Blog Reflection

I can summarise this Blog activity as an learning, thinking, writing, and self knowing electronic journey. To be sincere, from my honest point of view, I never imagine that I really like to do some blogs post. I recognise that English is not my strong, but I actually enjoy this task and during the pass of the semester , I feel more comfortable and spontaneous in the task of writing and expressing ideas in english. In my personal opinion to have a blog is a nice, eficiente and entertaining tool to give the external world, in a cybernetic and electrical manner, different aspects and thought of you internal perspective toward the way you see the world. 

A blog give us a different why to better up our writing skills, but it is not the fundamental and essential purpose of having a blog, I think a blog should be a free tool of writing down your way of think in a manner that you like and feel confortable, is the way you want it. This experience during the whole semester of writing a blog was one that give me a new desire, form a different perspective, to better up my english writing and at the same time learn different things form different themes, like we do during the semester. It is a way of interdisciplinary learning that I think should be great to practice more then of finish this course. 

A different Perspective of my country (Tourist vs. traveler)

When someones tell you to take out a day like if you where a tourist in Puerto Rico, it seems that you don't put many excuses and you just do it with out any problem, with a smile in your mouth. Personally I love to do what is know as domestic tourism, or internal toursim (that is to take a trip like a tourist in the same country you live). 

I decides in this case to go to a beach in the east coast of Puerto Rico with some fiends. The idea was to have a nice day in the beach, with some friends and live the experience to feel like if I where a really tourist in Puerto Rico. Went we arrive the beach, it was a beach with a lot of people, their where so much tourist as well as people from puerto rico, you can feel how every body was in their own world, where no body talk with the others, it was a more relaxing but personal antisocial internal experience. This was until we meet a guy who si from Luquillo that live in a house very cole to that beach , Seven Seas. He told us , if we want , we can walk like for 20 minutes in a mangroves that was at the end side of the beach and we will find another beach who's name was "Playa Escondida". It was a much more lonely beach, but also more beautiful and peaceful beach. 

To comport and feel like a tourist in your own home is a complete different experience than just to visit a place to pass the day. It make a complete different perspective to what you normally are used. I make your internal journey to feel and appear like if it where your external one. the tourist experience Is like Kincaid said in "A small place", you start to care less about whats is around you and that is good in a why, but bad in another, because you can not ignore the realities that around you and behave as if they don't exist. But it is also good in the perspective that you notice to many other things as a tourist that you usually don't but much attention, like for example the beauties of you own country, the way puerto ricans others white people as tourist or "gringos" that don's speak spanish and not know nothing about Puerto Rico, this is why where you start to create awareness about how a real tourist can fell in  place they just only wants to relax and hace a nice day.  

"The Rum Diary"

The Rum Diary es an American movie based in Hunter's Thompson novel. The drama of the movie is about how a self independent journalist Paul Kemp (Jonny Depp) works i Puerto Rico, a Caribbean island which is pat of the United Sates territory, for a local news paper in the 1960's. The really reason of why he travel to puerto rico, besides the new work opportunities in the island, was because he was tired of the craziness and madness form who lived in New York, he wants something different. But like de said, "I found the weirdest earthly paradise". In summary, I like this movie, but i disagree and don't like in how in this movie is portrayed the Puertoricans culture and people.

One of the things that I love form this film was that him as a professional and a journalist publish the things the why they are, and not letting him out by the power and influential people how surround him, he write whats he thinks, not what the others wants to hear. Also I fell very identificated with this movie in the why that I know the places where the film is. It is true that for the vast majority of Americans, Puerto Rico is like a perfect paradise, it is US. territory and the beaches and hotels are fabulous, but by other hand, they ignore the really poverty and sadness the Puerto Rico lived. Also I dont like the racism that the American has over the Puerto Ricans, where in this movie they portrait the Puerto rican people as if all where of bad manners, inferiors, alcoholics and ignorants. 

"Down on the Island" by Jim Cooper

"Down on the Island" is a shot narrative true story written down by an American Professor who teach in one of the Best Universities of Puerto Rico, The UPR of Mayagüez.  In this book, we can appreciate his perspective over the problem o bad speak and bad writing in English that we can see in puerto Rico. Also Cooper speak about the cheating problem that the majority of students in Puerto Rico have. 

