GIF(s)

So I am definitely a sucker for anything that will give me a good laugh, and lucky for me, just about every GIF posted on BuzzFeed does just that. Because I am so indecisive, I’ve decided to post a website that had 31 of my all time favorite GIFs. 

http://www.buzzfeed.com/summeranne/gifs-that-will-make-you-laugh-every-time

Because we’ve been told to pick one GIF in particular, I will say that number 15 on this website is my favorite, even though I get a good laugh out of all of them. 

Why do I like all of these GIFs? Well, they are funny of course. And they are entertaining. I can watch these GIFs over and over and continuously laugh each time. Good GIFs to me mean humor. Generally someone or something gets hurt, but it makes me laugh and that’s all that matters. I usually find myself cruising through BuzzFeed every night before bed chuckling to all of the creative and funny GIFs that capture my attention. 

 

I am a big GIF fan; therefore, I do consider GIFs their own medium. I believe that GIFs portray a message that any picture or meme cannot represent. It is a new way to represent an image that allows the user to see more than one snapshot of an event, rather a continuously repeating set of images. I believe that GIFs give more detail about the situation that a normal image, but also act more as a still image than a full length video. Overall, if it wasn’t a new medium wouldn’t it just be called a meme or picture? It’s called a GIF because it is unique from any other medium. 

I think it is fun to communicate through GIFs. I find it easier to tell a story with GIFs than with any other image media (emoji’s/memes). I have fun reading through conversations that use GIFs as the form of communication. 

 

Well, that’s all for now! 

Rage Comics

Because my previous photo does not always show up, I have chosen a second Rage Comic, similar to the first! Enjoy!

Rage Comics

I was not originally familiar with the term Rage Comic before Wednesday’s class session; however, after being shown an image, I immediately recognized the concept. I see Rage Comics all throughout the internet. Whether it’s on Facebook, Google, or on a random webpage, the characters in Rage Comics  pop up everywhere and have become a familiar sight  to many. I did some research on Rage Comics and I have chosen this one as my favorite. It was definitely hard to choose just one, though!

I thought this Rage Comic was the funniest because it is so easily relatable. With the new highly technological world we live in, situations, like the one in the comic, present themselves on a daily basis. I laughed out loud while reading this because I see it happen in my life all the time and I appreciate that someone recognized it and took note of it. 

I really like internet humor. I think it is a humor that we cannot find in everyday life. I feel as though internet humor is more direct and harsh than real life humor. The internet is not afraid of hurting someone’s feelings, and it is not afraid to joke about taboo topics. I really like scrolling through webpages and laughing out loud for hours on end. 

 

 

A Week of Greatness!

This week has been nothing but wonderful. I have had so many exciting, perfect, fun events take place, it feels as though I am in a dream. Here is a list of the wonderful things that have happened to me this week. 

1. I found out that my mom is officially coming to see me. She will be here from May 1st all the way to May 10th. I feel so grateful to have a loving family member come embark on this journey with me. We plan to hang around Sevilla for the majority of her stay, with a small excursion to the Mediterranean Coastline near the end. Knowing my mom is coming in a few weeks makes everything better!

2. I won the Maroon to Gray Grant through my school. In other words, I JUST WON 2,000 DOLLARS!!!!! For a study abroad college student, this is the best news in the world. Two thousand extra dollars means I will have the chance to see a few more places that I wanted to see, try a few more delicious tapas, and most importantly, buy those clothes I have been eyeing up in the stores. 

3. I am leaving on Sunday to see my best friend from home in BARCELONA! Her and I have dreamed of traveling together since we were young, I can’t believe it is actually happening. We plan to squeeze as much action as possible during our 4 day stay.

4. THE WEATHER HAS BEEN AMAZING. I mean really, 80 degrees everyday?? I’ll take it:) Good weather equals good mood.

5. The upcoming Semana Santa festivities. I am very excited to come home next Wednesday and experience a bit of the Semana Santa processions. I believe it will be a wonderful experience and a memory that will last a lifetime.

6. I had a blast celebrating both my, and my best friend’s birthday! We tried two different restaurants and danced the night(s) away.

 

Overall, as you can see, my life over here in Sevilla has been so amazing! I couldn’t ask for a better Spring. Well, this is all I’ve got for now!! 

Adios! 

Birthday Fun!

This past Tuesday was my 21st birthday. I had so much fun! We started out by going to dinner at Los Coloniales. I had the almond chicken and spinach croquettes. After this, me and 15 of my friends headed to my apartment for cake and ice cream. We had a few drinks and then headed to Santuario to celebrate. We stayed out until 4 am! Safe to say I had an amazing birthday!

Media Literacy

Media literacy is the ability for someone to appropriately access, evaluate, analyze, and create media content. It comes about from being a critical thinker, problem solver, having social and communicative skills, and understanding personal autonomy. Media literacy allows people to effectively use the various media’s that are in the world today.

I think it is highly necessary for students, as young as primary school, to learn about media literacy and become media literate. With the highly growing technological advances, whether we like it or not, young children are being exposed to various medias on a daily basis. I believe that it is necessary to teach them media literacy skills so they can effectively use media. If they are already encountering media, why not try to teach them about it?

In relation to social media, I believe that nothing further than safe online practices should be taught. I do not believe that schools should be responsible for teaching students how to create and use social media, but rather teach students safe online practices. Most students will learn how to use social media on their own, as they are exposed to it on a day to day basis. I believe it should be up to the parent to decide whether or not their child should learn about the social media site. The school should only be a place where the child learns what is safe and what is dangerous to do on social media sites. I believe that if the school were to begin teaching about social media in lower education, we would have very angry parents who are trying to keep their children away from the social media sites as long as possible. All in all, the school teach the safe practices of online use, not the how to’s.

