Over the rainbow...

Since my mind is in the sky, (and after listening the song "My dream is to fly") I searched a picture related to a rainbow. It was boring and fake pictures of a rainbow but when I found this "parrots rainbow" that made me smile. They look so nice and look like they are a family without understanding why they are so interesting (or maybe they are and are proud of it?)

It might be a photoshop picture too but the illusion is perfect to me; I love the last two parrots on the right, their color is awesome and they look a little couple.

It crashed...

Not too much to say except that my heart bleeds.

Qu'ils reposent en paix et qu'on ne les oublie pas.

Kabsaaa

Miam! (French people don't say "yummi"...)

This is one of my favorite dish ever: Arabic "Kabsa" (I am not sure about the spelling) It was cooked so many times by a friend from Saudi Arabia who is very talented, patient and generous. He can spend 4 hours in the kitchen cooking for 10 people; and the result is just amazing. He could have a business that he would become a millionnaire.

The rice becomes brown because of 15 onions. So many are required, first so you can tell your neighbors what you ate since you'll smell onion for hours, but also and above all because onions shrink tremendously. The three black pieces you see are Arabic lemons; I still don't get whether he bought them black already or whether it is cooking magic that gives that color.

And the chicken... Oh my god you would die for it; I'm unfortunately unable to describe which spices are used because they come from Saudi Arabia. They are unique and give a wonderful exotic taste. You appreciate even more because it is cooked by a generous friend and also because you have an Arabic experience: you are not expected to eat wit hands but you eat on a thin oriental "tablecloth" on the floor that you use once. Please don't forget Pepsi, (and not Coke, that's important to them) and you might find your way to paradise.

Table of content

After struggling so much, I
finally made this table of content about topics I am interested in. It is a little of stereotype about holidays' issue but I guess I'd like to read where to find the best Arabic food in town for example... It was fun to create this document.

...Secret?

I found myself so ridiculous when looking at the Victoria's Secret website. I was curious to know what the brand has to offer because there is no shop in France, I don't often go to the mall. Then I realized I only clicked on the pictures where my favorite models appear instead of paying attention to the dresses. The intense media coverage of these supermodels has a real impact on customers; maybe I'm even more "sensitive" because we don't have this kind of campaign in France. Models are not known, and there is not annual super fashion show. Brands just have to be original to catch people.

Here it is different. It tells people: look what your favorite model wears, you know her name and origins, she could be your friend, you could look just like her. Even though I don't expect to become a super-tall-super-skinny-blue-eyed baby girl if I buy the red or brown dress, I just think I'm foolish to walk into the trap.

The Queen

I would die to see one of her live performances... Beyoncé is just amazing, she has an incredible voice and she is very powerful as an artist. She imposes her own style whether people like it or not, and finally other singers keep imitating her (without success to me...)

Beyoncé is like no other artist, she has a very clear view of what she wants and how to rock new concepts. She is proud of her body and her style and this is how it can work from my point of view. She is not a kind of "format" singer, which is really easy to find these days.

When I look at this picture I feel I can hear her wonderful voice and all the energy she puts in a performance. Her dress also looks really classy and I would assume she is singing a romantic or slow song.

Chanel

Which one do you prefer?

I really regret I couldn't buy one to bring back to France for a friend (I don't want my clothes to be full of Coke in my suitcase).

It is only a part of the large collection of customized Coke bottle, at the Coca-Cola Store in Las Vegas. I was just amazed by all the colors and the imagination of the design; you don't even want to drink it. There is so much choice that you can make a Coke bottle be a personal present; I mean you find the one that will match with a friend.

I prefer the black and blue bottles in the middle of picture. If I remember it represents the white bear which is the logo of the brand.

The rainbow bottles at the bottom are also really cool to me; it reminds me springtime and nice weather, which is pretty unpredictable in Ashland...

It is very exciting to receive a letter from a friends or a member of a family, even though it looks old school. Writing an email is much more convenient, I agree, I do the same almost every day. I don't expect the people to take too much time to write pages and pages; I wouldn't do it myself. But a little surprize from time to time makes your day. It doesn't have to be long. A postcard simply reminds you that this person took the time to do something personal for you that is very unique.

I love the round black stamp which tells you when the letter was post and which city it is from; I never through them away.

I wish I could see the orange stamp better; the light focuses on the classy pen, which reminds me my dad; I guess few people have this kind of pen now.

I don't really know what it is to be honest, but the picture reminds me something exotic and spicy. I wish I could visit some countries very different from mine and to appreciate what they have to teach me.
The first plan image has strong colors, green, orange, yellow, as much as the plate on the left, which almost makes you forget that the second plan (on the right) is very bright.
I would like to try what is on this leaf!

