External Journey Reflection

During this second semester of my last year in the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras campus, in my English course, Journey in Literature, we learn important concepts like: inner and external journey. Both concepts are related with our identity. To discover and understand better our external journey we were assigned to create and write on a blog. Our principal tasks were to reflect about our daily and academic experiences and write about them in our blog. My blog’s name is That Road Trip Called Life. I came up with that name because I think that if we just stay in one place, taking up oxygen from others, without discovering, without reflecting about our journeys and social problems, it is not the right way of living a life.  

In my web page I write blog’s reflections about movies, books, traveling memories, academic activities, and daily experiences. I had the opportunity to understand concept like identity, “othering” and clearly see the difference between a traveler and a tourist with every single blog post reflection. Nevertheless those concepts help me not only to understand better my assignments, but also to understand and react with good ground to social problems. Also after writing those post I clearly saw how my writing and analytical skills improve. This blog also helped me to understand better my daily situations and to derive and put to words my concrete position about them.

From my blog, the post that I must enjoyed was the one of a “Day as a Tourist”. This reflection consisted of having a day in Puerto Rico but with the one and only condition that you had to spend that day as a tourist. On that day I had the opportunity to understand better the identity concept. I realized that even thought Puerto Rico is a small island, most of us still have a lot to discover from it. Also I realized that what make you the person that you are is not only the language, the food, the people you are surround by, your history, your culture, but instead the sum of them all.

I know that I will continue using this blog as a way of expression and for me to people hear me out. This blog had helped me to understand better myself, discover my external journey, and to get in harmony with my internal journey. I encourage everyone that is reading me and does not have a blog, to immediately create one and began to write. This is an excellent tool to open and express better your ideas and feelings to the world. 

 

Annual Literary Contest Awards Ceremony Reflection

On Wednesday, April 9, 2014 in the College of General Studies, Amphitheater 4, I had the opportunity to attend to the 47th Annual Literary Contest Awards Ceremony. First of all the amphitheater was almost completely full, something that encourage the speakers, but also the audience. Therefore the positive vibes was something that everyone in the audience was feeling.

Dr.Cynthia Pittmann, our professor, began with an introductory presentation about the benefits that writing in the mornings could give you. Some of the positive things that this practice could bring us are: develop your creativity, get over the routine, unlock yourself to new ideas, get to know yourself better, clarify your intentions, discover hidden motivations, know what is bothering you, make your ideas and dreams real, and be in a more pro-active attitude to solve problems. One of the things I loved most about her presentation was when she compared this practice of writing every morning with a morning surfing section. I think it was an excellent metaphor to use because in both cases you need to wake up early, dark, cold, and you don’t know what you are going to write about, or what wave you are going to surf.

I’m a fan of the UPR Tuna and seeing them in the Annual Literary Contest Awards Ceremony was, like always, so amazing. I had never see them singing in English language, nevertheless they performed really well. After the UPR Tuna presented, Elsa Luciano, a professor from the UPR of Arecibo gave a speech that the purpose was to inspire others to write. Her overall message was that in order to someone began to write, he must first become an expert reading on any theme. She also encourages the audience to create a blog because it will help you to express your ideas and open to the public.

After those welcome and introductory speeches the Literary Contest Awards were presented. There was three sections in were the students could participate in and submit their job: poetry, essay, and short story. One of my classmates, Claudia Cruz Rivera, won the first place in the short story section. It was such an amazing experience to see one of my classmates won such and incredible award. Claudia Cruz must be really proud of herself. Activities like this are the ones that encourage the students to be better persons and to discover new thing they didn’t known they were good at. 

  

            

Internal Journal Reflection

During this second semester of my last year in the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras campus, in my English course, Journey in Literature, we learn important concepts like: inner and external journey. Both concepts are related with our identity. To discover and understand better our inner journey we were assigned to write five times a week in a journal notebook.  Our principal task were to write in the notebook without thinking, keeping our hand moving, without worrying about spelling, and to loose control, all this for ten consecutives minutes. For our external journey we were assigned to create this blog and experiment and reflect about our daily experiences.

