Spring Break

This past week was Spring Break. For the first few days I had nothing to do. My parents decided to mess my whole Friday night by buying tickets to another show of the Iberoamerican Theater Festival. This time it was an Opera from China. I was really tired that day so before even gettin to the theater I fell asleep in the car. I woke up getting to the theater by my dad pressing the brake making me almost fall out of the car seat. My dad didn't realize this since I wasn't totally awake as to react to the incident. We got to the theater forty-five minutes early. Yipee! We went to the Cafeteria sat there for about thirty minutes doing absolutely nothing. When we went inside the theater I realized that the chairs where more comfortable than the chairs we had for the tango show. This wouldn't help me stay awake later on. i was happy when I realized the chairs were set so that the chairs in the back part, where I was, were higher than the ones in front. So no heads would keep me from seeing the show. Fortunately this was the case but during the show I couldn't keep my attention away from the ladies who where in front of me. Why you ask? They kept on laughing at the most inappropriate moments. This Opera showed two different stories of Chinese culture. The first story talks about a husband having to kill his wife because his father-in-law had killed his father. It was like a Soap Opera. In the end of the story she kills herself so her husband doesn't have to feel the guilt. When it got to the point were the wife was telling her Husband to do a set of things after she died I noticed that the woman in front of me and the one at her side were cracking up. This was the point where the show lost my attention and I just wouldn't help looking at the ladies with a WTF expression on my face. When the wife killed herself in the show the ladies in front of me laughed even more. All I could think was why in the world is a suicide funny? When the story ended my attention was back to the Opera. At least that was what I thought. After about five minutes the next story came on. It talked about a monkey king or prince that entered a palace and ate all the peaches of youth. That kept my attention for about six minutes. After those six minutes I noticed that my eyes were heavy. Before I knew it I was doing what my mom does in the car at night. Unconsciously nodding my head up and down. I know it sounds weird but let me explain. When we nod down it because we are sleeping a little bit, then somehow we notice that we are sleeping so you move our head up to at least try to keep your eyes open. I kept on doing this for like twenty minutes and then someone on stay started singing in a high pitched sound. That took me from my trance and made me alert. At that moment I saw that my mom was doing the head thing. After the sound went away I started reading the subtitles to see in what part the story was in. Yes, the opera was in Chinese. After the show, when we where in the car, I admitted that I had fallen asleep in the middle of the show. My mom admitted it too and my dad told us about the guy who was seated in front of him. He told us that the man in front of him was moving a lot in his chair which made my dad impatient and that took his attention from the show. Great, no one in my family can pay attention to an opera. The next day we went to another show. his one was at five o'clock which meant I couldn't do anything that day. I went to do some errands with my parents and we got to the theater at four o'clock. Besides the fact that I was bored it was cold outside and there was horse poop in some places. I just love being next to horse poop don't you? At 4:45 the guy at the door tells us that the show isn't at five but at six. Isn't THAT great. Aside from that, my dad was mad at my mom and at me for being sarcastic and saying that being an hour before is so helpful since people could steal our seats, o wait the seats are numbered. My mom kept on telling my dad that there was time to get coffee and if he thought there was a coffee shop nearby. My mom gets cranky and sleepy if she doesn't have her coffee. Fortunately we got inside at 5:15.
We went to our seats and my dad bought some popcorn and some drinks. After ten minutes he wasn't made at us anymore and proceeded to show off his math skills and tell us how many people could fit into that theater. At some point of the conversation my dad started bothering telling me that I was going to study what he had studied. Engineering or something like that, I cant remember. After about ten minutes of me being sarcastic with me the show finally started. This was the best show of the ones I saw. It was dancing suspended in the air. It had different styles of dance. Since it was also an Argentinian production it had tango. After the show we went back to my house and then I went to my friend Agustina's house for her birthday. I finished the Last Song on Sunday. On Monday I packed my bags because on Tuesday I was going to Girardot. My friend Sophia came with us to Girardot. She had to spend the night on Monday because the next day we were leaving at five in the morning. On Tuesday we left to Girardot and got there at midday. The drive from Bogota to Girardot is about three hours long but we had to go to my granddad's house for two hours to wait for my mom who left at seven with my aunt.
When we got there I called the master suite but my parents took it from us. Luckily the room we got had the best air conditioner, a fan and a T.V. Sophia and I went to walk around the place but came back twenty minutes later because we were going down town. Sophia couldn't walk a lot because she had a cast on. She injured her foot playing soccer. After we got back to the house we turned on the T.V and started watching Jersey Shore. We got obsessed with the show. The next day we tanned and read our books for English. At night we ate pizza and watched a new episode of Jersey Shore. My aunt, my moms sister, was supposed to come and sleep in our room but somehow we locked the door. I for once don't remember locking it but my other aunt, my dads sister, made me feel guilty. We tanned some more, finished our books, and went for a walk around the neighborhood. At night we saw "Quiero Mi Boda". A MTV reality shore following an engaged couple and filming their plans for the wedding. I personally think that doing a reality show about your wedding, being it newly-weds or about to wed, is putting a curse on your wedding. Those couples always end up breaking-up or divorcing. That night my moms sister didn't sleep in our room, I think she got scared of getting locked out again, but my dads sister slept in our room. She had realized that out room was the only room, besides my parents room, with an air conditioner. Once she was settled in, Sophia and I started laughing at everything. Since it was April Fools I put on my facebook status that I was moving. Then Sophia and I started "fighting" on my status. I think one of my friends, Elvira, still thinks that I'm moving. I'm not telling her that I'm staying until June. While my aunt was trying to sleep I thought that Sophia needed to know something. I whispered to her
" You do know she believes in aliens right?" She believes in weird stuff including aliens. That's when we started joking around. The worst part of that was that in the morning, around two or three, I heard a weird sound and got scared. Then at around eight Sophia started speaking in her sleep. I kept on kicking her so she would stop. It worked for about a minute but then she started again. When i finally fell asleep again Sophia decides to wake me up just to show me that my aunt had left her book on her bed. The book talked about aliens and other stuff. When we opened it we started looking at the pictures. I don't even wanna know what they were explaining. All I know is that they were weird. That day we did the same thing as always. Tan and read other books. At Night my aunt decided to sleep in the lower bunk. Once again Sophia and I started joking around. I started changing the channels. When i put on Warner Brothers they were showing a movie. The Lord of the Rings. I'm not sure which of the three it was but it was the one with the weird elf thing. The one that say "My Precious" to the ring. Sophia hates that movie so I went to change the channel. When my aunt saw what movie it was she said " Lets see it". I wrote on my phone " Your F-ed up. She wants to see the Lord of the Rings." She then wrote back " What does she believe in Hobbits too?" We started laughing again and didn't shut up until twelve. there was an electrical storm that night so the light kept going out. When my aunt realized that the air had shut down she turned on the lights and woke us up. It was two in the morning. Not only did she wake us up but she did something to the air and made it beep for five minutes. When the beeping stopped and we were going back to sleep it began again. Somehow I made it stop and turned the fan on. Sophia, knowing my aunt was awake, put on a UFO sound from her cellphone. We laughed but then realized that my aunt was already sleeping. The following morning we went outside to tan. There where clouds blocking the sun so we didn't put on sunscreen. Once the sun started coming out I put on sunscreen, Sophia didn't. We then packed up and left to Bogota. When we stopped to eat I realized Sophia was red and not tanned. She burned her whole body but, she didn't feel the burn. Yet. After eating I went to the bathroom with Sophia and put Aloe Vera all over her back. The funny part about it was that people first looked at Sophia because of her cast and then continued to stare at her because of her tan. When we got back to Bogota we left Sophia at her house and went straight home. On Sunday we stayed home and went to our last show of the Festival. It was a circus from Canada. It was really good. That was what I did in Spring Break. If I disappointed you by not doing anything that qualified for a Wild on moment remember, I didn't go to Cancun go read someone Else's blog for those moments.

Sophia's Failed Tan

Festival Iberoamericano de teatro de Bogota

This past Friday El Festival Iberoamericano de Teatro de Bogotá started. It is one of the world's largest performing arts festival. Many shows are brought to Bogota. From theater to dance showcases, all are performed through the weeks of March 19th and April 4. My parents had bought tickets to go see a Tango show. My parents had seen a show directed by the same director when we were living in Argentina. Of course my mom was utterly convinced that I had seen the show with them. For about five minutes she wouldn't stop trying to make me remember about the show and how "we" went with the parents of my best friends. When my dad found us, after parking the car, he told my mom that they didn't take me to that show. My dad was stressing about how we were going to be late on the car trip to the theater. Usually when we are late the blame is automatically on me. If we leave after twelve on a Sunday to visit my grandfather, its my fault for sleeping in. OK they really only say its my fault when we leave late on Sunday's but they say it every Sunday, its not my fault, I need sleep! Anyways on the car trip to the theater my dad said that we were going to get there late and that it was someones fault(hint) mine (hint) that we left late 'cause that someone (me) wasn't ready on time. Not only were we one of the first fifty people in the theater, but we had to wait about forty-five minutes until the show started. Also my parents proceeded in talking about who knows what for the fourty-five minutes leaving me to try and contribute to the conversation and send blackberry messages to my brother. The day before I had gotten into a fight with my brother, Gabriel. The fight was about how he had responded to my message. Then the fight turned into just insults between each other. When my mom got home she called Gabriel and he told her about our fight. When I read the conversation to her, keeping somethings I had said from her, she got mad at me. I tried to explain to her that she couldn't be mad at me for trying to defend myself. Meanwhile my friends were in the back of my car laughing their heads with my examples. I used sharks and monkey's/ apes as examples. To my defense they were very good examples, at least to me they were.Getting back to my original point I started talking to him. He had just gotten back to New York from Miami. He was in Miami for spring break. I had forgotten that his birthday was on Sunday. I forgot that the twenty-first was on Sunday. My mom told me to tell him that she would call him later that night or the next day. He was really boring to talk to though. He almost never says anything, unless we start fighting.
Then the show started. It began with a music group playing a song. After, another song began playing and the dancers came out. This is when my parents realized it was the same show they had seen years ago. The show had many dances. The dance that was created before the Tango, the Milonga, rock and roll dances from the sixties, new age Tango and Tango.
At first I didn't think I would like the show, but as the show progressed I started liking it more. In the end I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone who is in Bogota.

Friendship

"In good times, in bad times I'll be on your side forever more, that's what friends are for."

- "That's what friends are for"

"I get by with a little help from my friends"- John Lennon

"Friendship is a single soul dwellings in two bodies."
- Aristotle

"Every person is a new door to a different world."
- from movie "Six Degrees of Seperation"

"Friendship is one mind in two bodies."
- Mencius

"True friendship is never serene."
- Mariede Svign

"A circle is round it has no end, that's how long I want to be your friend!"
- Anonymous

"Friends show their love in times of trouble..."
~ Euripides

"One loyal friend is worth ten thousand relatives."
~ Euripides

"The only way to have a friend is to be one."
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Can miles truly separate us from friends?
If we want to be with someone we love, aren't we already there?"
~ Richard Bach

"Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light."
~ Helen Keller

"Never shall I forget the days I spent with you. Continue to be my friend, as you will always find me yours."
~ Ludwig van Beethoven

"You only meet your once in a lifetime friend... once in a lifetime."
~ from Little Rascals

"The making of friends, who are real friends, is the best token we have of a man's success in life."
~ Edward Everett Hale

"Where there are friends, there is wealth."
~ Titus Maccius Plautus

"A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked."
~ Bernard Meltzer

" Friends are like melons; shall I tell you why? To find one good you must one hundred try. "
~ Claude Mermet

"Books, like friends, should be few and well chosen."
~ Samuel Paterson

"Two may talk together under the same roof for many years, yet never really meet; and two others at first speech are old friends."
~ Mary Catherwood

"The better you know someone, the less there is to say.
Or maybe, there's less that needs to be said."

