esa fue la semana número uno.

one week down, five to go.

i already know i'm not going to want to leave...
just like in india. geezus, i have some problem.

i better not pull that same stunt now or in Chile. paul would kill me.

I realized i haven't told you guys where exactly i am right now. i'm in Tecomán, Colima. My dad grew up here. i love it.

you know what it is? it's the culture. it's soo rich with tradition, family, and kindness. what's the US culture? fat people, malls, and plastic surgery??

okay, okay, i'm being a bit harsh. I think you know what i mean, though. i love my home, but i wish it had more... substance.

anyways, my family is amazing. i haven't started my spanish classes yet, but i'm already picking up a lot. i can finally have conversations! it's totally rad. even though my primos laugh at me because my pronunciation is sometimes off, i keep at it. It's cool, because it's the first time i've really ever had a chance to get to know them, and they're great!

soon i will post pictures of everyone.

yesterday, i had sushi for dinner.
weird, but delicious.

that's all.

taco count: 24

adios!

gauchos.

this is just around the corner from where i'm staying.
...kind of awesome!

every day is a new opportunity. it's up to me to take advantage of it.



taco count: 21

adios.

soy mexicana.

i'm starting to think in spanish.




i'm so happy to be here!

taco count: 20

peace.

aborto

it's hot.

i don't know exactly how hot... because i don't know the conversion from Celsius to Fahrenheit. i'm too lazy and hot to look it up. i don't think i want to know.

Last night, i walked about 6 blocks to get dinner with my cousins at 930PM. i had to stop to get water because it was so hot my thighs were dripping with sweat. 930PM!! i'm not kidding, it was disgusting.

Then we ate at a street stand called "dogos, hamburger & sushi"

in the US, i think i would've found a different place to eat, but when in rome...?

i ate a piece of warm sushi, and a room temperature hot dog with bacon around it.

don't worry, this one wasn't mine.. it was marlenne's.

it was good, but in retrospect, that might not have been the best idea. my dad would've killed me. thankfully, i didn't get sick.

anyways, time for the main attraction...

i don't know what your beliefs on abortion are... but here's the video i helped my cousin make for class:

(the girls know how funny this is)
my cousin is the doctora in the video! she was hilarious with that poker thing.. hahah

keep in mind, this was only my 3rd day in mexico... i literally barely knew what was going on. most shots we only shot once. AH. what i'm trying to say is, don't judge me from this camera work, hahah.

i don't think this is what paul had in mind when he said to work on multimedia while i was gone...

taco count: 14

peace.

don't worry....

even the dead are being careful.

swine flu, you ain't got nothin' on me.

abortion video coming later today.
Stay tuned, you won't want to miss it.

taco count: 14 (slowed down a bit)

peace.

fotos

i've been having some trouble shooting these first few days. i think it's because my body needs to adjust to this new location. . i'm too distracted to have any creative energy.

...but that doesn't make any sense because the first days in india i shot like crazy good. i think it's because i'm being constantly monitered by my family; i have to behave myself COMPLETELY which makes me feel... uneasy? not that i normally behave badly, but i just have to reflect a certain.. persona out of respect for my family. it's hard to explain, but i hope you understand.

also, i feel kind of useless since i can't hold a decent conversation. pretty much everyone knew english in india, but here... not so much. i might as well be a terrible mime.

not being me is making it difficult to be a photographer.

these first few days, i was forcing myself to shoot. i took my camera everywhere, and made sure i took at least one picture at every new place i went. even though i wasn't feeling it, i got a handful of images i like.

finally, yesterday was the first day i felt like taking pictures. it hit me when i was helping my cousin sammy and a group of her friends with their homework project... which was to make a short movie about a girl who gets an abortion (i'm not kidding. when i finish editing it, i will put it up). I was in charge of this teeny camera with video and i remembered that this is what i love to do. the girls were having soo much fun, i just couldn't help but steal from their energy and get creative.

anyways, here's what i like from yesterday...












and it just wouldn't be me without a reflection shot...


now, i gotta work on my audio.

even though i can't communicate with anyone properly, i'm still having a lot of fun... i love my family... my primos are really fun and nice! i can't wait to learn more spanish so i can learn more about my family.

this is going to be a great 6 weeks.

taco count: 13 (still...)

peace.

mexico!

i have arrived.

