Jorge Roques Fotografía

Proyecto 365: Update ((tags: Proyecto 365))

2010-09-06T11:58:00.001-04:00

Buenos días,

Tal como la semana pasada, aquí les dejo una actualización del proyecto 365 que empezamos hace dos semanas.

Algo de 'housekeeping' antes de publicar las estadísticas acumuladas:

Agregué un tag para el proyecto en general ('Proyecto 365'); ahí van a encontrar este tipo de posts.

Sobre mas invitados, que creen? Varias personas me han escrito pero no quiero llegar a un punto en el que se vuelva incontrolable.

Recuerden solo postear una foto por día - del día correspondiente. Si por algún motivo no pueden subir una foto un día, ya no la suban al día siguiente pues empieza a confundir.

Una regla general de los Proyectos 365 es subir fotos tomadas ese mismo día; se que muchas veces es complicado y entiendo que subir una guardada no es tanto problema - pero no debería convertirse en una costumbre.

Sobre el uso del celular para tomar fotos, no estoy en contra. Hay celulares con muy buenas cámaras pero tenemos que hacer un esfuerzo para tomar buenas fotos. Si vamos a usar un celular debemos darnos la oportunidad de que salgan bien; es decir: a) no tomar fotos en movimiento, b) tomar fotos donde haya mucha luz, c) no tomar fotos a algo que tiene muchos detalles, d) retocarlas en el mismo celular.

Los comentarios son una manera excelente de recibir retroalimentación. Si le gusta una foto, díganselo; si no les gusta algo, hagan algo de 'crítica constructiva'. Se ha creado un buen habito entre algunos pero otros no lo hacen (luego no se quejen de que no les comentan las suyas).

No quiero que nadie se ofenda, todo esto es para que el grupo se mantenga en buen curso - como lo ha venido haciendo.

Ahora algo de estadísticas:

En cuanto a los contribuidores, nos mantenemos en 17 - algunos mas constantes que otros. Desde el 19 de Agosto tenemos lo siguiente:

2,989 páginas visitadas
1,277 visitantes
443 visitantes "auténticos"

¿De donde vino el tráfico?

Trafico Directo: 27%
Posterous: 40% (suscripciones, etc.) (hubo un incremento de 27% a 40%)
Facebook: 19%
JorgeRoques.com: 9%
Otros: 5%

Tuvimos visitantes de 16 países (6 países nuevos):

Rep. Dom.
EE. UU.
Colombia
Sri Lanka
España
Rusia
Canadá
Corea del Sur
Reino Unido
Australia
Argentina
Nicaragua
Suiza
Brasil
Pakistán
Japón

Nuestro visitante usando dial-up no se rinde! volvió por mas (18 visitas)

Tuvimos visitas desde iPhones, Blackberrys... iPads y Ipods! (53 visitas)

Que tengan un buen día,

Jorge Roques

Proyecto 365... viento en popa!

2010-08-24T11:48:00.000-04:00

Tal como les había comentado, el proyecto 365 empezó oficialmente ayer.

A la fecha somos 9 amigos participando... y creciendo! Hemos subido 17 fotos y la página ha tenido 132 visitas en una semana que tenemos funcionando... 62 solamente ayer.

Hemos visto como cada quien presenta su propio mundo... algunos su mundo abstracto, algunos su 'commute' diario, su vida en san diego, su vida a través de su iphone y otros su propio mundo.

Anímense! Anímense! todavía están a tiempo... escríbanme a Jorge@JorgeRoques.com

Proyecto 365: ya casi!

2010-08-20T22:57:00.000-04:00

Gracias a todos los que respondieron, ya sea a través de Facebook, Twitter o personalmente.

La página del grupo es: http://proyecto365.posterous.com/

Vamos a empezar el lunes 23 de Agosto (ya casi!) y voy a poner un 'rolling deadline', inicialmente de dos meses. Cuando lleguemos ahí, revaluamos y seguimos. Si les interesa unirse luego de esta fecha avísenme, no hay ningún problema. Por logística, esperaría que continuaran con la numeración que tengamos.

Para unirse, escríbanme un correo a Jorge@JorgeRoques.com y les devuelvo con la incitación.

Saludos,

Jorge Roques

9 cosas que hacer cuando te sientes estancado (en la fotografia)

2010-08-18T18:11:00.000-04:00

El título original esta en ingles "9 things to do when you're feeling stale", y fue un tweet que Chase Jarvis puso hace más de un año. Les recomiendo la lectura, aunque no sientan que están estancados.

Está escrito en inglés.

http://blog.chasejarvis.com/blog/2009/08/9-things-to-do-when-youre-feeling-stale/

Proyecto 365

2010-08-10T12:44:00.000-04:00

Antes de escribir sobre el tema, les comparto que estoy escuchando la canción 3x5 de John Mayer.

Entrando en tema, no sé dónde y quien empezó los proyectos 365, ni hace cuanto. Estuve preguntándole al Sr. Google pero sin éxito.

Para aquellos que no saben lo que es, el proyecto 365 consiste en tomar una cámara y todos los días tomar una foto, editarla y compartirla en alguno de los medios sociales actuales. El concepto es bastante sencillo, no hay que ser "fotógrafo" ni tener una cuenta especial... cualquier persona con una cámara puede hacerlo; y con la abundancia de teléfonos con MUY buenas cámaras, hoy nadie puede decir que no puede tomar una foto.

El tema de las fotos puede ser general, y la mayoría de las personas es lo que hace. Anda con su cámara y toma una foto de cualquier cosa, a cualquier hora, en cualquier lugar. Hay algunos proyectos más complejos, por ejemplo, auto retratos, auto retratos acabados de levantar, etc. Pueden ver como se puede variar a su antojo.

Si buscan en Google podrán encontrar miles y miles de páginas de personas con su proyecto de 365. Sirven de estimulo para continuar, para no saltar ningún día - muchas veces es muy difícil.

La mayoría busca un grupo y empiezan juntos para, como dije anteriormente, darse fuerzas mutuamente.

Estoy pensando empezar un proyecto... ¿quien se anima?

"Fotografía" de Vincent Laforet, tercera parte

2010-08-06T17:26:00.000-04:00

Ya les debía este post sobre Vincent Laforet y su vida dentro del mundo cinematográfico y el film. La Canon llama a Laforet un Explorador de Luz.

Laforet se hizo muy famoso cuando lanzo la primera película filmada con tecnología de cámaras digitales SLR; usadas tradicionalmente para fotografías.

Ese film se titula 'Reverie', fue grabado usando la Canon EOS 5D Mark II. Lo pueden encontrar en la página de Laforet, bajo la categoría de 'Films'. La verdad que esta impresionante, muy buena filmación, buena edición, buena música.

Mientras buscaba información de Vincent, encontré esto en su blog, el 'Making Of' de Reverie.

Canon tambien tiene mucha información sobre Laforet en su página de Canon Digital Learning Center. En estos videos Vincent habla de la Canon EOS 1D Mark IV. Que camarita, eh! Asegurense de ver todos los episodios, no solo es el video que sale en la entrada.

Fotografía de Vincent Laforet, segunda parte

2010-07-28T16:14:00.001-04:00

Tal como comente en la primera parte, Vincent Laforet ha logrado entrar al mundo de videos y filmes y mantener el mercado de la fotografía.

Entre sus fotografías, algunas de mis favoritas son:

Chrysler Building, New York City Aerials

Turistas en Central Park, New York Times Photo Archive

Como es imposible decirles todas las que me gustan, aquí les dejo un link con más fotos de él. Podrán ver fotos usando la técnica de tilt shift (hacer que la foto parezca una miniatura). También hay algunas fotos de sesión ganadora del Pulitzer sobre los efectos del 9/11 en Pakistán y Afganistán.

