Gnomie Goes to Cordoba

At the church in Cordoba's main plaza

After seeing the Sitio de memoria, one of the sites where thousands of people were tortured during la Guerra Sucia

Inside the church on the main plaza

At the cabildo (town hall), one of the last Spanish-colonial style buildings left in Argentina

Looking at an overhead view of the city

Chillin on a balcony at the university in downtown Cordoba

At the courthouse in court-oba

Watching the Independence Day parade on July 9. This is the country's biggest independence day parade and  the route runs down a busy street through downtown Cordoba

Grabbing a quick bite to eat at the chocolate festival in Villa General Belgrano.

Rollin with the gnomies: Hanging out with some of her other gnome friends

Found a few more friends...

...found the bathroom

Heading back to Cordoba after the day trip to Villa General Belgrano

~Uruguay~

Ordering milanesa napolitano at the Radisson Hotel casino restaurant

Having some fun with rum!

The view from the hotel room, overlooking the city and the port

Watching the sunset over the water

...after

Not the only gnome in Montevideo!

The ice bar in our hotel...I'll take a whisky on the rocks

The soccer stadium in Montevideo

Just kickin it at the soccer museum

Recoleta Cemetery

At the cemetery in Recoleta near one of the hundreds of mausoleums

At the Duarte family tomb, where Evita Peron is buried

After the cemetery at the best ice

                                                                    cream shop in Buenos Aires...Freddo! 

On the train to El Tigre

Ridin in style through the river town

Standing by the scenic river

Drinking some mate at a market

Checking out the river on a cloudy day

Me and My Gnomie

This summer is different from any other summer I've experienced. For the first time, Lexie and I are not together....in fact, we're not even in the same country, or even the same continent.  She is in London for the summer, while I'm in Buenos Aires. Since we are so far away from each other, we decided to do something to help lessen the distance.  We each have a little garden gnome, like the one from the Travelocity commercials, and we put a picture of the other one's face on the gnome.  We are taking pictures of the gnomes when we travel, so it feels like we're traveling together.  Even though Lexie is in Europe for the summer, the gnome I have with her picture on it is traveling through South America.  To track 'Lexie's' travels this summer, check out the photos posted here!

At the waterfall in the Tropical exhibit at the Buenos Aires Zoo.

Hangin out on the bridge at the zoo's waterfall.

On the rocks with the seals

Riding a camel in the Buenos Aires Zoo

Livin large at the zoo

Adventures in Argentina

     After a crazy day of traveling I finally made it to Buenos Aires! My flight left from Chicago to Miami, and since the Bulls are playing the Miami Heat, the pilot wouldn't let any Bulls fans board the plane til everyone else had boarded.  Then my flight from Miami to Buenos Aires was delayed because there was some kind of cargo on board that they needed paper work for to leave the country. The plane was about to take off when the pilot received a call saying that we had to turn around and come back to the gate to get the paperwork before we could leave.  Everyone wanted to know what the special cargo was, but the pilot wouldn't tell us what it was and neither would the flight attendants.  The guy sitting next to me thought it was snakes on a plane, and after hearing that I couldn't fall asleep for the longest time. The plane took off an hour later, but the flight wasn't too bad. Each passenger had their own TV on the flight and there were plenty of entertainment options, ranging from movies and TV shows to games to play on the monitor.  If you exhausted your options on the TV there were also tons of beautiful Argentinian people to look at, which could keep you entertained for hours.
    When I got to the airport in Buenos Aires, I had to get a visa before entering the country.  There was only one line in the airport for visas and immigration, and everyone that landed at the airport had to go through the line.  It took three hours to get through the line, and people were not happy about it.  Some people missed their connecting flights, and other just didn't want to wait in line for that long. They started protesting and marching through the airport, and the people in line around me were yelling at the  airport workers and security guards.  It was a big long mess, but I was standing in line next to this guy named Hector from Chile so we waited together and talked to pass the time. He lives in a desert and told me stories about how there are volcanoes and earthquakes near his house.  After hearing about every natural disaster, I made my way to the front of the line, got my visa, and got the hell out of the airport.
    When I met with my study abroad group, the program coordinator took us to our apartments.  We all live in the Recoleta neighborhood, but there are three apartments between the ten of us.  My roommates and I explored our neighborhood, and the first thing we found was the closest liquor store so we were set for the night.
    On our second day, we took a tour of the city by bus.  We drove to Plaza de Mayo, La Boca, and Puerto Madero.  On the tour we saw some of the cities most notable buildings, statues, and plazas.  We drove all over the city, and made several stops to get out and walk around.  The city feels big, but the streets aren't as crowded as Chicago.  A major difference here is that it seems like everyone has a dog. Dog walkers crowd the streets and sidewalks; some people walk up to ten dogs at a time.  Dogs are everywhere in this city...I think I might have to conquer my fear of dogs while I'm here.
   The city is beautiful and there's so much to do. I can't wait to see what the next ten weeks have to offer!
  

