Last Day of Mexico

Kristina Subsara November 19, 2012

I suppose I should wrap up this trip. I'm not really sure why it has taken me so long to post the last day. Maybe I dont want to give it up. Deep down I didn't want to go back home. For the first time ever I stepped out of my comfort zone and had an adventure. I succeeded. I won. I made friends, good and kind people! (a rarity for me). I felt beautiful inside and out when I was there. Going back home meant I was surrounded by others who could take photos or speak spanish way better than me. On the plus side, I was going home taking away this incredible experience. I have made plans to travel with Esme in Africa. I have an incredible friend and partner whom I can work with in the future, Oscar. I have talented kind people in my life I now call friends and have proven to be the same kind people in the few months that have slipped passed since this trip. It seems silly to think a two and a half week trip could change someone so much but it's as silly as a summer love. Those who experience it understand, and the others just think the rest of us are silly fools.

So on the last day we made a hardcore decision to actually drag our butts out of bed to make it to breakfast. We got dressed and walked out of Maria Jose's apartment making a right and walking by some new shops enjoying the rare rays of sunshine. We had walked about half a mile when someone realized that we were supposed to make a left outside of the apartment. We were almost double the distance we needed to be and on a time schedule of -minus 20 minutes until breakfast was over. We hailed a cab and hauled ass, because lets be honest, this was important.

Breakfast was a buffet of yogurt, fresh fruit, and granola. We all got different kinds of things including chocolate caliente!, hotcakes, omelets with interesting dips, and waffles. I'm pretty sure this breakfast made all the other missed ones worth it. Afterwards we went onto the roof of the restaurant where there was a bar and a big open seat that all four of us could lay on. We settled down there laying in the gorgeous sunshine while Melissa sipped on some sparkling drink and enjoying these last few carefree moments with each other before we separated.

It took a little while to get motivated to move from this, but spot eventually we started making our way into a part of Mexico city that had a archeology museum surrounded by a park. We ended up walking there and taking photos and of course getting stared at. Walking through the park it was filled with families and kids, people selling things, face painters, vendors selling food. It was amazing. We decided to try something that looked like paper. It actually tasted a little like paper to. I can also describe it as a wafer like the host in church. Not surprising that I liked it.

We also decided to get fake eye lashes and wore those around as if we didn't stand out enough. They were incredibly fun and bizarre to feel your eyelids be touched every time you blinked. It started sprinkling and we made a run for the museum. Of course it happened to be free for all people that day because in Mexico the stars aligned for us. So we explored various areas. Some signs were only in Spanish but I got the gist of things. Mostly I missed Oscar and got really tired. (It wasn't the right day for a museum for me. Somehow everything we experienced these last two weeks were way better than statues and things that are in a building). But Esme and Melissa had a good time because their dad is into those things.

We decided to skip some clothes shopping and hit up the market and get some souvenirs since that was going to close soon and I technically had nothing physical to show from this trip. We got to the market just as most of the shops were closing and the things I really wanted were outrageously priced. But that's okay because I ended up finding these incredible green blue square shot glasses. They are lined on my windowsill as we speak and I want to fill them with some decorative tall grass when that comes in season. (Go ahead and laugh that I'm not using them to take a shot of tequila. Maybe I'll save one to drink out of).

After losing Esme shortly, we ended up walking out and going to show her the big square and the church that Sarah and Melissa and I had already seen. We walked around photographing these graffiti walls and figuring out where we wanted to go for dinner. We settled on a place around the corner and I had my first ever TAPAS!

Tapas are like hour devours made into meals. So instead of having this giant meal and only getting to taste one thing from the menu you order a couple of small things and share. We also ordered drinks and watched this restaurant get progressively more awkward as they brought out a random DJ and like expected everyone to start dancing? We didnt stay there long because believe it or not it was a really freaking long day and we were still recovering from the past few days.

We went back to the apartment to freshen up and see if we could find a party. Now we had taken a cab back to the apartment and as we got out a guy was getting into the cab and just happened to invite us to his birthday party. We got his number and told him we might. (Like I said, anything we needed Mexico provided for us!). We sat on MJ's porch sipping wine and just listening to the city. We all sort of decided to stay in and relax and watch a movie instead of go out. Esme and I needed to be up early the next day for our flight. So we got popcorn and drinks and I'm not sure who mentioned 'Just Friends' was a great movie but we ended up watching that movie. (Okay, it was me. but Ryan Reynolds is a babe, can you blame me I look past the crap in that movie?).

Anyways there was laughter and I remember looking around the room trying to soak everything up. I was ready for this trip to be over because at this point I didn't anything to come up and spoil a perfect trip.

Goodbyes that next morning were so hard. We hugged for a long time promising to stay in touch and to do great things. Sarah was off to explore the rest of the world starting in South America, Melissa had a few free weeks before the chains of grad school held her down, and Esme had less than 24 hours until she was due back at work. As for me I had a few weeks before I started my last semester at grad school.

As you know it is November now. I am working on my capstone project. My topic is Mexico and I am looking to go back there sometime around March and work on a video and really show people why the four of us fell in love with this place and the people we met. My project will be part of a kickstarter that will raise money for the organization down there, FAI.

A lot has changed in the few months that I have been back. I really think I am a different person. There were a few weeks that I couldn't stand people bitching about their jobs when all I could think about were the 3 year old kids selling gum to the tourists. It's sort of hard to feel bad about the trivial things. I've had my friends tell me I am a more outgoing person now and that I don't complain so much. That's a personal goal achieved. I even have my next travel plans coming up in about six weeks. I can't get over the doors that this trip opened (really the doors that my school, S.I. Newhouse school of Communication have opened). I really feel like this is what I might want to do with my life.

However nothing is for certain. All we can do is live our lives to the fullest, take advantage of the time we are spending here, and understand how similar we all are. I think more people need to travel and understand that. Maybe there would be more empathy out there. Anyways I want to thank anyone who has stuck by this little travel section.

Keep checking in, I officially head to Liberia at the end of December. For now, ¡hasta luego.

Day Dieciséis

Kristina Subsara September 29, 2012

Today is the last day at Cerecaly and with the kids. It's a bittersweet day. All of us are exhausted yet so amped for the kids to see their hard work. As you know, last "night" ended around 5am. We awoke in the early morning light with no electricity, a noon deadline, and the men missing because they were off in town getting gasoline. We stumbled out of bed and quickly went downstairs to set up our stuff. The generator was hooked up and we went to work. While I worked on the video, Oscar took the musician outside to record the music for our movie. Esme was upstairs vigorously cleaning the area we had spent the last two weeks teaching the kids. It was filled with posters, markers, and our teaching outlines. She set to making the place presentable for the kids and their families. Melissa was helping set things up as well. However, she was also running into our work area asking if we needed anything, bringing us breakfast (hotcakes!), coffee, tea, anything we needed she was willing to get us so we didn't have to get up. It was truly lifesaving.

©Esme Brandon

Sarah was putting the ending touches on her video. At around 9 some of the kids came. They surrounded around our work area and were a huge distraction. They were chatting to me, which I really don't speak Spanish still. They were talking to Oscar who was my main helper at this point with last minute touches and listening to the audio. His job was putting it into the movie. Melissa grabbed the kids and put them to work putting out the red carpet. Meanwhile I went outside in the rain to make some sound effects for the movie. We needed a sharp crack and a scream. I ended up wetting a towel and pistol-whipping the side of Cerecaly until it cracked. The scream wasn't going to happen because I was losing my voice, but we were pretty sure we could find something in a group of default sound effects.

The time flew by really quickly, and the closer it got to noon, more and more people were showing up, coming into our room, chatting with us, and marveling at the fact we weren't done. For once in my life, I wasn't worried. It wasn't like we were slacking off at any point. The power going out was a freak accident, and we started working as soon as we possibly could once we got electricity. I know some of the others were getting frazzled but we all kept telling each other to keep going! I know I mentioned this before but this was such a positive place to be in. There were so many things that went wrong, but in the end, no one freaked out, everyone got everything done, and we were all really mature despite the circumstances. I can't tell people enough how great this group was.

Around noon, people were asking us to give them a time. This is the hardest part, in my opinion. I've had renders take hours, I've had them take minutes. There are a lot of factors that decide the fate of time. As Oscar looked over the other groups and finished checking our movie, I finally hopped in the shower and dressed up in my "formal dress." Oscar showered after me and I worked on credits, which was actually really hard. All the kids had four names, and the spellings were all different from what i'm used to, I was using a mac that has spanish symbols and the keys are slightly different. I didn't even finish half of the cast when Oscar came back and took over this as well. Sarah went to shower and dress up then, which left Oscar and I to export.