Jim Cooper by himself accept and confess how good and how interesting was to teach English in Puerto Rico but also it enfatice that is was very frustrating  and overwhelming. He talk abut causes of why in Puerto Rico is so difficult to teach English, he also talk about how in the public schools of Puerto Rico, form an early age, the teacher and directors ignore the English and give very little importance causing a great void in the English teaching and a big pedagogic problem that at the end, will end up in a lots of students seeking a way of "helping each others" by cheating. He also critics the low monetary award for the teaching profession in Puerto Rico. Cooper talk about two whys of learning: One was te Competitive method, which emphasises in be better than the others and push your self over you to achieve your goals. Which is good because it will end up in a better students with his own goals and desires, but it is also bad because you as a professor should teach your students to learn to love what they are doing and not jus do it for a grade, And the other method is the cooperative, which is very bad because here the students tend to cheat in order to have a greater grade. Ultimately, in my why of think Puerto Ricans students need a better education system that teach them how important is to self accomplish by their owns and how important is to learn English as well as to give them the adequate education that instruct them in this materia. 

"RUNNING BRAVE" (perspective reflection over Billy Mills)

Prejudice, internal versus internal conflicts, perseverance, athleticism, commitment, fight until the end regardless everything; All this adjetive and words describe and demonstrate perfect who was Billy Mills. During his life, he was a perfect example of, whats never given ups means. He was a Gold medalist winner of the Olympics, asome friend, and a good person that has his internal dilemas and despite themes he was able to ignore racial prejudice and give example to how a person should respond to those bad influences.

 The attitude of Billy toward live, can be summarised in a 10,000meters race; resistance. Not just to sprint like in a 100meter fast run. This was his perspective toward the world, always trying to achieve his goal, to win, no mater the obstacle in the middle. The same happen in his life, he was always stigmatised by others how feel superior to him, or think they deserve more than him and he will never made his goals. In my opinion, he has so confident to him  self, which made him so much better and stronger to what normally he could be, but, this confidence was the product of all his defeats, all the prejudice he have, all the bad and external influences over him, all that feeling of othering by the one's who surround him, that make his internal personality bigger and a stronger. 

Running Brave (First Part Blog)

First of all, in the movie, Running Brave, we will see the true story of Billy Mill, which has an American Indian runner ho had the dream to run in the Olympics as a 10,000 meter athlete runner representing the U.S. nation and showing how a person of an inferiority minority group can success by never given up.

The story begin by presenting ho is Billy Mills and its origins, How a guy ho born in the Pine Ridge at South Dakota triad to achieve his goals. During the movie we can appreciate his different friends from his childhood, to hum he consider it his family, and friends and important people he meet in the University. . Over the whole movie we can see the dualistic experience with the internal and external journey that this guy have. It was always, Billy Mills, with his internal problems, trying to succeed and be accepted in an external world that prejudice him because of his indian origins.

Tanks to his good athletic performances as a child, he was awarded with becoming the first American Indian who go to college by wining a scholarship from Kansas University. This honor open hi a lot of doors and opportunity, and at the same time, show him with the reality of the world, drawing him out of his confort zone making posible to he to be confronted with a lot of external influences and prejudice, that will slowly build up to what Billy Mills was at the end of the movie. Here we can see how your internal journey can be forge by your external experiences.

For one reasons, during the life of Billy Mills, they were fews ups an downs that at the end make him stronger and self confident. It was a not easy task to him to interact with a lot of discrimination over him, up to the point that he was rejected by his closest friend in one momento of his life, just because he was in love with a white girl. In my opinion this is an excellent movie, based in a true story, to show the world how he should confront the bad external influences and having a good attitude them can make you a better person with out steeping aside you dreams and goals.

