I’d like you to meet Darko, my guy (that’s how I call him). He’s the reason why this past weekend has been one of the merriest ones for me. Darko is a five year old kid. He’s got dark brown hair, beautiful eyes and a contagious smile.

When it comes to reading, Darko only sees some meaningless symbols. Sentences are more of the same things. That’s why learning how to ready won’t be easy for Darko. It won’t be easy to learn how to write either, or learn calculus, history, geography…

However, Darko’s memory is amazing. He’s able to remember details that neither of us would. It’s really impressive. He’s got a visual mind, so anything that his eyes capture will remain stuck at his long-time memory forever. And those images can easily be recovered by him. Pretty amazing, huh? Darko is learning how to read by memorizing images and relating those images to words.

I met Darko last Saturday. But our rendez-vous was not a coincidence. Some of you know that I belong to a photographic association. Well, a couple of weeks ago, we were invited to take part an activity. An association called Aurreratu (Go Forward, kind of) that works with mentally handicapped kids, asked us if we wanted to take some pictures of their children to grace the cover of their 2009 calendar. I agreed to take part on this activity without even thinking about it. I love kids, I love photography and I’ve always wanted to part at these activities.

There were several members that also agreed to take part and a few days before the big meeting, we were told which kid was “ours” (mine). Mine was called Darko. And we would take the pictures at the Armas square in Hondarribia, my hometown.

When I received the email, two things came to my mind: First one was his name. He was either a Serbian born kid or his dad was a big Real Sociedad fan. Second, him. What was Darko like? How old was he? Was he an only child? Did he have any siblings? Hundreds of questions crossed my mind. I was curious to meet him.

I hardly slept the night before we met. I was so nervous. I wanted to do a good job and I wanted to take nice pictures of Darko. I got up early on Saturday and tested the camera. I used my family members as models. Pictures with flash, without it. ISO 100/200/400 (no more, too noisy). 1/100, 1/60, 1/50… what if he moves too quickly? F4, F5.6, how about the depth of field? Blah… I was feeling overwhelmed about the whole thing. So, I took some spare change and commuted by bus to my hometown.

We had agreed to meet a 4pm, but I got to Hondarribia half an hour early. I walked up Main street till I reached the Armas square and I took a good look at the place. There was construction going on there and the light was awful. Blah… feeling even more overwhelmed. Walked back down and waited till everyone arrived.

Everyone was so punctual. Everyone was there at 4pm sharp.

- Where’s my guy?!?!–I shouted, knowing Darko was hiding behind his mom.
- Darko, will you say hi to the girl? C’mon, don’t be shy. Give her a kiss – she was definitely from Serbia.
- Don’t be shy, Darko. Come here, give me a kiss-, I said to him.

Darko showed his face and smiled. He had already won my heart. I kneeled down till I reached his height and I kissed him on the cheek. We became friends right away. He grabbed my hand and pointed the wall in Hondarribia. I nodded and told him that was where we were headed to take pictures.

I suggested taking the pictures at Gipuzkoa square instead. The light was slightly better, there was no construction going on and the place was empty. And that’s how the photo session began.

Oh my and he was so hyper, he didn’t stop for a second. He ran everywhere, non-stop, and I had to follow the guy everywhere with the camera. Every now and then, he’d sit down on the ground and play. That’s when I’d take the pictures.

I wanted to take some beautiful pictures. I wanted to show his vitality, his beautiful smile and innocent, yet witty look. I wanted a picture where he looked natural. And foremost, I wanted a picture where no deficiency was seen. I don’t know I achieved these goals, but I tried.

Darko is a special guy, but not because it takes him longer to read a phrase or understand things, but because he’s truly a charming kid. That’s why my guy is so special.

I hope we make a nice calendar.

Darko y Ane después de la sesión de fotos. Darko and Ane, after the photo session.

(Lo siento, no tengo tiempo para traducir todo este tocho…)

Here comes another set of movie reviews. Some interesting films I’ve seen lately…

P.S. I Love You (Hilary Swank, Gerard Butler) USA/Ireland
I tend to visit www.imdb.com on a regular basis (actually, daily). There’s always something interesting to read there; some fascinating facts about actors/actresses/directors/screenwriters, filming locations, release dates, box offices, etc. A couple of months ago, while surfing this website, I came across Hilary Swank’s fact file. Apparently, she had just released a new film called P.S. I Love You. I thought it would be the typical, bad chick flick… but I still googled for some info.

I visited the official website and fell in love with the score of the film. It was Irish and I’ve always liked this type of music. So cheerful and nice. Anyway, I read the sypnosis and waited patiently to see it. And I loved it. Probably because I really like Hilary Swank (especially after I saw her walking in SoHo back in 2006, she looked so pretty and so down to earth. Natural and friendly. She was walking with some guy and laughing all the time) And I love Gerard Butler. I’ve liked him every since I saw him at The Phantom Of Opera. Wouldn’t mind him being “my” phantom, but that’s another story.