We put the Akosia bumpers in the video and did a few final touches. I think I reexported the video at least four times due to little things I had to add into the other teams video. FINALLY we were exporting.

Meanwhile upstairs, Esme and Melissa were entertaining maybe 60 people that had turned up to watch the movies. It was past noon at this time, they had already had people talking, musicians playing, maybe some jokes, etc. Everyone came downstairs to eat as we were working on putting the exported videos through one more program to get them ready for the tv. The two sisters were incredible at keeping everyone entertained and in good spirits. I applaud them because that isn't easy to do.

After everyone finished with their snacks, we all went back upstairs to watch the movies. We handed out papers so the audience could vote on their favorite actors, movies, directors, props, etc. Some people stood up and talked and introduced us all, and then we started watching the other groups film. I filmed the audience reactions while watching. I think everyone was just surprised at everything the kids had accomplished. They did it all. They learned about storytelling, started creating stories and characters, storyboarding, casting everyone, directing, acting, videographers, makeup artists, location scouts, everything. I am still in awe of everything they accomplished and it was incredible seeing the audience's reactions to the first video. There was a roar of cheers and we brought that group up and introduced the characters and everyone's roles.

Next was Oscar and my video. I stood in the back so I could stand next to him and soak up the moment. I swelled with pride at everything we had accomplished. I couldn't help but feel so blessed to have met Oscar and for him to be a part of this project. I learned so much from him, we all did. We stood as we watched our video play and the audience was horrified when the murders happened and laughed at some other parts. It was SO successful and so emotional to have it finally finished. We gave everyone a chance to fill out their votes and collected the papers to tally up.

The five of us went into the bedroom to get the "oscars" we made to hand out to the award winners and tally up the votes. About 15 minutes later we emerged. We told everyone we were so incredibly proud to work with these talented kids. Then we gave everyone a certificate for participating in everything. This came with a handshake of all the kids and a photo with each one. Some of the older guys came up and kissed us on the cheek, which got a lot of the kids in the audience hollering for their moxy. A few of us got emotional, not saying any names but it rhymes with jezme...and me of course.

We finally got really for the other awards. We called out a lot of the specific roles from Esme and Sarah's group. They showed the most knowledge of the techniques and equipment. It was incredible watching the growth from those who really were interested in their roles. Although their team had most of those specific roles from their groups, our horror movie won most of the movie awards. Our main actor was the best actor, niño padré, and we also won best picture. It was so amazing seeing the kids' faces light up once they won their awards. At the very end we were thanked by FAI and we were presented with these wonderful presents. They were baskets with fans, some homemade remedies from Chuy, some amazing soap that has lavender in it, and a pen. It was so sweet of them to put something together like this to help us remember (though I don't think we'll forget their kindness soon).

And suddenly, it's over. We're filing downstairs outside and waving goodbye. We stopped to take some photos. Most of the little girls wanted a photo with me. I switched from being photographed to photographing and filming as much as I could. I wanted to stop time and have a second to talk to each of them, encourage them to keep creating, hug them, photograph everyone. Unfortunately, time doesn't work that way. I had a tough time saying goodbye. We promised them we'd stay in touch, and then they were gone.

The people of Cerecaly called us in for lunch and we met people from FAI and friends of Mauricios. But mostly, us five stayed together talking and laughing. We knew there wasn't much time left and there was finally no pressure of lesson plans, spanish lessons, or video editing. (I'd like to add that the power came on around this time, of course). We ate Chuy's delicious food and I was sure to give a lot of love to my love, Orpheus.

After "lunch" we all went up to our rooms to pack. People kept coming in and saying goodbye to us. Mauricio came by before he left and we said a really hard goodbye to him.

About an hour later, Oscar came in to say goodbye. We all said how grateful we were to have met him and got to know him. I think it's safe to say I was the closest to him during this trip. I couldn't stop the tears because I knew it would be a long time until I got to see him again. He just cocked his head to one side, smiled, and said "Don't cry, we'll see each other soon." One last hug and he left.

The rest of this post I want to just say I was depressed. Esme hugged me and slipped me some tissues and I didn't even want to think about saying goodbye to these incredible woman, although I'm more confident my future holds more adventures with them.

We finally had everything packed and we packed up the car. I chased Andrea around and hugged her. We found Aender, napping, and said a sad goodbye to him. We went to Chuy to tell her how much she meant to us and how important she was to us. I wish I could have communicated it better.

It was probably 5 when we left to go back to Maria Jose's apartment in Mexico City. For some reason, I wasn't that tired so I offered to start driving. We grabbed snacks and started our way trading everyones ipods to listen to their top 25 songs. The view was just as gorgeous as the ride down here. As always you can look around and see at least one massive rainstorm in the distant mountains. I am still in awe of Mexico's beauty. Probably 2-3 hours into me driving, I started getting REALLY tired. We waited in a toll line and Melissa and I quickly jumped out of the car to switch and she drove. It wasn't long after the switch that I hardcore passed out. I fell asleep for the rest of the car ride in the best sleep possible. Melissa safely (and impressively) got us back to the apartment and this time it didn't take 8 hours!

We got into the apartment, grabbed water, and pretty much went to bed. It had been such a long day and a long week, all we could really do was sleep.

Day Quince

Kristina Subsara September 20, 2012

I have to apologize, I have no photos from this day. I'm ashamed. I wish someone had taken some, it was just a very busy, stressful day. It is a crazy adventure, so please read!

Thursday: The last day to film, the last day to edit, and by far the craziest day we have experienced so far.

I hate reminding everyone this, but it's important to the day, so I wanted to say I barely slept the night before because of my stomach. I was still sick. I woke up in the morning and felt completely awful. I couldn't stomach anything and as the morning progressed I was in complete pain. Esme and Melissa told me a trick that helps their stomachs: boiling rice and drinking the rice water. So they asked Chuy if she could make this and she did for me.

Esme and Sarah started the day talking to the kids to motivate them while I sat there doing anything I could to help; which was designing some things that Melissa would make for the kids. When it was time to start filming, Oscar and I had our work cut out for us. We were to film the ending, refilm some of the middle parts, reshoot a few of the green screened shots, and have all the kids' parts organized so we could write out the credits. Not only did we have a lot of work to do with the kids, but we also needed to work with Mauricio's friend who was the musician and record and let him know the kind of music both movies needed.

So as we started to film the ending of the movie, our cameramen decided they didn't really feel like working. We convinced them to stick around and shoot a few things, other times, Oscar took the camera and did a few shots. However, as I sat to the side going over the shots we needed to do, Oscar was doing some of the shooting, most of the direction, communicating with the actors, and still making sure I was alive. It was ridiculously stressful as kids would walk in on the scene, or not feel like working. We understood that it was the last day and everyone was just ready to be done, but we needed to get through today. We got to the ending just as our ghost decided he didn't want to be our ghost anymore. So we quickly recast someone from Esme and Sarah's group. Then we had to reshoot all of the other ghost scenes with the new actor, which took up more time.

Chuy later made some herbal tea for me. She had told us around the first day that she knew about herbs and natural cures. It was amazing to see her figure out the problem and procure a solution to my stomach. Although I didn't eat lunch, the pain stopped, so I was somewhat happy. Around three we finished filming everything. Exhausted, but so proud we dismissed the kids and told them to get ready for the big debut of their videos tomorrow. We had so much to do and on top of everything else everyone at Ceracaly wanted to throw us one last hurah. So we had to plan food, a time for the party, people to invite, as well as finish the movies tonight.

I knew we had a lot to do and I also knew we'd be up most of the night so I went to catch an hour nap before the craziness began. When I woke up I found Oscar and we started working on our video. Sarah was working on hers, Esme went back and forth between helping Sarah and Melissa.

We worked for a few hours as people started to head over to the party. Around 9 we decided to pack up our things and head over. The drive was about a mile down the road to the place where we swam in the natural springs and as we slowly drove down that dirt road, insane lightning lit up the sky. It was highlighting the dark night in every direction and we were in the perfect place to watch. When we arrived, we greeted everyone that we had come to know and love during those two weeks. It reminded me of those movies where the main character meets everyone they had met throughout their journey. There were also new people, friends of Mauricios there to help celebrate. Food was being cooked on this MASSIVE grill, beers were given out, and everyone laughed and talked with one another.

