. But they weren't our normal clothes detergent, which was liquid detergent. It was powdered detergent. And two whole full giant boxes of it. My lightbulb immediately turned on. I then, ran to my brother and told him about the idea I had. He agreed without hesitation, he is my little brother so wouldn’t he. With me being the mastermind behind all this, we both grabbed the two boxes of powdered detergent and started scattering the powder, scoop by scoop, all over the kitchen, the dinning room, and the family room.

It happens these three rooms were all connected on a one story house. Once we finished dispersing the boxes entirely on the couches, the tables, chairs, the old figures at the tables, the kitchen cabinets, the floor, and everything on it’s path, we took off our pijamas and stayed in our underwear. It was winter wonderland! Neither of us have seen snow before, so this was as close as we could get. It really looked like snow. We were so happy, with a sense of accomplishment, that we started playing in it. We made “snow balls”, we threw them at each other, we ran, made figures, and sled all through the rooms. May I remind you that it was detergent. One moment, my brother slammed into my parents room door so hard that it woke them up. As soon as they came out through that door, we hid like mice at night. My mother was so furious. She didn’t even lay a hand on us that day, because she knew if she grabbed us, she would kill us.

After that, my dad got us outside, in our underwear, grabbed the water hose and hosed us down from top to bottom. We looked like some devilish snowman melting under the sun. Our eyes were so red, and the pain was inexplicable. That was our punishment as described by my mother. It was clearly something crazy, but we had lots of fun. Now, that’s the time my brother and I sled for the first time in “snow”.

How Keeping a Journal Changed my Writing

For my english class I had to make a journal with a total of 40 entries and 12 life compasses, for the course of two months. The rules of the journal were simple. You had to not cross out any words, write non stop for ten minutes, write about anything that came to mind - that means going for the jugular which also meant to not hold back on anything. Don't mind about grammar nor spelling and let your brain soar with information and memories. For the life compasses, we had to make a circle and four coordinates like on a compass. But in case of putting north, south, east and west, we wrote spiritual, mental, emotional and physical. In which we graded each one of the areas with a 1-3 scale. At the end, we added the numbers of each part to see which aspect of us was lower and which one higher. To see how well or bad we felt the moment we made the life compass. And how we could change it - if it was on the lower scale.

My experience with this assignment started our a bit painful and awkward, but I still looked forward to the project. I really like the idea of writing on a journal but had never started it before because of the time I had to dedicate it. Time I believed I didn’t have. So, I dismissed the idea of writing each day. I do keep an idea journal, in which I write or draw every kind of idea that I come up with, for later use or for an ongoing project or job. It makes it a little bit easier because, of course, one’s memory is not perfect and one can easily forget things. More importantly ideas are hard to come by. Is basically the main purpose of the journal - to remember things. When the professor told the classroom all the rules, I was kind of skeptical because I tend to edit a lot of my writing along the way. I’m sort of a perfectionist when doing this, so I was worried this might have become a challenge for me. All in all, I think the experience was pretty good. I am not gonna lie.

This assignment has made a better writer out of me. I don't worry anymore about my perfect writing or how well written is something, at first. Later I have to edit it. I just feel more at ease with my writing and it comes to me more fluid. So, I write all my ideas regarding the topic of my writing first and then organize, edit or restructure it. I own a blog, so this is gold for me. Now, I can write like If i am talking to the reader. Something a little more informal - which was what I was looking for when writing. My journal entries, at the beginning, where hard to follow. It had lots of random things and no line of thought. Through the course of time, my entries got better and better. Ten minutes where nothing anymore. I got deep several times, in which I couldn’t stop writing. I really began to like writing about my day or my problems on a blank notebook. It made me feel better afterwards or more connected to myself.On the other hand, my life compasses have been very different one from another. Since the start, I have written a lot on them. When I’m at college or stressed out about homework they tend to be more on the lower scale (between a 5-8), in comparison to, when I’m doing something I really love doing or exploring around they are more higher (9-12). The circles got smaller, but that’s because I wrote more of why I was feeling the way I did. 


