Happy New Year 2008 !!!

Since I've been in Arlington, VA for about 4 days, I was a bit worried about spending the new year away from my family in Puerto Rico. This was, the first time. I was even more worried and sad about that day when I learned that my sister had to work from 7pm 'til 3am (she works at a hotel) I did a quick search for fun activities in DC, I got a whole lot of nothing, mostly hotels and restaurants offering huge buffets and music for a huge amount of money. I then read about First Night in Alexandria..... just what I wanted.

As we ate a late lunch at Red Robbin, we began planing what we could do for New Year's Eve, my brother-in-law didn't seem so excited about the options. I couldn't believe that there were no outside, fun activities going on in DC, he said that they were more common for the fourth of July. A bit disconcerted, I checked online and saw again the First Night in Alexandria event, checked out their website and decided to tell them about this. It was the perfect choice! We got there at 9:15pm just in time for great modern jazz from the Jonathan Parker Quartet. The Quartet was composed of young musicians, they all gave an amazing performance. After the jazz at the Atrium Building, we walked a block over to the Lyceum and saw Quin Tango ! The group is composed of two violinist, a cello player, bass player and a pianist. The little concert had pieces by Carlos Gardel and Piazzolla ! Needless to say, I was in musical paradise. When the first chords from :"Para una Cabeza" from Carlos Gardel played, I went into the nostalgic world of tango music, one that I have a great love for. We were all delighted.


The weather was incredibly cold, with 30 something degrees I was sure to bundle up. We walked and took a bus, complimentary with our cool First Night Alexandria passes, to the George Washington Memorial for a great concert from the Perennial all male a capella singers, while we waited for the New Year to arrive. There were a lot of people there but just enough to make it fun and comfortable. We took pictures and got New Year's hugs while we watched an amazing fireworks display, just for us.






I have been very negative about this trip, mainly because I wanted to share it with two special people in my life, one did make it. It felt rewarding to have chosen activities that were both fun for me and my family. We had a great time, and I feel even more independent and at ease.

Sure, I missed all my family and friends back home, but I got a great experience and it was all because I didn't give up on having fun.

My dad and brother-in-law talked about New Year's resolutions, it seems like its something people do and never own up to it, but it is always good to set goals for yourself, that keeps me even more motivated in life. For 2008, I expect great things and lots of changes, my graduation, my niece's kindergarden graduation, starting medical school and hopefully meeting new people. I feel very optimistic and ready for the challenges, 2008..... here I go!


While speaking to my brother-in-law about the wonderful world of human relationships, and people making up excuses he quotes.....
"EXCUSES are like armpits, you have a couple of them and they both stink !"

In The United States

As I get ready to go out with part of my family to explore new places, I decided that I am going to leave some things behind, and worry about the people that actually care about me. Time to finish getting ready !

Merry Christmas

This Christmas brought a bunch of food, amaazing & hillarious times with family and friends plus a lot of things to do......

More to update when I arrive in The United States, if I have time, ugh.

He is back !

Last night, we went to the airport to pick up Emi ! I was so so glad to see him, since being away from your best friend is a tough thing sometimes. We went to dinner with his parents, and took a ride in my cool european car. :)

Ouchies!

While trying to iron my shirt for the interview I had an accident involving heat...and so, I had to take whiny pictures of it, now it's hurting even more :(


The interview outfit......



Go ahead...tell me what you just thought.

Why oh why

Are there SO MANY perfume comemrcials during this season?

To each it's own

Yesterday, I embarked on a journey that will potentially lead me to a new step in my life. As I rode around in my “new” red car I decided to put some of my own CDs, instead of listening to the sometimes boring, radio. With “In My Place” playing it’s wonderful melodies, I lower my windows and realize I’m at the highest part of the highway, surrounded by mountains. The cold breeze tickles my arms and brushes my hair, and all of a sudden, the music, scenery, breeze and mood felt just perfect. That same road has been taken before, with family, friends and even by myself but I must say it was the best drive I’ve had by myself.