Para aquellos fotógrafos que están leyendo esto, vean las siguientes fotos con precaución. Se los advertí. ¿Que empacar para las olimpiadas? Más abajo el resultado.

En el próximo articulo voy a hablar de la experiencia de Laforet en el mundo del film.

Fotografía de Vincent Laforet, primera parte

2010-07-26T10:40:00.002-04:00

La verdad estoy completamente loco viendo el trabajo de Vincent Laforet. Primero un poco de historia.

Vincent Laforet

Nacido en Suiza en 1975, ganador del Pulitzer en el 2002 junto al resto del equipo del NYT por su trabajo sobre los efectos del 9/11 en Afghanistan y Pakistan. Ha trabajado para Vanity Fair, New York Times Magazine, National Geographic, Sports Illustrated, Time, Newsweek y Life. ¿Qué más queda? Además ha ganado 3 veces el premio de Cannes Lions.

Ha evolucionado de fotos de eventos y bodas durante el colegio a las finales de la NBA durante la universidad a tratar guerras y conflictos durante su trabajo en el New York Times hasta lo que hace actualmente, dentro de la vida cinematográfica y la publicidad.

Se ha destacado por su trabajo con tilt-shift (luego estaré escribiendo de que es, pero es básicamente trasformar una foto normal para que parezca miniatura), por sus fotografías aéreas y en los últimos años por su trabajo con video HD usando camaras DSLR (se le atribuye haber grabado el primer video 1080p con una DSLR, un film llamado Reverie

Pueden leer más de él en su página. Además les recomiendo su blog, visitado más de 3 millones de veces al año,

En un proximo evento estare hablando mas de Vincent Laforet y su trabajo.

"Taking it to the next level!"

2010-07-23T16:38:00.001-04:00

Para no perder la fiebre del mundial... aquí les dejo un video de Nike titulado "Taking It To The Next Level"

A nivel gráfico, esta excelente... y el mensaje detrás, también.

Fotografía de Camille Seaman

2010-07-22T16:48:00.001-04:00

Hola, les quiero presentar a Camille Seaman. Vi un post en otro blog sobre ella y la verdad que me impresiono su fotografía. Estoy seguro que a uds. también les encantaran.

Su website es: http://www.camilleseaman .com y su blog personal http://camilleseaman.blogspot.com/ - aunque ha estado desactualizado ultimamente, probablemente porque esta tomando fotos por allá.

Ella nació a finales de los 60s, de padre nativo-americano y madre africo-americana, estudio fotografía y se ha dedicado a la fotografía de glaciares o como ella dice "ambientes frágiles de las zonas polares."

Ha aparecido lógicamente en revistas como National Geographic y participado en exhibiciones de la Academia Nacional de Ciencias en Washington, DC.

Les recomiendo la ultima serie titulada 'The Last Iceberg'. En general, sus fotos transmiten mucha tristeza pero a la vez tranquilidad. Esto se transmite tanto por nosotros saber la condición de los glaciares pero también por los colores del cielo, la tonalidad del océano, etc.

Aquí les dejo con un video de su ultimo trabajo:

Dark Ice from Camille Seaman on Vimeo.

Fotografia de Chase Jarvis

2010-07-21T10:50:00.001-04:00

Ultimamente he estado viendo muchas fotos de Chase Jarvis, www.chasejarvis.com. Es fotógrafo y hace muchas campañas publicitarias aunque lo que mas me gusta es su blog; pone mucha información relevante y muchos videos explicando lo que hace, que equipo usa, etc.

El ultimo video que vi es sobre el "workflow" de un fotógrafo, básicamente la parte de hacer backups y como manejar la información. Espero que le sirva de algo.

www.JorgeRoques.com

2010-07-06T18:44:00.002-04:00

I'm here launching a very basic version of my personal website, www.JorgeRoques.com

I will continue my blog under a new address: blog.jorgeroques.com (and try to link it to twitter and other social networks)

The main focus of www.JorgeRoques.com is photography and specially, my interest in it - with the end results of course. That's photos!

Until the next one!

Oh! I will soon switch back to spanish but hopefully photos translate well into any language. In any case, send me a message to Jorge@JorgeRoques.com and I can help you with translations.

2009-05-21T17:12:00.001-04:00

is going to keep you updated... Whether you like it or not. I am on the bus waiting to get to Comcast Center.

2009-05-18T11:45:00.001-04:00

just finished what turned out to be a 2 hour presentation. Too many questions, but not that bad. Almost done.

2009-05-17T01:07:00.001-04:00

Oh, this was sent from my mobile phone.

2009-05-17T01:04:00.001-04:00

I will try to "twitter" to my Blog now. If someone knows about how to link facebook, twitter and this together, let me know!

As random as it gets...

2009-02-03T21:40:00.006-05:00

Here I am, having sooo much work to do but wanting to write here (this is by far the most hectic semester and my last as well - maybe more on that later).

No script no prior thought of what I wanted to write about but that's what a blog should be (in most cases).

So school? well, last semester - taking 4 courses and a final project (normally it's 3 courses) so it's quite a bit more than the previous ones. One of those courses is Portuguese, which I'm liking a lot. It all started around August '08, when I thought to myself that a bilingual person doesn't cut it anymore. French? nah! Italian? well, maybe. Portuguese? definitely. Any other I think I can learn easily? no.

The light at the end of the tunnel is a scary feeling - who knows if it's the train that's coming? there's something about not knowing what's next that is interesting, the uncertainty drives you to live life at it's fullest. I don't know when I am going to eat Maryland's crab cake sandwiches again, or when I am going to snowboard again - so in that way, I'm trying to enjoy my time here (which a scary widget keeps reminding me that is 100 days! at least until graduation).

What's next? who knows? I certainly don't. For the last 2 years I've always held something back because I knew it wouldn't last, silly as that sounds. I kept waiting to put a cool poster in one of my walls (I might move to another place); or to buy another nice coat I saw (I might move to the Caribbean); or change my cellphone or buy glasses or _____ (fill in the blank). I kept my luggage outside, unconsciously reminding me that I had to go at some point.

What would I had done differently? lots of things, would it had been better? maybe - I can't and won't complain about my life.

Since there was no original purpose to this post, I can't say it got sidetracked but now that I go through it, it went pretty deep.

Here are some recent pictures:

And like the Phoenix!

2008-10-11T17:44:00.014-04:00

I know, I know! I've kept you in the dark for so long even I can't remember. My most sincere apologies - I hasn't been my intention as I think that I'm the one that gets the most out of this blog.

Like a Dorothea Lange once said: "Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still." The same happens with words.

Since I last posted my life has only gone forward! I am in my second year at the University of Maryland, College Park, in the Master of Science in Telecommunications - like you already know. More about that later.

During the summer I was able to work myself into a summer internship - and I mean that literally. I was participating in a new blog about technology called Internet Evolution. From November (when I joined as a simple reader and occasional contributor) until May, when I got an offer from them to join them for the summer, I read it and participated in it because of my interest in keeping myself updated with the most recent news about technology and the internet. I joined their small but dedicated team to help drive the "blog" forward. It was a great experience, not only because we did some progress but because I had to relocate to New York - which it alone is enough to guarantee a great summer.

Those three months passed quicker than you'd think, but it wasn't until I visited San Francisco and San Jose (Silicon Valley: heard and soul of the technology World) Montreal, Quebec, Toronto and Niagara that I could say my summer was finally over.