The storms prevented us from having a pool party when we arrived, but after a little while, the water was turned on and they set to filling the great tub up with water. I believe they got it a third of the way full, and had some people swimming in it before the water was turned off due to the storm. It was a shame we couldn't stay and swim, but we were all also aware of all the things we needed to do for the films. Dinner was incredible grilled meat with guacamole, and cheese. At this point, I was running low on energy from lack of food, and it was the last night there, so I sort of just ate and enjoyed it. I'm so glad I did, because the memory still makes my mouth water. It wasn't long after eating that I wanted to get back to editing. I thought since I wasn't drinking and I was done eating, I might as well start while the others enjoy themselves. I set up in the dining room and Sarah joined me soon after. She was working on some cool effects for her movie and needed Oscar to help her. So I set to color correcting the entire film, working on audio levels, and working on completing the story.

We worked like that for a few hours, looking up every once in a while at the party, smiling and laughing at everyone having a good time. Some people thought we were working too hard, Julio brought us some grapes to snack on and told us to come back to the party. The house was open, so it's not as if we were isolated from the party, just in the next room. I made sure to throw limes to the dogs and enjoy their company as well.

Around 1 I knew I didn't have a lot left to do without the help of Oscar or the internet, I wanted to work on the title page and browse some typefaces, and Oscar still had work to do with aftereffects. So I decided to pack it up and go back to Ceracaly to use the internet. Now for those of you who have never worked with video, you don't know how long it takes to pack everything up. We have to save files, safely eject the hard drive, wrap cords, unplug from outlets, close down computers, pack them into bags...the works. Not to mention we had to say goodbye and express our gratitude to everyone who came.

It was around 1:45 when we got back to Ceracaly. We got inside only to realize that the electricity was out once again. It was extremely frustrating and a little ironic that we started and ended this trip with the power out. We huddled into the kitchen to talk about our options. I could work on the computer for a little while but the battery in my mac was funky and it would be no time at all before it just died. Then someone got the generator up and running! So we set up shop just off the kitchen, unpacking everything, and plugging things into the generator. The room was lit by candlelight and we set to work. If you've never worked off a generator, let me tell you, it's loud, it smells like gas (because that's what it runs off of), and it's a little hard to work on audio stuff when it's blaring in your ears.

Either way, twenty minutes later the generator shut off. There wasn't enough gas in the tank to keep going. So we started packing up again and discussing our options. Sarah and I decided to go back to the place where the party was and check to see if there was electricity. We were pretty sure there was because it didn't go off when we were there for the party. So everyone went up to our room and we started packing overnight things. I knew I wanted warmer clothes, maybe a blanket to nap while the video rendered, etc. We went into the car, drove the mile down the road and saw the house lit up with lights. We went up to the door, with Mauricio close by and stood in the pouring rain as we knocked. The guy who hosted the party had had a little too much fun and was most likely sleeping it off. So we banged on the window, called his name, I even did my terribly loud whistle. We waited to see if anything would happen. After standing in the rain for 15 minutes, we gave up and drove back to Ceracaly. At this point we didn't know what to do. The men of the group, after much discussion, decided they were going to try and siphon gas out of the gas tank to put into the generator. I think everyone tried, but for some stubborn reason, no one could get it to work.

So here we are, it is 5 in the morning, we have no power to work on our movies, a massive amount of work ahead of us, and we were all extremely exhausted. I don't know who finally came to the conclusion, but no one argued with them. It was decided we would sleep for two hours and at 7 someone would drive to the gas station to get some fuel for the generator.

I collapsed in my bed, I'm pretty sure I was fully clothed and passed out for the few hours we were allowed. Such is the life of a filmmaker.

Day Catorce

Kristina Subsara September 5, 2012

Today was a busy day and I was actually able to eat a little. We jumped right into work, Sarah and Esme actually took some of the kids who always arrive early and reshot some scenes while Oscar and I waited for our whole team to arrive. The kids started doing makeup again and as soon as we could wrangle them all up we started shooting for the day.

Now, it was mentioned that the other team had most of the older kids in it. They were amazing at their jobs and worked really well with one another. One of the challenges we had was in storyboarding our piece. It was really well drawn but there seemed to be some parts missing. So Oscar and I had sat down the night before trying to fix some of the problems. It worked out in the end but it also gave us more work to do.

The scenes we were shooting today were some murders and the green screening of the ghost. For that we brought out a blue table clothe and we took it outside in the brightest light we could find. We got a few kids (and myself) holding it taut against the wall as the ghost was filmed doing all sorts of things. (Later on in post-produciton Oscar would drop him into a scene that was already filmed using aftereffects.) This inspired me to take an aftereffects class this fall!

So the point of today was to get as much filming done as possible. The day involved sewing a head back on, helping the kids remember different camera angles, scratching dogs' ears, and filming, Filming, FILMING galore. It was at the end of this day with that kids that I was starting to see everyones capabilities for this project. Sarah and Esme worked with their group efficiently and confidently. They communicated with the kids well considering their spanish wasn't perfect. Their kids are really starting to get into their roles and the director is realizing that her job is more than just saying cut and action.

As for our group, I am continually in awe of Oscar. He's incredible at giving direction. The way he communicates is amazing because he knows what he's talking about but it's the way he talks with the kids and laughs with them that inspires me. Sometimes I feel useless because I can't speak and I'm still so new to all of this video stuff; but then Oscar gives me the reins and I make a few decisions. His confidence in my abilities moves me to be confident in myself. We continue working with one another and learning from everyone. I am still amazed at this experience. I'm writing this now, and it's been a month since we've been home and I am still enthralled.

After the kids left, we all had work to do. Melissa continues to do the paperwork each night, writing down our successes and stories for the day. The rest of us had editing to do. However, today we were to take a day trip to San Miguel de Allende. We were also supposed to meet with a member of FAI to discuss our experience working with their members.

Note: FAI is an organization that promotes sustainable development of water and natural resources focused on the active participation of those children. FAI and Akosia worked together to make this project a success.

We had to leave early to meet with the people from FAI. We got into the city around 4 and looked for a parking space. Oscar drove separately because he was taking Mauricio's friend in with him and there wasn't enough space in our little car. We decided to meet him somewhere in the town. While looking for a parking space, we pulled over to ask someone where we could park. Sarah rolled down her window, spoke the best spanish she could muster, AND... was pleasantly ignored. While we were laughing, a woman came out of a shop and told us that she owns apartments down the road and that we could park there. She then ran back into the store, grabbed her bags and then hopped into our car so she could show us (and she wouldn't have to walk back in the drizzle). This kind of thing happened to us where ever we went. We always randomly met people who somehow were able to fill our needs.

We walked around the town and found ourselves in this square. The square was filled with people, things being sold, and an interesting twist to a well known snack. There was a snack stand that was selling a bag of doritos, opened, with mayo, butter, corn, hot sauce all mixed in; it is eaten with a spoon then. It was such an odd mixture we spent a lot of time marveling at this concoction. We met with Oscar then who was with the two woman from FAI. After a quick cup of coffee we walked to the FAI offices and they basically asked us about the people at Ceracaly and any suggestions for the future. We talked about how accommodating everyone is. There wasn't really anything we could complain about.

We didn't stay there long, and afterwards we needed to find a place with internet so that we could start editing our videos, which was going to take a lot of time. We found a place that had a restaurant on the roof. So we walked upstairs, turned a corner, and saw the most amazing view. It literally might be the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen. The one wall most mostly just glass, it looked down some mountains and on them was the city of San Miguel. To the right was a giant golden church; and to make it even more beautiful a storm was rolling in on the left of the scene as the twilight sky changed colors. I stared at it in awe as massive lightning bolts struck and I watched the rain downpour across the valley while the sky stayed dry above us. Everyone else was checking facebook, emailing, and Sarah had even started editing, but I just couldn't take my eyes off that scene.

Eventually I did get to work. I watched, still in amazement, as Oscar zigzagged around in AfterEffects trying out different things and creating the "ghost" in our movie. It was really amazing watching it transform and I was thankful to be able to watch someone who confidently navigated that program.

Much later the woman who let us park in her apartment area came to the restaurant we were at and introduced us to her husband and chatted with us for a while. They asked if we were staying in the town and offered us a room with them. We told them we were driving back, (I was driving and had passed on a drink). It's sort of funny but they kept pushing us to stay, they didn't think it was safe to drive at night. Of course we were perfectly fine and we had to go back to Ceracaly to teach the ninos in the morning.

We thanked them for their generosity and then made our way back. Everyone here seems anxious to drive at night, but we don't understand why. When we got back Oscar and I planned what we needed to shoot the next day and then we all went to bed.