With my first interview ever at Ponce School of Medicine, I was a bit worried today. I dressed up, told my sister I looked like a teacher and headed off to the campus. After waiting for a while, I was sent in the dry heat of Ponce, to other buildings. Both interviews turned out to be good, the second better than the first. My second interviewer an Anatomy professor, seemed very impressed by me, and she let me know. Her compliments made me feel like all the hard work had not been done in vain. I was satisfied and proud. They both seemed interested and entertained by the conversation, lasting both interviews over 30 minutes.

I had to opportunity to have lunch with my sis, eat a Limbertito and chat with her some more at the house. Driving back to my hometown made me feel excited about this new step. I thought about things that I should change, and overall had a great time.

As I talked with my second interviewer about people who are tough to deal with, I realized that I had learned so much about that subject in the past semester. Even when the people you love the most disappoint you, you must move on and let them live as they wish.

My hands are shaking

I was called by Ponce School of Medicine to attend an interview on Tuesday. I spent all day yesterday looking for a nice, professional but cute shirt. Being almost done with my atire, I find myself a bit worried. I've never had a formal interview. All that keeps me calm is the notion that I enjoy long conversations and think I'm pretty good at verbal expression. Hopefully, I'll keep my cool and have a nice time. I'll pack everything tonight and head to my sister's house (who lives close to Ponce) tomorrow evening. Wish me luck !

Memories, will they stay?

My computer recently screwed up and someone formatted it..... I lost everything.

Today, as I began to set it up again I thought about all the things that were only kept in that terrible hard drive. I thought about all the music my friends had sent me, all the photos from family and friends, the documents that marked the endless hours I've spent working on my College and even Highschool life. What hurt most were the photos and I feared that without them I could potentially forget certain memories hidden behind the images. I also remembered keeping old IM conversations that were interesting to read at times. So now, fearing that I'll forget I must write that, I've met wonderful people, spent amazing times with family and friends, he loved me once, there were fights, lots of work and links of funny things. And gladly, I still have the important people in my life to take more photos and have even more memories.

I guess I don't need an image to remind me.



Just found out that I don't have Microsoft Word.....crap. Excuse any grammar mistakes.

My day

At 8:15am the phone rings, and a very sleepy me answers.....

Me: "Hello..."
My sister: "Ok, Cristie, I need your help! How do you spell, Chicken?"
Me: “What?"
Sister: "How?!?!?!"
Me: "C-H-I-C-K-E-N"
Sister: "Ok, now, potatoes???"
........

She pretty much made me spell a bunch of words. I figured she was doing English homework with my niece, but the weirdest thing is that, my sister is fully bilingual (Spanish & English). So I didn't understand why she needed my help to spell those words. I went back to sleep and later asked her what was wrong. "I was late and my mind got blocked!” she replied. I can't grasp how a professional, with a master's, who does business in the United States and has ranked as one of the best in her field could forget that, she's so funny.


__________________


"It's just too bad he's not willing to step out of his comfort zone to reach you." A stranger says as I stand in the check out line at the Supermarket. I turn to my right and stare at his piercing brown eyes. He smiles, wishes me a goodnight, and walks away to another, more empty line.

Analogía de una mariposa

I wrote this on Novemeber 14, 2007, at about 6:15pm while I was waiting in a train station. I was searching through my psychology notebook to keep writing my autobiography, and found it. I'm willing to share.....


La mariposa que arrullaste
en tu pecho al nacer
creció lentamente
con el empeño de tu querer.

Ella volaba como gaviota
embellecieron sus alas
no importaba si aqui no estabas
la teníamos atrapada

Pero, una noche, a ella decidiste herir
cortándole una ala
con muy poco que decir

Y así cayendo con el tiempo
tratando de subir
Pensabas que sanaría
para tu vida bendecir
Y llegar a ese lugar del cual nunca tuviste que mentir.

Pero, si fueras un sabio
podrías decir
que debrías darle cuidado
para que vuele y pueda ir.