Now I'm at school taking very, very interesting courses in Advanced Wireless Communications, Satellite Communications, Economics of International Telecommunications and Portuguese. That last one, as you can assume, was not included in my program but I felt motivated enough to try to take that challenge.

At a personal level, I've continued my love for photography and bought a new D-SLR camera (Canon Rebel XTi) along with some lenses. I feel I am improving with every picture I take and will only increase as I move forward. I am preparing a "Personal Favorites" collection so be sure to check back to see if I posted them.

One more thing I've been doing is playing tennis. It's a sport I love (although I have only been playing for a couple of years) and it gives me a nice break from school once in a while - in order to put my ideas in order or simply enjoy a couple of hours with friends.

To make this post a little more "reader-friendly" let me end with one recent picture I took of the John F. Kennedy Center of Performing Arts in Washington, DC. and another of some pumpkins at the Catoctin Mountain Orchard in Thurmont, Maryland.

Christmas Break

2007-12-20T22:00:00.000-05:00

The semester is finally over and now I'm on Christmas break - which amazingly enough lasts 6 weeks! My plans have changed a bit the idea is to spend Xmas in North Carolina, the go up to New York for New Years, then come back to Maryland for a few days and then go home - Dominican Republic - for a week or so.

A few weeks ago - on December 5th - we had our first day of snow here in Maryland. It also happened to be my first snow and to sum it all up: it was great! Throughout the day we got around 3-7 inches of snow which lasted for about 4 days. It's all gone now, and it hasn't snowed again - and apparently not going to snow for the rest of the year.

Regarding my classes, I'm still waiting for one grade but I'm pretty sure what I'll get - so I did pretty good! so much for the "American education myth"... but I definitely learned a lot!

Regarding my holiday trip, being a "good" Dominican I left everything to the last minute and now most of them are booked. I still have some "outs" but not my preferred one.

Here are some pictures I took of the snow:

Something off-topic

2007-12-08T01:46:00.000-05:00

Here is a very interesting link on the whole going green thing. We keep seeing videos and documentaries about how we need to change, and some basic steps to get started... we see it, open our eyes, even cry. But are we actually doing those things? are we changing our ways of life?

Until we do, we should at least keep watching the videos!
http://www.storyofstuff.com/index.html

Thanksgiving Break

2007-11-28T19:22:00.000-05:00

As you may already know Thanksgiving was held last Thursday; it's probably the most celebrated family day for Americans - it is neck and neck with Christmas. They normally give only Thursday and Friday off, but Wednesdays I have classes in the afternoon - and school is closed by that time so I had an extra day ... oh wait, no, I had more than an extra day!

Normally I don't have classes on Mondays or Fridays, so "legally" I had Thanksgiving Thursday to Monday after thanksgiving off (that's 5 days), add the Wednesday: 6. Then on Tuesdays the professor was doing a special lecture (that I had already taken, and he excused me from class), then it's 7 (but wait, I don't have Mondays) so you can add another - and what comes before Mondays? weekend! So I had free from Friday 16th until Monday 26th ... that's an incredible 11 days off! - yeah, whine all you want!

My plans were to go to NYC to visit my cousin Babeto (my brother!). Francisco (cousin from N.C. - the one I visited for the camping trip, etc), his girlfriend (Cintia) and Alberto (Dominican friend) were also going to drive there from NC. I just had to decide when I wanted to go (too much time in NYC = too much $!). I decided to spend the weekend home and leave on Monday or Tuesday (avoid the traffic). I ended up going on Tuesday, on a bus - that normally takes around 4:30 hours, which is not that bad (and it's even better if I tell you it costs $35... and even better if I tell you that's round-trip!).

So I went to NYC for 6 days, and to sum it up: awesome! We didn't have a "traditional" turkey dinner, but we had an incredible time together - which is what counts. I drank each and everyday except on Monday, when I came back! impressive? well, not that much, but it was good!

Now that I think of it there wasn't an event that highlighted the trip - just hanging out, laughing and making jokes! but that's what makes it so much fun! I went to plays, clubs, bars, private violin concerts (impressive!), photo shooting. Thanksgiving is more than just "having dinner"; in my case I didn't even have THE dinner but I understand the meaning of it - and I thank God for being where I am! - I guess I can't top that, got a little deep, but here are some pictures of the trip...

Me, Cintia, Francisco, Babeto and Alberto

On my photo shooting trip to Brooklyn Bridge
If you want some picture of the bridge w/o me, let me know!
I just don't want anyone copying them and using them as wallpaper

With Alexandra, incredible violinist!

Not even God!

2007-11-19T21:55:00.001-05:00

Not even God could create the World alone, he needed Adam's Rib!... no, this isn't a religious post or anything like that. The problem is that I'm falling behind in my posts and things accumulate and I become even lazier to re-start!

So I'll write a quick update of what's been going on.

First, school is great! I have 3 subjects and I had a 94 average in the first midterm. I've been learning a lot too, most of the classes are really practical - from going drive testing (if anyone here knows what that is) to knowing the steps a company has to take to deploy a network (from buying land to asking neighbors for permission!)

I have finals in the second week of December, 3 exams (tuesday, wednesday and thursday). Hopefully everything will keep going as it is. I've been having *more than enough* time to go out, study, go to the gym and to play halo 3, of course! hehehe

This weekend I played dominoes at a new dominican friend's place; drank some rum and trash talked the other team - felt like home!

Thanks to my very well planned schedule (tuesdays, wednesdays and thursdays), I've been able to travel a few times (I spend 1 weekend in DC,MD and 1 weekend somewhere else) - first to N.C., now to NYC. Those trips have been great!

Right now I should be packing as I'm going to NYC for thanksgiving (I'll try to post how it went)

The weather is *starting* to pick up! normal day temperatures don't go higher than 10C anymore! a normal jacket or sweater is not enough anymore. I have all my gear ready but going out at 1pm with the sun out and still be freezing isn't normal for any Dominican!

About food, this weekend we had chicken, rice and "platanos maduros" - again, felt like home! We've started to pick up on cooking, not only sandwiches anymore!

And something well ahead of time but not less exiting is that I got invited for a 5-day seminar in Silicon Valley next summer! We'll be going to all the high-tech companies in the area (Google, Yahoo, Cisco, etc). It's in 6 months but it looks really promising!

I don't know what else to write - feel free to ask what you want to know about! I'll be happy to answer.

From now on I'll try to post more frequently - Hmmm, I've seen that before! LOL

Hey, You Suck!

2007-09-17T22:40:00.000-04:00

Sorry if you might feel insulted but keep reading, you’ll understand. I using some spare time while I’m on a train to write my first experiences with American football – (you’ll have details of this trip in another post).

As you may know American football is the national sport and it’s more than a sport, I’d say it’s a culture. College football has become nearly as important and televised as the NFL – and on September 1^st, the season started with a home game against Villanova. The game is played in Byrd Stadium which holds about 50,000 seated people. The game started with fireworks, the band playing and people yelling – all dressed in red, of course.

After certain plays and in certain situations all the people start chanting and singing different songs. One in particular, and were the post title comes from, is yelled after our team scores a touchdown – regardless of how the score is. It comes from the song Rock And Roll Part II and people start screaming and pointing to the opposing team: “HEY! YOU SUCK!” repeatedly and after a few repetitions the scream “We are going to beat the shit out of you (pointing to some player), and you (pointing to another player) and you”. When I saw and heard it I felt great – yeah, no pity or shame.

