October 12, 2017

Man on the street interview on contraception


I wrote this journal for my human sexuality class at SLCC but I thought I would add it to the blog as well for memories. Enjoy! 




For this essay I decided to interview other fellow students, family members, and friends. It was very interesting to find out the results to some of the questions I asked. The following questions are what I chose to use:

·       What do you know about Plan-B?
·       When it comes to contraception’s, what methods are you familiar with?
·       Would you get a sterilization if you were done having children?


For the first question I found out that about 60% people of the people I asked knew exactly what I was talking about, while the other 40% were actually about how the pill worked. There was a person that asked me if it was 3 birth controls put together in one. Someone else told me that they weren’t sure how to use it and if it had an expiration date from when the sexual intercourse happened. A surprisingly discovery was that about 75% of the people I interviewed didn’t know they could buy Plan-B at their local drug stores.

For the second question things got a little interesting. There was a gender difference when it came to answering this. The women asked this question talked about birth control, condoms, and abstinence. While the men discussed the “pull out” method. A lot of them said that if the woman is on birth control then they should be safe, after I mentioned STD’s they started to get concerned. I talked about how important it was for them to take to their partners about it and make sure to wear protection.

The last question was the most heated of all topics due to disagreement between both genders. Ladies didn’t feel like it was fair for them to tie their tubes, some of them felt like it wasn’t as safe as a men getting a vasectomy and that they shouldn’t go through all that pain. While the men surprisingly agreed with it their answers saying that they would for sure get it done with children was not a plan. Some of them were afraid about all the pain and losing their manhood.

Overall this was a great experience, I think that a lot of people are afraid to talk about certain topics nowadays. They are usually either embarrassed or afraid of sounding naïve. It always goes back to STD’s they are afraid of getting it and talking about it. The book also mentions the female condom and how they are now approved by the FDA, where to buy it, and how to use it. (pg. 300. 2017). I found this very interesting because not a lot of women know about this option. Out of the 15 people I interviewed only one person mentioned it. There needs to be more awareness everywhere when it comes to contraception.


Works Cited
Knox, D., & Milstein, S. (2017). Human Sexuality: Making Informed Decisions (5th ed.) [with Salt Lake Community College supplement]. Redding, CA: BVT Publishing.

October 11, 2017

The Promise Land | My journey to America

United States

Ah, every immigrant dream is: To come to the promised land. To live the American dream. Have a white picket fence. Go to college. Get a 9 to 5 job. Make money.  Become an American Citizen and be able to vote in the election. * Which are all things that I have personally been able to accomplish.

How do I fit into all of these things? well, I should start by telling you part one of my stories:

I was born in São Paulo, Brasil... Which is one of the biggest cities in Brazil. It constantly reminds me of New York City. The tall buildings. Businesses everywhere. Hard-working people. Subway Stations. Traffic. Taxis everywhere. A beautiful park in the middle of the city (much like Central Park). 

My childhood was amazing! My parents made sure of it. They were hardworking middle-upper class people who always-always made sure my sister and I had everything we needed. Ballet? Judo? Swimming? Gymnastics? You got it! We did it all and then some. My sister and I both attended a private school in our town and the experience as well as the memories we made in that school is was just everything. 

Utah Hogle Zoo - 1998

We traveled a lot. We had family all over Brasil so weekends were meant for beach trips or going down south to the countryside. One of my favorite memories was visiting my Italian great-great-grandma. She lived on this beautiful farm with every fruit tree you could think of. My cousins and I would climb up the apple trees and pick fresh apples. She lived in Minas Gerais which is a city known for its cheese. Great-great grandma Angelina had the longest most beautiful white hair that went down to her waist. She would stand on her porch and brush it out and smile at us! 

My grandparents were my everything!

From my mother’s side: grandma Lia (who I named my daughter after). She was the tiniest little thing. We would spend Sundays at her house and she would bake us the most delicious cakes and make the yummiest foods. My mom reminded me of something I had forgotten: my grandma Lia used to bake a cake every day of the week on Sundays. So that there was always cake for an afternoon tea or coffee time. I think that I get my passion for baking from her! Now, my grandpa, Gerald was this tall Italian guy with the most beautiful blue eyes. He was quiet but funny and guess what? He loved to work out just like we do! It was always so fun to visit with him and talk about weight lifting!

