60 Day Picture Challenge - Day 7: A picture of your most treasured item
I thought long and hard but couldn't really come up with one specific item that I particularly treasure. At first I thought about featuring either my Mac or my iPhone, since I really don't know what I would do without either of them. However, I don't really have an emotional attachment to them. So, something about mentioning them in 'my most treasured item' post just felt wrong. For this reason, I decided on using my books - not one specific book, but just books as general. I'm always reading. Seriously, I probably read as much as I breathe, and I'll read just about anything. I just finished Haruki Murakami's "1Q84" (fiction) and Jen Lancaster's "Such a Pretty Fat" (weight-loss memoir), and started working on "The end of overeating: taking control of the insatiable American appetite" (nonfiction) by David Kessler and James Thurber's "My life and hard times" (autobiography). For as long as I can remember, books have always played an important role in my life, allowing me to escape reality and submerge myself into whatever fantasy world I was reading about. Furthermore, books have always fostered my creativity and have recently started to inspire a passion for writing that had lay dormant for quite some time.
30 Day Song Challenge - Day 7: A song that reminds you of certain event
Coldplay's "Viva la vida" reminds me of my university graduation. Probably anyone who graduated from FIU in 2009 would say that this song reminds them of their graduation, as this was one of the songs they would always play at the end of the ceremonies. To be quite honest, I actually didn't want to participate in my graduation because I felt it was a waste of time and money. That said, my parents wanted to fly in from Honduras just to see their baby girl graduating, and since they had invested more than $70,000 in my education, I felt that it was the least I could do.
I recently bought this fill-in journal called "My Future Listography," which is essentially a bunch of to-do-lists including Things to explore online and Unique sights to visit. Although I'm aware that I might not get to do everything that I want to do while I'm still alive, I think it's my responsibility to try my best. That said, I believe that planning is half the fun. Making lists and pondering about the road ahead serves as great inspiration to continue moving forward at all times. So, for today's post, I decided to share the list of festivals that I plan on attending at some point.
CARNEVALE DI VENEZIA
Where: Venice, Italy When: Before Lent, more specifically, it starts 40 days before Easter and ends on Mardi Gras, or the day before Ash Wednesday. What: One of the oldest and most iconic festivals in the world.
Estimated that 30,000 people visit Venice daily during the festivities.
Started in 1162, as a celebration of the victory of the “Repubblica della Serenissima” (what Venice was called back then), over Ulrico (Patriarch of Alquileia.) However, the use of masks, which makes the Carnival of Venice particularly unique, didn’t begin until 1268.
Masks hide one’s identity, rendering it impossible to make any distinctions between social classes. Also, the masks allow people to enjoy themselves fully, by encouraging them to lose all inhibitions and to stop fearing judgement.
Different types of masks:
Bauta
Colombina
Medico della peste (Plague doctor)
Volto
In addition to the mask contest (La Maschera Più Bella, Most Beautiful Mask), there are a lot of other forms of entertainment during the Carnival of Venice, including: puppet shows, private parties (masquerades), and street performers.
CARNIVAL IN RIO DE JANEIRO
Where: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil When: Saturday before Ash Wednesday until Mardi Gras What: Biggest carnival in the world, with an estimated 2 million people joining every day.
More than 500,000 foreigners visit every year.
Dates back to 1723.
Considered to be an act of farewell to all bodily pleasures before Lent.
Characterized by excesses and euphoria, where people dance, sing, drink, party, and just enjoy life.
The highlight of the event is the parade of samba schools in the Sambadrome, which features over 3,000 performers scantily dressed in feathers, beads, and sequins dancing on floats as they compete for the title of best samba school.
HOLI
Where: India, Nepal, Pakistan, Suriname, Trinidad, etc. When: Last full moon of the lunar month Phalguna (usually in either February or March) What: Religious spring festival of fertility and harvest celebrated by Hindus.
Also known as the Festival of the Colors, it is a celebration of new life.
People throw colored powdered and water at each other.
The strict rules of separation between castes are abandoned.
At the end of the first day, bonfires are lit with the purpose of purifying the air of evil spirits.