"A SMALL PLACE: (chapter 1 and 2: review)

"A Small Place" begins with a description of Antigua by Jamaica Kincaid, which is the native place of she. Kincaid note the conflict of the tourist when they visit Antigua. Is a fact, that this book describes Antigua as a beautiful and small island in the Caribbean sea. But from other perspective, Antigua's reality is in an unlucky and poverty situation, and at the same time, she strongly criticise the expensive cars and majestic houses that the tourist only notice, which is no the reality of the island. Kincaid greatly defers and denigrates "the moral" actitud of the tourist, their irrelevance, ignorance and careless. she did not understand how someone could visit a place and ignore all the realities that happen their. 

During the book, Kincaid reminds and flash back old memories of his past experiences in Antigua and talk about the historically past of Antigua, specifically the time during the colonisation rule over the people of the island in hands of the whites Europeans people,  in particular de English people. In this part of the book we see some otherings theme, and some in groups vs. out group connotations, which separate and differenciate some characteristics of indentification. One of the biggest difference was that slavery problem and racism culture that where present in the island, and the discrimination by color. Regardless of this, today's Antiguans people still reverent to the English culture and don not give importance to this differences of denigration by stereotypes that where presente in the past, because of all this, or whatever reason, Kincaid is very strong and direct to the bad attitude of the tourist.

"JOURNAL REFLECTION"

It's interesting to notice that, went I think about the daily journal activity by the first time, it looks like an easy task. I should only have to write down, consecutively and spontaneously different things that came to my mind without stopping for only ten minutes. But take a moment and think about it. It could be more difficult and productive than you may think by first hand. 

Went I analyse this activity, the really first thing that I thought is, What was te purpose of this. Is this for improve my writing skills. Is this for a better known of my self form an introspective perspective. Or, it is simply to take a pen and begin writing a journal by my own, without external influence of thinking, and even less an external academic theme to talk. It could be both, or it may be a little of all this ideas. 

Whet you realice that this is much more than just writing down for ten minutes in a white paper of a notebook for 40 days, you notice, and experiment how could be this perspective of your daily live for those days during that activity. Sometime you will be emotional, other times more spiritual, even sometimes you will feel more realistic and physics, or idealistic with a lot of ideas, its all depend on the day and your actitud and feelings. But, no matter what always it would be your internal journey that has been writing down my your self. At the end, you realice that the truly thing that matter is to, just do it, to take you internal travel in your journal by your own, and live this experience, which simultaneously, in one hand it would improve your writing skills, and by other hand, and more important, it would be a continuos internal and personal journey that will make to you, to know more of your self in a different way. 

"Dreams"

   If something is sure about dreams is that they are very difficult and weird to explain themes. WHAT IS A DREAM? Why I have dreams? They have a significance and meanings to me? They are Product of a fantasy world? 

We all know that have a dreams is something very common to all of us. But, they are not even concrete answers to what are themes and why they appears. Some people think that they are only randoms images lapsing consecutively in ours minds that appear where we are resting, and in others situations and time, when we are awake. Also could be seed that dreams are part of our daily thoughts and that have an important meaning whit a direct or indirect significance to our lives.

Every day we can have a dreams of different things, or even few dreams in a same day when we are sleeping. But also we can dream awake, imagininating somethings about the future, or remembering somethings about our an event in the past.  Also in a dream you can experiment something that you can't do your real life. All this fantasy and unrealistic world is part of us, but analogously, it's a product of the real images and thought that we have in our unconsciousness. Ultimately, dreams are one why of represent our internal journey to our self, from the point of view from our subconscious who is telling to our selfs, and representing in our minds, something that defines the way we think, they are our internal perspective toward the world that are in the deepest thought of our minds. 

A Small Place (Perspective Jamaica Kicaid)

It's interesting to see how a small place is Antigua to Jamaica Kincaid. In her essay, she talk from an outside perspective, from the point of view to the tourist, but from an inside perspective, if you analyze it's view from one's who lives in Antigua. As we know thanks to the author description, Antigua is small, poor, not desolated island in the Caribbean sea with it's own social problems and dilemas (like any other country in this world). During this essay Kincaid strongly criticize the tourist naturally attitude, because they as a tourist, in their commodity zone,  appear irrelevance to the country's realities and issues and because the tourist do not know, neither experimente what really is Antigua. 


