And the Globe Article goes too…
You know when singers win an award at the Grammy’s and say something like this in their acceptance speech…
“Wow I can’t believe I’m standing right here, right now, in the Staples Center with my very first Grammy! It feels like yesterday that I was just a little girl singing into my hairbrush, belting out a Whitney Houston song at the top of my lungs in the shower.”
I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU!
Well, I just got in the BOSTON GLOBE! So this calls for an acceptance-speech remix…
“Wow I can’t believe I’m standing right here, right now, in the Staples Center SPAIN with my very first Grammy BOSTON GLOBE ARTICLE! It feels like yesterday that I was just a little girl singing into my hairbrush SCREAMING INTO MY LAPTOP, belting out a Whitney Houston song “HELP” at the top of my lungs in the shower CARLENE’S 8AM J1 CLASS.”
WHY CAN’T I PASS AN AP STYLE QUIZ?!?!
Like what all celebrities say, I would like to thank my mom, my dad, and the man upstairs. I would also like to thank my editors, translators, J peers, and my fans (I can pretend)… I wouldn’t have been able to do this without you guys! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Read my article here: http://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/travel/2014/06/05/dressing-kill-the-history-and-art-bullfighter-suit-lights/1eomvG64Ic1jig8Sh8FANI/story.html
Carlene Calling
What happens when Gina-Maria Garcia realizes she accidentally took Carlene Hempel’s cell phone with her to lunch?
How vintage are these? My phone: left, Carlene’s phone: right
She plays Carlene Calling!
So here’s how it works. I go through Carlene’s phonebook and pluck out a journalist to prank. Then I “break the news” to the J specimen that their story topic no longer will fly, and that they need to change, write, and report a new story within the next 24 hours, or in Carlene’s my exact words, “have it on my desk by noon, tomorrow.”
SIDE NOTE: Keep in mind, we have been spending weeks on these articles, and having something like this happen to you would be like… I don’t know… anxiety attack central, and let me tell ya, no amount of Xanex could calm you down in a situation like this.
It’s awful, devious, mean, cruel, crooked, evil, absolutely fraudulent…… WHAT AM I SAYING?!
It’s hilarious.
So, watch out J crew…
First Victim: Ian
Prepare for the worst breaking news you’ve ever heard since Lance Armstrong was revealed to be a fraud.
Pulling off a prank like this isn’t easy, guys, and only someone whose favorite holiday is April Fools can successfully carry out a hoax like this.
I call it the 3P’s: Prepare, practice, and prank.
And that’s exactly what I did.
So, first step: Prepare a Carlene script.
What would Carlene say? Well, being Carlene’s student for 5 semesters, I know she has the tendency to call us “dearie,” and she always uses the word “okay” after giving us instructions. The tone of her voice is always calm, cool, and collected, but at the same time, there is this sort of vibe in her words that makes you feel, “Oh crap, she’s serious and I better do what she tells me.”
Second step: Practice the Carlene script.
I took a voice and articulation course one year that taught me how to throw my voice. You speak with the diaphragm, sit with good posture, and focus on the parts of the mouth and throat you need to use to accurately pin point the sounds that need to be made. After a few breathing exercises and vocal warm ups, I was ready…
Third step: Prank with the Carlene script.
Here goes nothing…
Me- Ian, dearie, are you at the school?
Ian- Uhh, no I’m at lunch, I just left.
Me- Oh gosh, I wanted to catch you before you left. I needed to talk to you about your story topic. How far are you on your story?
Ian- I have all of my interviews, but I haven’t written anything…
Me- … Oh great! I was just speaking with Geoff (Carlene’s husband who is a Globe reporter), and we think you should change your story topic. Instead of a windmill story, we were thinking of a more general story about global warming, so you’re going to have to change the topic and have it on my desk by tomorrow at noon, okay?
Ian- Wait, so does that mean I have to get five more sources for a global warming story by tomorrow?
Me- Yeah, but shouldn’t be a problem!
Ian- Okay…. uh… I can do that?
Me- Alright, I’ll be here until 5:00 with Dylan if you need any help, okay?
Ian- Okay…
Me- (Starts laughing but pretends I’m coughing) Hold on, *cough*, excuse me…
Ian- GINA! CUT IT OUT!
Ian, you have just been Carlene Called.
Down to the last reporting week…
One story, two people, one week.
The next 5 days should be a breeze…
Are you ready Danny?
#ThrowbackThursday
My roomie here in Spain, Caroline, and me snuggling up in a colosseum in Jordan in May 2012
A hemma hemma hemma… A bada bada bada… A binga binga binga
… that’s me singing along to these awesome Spanish tunes.
I have no idea who these artists are and what they’re saying, but every time I hear these songs when I’m out and about in Madrid, my gibberish lyrics and guiri (Spanish slang for foreigner) dance moves come out to play!
As every American girl overuses, I’M OBSESSED and CAN’T EVEN with this these tunes.
So friends, if you need some Spanish songs to spice up your American playlists, here are the ones you should be downloading:
1) Enrique Iglesias – Bailando (Español) ft. Descemer Bueno, Gente De Zona
AKA the best song in the world!
2) Aventura-Obsesión letra
How heavenly is the girl’s voice?
3) Michel Teló – Ai Se Eu Te Pego
This one is just flat out fun to listen to.
4) Romeo Santos – Propuesta Indecente
This one is the most romantic of them all… well, I think so.
What am I, reporting in Jordan or something?
Nah, it’s just raining in Madrid and I forgot to bring my umbrella out with me while I run around the city interviewing people all day.
No biggie, though. Reporting in Jordan prepared me for times like these…
Hijab to the rescue! And thank GOODNESS because I just straightened my hair this morning.
Housewarming Party in Madrid
Last night felt like I was in summer camp all over again, bonding with new friends and creating inside jokes. But instead of sitting around an outdoor fire singing “Kumbaya,” like most of us did as young kids, the J crew and I gathered around a kitchen table in my new Madrid apartment playing the game “Heads Up,” which to our surprise ended up being the funnest and most hilarious game we had ever played.
For those of you who haven’t heard of this game, it’s basically like “Charades” meets “Indian,” but on an iPhone app. Here’s how it goes:
First, you choose a category (Act it Out, Animals, Hollywood Films, etc.). Then one player, the guesser, holds the iPhone to their forehead with the screen facing outward, so that an electronic phrase, verb, noun, or person banners across their face.
Then, the group shouts out descriptions or acts out verbs to help them accurately guess what is displayed on the screen.
It. Is. So. Funny.
We had people acting out “delivering a baby,” people on all fours baaaa-ing, people boo-ing and hoo-ing…
One of the highlights was when the whole group all at once fake sneezed to help Maria guess “to sneeze,”and she simply and genuinely fires back ,”Oh my, bless you!”
So funny!
Can’t wait for the next Heads Up Sesh!
Gina-Maria Garcia's Abroad Experience 