My friend Ha from Vietnam cooked my (chocolate) birthday cake last week.... It was delicious, and even better because it was cooked with love!! I really like this picture because i think it shows her modesty. This lady is funny and full of love for people. We first see the cake when we look at the picture, and she is looking at me...I really appreciate her doing it for me, it was a beautiful present!

The show must go on...

I am sorry if this collage is a little confusing or just too much... i didn't have a clear vision of what i was doing, I was just inspired by the international show that ended the international week at SOU. It was a great experience and I felt I was a part of something we built from scratch.

I customize this planisfere with several pictures from the show. I tried to make things logical, depending on the performances. I think i liked each of them, the dances, the songs, the costumes and the originality.
I tried to make something that could be called "United the world," with pictures of Saudi, Morrocan, Japanese, Mexican, Korean, and Indian performances (the heart represents home, unsurprisingly) . It is only a glimpse of what was on my mind but I could have customized the planisfere again and again, but it is enough like that I guess.

This is one of the three rehearsals for the International Show. It is the main part of the International Week, which was really intense for me, and even though I am tired it was a great experience.

We are here at the music building practicing for the international fashion show.

I like the colors of the our traditional clothes and the happy expressions of people. It was -the rehearsal- a very fun evening and this night -THE big event- will be awesome. The international students are really satisfied (and also proud I would say...) to share their culture with the community. I would advise to everybody to pay attention to the people who might look different from you; this is how a learn a lot this year and I hope I understand them better.

The clothes on the pictures are from Saudi Arabia, Brasil and Japan. The Saudi dress I wear is really comfortable and you feel you are not judged for your general appearance while you wear it.

This is a glimpse of the fun I had with my friends while (hardly) preparing the event.

It was one of the sunniest days in Ashland when I took this picture in a "café" with my friend. It was a Sunday and all we needed was to take a nap in Lithia Park and have some amazing "madeleines," that are pretty hard to find by the way.
Don't they look like two beautiful eggs? (Maybe it is my imagination because I was so satisfied to eat them after such a long time...)
I really like the image for the memories it brings to me. Not only were the snacks delicious and my "café au chocolat" pretty artistic, but the afternoon that we had, talking about cultural differences, languages and traveling, opened my mind. The patio had a nice atmosphere, fountains, trees and flowers surrounded us.
I love the light on the picture, it made you feel you could stay on the comfortable sofa forever and that your hot chocolate would never turn cold.

I will probably framed this picture when I go back to France simply because of the feelings of friendship and also feeling of luck to have lived such an experience abroad.

All I would like is that Photoshop might not be so compicated to me... I know it is not, but in a foreign language, believe me it is; you can see it on my poor first collage...

Family

My brother Christophe, my mum Monique and my dad Robert visited me last week. It just was awesome to see the three of them in America. Actually we even hardly meet all together in France, because my parents live in the south of France, my bro lives in Paris and I study in Lyon.
The simple fact to have a breakfast together was great; and I felt I was a little girl again. They have not changed, I hope I haven't either...
We were here at Emigrant Lake, Ashland, and they are right now in San Francico taking I hope a toned of pictures.

Where in the world in Carmen San Diego?

International week will start Monday with a food fair. I'm really excited about it, because it is THE event for all the international students, and I hope it is just a big event on campus for everybody also.

I am a scriptwriter for the international show, which will take place on Friday.

I never heard about this Carmen San Diego before I became a "stage director," but now she is the criminal I have to find.

Bravo to my friend Steve who draw this picture!

Picturing the others

This is the person I wanted to photograph for this assignment, because even though I know her, she is a person who is worth knowing and paying attention to. Kana is from Tokyo, Japan. I know she is humble and was not a little embarrassed to be photographed, but I'm really statisfied by the result, and I hope she was, also. It is a new experience to catch a friend for pictures, because the camera is directing everything. I tried to pay attention to the light, to Kana's feelings and to the people around us, but we were also dependent on chance, if I may say so. The chance it could work out, or not.

She is an exchange student like me, so we have in common the experience of living in a different country and we are sometimes shocked, amused or amazed by the same things. But French and Japanese cultures are obviously totally different; I'm glad I know different people like Kana because you can learn from them a lot.

Alphabet Soup

Sugar cane "J", P.Diddy and streetlights "E"; a "P" from my sofa and a "C" on the carpet...

Kanye West! I love this picture. The bear and the glasses don't fit together at all, but I like it anyway. It is maybe because Kanye West's sounds have an atmosphere that is not common from my point of view, so we can agree that he chooses uncommon pictures to represent his work...

I know, I know, everytime I talk about something French, but I love Daft Punk also... The robot you can see at the bottom. "Stronger" is a remix of a song of the French group.