"A part of you has grown in me. And so you see, it's you and me together forever and never apart, maybe in distance, but never in heart."

"Friends are those rare people who ask how you are and then wait to hear the answer."

"The most beautiful discovery that true friends can make is that they can grow separately without growing apart."

"Friends are the chocolate chips in the cookie of life."


"Wherever you may be it is your friends who make your world."

"I always knew looking back on the tears would make me laugh.
But I never knew looking back on the laughs would make me cry."

True friendship is a plant of slow growth, and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity, before it is entitled to the appellation.
~ George Washington

Last August one of my best friends, Valeria, moved away. Even though we started out on a bad note we ended being best friends. I'm not quite sure why we did but soon we got passed it. I think out of all my best friends she has been one of the only ones that really knew what I've been through in my life. After me she the one who has moved the most. So she really knows how it is to move after being established in one place for a period of time. Especially when you're older because my other friends know what its like to move but haven't experienced it as much as we have and so much at an older age. I had always seen her as the "motherly" figure in my group of friends. While Fernanda, Sophia and I were goofing around with shaving cream she was the one looking at us with a face that clearly said "you are going to regret this and DON'T TOUCH ME!"
Eventually we got a scolding from her mom and wet from head to toes. She was always the one who would worry about everyone and remind everyone to bring everything. At the end of eighth grade she was the one who I most relied on and who I knew would really listen to me without being biased. I always knew she had gone through what I had gone through so many times that it was a relief actually knowing that someone really knew how it felt moving, leaving friends, your homes and not being in one place throughout your childhood. When she told me she was moving I couldn't believe it. The person with whom I had had so many long talks was moving. It was the first time one of my closest friends was moving before me. I was used to move before any of my close friends moved or at the same time, but never this. It didn't really hit me until the day, or night, she left.

Almost Alice

Yesterday I went to see Almost Alice or Alice in Wonderland. I have no idea what the real title is anymore because some people say its called Almost Alice while others say its Alice in Wonderland.
Anyways, when the movie started I was so exited to see it for all the reviews given to it. The first 20 minutes into the movie I almost fell asleep. I don't mean any disrespect but when it starts its kinda slow. The first scene is of little Alice, when she was about five or four years old, telling her dad that she had another nightmare and she described some parts of wonderland to him. Then its Alice sixteen years later or something on a Carriage riding with her mom to a party. Once they get to the party everything starts happining really slow. She dances, walks with a Lady, and get a marriage proposal in like half an hour when all of that could have happened in less than twenty minutes. After that she falls into the rabbit hole and she once again goes to Wonderland. This is were you can get confused if entered the cinema thinking that this would be an exact remake of the Story Alice in Wonderland. This story is of Alice coming back to Wonderland. Though a lot of what happens in the original story happens in the movie, a lot of different things happen too. She always thinks she is asleep and she doesn't remember anyone.
I don't want to give anything away so I'll just say what i thought of the movie. I thought that it was a very good movie. All the effects they put into it and the story was really good. The only problem I had with it was that I thought it was long. I mean not long as three four hours long but the way the movie was made it seem as if five minutes were twenty. I've seen Saving Private Ryan, that's a long movie. But you don't notice it as much, well at least I didn't, because your always wondering is that him? Wheres the private? Whats going to happen? Etc. But in Almost Alice every scene seems to be to long or too slow.
Though by being like this it lets you really know whats going on. In other movies that try to put to much in the hour and a half or two hours you go out of the movie wondering " What just happened?". In the end I thought it was a good movie and that people should watch it.