From my fathers' side: grandma Mada is where I get all my creative side from. She is an amazing artist, she crafts, she does yoga, and just always on the go! When my sister and I were little we took painting classes and when my grandma came up to visit us a few years back we took her to a painting class here. It was such a fun experience. She loved it! When she crafts she is resourceful and uses magazines and glue to completely up-cycled her furniture. My grandpa Giba is a man of little words. The sweetest guy! He is from the south of Brazil in Rio Grande Do Sul where they are known for this drink called chimarrão or mate as it is called in here. I distinctly remember drinking this with him when I was little.

So yeah, you could say that my life in Brazil was amazing and we didn’t have to leave the country to “get away” and to have a better life. My mama had just worked so hard giving us what we wanted and did an amazing job at keeping us humble because throughout my childhood I never ever bragged to anyone about having money and being better than them. Quite the contrary, I had friends from all walks of life.

When I was 10 years old my parents, sister, and I came up to the United States and spent a month doing all the tourist things you can think of. Our Aunt Fatima and uncle Gary lived up here in Utah at the time. We started in California by going to Disneyland, Universal Studios, San Diego. Then went through Zion National park, Camped at Capitol Reef, then went up to Utah and spent the 4th of July at a park watching fireworks and eating American Junk food. The rest of the month was spent shopping around (Park City) and eating at restaurants we had never heard of (sizzlers at the time) One of my favorites stops was the Hard Rock Cafe. 

After spending a month here we missed home and went back to our lives in Brazil, but as the years went by, moving to the USA was always on the back of my mom's mind. After all, two of her sisters lived here. My grandparents were constantly up here visiting so it made sense that we would eventually end up here. 

My mom is one of the hardest working women in know. Not only was she working a 9-5 at one of Brazil’s biggest banks (ITAÚ) as a business administrator, but she was also going to college full time at night to earn her bachelor's degree. To this day I still don’t know how she did it all and graduated with an A average! My sister and I used to make a list of snacks we were craving and put It on the fridge door. It was like magic because we would wake up the next day and all of our favorite things filled the fridge and pantry! 

Salt Lake City-2002

After my mom graduated college was when she decided to talk to my sister and me about moving to Utah and getting the whole school experience here. It was hard at first because we had so many friendships in Brazil that were going to miss. But I love the fact that we had the opportunity of trying something new. Even if it meant traveling to a foreign land and actually living there and not just doing tourist things.

Part 2 coming soon... 



October 6, 2017

Movie Review : TheStray " Red Carper Premier"

Disclosure: Nina Talks has received tickets for this awesome event & is being compensated. All opinions are my own. 
the stray movie premier
{Red carpet pictures, Michael Cassidy & Sarah Lancaster signing autographs}
Earlier this week we got to attend a premiere screening of "The Stray" This is such a wonderful and uplifting movie to take your family to see. It is a true story about how a stray dog found a family and changed each of their lives forever.
Both of my kids loved the movie especially "Pluto" the puppy. (if you take children younger than 5 years old make sure they understand about what's happening before they go, or they might cry a little).
I'll be the first to admit that this movie had me in a roller-coaster of emotions. I'm a sucker for movies with a good storyline and puppies. The best part about this movie is that it is based on a true story. Having the whole cast there watching the movie with us, and then at the end finding out that the real-life characters were there as well made it so special. You could tell that Mitch Davis (writer-Director) poured his heart and soul into this movie and that it was a family affair.
We got to meet the cast afterward (even Pluto) the kids were so excited about it! Sarah Lancaster (Chuck, Saved by the Bell: The New Class) & Michael Cassidy (Argo, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice) have the best chemistry on screen. While we were in line to get our autographs, Lia looked at him and said: Hey! You're the dad from the movie!
Guess what? The Stray comes out today! Check and see if it's available at your local theaters:  http://thestray.movie/tickets/