Blogging about Blogging

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I've never had a blog before this class. To be honest, it never even crossed my mind that I would ever have one. When Dr. Pittmann announced that a blog would be required for the course and that creativity would be one of the main things the blogger should have, I got filled with excitement. I've always loved artsy and creative things, and the fact that it would be something new which I had never tried before made me feel even more eager to make the best of it. Once I created an account, I was obsessed with it. Everyday I would edit it or find something new to add. It started to feel like a hobby instead of a tedious course requirement.
 

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Post by post, I felt my writing improving. My mind felt more at ease with each passing blog post and the words were coming out better than I imagined. Sometimes I have ideas in my head but struggle to find the right words to express them. With this blog, it has definitely progressed to a new level. I know what I want to say now. My ideas come clear and so does my writing.

As the semester came close to an end, I was kinda disappointed that I wouldn't be able to continue this fun journey. So I decided to create a new blog, but this time with my very own choice of topic. I've met nice people from all over the world who love reading my posts and I read theirs. It's an exciting community to be involved in and a creative way to pass the time.

An Escape

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The following quote appears in Jamaica Kincaid's book, A Small Place. In her writing, she focuses on travel and tourism with a new turn. Not only is the tourist's point of view taken into account but also the native's. Have you ever wondered what goes on in a native's mind when tourists visit their homeland? Kincaid reveals these very thoughts. 

Natives, at least the ones that come from a poor background, don't enjoy the wonders their land offers. That is their reality and they can't escape from it or experience something different and new. Do you remember the feeling you get when you are bored with your surroundings and nothing seems to excite you? That sense of wanting to escape emerges from within. It's basically a necessity, not a luxury, to separate yourself from everyday life to keep sane. That is why the natives' lives become tedious and exhausting, because they don't get to break free from their reality. 

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It makes sense why they would become envious and resentful towards tourists, because of the fact that they don't have this privilege. Tourists get to enjoy new settings and stimulate their minds with other cultures while natives are experiencing the same thing they experience everyday. 

What's interesting to the natives though, is how their very own setting becomes the tourists' vacation. "Their own banality and boredom" is turned "into a source of pleasure" for the tourist. The very place the tourists want to go is the one the natives want to leave. Kincaid clashes these two point of views and reveals the contradictory opinions one place can have. It is a new understanding of how different backgrounds can affect how you perceive a location, either as a place to escape or an uneventful one.

Tourist for a Day

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How do we know when someone doesn't belong to the country they're visiting? There are certain aspects of one's behavior that are a dead giveaway. Tourists usually have a greater appreciation for surroundings. Everything seems new and exotic to them, so you usually see them wandering around or getting lost easily. When hearing them speak, an accent or different language is usually perceived. More often than not, they're seen wearing clothes that tend to stick out like a sore thumb. In Puerto Rico it's often floral shirts, crocs, flip flops, capri shorts, hiking bags, safari hats, basically anything you would almost never see on a native. 

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As an experiment, I took some of these stereotypical qualities and tried them out at a random location in Puerto Rico. I put on some sunglasses, a polo shirt, capri shorts, a fedora and a pair of flip flops. First I went to Old San Juan, where tourists are usually expected. I entered one of the many restaurants there and asked where the nearest restroom was with a fake American accent. One of the waiters directed me in a polite manner with complete detail so I wouldn't get lost. After this response, I changed into my normal everyday attire and did the same thing in a different restaurant but as a Puerto Rican. The waiter just pointed to the back and said, "there."

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Regarding my clothes, when I had the tourist getup on, I walked around taking pictures of everything. I noticed certain people gawked at me as I walked by. Some even chuckled and pointed from a distance. When I changed clothing, I was like another sheep in the herd.

Being a tourist had some advantages and disadvantages. Although employees tend to be polite towards tourists in commercial establishments, some normal citizens weren't as nice and tended to be slightly judgmental. I enjoyed being a tourist but after a while I started feeling like a fish out of water in my own home. 

Seeking for Happiness

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Bhutan was rated as one of the happiest countries in the world. Why? It could be their belief in reincarnation which translates into "having a second shot at living life." It could also be their complete single-minded devotion to their king. Is it because there are more monks than military personnel in Bhutan and the few military personnel that exist manufacture liquor? He says, “Imagine if all the world’s armies got into the alcohol business. ‘Make booze not war’ could become the rallying cry for a whole new generation of peaceniks.”

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  Also, the Bhutanese excel at the art of compromise or knowing their limitations. Are we less happy because we believe we can have the sky if we want to? The Bhutanese don't spend their time reflecting. They don't ask themselves questions like "Am I happy" or "What would it take to make me happy." They just go about their day. Some people from other parts of the world, on the other hand, spend so much time worrying about what makes them happy that they usually miss the happy moments.

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In Bhutan, Eric Weiner defines happiness as a policy in his book The Geography of Bliss. Bhutan has a unique measure for the country’s successful growth: Gross Domestic Happiness. While the rest of the world is competing to improve the Gross Domestic Product, Bhutanese are focused more on what Robert Kennedy called “that which make life worthwhile.” Compassion is more highly valued than economic growth. For them, happiness is not an individual experience; they find their inner peace collectively and inter-personally.

A powerful scene takes place as Weiner is preparing to leave Bhutan and reflecting on his time there. He realizes that everything he has been through in his life is okay. He wouldn’t change it. He accepts himself and his experiences without judgment.