Bringing the Story Together

News Gathering Process:

           When I search for stories, I try to find the right sources that will enhance my story.  The people you use in your story make or break the story; if they are engaging and relatable, viewers will be able to make a connection with them and as a result will connect more to your story.  I aim to find the sources that will offer the most to my story, but this isn't always easy.  I realized that when I work at the station, the deadlines scare me away from taking the time to find the best possible sources.  Being on a deadline makes me find the easiest and most attainable sources, but these are not necessarily the best for my stories.  I usually end up talking to people that work for my story, but I know there are better options out there that may have more impact on viewers.  Instead of taking the extra time to find these people, I stick to the ones that are easier to find because being on a tight deadline worries me.  After being in the field, I realized that I need to take the extra time to find those people that have a deep connection to my story.  The more involved the characters are, the stronger connection the viewers will have to them.
         I want to find more relatable and involved sources for my stories.  To do this, I think I just have to talk to more people.  I'm surprised at how many people were willing to talk to me last week when I was working on several stories.  I'm used to people not wanting to be on camera; I've come across many people that are hesitant to be on camera or talk to a reporter.  Last week I was lucky because everyone I talked to was cooperative and offered valuable information vital to my stories.  In order to find more powerful sources in my stories, I just need to talk to more people.  The more people I talk to, the more people they can refer me to and I can find more sources that way.  I want my viewers to develop a connection with the people in my stories, and that's what I've been working on these past couple weeks.

Journalism Reflection:

            I recently watched a piece on Media Storm called The Ninth Floor, by Jessica Dimmock.  I was really moved by this story because Dimmock created the piece in a way that enhanced the relationship between the viewers and those in the story.  Dimmock introduces the characters in the story, then shows pictures of them and lays interview tracks so viewers get a better understanding of who they are.  This helps the viewers see the story from the characters’ perspectives, and this twist brings the story to life.  An important element of any story is creating a connection between the people watching the story and the people in the story.  The people on the outside need to be brought to the inside of the story for a more complete understanding of the underlying story. 

            The way this piece is put together grabbed my attention.  It’s told through a variety of mediums; Dimmock uses photographs, text, and interviews to develop a sense of character in her story.  The photographs are beautifully shot, capturing the emotion of the moment.  The lighting sets the mood and tone for the story, which helps the viewers place themselves inside the story.  The text is informative yet descriptive and it guides the story.  The text gives background information and sets the scene, moving the story along.  The interviews further develop the subjects’ character.  I like how Dimmock overlaps the photographs with the interviews because it unravels the story.  The viewers are listening to the people tell their stories and the photographs allow viewers to watch the story at the same time.  Viewers can hear the story and watch it unfold before their eyes.  This is an interesting storytelling technique, and I would like to experiment with it in my stories to come.

            The images in this piece are graphic, but they portray real life.  They highlight and enhance the details of the characters’ lives that are often overlooked by others in society or unknown to them.  The images capture moments in everyday life that add detail to the story.  Some of these moments are joyful, while others are dark and disheartening or even twisted.  It makes me wonder how Dimmock caught all of these moments on camera.  She photographed arguments and fights between two of the characters, Dionn and Rachel.  She tapped into their real lives and exposed their secrets, but she did so in an unobtrusive manner.  Dimmock caught these events on camera but the images look so real that as a viewer I forgot the camera was there and I felt like I was in the room with the two feuding characters, witnessing the events with my own eyes.  From watching this piece, I picked up on several techniques that I want to experiment with and adopt into my own stories.  I want to use the camera as unobtrusively as possible to place my viewers at the scene of the story.  I also want to try using different types of storytelling techniques to capture the most emotion.  I want to use text, photographs, and interviews like Dimmock did in this piece to emphasize certain aspects of my stories.
http://mediastorm.com/publication/the-ninth-floor