While writing 42 entries and drawing 26 compasses I had the opportunity to known myself better. At the beginning, the first couple of entries were really difficult for me to write them in a coherently manner. Nevertheless with the practice, the needed concentration, and focus I improved in an incredible way. This technique helped me not only to know and discover myself better, but also to improve my writing, and it also gave me a moment to relax myself. During this semester I was having a   tempestuous relationship and this journal helped me tremendously to overcome it. I was not capable to hear my parents and family advise, but the only thing that I really needed to just pass the page was to listen to myself. At the beginning I felt that this journal was a lost of time, but I just needed one week more to realize that it was my perfect medicine. The compasses consisted of a brief resume about your daily emotions, physical, spiritual and mental state in a scale number. I am not a spiritual person when it comes to talk about a specific religion. Nevertheless through out this journal I saw the spiritual state with a different perspective. Therefore through all this semester I made community service with a friend in “La Via” in Aguadilla, I reconnect with nature, and I had the opportunity to appreciate the power of silence.

           

I consider that while making my internal journey in the journal I improved my external journey in my daily life. Both concepts, internal and external journey, are so correlated that you cannot think about the first without talking about the second. My journal helped me to resolve love problems, family and social problems. It also helped me to put in paper and start up to live my dreams. All this things form an integral part of my identity. I discover that identity means: dignity, culture, friends, love, beliefs, etc.  Nowadays this journal and blog activity forms and integral part of myself. Concepts like internal and external journey and Identity, are terms that I currently use in my other classes and daily life. I encourage everyone that is reading me to use this techniques and I guarantee that you will never regret.

Panel: "Mini-sagas"

          I had the opportunity to see the Mini-saga panel on the student conference of the English department. It was such a really amazing, funny and also enriching experience. Their task was to prepare a short anecdote, problem or experience and transmitted to the audience in a unique way. The students that were participating as panelist were Kathyria Sánchez, Paula Mysonet, Ashley Dalmau, Maricel Vargas, Manueli Cabrera and Brian Aldiss. I found so amazing how they all find inspirations in daily situations, problems or funny things. The topics presented in the panel were themes very strong and sentimental. For example one of the students delighted us with a personal situation of her mother. Other student told us about the difficulties that woman have to face when it comes to find the perfect match. It was one of my favorite performance and mini saga; therefore I will copy it here:

Expectations
By. Ashley Dalmau

Some are intelligent, some are dumb.

Some have manners, others don’t.

Some are loving, others rude.

Some are gentle, others sour.

Some are handsome, tall, strong, energetic…. Others careless,

Small, fat, lazy.

Some love the family, others love their PlayStation.

Expectations?

Challenge evaluation…

The cruel reality of finding a husband.

              

           One of the things that I think was the most difficult task was to resume the problem or theme in those short lines.  Nevertheless one of the students presents a mini-saga really interesting about the importance of saving lives. She presented really well the compromise that our present and future generations have with the nature and ecosystems. I think that the real meaning of her mini saga was to inspire people to do their best and always help others. The most amazing thing about this panel is that the mini-saga groups were students of pre-basic English and they realized an excellent job. I think that everyone have the capacity to do a well job like they did, the only thing that you need to do is practice and have determination. Activities like this are the one that encourage the students to do it better and compite for the excellence. 

Class Panel: "Interrogating the Journey"

      The Department of English on Tuesday March 25, 2014 offered a Student Conference. The activity was called Interventions in General Studies: Interdisciplinary Project and Creative Initiatives. I had the opportunity to see our panel class "Interrogating the Journey: Literature and Personal Experience", supervised by our profesor, Dr. Cynthia Pittmann. The panelist that were presenting their essays were: Laura, Sylvette, Carla, Sahara, and Lorna. 

         
        For me to see some of my classmate speaking and presenting their essays in front of a group of other students, teachers and faculty members is something that made me understand the courage and good preparation that those things need. In the panel of our class concepts and topics like identity, idea of being a tourist, lack of knowledge of some tourist, subordination, the barrier communication that exists between a tourist and a local, and the communication model were things well expressed in the conference. The five classmates that where presenting look really calm and they express very well the message that they were willing to transmit. Also the audience were listening really carefully to the message my classmates were willing to transmit. Therefore the audience were asking questions to the speakers and in a completely professional way. The only thing that maybe was affecting the continuous message of the speakers, was that students were entering to the amphitheater almost every ten minutes. But in general my classmate did an excellent job in the student conference. 

        I never imagine that an English class was capable of helping not only me, but also a lot of other classmate to understand better our identity as Puerto Ricans and to face our social and daily problems in the island with a better understanding and with solutions.  It was such an amazing and enriching experience that I know will help me in future and similar situations. 