The smearing of paint and throwing of colored powder happens on the third day.
There are references to similar festivals in Sanskrit texts, where people would go to the temples to apply red paint not only onto Krishna icons (images and statues) but also onto themselves and their families/friends. The red color represented passion and the practice of smearing the paint symbolized their commitment to diverting their desires for the wellbeing of society and in order to become one with Krishna.
GION MATSURI
Where: Kyoto, Japan When: July What: Most famous festival in Japan.
It is the festival of the Yasaka shrine, located in the Gion district of Kyoto.
The festival started in 869 as a way to appease gods during an epidemic that had hit the city. At this time, mikoshi, or portable shrines, were paraded through the streets of Kyoto.
Mikoshi
Nowadays, the main event of the festival is the Yamaboko Junko, or procession of floats, which takes place on July 17.
There are 2 types of floats: Yama and Hoko.
There are 23 Yama floats that carry life-size figures of famous and important people. The Yama are about 6 m in height and weight about 1.2-1.6 tons.
The Hoko, of which there are 9, represent the 66 spears used in the original purification ritual and are significantly larger than the Yama, weighing in about 12 tons and standing up to 25 meters tall.
Hoko
Both Yama and Hoko floats are adorned with beautiful tapestries.
During Gion Matsuri, the streets of Kyoto are lined with street vendors selling: yakitori (chicken skewers), takoyaki (octopus dumplings), okonomiyaki (Japanese pancakes), and a whole array of Japanese sweets.
Yakitori
Takoyaki
Okonomiyaki
LA TOMATINA
Where: Buñol, in the province of Valencia, Spain When: Last Wednesday in the month of August What: The world’s biggest tomato fight.
In the 1940s, during a parade of “gigantes y cabezudos,” a group of friends started a tomato fight (it is unknown if they were rebelling against authority or simply fooling around amongst themselves) in Buñol’s main square. Passersby decided to join in and had so much fun that they decided it to make it a yearly tradition, even if at the beginning they met some resistance from the police.
About 90,000 pounds of tomatoes are used up every year.
The festivities start at 10am, when people try to climb a greased pole that has a ham sitting at the top. Once someone is finally able to knock the ham down, a shot is fired and the launching of the tomatoes can begin. After exactly one hour, a second shot is heard, signaling the end of the tomato fight.
The tomatoes have to be crushed beforehand in order to avoid injuries, and the use of goggles and gloves is recommended. (I'd probably wear a hair cap, too. lol)
Don't they seem like a ton of fun??? Who's coming with??? ;) Comment below and if you've got any suggestions, please let me know. Until next time.
60 Day Picture Challenge - Day 6: A picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for a day.
This is Queen Rania of Jordan, wife of King Abdullah II. She has a degree in Business Administration and before becoming Queen, she worked for Citibank and Apple. As Queen, she fights for youth and female empowerment, continually stressing the importance of education, especially in today's globalized world. Furthermore, she is always preaching on the benefits of open-mindedness and tolerance as necessary values for the establishment of a better world. In 2011, she was selected as one of Forbes' 100 most powerful women. On top of everything that she does as Queen, she is a dedicated mother, and as you can clearly see, she is quite beautiful and sophisticated. Without a doubt in my mind, this is most definitely the type of woman that I aspire to become. I'll probably never get to have a royal title, though, so it would be amazing to be Queen for a day and see what having so much power and influence on the world feels like.
30 Day Picture Challenge - Day 6: A song that reminds you of somewhere.
The first time I heard this song was when I was in Miami back in April. I was going out to dinner on Lincoln Road with my cousin and his girlfriend, and this song kinda became the official song of the night. I came back to Honduras and would always listen to the song at the gym - always being reminded of Miami and all my loved ones there. When I returned to Miami in September, it was still a popular tune and was always being played on the radio. So, it further reinforced the strong link between the song and my second home. Also, Pitbull is from and will always remind me of Miami. Long story short, there are a lot of nice memories associated with this song and they all remind me of the 305. Shout out to all my Miami peeps. Ta bien, ta bien!