Decidiste perderla
y ahora, no te puede bendecir
porque a esta gloriosa mariposa
dos la deben recibir.

©Cristina Alvarado Nieves, 2007.

Roles

Aurea (my 5 year old niece): (while dancing) "I'm a Bratz!"
Mom: (Sarcastcally) "And I'm Indiana Jones."
Aurea: (After thinking and smiling for a few seconds) "HAHA, you're a boy!!!"


Hillarious.

Today

I had forgotten my duties as the "get everything settled" daughter until this morning. The noisy neighbor called, saying that a few letters had arrived. That made my plans for the day shift and so I had to go down to Bayamón in order to get the letters. Then, she asks: "So when is your dad coming back?" I don't know. After, she continued to ask questions that would have made me feel umcomfortable a few moths ago but I just replied :"He just needs to live his life the way he chooses to, and that's it." Groundbreaking? No, but it's important to let others be who they are and live as they want without getting frustrated over their decisions.

I must point out that I keep falling in love with my anatomy book. Last night, I discovered a CD-ROM that comes with the book, detailing the concepts of physiology. Muscle contraction is so much fun!!!!!

Men & Christmas

Really, sometimes I don't understand them. To what has been bothering me like crazy for the past few weeks, confuses me even more when I get a call from my sister today. "Whaaaaaat?!" I replied. She laughs and says , "I have no idea what the deal is." So we decided to let nature take it's course, let's see how long we last like that. ;)

Today was a very sad day in my French-lessons-legacy. So now, I've spent about an hour memorizing verbs......au passé simple. It's still fun.

I'm starting to feel the Christmas spirit and it makes me want to buy a pine tree and decorate it. Soon, I'm sure.

Some friends and I decided to take a Picture with Santa on Saturday. He was a jolly nice man, as we saw him with a tropical shirt and shorts, setting up the space. He disappeared for a while and came back with an awesome costume. When it was finally time to take the picture, he wanted Zahíli and I to sit on his lap, what a naughty Santa! Too bad for Sammy who wanted that place.



We sang!



Then, I danced!



And tried on some hats!



The end!

Dear Web Page

A lot has happened, but I figured I'll tell it all when I'm done with the last weeks of school. I'll be completely free on December 15th, in the afternoon.

But for now, I wish to write, that if ever I thought there was no one out there with the sole purpose of feeding me with perplex, I was wrong. I can't believe that some things are happening, the world is big, but I guess it's not as grand as I thought. There isn't much fairness in what has occurred. And so, I wonder if abstracts are trying to teach me a lesson.

I wish I could keep working on my French essay, but I have a terrible headache and after taking 2 Tylenol pills (a rare thing for me) I figured I should go to sleep and write Santa a letter. Goodbye.

Sunday Fun

After spending some time together at Zahíli's cozy apartment, we saw a very disgusting web video. I shall not promote this, so I won't say which video it was, all I'll say is that I don't recommend it. The only good thing that came from it was our reaction, filmed by Wil. After, we had dinner and saw a movie. Christmas has officially started. Oh, in case you're wondering, Thanksgiving was good.

Caribbean Cinemas is working well !!!

Finally, after a very very long time, I can be a happy movie lover because two films that I've wanted to see are coming!

"Love in the Time of Cholera”: Scheduled for November 29th
"Once”: Scheduled for November 22

Hopefully, they'll keep getting along with the distributors and both films can come. I'm so excited!!!!

A lovely evening

Even though my plans for today changed, I still managed to have a wonderful evening. I decided to see a movie by myself. "Broken English", I chose, expecting tons of French dialogue. I didn't quite get the quantity that I expected and the film wasn't really memorable (bad script, the main actress had a struggle with staying in character, making her role not very believable), but, I still enjoyed it, for some reason.

I can't wait to celebrate my sister's birthday this Sunday, in Yauco!

I take it back

He has a hidden agenda which became visible after an online conversation tonight. Ugh.

We can be friends!