Eventually, I will keep doing the journal, at least when I travel, that way I get more memories out of it. It’s something I have to do. Honestly, it connects me more to my life and makes me be more aware of all each aspect of myself. Now, I can better understand if something is not wrong, which area is being hurt and viceversa. 

Life is a Trip

Traveling can really change who you are. This is the case of Judith Fein, an award winning travel writer, speaker and videographer who lives to take journeys around the world. Author of the book, Life is a Trip: The Transformative Magic of Travel (2010), where she narrates her adventures and the complete changes she has went through with her readers. 

Judith Fein

On three stories Fein seem to have learn some valuable life lessons. Three anecdotes that would not have been learned if she haven't traveled to these places. On a trip to Vietnam, she learned that forgiveness is something to live for - live in the present, not in the past. Where in account of the American War she thought Vietnamese people will dislike the Americans, but it was not like that. At first, she tells, that they were angry with the north americans, but once they realized that they were in on the same boat, I mean that both parties had young men on the field battling a war that was not entirely for theirs. A battle that was the cause of many deaths. They preferred to put things behind and forgive the Americans. They now live focusing on whats on their day to day, their present. This was a well acquired information for Judith. 

Another lesson, was in a trip to Guatemala. Where she learned of a deity that is compared to humans by the locals because it also sins. As presented in the text it smokes, and drinks. So, in a different way, it gives humans or anyone who pray to this god, the ability to be forgiven as a result of imperfectness. It somehow gives people the ability to feel at ease with themselves in order to continue life without the martyr. That one, as an individual, can overcome any adversity if you think as the Guatemalteco deity as the god you pray to. In other words, your beliefs are attended by the god you serve and that no matter the culture or faith the figure of your worship you can also be forgiven of your sins.  

The last of the three lessons, is one obtained in El Camino de Santiago de Compostela, or the Way of St. James - a place of pilgrimage. Where she discusses how people from all shapes, sizes and ages come to do the walk in order find some answers. It's just the person and his/her backpack. She additionally talks about how people also come here to volunteer and help those in need (with the walk). Its to escape all sorts of things in the real world and do the challenge for any purpose.  Spiritually, emotionally, physically and mentally.

Here's a TedX https://www.ted.com talk "about why authentic interaction is the best way to travel. But how do you get beneath the surface and meaningful, memorable, and unique travel experiences? How can you be a peacemaker, goodwill ambassador and deep traveler every time you hit the road?" (TedX Talks, 2014).

Puerto Rican Doors

Puerto Ricans are a stunning mix of individuals living in a small island at the caribbean located right next to Cuba and Dominican Republic. Where they are known to be as one of the happiest people in the world, research made by live science.com on 2014. An archipelago, that includes the main island of Puerto Rico with the capital being San Juan, and smaller islands like Culebra, Vieques, Isla de Mona, and some others. It's climate is full on tropical, so no matter the day or month in the year its always going to feel like summer. Also, the diversity in scenery is immense, you can go from beautiful mountains and stunning beaches to large rainforests and amazing caves to dry natural reserves, and its just a small Island with 100 miles long and 35 miles wide, approximately.

Doors: Old San Juan - Dana Jo Photography

These joyful and friendly people are not just a mix of Spanish, Tainos, and Africans, but a combination of nationalities from all over the world. It does not matter if you where born on another country and then brought here to live or viceversa, come from Puerto Ricans parents, or you are from a completely different culture and have been living here for a long time, the idea of being from here still remains the same. You are categorized as a Puerto Rican, because it makes who you are. And we - I include myself as a result of being Puerto Rican - are so acceptant of everyone into our culture. We always find a way of connecting to those who are in a way Puerto Ricans. Just as the multiple different doors that can be found all over the city of Old San Juan, we are the same way. Different in colors, in sizes, shapes, types, and styles.

For the Puerto Ricans, food, style, and music is very important. We love our "sazón" (an exciting and unique type of specie that adds flavor to our food) so much that it is included in every meal of the day and it may be a sin if its forgotten. Our food needs to be full with taste and deliciousness for us to enjoy to the maximum. It's kind of a way of living here. Sometimes it's hard to try change our food habits because of the love we have for our combination of ingredients.