60 Day Picture Challenge - Day 5: A picture of your favorite memory
Without a doubt, my favorite memory is of the time when I went to Japan. Everything about the trip was great. Apart from the obvious (that I was in Japan, duh! One of the coolest countries in the world!!!), I had the opportunity to meet some amazing people, most of which still play a very active role in my life today (shout-out to all of, you know who you are <3). Anyways, this picture was taken at Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto. Those of you who haven't had the opportunity to visit Japan may have seen it in the film "Memoirs of a Geisha." It is one of the oldest and most popular shrines in all of Japan, built in reverence to Inari, the god of rice, sake, and prosperity. It's particularly famous for having more than 10,000 torii (gates.)
30 Day Picture Challenge - Day 5: A song that reminds you of someone
I have a very musical memory, meaning that I tend to automatically create strong attachments between memories and songs. Therefore, most songs will have some memory (particularly of someone) attached to them, making it particularly difficult to choose only one. Since the picture post talked about Japan, I decided to continue the theme and picked a song that reminded me of someone I met in Japan. This person made my trip even more special than I ever expected it to be and honestly, I still hold him in very high regard.
60 Day Picture Challenge - Day 4: A picture of your night.
Surprise, surprise. Another Friday night spent at home. Let's just say I'm not exactly thrilled about going out in the country that has the largest percentage of homicides in the world (and yes, unfortunately this statement is true - I really wish I were exaggerating, but this time I am not.) So, tonight I'm watching the French movie "Paris," and I hope it ends up being more original than its title. As you can see, I've got a huge glass of Coke Zero and a serving of popcorn to keep me company. Ah, and in case you're wondering, the candle that's flickering away is called "Baking for Santa" and it's got a sugared vanilla scent.
30 Day Song Challenge - Day 4: A song that makes you sad.
When I first heard this song, I cried like a baby because it simply hit too close to home. I think that anybody who's ever had his/her heart broken can relate to it. Furthermore, Adele is such an amazing performer that she is able to convey the emotions stirred up by this song perfectly. Nowadays, I don't cry when I hear it, but it still makes me a little bit sad (nostalgic for days long gone.)
"Never mind I'll find someone like you. I wish nothing but the best for you. Don't forget me, I begged. I remember you said, 'Sometimes it lasts in love, but sometimes it hurts instead.'"
I have over 100 posts. Wow. Who knew this day would come? lol
So, for my loyal followers, I decided to post something special. Something that will probably make you crack up... Things you can take from this: 1)I've always loved attention; 2)I've always loved to sing (even if it's gibberish), and 3)I've always been a bit crazyyyy... lol
I have no idea what I'm trying to say at 0:39. Maybe I was just making fun of how my baby brother spoke at that time.
And another one... One in which I am the protagonist. They wanted me to take a bite out of the cake - so that I could get my face covered in frosting. But as you can see, I've always been smart... I was adamant in refusing to do so. (0:43 - Ewwww, don't touch me!)
60 Day Picture Challenge - Day 3: A picture of the cast from your favorite show.
Well, well. I just wrote about Gossip Girl a few days ago in my Guilty Pleasures post, but here it is coming up again. Either way, everything I said about the show still holds. The drama, the glamour, the romance - everything about it is addictive. Furthermore, I love New York City and Gossip Girl does an excellent job of making the city a vital part of its cast.
30 Day Song Challenge - Day 3: A song that makes you happy.
I first heard this song in 2009, when it was featured in "500 Days of Summer." I remember watching the movie at the theater in Sunset Place, telling myself to make sure to look for the song when I got back home. However, I had a long night and totally forgot to do so. In November of last year, a friend reintroduced me to the song and it was also featured in the Victoria Secret Fashion Show (which should be coming up sometime soon, right?) Since then, this song has become one of the staples in my playlists. Even when I'm feeling like pond scum, I know I can put on this song and that my mood will change immediately as the guitar starts playing. Another thing that I really enjoy about this song is how it starts off slowly and continues to gradually build all throughout until it reaches an explosion of happiness, joy, and all that is good in the world. (Well, that may be pushing it a little bit, but you already know I'm dramatic!) Enjoy!!!