Tonight, I had the chance to spend some time with someone who had shared past experiences with me, and who taught me a lot. I haven't talked to this person in a long time and with the invitation to help me out in a presentation, I was curious to see how it would be like. Thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised. There wasn't any uncomfortable tension, just two friends hanging out in a coffee shop. I didn't see anything changed about this person's personality, but the attitude was different. Time can heal, and we both had a great time. I'm glad we can be friends.

To a lady that left us yesterday

Hecsa Costa was our Spanish teacher in 10th and 12th grade. She was very sick, and left this world yesterday. I wanted to make this post to remember her, and what she did for us. She was a kind and very smart woman who fueled my love for Latin American literature. I have lots of funny, great stories of moments that were shared with her thus I'll always remeber her with a smile. Rest In Peace.

Shopping et L'avortement

Trying to purchase all of the November birthday presents AND Christmas presents in a few hours is an arduous task. I failed at this attempt, but at least I got ahead in my shopping list. Before getting to the mall, I spent about 35 minutes stuck in traffic and trying to find alternate routes, while being swept away by gorgeous Indian music being played at Radio Universidad, an amazing radio station. All the Christmas decorations are starting to show in various places and it feels so exciting! In a clothes boutique I admire some dresses while 3 ladies from the good-old USA stare at me from the lobby, I pass them by, smile and quickly heard then say:"She's a model." "Oh yeah, look at the way she walks." I really don't know what part of my jeans, Eiffel Tower t-shirt, purple backpack and hair in waves screams model to someone, but I guess my posture is still good, yes! It's annoying to go to a store that has a minimum of $5 for credit cards and ATMs when you are cash-less and just want a bagel and some ice tea. Luckily, my friends at the fake French restaurant don't have that policy.


Yesterday, at French class, the professor had the brilliant idea of talking about abortion and making everyone participate. I consider that topic to be so controversial that, at times with certain people, it's not worth it to bring it up. I was right. Conversation is fine, but when a girl says that she is pro-choice and explains a situation that a friend of hers had, the angry group of people who have the same, weak arguments got their claws out. I was enjoying every second of it, until a girl decides to say:"Life begins at the womb, when the child is 3 weeks old." If you know me well, you know I can’t stay quiet after a comment like that has been made.

C:”Oh really? Who told you that?”
Girl :( getting really defensive)”Studies have shown that.”
C: “And why can’t life start before that?”
Girl: “Because…..”
C: “You have no proof of that, why can’t it start at the moment of fertilization?"
Girl: “Because studies have shown…!!!”

At that point I realize that it’s not worth it to continue because someone without a curious mind believes everything that they hear, especially if you use the word:”scientific studies.” Well, a lot of people use those terms for studies that have absolutely no scientific base and doesn't even involve the scientific methods for investigation. So I walk away and leave her to argue with another girl who had something else in mind.

Recuerdo

Recuerdo que hoy, caminando por los pasillos nuevos que traen a mi mente los recuerdos del ayer, vi a una pareja anciana. El, casi no podía caminar, y ella lo sostenía como si necesitara de su mano para continuar. Supe que nosotros nunca haremos eso y me llevó a ese día frío en un hospital. Acompañando a mi madre nos llevan a un cuarto de esperar, sentadas al lado de una pareja peculiar. Jóvenes, estudiantes de la salud, ella me cuenta que está muy enferma, pero noto algo diferente en el, extranjero su acento, del país colonizador su quehacer. Les muestro mi libro y hablamos del subcutáneo, sus maravillas; aunque ella este enferma sus ojos brillan cuando lo mira. Sosteniéndola fuerte dice:"Es tarde y mañana tengo trabajo." Ella responde con esa única determinación de las mujeres de mi país: "Entonces vete, yo me las puedo arreglar sola." Se miran a los ojos y veo a un hombre que en el exterior parece ser rudo, decir con ojos de amor:"Eso lo dices para hacerte la fuerte, yo no te puedo dejar." y sosteniéndola con su apoyo me hacen recordar que cuando enferme tu nunca vas a estar. Y será por los caminos, o por el miedo a cambiar, pero tengo que recordar que esto no va a pasar. Y así escribo este recuerdo para nunca olvidar, que aunque brille hacia la luna ella no, lo va a pasar.

