Miscellaneous But Not Forgotten

I am using this space to post miscellaneous photos I have yet to share!

Crash Boat Beach

Jo'Nella Meets the Cows

Nature Preservation Mural

Beyoncé in P.R.

Café

Que Bonita Banderas

Training Grind

Since RPL (Residential Peer Leader) training has begun and I am back at Brown, I've been exhausted. Extremely excited and blessed to work with such an amazing, talented, intelligent and beautiful group of individuals but it's tiring! 

It's interesting to go through training a second time as a returning RPL and I look forward to realizing the differences from the MPC (Minority Peer Counselor) training I received last year and the upcoming WPC (Women's Peer Counselor) training. 

Also, I have to say, my regional group may be the funniest and most good-looking region on campus, and not solely because I am a part of it... I look forward to learning new ways to be a better "C" and the experiences that I will have with my peers!

Snorkeling @ Isla Mata La Gata-La Parguera

So, I went snorkeling for the first time!

(It was super fun but breathing through my mouth as opposed to with my nose took some getting used to)

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 La Parguera is located past Cabo Rojo on the southwest coast of Borikén. (Puerto Rico) At La Parguera, we bought pollo, pan and took a tour of the islands that bordered the coast. Our Capitán dropped us off on a small island called "Mata la Gata," or Kill the Cat," in English. The reason this was the name of he island was not disclosed to us but we had a great time nonetheless haha

My failed attempt to snapchat this to people, above.

The beautiful view.

I can't wait to go back. It was a wonderful experience!

Mofongo Thrice

I ate Mofongo several times during my vacation and every time, it was wonderful. The best I have to say however, was at my hotel in the restaurant at the Marriott. 

Second place was a dish I found at a restaurant in Aguadilla Mall comprised of yellow rice (arroz amarillo), macaroni and chicken, and chicken mofongo along with a giant, super fresh and juicy avocado (aguacate).

My last night in Puerto Rico, we met up with extended family for dinner and I ate chicken mofongo again, only this time served in a special container. I would have liked a bit more flavor from this one.

 Eating all of this Mofongo de pollo makes me want to learn how to make it. Stay tuned for my progress/ results/journey-to-Mofongo-success!

Breakfast Bendición

Eggs Benedict and a side of sausage, served with home fries. It was perfectly portioned heaven.

Iwas Jr 2013 in Mayagüez

The past two days I have had the pleasure and privilege of attending IWAS- the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Junior World Championships where male and female athletes around the ages of 16-23, from around the world  compete. Teams from Thailand, Denmark, Germany, Russia, Brasil and more were in attendance, and I have to say, Brasil was killin' it. 

It was wonderful to see these incredible athletes and especially great to see my cousin Jim Westly Cuevas compete. He's been involved with wheelchair sports since he was eight and made it to the Paralympic trials. I can't wait to see him at the Games one day. He didn't place in today's race, but I'm still super proud of him and get entire USA team. 

Photographed below is my cousin (Number 164, Red bike) and two of his friends.

My cousin Isamy, his sister and my aunt and Uncle did a fabulous job managing the athletes.

My only concern with the number of spectators who attended he event. It took place in the Centro Americano Stadium in Mayagüez, a nice venue I would have loved to see filled.

Playa Buye

I started the day with a great workout at the hotel gym which consisted of a mile of cycling, some lifting, stretches, planks and an ab series. 

We also went to Playa Buye, a beautiful family beach, close to the house where my grandfather lived, in Añasco. Mamá became a mermaid, Daddy became obsessed with finding seashells and Jo'Neal channelled Nigel Barker when he became my personal photographer. See photos below:

It was beautiful. 

I ate some delicious empanadas de pollo (chicken) and on the way back, we picked up some quenepas- delicious little fruits which according to google are similar to limes but in reality taste nothing like them... They're a perfect balance of sweet, sour and refreshing with an interesting texture similar to that of a tiny soft mango. The Quenepas are pictured below

Back at the hotel I had the most perfectly portioned plate of Mofongo and Pollo, Mofongo is a platano/plantain based dish and mine had chicken!

It was a wonderful day.

Boriqueño Art

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to see some Boriqueño art but didn't get around to posting until tonight!

The photo above reminded me of myself.

Los Tres Reyes (The Three Kings).

It's hard for me to choose a favorite but I have narrowed it down to the following as well as the first image

Because people suggested I post about my fashion

Outfit of the day #swag

Top: Marshall's $12.99

Shorts: H&M $10

Sandals: Famous Footwear $20

Swag...priceless lol

Bienvenidos a Aguadilla

We boarded an early flight out of JFK International Airport and arrived in Aguadilla Puerto Rico, (Boquerón) this morning. Nosotros desayunamos y dormimos en el hotel and then did a little driving and exploring around. We found the ocean, and it was beautiful. I had forgotten how much I love it here. I was nearly in tears. I felt so at peace, calm, happy, alive.

My little brother, Jo'Neal caught me taking selfies...

And then I got a little silly... It be like that sometimes.

