The Ocean CleanUp

Oh. My. God. I came across a certain post in 9GAG about a guy that had designed a way to clean plastic pollution in oceans and I was fascinated. Everything that has something to do with the environment automatically catches my eye and makes me dig deeper. His persistence and his passion are really admirable. I might have gone too crazy and read all about it. Maybe.

So he started this idea about three years ago when we was diving in Greece and he saw that there was more plastic than animals down in the oceans, and he made a little science project that was aimed to help clean and reduce the amount of plastic in the oceans. Not bad, right? We've all been in science fairs, exposing our nice experiments.

But he was driven by a passion. He wanted this to not just be a science project, but a real possible solution, so he did some research, modelled a first draft on his project and exposed it at a TEDx Event. He was brought down, criticized and held as a fool. No worries, he did some more extensive research, wrote down a list of 50 questions and decided to solve them all to make his project a viable project.

And hell he did.

Visit TheOceanCleanUp for more info, and for lovely donations click here

Please share and spread the word about this wonderful project.

This planet is ours and no one else's and if we don't take care of it, no one else will.

TTT: Hard choices

My Studienkolleg has come to an end, and now I have to take a decision on probably the hardest of choices: which career to pursue. Obviously I've thought about it before, and I've crossed things out that I know for sure I dislike. But my options remain open because I'm prone to like whatever I'm doing at the moment, and forget about it the minute I stop. Suddenly I think to myself, what if the same thing happens to me while in the middle of my studies? What if from night to day I decide I'm bored of the career I chose and I want to do another? How do I choose the right path?

Here you can see more TED Talks on taking choices

What I'm into...

Recently I've been fascinated by african head wraps and turbans. With summer around the corner and m hair getting frizzy and wild with the sun, I wanted to look for a way to tame it, hide it, or wrap it in a way that protects it from the sun and looks great. This week my major Tumblr search has been head wraps, the african way. I'm completely awed by how beautiful they look, and how chic it goes with a light dress and statement earrings. Of course, don't forget bright colors!

Isn't this completely beautiful!? I've finally found an use for all my scarfs in the summer and a way to style my big curly hair without looking like Hagrid! Here's one of the funniest and sassiest tutorials I've seen

What are your thoughts on this trend? I'm dying to know!

xx
Andy

Movie Time

There's nothing I love more than having movie marathons or movie cycles. In my hometown we'd have something called CinemaArt (roughly translated) in which movie cycles would be shown every Thursday. I loved it and religiously went every week until for unknown reasons, it stopped. Ever since (and with the discovery of movie4k) I've been having cycles on my own and/or with friends. In that case, StumbleUpon kindly shows me endless lists that make me want to grab 80 bags of popcorn and sit through the whole night watching them all. This time I stumbled upon a list of psychological thrillers (in spanish) but I'll gladly translate.

10 Movies So Complicated They'll Make Your Head Explode

Trailers

Donnie Darko - 2001: Space Odyssey - Memento

Mulholland Dr. - Tree of Life - Solaris (1972)

Fight Club - Blue Velvet - Inception

Primer

Never seen: 2001: Space Odyssey

Excited about: Tree of Life

Will gladly repeat: Fight Club, Donnie Darko

Do you guys have any movie you might add? 

I'd add Sucker Punch. I never got that movie, nor I think I will.

Ku'Damm surprises

I got myself a little treat for finishing up this Studienkolleg year! I'll be posting more details later :)

Today was Christopher Street Day, a renown LGBT parade that presumably started in the UK and extended itself to Berlin. Now, this info was all courtesy of google and my roomie, I had no idea this was happening today! As I saw the streets blocked in Ku'Damm I knew something was going on, and well, something BIG was going on! Streets were crowded with people, caravans with music were taking over and of course, lots and lots people dressed up in full makeup strutting their way into the parade.

I'm kinda obsessed with making videos right? This needed some recording.

In another news, my phone has ditched on me so I'm gladly hearing recommendations!

World Cup Fever!

Hey guys! This summer all around the world we're celebrating the very true religion: soccer. My best friend L and I went over to the Fan Meile in Brandenburger Tor to watch Germany's first game with a thousand fervent fans, to watch our team score those magic four goals. Pay attention to that number, it's magical. Last World Cup they also kept scoring fours.

And this is how we celebrated that glorious first goal!

Holi Festival Berlin

I had been waiting for this day for years! The Holi Festival was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! It is the most fun I've had in months! We arrived there at 3:30 because we didn't want to be super tired so that we could stay until the end. And it was worth it! The  music was great, the people were great (although some where blind drunk) and the mood was spectacular! 

I'd strongly recommed getting either a mask or bringing a bandana and put it in your mouth while in the general color throw, because the air gets really polluted and it can be really difficult to breathe. I always kept my glasses on for the same reason: I didn't want those little powder particles to get in my contact lenses. And be sure to bring tissues, trust me!

Red inspiration

[Pinterest]

[Classy Girls Wear Pearls]

[FashionHippieLoves]

[Pinterest]

TTT: Why people need Poetry

Ever since I was a child I've been in a close relationship with literature. But more than reading books, I loved reading and memorizing poets. The poems that got to me, I couldn't let them go so I made them a part of myself and wanted to share that part with others. (Of course nobody actually listened). I can never encourage enough reading poetry.

 

Summer Rolls

I learned this recipe from one of my roomie's vietnamese friend. They are so delicious and healthy, it's not even be real. And beside, it's super easy and fast to do. You can also have it "regular" with schrimps.

I couldn't help but eat them right away!