Feelings

You have then, you don't, they pass, they stay forever, and, in weird moments they may come back. The human being is always changing, and so, why do some people hate Mr. Darwin? I find that hard to understand.

Yesterday, I was offered a chance to go back. A door appeared and I saw it open up a bit. But, I didn't go in, and hopefully I won't. If that same door would have been opened a year ago, I would have ran inside and locked it after. Change is good. I'm glad.

A big love in my life and I will be saying goodbye from each other soon, but not forever. I just won't be able to talk and see him everyday. Yes, I'll miss my French. But before I leave my formal french courses, I decided to enroll in 3 for next semester....... plus 2 Biology courses and a Sociology course, which equals 18 credits, Fun !

Slowly, but surely

...the things in the to-do list are being finished. Tonight, I received notice that my primary application was processed. Hooray for that! It's now November, time for Thanksgiving, lots of school work ,for my friends to come back which means...... more hugs! lots of hugs and head massages! Yes! And then, December! My Christmas wishes have already been decided and I can't wait to start decorating.

Love in the Time of Cholera

.....or as I read it:"El Amor en los Tiempos del Cólera". A beautifully written novel from one of my favorite authors, Gabriel García Marquez. García is a Colombian author who won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1982. His masterpiece, "Cien Años de Soledad" ("One Hundred Years of Solitude") has to be one of the most influential pieces in Latin-American literature and beyond.

Now, one of his novels has been translated into film. "Love in the Time of Cholera" is a story about the twists and turns that life makes and how one man's devotion to an unobtainable love influenced his life. It is incredibly written and so I have very high expectations for the film. The cast seems great and the only thing a bit disappointing is that it should have been made in its original language, Spanish, but I guess they wanted to make it more "commercial". I haven't been this excited for a movie in so long. It's set to have a limited release in the US on November 12th. Our movie theatre's website does not have any info on it, so maybe I could be watching this film in DC ! Exciting!!!

I think I got it

After much thought and a talk with my good friend Samuel, I think I found the root of my "blue-ness". Changes are going on, and it makes me a bit worried because of the small chance of not making it, as planned. At least now I know that two things are seriously bothering me, I've identified the problems and now it's time to solve them. Enough.

Oh, you're welcome

Up next a rant about what is bothering me, don't feel like it? Don't read.



Today, everything that has been bothering me for these past weeks caught up with me. In a world where everybody says they're "good" ,"great" and make their lives seem perfect to everyone, I decided not to lie, I don't feel happy. There, I said it. This constant worrying about trivial issues that I should ignore is really just making me feel blue. I feel like I hold on to things simply for the sake of it. Bottom line: I'm not so sure about what I want anymore. I've built expectations towards my relationships with family, friends, career, school and social issues that now I want something else, different. Counting down the days until I finally have a trip away from my country is the one thing that gives me a little hope, because I need a break, from the daily routine that I can't ignore for now, and it's been due for a while. I love my country, but I just need a change, even if it is for just a few days. I think I'm going to take a trip south of the island as soon as I get done with my last final. Just two months left.

Sometimes, when you give too much of yourself and recieve nothing or little in return, then it's time to hold back. Goodbye.

They want me

UNCLASSIFIED////


Hello, my name is _____________, I represent the Army Medical
Department in Puerto Rico. Congrats on your great MCAT score! I have been informed that you have applied to Medical. We are offering you our HPSP Medical School Scholarship. We pay all tuition costs, books,instruments, medical & Dental coverage and additional fees, plus we also provide you a $1907.OO MONTHLY STIPEND FOR THE ENTIRE FOUR YEARS. The stipend goes up every 01 July. The Scholarship if offered to students applying to the four Medical Schools in Puerto Rico and Medical Schools
in the U.S. My job is to assist you in applying, assuring and accepting
the Scholarship.