Ralph Lauren

The other day I was watching the Ralph Lauren Spring/Summer 2010 Fashion show. I'll write about the fashion show tomorrow. The point I getting to was that there's a Ralph Lauren Magazine, TV, Paint, Restaurant and Book. I couldn't believe it. The designer Ralph Lauren had such a success with his line that he was able to make a Fashion Magazine, Fashion TV Channel online, and a Restaurant that are all connected to the clothing line. Apart from these creations he also made a whole new clothing line in 2005 called Rugby. This line is angled to younger people, College students. It attracts them by giving them a 20% discount on the clothing just by showing their College I.D's. Ralph Lauren has little by little grown an empire. While his line Polo by Ralph Lauren, as a more casual choice, attract parents who buy for themselves and their children. His line Rugby attracts teenagers and young adults. As a more comfortable and preppy choice and so on. He is truly one of the most respected desginers in the industry

Brands

For Women:
Black Label
Blue Label
Lauren by Ralph Lauren
Pink Pony
Collection
Golf for Women
Lauren Jeans Co.

For Men:
Purple Label
Black Label
Polo by Ralph Lauren
Big & Tall
Golf for Men
Polo Jeans Co.

For Men & Women:
RLX
Ralph Lauren
Rugby
Create your Own
Tennis Ralph Lauren

Oscars

Yesterday marked the end of this semesters red carpet events. The most anticipated event was transmitted through out the whole world, The Oscars. The Red Carpet was transmitted in E! in Colombia and in the other 120 countries with E!. E!'s correspondents were Ryan Seacrest in the Red Carpet interviewing and Giuliana Rancic with Jay Manuel in a box above the carpet commenting on the fashion. After the hour and a half of the red carpet I turned to TNT. Though the Oscars ceremony was a little bit tardy to start in this channel it was the only one in Colombia broadcasting it. It attracted the highest U.S audience in the past 5 years. With 41.3 million while last year 36.3 million viewers tuned in to see it.
The Ceremony started out with a song performed by Neil Patrick Harris. Like last years opening act performed by Hugh Jackman. Then the two hosts, Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin, made their entrance and started to make their jokes about the nominees. Then the ceremony started and Celebrities after Celebrities took foot on the stage to announce the Oscar winners and to claim their statue. There were many emotional speeches like the speech Sandra Bullock gave when she received Best Actress Award. She thanked the Tuohy family, the family of the film "The Blind Side' for which she won the award. She came emotional when she talked about what the Tuohy family did with taking in the boy and raising him as their own and when she talked about her spouse Jesse James. In the end the Award for best Motion Picture of the Year was taken by Kathryn Bigelow's film " The Hurt Locker". The Best Actor In a Leading Role award was won by Jeff Bridges in the film " Crazy Heart" while The Best Actress In a Leading Role was won by Sandra Bullock.
After the Oscars E! was transmitting the Oscar After party which included more interviews of the winners and what they plan to do in future projects.
List of Winners:

Best Picture

• 

  The Hurt Locker

  Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Nicolas Chartier and Greg Shapiro

  
  

Actor in a Leading Role

• 

  Jeff Bridges

  Crazy Heart

  
  

Actor in a Supporting Role

• 

  Christoph Waltz

  Inglourious Basterds

  
  

Actress in a Leading Role

• 

  Sandra Bullock

  The Blind Side

  
  

Actress in a Supporting Role

• 

  Mo'Nique

  Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire

  
  

Animated Feature Film

• 

  Up

  Pete Docter

  
  

Art Direction

• 

  Avatar

  Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg (Art Direction); Kim Sinclair (Set Decoration)

  
  

Cinematography

• 

  Avatar

  Mauro Fiore

  
  

Costume Design

• 

  The Young Victoria

  Sandy Powell

  
  

Directing

• 

  The Hurt Locker

  Kathryn Bigelow

  
  

Documentary Feature

• 

  The Cove

  Louie Psihoyos and Fisher Stevens

  
  

Documentary Short

• 

  Music by Prudence

  Roger Ross Williams and Elinor Burkett

  
  

Film Editing

• 

  The Hurt Locker

  Bob Murawski and Chris Innis

  
  

Foreign Language Film

• 

  The Secret in Their Eyes (El Secreto de Sus Ojos)

  Argentina
  Directed by Juan José Campanella

  
  

Makeup

• 

  Star Trek

  Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow

  
  

Music (Original Score)

• 

  Up

  Michael Giacchino

  
  

Music (Original Song)

• 

  Crazy Heart

  "The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)"
  Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett

  
  

Short Film (Animated)

• 

  Logorama

  Nicolas Schmerkin

  
  

Short Film (Live Action)

• 

  The New Tenants

  Joachim Back and Tivi Magnusson

  
  

Sound Editing

• 

  The Hurt Locker

  Paul N.J. Ottosson

  
  

Sound Mixing

• 

  The Hurt Locker

  Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett

  
  

Visual Effects

• 

  Avatar

  Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones

  
  

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

• 

  Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire

  Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher

  
  

Writing (Original Screenplay)

The Hurt Locker

Written by Mark Boal

Death

"Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyways."- Anonymous

Death. This is the greatest mystery to all mankind. No one really knows what's going to happen to them after they die. Is there really Heaven or Hell? Will my soul live on? Will I die and then be reborn into another life, Reincarnate?
There are many beliefs around the world. If you see all religions have a way of telling the people what is going to happen after you die. In Christianity/Catholicism there's Heaven or Hell. If you've been good in this life you go to Heaven if you've been bad and do awful things you go to Hell. While in other religions such as Buddhism they say that after dying your soul will continue living and reincarnate into another body of life. But no one is sure. There are also other beliefs as souls staying in the world roaming around until they are ready to let go and go to the afterlife.
In truth everyone is scared to die. Even if some deny it, don't talk about the subject or even sometimes try to fool other people and themselves by saying they are ready for it. Some because of what they have done in their life. Others because they are scared that they won't be remembered after they leave this world.
You don't really take into account death until you've seen it up close. I mean at least I didn't until I did. Since I was a little girl I was scared of the topic of dying. I tried to do anything but think about that. I don't know from where that fear came out of. But every time I saw my grandmother I couldn't help but think about the suffering. I mean I had always seen her so fragile, like if you touched her then she would break. Since she was a diabetic I saw her get her insulin shots and all the pills she took during the day. She was always so peaceful about the whole thing, but now that I think about it I don't think she wanted anyone to know about the pain all those shots gave her. She was one of those people who doesn't want anyone to worry about them. Towards the end she had to have an oxygen tank with her at all time. But I never really thought she would die so young. Even though I saw this every Christmas break that I came to Colombia it never really crossed my mind. Even though both of my dads parents had already died. My Dads dad died before I was born and my dads mom died in 2001. I dont think these affected me as much because I wasn't in Colombia when it happened.
When I found out that she had died I really didn't know what to do. My dad had woken me up told me that we were going to Colombia. I asked him why. When he was about to tell me the terrible news I overheard my brother, Gabriel, telling his friend over the phone that he couldnt go to his house because my grandmother had just died. When this information got to my head I really didn't know what to make out of it. I was 10 at the time and that was the summer that we were moving back to Colombia. I only realized that this was all true when I got to Colombia and saw all the grief on my families faces. I didn't understand why it had to be her, why not someone else? Even though I had lived all my life with her being at a fragile state I couldn't make out why she had died. I had always seen her as a strong person, the person who kept everyone calm. I never saw her get angry at anyone. Even when I was being a little brat she would always try to get what I wanted.
After seeing that death was unpredictable I couldn't help but wonder. Did she go in peace? Is she out there looking out for us? Will I see her again one day?
If you really notice like in movies or books how they describe someone passing on, they describe it as something peaceful. I mean if you really think about it maybe if you're wounded or something your last moments might be painful, but that last moment you can tell that a wave of calmness and peacefulness has overcome the persons body.
I think many people see death as a bad thing only because they have lived what death causes. Tragedy, grieving and mourning in the family. Sadness and depression. But if you take that away you see that the person has stopped suffering and passed on because they had contributed everything they could to the world.
In my opinion no one really dies. Their memory will be remembered and stories about the person will be told so that little by little, even if a few people have the memories, they will live on forever.
Me saying that you shouldn't be scared of dying is a little bit hypocritical since I'm scared of dying. But in the end what you do is going to be your legacy. You cant be scared to do what you think is right or speak your mind. You have to do everything you want to do while you still can. Like James Dean once said : "Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today.”