Here is a video:

We ended up winning the game and have a season record of 2-1; hopefully the Terps will have a great season and carry that enthusiasm into basketball – the main sport in campus. Go Terps!

Maryland after the storm

2007-09-10T02:08:00.000-04:00

Well, after that not-so-good experience things can only go North - and they certainly have.

Let me start off talking about my apartment; it's a 2BR-2BA apartment that I share with Carlos and I'm staying in the master bedroom, that has a walk-in closet and a bathroom. It was unfurnished but by now it has a dining table (with 4 chairs), futon, tv-stand (tv should arrive soon), coffee table and each bed has a Full-Bed, a desk and a chair. That's more than enough for now - although we need to give it a "home feeling" (any suggestions will be appreciated). The kitchen has an oven, refrigerator and a dishwasher - besides sink and all that stuff. The building itself is really good, it has a 24-hr fitness center, pool (pretty big!), tennis court and each floor has a laundry room. It has 2 15-stories buildings, and each floor has at least 12 apartments - so, yeah, it's a huge community but it's very nice.

Living room (it's better now) Dining Room (it has the table now)

The kitchen (it's the same!) My room (it's the same)

Our apartment is about 12-15 minutes away from campus - which is not that bad, but it's not walking-distance either. The next day after I got here I went to campus to see how nice it was - everyone kept saying that.

It's definitely something completely different from anything I've seen in the Dominican Republic. I did a rough estimate of the campus' area it was 2,410,606 square meters (INTEC has approx 40,000!, the National Botanical Garden of Santo Domingo is 2,000,000 square meters!!). All the buildings have the same architectural inspiration (don't know if it's classical, etc - but they look very movie-like)

The university itself has around 40,000 students, and the fact that it's in a "small" city, the campus has just about anything a student might need. Here are some of the things:

Food: Chick-fil-A, Freshens (smoothies, ice-cream, etc), Marketplace Deli (sandwiches, etc), McDonalds (seems as they are everywhere), Panda Express (Asian cuisine), Sbarro (pizza), Steak Escape, Taco Bell, Subway, Adele's (a fine-dine restaurant, still have not gone there), Coffee Bar (Starbucks coffee, of course), Supermarket, Food Co-Op (organic food).

Entertainment: Hoff Theater (movie theater with a seating capacity of 550 - Dolby Digital Surround and all the works!) free for students of course, they have movies for advanced screening (Shoot 'Em Up on Sept 6th, The Kingdom on the 25th, etc). We also have TerpZone, which has 8 Brunswick bowling lanes, 10 Gold Crown billiards tables, video arcade games and a lounge with 3 projection screen TV's. There is a bar (yeah, on campus) that twice a month, on Fridays have Grad Pub, $1 beer and $3 cocktails with free food. And every Friday they have Phat Fridays - concerts, etc.

Art: The Clarice Smith Center has events going from Symphony Orchestras (from UMD or invited), Jazz quartets, Broadway shows, Ballet, etc. Most of them have a flat fee of USD$7 (instead of the regular 40-50 ticket price). Also, the Art & Learning Center has classes from ballroom dancing, belly dance, tai chi, yoga, painting, photography and, of course, merengue and salsa! - I'll see if I can get a part time teaching there lol.

Sports: Maryland has 1 team and 27 sports from basketball and football to Golf, wrestling and "Competitive Cheer" (whatever that is). Basketball is the most followed sport (The Maryland Terrapins were National Champions in 2002) followed by football. Byrd Stadium (where they play football) holds around 55,000 people (in seats), and the new ComCast Center (where they play basketball) holds almost 18,000 (it has an average attendance of 17,500 - ranked 5th in the United States). It has an 18-hole golf course, 27 tennis courts (indoor - outdoor, red clay - Har-Tru - Decoturf II). For normal students there are plenty of things you can do, from intramurals to normal fitness at the Eppley Recreation Center. This center has from olympic swimming pools (2 indoor and 1 outdoor), basketball courts, volleyball courts, table-tennis, squash, racquetball, aerobics room, cardiovascular equipment, running track, weight and fitness room, outdoor wall for rock climbing and a few other marine-style walls and ropes. I'm yet to go there to train, but I'll send pictures)

Here are a few pictures of how the campus looks:

Martin Institute of Tech. & University Mall

Maryland's M & Memorial Chapel

First Night in Maryland

2007-09-10T01:38:00.001-04:00

Well, it has been a few week since my last post (I know I had promised to write more often but this is as good as it gets!)

So, after Miami I finally went to Maryland. The first day was simply terrible - seriously. My plane was supposed to take off at 2:35pm from MIA and arrive at 5pm. I arrived about one and a half hours early (don't know why as it was a domestic flight); and as time passed they kept delaying the flight; the first time was 10 minutes, then 25, then an hour - it ended leaving at 4 or so. We got to Reagan Airport around 6:30 - 7:00 pm. I had decided to take the Super Shuttle (it's somewhat of a "public taxi", you're in a mini-bus with around 4 or 5 people and they drive us to our destination for far less than a taxi ($26 compared to $50+). This seemed as a great idea - in theory - but as it turned out, it wasn't. The super shuttle is general for D.C., Virginia and Maryland - so we first drove around DC to drop someone off then to Virginia and after an hour of driving we were finally going to Maryland. The driver drove for an eternity through all the residential neighborhoods - A.K.A. low speed limit.

When we were almost there his GPS went offline and he didn't know how to get there - but was to stubborn to ask someone; so I - based on my memories of Google Earth, etc - told him the directions. To make the story short (or shorter) I arrived at the University of Maryland campus at 9:00pm (during summer) so you can imagine there was not a soul in campus - and Carlos had already left (we had talked about meeting in campus and the going to the apartment), so had the taxi. I was in the middle of campus, without knowing anyone or having a cellphone. I walked up to a building which - to my luck - was open and turned my laptop on and found the university's wireless network. I searched for my apartments address - which I didn't know. After around 20 minutes I saw a guy walking and asked for help (he called a taxi). By the time I got to my apartment it was already 10pm - I was starving, tired and pissed off.

After a chat with Carlos, we decided to go buy some food - we didn't have anything, not even water. We went to the closest supermarket and came back - ate something and then went to bed. As you may already know, our apartment was unfurnished; so that night I slept on the floor (at least it's carpeted) without a pillow, blanket or quilt. As it turned out the thermostat for that night was set to 60 degrees Fahrenheit, which is 15 degrees Celsius. By midnight I had crawled into my closet where it was warmer but basically it was NOT the best start.

At least things can only go North from that point! Stay tuned for more stories from Maryland!

Miami

2007-08-24T22:15:00.001-04:00

I'm having a break from all the activities in Maryland and want to bring you up to date. As I had mentioned in my NYC post, I traveled Monday, August 13 to Miami for a 5 day Fulbright Seminar that some of the Scholars - from all over the World - had the chance to go to.

We were staying in a Holiday Inn in Biscayne Bay - which has Bayside right in front and South beach a few minutes away on taxi - for Miami that is as close as you can get. So first of all I arrive at the hotel and my roommate was Mauricio, a Costa Rican Fulbright going to South Carolina for a MSc in Computer Science (We are really good friends now).

The seminars started around 9 and lasted until 3 - 4. After that we could do as we pleased; the first night we went on a Boat Trip around Miami and had dinner at an Argentinian Restaurant (The Knife, really good meat in Bayside Mall). The next day I went with a few friends [3 Russians, 1 Czech and a Canadian - all girls btw ;-)] to South Beach and after a few hours at the beach, we went drinking and eating in Ocean Dr.