Once you graduate from Medical School, we will send you to one of our modern Medical Facilities in the U.S. to complete your selected board certified specialty residency.

We do not interrupt your education because we do not use General Medical Doctors. Come and meet the many Medical Students ( male & female) in Puerto Rico who are enjoying the program. The Scholarship will save you hundreds of thousandths of dollars in student loans.


For a moment, that was tempting.

Great Cesar's Ghost!

At this new mexican restaurant.....

I arrive to pick up my order. A new employee greats me and says that the food will be ready in a minute. I hand her the money and she begins to talk about her day, how I'm her first customer of the day and she felt bored. I smile.

Her: .....yeah, because my boss got food poisoning and she was in the hospital for a day.
Me: (opens eyes wide) Really? Did they tell her where she got it from?
Her: Nope, no idea.

A minute later she hands me my order, nicely packed in plastic, and says :"Buen Provecho!" My mind has already made its guesses and by the time I get home, I'm not that hungry.

I ate the food. Wish me luck.....and health.

Death at a Funeral

On Sunday, my dear friend Sammy called and practically made me get out of the house to see "Death at a Funeral" at Fine Arts Café. I really didn't feel like going out, it's been raining for almost a week and I had lots of work to do. On the way to the movie theatre I came upon one of the most annoying things some drivers do. I was driving at about 45mph in a 55mph minimum highway (but most people drive at around 60-65mph). Suddenly, a guy with a van behind me decides to continually flash his lights (low lights and bright lights), thinking that for some mystical reason this was going to force me to speed up, at night, in the rain. The effects of his actions made me slow down to about 25mph and adjust my rear view mirror so the light wouldn't keep hurting my eyes. The man starts honking his horn and now it's even harder for him to change lanes, he finally gets out of the lane and I can continue driving at the pace I was. Why do people do this? The only purpose I see in this mode of "hurrying people" is causing an accident. This also happened on the way back home, in a 5+ lane highway, with light traffic, just as the first one. Why can't they just change lanes? My mother sarcastically said:"Because it takes a while for them to realize that they CAN change lanes."

Finally, at the movie theatre, I meet some of Sammy's friends, all of them very nice and fun. I also met up with my good friend Zahíli, who I haven't seen in a bit.

The movie was great! Although a bit predictable at times, it was just what I needed, a hillarious and smart film. But, for a moment, I found myself at some point wondering how disastrous that experience could be for me. My worries where soothed by the monologue at the end. Go see this movie!

I love lagartijos, so what?

Christopher, a friendly little fellow...




Lagartijos are small lizards that live all across my island, yes, MY island. They don't bite, attack nor eat animals / people. They help balance the ecosystem by eating ants, mosquitoes and certain leaves. Aren't they awesome?

Hello

Hi Blog World !

I decided to make this so that I can have a space to write about......everything, and share it with my friends and maybe make new friends. For now, a little about me:

My name is Cristina, I am a 21 year old biology student at the University of Puerto Rico. I will be graduating in May 2008 and hopefully I'll begin medical school in August. I was born and raised in the lovely island of Puerto Rico and I take a lot of pride in my country and it's culture. I speak Spanish, English and am currently in my second year of studying French, so you could say I'm doing good at it . Since I love languages and everything that has to do with communication I am also learning American Sign Language on my own. :) Posts might be in 3 different languages, but I'll try to stick to English for the most part. There are also a lot of other things I love so I like talking about pretty much everything. I will always consider myself as a frustrated pianist wannabe (how tragic!) .

I want to make this blog an outlet to express myself and talk about daily occurrences but I won't talk about absolutely everything, so I'll try not to talk about certain issues, deal? And know that this won't be updated daily, with my schedule it's impossible for me to do so.

I called this blog :"Paroles" in honor of one of my favorite poetry books by french writer : Jacques Prévert. FYI: Paroles = words. :)

Oh, and one more thing! I like comments . :)