You'll need cellophane noodles, rice paper, thai basil, coriander and whichever lettuce you prefer (I go with romana). Prepare the noodles according to instructions, moist the rice paper with warm water without breaking it (it can be pretty easy), put it in a dish and add the herbs and noodles. Then just roll everything together, folding in the outer parts of the rice paper. It's super easy and delicious.

I love it dipped in Hoi Sin Sauce with crushed peanuts.

Enjoy!

Vacation To-Do List

This summer I'm not going to Colombia, instead I'm planning to go next year to escape the winter blues and be able to experience a summer in Germany. So here's where my heart parts in two: I want to travel through europe and see so much places, and then I want to stay in Berlin and actually study (hello Early Bird) and work a little bit, and read, and swim by the lake. So I kinda need to sit down and wonder what this summer's gonna be.

1. To-Read List

List-ception! I happen to get very distracted when I read and that's why I stop reading when I have to study intensely. I may still read blogs and reviews, but nothing longer than 10 pages, because then I get really really into it and stop everything just to read. I read Twilight in 8 hours. That's how bad it is. So, Summer will be the time to catch up in all my reading. Some of the books on my To-Read List are: the A Song of Ice and Fire books, The fault in our stars - John Green, Americanah - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens

2. Coursera

I enrolled on this course for the summer because it's one of the things that I've always liked: old stories that illustrate the human nature.

3. Google Drive

I recently did a Backup and I can't tell you how much I hate to have unfiled documents, pictures, videos, etc! I vow to sit and sort it all out until all 50.000 items are in their corresponding folders.

4. Prepare for Uni

This means take some textbooks out of the library and go through them, attend the Early Bird course (I know I'm crazy, but I'm doing this for my vacations and peace of mind during the semester) and watch some videos in Khan Academy (they are the best!)

5. Job + Preinternship (?)

Ok I need a job. Babysitting is not regular enough, and I'm facing more and more expenses as I settle for good in Germany. So I'm gonna have to find a way to feed my Magic Card. Plus, I want to do a pre-internship to add some bonus to my uni-knowledge. I kinda need to work on that too, I've been looking for one since January but it seems that all vacants are taken.

Of course I have many other things to do like do a Summer cleaning spree and host friends coming over and go around Germany a bit, but those are not so important ;)

Have a nice weekend! xx

TBT

2012

2013 

2014

Leaving you guys some oldies but goldies. Have an amazing weekend!

Mornings

 There's nothing I love more than a big, long breakfast. Today I'm finishing off studying and relaxing in order to have the energy to be at my final tomorrow at 07:45. Wish me luck! xx

Es gibt nicht besseres als ein großes, langes Frühstück. Heute lerne ich noch ein bisschen und entspanne mich um morgen ganz viel Energie zu haben. Ich schreibe meine FSP um 07:45. Drück mir die Daumen! xx

TTT: Stop learning and start thinking

My apologies for missing last week's TTT. My roomie showed me this video the other day and it just blew my mind. I think as adults sometimes we miss the real important facts and the root details of situations life. We fight to follow the line, we struggle to learn what my neighbor learns, we overthink. Sometimes the answer lies in our head and we're just too busy being society's little puppet to realize we ourselves are a world of our own. Jacob's message to me was pretty clear: we study to know what people have created, but we should also strive to create ourselves. And not just a blog, or a little company to make our financial lives a little bit easier, but to contribute to humankind.

Meatless Monday

I've been vegetarian for 9 months now and I love it. My love affair with vegetables began when I came to Germany, a.k.a end of 2012, when I started really eating vegetables on a daily basis. In my homeland I would never voluntarily eat a salad, nor fruits not anything green. The only fruit I remember eating were bananas, and blended juices, but never a pear or a peach. I was happy with fruit flavors, but never the fruit. I know, I was out of my mind! Then as I came to Deutschland I started eating more and more fruits and veggies. At first, I hated it, but with time they grew out on me so much that I decided to leave meat last year.

I always encourage friends to have a meatless day in the week, for reducing meat consumption can actually reduce the production of greenhouse gases, and because animals are so cute they don't deserve a heartless death. Besides, I think I have a thing for alliteration, so the idea of Meatless Monday is just perfect!

--

Ich bin vegetarier gewesen schon für 9 Monate (ja ich bin noch ein Veggie Baby) und ich liebe es. Meine Beziehung mit Obst und Gemüse begann als ich nach Deutschland umgezogen war, d.h. August 2012, weil ich öfter sie gegessen habe. In meinem Heimatlad würde ich niemals freiwilig einen Salat essen, und auch kein Obst. Das einzige was ich mich daran erinnern kann, ist Banane zu essen, und verschiedene Früchte in Juices zu trinken, aber niemals z.B. eine Birne oder ein Pfirsisch. Ich war ganz froh mit dem künstlichen Geschmack aber nie mit der Frucht. Ich war total verrückt! Dann als ich hierher kam, ich begann immer mehr Obst und Gemüse zu essen. Ich habe das erstmal total gehasst, aber dann ging es und ich habe mich endlich in es verliebt, so dass ich jetzt nur Gemüse esse und keinen Fleisch.

Ich empfehle immer meine Freunden, an einen Tag der Woche ohne Fleisch zu essen, denn eine Verminderung der Fleischkonsum führt zu weniger Ausstoß der Treibhausgasen und außerdem haben die ganz süße Tiere keinen herzlosen Schlacht verdient. Ich habe auch was für die Alliteration, also Fleischlos Freitag (auf Englisch Meatless Monday) klingt perfekt :)