I must mention that those two nights we went to a bar in Bayside (next to HRC) which only plays Merengue, Salsa, Regueatton and Bachata (So everyone instantly looked for the only Dominican in the Gateway for lessons and for fun); I must say that I didn't come off short to expectations (although I know many of you must thought I did). I'm certain that has been the most I've danced (merengue, salsa, bachata and regueatton) in at least 2 years - and it was great. People from all over the World dancing to Caribbean rhythms felt good (Korea, Czech Republic, Japan, Germany, Malaysia, Latvia, etc). Although I must say that dancing with the Latin girls was the best - I didn't know Mexicans danced so well ;-)

The next and final day, after the seminar, we went for dinner at a Spanish Restaurant in South Beach called Macarena which was really nice - and of course, afterwards went walking through Lincoln Road and Ocean Dr. We ended up going to a Latin music bar - once again.

In general, the Seminar was incredible - from the topics to being able to meet 80 people from over 40 countries, and basically having a great time in a great city.

Here are some pictures from the whole experience:

(1) w/Asians and Chile - visiting Bayside
(2) w/ Germany - getting in the boat
(3) w/ Lebanon - in boat

(1) w/ Argentina and Mexico - Boat Ride
(2) w/ USA, El Salvador, Ecuador - Eating
(3) Czech Republic, El Salvador, Lebanon, Ecuador - Dancing Merengue

(1) w/ Lebanon and El Salvador - Jazz Session
(2) w/ Russians - South Beach
(3) Japan drinking Presidente - Eating at Macarena

(1) Group - Eating at Macarena
(2) w/ Mexico - Dancing Merengue

Those are some of the pictures (Some others are in my facebook - if you have me as your friend; others in my PC). Wait a few more - hours, days, weeks, months? - for my next post on my arrival to Maryland and what has happened since.

Update

2007-08-19T00:44:00.000-04:00

I finally got to my final destination, which is College Park, Maryland, of course. After NYC I went to Miami and spent 5 incredible days - which seems as if they passed too quickly. I got to Maryland on Friday 17th and am currently leaving in my unfurnished apartment.

It's too late to write a full blog, but I promise tomorrow I'll post as many things as possible.

NYC

2007-08-08T17:20:00.000-04:00

I hadn't written because as I had mentioned before I finally left for NYC. I left Saturday at 5:00 (delayed from 3:15) and ended up arriving at my cousin's apartment around 10:20.

It is my first time in NYC, so you can imagine how I'm feeling right now... it has been nothing short of amazing.

Here is the view of the NYC Skyline from the apartment:

I've visited the Guggenheim Museum, Museum of Natural History and was planning on visiting the Met today but as I went to the metro to take the 6 Train, it was all closed! the New York City Metro was closed!... I went back to the apartment to see what had happened and apparently it was flooded from all the rain. Besides the cultural side of NYC, I'll tell you that I've had at least one drink everyday I've been here and the earliest I've gone to bed was last night, around 3:00.

I'm leaving Monday to Miami for a week; I'll try to write more, but I'm having to much fun right now!

Jardin Botanico Nacional

2007-08-02T19:26:00.000-04:00

On Wednesday I decided to go to El Jardin Botanico Nacional, I called my roommate Carlos and went that same day in the afternoon. Here are some pictures to those of you who haven't been there or simply don't remember.

The national botanical garden is named after Rafael Ma. Moscoso, who on 1943 wrote the first book about flora in the island; he dedicated his life to the study of flora in the entire region.

The National Botanical Garden lies on 2 million square meters of terrain, and is around 70-80 meters above sea level. One of the most interesting areas of the park is, awkwardly, the Japanese Garden. I recommend anyone to visit it, as it was the most beautiful area of the entire park.

General entrance to the park is a ridiculous RD$20 bucks - just the entrance view is worth a lot more than that. We decided to take a train (see picture) that would take us on a ~35 minute tour around the park - for an additional RD$20. I would say the main purpose of the train is to get the people to the Japanese Garden (it makes a 15 minutes stop there - although we decided to stay longer and walk to the exit). For most part of the ride, the train is to fast to even take pictures (although a guide is explaining what is it that we are supposed to be seeing)

In general the Botanical Garden is very cheap to get in, has enough parking spaces, very well kept, clean and is great for pictures. Just be ready to walk a little bit if you want really nice pictures.

Travel Update

2007-08-01T21:00:00.000-04:00

As some of you might know I was supposed to be on my way to NYC by now. That, obviously, is not going to happen; my exchange visitor visa (J-1) wasn't ready by the time I needed it. Actually, it still isn't ready.

I decided to move my flight to Saturday, hoping that the visa is going to be ready but that is just an If! if not, I will have to move my flight yet again - raising my ticket price once again (It's around 400 dollars by now, and that is a one way ticket btw)

This is just a small post to keep you posted on my life - and the reason why I'm still in D.R.

Internal Tourism: Part 2

2007-07-30T19:03:00.000-04:00

As I mentioned in my previous Internal Tourism post, my battery went dead just as I was about to take a picture of Plaza de España. So Friday, I got home from Jarabacoa and went to my usual Friday's at El Conde with my friends from work, and just as the other post, I had my tourist gear on (this time with my extra battery in my pockets) and went directly to Plaza deEspaña, which to my surprise was covered with tents (¿carpas?) of some Brugal event that was happening later that day.

This immediately frustrated me, as I wouldn't be able to take as many pictures as I would had hoped - or even have a single picture of the Plaza de España that was worth it. Here are some pictures of El Alcazar de Colon. Built in 1517 by Diego Colon, Cristobal Colon's son.

Alcazar de Colon

After taking a few pictures of El Alcazar de Colon I decided to walk and see what I could find. Here are some other pictures:

Plaza de España & Atarazana Street

Unknown place & Casa de Armas

Fray Antonio de Montesino

This was going to be the last visit to La Zona Colonial before I left, but I'm not sure I will be able to go on August 1st, maybe the 4th. So Friday, August 3, I can try to visit some other nice places on La Zona Colonial.

Week Getaway: Details

2007-07-29T02:10:00.000-04:00

As I had mentioned in my previous post, I went to Jarabacoa for a few days (from Wednesday to Friday). Spent some time with my family & animals (5 dogs, 4 cats, 6 horses, 1 bird), went horseback riding, went to the river. Here are some pictures of some of my animals:

Kahlua (left) & Lucas (right)

Here are some other pictures of how Jarabacoa looks like:

Bravo on the steps towards the river (left) & the river (right)

my house (left), view from my house (center) & view from the road (right)

I had a great time as I had the chance to visit el Salto de Jimenoa, which apparently is not the one I had gone to before. I don't know if it was kept a secret but there is another fall besides the one everyone has seen (you be the judge on which is better). Here are some pictures to give you an idea of how beautiful this place is:

Salto de Jimenoa (1)

Salto de Jimenoa (2)

Salto de Jimenoa (3)

Jarabacoa is a beautiful place that I will definitely miss, not just for the natural beauty but for all the family memories I take with me. If you ever have a chance to go, don't hesitate, it's great.

Week Getaway

2007-07-25T00:29:00.000-04:00

I'm leaving tomorrow to Jarabacoa, where my family has a house. I love the serenity and peacefulness I find over there. Laying in the grass with my dogs watching the sky or the nearby mountains is simply priceless (I love dogs - specially my German Sheppard's).

I'm going with my roommate, Carlos, and my family from Wednesday to Friday (maybe Thursday - it all depends on the activities I might have to miss by coming on Friday hehehe) .