 

http://namle.net/publications/media-literacy-definitions/

 

http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/12/should-schools-teach-social-media-skills/

Because I Am Stressed

So lately here in Sevilla I have been more stressed than I ever have been. Classes suck and money is tight. How am I sposed to enjoy the abroad life when my face is in a school book and I have no money to go out? Well, fortunately there are MEME’s to get me through. Heres a small assortment of some of my favorites. (Thanks to Fran, my social media teacher, for this idea!) 

 

Hope this brightens your day like it did mine! 

Until next time, 

Adios! 

Half Way There

My time here in Spain has gone by faster than I ever could have imagined. I am already halfway through my journey! Time goes extremely fast when you are constantly on the move. I haven’t posted much about my stay lately, but that is because I have been so busy these past few weeks. It was midterm time here in Sevilla, which forced me to actually sit down and focus on school. 

    Midterms suck in general, but I definitely was not prepared for how much they would suck abroad. Classes here don’t give out homework, or require much effort; however, once the midterm comes, they do require that you remember everything that you have learned in class for the first half of the semester. This becomes tough, being that I do no homework outside of class. Remembering the detailed, nit-picky material and concepts is near impossible when you have no notes to study from and no worksheets to look back on. I spent a little over a week studying for my four exams, and this past Wednesday I am happy to say I completed all of my midterms, and it was a success! 
    In this crazy week of studying and stressing, I did embark on a journey to a city near Sevilla. My program offered a second excursion to Ronda, Spain. Ronda is one of the most historical cities in Spain, and one of the most highly visited in Europe. After spending a day in the city, I definitely understand why, 
    We started out by catching our bus in Sevilla at 8:30 am. We departed towards a hiking trail just outside of Ronda. We spent a little over two hours walking along the River Majaceite. It was a beautiful hike and I learned a lot from our two tour guides. 

The hiking trail

My tour group!

Me along side River Majaceite

 

   After the hike,  we got back on the bus and left for Ronda. I love the rides between cities in Spain. There are rolling hills of green, tall snowcapped mountains, and lakes that appear out of no where. The geography of this country amazes me, as you never know what you will come across. 
   In Ronda, we just went on a walking tour of the city. All I have to say to describe this place is amazing! There were views that could not be captured even by the most profound cameras. It was something that you had to see to believe. To describe my time in Ronda the best thing I can do is provide a few pictures! 

A look at the countryside below

The bridge connecting old Ronda with new Ronda

Panoramic of the spectacular view

One of the most beautiful sites I have ever seen.

 

   Ronda was definitely my favorite place I have traveled to thus far. The sites, the food, the history, it all captured my attention and left me wanting more. I plan on going back to Ronda one more time before my journey in Spain is done. 
   After my midterms were over, my roommate and I decided that we needed a little reward for doing so well on our exams. We decided to take our first trip to the ocean! Sevilla is in a great location as we have access to many different beaches, all of which are just about an hour away. Bus tickets are usually only 7 euro, so it makes going to the beach very attainable. 
   I am an ocean finatic. I love being on the beach, listening to the waves, and taking in the sun. So living this close to an ocean is quite honestly the best thing I could ever ask for! 
   We bought our bus tickets late Thursday night and left for the ocean early Friday morning. The bus ride there took longer than expected, as we stopped in 4 different cities before finally arriving in Matalascanas, Spain. 
    This small village is a beach town on the Atlantic Ocean. Being that it is not quite beach season, it seemed vacant. Most of the shops and restaurants were closed for the ‘winter’. I put winter in quotations because to the Spaniards, winter is a nice 75 degree and sunny day. 
    My roommate and I were blessed with clear skies and warm air at the ocean. We spent five hours just laying out, eating our packed lunches, reading magazines, and chit chatting. I felt so content sitting there listening to the waves crash on the shore. It is my happy place. Lucky for me, I will be on an ocean just about every weekend from now until I leave. 

So happy to finally be at the ocean!

White, sandy beaches

 

 

We had the beach to ourselves!

 

   I have many more places to see in these next two months. I can only hope that the second half is as great as the first! Stay warm back home, sending my love! 

Gracias por leer mi adventura, hasta luego! 

Besos! 

It’s Viral!

     So I love videos. Anything that will capture my attention and have me laughing for a minute or two is a necessity in my everyday life. Thankfully, with YouTube I have the ability to surf and find new videos faster than I can blink. But how to choose what video to watch? It’s simple. I watch the videos that have the most views and are spread quickly across the web, also known as viral videos. Below is one of my favorite videos that went viral. 

     This video, titled Christian The Lion, has been my all time favorite viral video. I am definitely an animal lover, and this heart warming story of a man and his former lion pet really touched my heart. This video was posted by a user that is identified as SPFW21. The video was posted 5 years ago; however within the last few months it has gone viral, now reaching just over 10 million views. I believe this video was made to simply warm peoples hearts and inform them that animals can have relationships just as humans do. The video was created to show the close bond the owner had with his lion and to prove that everything can and does feel emotions. As stated before, the emotional experience that comes about from watching this video is happiness. Viewers feel content after watching and may even be jealous of the relationship the owner has with this lion. Some viewers may be skeptical, however, due to the rare idea this presents. 

My Time In Sevilla