It was a wonderful first day, and I'm looking forward to the rest. I had forgotten how much I like the outdoors, climbing and tropical living our escapade today. I wasn't, however, too pleased with the huge spiderweb under this tree- which I think is made clear in the next photo

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Regardless, I feel so blessed. 

Si dios quiere

My grandmother said to me when I told her I was on my way to meet her, "si dios quiere." If God wants to, if God wills it, god willing. Similar to familiar phrases in other languages. It surprised me that I had never heard such a phrase in Spanish before (or maybe I hadn't paid attention) till now.

When I arrived at her house, she was smaller than I had remembered. I looked at her face, exceedingly beautiful thinking about how she looks in between not aging in twenty years and a slightly older. It's that grace. I can't believe she's approaching 80. 

She was prepared to feed me, naturally, and made arroz con habichuelas y salmón with aguacate y papas frito. 

It was too good. I get nostalgic about her food whenever I finish a plate. 

After a couple of hours of stories and looking through old photos we took one and I bid her adieu. 

She has so much light in her eyes. 

Eternal Optimist: Is There Any Feminist Nail polish?

Eternal Optimist: Is There Any Feminist Nail polish?

Jo’Nella Queen Ellerbe August 2013

So, I am in my room sitting on my wicker basket chair, choosing the next shade variant of purple red or blue I will use to paint my nails and I have a stunning revelation, or rather, I’m merely curious about a simple question.  Is there any feminist nail polish? There are literally so many brands of nail polish, some with more practical names than others but why haven’t I seen any called “Womyn in Charge” or “On Her Grind.” I’d like to paint my nails with that. I chose “Eternal Optimist.”

Essie is one of the most popular nail polishes in my collection has some reasonable names such as “Marshmallow” and “Chocolate Cake” whose color thankfully matches the real thing and some funny ones such as “Show Me the Ring” and “Butler Please” Interestingly while on their site I found a yellow tone called “Shifting power”  “Chubby cheeks” and some that are problematic.

“Tom boy No More” a red tone insinuates that it is a bad thing to be a “tom boy” or that bold attractive nails can be achieved once girls let go of their “tom boy identity”. Another color “Mucho Dinero”, a lot of money in Spanish wasn’t even green, which is awkward; it was pale beige, essentially clear polish. I wonder what the reasoning behind this name was because it doesn’t make sense to me. I later looked into who decides what Essie nail polishes are to be named and… they are all allegedly named by one woman, the founder of the company, Essie Weingarten. There is a creative team involved that makes name suggestions, but she ultimately always has the final say.

Through sorting through my nail polish collection and with the power of Google, I learned that find that some of the more offensive misogynistic nail colors existed in lesser known nail polish brands and that OPI prefers the punny approach. Personally, I wouldn’t purchase nail polish called “Lonesome Dove,” “Conquistadorable,” “My Silicone Popped,” “12-inch gang bang,” “Pounded on the Kitchen Table” or “Pearl Harbor” but at least “I only eat salads” is actually green, right?

I do appreciate “Not just a pretty face” “No baggage please” and “Recessionista.” Essie has been pretty solid with props to Brown University in their shades of brown series using names such as “downtown brown town” and “brownie points.” Maybe a color such as “Brown@Brown” is in the near future.

Sites referenced:

http://www.essie.com/Colors.aspxhttp://fashionista.com/2011/04/ever-wonder-how-nail-polish-gets-named-essie-weingarten-yes-that-essie-reveals-her-secrets/http://www.thebeautyclutch.com/opinaponap.htmlhttp://www.thefrisky.com/2010-05-14/the-13-raunchiest-nail-polish-color-names-of-all-time/http://www.bellasugar.com/10-Worst-Nail-Polish-Names-9583336http://www.buzzfeed.com/joannaborns/the-25-most-depressing-nail-polish-color-names-of-8tij

It's hard to believe

It's hard to believe that this time tomorrow, I will be back on la isla, Puerto Rico, in Mayaguez, the birthplace of my mother, home to my Taino ancestors, Puerto Rico. On the beaches of Boqueron eating fresh crabs after arriving at Aguadilla. I can't wait to go swimming, to go to the beach. I haven't done either this entire summer.

The summer literally flew by, tomorrow is the final day of my internship and then that's it, I visit my abuelita, Vita, say goodbye to my dog Thomas and hop on the plane with my family. And then a week after Puerto Rico I'll be back in Providence.

Macaroons to Twerk 4

Some of you may or may not be aware of my recent lack-of-macaroons, macaroon craving as I have expressed on various social media platforms (on Facebook and Twitter). One can be viewed below. 

Will twerk 4 macaroons

— JoJo Queen (@joeyyqueen) August 5, 2013

Regardless, my whole experience when I finally acquired the macaroons was magical. 

I honestly couldn't help myself. 

They were 6 for $16.50 which I wasn't so happy about but I ate my sorrow in macarons!

A closer look, from left to right: Milk Chocolate Chip, Blueberry and Coconut, Pink Champagne, Vanilla Bean, Strawberry Creme and Royal something. The Royal something was the best...so good but they all tasted delicious!