Day Trece

Kristina Subsara August 24, 2012

Today we were back with the kids. It was a day we had planned to be full of filming, and since we were behind schedule from Friday we decided there should be no english lesson. Once everyone came, we split into the two groups and instructed everyone to finish storyboards, handing out roles, sorting out props, and location scouting. Things got really chaotic with people running to the bathroom, girls changing their outfits for the films, kids running around looking for places to film. It was nuts.

Around 11 everyone was mostly ready to shoot, and all of us coaches were very eager to start shooting because we know how long it really takes. Esme and I talked about working with both groups and basically having Sarah and I switch back and forth with Oscar and Esme so we would always be with someone who spoke Spanish really well. In the end, Oscar and I went with the group doing the horror movie. Once we got working with this group however it was really hard to switch to the other groups. We knew what things needed to be shot and we knew the story really well. Therefore Oscar and I became the producers of the terror movie and Sarah and Esme worked with the kids on the drama movie.

It took a little bit of time to get started shooting because we were working with a much younger age group. They had shorter attention spans and a lot of the young girls wanted to draw on the white boards or wander off. Eventually we set up a policy that if they weren't directly active with the movie scene, they were to go help Melissa with the signs and CD cover drawings.

The first day we actually got a lot of shooting done, as in 9 scenes. It was amazing doing the very first scene though. With the silent films, they kids pretty much shot each scene once. However, with these films, we did the first scene once. Then we did it again at a different angle. If something was off, we did it again. It the acting wasn't perfect we shot it again. I think the kids appreciated the amount of work that goes into filming that first day.

We finished with the kids on time and sent them home. We went to eat and I believe I went to go take a nap. I hadn't slept the night before. Today was the day we were supposed to go horseback riding. Unfortunately I talked to Fernando at lunch and he told Oscar and I that the only horses available were race horses, therefore we wouldn't be able to ride them.

Which ended up being a good thing because I was still sick.

There were some things that we needed from town, so the girls went out. I stayed in. Esme and Sarah's group needed a time lapse of the sunset and there was no guarantee I'd make it back in time so I stayed, set my camera on a chair overlooking the countryside and did a time lapse. I'm actually mad that I didn't do this sooner, or for more days. By the time we thought of it, I really only had one night to do it and sometimes it can be hard to guess what area is going to have the best lighting, clouds, colors, etc. It was such a beautiful 'moment,' the sunset. I'm glad I captured a piece of that night.

Post Script, I'll post the time lapse when I get a computer that can edit video, which should be soon!

Day Doce

Kristina Subsara August 23, 2012

Today we woke up around noon again because of the late night the others had. The girls were CRAVING breakfast, so we tried to head out early enough to eat breakfast somewhere. Melissa kept calling restaurants asking them to just serve us breakfast because we're special. Basically it didn't work and we ended up in the village square sitting outside with a wonderful view for people watching. I ordered a sandwich and Oscar had ordered as well. For some reason, Esme, Melissa, and Sarah didn't order their food until our food came (probably because they were on the internet); but we spent a lot of time just sitting and relaxing at this restaurant. Now, if you've never traveled around, you might not know that in other cultures there is a variety of different people doing odd things to try and make money. Mexico was no different. It was filled with old and young people alike that were trying to sell things. Kids trying to sell little squares of gum, old men selling 'zarapes', and women selling baked goods. Now when I say kids, I don't necessarily mean teens. I mean small children ranging from ages 4 to 16. I witnessed a really heartwarming scene while we were having lunch. A handful of people had approached our table offering their items and one little boy said something quick to Oscar. Oscar quietly said something to him. About twenty seconds later Oscar grabbed a roll off our table and quickly handed it to the kid who ran off with it.

Here we are, blessed to have whatever we want in the restaurant while all around us people are struggling to survive. This isn't just about Mexico. People all over the world work so hard for such little rewards. I think sometimes people forget to be thankful for the small blessings like a full belly or the freedom of playing with your friends instead of having to work when you're just a kid. This was one of my favorite moments. I asked Oscar what he had said and he told me the boy had asked for a roll. Oscar replied it wasn't a good idea to do it right under the waiters' nose. So he waited for him to step into the restaurant and gave this kid food. This moment absolutely made my day.

We sat there awhile looking over things to do, chatting with each other and relaxing. My stomach was still freaking out. I think I ate a fourth of a sandwich and was done. After lunch we walked around the city some more looking for more information on the film festival. Melissa was trying to get ahold of Sebastian to see if we could do something with him. In the end we walked around and went into a theatre that was showing some of the films. One was a really beautiful short with incredible lighting. The story was of a ballerina whose grandmother danced too. She talks about her passion for dancing and how her grandmother would have been proud of her. In the end, you find out that she is blind. Other films were great, if not for their content then for the fact that they encouraged me to start entering film festivals.

Unfortunately I had to leave one of the films because of being sick. I stood on the porch to this gorgeous theatre and looked around me. Mountains curled around the city and the sun was setting behind them. It was a beautiful moment locked in my memory.

We waited for everyone to finish the movie we were in and come outside. The girls picked up snacks and we went on our way back to Ceracaly.

We got back home just as it was dark. I made a bowl of pasta, which was pretty much all that I ate the whole day. Shortly after I came to the conclusion that I wasn't sick unless I ate. So I'm fine if I don't want to live...

We planned for the rest of the night.

Day Once

Kristina Subsara August 17, 2012

Today I technically went to bed around 6 am. And technically we had to leave the house before noon. So I didn't get a lot of sleep last night. My stomach had started to hurt around the early hours and it didn't get better. I figured I had just had too much fun the night before and what I needed was water and a nice meal. We went to a restaurant in the square and sat out in the sunshine to eat. I decided to take it easy and have a coffee and a large bowl of fruit for lunch (and some bread that came on the table).

It was a really nice long lunch. We talked about what we wanted to do for the rest of our time there. We were supposed to go to Leon which is a city famous for leather, but Guanajuato seemed to have caught the eyes of the ladies and they were eager to explore this city. Oscar and I said we would think about splitting up and maybe visiting Leon for a few hours.

(photo by Esme Brandon ©)

After lunch, we started walking around a little bit. We saw an alley that is famous because of a story. Basically the story is about forbidden love. A girl and boy meet. They live across the street from one another and the street is so narrow they could kiss across is while standing on their balconies. So they fall in love and the father of the girl catches them up there and tells the girl she'll kill her if he catches them together again. Kill…his own daughter. Anyways, he catches them again and does kill her. The end. It was really awesome seeing the place and hearing the story from Oscar.

(photo by Esme Brandon ©)

(The rest of these photos are Esme's and Sarah's because I wasn't strong enough to keep lifting my camera. pathetic, but look how beautiful this city is)

Thankfully Oscar took my camera as we walked a little further. After a bit more shopping, I was feeling awful, and I thought if I went back to the car I might be able to rest a little and feel better. I walked through the tunnels to reach the car (which took about 45 minutes. there's a vast amount of tunnels and the car was farther than we thought.

Once we got to the car, my stomach started being incredibly talented and it was break dancing. I swear I felt like I was in the movie Alien and at any moment something would tear right through my stomach lining. I promptly fell asleep while poor Oscar charged his phone and basically waited patiently for me. We drove back to the house to take a nap before dinner while the girls continued to take in the city. They had an incredible time walking through markets and eating on the rooftops that overlooked the entire city.

I slept some more and woke up close to dinner time feeling somewhat okay. We were to go to the fanciest restaurant in the city (Remember how I said earlier that most of our meals were around 100 pesos, well this place's most expensive dinner was 260 pesos). Even the most fancy place was barely $25 and it had incredible food.

Melissa had been talking to one of the photographers from the night before who said he could get us into a movie premier and after party, after dinner. I decided to just see how dinner went before I planned the rest of my night. Oscar was still napping and opted for sleep, so for dinner it was just us four girls. We went just as the sun was setting, it was a gorgeous view from above as we looked down on the city that was littered with a dark blue from the sky and twinkling lights. The inside was softly lit and had really elegant soft jazz. Sarah and Melissa ordered the steaks, Esme ordered this fancy pork stew, and I got a small dinner salad. They also had cactus appetizers, wine, and a cornbread dessert. Everything was delicious.

I decided to go home after that, because I was still super sick. We cabbed it back to the house where I found Oscar still sleeping, and he decided the continue to sleep than go with the girls. I almost watched a movie, but it wasn't long before I was curling up in the fetal position and trying to sleep.

