Thursday, June 24, 2010

Dear Florida


Dear Florida,


I just came back from a wonderful and enlightening week in Florida. Let me tell you how I spent that time. I arrived Monday, June 14, 2010. Florida was HOT! It was so humid and muggy. I don’t think I was prepared for how hot it would be. The first three days I went to several parks in Orlando Studios. Wet and Wild, Island of Adventures, and Universal Studios. My experience in those parks wasn’t as good as I thought it would be. Let me tell you why. The food in the Park is so ridiculously expensive and overpriced its not even funny. Then you’re not allowed to bring your own food in the park so your forced to buy their overpriced delights. SMALL PORTIONS AND HIGH PRICES. Then it rained pretty much everyday that week in Orlando. So when it rains and you’r in the park they have to shut the rides down. Unfortunately the parks close early so none of us were able to ride any rides! That pissed me off. Those tickets cost an arm and a leg and all we could do was walk around in the humidity and buy more food. LOL. Then they never have a set time when their going to resume the rides back so you just pretty much have to wait. NO REFUNDS IF THEY SHUT THE RIDES DOWN AND YOU ALREADY PAID TO GET IN. I understand there are safety procedures but c’mon. I know I sound like I’m complaining but I did have fun. What? I did! Would I go back to the theme parks? No. Only because they cost way too much for an uncertain day. And you will be very hot and thirsty and would have to sub come to their high prices. Now let me tell you when the real magic happened.

Coming back from Orlando after a pretty adventurous time we stopped in Daytona Beach. Again, very hot but it was the beach so I could cool down. I finally get in the water and I’m trying to relax. I’m very far away from the shore and the group I came with and they started to look like small dots in the distance. I see everyone on the shore looking and pointing towards me like something is wrong. Their screaming but I cant hear them. I can only see their mouths moving. Then their pointing so I turn around and I see grey fins. (This is the time you grab your popcorn) Okay so I’m a bit freaked out and my stomach is in knots. I see about 6 or 7 more grey fins and when I submerge my head in the water I see dolphins about a foot away from me. A family of beautiful dolphins. I was swimming in their living room kitchen and driveway and I’m about to pass out. I was going to run but I was too far from the shore and where was I gonna go? Those things can swim from A to Z in 60 seconds! I watched them as they passed really close to me and I could see fins up above water and snouts bellow the water. Up and down. Wild dolphins. Just thinking about it makes me want to cry. Why? Because it was awesome to see wild dolphins in all their glory swimming and looking for food. I have never ever been that close to dolphins in my life. I turned around to look at the shore and hundreds of people were staring in my direction. Not at me. But at all of the dolphins swimming home. I followed one of them but they got too far for me to touch them.

I felt at peace. I felt blessed. I felt connected to Mother Nature in a way to incomprehensible for words to express. To be reunited with nature was more than amazing. To see those dolphins unharmed and happy was just very emotional for me. I still till this day, a few days later, could not believe that God allowed me to encounter these creatures the way he did. I think it was Gods way of telling me “Look how beautiful you see these creatures, imagine what I think of you. I love you even more.”
I could go on about my experience with these creatures but I think you get the point. Let us please respect these animals and nature in general! You don’t have to be a “tree hugger” to do your part. But just show this earth respect so that we can continue to have beautiful encounters with these wonderful animals.

P.S THANKS TO BP OIL COMPANY THE DOLPHINS WERE SWIMMING UNSEASONABLY CLOSE TO THE SHORE BECAUSE OF THE OIL SPILL. SO THE COAST GUARDS HAVE NOTICED AN INCREADED NUMBER OF DOLPHINS GETTING VERY CLOSE TO THE SHORES. IT’S NOT A GOOD THING BUT IM GLAD ONCE AGAIN THAT I WAS ABLE TO BE WITH THESE BEAUTIFUL ANIMALS.

Saturday, June 12, 2010

THE ACHUAR PEOPLE IN PERU


I wanted to dedicate my first blog on this website to the Achuar community in Peru.I have been doing tons of research on this topic and I felt that it was imperative to share this with the world.

My favorite actress in the entire UNIVERSE Q'orinka Kilcher, has been fighting for a cause that I truly believe is worth fighting for. Q'orinka (actress) is a strong supporter of indigenous populations around the world. If you haven't already heard, she was recently arrested for chaining herself to the fence of the white house. Check it out on YouTube! I'm proud of her for making such an extreme decision and her dedication has inspired me deeply...here's why..

Alan Garcia is currently the President of Peru. Peru is one of the most historical and beautiful places in the world. Alan Garcia recently met up with American President Barack Obama at the white house to discuss some important business like stuff. But he has been ignoring the pleas of his own people. He has been treating his own Peruvian people like dogs. He referred to them as "second-class citizens and barbaric savages." All because they were protesting to save their land. Alan Garcia has been giving up of their lands to oil and gas companies. More than 70% of Peru’s Amazon has been auctioned off to oil companies, without the Indians approval. The indigenous people have been suffering since the 1970's! They are the direct victims of oil drilling. Plus Petrol has been illegally dumping oil in thier rivers. They didn't even warn the indigenous people of the health risk and now their suffering because of it.

Celso Caffalon wrote an article on this problem and I wanted to post some of what he said on this blog. "What has just occurred in Perú last weekend represents one of the worst human rights abuses in any country in Latin America for the last two decades.

The criminal government of Alan Garcia recently massacred more than thirty indigenous Amazonians who were protesting against the government’s imposition of a dozen decrees that attack their rights to land, water, and the right to live in a contamination free environment. The indigenous peoples have named the laws which the homicidal Peruvian government is trying to impose “the death decrees”. There are indigenous organisations speaking of more than 100 dead, more than 200 wounded, and more than 20 activists “disappeared“.


To be quite honest with you it makes me furious. I don't understand why how people get away with such stuff. Some of the Peruvian people have been killed by the Peruvian police and their bodies were being dumped in a river. The government has been hiding the deaths of these peacefull protesters and they have been destroying the land. Are these people animals? How could you do that? Alan Gracia's greed and abuse has led to an appalling lust for profit. No responsable effort has been made to clean up this mess and take care of the injustice done to our people.

Here are some facts about the Amazon. The amazon basin is the earths biggest freshwater eco-system and resevoir for a fifth of our plantes fresh water. Peru has the largest butterfly species than any other country in the world. Lima is the capital of Peru. Peru is the third largest country in South America. Its twice the size of Great Britain,. 25.7 million people live in Peru.

ALL I CAN SAY IS THAT ALAN GARCIA IS A TERROIST AND A HORRIBLE LEADER. WE SHOULD BE PROTECTING THE ACHUAR PEOPLE, THE PERUVIAN PEOPLE, AND THE AMAZON OF SOUTH AMERICA. MY MESSAGE TO THE PERUVIAN PEOPLE IS TO HOLD STRONG AND CONTINUE FIGHTING. I WILL DO MY BEST TO BRING MORE AWARENESS TO THIS CAUSE AND SEEK JUSTICE FOR THESE PEOPLE.

"Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression, this right includes freedom to hold opinons without interference and to seek, recive, and impart information and Ideas through any media regardless of frontiers."

-UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS.