In high school foreign-language classes were part of the curriculum. I was nervous about the prospect of learning a foreign language. There was a consensus that learning Spanish was easier than other languages offered, and so began my love for culture.
Back then my appreciation for other cultures wasn’t evident to those around me, including my Spanish teacher. In fact, I enjoyed fueling the fire for discussions about English as the dominant world language. There’s nothing more arrogant, yet humorous, than questioning a teachers purpose. Of course, after having traveled around the world, I take it all back and now understand why my Spanish teacher took such joy in teaching us about his beloved culture.
It’s true that once you’ve traveled and immersed yourself in another culture, you do not come back the same person as you were when you left. You gain a better appreciation for life and often come back with a more open mind, like I did.
This domain name has meaning to me. As a personal site to document my projects, business career, and other things that interest me, I felt that it was important for the name to have some attachment. And, it will always be fun to say that I play a Spanish man on the Internet. I am, however, who I am and this site will reflect my interests and desires in life as I take on challenges and document them here.
Over time this site will evolve but I like the simplistic approach that I’ve taken in its design. There have been many revisions not to see the light of day, only to be discarded because of their flaws with time. It’s difficult to design a personal site, one that reflects who you are. There are many different designs for any given moment. It was important for me to find a design that appealed to me at all times and reflected who I am most of the time. I have always liked the color blue and I’ve never grown tired of seeing it. Additionally, I have found the design appealing throughout its development. In earlier revisions of Casa de Lewis I was constantly tweaking and unable to settle.
I don’t see designing with simplicity as an easy way out to avoid future discontent with a specific design. Far from it. I believe simplicity stands the test of time because of its reduction in flaws. Too many design elements are brought into the picture in the beginning of a project because of their perceived benefits. Experience indicates more often than not these elements do not justify their worth in pixels.
Welcome to Casa de Lewis.