NOTE: This was the end of my night… However I probably missed one of the coolest things. The girls got into another VIP party where Melissa was hanging out with one of the top Mexican Actors (his name might be sebastian zurita?). Esme and Sarah were dancing around with other men. They ended up staying out until 6 am and coming back into the house loud and happy. It was a disappointment to miss, but I couldn't even be mad because there was no way I could have gone out.

Day Diez

Kristina Subsara August 16, 2012

Friday! We had a lot to do today, but the reward is getting the weekend to ourselves and enjoying a small mexican road trip for the weekend. Today was the day where we actually split the group into two separate groups and they were to pick a story, storyboard, and maybe even start filming. A couple of the kids actually brought in stories they had written, and surprisingly they were incredible.

First we showed the kids their silent films from last night. We talked about the importance of storyboarding because if you don't then the editors don't know exactly what you want with your movie and it might come out completely different. Luckily, Oscar and I were pretty spot on with the stories.

new friend who wasn't sure what to think about 32 kids.

There was a lot of disorganization with the kids today and one girl ended up having a panic attack when she wasn't being heard in her group. Esme got her and Mauricio, and they sat her down and got her a cup of hot water and a warm taco to put on her chest. That's what she said her mom does for her because she's had heart problems before.

We ended up voting on the genre of movies and had one group consisting of mostly older kids who wanted to do a drama and a huge group of younger kids who wanted to do a horror movie. Then we made the groups get together and decide on a story. This took forever. Pretty much the rest of the day was filled with discussions on how to create a story (who was the main character? what was the problem they had to overcome? what was the resolution? and so on).

During all of this, Melissa came upstairs and told me that there had been a shooting in the US. She said it had been in the midnight premier of Batman but she couldn't remember which city or state it was in. Since my boyfriend was at the midnight premier, I was freaked out and I went to go check the news, email my family, and check in on everyone.

Thankfully, no one in my family was hurt, despite me having cousins in Colorado. Unfortunately, I was pretty distracted by the news.

So we ended the day with the group having a story and asking the kids to work on storyboards at home.

The five of us had lunch, packed, and then jumped into the car to drive to Guanajuato! Basically we had to drive up and down a mountain. It was narrow roads, sharp curves, crazy people passing us, and the most beautiful views.

We arrived in the city about 50 minutes later and drove through it. It's a gorgeous city built on and around a cluster of mountains. The city is famous but it's amazing because it doesn't look touristy at all. Theres a Starbucks and a dominoes pizza, but they are sort of hidden, there are no traffic lights, and no neon signs. It's gorgeous and colorful. We drove to Oscar's cousins house which houses travelers. It was small, but we didn't need anything extravagant.

We settled in and Esme and I explored a little with our cameras. Then we got all dressed up and went out for a night on the town. Melissa, Sarah, and Oscar discovered that the Guanajuato International Film Festival was this weekend which was pretty amazing, and also there was a tunnel party that we HAD to check out.

We went to a place that had loud music in a populated square and ordered some drinks and small things to share. I had a piña colada and a blue hawaiian. The drinks tasted okay, but the food was like ballpark nachos. It was really crappy. Later we learned that this place had awful food that was really cheap and it was the sort of place for extreme tourists.

It didn't matter, it was late when we finally left there, so we started towards the tunnel party. We met a ton of people that Oscar went to school with, and we left him to wait for more as we went into the party. It was a tunnel that went through the mountain and cars drive through, but a portion of it was closed down for this massive party. There were so many people in there and there were bars set up. It was an awesome party. There were flashing lights in all different colors, loud music, and a ton of people staring at us. We danced for a little while and then Esme decided to go back with Sarah to the house and sleep (they hadn't gotten much sleep and were exhausted). I wanted to stay a little more with Melissa.

We got some refreshments and kept our eyes open for Oscar or his friends. A couple of people stopped and talked to us. We also saw a really famous Mexican actor. We kept being approached by these photographers who kept taking our photos and talking to us a bit. They offered to get us into the VIP area. He gave Melissa a bracelet and then I just walked in. I was stopped, but I took some of my acting skills, made my eyes really big and acted like I had no idea why I couldn't be let in. Eventually they said "oh she doesn't speak spanish" "what harm could be done?" "She's fine" and I got in. Drinks were free here, the people were classy, and we were feeling good.

We danced and attracted the same photographers who were over eager to talk to us and lead us around. Finally we found Oscar and acted like we hadn't seen him in a while so we could go talk to him. It took about four attempts to get away from the photographers and hang out with Oscars friends and just dance alone. We stayed for a few hours and then left around 5 am. It was crazy and so much fun. I'm not really a party person at home, so I probably appreciate a night out more than the regular kid.

Both Melissa and i were given flowers on the walk home by boys and she even was given a pair of sunglasses and was told to drink a shot for this random dude and think of him. I can't emphasize how nice and accepting everyone here is. At no point do I feel like I'm in danger or scared. I feel safe with the group of girls and even more so with Oscar. Mexico keeps getting more and more beautiful and amazing.

Day Nueve

Kristina Subsara August 14, 2012

Today was one of the most beautiful days I've ever experienced, but first, the kids. The kids came at all different times in the morning, so we played games waiting for everyone to get there. The california boys were back as were all the new kids from yesterday so we had a ton of people today. While everyone went into their english lesson, Sarah and I set up for teaching the kids about the flip cameras, setting up the TV to watch short clips, and teaching them about storyboarding.

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The kids came upstairs and we brought them together by playing a quick game that would allow them to practice their acting skills. It's called 'Wink Murder.' Basically a murderer is chosen at random and without anyone knowing. Then their job is to look around the circle and wink at people. If you've been winked at, you have to act out this dramatic death. The kids had some trouble with this game and most of them just knelt down on the floor when they were murdered. So Melissa was the murderer for the second round and she sort of let me know that she was so she could wink at me and I could demonstrate what a good murder was. So she winked at me, and I was strangled, and cried out, and fell to my knees just before completely keeling over. There were a lot of laughs, but people didn't really get anymore dramatic (and to top it off I had some pretty spectacular bruises blooming on my knees).

i wish that game would have worked more, I think we should have done more acting lessons with the kids. Other acting games were trying to keep a straight face while someone else was making you laugh. This one was really successful and I think a lot of the main actors were people who were good at this game.

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Then Sarah, Oscar, and I talked about different kinds of shots, how it's important to do different angles, and try new things with the cameras. We showed them my demo reel that I had made last fall which demonstrates a ton of different things you can do with a camera.

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Sarah then went through the specifics of wide, medium, and tight shots. After that we went over the specific camera buttons. I'm not sure if you've ever used a Flip, but they are the size of a point and shoot camera and they are VERY simple. Basically there is a small digital zoom (which should never really be used), a record button, a playback button, and a delete. Everything on it was super simple and it was really easy for the kids to pick them up and start recording.

We kept the technical stuff to a minimum before their eyes glazed over. I know the older ones took away more from this teaching than the younger ones but we also were ready to work hands on training with the Flips once they started filming their stories.

The kids had the task to split into groups and film one object at all different angles. This way everyone was able to hold and play with the camera and we could show them all the different types of shots and angles.

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We were also able to show the kids storyboarding and a video made from my storyboard. In Syracuse, I worked as a group of three creating a super simple story. We had about two hours to storyboard, shoot, and edit these stories. Luckily I was working with two very talented women, one who was a great actress and the other who was a wizard at Final Cut 7. We storyboarded a story about a girl who has to use the bathroom and there wasn't one open on campus. We had a subject, a problem, and a solution. I drew out the storyboard and then we set to shooting it, thinking of different angles and different positions. We showed the kids the final product so they could see what it would become.

https://vimeo.com/30031503

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Then it was everyones jobs to form 4 groups and write and storyboard a story and then shoot it. It was really chaotic, and it was even more difficult that I couldn't communicate with the kids. I ended up helping Melissa explain to a group that even though they wanted a truck in their video, it might be better to act one out. The other groups worked with Esme and Sarah and did really phenomenal jobs because they made them shoot it several times and get a bunch of angles so we had more to work with as editors.

Today was a really difficult day and we had more problems with the california boys, but it was still incredibly productive and we were all proud of them.

The girls wanted all of us to ride home with them so we did and Esme, Melissa, and Sarah got to see the beautiful countryside. About halfway there, we got stuck in this GIANT lodo (mud) puddle. We all jumped off and I took off my hoodie, shoes, and nice shirt, stepped barefoot in the mud and tried pushing it out. A few others joined in but it was super deep (something I found out when I took a step to my left and my entire leg went under. (Good thing I wasn't wearing my white shorts, oh wait). I also was the dog rescuer because one of the Ceracaly dogs had gone with us, gotten tired, and was in the truck. When we got stuck he was too scared to jump off. So I lifted him up and carried him off (and then back on when he was being too silly to get in the truck). After everyone got to the front of the truck and pushed, we finally got it out of the mud. Needless to say it was a very interesting afternoon, I ruined my white shorts, and we got the entire thing on video! So worth it! (screenshots from the videos)

Yes, we did do this on the way back home...

