New Year Resolutions

Hello beautiful people! 2016 just started and everywhere around the social networks we pretty much see and read everyone's hopes and goals for this New Year. Moreover, let's face it, we also start seeing how many of them already started failing their acts of self-improvement.

Like many traditions, this one has religious origins from different cultures and time periods. In Babylonia, people used to promise their gods that they would pay all their debts. In ancient Rome, the promises of self-improvement were made to the god Janus (after whom the month January is named). In Medieval times, it was after Christmas when the knights had to renew their chivalry vows. 

In the case of Christianism, the period for good behavior and promises to god, has more to do with Lent, but it still talks about an annual reflection in order to improve oneself.

What is the most popular one? You all know it, weight loss and having a healthier lifestyle. Other popular goals have to do with money, career, social skills, traveling, family (getting married), spiritual world, etc...

This practice is more popular in the Western world, though it is also seen in Eastern cultures. I think it would be very interesting to compare both sides to see differences and similarities in goals.

Personaly, I love the good vibe and feeling surrounding the start of a year which inspires everyone to make resolutions, but I believe that the only way to fulfil your promises is to make them realistic and simple. On that note, of course I didn't escape the resolution list making this year, I just hope I get to fulfill at least one of them.

What is your most important resolution this year? Did you make any creative ones?

Ship Life, You Gotta Love It...

So finally, after more than one year of blog abandonment, I'm back to writing a new entry, and this time it has to do with what I've actually  been doing this past year... After 8 months of waiting and waiting, I finally got the job I wanted for the longest time, I became a proud Crew Member of the Disney Cruise Line. This is completely honest, it was one of my dreams finally coming true, it still is.

After working in Walt Disney World for 2 years, and now working in the Cruise Line, I can say that Disney is an amazing company to work for and that I wouldn't trade my job, it is the fact of living 6 months on a ship what makes things a little difficult sometimes (and yet, still totally worth it).

So yes, ship life... I guess there are many different ways to see it. First of all, you live with people of more than 50 different nationalities (probably more) and cultures. I love that you get to learn and share with them everyday. Plus, even though everybody communicates in English, you get to hear other languages from time to time (this is an amazing thing for a language freak such as me).

The time you spend on board depends on your contract. Contracts vary from 4, 6, 7 or 8 months (never more than 8 months), depending on your department and position. I usually do between 5 and a half and 6 months, then we have the fantastic vacation period of 8 weeks, normally. This vacation period is great to plan trips and activities with family and friends, which you don't get to see very often.

We work HARD, and when I say hard, I mean it! It also depends on the department, but usually everybody works at least 70 hours a week, from 10 to 12 hours a day. No, we don't have days off (weekends? what is that?), we have hours off, the right amount of hours that the body needs to rest (now, if you choose to rest or not, that is your problem). Again, this also varies depending on the department and position.

We try our best to have a normal life, we go out shopping to Walmart when we can, we go out to eat when we can, we go to the movies when we can, we hang out with friends, we have parties and sometimes we even have time to go tourist activities in the ports of call.

In the end, it depends on each person to have a healthy and balanced life. So far, I feel very proud of myself for not having to take excessive amounts of coffee, chocolate or energy drinks like monster and redbull.

Of course there is much more to say about ship life, but you have to live it in order to fully understand it. In my case, with all its ups and downs, I love it and wouldn't want to do anything else.

Post Cards, Post Cards!!

When having a lot of free time, creativity and inspiration often knock at my door. After spending some time organizing my photos in order to create more videos, I discovered that some were good enough to be transformed into post cards.

However, the whole post card thing started when I joined a web site called postcrossing.com. This great site helps you connect with people from all the corners of the world by sending and receiving personalized post cards. The beauty of it has to do with the multicultural interaction and the excitement of using the regular mail.

I loved postcrossing since the minute I joined – thanks to my friend Ale Ruiz -, but the only problem I faced was the fact that it is not easy to find nice post cards from Michoacan. There are some available at a few bookstores and at the Candy Market in downtown Morelia, but the photos are old, and there is a small variety.

So, after my failed post card search, I unlocked the memories about Photoshop handling, selected some nice looking photographs and started designing my own. I was so pleased with the result that I wanted to share my experience with all. Could I maybe start my own business?

Morelia and Patzcuaro: Two Beautiful Places in Mexico

Last week I started experimenting with a video making program and I believe I have discovered a new passion for photograph and video editing. I took the opportunity of going on my old files and rescuing a bunch of old photographs taken in my hometown, Morelia, and the beautiful "Magic Town", Patzcuaro. I'm quite a rookie when it comes to video making, but I was pleased with the result that I would like to share with you.

First video: Morelia, the Beautiful Pink Stone City

Second video: A Glimpse of Patzcuaro

Just another way to show the world some of the amazing cities that can be found in Mexico. I hope you enjoy them and thank you in advance for watching.

I WANT TO RETIRE IN PATZCUARO!

A couple of weeks ago I was having lunch with my mom and one of her friends, an American lady named Jackie who has been living in Mexico for five years. After chatting with her for a while I was surprised to hear me express a phrase I never thought I would actually say: I would love to retire in Patzcuaro!