What doesn't kill me makes me stronger!

It may be so common for you. American people probably don't really pay attention to hamburgers as much as I don't pay attention to croissant for my breakfast.

But believe me for me hamburger is just a myth. In France you will hardly find one in the menu (I don't talk about McDonald's and KFC... this is all we have). Some hamburgers in (real) restaurants are delightful (yes it is an experience to me) but it is the kind of food I will eat once a year (so I'm done for 2009). Simply because it is too much for me. Apparently it is for my mother too, who ate a hamburger in a restaurant in Ashland "since she was in America..." I took pity on her since she didn't digest her menu until late at night...

I chose the smallest picture because it represents the connection between French food and American food (it illustrates the culinary experiences of a French family...) I miss croissant, but it's only when you try other kind of food that you start caring about your traditional food.

The second picture is jus hilarious to me... Two symbols of the American culture. It was actually a real Nike ad.

I think I would like to see this monument in red for a minute. la Rotonde is the main fountain of Aix-en-Provence, my hometown which I love so much. It is a romantic city from my point of view, and the monument at Christmas is full of lights. But a red landscape would be the landscape of couples and lovers. Maybe I am in that mood because I miss him a lot.

This is an image of plum blossom in Japan. My friend Kana from Tokyo inspired my post when I saw one of her pictures about blossom she took in California. I wondered therefore how much she missed the beauty of Japanese landscapes.

This blossom is just a myth for me; something you look through traveling agency pictures that gives you a stereotyped glimpse of Japan. But this is a part of her life. She told me she spends a lot of time outside with friends and family and goes for picnics during the blossom.
One of my goals in life now is to discover this country. I never really thought about it before. But now, I know very interesting and humble people from Japan, who make me know a little bit more about their culture, and I am thankful for that. I would like to be emerged one day by these cultural differences and I am sure I would not be disappointed.

I really like the colors and luminosity of this picture. It totally reminds me my friend Kana and her patience and loyalty. Japan looks to be a country of tolerance, serenity and imagination. This is what I associate to this image. It is a kind of window I open that transports me to a world I don’t know. Or a world I know at least through green tea dishes I share with my friend.

www.flickr.com

It may not be my country but I am very touched by the earthquake in adjacent Italy. At least 250 people died and thousands are homeless. Around 300 tremors happened yesterday. Silvio Berlusconi refused to accept the international aid, because Italy has “a proud people and has enough money to overcome the situation.” But beds or tents to help the new homeless were impossible to find the third night.
Let’s note nevertheless a miracle of the drama: a 98-year-old woman had been evacuated after she spent 30 hours alone.
I think this image is not like the others we can see about the disaster. The guitar contrasts with the ruins with its colors, its beautiful shape, and above all its message, which is to me a message of hope. The evocation of music is cheerful in comparison with the mournful atmosphere. It gives hope to find some survivors before the deadline -48 hours- given to rescuers. The guitar is damaged but totally recognizable; it makes me think that reconstruction is possible and that these people, some of whom lost everything, can have a fresh start.

www.rmc.fr

I drew this in class after I spent some time reading magazines, which didn't really help me have a better consideration of myself (whereas you are supposed to feel absolutely wonderful once you close it). You have to wear this one-shoulder dress like Jennifer Lopez if you want to be transformed as a goddess. You have to be slim like Heidi Klum to be glamorous, but if you don't have curves "you are not a real woman" (cf. Beyoncé.) So I guess... you are not glamorous.

While I was drawing random shapes, I had the idea of this big belly. Even pregnancy has become a must-have of the summer season.
I realized that Angelina Jolie, even though she is the most awaited star on the red carpet, smiles pretty rarely. Maybe she doesn't really care about the flashes. And that is nice to me. Stop making me think that fashion, photographers and people judgement are incontrovertible to exist.

I was in this shop in Los Angeles when I took this picture. As always when I see something in America that reminds me of France, I have to capture my thoughts in a photograph. Maybe because I am afraid I will forget, or because I want to show my experiences to my friends when I come back to my country. It will always be interesting to observe how another nation defines my culture. I can’t imagine my life in America without a camera and all the memories it allows me to conserve.
This shop was very unusual. The clothes were cute, and expensive, but what I noticed first was this fake array of French bread. I saw, between a blue dress and a white shirt, a kind of reconstitution of my French kitchen, with fake baguettes, bottles of wine and olive oil. I felt I was the only one in the shop to be amazed. For a minute I wondered where I was exactly.

Blue mood...

first scratch assignment.

My hometown

first post!

Bonjour,

 Here we go, this is the first post of my first blog! I am excited to learn more about digital media and I hope I will be doing good! 

A bientot,

Celia