Reflection about The Rum Diary

Mr. Paul Kemp: What you like most of Puerto Rico?”

Walt (tourist): “the bowling alley and the casinos”

Kemp: “Have you seen a lot of the island?”

Walt’s wife (Tourist): “We don’t leave the hotel, it’s not    safe”

Kemp: “But you are having fun?”

Walt (Tourist): “Oh yeah, a lot of fun”

                                                  - The Rum Diary 

In this short chat that Kemp had with a couple in a bowling alley, we could see clearly how this couple were being really ignorant about anything that implicate Puerto Rico. They were just having a fun time as ignorant tourists. Kemp is a guy that came to Puerto Rico to take a job as reporter. Nevertheless we can see how Kemp is interested in knowing better the place, knowing the culture, live in places near the people. A completely different attitude if we compare it with Sanderson, the guy that had a turtle with color stones on the turtle’s shell and a private house with his private beach. The movie shows us clearly how Americans saw Puerto Rico: as a gold mine, as the perfect place to invest and to just take all they can of the land, and then go to a different place. However the strike at the beginning of the movie gave us at least a sense that Puerto Ricans don't necessary do everything that Americans told them to do. But it also shows the aggressiveness of Puerto Ricans and the government. Another thing that call my attention was the explicit way the newspaper hide the reality of Puerto Rico and how they want it to present it as the "American dream", a thing that continuous to happen in the present even though The Rum Diary is a movie about the 60’. How Kemp want to present the reality of the kids in Puerto Rico, that they are starving in some parts of it, but instead the news want to present it as the perfect, is something that just make me angry.

The way of being of some North Americans, “gringos”, in the island gives a bad reputation to any other North American visiting the island. Therefore the clear aggressiveness that some Puerto Ricans shows to the “gringos”. The movie shows clearly how some Americans thinks that they own the island, the laws, and the people. How they feel superior to the locals, the Puerto Ricans, the same way English feels about Antigua's citizens in Jamaica Kincaid's book. Kemp want to be the voice of the silent ones and the voice of the subordinates, by his writings. Just the way Kincaid was the voice of the Antigua's citizens. “They knew the price of everything but no the value of nothing.” - Paul Kemp

A day as a tourist in Rincón

Yesterday in the night I arrive in Rincón. Rincón is a town that is two hours far from San Juan, the capital city. Therefore I’m currently staying in a friend’s apartment here, near the beach. I’m so excited because even thought I love beaches, to my surprise there was a surfing contest.  The beach, the lovely sun, the smooth sand, and the beautiful landscape… perfect combination to relax in this paradise. First thing that we, my brother and I, did on Saturday morning was to go to Rincón Bakery and order a “Media Noche” sandwich. I ordered it because its name sounds funny. Nevertheless, it was delicious. The bakery was located inside the town; therefore we visit the “Plaza”. It was a small one, but it was logic, Rincón is not a big town.

Everyone was so nice and kind, that they explain us the way to the contest beach like a thousand times. So on our way to Dome’s beach we buy some “Medallas”, the local beer and munchies. When we arrive to the beach it was really crowded, but we find the perfect spot. We spot our things really close to the shore. The hut was really hot so we needed some extra sun block. For our lucky there was a girl giving free sun block. There was also a guy that was selling Puerto Rican souvenirs for $1.00, so we bought him some. A thing that calls my attention was that the speaker of the surf contest was translating all he was talking in Spanish to English. Therefore it was really easy for me to understand what were the waves scores and the fun facts that they were giving. Their reggae music and all the people chilling there was so relaxing that it never pass through my mind real issues and problems that maybe they were facing. Their educational system is a good one? The health system is universal or is a good one? They want to be part of United States? They feel part of them? But those were questions that I really was not in the mood to get answer or dig about them with the people at my surroundings. Nevertheless the last day of the contest I participate in a free raffle that the prize was a surfboard with all the signatures of the main surfers in the contest. It would never pass through my mind that I will win that raffle, but I won. It just was an amazing and beautiful weekend in Rincón.

I think that Rincón is a tourist destination, not only for foreign travelers, but also for local people living in Puerto Rico. I reach to this conclusion because a lot of the people that were serving in the restaurants were speaking in English. Therefore it was really easy for me to spend there my day/weekend as a tourist.