  

Now, I must confess that even though I consider Patzcuaro to be a beautiful and interesting place to visit, I always thought that it was a little boring to live in. Yes, after almost 30 years of my life I openly admit that I’m a “city girl”. But, don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of facts about Patzcuaro that make it a wonderful place to inhabit.

Patzcuaro is a small city (looks more like a town, actually) with an estimate population of 90,000 people. It is located by the famous lake that carries the same name, “Patzcuaro”. Its beauty and uniqueness made it one of the eight “Magic Towns” of the State of Michoacan.

This Spanish-colonial city is famous for its characteristic streets with red and white painted houses. It is also internationally known for the celebrations of the Day of the Dead which take place there and in the surroundings every year in November.

So, other than being a great place for tourists who like cultural destinies, it is a functional and cosmopolitan city which population is compounded by people with different nationalities and, as I discovered while talking to Jackie, it can be everything but boring.

She was telling me all about her busy days in retirement, how she meets with her book discussion club, her language classes, her yoga classes, and even her weekly meetings with a hiking club. She also told me about parties frequently organized for English speaking people who want to meet with Spanish speakers in order to practice languages. Overall, all her activities sounded awesome!

To sum up, the authentic style of this Mexican city, its traditions and its increasing number of retired people, makes Patzcuaro more and more interesting every year.

If you wish to learn more about Patzcuaro go to: http://www.visitmexico.com/en/magicaltowns/pacific-region/patzcuaro and http://www.patzcuaro.com/.

Photos by: Lilirog

LA CATRINA, A MEXICAN SKELETON

Some days have passed since the celebration of Day of the Dead, and maybe during those days you heard about this popular Mexican character, and maybe you were wondering about her origins and the reason of her popularity.

If you haven't really heard from her, la Calavera Catrina is a fancy skeleton lady who wears pretty dresses and elaborate hats (just like the first photo shows). Actually, for many years the Spanish word "catrín" has been used in Mexico to define an elegant or fancy gentleman, in the same way "catrina" is used  to call an upper-class  lady.

Her first appearance was in the famous etching called "La Calavera Garbancera" (right), created by the Mexican printmaker José Guadalupe Posada in 1913. Posada wanted to criticize some Mexicans that used to deny their roots and wished to look European and wealthy, but really belonged to a low class. He used to say: ..."en los huesos, pero con sombrero francés con sus plumas de avestruz" (in her bones, but with a French hat with ostrich feathers).

She was named "la Catrina" by the artist Diego Rivera, when long after Posada's death, he painted her in his mural "Dream of a Sunday in Alameda Park" (left). In this piece, we can see the full body of the fancy skeleton lady, accompanied by Posada.

La Catrina has become an important Mexican icon for the celebration for the Day of the Dead, and we can find her in various ornaments and artcrafts (in fact, she is so popular now that a lot of people like to dress up like her during Day of the Dead celebrations). Actually, it is common for Mexicans to buy clay Catrina figurines to decorate their homes, for that reason, the dresses and posses of this character have become more and more creative. Nowadays we find dancers, singers, musicians, sexy devils, brides, and many more.

The small town of Capula, in the state of Michoacan, Mexico, is famous for making different clay artcrafts, it's the home of great artists, and, in my opinion, the place were you can find the finest Catrinas in the country, not to mention that you don't need to spend a fortune to obtain these fine art pieces. In fact, every year before the Day of the Dead, a Catrina Fair takes place there, so you will find figurines of every shape, size, color and price (they are really cheap, unique and beautiful). Here are some pictures that I took during this year's fair:

I hope that this little post helped you to learn more about this very special Mexican character. Please, feel free to leave any comment.

Sources:

es.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Catrina
img: artesytradicionesdemexico.com/2012/10/29/de-la-calavera-garbancera-a-la-catrina

Oktoberfest Ist Here!!

Who would want to be in a party where you could drink the best beer in the world? I know that I definitely would!! In fact, travel to Germany during the Oktoberfest is part of my bucket list. As you can see, I haven't experienced yet, but nonetheless I wanted to do a little research and tell you some facts about this appealing tradition.

Oktoberfest takes place every year in München  (located in the south of Germany, it's the third largest city of the country) starting on the first Saturday after September 15th, it usually lasts 16 to 18 days. This year it started on September 22nd and will end on October 7th. 

The first Oktoberfest took place in 1810 to celebrate the marriage of King Ludwig I, where all the citizens were invited to attend the festivities held on the fields, specially the horse races that marked the end of the event and were the reason to continue the tradition (they stopped doing them in 1960). Since then, it has been canceled 24 times due to several reasons, including cholera epidemics and war.

In our days, the festival starts when the Mayor of München taps the first keg of beer at 12:00 o'clock. After that, visitors from all over the world can take a seat in the tents, enjoy the music, taste the food and drink the many different German beers that are offered.

The festival receives approximately 6.4 million visitors each year, who drink around 7,100,000 liters of beer in those famous big jars. Hopefully, I'll be one of them someday, and I will be able to tell you more about this cool German festivity.   

If you have more information regarding Oktoberfest or want to share your experience, please leave a comment below.

Cheers!!

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oktoberfest, http://www.oktoberfest.de/en/.