Nail art

I recently discovered that I can do magic with acrylic paint and a little clear nail polish.

This design is just something I could come up with on the spot but there's potential for so much! My painter-senses are tingling with excitement! With a thin brush and some acrylic paint you can paint pretty much anything. So stay tuned for more nail art!

Travel Issue: Past and future adventures

When I was little my whole world was Peru. Back then, until the age of 6, all I knew was my hometown Lima (a city with around 7 million people, pretty big for a town huh?) and my mom's town of Iquitos (a city surrounded by many rivers among them the Amazon river, I know, no biggie.) Even still, because I would take plane rides to Iquitos during most summers, the 6-year-old me considered herself a well traveled kid. Traveling in Peru during the 1990s, I think, could have been considered a luxury. But make no mistake, my family was not well off at all. We just happened to be a family whose father worked for the Peruvian Air Force, and one of the advantages of being such family was that traveling was almost free! For a plane ticket that could cost around $150, we would pay $5(PPP)! So as you can imagine we traveled to my mom's hometown often. Why we didn't visit other cities within Peru you may ask? Probably because we could not afford to pay for hotels, and the other expenses associated with being a tourist within your own developing country. When you live in a developing country chances are you don't have the means to see the country you learn so much about in school.

So I traveled to Iquitos often, and the kids at my school were fascinated with the stories of my swimming in the Amazon river, of pink dolphins, and the exotic fruits I encountered. So I knew back then that I was lucky, I got to live in the coast line of the country, and was pretty familiar with the culture found in the amazon region. Yes, within a small country you can find culturally differences, even differences in language, customs, diets, weather, you name it. And not to be biased or anything, but I think Peru has it all (I will justify this in due time, but for now you are just going to have to believe me!)

But the world of 6-year-old me changed when my parents decided to move to San Luis, Argentina. Where in Argentina is that? All I remember is mountains maybe? San Luis is in the middle of the country and nothing much goes on there. BUT, I did get to see a whole lot, because this time we traveled by bus, yes by bus, and it took approximately three days of traveling. Again, no biggie right? Wrong! Imagine traveling in a bus with a 6-year-old girl (me) and a 8-year-old boy, for three days. See how the picture changes? I remember it being fun, perhaps not too comfortable, but fun in the eyes of a child. (My brother and I slept on the floor of the two adjacent seats my mom bought, we were small enough to fit anywhere and surprisingly sleeping in a well cushioned floor was more comfortable than fitting three in two bus seats. We passed by all the main cities of the southern tip of Peru, stopping here and there, and also traveled by Chile (we even spent the night in Chile, and my mom even got pick-pocketed, yay Chile!) and after three long days we made it to Argentina.

This is what the route looked like more or less:

We spent many months living in Argentina. The way I have been telling the story is that I lived there for two years, but thinking back it might actually have been less time than that. Still, pretty big move for a 6-year-old. 

I think I remember this trip mainly because of photographs and stories my mom would tell me. It is a combination of both that have helped me reconstruct my memories. You know how it goes with memories and things like dreams, they are easily influenced and altered or forgotten as time goes by. So "proof" that you actually visited places and did certain things will eventually help you reconstruct your childhood, or as we get older our youth. This is partially why I wanted to keep a blog. It is mainly for me. So that I will remember. But I think it is also for anyone out there that might benefit in any way by my stories or life experiences. I won't include every detail of what I have experienced because I want to keep this as positive and optimistic as possible, but as you read more about me you will be able to figure out that things have not always been easy, and that is ok. Challenges are good. They teach you things about yourself, about others. Overcoming them, however, is the best! I have overcome a few things here and there, and if sharing them can potentially help someone out, or encourage them, then I will most definitely share. With that said, I will be more than happy to respond to questions or comments either publicly or privately for now. 

This concludes the Argentina saga of my travels. Of course there are more journeys to be shared! Also there are pictures, but I need to scan them at some point, and when I do I will share. You have my word, and I never go back on my word =)

On the Next Travel Issue I will talk about my time in Cuzco where I visited Machu Picchu (you know that city built a top of a mountain, One of the seven wonders of the world? Yes that place!) Hopefully by then I will have had scanned some of my photographs.

Until then! 

Oh, and don't forget to chin up!

On the Day of Love and Friendship

Today was one of those days when classes seem longer, more boring, and more exhausting that usual. I had not been to my room all day since Tuesdays are actually pretty long and busy for me. However, when I got to my room this was waiting on my door 
 

No, it was not from a secret admirer. A really good friend of mine left it there for me. These flowers brought the biggest smile to my face for three reasons. One, because the flowers were beautiful. Two, because the message was cute. And three, because it was a sort of response to my previous post about Vday. It made me really happy to see that real people read this, however, it also helped me realize that people can be positively or negatively affected by what we say. Knowing that someone is there to listen, and that our voices have the potential for so much, doesn't it encourage you to think more, talk more, listen more, do more for others? Words are a very powerful tool and I want to learn to use my words in a way that can positively affect people, or at the very least I want to be able to provide comfort when needed.

On another note. I want to share the cards I made for two of my dear friends.

Totoro

The first one was an attempt at mocking lace with paper, and the second was simply an acrylic ode to Miyazaki's Totoro.

Here are a few pictures of the process.

First look up a design for some lace pattern and draw it on a piece of light colored paper. Then using the best cutting tools available cut out the design. I used scissors and a very sharp blade. However, blades can be dangerous. So be careful if you do decide to use a blade. 

I cut thin pieces of paper to fake the lace effect. To make it seem like all the pieces are attached together. You can add more connecting pieces as you see fit. The idea is to have fun making this!

For creating the Totoro card. First you need to draw with pencil an outline of his body. Then apply acrylic paint. Apply as many layers as you see necessary since at the beginning the paint will look too uneven (think nail polish, the more coats you put on on the better it looks).

After you color all areas of his body you will then need to do an outline to his body and eyes. You can do this two ways. You can try to use the finest of brushes you can find (a liner will work best), or if your hand plays tricks with you when using thin brushes, use a good liquid pen. It should not make a difference. I used the liner since I have had a bit of practice creating really thin and steady lines.

 

After you outline his body he is pretty much all set. The beauty of working with acrylics is that it dries pretty fast! 

Both of my friends loved their Valentine's Day cards. Today was a pretty successful day after all!

Homemade goodies

Valentine's Day can be a very stressful time of the year for many, specially if they are single, or if the occasion reminds them of someone who is no longer around. However, in other places like Peru Valentine's Day is not only for those who have a significant other but to those who have wonderful friends. We call Valentine's Day the day of love and friendship (El Dia del Amor y la Amistad), and in my opinion there's nothing better than having a special day to celebrate friendship! 

Short on money? No problem! You can find tons of DIY ideas on the internets. This is a cute little guy I got a while back. When I saw him, he just made my heart melt!! His name is Pichi and he is very happy to meet you! :3

Valentine's Day or any day for that matter should never be a reason to be mad or sad about. Although not always easy to do, but try to look at things from the bright side. I'm sure we all have a special friend who would be more than happy to receive a precious gift made by you or hear that you really appreciate their friendship. Let's show those we love we care!

Mini Piñata loving for your viewing pleasure!

These guys are super easy to make and you can even stuff them with candy or your favorite sweet treat (as long as it is mini sized as well)

Music that makes me smile

Music By Colin Huggins colinhuggins.com
Animation By Lev Polyakov levpolyakov.com

Night lights

This is me trying my hand at photography. Downtown Miami, South Miami, and Brickell Ave. at night. Enjoy!

Freedom Tower

From the Dadeland North Station Rooftop

Dadeland Mall

Brickell Ave.

Views from Above

When traveling I have the habit of constantly looking out my window, you can also imagine that I must ALWAYS sit by the window! There are two reasons for this. Reason 1: I like being able to shoot a picture of two of the scenery. When someone else has the window seat, all I can see is his or her head, and it's too embarrassing to be snapping pictures from a far away seat. Reason 2: I dislike having to get up every time a pee-er* must go to the bathroom. When I don't manage to get a window seat, somehow I'm always stuck with a pee-er. (For these reasons I always make sure I don't drink too many fluids when on board, so that I myself don't become one of them, and if I must get up to pee, I do so when the person next to me has gotten up on their own.) 

Above all the unpleasant moments one can have while on a plane, I love seeing how everything looks from a distance. These are from a recent trip to Miami.
 

This one looks like a million parallel rivers

 in the middle of the ocean

Rand McNally map on steroids!

Downtown Miami

*Pee-er: person who has to urinate (pee) constantly.