I'm certain there are going to be plenty of pictures where I can show you the dogs, the house, the river, etc. So, to those of you who are reading this from work or school: "muahahahaha!!" lol

Mientras tanto, aqui hay una foto de la reyna de la casa: Kahlua.

Cooking 101

2007-07-22T23:52:00.000-04:00

One of the hardest things to adapt to - or better said, that I'll need to adapt to - is going to be cooking. It's something everyone at one point or another will need to face.

Before this I hadn't tried anything remotely close to cooking - sandwich and that stuff, but nothing more. For the past month I've been practicing and hopefully it will be enough! The problem I have with cooking is that I'm not an artistic person, more of a science kind of guy. So to add "un chin" of salt, and some oil or a few tomatoes doesn't cut it for me. I need exact measures and that sometimes ends up ruining it.

One of the menus I've prepared was: Fish Filet A La Termidor, white rice and Caesars salad, which by the way, was excellent. Here is a picture FYEO!

If any of you have any suggestions or recipes that you think might help, please send them in!

SDQ - NYC - MIA - MD

2007-07-21T20:25:00.000-04:00

It's almost a week away! - 10 days to be exact. My flight departs from Santo Domingo on August 1st.

My first stop will be NYC, and to say it'll be great is to under-size it. A whole bunch of cousins are going to meet there and have a blast; also it's going to be my first time in the Empire State - which by itself would had been awesome, add 10 cousins: insane! I will be there until the 13th.

On the 13th I go to Miami - South Beach, baby, South Beach. There will be a meeting of Fulbright Grantees for the 2007-2008 period. I will be able to get to know people from all over the World, who share with me the honor of being Fulbright's. I saw the schedule for those days, and there is a boat ride on Biscayne Bay - I'll definitely publish some pictures of that. On the 17th I leave Miami and head out to Maryland.

Once in Maryland I will team up with Carlos (My roommate). We have a ton of stuff we have to do. From buying beds, desks, chairs, etc. to getting the phone lines up (also energy, internet, etc). There are a few meetings for incoming international students as for general incoming students, hopefully we get to know a whole bunch of people.

Once I get established in Maryland I plan to go to as many places in the USA as I can (and as $ allows). The places I want to go the most are Las Vegas, San Francisco, North Carolina (family and friends), Virginia (friends) and Canada.

So 10 days, huh? yikes!

Internal Tourism: Part 1

2007-07-14T19:02:00.000-04:00

Ever since my camera got here, I’ve wanted to go to La Zona Colonial. There are buildings and history that since I left 6^th grade I have forgotten and now that I’m leaving to Maryland, I’ve been wanting to see… those things that seems as only tourist get to see now (with how fast life has become in DR)

Well, Friday, after a nice lunch with ex-coworkers at El Conde Street - just like we always do: Pizza Hut/Conde on Fridays- I decided to do some internal tourism. With my tourist gear which included shorts, t-shirt, cap, iPod and camera, I parked in Isabel La Catolica Street (Near HRC) and started walking.

The first thing I saw, and one of the things I had gone there for was La Catedral Primada de America in El Parque Colon, the first cathedral built in the Americas in the early 1500’s, One of the things that most impressed me, besides the architecture of the Cathedral, was the great amount of tourists that came inside, and how amazed they were.

Once I looked at everything i could see inside and out of the Cathedral, I decided to keep walking before it starts to rain (it was partially cloudy) and before my camera went dead (which eventually did). I went through the hall where Segafredo and Patio de la Moneda is, which actually is El Conde and eventually got to Las Damas street, which is considered as the oldest street of the Americas.

As I walked through this obvious important street, the tourists kept walking by me by groups of ten or more. A few steps north and I ended up at El Panteon Nacional, where the remains of some of the most overachieving Dominicans rest. As you walk in, you can feel the mystic and importance of the pantheon.

At that point, and after a few hundred pictures my battery went dead. I have an extra, but I left it home. I was walking towards the Plaza España, home to the Alcazar de Colon and some other historical places. But I will definitely be back and try to see as much as I can before I go.

I recommend anyone who has some spare time to go visit La Zona Colonial. It is pretty clean and the buildings are well kept, and even pay a few bucks for the local tour - you'll probably hear things you didn't know.

Getting things done...

2007-07-09T13:43:00.000-04:00

In the end, it's all that matters!...

Housing update

2007-07-06T18:45:00.000-04:00

Hoy nos confirmaron donde voy a vivir, por lo menos por el primer semestre en Maryland. Se llama Daniel's Run, y queda como a 2.5 millas del campus de la Universidad de Maryland: College Park (Si, un poco lejos - pero hay transporte de la misma universidad que nos deja justo enfrente) además de paradas de autobus público y algunos sitios de comida, etc.

Aquí les pongo un floorplan de nuestro apartamento, el "Eisenhower" como le dicen allá.

Ahora solo nos falta pasar por Ikea a "llenarlo" de muebles. Me imagino que por ahora sera cama - escritorio - silla! Pero si alguien viene de visita, le conseguimos espacio, asi que no se queden por eso. Si alguien quiere mandarnos algo, pues me pide la direccion - que sean dolares, TV, sillas, etc.

P.D.: Los dias en español de este blog estan llegando a su final.

"Vision"

2007-07-04T12:25:00.000-04:00

Estos son dos videos que encuentro muy interesantes. Uno de ellos del 1967 fue filmado por la empresa Philco-Ford Corporation; se titula "1999 A.D." Es una visión del futuro de la compañía (ya inexistente) sobre como seria la vida en el 1999 - y bastante cerca que estuvieron!

El próximo video, es del Museo de Historia de los Medios (Museum of Media History) creado por Robin Sloan y Matt Thompson. Nos lleva a través de los años hasta el 2014 (hay una actualización que lo lleva al 2015 al final) sobre cómo se irá desarrollando Google, Microsoft y Amazon. Muy interesante, muy probable que no llegue a pasar así, pero nos abre la mente un poco sobre el poder de la información.

Y como mencione más arriba, la actualización para el 2015 (es igual - solo el final cambia)

A pesar de que este documental, por así decirle, fue pensado y creado en Enero 2004 - y probablemente algunos ya lo hayan visto - las ideas no son "locas" y mucho menos imposibles. Aunque solo nos queda esperar...

Hmmm... antes de seguir

2007-07-02T13:27:00.000-04:00

No quisiera que este blog se volviera entero sobre mi vida. Primero porque se quedaria vacio por varios dias a la vez, y ademas porque hay muchas cosas interesantes que veo y quiero compartirlas con uds.

Asi que desde este momento, tratare de postear articulos y cosas interesantes que veo por ahi (ademas de lo que vaya pasando en mi vida, claro).

Otra cosa que estare poniendo son algunas fotos que he tomado. Esto se debe al vicio que todavia estoy quemando con mi camara nueva (Canon SD800 IS) - tiene como 4 dias, asi que todavia quedan muchas horas de vicio. Aqui les dejo algunas muestas de mi campaña publicitaria a Penn jeje.

Programa Fulbright - 3era Parte

2007-06-26T01:56:00.000-04:00

Luego del proceso de aplicación, que recomiendo hacer lo más temprano posible ya que en caso que falte algún documento Ud. pueda tener el tiempo suficiente para gestionarlo, viene el proceso de selección. Este es un proceso bastante complejo, probablemente más complejo que cualquier beca. Esto se debe a que hay una primera selección por parte del Centro Franklin, luego un grupo selecto de aplicantes pasa a ser revisados por un grupo de 12 personas escogidas y asignadas personalmente por el Presidente de los Estados Unidos. Este grupo se llama el “J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board” y trabajan además con agencias colocadoras como son las IIE (Instituto of International Education) y la LASPAU (Academic and Professional Programs for the Americas) para escoger y ubicar a los candidatos de todos los países.