Later on after lunch and planning, we were invited to a friends house to swim. He lives about a mile down the road and was trying to explain he had these hot springs in his yard. Then he said he had a pool. So we changed into our swimming trunks and drove down there. It was this gorgeous place with an elaborate stone entrance and a massive empty pool. Fernando was just starting to fill the pool up with crystal clear bright blue water. It was gorgeous. After laying in the sun for a bit the pool was finally full. I dipped my toes in and it was the most glorious temperature of probably 100 degrees. It was like a massive bath tub which felt amazing seeing as the air has only been around 60 to 70 degrees. It was a glorious way to spend the evening, swimming in this Godly water, which was all natural, sipping refreshing tomato juice and spices, and hanging out with my amazing friends. (Pool photographs by Sarah Wann ©)

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We went back a few hours later and drove around because we were locked out of Ceracaly. Esme and I watched the sun set over the mountains riding on the back of the truck and talking about our traveling. The rest of the night Oscar and I edited the silent films while everyone else did the work for tomorrow's lessons. It was such an intense day, but it was also one of the most beautiful ones I've ever experienced. I love seeing the beauty around me and one hundred percent appreciating it in it's entirety.

Day Ocho

Kristina Subsara August 12, 2012

Today is Wednesday which means the first week was almost halfway over. I just want to keep reminding you that we got less than two weeks with the kids, because it's much more impressive to know that they did this in literally seven days. Wednesday was the day that Sarah and I were teaching about storytelling. We drew them a story arc and taught them the key elements of storytelling. I was able to show them five minute clips which demonstrated the character, the problem, and the solution. They were able to identity each part of the story and I think that impressed the five of us.

I mentioned yesterday that the "california" boys wouldn't be here for the second day. However, we got 10 new kids today. We were only supposed to have 25 at the most. We're all wondering what's going to happen tomorrow when the "california" boys are back and the rest of these kids come back as well. We'll have 32 kids then! We just decided to see who comes on Thursday, and those people who don't would just miss too much information to be allowed back.

Before we let them break for lunch, we wanted them to start writing a story. So we brought out these amazing dice which had characters and actions on it. They split into teams and then each team had to roll the dice and create a story using each one of the dies. The groups did a great job working together and actually writing out the stories.

After lunch we broke them into groups again and passed out "Kristina's cards." These were pictures I had drawn and colored that they were then to take and draw out a story. Oscar went around and sort of split their papers into 6 sections to start out storyboarding. The teams did amazing with this task and we were able to see some really great artists and watch their personalities slowly come out. Each day we meet with this kids feels like an incredible accomplishment. They are slowly coming out of their shells, especially the girls.

After we finished with the kids for the day, a huge crowd of girls gathered around me and were spouting off spanish to me, for which I awkwardly smiled and said politely, WAT?

Oscar told me they wanted me to ride with them in the truck back to where they live. I agreed and hopped in the truck. I asked Oscar to go with me so I wouldn't be alone and I might understand what the girls were all trying to say to me. They are the cutest things. I sat with my legs hanging over the back of the truck as everyone started pointing around the area and saying what things were in spanish. The scenery around us was stunning. Cerecaly is a place where it's flat but 360 degrees around you, you can see the mountains in the distance. Today there were blue skies, the grass all around us was green, and there were dozens of farm animals out grazing. Because of all the rain, parts were flooded and it definitely made the ride interesting, if not bumpy. My camera could not do the beauty justice.

Oscar and I got back and we had lunch and all of us got right into reports and planning. We're all pretty exhausted by night and we all sort of fancied a lazy night to just relax and watch a movie. It took about three hours though to set up one of our movies on our computer, to hook it up to the tv, and after ALL the trouble that it took we ended up watching a chick flick that basically no one liked (all while i convinced everyone it was a pretty good movie). Oscar said he liked it though.. kidding.

Also, meet Jerry's daughter, Allondra. She's the sweetest little thing.

The Importance of Filters

Kristina Subsara August 10, 2012

Good morning. I wanted to talk about a camera accessory that I now believe is crucial. I can't remember if I mentioned it but day two of walking around Mexico, I used my smooth moves and fell in a hole. I don't care that I embarrassed myself or that the entire Mexican community gathered around and made sure I was okay. I was too worried about my camera, my baby.

I had a scratch on the ring of my filter, but otherwise it was okay. Not more than three days later, that same lens fell from the top bunk of a bunk bed. I screamed, and scooped it lovingly in my arms.

The filter had crushed in but it looked like the lens was okay. The problem was that now my lens filter was bent and I couldn't twist it off to get of off my lens. It had done its part, but was still fighting to be a part of my camera family.

Today, I brought my lens into the camera shop I work at (Delaware camera is the name for anyone looking for good service or just advice!).

The moral of the story is please please for the love of film, buy a ten dollar filter for your beautiful lenses.

By all means, if you can afford it, please buy the hgx filters. They are more expensive, but they are putting high quality glass over the high quality glass in your lens. It's going to reduce the refractions of light to your sensor.

Take care of your lenses. Love them and they'll return the love.

Day Siete

Kristina Subsara August 8, 2012

Today marks the first day with the kids. We have been planning so much and there is nothing else to do but to put everything to action. Basically the point of today was to register people for the program, introduce everyone, and talk about what we were there for. I had Oscar translate a small speech explaining who I am and what I would do. I also mentioned the fact that I know little Spanish. Naturally all the kids flocked to me with their questions in Spanish.

We have a group of older boys who seem pretty close and they might be trouble. They don't seem to want to be split into separate groups and one was separated and sulked the whole time. The girls are all really shy. They barely even utter their names. When it came time for me to speak I felt a confidence in myself and talked nice and loud and smiled at the kids. I think that's why people liked me. The first few days everyone was a little nervous, so I think smiling was a good way to communicate with them that this is supposed to be a fun project FOR THEM.

Some of the kids are the cutest little things. We're teaching about 20 kids that range in age from 6 to 15 years old. The six year old is so tiny, and his name is Jose. There was another little girl who was 9 years old and she was so tiny. Most of the kids were shorter than me, which is a nice ego boost for someone who's 5'4''. Kids in the US at their age are taller than me by age 13.

I think the most important part of this day was making the Akosia map with the kids. This is where all had to brainstorm good qualities that we all supported and agreed upon. For example, respect, responsibility, confidence, courage, etc. All these words were rules. If anyone wasn't respecting someone else, all we had to do was point to the map and remind the kids what they had agreed upon. It was amazing watching them come up with the right words and share their thoughts on the map. After we wrote down all the words the kids were meant to sign the agreement which would be their agreement to come back every day and be a part of this project. There was a group of boys who won't be able to make it tomorrow but they have agreed to come back the day after.

At two it was time for the kids to leave. The five of us worked out some rides for some of the kids for the time they were going to be spending with us. There were boys from California which is a 40 minute dive or a 4 hour walk. There is also a group of 10 girls that were about two miles away and we arranged for them a ride back and forth so they weren't walking those two mile every day.

After everyone left, we ate our lunch. Generally, we eat breakfast in the morning, snack when the kids eat lunch, eat our lunch around 3pm and then have a really light dinner around 9. But I'm not used to eating a ton of meals a day so it feels like we're eating nonstop.

Afterwards we like to plan for tomorrows lesson while sitting on the roof and catching a few minutes of sunshine. The rest of our day is filled with planning while Melissa types up the reports for the day. This day we went back to Dolores Hidalgo to download some movies to demonstrate video making to the kids. The cafe we went to has guacamole that's to die for!

Day Seis

Kristina Subsara August 7, 2012

Around seven we got dressed and ready to Fiesta. It was raining again, so we dressed warm. However everyone else there was decked out. The girls were wearing fancy dresses and getting their heels stuck in the mud. Smaller girls were wearing beautiful white communion dresses.

Boys were dressed up in hats and boots. There was music, food, friends, things for sale. It was an event to see.

Men were coming up to us and chatting after they had a few drinks for courage. Melissa met a man named Gus who chatted with her for a while. Later Esme and I were approached by a guy.

He started talking to us about our cameras. Then he mentioned how he was from Texas but lost his passport. He got into trouble with the law and now he needs to stay in Mexico for 10 years before he can reapply to go back to the states. He kept telling us how privileged we were. How we are so lucky to live where we live and to travel around. We were privileged to be beautiful.

