“Valpo Vida” exemplifies the best parts of blogs

When I first considered the idea of creating a anthology of blogs I have to admit I completely agreed with the Boxer that the idea was dreadful. In fact, I did not even think it was possible. Blogs have their own unique style which differs greatly from that of a book and trying to coerce the two concepts together would not result smoothly. After reading “Valpo Vida” my opinion did not change. In Hannah's blogs there were so many different elements that came together to form a cohesive and enjoyable experience for the reader following the blog. Her blog contained humor, cultural history, art, personal anecdotes and much more in a way that although it was not formally organized, it still flowed and made sense. A book would not be able to have the same effect as it would not be able to achieve the fluidity that only a blog can.

As far as “Valpo Vida” I thought it was a really interesting blog and one that I myself would've followed had I known where to find it on the internet. As a Hispanic woman I thought it was amazing how someone who was not Chilean was able to depict Chilean traditions with such accuracy and affection. While reading along I found it refreshing that I personally did not need the translations that Hannah offered in parentheses after the Spanish words yet I couldn't help but wonder if the reason she put English equivalent of the words in parentheses was to broaden her audience. Did she take translation into consideration when writing her blog for her audience, or did she just feel naturally impulsed to define the Chilean words and concepts? If so, why did she sometimes list so many foods without offering an explanations as to what they were, when other times she went into great detail describing a dish? Is is because as she was writing a blog she felt that formality was not main priority? Another question that ran through my mind was why she posted pictures to go along with her blog? Overall I guess my main question for Hannah would be, did she feel influenced to write a certain way or mention certain things over others because it was in a blog rather than an actual diary or a paper? Or was it just a stream of thoughts? As whole I think “Valpo Vida” is an excellent example of the benefits of a blog because it is friendly enough that it invites all kinds of people to read it, while at the same time offering knowledge through a person's experiences in a fun and accessible way.