Este proceso tan complejo de cierta manera es transparente para los aplicantes. Para los candidatos, luego de la aplicación, el proceso consiste en esperar un aviso del Centro Franklin de que pasaron a la próxima etapa y les avisan de tomar una prueba sobre habilidades cognitivas; razonamientos cuantitativos y verbales; redacción y finalmente del idioma inglés. Una vez tomado este examen, que ocurre normalmente a mediados de Junio, esta la espera de su puntuación y la decisión de si paso a la próxima etapa que corresponde a una entrevista. Esta entrevista estará formada por alrededor de 5 personas (ex-becarios, encargados del programa en República Dominicana, invitados internacionales, entre otros) y, según mi experiencia, es el punto más importante del proceso pues será el único momento en que compartirá a nivel personal con encargados de la selección, y la impresión que se lleven de Ud. será determinante.

Una vez pasada la entrevista, el proceso pasa a EE.UU. y es bastante irregular. Ya los encargados del programa en República Dominicana no tienen parte dentro del proceso de selección (por lo que las llamadas constantes no son más que una molestia). Los avisos a los candidatos depende de los programas a que apliquen y de cosas como si van a necesitar refuerzo en el idioma o no. Pero en general, para finales de mayo deberían tener respuesta (tanto de si la obtuvieron o no). Luego de este aviso la presión baja y el resto del proceso es mucho más activo. Aunque ya en ese momento solo me quedaría felicitarlos y bienvenirlos a un grupo muy selecto de personas, a nivel mundial.

Espero que a través de esta seria de 3 publicaciones haya podido llegar a personas que nunca habían oído de la beca o no se sentían en confianza de aplicar. Y si aunque sea una sola persona se anima a aplicar el próximo año, estaré más que satisfecho. Cabe mencionar que cualquier cosa / pregunta / inquietud que tengan sobre el Programa Fulbright estaré más que dispuesto a ayudarlos.

Finalmente quiero dejarlos con una frase de J. William Fulbright:

“Educational exchange can turn nations into people, contributing as no other form of
communications can to the humanizing of international relations”

Programa Fulbright - 2da Parte

2007-06-26T01:50:00.000-04:00

Sobre el proceso de aplicación y selección, pues todo empieza desde el colegio diría yo. Uno debe tener claro el deseo de superarse continuamente y la necesidad muchas veces, lamentablemente, de tener que ir fuera del país a llenar ese vacío académico. Mantener un record impecable, actividades fuera de las aulas de clase y ambientes de trabajo son solo una de las cualidades que buscan dentro del programa, y quizás las más fáciles de medir. Pues, ¿cómo mediríamos las ganas de superarse, los dotes de líder, las habilidades de trabajar en equipo o para resumir todo, las ganas de Echar Pa’ lante como diría un buen dominicano?

Hablando mas especifico, la convocatoria de aplicación está abierta desde principios de febrero hasta mediados de mayo de cada año. Entre los requisitos más importantes están los de un índice académico mínimo de 3.0/4.0, dominicano y residente en República Dominicana; no haber obtenido un titulo de grado en EE.UU, ni haber permanecido por más de 6 meses en EE.UU. en los últimos 5 años; no tener estado de residencia permanente, ni nacionalidad en los EE.UU y finalmente esta el compromiso de regresar al país por dos años al concluir los estudios.

Entre la documentación requerida (toda en ingles) esta:

1. Formulario de solicitud: bastante largo y lleno de preguntas, tomar suficiente tiempo para llenarlo.

2. Curriculum Vitae: un C.V. normal y corriente, aunque puede ser más extenso de lo habitual.

3. Declaración de objetivos profesionales y académicos: no es más que un ensayo donde explique los motivos, objetivos y aspiraciones de esta oportunidad de estudio. Creo que para escribirlo debe estar convencido de lo que quiere hacer y hacerle llegar el mensaje de cuanto Ud. lo quiere.

4. Diplomas, records, cartas de recomendación, etc.

5. Fotocopias de toda la documentación.

Para más detalles sobre este proceso puede visitar la página oficial del programa en República Dominicana. En este caso, le corresponde a la sección académica del Centro Franklin de la Embajada Americana.

* Esta informacion no es oficial y no debe tomarse como definitiva a la hora de aplicar para el programa. Es simplemente informacion obtenida por mi experiencia como candidato y eventual ganador.

Programa Fulbright - 1era Parte

2007-06-26T00:03:00.000-04:00

Me he decidido a escribir un poco sobre este programa ya que creo que ofrece una oportunidad inigualable a nivel académico y cultural.

Esto surge de que últimamente, por razones obvias, muchas personas me han preguntado mucho sobre esta beca. Tanto sobre el origen y trayectoria como sobre el proceso de aplicación y selección. Me he dado cuenta que esta beca, aunque creo que es algo general, son muy poco conocidas. Así como varias personas me han pedido su ayuda con esta beca, igual número de personas me ha dicho que nunca la habían oído mencionar.

Ya entrando en materia pues el Programa Fulbright es uno de los programas de becas más grande y diversificado de intercambio educativo en el mundo (Existe actualmente en 150 países). Está patrocinado por Gobierno de Estados Unidos y fue iniciativa del senador estadounidense por el estado de Arkansas J. William Fulbright. Se puede separar en dos grupos básicos, el primero ofrece a profesionales estadounidenses la oportunidad de estudiar, enseñar y/o investigar en algún otro país; mientras que el segundo ofrece a profesionales de 150 países la oportunidad de realizas estudios superiores (principalmente) en alguna universidad dentro de Estados Unidos.

Fue creado el primero de agosto de 1946 mediante una ley emitida por el entonces presidente Harry Truman, y quedo en manos del Departamento de Estado. La fuente principal de financiamiento del programa es una asignación otorgada por el mismo Departamento de Estado. Además existe una aportación del Departamento de Educación para algunos programas en particular, también por los gobiernos de los 150 países participantes e instituciones privadas alrededor del mundo; juntos ayudan a la financiación del programa que otorga alrededor de 6,000 becas por año.

A nivel financiero, para el año 2006, de un presupuesto de 9,283 billones de dólares, 126.86 millones de dólares fueron asignados al programa, que equivale a aproximadamente 1 millón de dólares por país.

A nivel histórico, la mayoría de las becas desde 1949 provienen y se dirigen a Europa (aprox. 115,000 y 67,000 respectivamente) mientras que para América solamente 27,000 y 11,000. En República Dominicana, hasta el 2003, se habían entregado 467 becas para estudiar en EE.UU., ocupando el puesto #17 en toda Latinoamérica. En este año 2007, se entregaron en total 7 becas.

Housing & Transportation

2007-06-24T21:04:00.001-04:00

Actualmente estoy buscando apartamentos en College Park, Maryland - 2 habitaciones, 2 baños y lo mas cerca posible de la universidad - las dos habitaciones no son para uds. (aunque bajo condiciones especiales puedo ceder mi cama o un sofa para sus visitas) sino que voy con un roommate, Carlos J. Perez. Excelente amigo de la universidad, del postgrado y de Codetel y vamos a hacer la misma maestria en Maryland. Estamos tratando de decidirnos ASAP, asi que ya les dejare saber la direccion a donde tienen que mandar los regalos y dolares!