It wasn't the last time we would hear this.. but it's still running through my head today. Every time I feel lazy or I don't really want to work I think about this guy and realize that not everyone has the blessing of a job, or income, or strength. I've been able to open my eyes on this trip.

Day Cinco

Kristina Subsara August 5, 2012

Day Cinco We slept in a little bit today and went downstairs for breakfast of eggs and sausage with tomato salsa, and beans on the side. Everything Chuy has made us has been delicious. After breakfast we dove right into work and planning. We found games to play and tested them out. We planned schedules, correlated our notes, and I drew up some flashcards. I learned a ton of Spanish but I’m not sure what has actually stuck yet. After a while we stopped and had some lunch. It was soup, rice, and more beans. The food is healthy here despite the cheese and carbs. It’s like China’s cuisine, better in the country than its version in the states. We went right back to working on stuff and planning. There’s so much to think about when teaching kids.

At around 8 we left to visit a town and get some dinner. We drove to Pozzo, this town that was supposed to be filled with art and museums and a great view. When we got there it looked more like a ghost town. There was no one out, it was already dark out, and nothing looked like it was open. We drove around and through the town and finally Oscar hopped out of the car and asked someone if anywhere was open for food. They said it was Sunday, and pretty much everything was closed.

We chalked that up for experience, saying that perhaps Sundays are better nights to stay in. Still we forged ahead and drove into another city, San Luis de la Paz, that was 100 times more lively than the last. Everyone was out, there were stalls selling cakes and corn on the cob, and everyone stared at us like we had stepped out of a space shuttle.

So the girls bought some cake and we walked around, still looking for a place to sit and eat, while taking photos of this lively little town. It was getting later and later with no luck, so we stopped at the grocery store and picked up some food to take back to Ceracaly.

Day Seis

Today is a long day and I actually took a ton of photographs. So I decided I would split the two events even though they are from the same day.

We thought that Monday would be our first day with the kids, but Mauricio mentioned that Monday was a fiesta day. We spent the morning continuing with planning for the arrival of the kids tomorrow. Part of today was also communicating with the people of Ceracaly why we were there. Six weeks ago I skyped into London and talked to Esme, Melissa, and Sarah. We trained on dealing with people and different thoughts and feelings. We all talked about our fears, hopes, and times we were brave. As a thank you for trusting one another, we all received a bracelet to remind us how courageous we all can be.

We were supposed to do this training with them, and I will respect everyone by not mentioning what they talked about. I do want to say that I was the youngest person there; and I'm not saying I've had a good or bad life. My life is what it is, but talking to these people opened my eyes to others problems and priorities. It made me reanalyze the hardships that people go through and it made me realize how much shit people can deal with. Everyone will have something go wrong in their lives, but proof that someone is a good person is all about how someone deals with those hardships and overcomes them in the end. The best thing about this project was asking some questions and having the people say "no one has ever asked me that." It made them think about themselves and reflect everything they have accomplished.

I loved watching the emotions on their faces. This trip is awe-inspiring. I can't believe I get to work with these people and be a part of this project. I hope the people that take the time to read this realize the hardships others go through to get where they are. I hope you see that the things you go through aren't stronger than you.

*Note: I am still sorting through my photos. I know I took photos from Day Cinco, but I just haven't found mine yet.

hola mr Macro,

Kristina Subsara August 3, 2012

On it's own little note, I recently was able to obtain an incredible lens for an incredible price. I work in a little camera store, and someone traded in a 105 mm f/2.8 Macro lens. I was ecstatic and snatched it up before anyone could take it. It's an incredible lens because of the long focal length and the fact that it's macro. It's amazing for portraits as it compresses people and doesn't make them look wider than they are. You, as the photographer, are also not in their face taking photos which can cause the subject anxiety (unless you're taking photos of peoples eyes, then it's terrifying).

Esme's

Sarah's

Obviously distance is a factor in depth of field (DOF), so the closer I get to an object, like a flower or a bug , the less is in focus. I had to learn that the hard way when I photographed an object at school close in and didn't realize that some of the object would be out of focus. I needed to close up my aperture if I wanted more DOF.

In mexico there were a few really massive bugs we would see during the day, and I got really excited the day there was one right outside our room. So I got this lens out and got right into this giant bug's face as it climbed around the stairs. I think I really ticked him off because he tried drowning in a puddle.

Anyways, if you're a Nikon user, and you need a macro, I would HIGHLY recommend the 105 f/2.8 Macro lens. You won't have buyers remorse.

Day Cuatro

Kristina Subsara August 3, 2012

I'm happy to say I survived the night. We all did. We woke up to the bright morning light, stepped out of our room to see birds flying around the corridors, dogs barking, and good smells coming from the kitchen. Melissa had already tried out the shower this morning and gushed at how amazing it was despite the fact that it was outdoors and there really wasn't any privacy for changing after the shower. We decided to walk back to our rooms for changing then and there (I only had a few awkward moments of walking past strangers in my towel while living there). However, a shower this morning was going to have to wait until after breakfast for me. We came downstairs where Chuy was there (the woman from last night). She was cooking tortillas with ham and cheese in them, there was a massive bowl of cantaloup and papaya, there were hot sauces, and a hot water with lime juice and honey. Melissa was downing those like there was no tomorrow because her voice had gone missing from the night before. We had breakfast with the other guy who greeted us yesterday, Aender, a man named Manuel, and Gerry, who helps out around Ceracaly and brings his wife and adorable one year old daughter.

Everything was delicious and we stayed and "chatted" with everyone for a little while. I say "chatted" because I basically sat there and smiled while everyone around me spoke Spanish.

Just at the moment I was going to shower, it was insisted that we take a tour of the place, so we saw the library, computer rooms, bathrooms, and the gardens where they grow all these different vegetables. Right after we got back inside, we met Mauricio. He basically was in charge of everything or anything we needed at Ceracaly. He's 28 years old and plays the guitar and smiles like a little kid on Christmas. We all instantly loved him. Not to mention he had the coolest dog ever named Orpheus. I'll keep coming back to Orpheus and I only have about a hundred photos of him.

During the meeting, we were brought a snack called Tuna. Tuna is the fruit of a cactus, it's magenta in color, and it's got a bunch of little pits that you just swallow. It didn't taste like much but we still liked it.

Anyways we went over our schedule for the first week with Mauricio and he told us a little bit about Ceracaly. After our talk with Mauricio, after so many photos and meetings with all kinds of people, I was able to shower. We all got ready and packed up our things to go into Dolores Hidalgo to use the internet and get some supplies for the two week stay in Ceracaly. At this point we met the famous Oscar, who was the only person to work on the project last year and came back this year. We loaded into the car and Aender, Mauricio, and Oscar got into another car and we drove about 20 minutes to get to Dolores Hidalgo.

It's actually a beautiful little city filled with bright colors and we took some time to walk around and explore the little shops. People were selling all different kinds of food and there was also famous ice cream in this city that we were on the hunt for.

When we finally found a stand that sold ice cream we approached it and were instantly given all different kinds of free samples of the ice cream. I tried beer, avocado, chocolate, and some fruity ones. They were so weird, but the avocado one was surprisingly good. After some sightseeing we decided to get a drink and get some internet to contact home. We found a place that had two for one drinks and thought it was as good as any place.

Me and my beautiful friends.

At this point I had my first taste of mexican tequila. I had declined a beer because I'm not a fan of the taste. I like girly fruity drinks. So the waitress suggested a margarita. Now, I've had margaritas before; you can barely taste the alcohol in them because they are filled with different fruit flavors. I ordered one and it came without a fruit flavor. It was basically tequila. It was really difficult sipping it because it was really strong. We chatted around the table and then the waitress brought everyone their second drink. Remember, I mentioned it was buy one get one. Well I had forced the first one and I really didn't want the second. I offered it to Melissa who claimed she had to drive. No one else wanted it. I decided if I could just get rid of it fast it would be better. I took larger gulps of it, and voila, it disappeared…as did I a little.

We did some shopping and headed back to Ceracaly. It was about 10 when we got back and we played some cards and hung out with the guys a little longer before we sunk back into bed.

Day Tres

Kristina Subsara August 2, 2012

Day Tres Today was the day we were leaving Mexico City to finally see Ceracaly and meet the staff we'd work with for the next two weeks. So we packed up and got breakfast across from the apartment.