From my pint of view, to be just, Kincaid make a to narrow judge, and a very strong critic over the tourists. Ok, it's true that the tourist seems insignificant and remoteness to the antiguas realities and that they don't realize or experiment what the real people who live their  go through, but that why of think of  Jamaica Kincaid is to reductionist and to dramatic because the same ones that are considered tourist in one place, are not in their precedence country, what I am trying to said whit this, is that when you realize that those that in Antigua are tourist can experiment some of the reality that happen in Antigua in her owns countries, from a different perspective but in an analogous why.  

"BORINQUEN"

“La isla del Encanto”…Puerto Rico, a tropical 100 x 35 square miles island in the middle of the Caribbean sea, That is Considered property of the US territory. To be honest, I love Puerto Rico, I do not consider it, neither better nor worse than any other nation, but, yes I consider it as the nation to which I belong, it is the place that I choice to not change for any other place in the world. Their culture, tradition, mixing, charm, taste, heat, make me proud to be Puerto Rican. 

On the other hand, from the out side, in general, tend to be two view of what is the image of Puerto Rico. A negative view, where de crime in the country, the drugs problems and the big density population in such a small space, are highlighted. And a positive image, where you see the tropical atmosphere, great tourist place to visit,  the beautiful beaches and exquisites foods. 

To be objective, it is clear that is not the same being a visitor in a place vs. be a resident of the same. In Puerto Rico, as in many other countries, there are many economic, political, social problems etc ... but that does not mean that is a nation without history, tradition, culture, particularly bourgeois language and peculiar identity.

It is definitely true that Puerto Rico is not a country where everyone wants to live or aspire to live, but yes it is the country to which I belong and I intend to improve it and make it best and every day. So I'm not one who thinks that I would come out of Puerto Rico in search of a better place or better job, Instead I think that you have to make Puerto Rico a better place, a better home, and no scape form him and leave it whit no hope.

“Dead Poet Society”

In the movie Dead Poet Society by Peter Weir, we are presented with a story where a professor of English at an elite school, procurement, more than just teaching, inspirer their students in teaching them, loving what they are doing and to since the day. Here we see an unconventional teacher that tried to transmit the idea of doing your own things, which you love, instead on just keep going with the flow, which can be the parents oppressions over an ideal, the institutional rules that limit you, or even self limitations that you push to your self.

The central thesis of the film was that a group of friends, who attend to the same school, begin to have some interest in what the love of poetry is, and not see it as a simple literary work. Because of this, their were an interest in rebirth what once was "the dead poet society", which gradually awakens in them the most romantic view of the world, where they begin to procured more in the real lives values ​​rather than a simple objective knowledge of something simply for having a good grade.

In my personal opinion, through this movie we see how important is in our lives to have the ability to fully live the things each time we have the opportunity, not just expect different times to be happy, instead, be happy in every moment we live, ultimately... Carpe diem.

"The Scrip of Me in My Family"

Objectively, how we call ourselves, as ourselves? it is impossible ... in the course of time, we create an image of whom we are and how we are; but we can not forget that we are most likely, the product of where we come from, of course, not forgetting our freedom and self-determination. And here is the importance of our family.

In my family we are five siblings (two females and three males) form the same father and mother, where I am the second child, but the first male. Normally,about me, like to my older sister, they expected the best. Lead by example, do well, succeed for myself, all these things are things that are expected of me, but these are things that I knows in the here and now of today, because I never felt that weight from my parents in general, everything was all natural and fun, but it had to be right.

All my life I have done, or have been involved in the sport, in-particular in the soccer and fencing. Because my father was belonged to the national fencing team , I wanted to do the same, and I did it, like also made other international achievements representing Puerto Rico in this sport. From this point of view, and others, my parents always was my North, as an morally  example, in which he always respect differences, and as a best friend capable of dialogue with me in different aspects about life.

I consider myself truly blessed with the family that I have, we love and defend each other no matter how far we are and what problems they have. As in all families, we are not all equal, but that does not mean that someone is better than others. In mine, I have always been able to achieve everything I want, being also an example for my smaller brothers be trying to make the best decisions by my self, where sometimes they are not  exactly what we want ,but that self taking decisions will make the product of  what we are today, making decisions and accepting their responsibilities.