As well as food, style is something we care a lot about. We like to give great first impressions. In other words, we like to look good. That when meeting new people or hanging out with relatives. We are about family and friends, and we defend each other 'till the end. We love to share and spend lots of time with the people we hold dear. And for music, it's a part of us. Parties and live music events are held almost every week all over the island. Puerto Ricans are the party type of people. Everything is a celebration for us. In addition, I believe this little place has more holidays than any other country, and we keep adding more. We just love to live life.

No wonder, why Puerto Ricans are so happy. Its a very active and alive culture. Sometimes, by being who we are, we can be classified as loud by the non residents and/or other cultures. But it's who we are. We like to feel alive in every kind of aspect. So full of color, of adventure, and purpose.

Carl Jung Brief Summary

Carl Jung begins the chapter narrating the story of how he ended up traveling to Africa. A friend of his invited him along to Tunis, where his friend had some business to attend to and he just wanted to get out of his normal day to day customs. To just forget for a while about his nationality (European) and experience a different type of culture, which he could do in that country. He then, in form of details, recounts everything he did. Where he went, what he did, who he met, what he encountered, and what he learned and experienced about this new reality. Jung, got to face particular types of situations and events which confronted his beliefs and his point of views in all sorts of ways. Personally and mentally. Involving his conscious way of interaction with the world in front of him and his unconscious way of his brain reacting to this fresh knowledge and involvement.

The author expresses his shock, and later on understanding, of how his unconscious acknowledge everything more intensely than his conscious viewpoint. Including almost entirely his surroundings and the people he saw or met. He tells the example of an Arab guy he saw passing by at the Sahara and on his dream this guy was trying to kill him. A reflection of how this Arab country affected his Europeanism.

Autobiography

Hi. My name is Jorge A. Ortiz Rodriguez, but most people call me George. I'm 22 years old and I'm currently on my fifth year of college at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus. My major is in Audiovisual Communication, concentrated on filmmaking. This is where my mind, heart, and soul is. Honestly, I don't see myself doing anything else rather than working on the set of a production or being involved in a way with this medium. 

I was born in Rio Piedras, P.R. on January 11th, 1993. Since I can remember I have always been interested in this industry. Movies have forever been an amazement to me, the characters and how their stories are portrayed fascinate me and thus have inspired me to become an actor and filmmaker. 

When I was 15 years old I got the opportunity to work as an extra on the set of a North American film called, The Rum Diary, staring Johnny Deep. This production confirmed to me that this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Being there, made me fall in love even more with this "movie magic stuff." I consider myself lucky because this has officially become my job up to this day. And ever since that production I have been called to work on foreign and local movie productions here on the Island - working as extra, featured extra, stunts, stand in and photo double for actors as Steve Zahn, David Spade, and Ross Lynch. I also work amaeteurly and professionally as a portrait and event photographer.

Set of NBC TV Series, Crossbones

Set of Amazon Prime Web Series, Mad Dogs

I currently live at the municipality of Caguas, P.R. but I don't spent to much time there. Everywhere is where I mostly am. So, I consider myself as an outdoorsy person. I love to travel to new places, and explore my surroundings; adventuring with my friends, the new people I get to meet thanks to social media - sometimes - or by myself. There is something so rewarding about finding cool places to be and while being there, connecting with those around you and with yourself. I guess this is why my personal style as a artist is very influenced by travel and storytelling. Beautiful landscapes and natural light can constantly be witnessed in my work. Also, fantasy, science fiction, and imagination. 

As you can see, I'm a very self motivated guy with an unending love for family, including my dog, Lucca - he is also family - art, and travel. I like to believe in the goodness of people, and every morning I like to wake up in complete silence to a cup of coffee in order to start my day with a positive attitude. Yes, I am a coffee addict.

My aspirations are to eventually move to Los Angeles, California, in order to continue studying and furthering my career as a professional actor and filmmaker.