Anyway, the movie talks about this married couple. She becomes a widow after he dies of brain tumor and she can’t seem overcome the pain and the fact that she will no longer see him again. However, he’ll help her feel better through some letters he wrote before passing away. On every note, he’ll wrap up saying P.S. I Love You.

I don’t know if it’s the fact that I love receiving letters or that I was just too emotional last night, but I cried a few times watching the movie. Swank looked so cute so many times and he was so adorable sending all those beautiful notes to his wife.

P.S. I loved it

Ae Fond Kiss aka Just A Kiss (Atta Yaqub, Eva Birthistle) UK
And I’m somehow sticking to the Celtic culture with this other movie I saw last Friday. This time the film takes the spectator to Scotland. ‘Ae Fond Kiss’ tells the story of a young Scottish born but of Pakistani origin guy who inevitably falls in love with his sister’s music teacher. It all happens after Casim Khan’s (Atta Yaqub) sister tries to chase and fight against some classmates for being racist. Casim will meet Roisin, a gori (white), Catholic and liberal woman. He knows his relationship with her has no future, he has been raised in a conservative Muslim and his family has already arranged a wedding for him.

But he can’t help being with Roisin, no matter all the differences between them. Casim will have to choose whether to keep his family’s honor by marrying a woman he barely knows or to break the rules and stay with the person he loves.

This movie was on tv recently. My mom saw it and told me she thought of me while watching it. She suggested that I watched it too, so that’s what I did. And I loved it, but it kept me resltess for the rest of the night. The soundtrack is very nice with some mixed bhangra, celtic and classical music.

Lagaan (Aamir Khan, Rachel Shelley) India
And from a Punjabi family living in Scotland, I’m flying to Champaner (India) to talk about a blockbuster movie. An Oscar nominee actually. Lagaan: Once Upon A Time India is a fascinating film that takes the audience to the Colonial times. Because India was still a British colony at the time, each family would have to pay taxes (lagaan) to Queen Victoria. A British captain decides to oppress the people of Champaner by paying higher taxes in a time where there’s drought in India. The villagers complain and one of them, a young man called Bhuvan, stands for what he believes is right and fair and defies the Captain. The villagers will have to play a cricket game (sport they’d never practiced before) to be freed from taxes. If they win, they will not have to pay lagaan for three years but if they lose, they will have to pay three times the current lagaan.

They have no idea how to play cricket but, fortunately, the Captain’s sister will help them understand the basis of the game. Between training classes, some chemistry between Bhuvan and the British lady will blossom…

A friend of mine lent me the book. She suggested that I read it and I took it home with me. I started reading it back in January and I only finished it last Wednesday. No, it did NOT take me five months to finish it, due to several things going on in my life, I had to leave the reading for some time. I actually completed the novel in three afternoons/evenings.

I like Matilde Asensi’s writing style. I like how you learn through her stories. Little did I know about the aymaras until I read her novel. Her writing makes you fantasize about the Amazon, about the indigenous people in South America, etc. I also enjoyed reading about Barcelona, her descriptions about the city are so accurate I could feel I was there again, in Barcelona, one of my favorite cities in the world (of what I’ve seen so far…).

Her writing also made me google some of the facts she wrote in the novel. Was it real? Was it part of her imagination? Where does fiction begin?

The novel basically talks about this computer engineer who has to fly to Bolivia to find a cure to his brother, whom he believes he has been cursed by an aymaran spell. I’m not revealing any more. Jus read the book, you’ll love it.

While replying to a comment, I remembered I had forgotten to add something related to SATC. I took a test to see whom my personality is similar to. After answering the questions, the website told me I resembled Charlotte the most. It’s funny.

I got hooked on the show while living in California in 2004/2005. My rommate was really into SATC and she once told me to watch an episode. It was ok, I didn’t dislike, but I wasn’t like wow! that’s the best show I’ve ever seen. However, slowly, those four characters: Carrie Bradshaw, Charlotte York, Miranda Hobbes and Samantha Jones got into me. I ended up loving the show, it was hilarious at times, sad at other times… I fell in love with the characters. The plot, the script were so well written. I had never heard of Manolo Blahnik or Jimmy Choo shoes until I watched SATC, knew nothing about fashion till those four girls came into my life. I fell in love with the city too, a city I’ve come to know quite well in the past couple of years.

My roommate soon related herself to Samantha Jones. Before leaving California, each of us bought a mug as a souvenir. I decorated mine with pictures. She did the same, but slightly differently. She cut the face of Samantha Jones and put it over her body. She cut Charlotte’s face and put it over my body. I was a little pissed at first. Am I like Charlotte? I can’t be like her! So conservative, so whatever.

But I’m somewhat like her and I’d love to have her wardrove to be honest. I believe I’m 25%Carrie, 25%Charlotte, 25%Miranda and 25%Samantha. I can relate to Carrie the most sometimes, for several reasons that I’m not going to point out here. Those that know me know why. But I guess I fantasize like Charlotte does. Anyway, this is what the results said:

You’re Most Like Charlotte!