Long time no see!!! It has been a little over a month since the last time we put together a video newsletter for you guys, but if you remember, our goal since our last video was to find out a definitive answer to a) our destination and b) our timing. Our original plan was to find these two answer prior to March 30th, but as some of you know, sometimes when dealing with God, His people and His plans, chances are thrills and wild turns make their way into the scene.
Should I say anything else?! I finished, I finished, I finished!!! Okay I’ll say something more. The day started at 3:45am when my iphone alarm went off. Not that I needed much of an alarm anyways since I kept waking up nearly every half hour in anticipation for the race.
Around 4:30am my running partner Cathy texted me letting me know she was outside waiting for me. Did I mention it was pouring down rain? More on that later.
Who am I fooling? I am NOT a runner nor do I enjoy running. Yet, in less than 12 hours I will be putting on a white T-shirt and fastening a three digit number on the front of it and running 13.1 miles. Yes, let’s allow that mileage to sink in. Thirteen point one miles. That’s the equivalent of a little over 52 laps of a football field. What in the world am I thinking?!
This blog is the accumulation of pictures I just couldn’t fit into any particular post other than random-ordinarily-peculiar photos that add life and colour to the Dominican day. Another way I could title this post perfectly would be, ‘Pics from my Mom’s Car Window’.
Stands like this one are common on highway shoulders. This one sells yuca, plantains, and other produce.
The typical 'envio'. This is a truck fully loaded with boxes, appliances and goodies some family member in the USA sent back home.
Typically known as 'la bandera' (the flag) which consists of rice, beans and meat. Most Dominicans eat this dish every single day for lunch. Yumm!
What a trip! Each day brought something new and soul filling. From catching up with family members I’ve not seen in almost a decade, to building new friendships, partaking delicious foods, taking long drives, or just getting all dirty and muddy riding in a buggy.
Did I accomplish all three of my trip goals? sort of. I did get a chance to join my fellow Young Life co-workers and share the Word with them. I also got the chance to hang out with my best friend, ‘compadre’ and partner in crime, Chelo. As far as my third goal, finding out where my Paulino last name came from, I only got as far as the father of my Great-Great-Grand Mother, who’s father was Sebastian Paulino and had her in 1857, but unfortunately I couldn’t find his birth certificate.
It’s Sunday in Santiago, and while living here the tradition has always been to attend church. Now, throughout the years I lived here I’ve visited a few churches, but none can compare to what I call my home church: Iglesia Metodista Libre Central.
I intentionally left my camera home and just went to church to soak in all the community, and immerse myself in the beauty of collective, volume and emotions of Spanish worship. As I walked in to the Temple one of the first people I saw was Noemi Perez. Noemi has been instrumental in my development as a person and as a believer. Then, during the Announcements, pastor Rigoberto acknowledged my presence (I know, pretty awkward moment I must admit) and I had the opportunity to greet, shake hands, and deeply hug so many beautiful people I’ve shared so many moments with.
Today Chelo and I decided to head over to Jarabacoa, unplug from the city, and do something neither of us have ever done before. The answer? BUGGY RIDE! I have to admit I had no idea what ‘buggy’ stood for, and at first I thought it was one of those English pronunciations/Publix Shopping Cart/Bugger type of thing gone DR bad. But hey, I googled it up and if it is good for Google it is good for me.
Today starts my weekend time with my best friend Chelo. The plan is quite simple: drive around town, see people and hang out. Since today was Friday, most of the driving around town/hanging out took place in his car due to the fact he had a full day of work, which included supervising tons of projects here and there.
Among the projects we visited was a farm in which he, alongside another friend of mine, Luis, are farming some delicious watermelon. While we were at the farm I couldn’t help but notice a couple of Haitian workers doing some hard work around the land. I decided to try and practice my Creole (underline TRY) and they were super approachable and awesome.
Where did we leave off yesterday? Oh yeah, we found out that my last name Paulino actually came from my Great Great Grand Mother and not from my Great Great Grand Father.