Relatable Characters

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In his book, Reading and Writing: A Personal Account, V.S. Naipaul begins his autobiography by describing the root of his writing. He was only eleven years young when he first wished to become a writer. Nonetheless, this ambition was merely an excuse to own pens, books and ink without any desire to write. Later, he engages a liking for reading and writing during his early school years because of the influences of two characters: his father and Mr. Worm. He wanted to be a writer but felt he did not have sufficient knowledge to do so.

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When he moved from rural India to the "New World," also known as the city, he experienced a drastic change, feeling like an outsider regardless of the other Indians that lived near by. This created a writer's block and affected his lack of writing motivation. This reminded me of the time I moved to Florida for a year. I experienced severe homesickness because of the drastic change of people and culture. Even though there were things that reminded me of home, just like there were bits and pieces of India still with him, it was a difficult transition. I could relate to his confusion and experiences and how it had an effect on his personal growth and self-discovery. I definitely grew as a person and my personality matured when I was away from home. When he saw the Ramlila in the theater, a play based on the Indian Ramayana, it filled him with reality and excitement because it reminded him of what he knows as home.

Everybody has felt that sense of aimlessness in their lives where one does not know where to turn or what to do. That is why the author's character in his own writing is so relatable. Not to mention his other characters, that are so well detailed, are probably relatable for other people as well. For example, parents wanting what is best for their children could notice certain similarities to Naipaul's father.

My Journal Reflection

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On August 19th of this year I started keeping a journal as a course requirement for Journey in Literature in University of Puerto Rico. Daily, I would either write a 10 minute entry or exercise an energy compass. There were certain rules that came with writing in the journal. I had to keep my hand moving; overlook spelling, punctuation, or grammar; lose control; ignore thinking or getting logical, and go for the jugular. I never had any problems following the rules but I did experience a certain race or anxiety when it came to writing with a timer. My stream of consciousness kept flowing and it was physically challenging to catch up to my thoughts. After a certain number of days instead of trying to write every single detail down, I left sentences or phrases unfinished so I could go for the jugular and attack my thoughts at the exact moment when they appeared. This gave me a more relax feel to it and encouraged me to write truthfully what I was thinking while writing.

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For the energy compass, a circle was drawn and it was divided into four parts; spiritual energy, emotional energy, mental energy, and physical energy. Each section was given a number according to the energy levels of the day created: 1 being the lowest energy, 2 if there are light tensions and 3 if I felt open. The highest total number one can get with all four is 12, and it is not that far apart from 10 which was my first energy compass total. My numbers kept increasing and decreasing depending on the day I was having but it generally maintained a 10-11-12 energy level. My mental and physical energy levels always got 3s. It was my spiritual and emotional levels that kept shifting which is completely understandable giving that no person can be emotionally stable 24/7, therefore affecting
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Mentally I have always considered myself “open.” I am constantly thinking, reading, analyzing, or looking for something new to learn. Challenging my mind has forever been a part of me because of my perfectionist and obsessive personality. I also granted myself 3s in my physical energy levels since I dance and workout for as long as I can remember. I was emotionally unstable for the first two months this semester because of personal reasons, which affected my emotional energy levels during the first few compasses. When I began to re-read entries in which I had written about this issue, it helped me gain a new perspective of the situation; thus, helping me solve it. Once the problem began to diminish, my emotional level began to rise. This is why the entries and the compasses work so well together. Its increasingly intersected results depend on one another. When the emotional storm passed and the waters were at ease, my life felt balanced again and my spiritual levels rose from a 2 to a 3.

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On October 7th I completed a total of 40 entries and 12 energy compasses. Progressively, the entries got easier and stress-free in addition to the compasses which maintained a 12 energy level towards the end. As the days passed I felt a slight change in my personality reflected in my writing. It gradually got deeper and emotional and I even turned to it in moments of need. Having all my thoughts poured on a piece of paper helps gain a different perspective on life and experiences. Why? It serves as a form of release instead of bottling up feelings. I can write about anything and after the 10 minutes are done I can close my journal and sleep without pondering about it. Days or weeks later I can go back and read it; making complications easier to fix, good moments appreciated, and important decisions improved based on objective observation on previous writing.

Imperfection

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The author of Life is a Trip, known as Judith Fein, experiences travel in a life-changing meaningful way and decides to document her discoveries in said book. During her voyage she came across Guatemala and her curiosity instantly attached itself to a wooden figure wearing a top hat with a black coat known as Maximon. This venerated Mayan god almost always smokes a cigarette or large cigar, and his houses of worship is filled with burning candles, bottles of rum or Quetzalteca grain alcohol, and other offerings from his supplicants. These people described him as a saint, a devil, a doctor, a trickster, and so on. When overhearing a guide, Fein learns he is not only a divinity, but also a sinner who understands human vices, which is why he is able to forgive even those who have done terrible things. After this understanding, she decides to ask for complete absolution from Maximon, and only then is she able to forgive herself. When learning the satisfaction of it afterwards, she helps a friend of hers forgive himself by explaining the wonders of Maximon and the impossibility of obtaining perfection, similar to the god. One can only try, but we must forgive ourselves as well as each other for the errors we are bound to make. Maximon accepts people the way they are, imperfect.