La Vida es جميل

Blue People and Bugs in My Food!

jrbrink — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 13:38:00 GMT

I am discovering more and more how adventure is found in the small things in life. Having more free time has allowed me to approach life more inquisitively.

Example #1: I've been eating a lot of dates (the food, not men, haha) lately and have actually gone through about 2 kilos in the past week. I bought a pack today, and, while eating them, decided to do my own little investigation via Google inquiring--is it unhealthy to eat so many dates? The answer I got is no--but I came across a thread that discussed and showed videos and pictures of little creatures living inside this nature-made treat. So, for my next date, I decided to open it up--just to see if I would find a little friend in there--and what did I discover? A small, dead caterpillar! In the very first date I opened! How funny! I've been munching on dead (hopefully) bugs for the past week!

Example #2: Okay, so I am in México not feeling so well in the stomach area. Natural medicine is really popular here, so on my way to the super (what the supermarket is called, here, in Mexico City), I decide to walk into this cute shop that sells natural products. I tell the lady my situation and asked her for something she apparently had never heard of, all the while, I see her face light up as she shows me and tries to convince me to purchase "plata coloidal." Now I have no idea what coloidal is, but I sure know that plata means silver and if she wants me to eat silver, woman is loca. I politely decline and tell her I prefer to do some research before deciding if I would like to purchase the product or not. So, I go back to my friend Google, and what do I find? This product turns your skin BLUE! We have all seen the orange people of Jersey Shore before, but can you believe that there is a product out there that can turn your skin unintentionally blue? If not, just google the condition "argyria" and a famous blue man from Oregon will appear on your screen.

In conclusion, you never know where adventure lies, and by being an inquisitive, fact-checking person--you may discover more than meets the eye.

Finding Freedom, Inspired by Nelson Mandela

jrbrink — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 10:24:00 GMT

Nelson Mandela is a truly inspiring human being and now that I have read his autobiography, I can say, most concretely, that I believe in his struggle that united South Africans. Despite all the adversity he faced, he portrays himself as a strong, introspective, patient character that thinks about all of his actions thoroughly before committing to them. He lives up to the freedom fighter image and this entry is an attempt to express some of what I learned from getting a glimpse into this great man's mind.

The majority of his autobiography was written while he was still imprisoned in an attempt to get his word outside. Somewhere along the way of getting his writings to the outside world, however, it got lost and was not published at that time. Lucky for us, after his release and after becoming President of South Africa as leader of the ANC, it was published in 1995. Mandela is a prime example of how persistent diplomacy works and the power that words really do hold. He is a truly wise man who gave himself to the struggle of his people.

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Mandela believes,"man's goodness is a flame that can be hidden but never extinguished (457)."

He explains this ideology further, "a man who takes away another man's freedom is a prisoner of hatred, he is locked behind the bars of prejudice and narrow-mindedness. I am not truly free if I am taking away someone else's freedom, just as surely as I am not free when my freedom is taken from me. The oppressed and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity (459-60)."

Essentially, Mandela is offering to us, that man is inherently good and his mind is corrupted by ideology that he inherits during his upbringing.

If you do not read any other part of this book, my suggestion is that you read the last chapter. It condenses his wise words and much of his philosophical insight into a few pages.

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I am left to conclude that, although Mandela was imprisoned as prisoner 466/64 (466^th prisoner in 1964) for 27 years, he lived his entire life as a free man. Free in the aspect that he followed his heart with the intentions of lifting his people out of repression and apartheid. If you really want to know how an imprisoned man can be free, read and listen intently to Mandela himself, and you will be able to truly understand that our imprisonment lies within ourselves, within our own minds and hearts, so the underlying question is are others imprisoning us or are we imprisoning ourselves? And, how can we liberate ourselves from imprisonment?

My own answer is through being aware and knowledgeable and an experienced person. We can learn from our experiences and attain knowledge that will prove our positions in this world. It is knowledge and understanding that brings us power, and by choosing to be unaware, to look the other way, we are not helping others, nor are we helping ourselves. Through education, we can liberate ourselves and discover exactly what we want to be and what we want to see in this world. And, by education, by no means am I limiting that to the formality of attending classes. When I speak of education, I speak of the search and hunger for the truth. The truth that the mainstream media does not provide, nor do the textbooks we are given during our primary and secondary education.

The search for truth begins with you and your desire to seek true understanding and a conceptual perspective and reaching an original idea, not the one that is implanted on you by being Democrat or Republican or what options are given to you. What is your truth? How do you understand the world? What experiences have you had that have made you think this way? Looking beyond your own opinions to understand why you hold the values that you do will not only allow you to argue your case coherently when the time comes, but will empower you to have a voice in this world, when it seems that so many are overshadowed by the few, powerful among us who are making decisions that are not truly beneficial to humankind. Through education and the sharing of experiences and ideas, we can change things around here.

Photos: My Photo scholarship 2011 entry

jrbrink — Mon, 7 Nov 2011 16:07:00 GMT

These photos are from my visit to Coyoacan for Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) in Mexico City. I am currently living here as an Educational Advisor for Mexican students who are interested in pursuing their studies in the United States. During this day, people buy pan de muerte (bread of death) to give to their ancestors at alters or gravesites. My intention with these photos was to portray the connection between the living and the dead. The perspective from which the photographs are shot is from a person contemplating this day as s/he goes through the tradition of buying the bread that is only offered during this time of year. This person is pondering the symbolic significance behind this day and while in the bread shop sees “Men do not live on bread alone” and comes to the conclusion that “hope” or “esperanza” is another food for man. Receiving this scholarship is important to me because I see symbolism in everyday life and realize there are many artistic outlets for expressing such symbolic messages --- one of them being photography. I once asked a friend how he took such profound photos and he told me to make sure that it has some sort of meaning to me before taking the shot. I hope to explore South Africa and take photos of what really holds value there. I will be going to Tanzania in June 2012 as a Peace Corps Volunteer and am hoping for a chance to see and understand another part of Africa and to portray what I will learn through my photography.

Día de los Muertos

jrbrink — Mon, 7 Nov 2011 13:24:00 GMT

Death. How beautiful would it be to not feel depressed and at a state of loss when remembering our loved ones who have passed on?

Day of the Dead has to be one of my favorite holidays and this year, for the first time, I am in Mexico to celebrate it. During Day of the Dead families create alters or visit gravesites of their deceased where flowers, drinks, food, candles, and all sorts of other decorations are brought as gifts. Essentially, they are taking a day to not only remember their ancestors but to celebrate with them.

This holiday would prove valuable to Americans if introduced in the U.S. People need healthy ways for dealing with grieving and remembering those who have passed on. When experiencing the death of someone close, it seems that we are rushed into holding a funeral and then, when it is over,expected to force ourselves to snap back into our everyday routines.

Day of the Dead gives those who celebrate it a chance to connect with the dead and it is a really a fulfilling day of celebration. It invokes creativity and remembrance; one can celebrate it alone or make a trip to the centro to be with others. It is a spiritual holiday that embraces the natural tendency of us as humans to want to remember and spend time with our loved ones – alive or dead.