Poetry Sunday: Tu risa

Reading Pablo Neruda's poetry makes my heart go to Chile. Chile was really the first opportunity I had to travel on my own, and to explore a culture that was very different from anything I had experienced before. Chile and the Pacific Ocean were incredibly important to Pablo Neruda, and Neruda is inexplicably important to Chile's spirit. This poem is one of my favorites of his, and I did an analysis of it for my Latin American literature class I took at La Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso.

Tu risa: Pablo Neruda

Quítame el pan si quieres,

quítame el aire, pero

no me quites tu risa.

 

No me quites la rosa,

la lanza que desgranas,

el agua que de pronto

estalla en tu alegría,

la repentina ola

de planta que te nace.

 

Mi lucha es dura y vuelvo

con los ojos cansados

a veces de haber visto

la tierra que no cambia,

pero al entrar tu risa

sube al cielo buscándome

y abre para mí

todas las puertas de la vida.

 

Amor mío, en la hora

más oscura desgrana

tu risa, y si de pronto

ves que mi sangre mancha

las piedras de la calle,

ríe, porque tu risa

será para mis manos

como una espada fresca.

 

Junto al mar en otoño,

tu risa debe alzar

su cascada de espuma,

y en primavera, amor,

quiero tu risa como

la flor que yo esperaba,

la flor azul, la rosa

de mi patria sonora.

 

Ríete de la noche,

del día, de la luna,

ríete de las calles

torcidas de la isla,

ríete de este torpe

muchacho que te quiere,

pero cuando yo abro

los ojos y los cierro,

cuando mis pasos van,

cuando vuelven mis pasos,

niégame el pan, el aire,

la luz, la primavera,

pero tu risa nunca

porque me moriría.

Everyday Life

My asked me to take more photos of my everyday life. I just have a little white point-and-shoot camera.
This is what I've come up with so far.

My pretty friend Gia is really funny and has lovely personal style. A native Columbus resident and a really cool taste in music, clothes and art, I always feel super hip but also really goofy when I spend time with her. We were enjoying a beautiful day at a cookout.



Oxley Hall holds the Office of International Affairs, a really meaningful place for me. This tree is really pleasantly placed, and I took this photo on a really stress-relieving walk with my friend Erin.



My university is so beautiful in the rare occasion that there is nice weather.



Zen Cha is one of my favorite places in Columbus. My friend Mrinali and I enjoyed a friend date and treated ourselves to the frivolous luxury of tea and tea snacks.


Scones, samosas, and the most delicious cardamom ginger tea. The spicy sweet flavor of the tea summons ideas of my hair blowing in the desert winds of Morocco. There's definitely like some pretty pottery and carpet.


We got milk tea for the walk home.



Everyday life is sometimes more beautiful than special occasions.

On Forgetting Names

"I don't think it should be socially acceptable for people to say they are 'bad with names.' No one is bad with names. That is not a real thing. Not knowing people's mes isn't a  neurological condition; it's a choice. You choose not to make learning people's names a priority. It's like saying, 'Hey, a disclaimer about me: I'm rude.' For heaven's sake, if you don't know someone's name, just pretend you do. Do that thing everyone else does, where you vaguely say, 'Nice to see you!' and make weak eye contact."

- Mindy Kaling

I'd like to think I'm rather good with names, actually.

Poetry Sunday: [i carry your heart with me (i carry it in]

e.e. cummings is really difficult for me to understand, but I try to read it anyway 

[i carry your heart with me(i carry it in]

BY E. E. CUMMINGS

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in

my heart)i am never without it(anywhere

i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done

by only me is your doing,my darling)

                                                      i fear

no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want

no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)

and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant

and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows

(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud

and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows

higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)

and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

Hasta la Piel by Carla Morrison

A sappy Spanish tune for a Sunday afternoon

I don't really want to do Spanish homework, but I will listen to Spanish language music. Maybe that will help me improve?

"No te quiero perder 
que la distancia se devore nuestra miel 
y perdamos la fe."

"I don't want to lose you. The distance will consume our sweetness, and we'll lose our faith"

Thoughts for today:

• I'm going to Ecuador in a few weeks and I can't wait. I love South America.
• I have something big that I have to do soon. It will make me feel really sad, but it will be better in the long run.
• I don't know which Fulbright program to apply for, or even how or why or what
• I am sitting in the dark in my room and it is 1 PM
• I feel like I have so many things do to, so I don't want to do any of them.
• I really love my friends.

Top Five

Color Me Rad
I ran a 5k! I ran a 5k! I cut a lot of corners and ran it really slowly, but I did it! It was a really fun experience, especially because of t he colored powder floating around everywhere. A lot of people walked the course, which I found really encouraging. I have always felt that there is a strongly judgmental aspect to a lot of sports purely because of its inherent competitive nature, so it was nice to feel like nobody else really cared what I was doing. I felt really accomplished at the finish line, and it is definitely something I'd like to do again.


Phi Sigma Pi
I don't know if I've ever written about my fraternity on this blog, but it seriously means a lot to me. Although I absolutely HATE meetings and silly things like elections and bylaws and discussions, I know my college experience would be completely different and very empty without my brothers. My college memories are composed mostly of sleepy nights of movies or board games in one of their apartments, drinking coffee at Kafe Kerouac, talking about everything, gossiping, discussing arts & culture, and thinking about the future.  Of course, I'm not super close with everyone in the chapter, but I've made a lot of my closest friends in PSP. Last night was our Spring banquet, and I had to say goodbye to a couple of people that are very close to my heart and it was both beautiful and sad. Long live our group message, weathered socks.

My PSP family!

Milk Tea
Ever since Texas, I have wanted black milk tea with pudding. It's sweet, it's delicious, and I would like to drink one. I can get one at Zen Cha here in Columbus, just with no pudding.


Natural Skincare
I've set aside my harsh medicine prescribed by my dermatologist because it was making my skin go insane. I am trying out the natural route for skincare, by using the oil cleansing method with jojoba oil, and then doing a honey cinnamon mask at night. The honey cinnamon mask smells delicious. So far, my skin feels a lot nicer, but it will take a while to see the long-term effects of the treatments.

Mornings
Now that the sun is out, I have absolutely loved waking up early and starting my day earlier. It feels a lot more possible to get to places by 8 AM with lipstick on and a hot tea in my hand.

Poetry Sunday: The Loser

It's a lovely Sunday evening and I'm sitting in the house I grew up in with my cat and my parents. This is where I am the most comfortable and the happiest. This last week was pretty stressful for me, because I was completing a lot of interviews, coordinating a big event, preparing for my upcoming trips and staying on top of schoolwork. When I'm really busy and stressed, I feel like I'm lost, or like I'm losing my head. Being home really relaxes me and reminds me of what is important.

Enjoy this poem by Shel Silverstein called The Loser

Mama said I'd lose my head
if it wasn't fastened on.
Today I guess it wasn't
'cause while playing with my cousin
it fell off and rolled away
and now it's gone.

And I can't look for it
'cause my eyes are in it,
and I can't call to it
'cause my mouth is on it
(couldn't hear me anyway
'cause my ears are on it),
can't even think about it
'cause my brain is in it.
So I guess I'll sit down
on this rock
and rest for just a minute...