I took this trip to Mexico to work on me.

I'm going to Chile this fall/winter for the next documentary trip, and i need to make sure i'm as prepared as possible.

My father is 100% Mexican and my mother is 100% white (but wants to be Mexican >>loveyoumom!<<), but she's a college Spanish professor, and has her Ph.D in Spanish Literature. I'm telling you this because i need you to understand how difficult is was for me NOT to learn Spanish. I can understand a lot, sure... but i can't hold a normal conversation. My brother, on the other hand, makes me look like an a_hole for not knowing enough because he's pretty damn good at it.

So i'm forcing myself to learn. Being fluent in Spanish is something i always wanted, but i was afraid to go for it. Six weeks in Mexico should do it.

Also, i'm here for photography's sake. Practice makes perfect, right? Well, maybe not perfect, but it helps...

I need to establish a good traveling workflow. I get distracted easily because i love to explore, but i need to make sure that i stay organized and on top of my files, captions, and edits. I think this will be more challenging than learning spanish.

But really, this trip is a vacation for me. Technically, i haven't been enrolled in school for 3 months now, but somehow i was still constantly working on either SVARA post postproduction or Chile preproduction. I haven't had any time for myself, which sucked.

So, i'm visiting my family that i almost never see, taking pictures, eating tacos, going to the beach, tanning, exploring, and having a lot of fun.

Do i look mexican yet?

Taco count: 13

peace.

dear wordpress,

dear wordpress,

i don't like you. you have really ugly templates for your blogs. your "add photos" page is way more excessive than necessary. your fixed widths suck.

on the other hand, i like that you don't have the rights to use my images, unlike BLOGGER. your dashboard is cooler than bloggers, too.

if you get a cool template that i can customarily change to my liking, i will use you instead, but until then i will stick to my first love, blogger.

peace.

alexxx

just a few pics from alexandria's graduation...








I'm so proud of her!



I know that anyone who has ever read this blog knows that i love alex.
she's got balls, takes chances in life, and is overall just awesome.
and NOW she's got a BA in Film.

watch out, world.

peace.

MAYhem

i can't believe it's May already.

quickly... i want to thank everyone for an awesome birthday and for all of the birthday wishes. i love my friends :). i'm twenty-two years old. what an ugly age. i have a good feeling about this year though... great things are going to happen!

on a sucky note. . . i was supposed to leave for mexico this month but the damn swine flu looks like it will be delaying my trip. what the hell am i going to do?? this flu could ruin everything. i so badly want to go visit my family, learn more spanish, and continue to shoot and work on small projects. agvjbfhsnkb

i'm going to be positive about it and hope for the best.

so the only plans i have for the next few months are to go to my chile meetings. The group has been chosen, and we have our first meeting on monday. this trip is going to have a completely different group dynamic. . . it's scary, but exciting! i know it's kind of crazy doing this all over again, but i know that doing anything else wouldn't make me as happy.

besides that, i'm currently home in monrovia watching flight of the conchords. it's nice being home and relaxing. my dad loves cooking whenever i come home, so he's been making some amazing dishes. it's also nice being home because alexandria is only a hop and a skip away!

like today, we took kai to the park, watched some baseball, ate sushi, and watched born into brothels, caramel, baby mama, and part of clueless. i love days like these. . .



this is Kai Kingston. he's a badass. he's going to be gorgeous when he grows up. is that creepy to say??










this time away from school is going to be good for me. i can feel it in my bones.
I'm having fun with my new 35mm f1.4
it makes me happy.
almost as happy as him....


what a rock star.

peace.