After half an hour, Maria Jose graced us with her presence. She's been working nonstop for the city ever since the elections and it was really great to see her and thank her for everything she had done for us. She did the unthinkable and offered up her car to us, which really saved us a lot of suffering later on.

I had my first taste of Chocolate caliente (hot chocolate) and papaya with limes. I ordered a spinach omelet that came with hot sauce. We talked and got to know everyone a little better. We went to pay and we saw the fire inside Maria Jose when the waiter swiped her credit card twice and did nothing to fix his mistake. She got really angry and it was kind of awesome to see this petite woman stick up for herself. She's got a lot of spitfire in her. We also met MJ's dogs. Paco was one of them and he was adorable. The other one had walked down to the market, which he does frequently. He either comes home or she has to go pick him up.

We left around noon starting on our journey. It was a gorgeous car ride. We were constantly seeing different rainclouds and storms. There were mountains all around us. We all took turns listening to one anothers iPods and talked a lot about ourselves. Melissa started out driving which gave me time to watch the scenes of rain evolve. A couple of times we hit some really bad patches of rain and it was unnerving; but Melissa was an incredible driver through it all (and I can't forget to mention the amazing Esme taking on the navigating role!) We traveled well as a team and around 4 decided to stop for some food at a place on the way.

I just want to say, it was Friday the thirteenth. We stopped in a bewitched city. It's nicknamed the wizard city because of the spirits in the city. It was rainy and we walked around the little town scoping it out. There was this massive gorgeous mountain that looked over the city. It was really beautiful. Everywhere we went we were stared at, and it was a little ridiculous. I'd like to say I got used to it by the end of the trip, but that's not true. I'm not used to standing out so much.

Anyways, we ate at a little place that had amazing guacamole and of course el baño. This was the day I learned to ask for a bathroom in Spanish. I won't try and spell it yet, but I am teaching myself Spanish.

We spent about an hour and a half in the town and then started back on our way. By the way, MJ had told us it would take three and a half hours to get to Ceracaly, Melissa's friend had told us it would take five hours. If you can calculate we've been in the car for about three to four hours and we still have a bit of a trek ahead of us. I started driving at this point, which was another accomplishment, driving in another country. I had no idea how fast I was going because it's in Kilometers. It seemed to get dark quickly because of all the rainclouds. In no time I was driving in the dark. About 30 minutes away from Ceracaly, it started DOWNPOURING. So we were driving around trying to find signs and see where we were going. Around 9:30 we found the dirt road that I almost jumped a curb to get to. We drove around the holes in the road that were rapidly filling up with water. Luckily, my boyfriends driveway is pretty bad and I happen to be an expert on avoiding potholes.

We came across a sign that said Ceracaly, and there was a little house next to it. Sarah was convinced that this was the place, she had seen it in a video. So Melissa stepped out (into a massive puddle), i honked my horn a few times, and this small mexican man came up to the window of his house as Melissa shouted a jumble of Spanish and he just waved us away. It was awkward, because Sarah was still convinced that this was the place, but Esme told me to keep driving a little ways and see what we came across. About a mile down the road there was a building on the side of the road. People were outside and we asked them if they knew the place we were looking for. They said this was it, so we walked inside, into this dark building. It was still pouring, there were places where there was no ceiling in this building, so it was raining inside. The people who were waiting for us, said the power had gone out. So we took a few candles, got our sleeping supplies, and pretty much went straight to our room.

We found out there was no cell phone reception, there was internet, but not without the power, that the power might not come on until Monday morning, and that the first night in Ceracaly without light, is very creepy. Melissa decided to really freak me out by putting the flashlight under her chin and talking about creepy schools at night. The best part is that she scared herself and she couldn't sleep that night. I slept with a small flashlight, ready to bash any ghosts, and we slept with furniture in front of the doors just to make me feel better.

*note: This post isn't finished. I'm awaiting more information and hunting down some photos!

Mexico Day Dos

Kristina Subsara August 1, 2012

Day Dos Today we woke up and looked out off the balcony onto the grey day. We dressed in somewhat warm clothes. Now, literally a day before this trip I was told that it wouldn't be as warm as we thought it would be. I had flown out to visit my parents before this, so all my pants and sweatshirts were back home in NY. I went out the day before this trip and bought a hoodie which saved me so many times.

Anyways, we walked around Mexico City this morning looking for a place to eat. We settled on a place called condesa Origenes. It was a healthy natural place. I ordered biscuits with mushrooms, spinach, and cheese melted on top. It was so freaking good. Meals during the trip ranged from 50 pesos to 250 pesos, so everything was actually really affordable.

After breakfast we had marked a couple of places that we wanted to see in the city so we started walking around, exploring. We passed shops that sold anything and everything. Eventually we came across a giant square that hosted a MASSIVE flag, the metropolitan cathedral which is the oldest and largest church in latin america, and some other great architectural buildings. The church was like a regular catholic church, massive, gorgeous, and filled with natural light. We were able to climb on the roof and get a tour (in spanish) on the bells and bell tower. The view at the top was incredible.

We also spent a good portion of the day trying to figure out our phone situation and trying to get a working phone with minutes on it. (the best part is we got one, and once we were in Ceracaly, it didn't work there. HA)

We viewed another building that was adjacent to the church that was filled with art murals of when the europeans overtook the land. The murals were huge and it was amazing to see the representations of the european culture. They painted them deformed looking to emphasize their evil-doings.

At this point we had walked a ton so we searched for a place to eat. I fell into a hole in the concrete on the way, falling onto my camera (thankfully it was okay), and it was shortly after this that we just found someplace to sit and eat. I opted for pasta and learned what chorizo is (sausage).

The rest of the time here we spent walking around the city, trying to get back to the apartment. We walked through an incredible market browsing for gifts and making plans to come back to buy our souvenirs. We took the underground which was only 3 pesos and was applauded by some locals for trying that experience; but honestly it wasn't bad at all. I was quite impressed with our navigators, Sarah and Melissa.

For dinner we got dressed and met with a friend of Melissa's who's going to grad school with her in the fall. He brought his friend, I tried a strawberry margarita made with mezcal (to die for), and we ordered some food. FINALLY, at long last, I met the last girl from our Akosia group, Esme.

After we got home we all wondered what would happen next, what the place we were staying at was going to be like, and how this journey was going to fold out. Tomorrow, we set out for Ceracaly.

Mexico Day Uno

Kristina Subsara July 31, 2012

So, I've had the opportunity for the last two weeks to embark on a journey to teach kids about multimedia storytelling. I came across this opportunity from a facebook post on my schools facebook and applied on a whim. Sure, I know storytelling, of course, I can edit. Do I know Spanish? no. So now that I have internet and to soothe my sadness of leaving, I'm going to be posting about my journey, posting photographs, and trying to illustrate the amazing experience of Mexico.

Days Uno

My trip started with me leaving my parents house in St. Louis and flying to Texas. The flight was slightly delayed so I rushed right onto my flight for Mexico without even a second thought. Our plane took off and it was about halfway to Mexico when I realized I didn't have any address for the place I was staying at, no excuse for being in Mexico, and I wasn't entirely sure I was going to find Sarah, who was scheduled to meet me in the airport.

I got to customs and told them I was just visiting Mexico, and like magic, I was let in. After fumbling around because my knowledge of Spanish is non-existant, I finally found my bag and the exit. Luckily Sarah found me right away. Glad she knew what I looked like because I didn't recognize her at all.

We took a cab to our host house in Mexico City, took one step into her apartment, and fell in love with it. It's a one bedroom with two bathrooms, an entire wall that's a glass door and leads outside to the small balcony. It was gorgeous, in a fantastic neighborhood, and was modernly decorated. We all fell in love with the place.

Sarah and I then went out for my first taste at real mexican food. We each had a few tacos, I had one with mole sauce, pollo (chicken), and a third one. The difference was the corn tortillas instead of flour. After we asked for the bill, the waiters brought out complimentary rice pudding. We paid, and they brought out six small cups each containing a different liquid. One was fermented oat juice, another was fermented cactus juice, one tasted like mud, two were fruity. They were really odd but it was great tasting all these new things.

Finally they brought out one more free thing. It was a margarita but it was made from mezcal and not tequila. I couldn't even bear to take more than a few sips it was so incredibly bitter and weird tasting. We left with barely drinking it, and left a good tip for the guys who brought us all the free food we tried. I know they got a kick out of our attempts at spanish too.

Sarah and I went back to the apartment and met person number two on the trip: Melissa. She had our leftovers and we enjoyed her overabundance of energy because she napped for her whole day flight into Mexico.

Melissa on the left and and Sarah on the right showing off their courage bracelets.