Now, with that piece of information the quest becomes figuring out who my GGGM was, and more importantly who her parents were.
The first clue we had is that she had my Great Grand Father in 1893 but my Grand Father was born in 1931 and he told me yesterday by the time he was born she had already passed away. So we have a 1893-c.1931 window to look at Cementery registries and try to find out the year she passed away so that way we could then, with a name and a year, request a Death Certificate at the Civil Office.
After arriving around 2am last night I decided to ‘just wake up’ without the pressure of an alarm. Of course the guy screaming ‘compro colchones!!!’ (I buy used mattresses) didn’t help, and so I decided to start my day around 8am.
To my pleasant surprise there was both electricity and water when I first woke up. Trust me, these are two things you most def never take for granted while in the DR. Usually, the last time I checked, there is only about 8 hours of electricity throughout the day, and water itself isn’t much more reliable.
It has been almost four years since I went back to my home-country, the Dominican Republic. It has been even longer since I had the opportunity to go and just ‘be’. Probably last time I had that chance to just drive, take public transportation, cross streets or turn corners was the year I moved to the US… back in 2006. This time around we’ve set the money and time aside, and finally I’ll be flying back home in a couple of hours. Not to be a speaker, or to lead a work team, or to assist with a relief effort, but just to ‘be’.
Cameras, lights, models, designers, hotels, products, outfits, colors, patterns, makeup, hair, water, expectations, videos, photography, judging, heels, bikinis, music, catwalks and Christ. Yes, Christ.
Among all the vibes coming from this past Miami Fashion Week 2012 I had the unexpected surprise to find Maria Montgomery. Originally from Danville, KY Maria is also an Eastern Kentucky Grad with a BA of Science in Communication Disorders, 2009 Miss Kentucky USA, and Top 5 finalist at Miss USA pageant that year. Why do I refer to this encounter as an ‘unexpected surprise’ you might ask? Because above all Maria is a strong follower of Christ.
It’s the end of the day and I’m about to go to bed. This Lent/Good Friday/Easter season has passed and gone – almost unnoticed to me. Lots of working hours, photo sessions, school books, easter bunnies and colored eggs have blurred my sight on the importance and relevancy of this celebration.
Easter is about the birth of hope. It’s about communion, gratefulness and victory. It’s about our past, our current situations and perhaps most importantly, our future. It’s about our Maker and Master Jesus Christ. The following two clips illustrate our reason for Good Friday and the embodiment of God’s redeeming power. Through Christ’s sacrifice and His conquering of death, we can finally have full communion with our Creator and His creations.
Man oh man am I struggling with titles! These past few days I’ve been thinking back and forth on how to properly name this post. I flirted with titles such as ‘Fashion and Significance’ and ‘Fashion and Values’, but the more I thought about it, and after reflecting on my time spent with designers and models, I knew the title ought to be simple and accurate, ‘Fashion and Personal’. Why this title you might ask? Well, my goal with this post is to simply capture a close-up frame into some of the most prominent designers and models from this past Miami Beach Intl’ Fashion Week, and ask them some personal (and some might even say unusual) questions. By the way, if you’d like to see pure pics, fun and music from this Fashion Show 2012, you’d probably enjoy my first post MBIFW 2012 | My Fav Looks!
The wait is over. Exactly one year after plunging myself into covering THE major home-grown fashion event of South Florida, I was more than excited when I was granted the opportunity to participate, again, as part of the media team covering this years Miami Beach International Fashion Week 2012.
When given this opportunity not only did I have the chance to cover established and up-and-coming fashion designers and beautiful models, but also it was an opportunity to create something new, something personal. With that in mind, and taking into consideration my coverage of last years’ fashion events, I knew I couldn’t deliver just pictures. I mean, pictures are fine and all, but the more time I spent talking with models and designers, the more I realized this industry is much deeper than what meets the eye.