Al parecer College Park esta suficientemente alejada para que no se considere metro (es una tipica ciudad universitaria - donde en los meses de verano esta vacia) pero lo suficiente cerca de D.C. para que los precios de los apartamentos no sean baratos (tampoco caros al nivel de NYC, etc. pero caros para los estandares que estamos acostumbrados). Estamos pensando en aptos. alrededor de USD1,500 al mes, que no estan en frente de la universidad, pero bastante cerca.

Segun personas que he logrado conocer en Md. el transporte es bastante bueno (hay guaguas de la universidad exclusivas para la universidad que pasan por la mayoria de sitios, ademas de las guaguas publicas y una estacion del metro de D. C.)

Hemos estudiado la posibilidad de comprar un carro, pero mientras tanto esta en Hold (vamos a ver que tal nos va con las guaguas y los chelitos primero)

Maryland? - 3era Parte

2007-06-24T20:36:00.000-04:00

Una vez ganada la beca, pues como funciona es que me indican las universidades a las que fui aceptado de la lista que puse en mi aplicacion - en este caso fueron la Universida de Maryland: College Park y Northeastern University.

La oferta de NEU estaba tentadora en el aspecto social ya que vivir en el centro de Boston debe ser algo buenisimo (excluyendo el frio!) pero acedemicamente hay suficiente diferencia para que las visitas al Fenway a ver al Big Papi puedan esperar. Ademas UMCP siempre fue mi primera opcion. Aqui una descripcion gracias a Carlos:

"El Master’s Program in Telecommunications es un programa multi-disciplinario tan dinámico y diverso como lo es la industria de las telecomunicaciones. Es lidereado por la escuela de Ingeniería en conjunto con las escuelas de “Computer, Mathematical and Physicial Sciences”, “Public Affairs” y “School of Business”, todos sobresalientes dentro de los rankings de la revista US News."

Luego de haberme decido pues comenzo todo el proceso de transicion - por el cual estoy pasando ahora mismo. Todos estos post fueron para traerlos al dia (up to date) con mi vida... por lo menos a nivel academico - pero basicamente ha sido la que ha predominado en mis ultimos años.

Maryland? - 2da Parte

2007-06-24T20:15:00.000-04:00

Entonces, sali de la universidad y mis planes eran aplicar a la Fulbright y ver que tan lejos podia llegar pues es una de las becas mas competitivas a nivel mundial. Comence a preparar todo pero un amigo (ex-fulbrighter) me recomienda esperar un año o dos y mejorar mi curriculum vitae (consejo que definitivamente valio la pena). Nuevamente decidi llevarme de los consejos y espere un año mas... PERO QUE AÑO! Trabaje, hice un postgrado, hice una investigacion y finalmente di clases en la universidad.

Una vez que vi el "como", empeze a trabajar... buscar documentos, buscar cartas de recomendacion, certificados, traducciones, ensayos, examenes, entrevistas... siempre fue mi unica opcion (quizas por error, pero por suerte todo salio bien!)

La fulbright tiene un proceso bastante complejo y largo comenzando por la aplicacion (normalmente hasta mayo), informacion del proximo paso a principios de junio, luego un examen (PAEP) a finales de Junio, anuncio de si pasaste a la proxima etapa a finales de Julio, entrevistas a inicios de septiembre, espera, espera, espera (sin ningun tipo de comunicacion) y en mi caso esa espera termino el 8 de mayo (del proximo año!) cuando recibi un correo de que me la habia ganado (definitivamente una de las noticias mas alegres de mi vida)

Maryland? - 1era Parte

2007-06-24T20:05:00.000-04:00

Todo comenzo igual que con la mayoria, un deseo de crecer (academica o profesionalmente) fuera del pais. Esto ya hace como 6 años, al salir del bachillerato.

Siempre fue mi sueño conocer nuevas culturas, probar mi independencia y llegar cada vez un poco mas lejos.

Pues al salir del bachillerato vi poco probable irme a estudiar fuera, ya que ni era factible a nivel economico ni era muy recomendable (segun opiniones en el momento). Pues hice mis estudios de grado (siempre con la mira de algun dia - y espero que esto no suene a desesperacion, sino a ganas de crecer - tener la oportunidad de estudiar en algun sitio donde por lo menos sienta que no voy a tener limites.

Finalizados mis estudios de grado, por el año 2005, volvieron los intentos de estudiar fuera. El pais lo habia decidido, Estados Unidos, y el area tambien, Telecomunicaciones, solo faltaba el ¿como?. Por medio de opiniones, investigacion y pasadas experiencias vi que mi opcion mas factible era la de una beca. Sobre todas las becas que vi, que ofrecian estudiar en EE.UU., solo la Fulbright me permitia estudiar lo que quiera y donde quiera.

Un poco sobre mi...

2007-06-24T19:36:00.001-04:00

Me llamo Jorge Roques, tengo 23 años y soy dominicano.

Acedemicamente podria decir que estudie Ing. Electronica y de Comunicaciones en INTEC, luego un postgrado en Telecomunicaciones de Datos, tambien en INTEC y (finalmente?) en agosto empiezo una maestria en Telecomunicaciones en la Universidad de Maryland: College Park (mas sobre eso en otros posts)

Personalmente diria que soy introvertido (aunque un poco menos que antes por lo menos - como si fuera tan malo, eh?). Tengo un soft-spot para los animales (se daran cuenta de eso luego). Me agrada el silencio (como dicen por ahi, es mas elocuente que la palabra) y soy un hombre de pocas palabras (cualidad rara para un blogger, pero a ver que pasa!)

Y sobre lo que espero del blog, no es mas que una forma de plasmar todo lo que pasa por mis sentidos y ataca mi curiosidad e imaginacion. Desde fotos hasta acertijos hasta conversaciones... ya vere como resuelvo eso.

Finalmente, todas estas palabras (y las que vienen) son puramente un yada dentro de mi vida (hence the name - and also as a special salute to the seinfeld community)

Saludos,

Jorge Roques / JR

¡Eureka!

2007-06-24T18:22:00.000-04:00

Pues como bien dijo Arquimedes... he encontrado (aunque mas bien atrevido) a abrir un blog. Lo intente por falta de otras cosas que hacer o simplemente por las ganas de que alguien oiga lo que tengo que decir (inclusive yo mismo haciendome pasar por otra persona).

Sobre el nombre: More Yada, pues es en referencia a mi serie de T.V. favorita (Seinfeld). "Yada Yada Yada" se hizo una frase bastante popular en la cultura norteamericana. Segun Urban Dictionary: "Conversation glosser-over, similar to blah, blah, blah" y la frase que la trajo al mundo fue cuando en la temporada 8, capitulo 19, George y Marcy tienen una conversacion:

Marcy: You know, a friend of mine thought she got Legonare's disease in the hot tub.
George: Really? What happened?
Marcy: Oh, yada yada yada, just some bad egg salad. I'll be right back.

Aunque la escena que la hizo realmente famosa fue:

George: Listen to this. Marcy comes up and she tells me her ex-boyfriend was over late last night, and "yada yada yada, I'm really tired today." You don't think she yada yada'd sex.
Elaine: (Raising hand) I've yada yada'd sex.
George: Really?
Elaine: Yeah. I met this lawyer, we went out to dinner, I had the lobster bisk, we went back to my place, yada yada yada, I never heard from him again.
Jerry: But you yada yada'd over the best part.
Elaine: No, I mentioned the bisk.

En conclusion el yada se usa cuando uno quiere saltar una parte de la historia que cree no tiene importancia y por eso el nombre del blog... aqui veran esas cositas que normalmente no se dicen.