back home from switzerland

12 apr 2011

bon jour!
i got back home from Switzerland last night. it was an unforgetable four-day trip to visit my old time dear friend Francinete. yes, it was fantastic! the whole trip was so magic: from the endless and nice and relaxed chats with fran to the visit to the mountains and to some very beautiful cities in switzerland. fran and her husband Didier are great hosts. i had, to say the least, a memorable time with my friends. let's hope my load of work around here this week allows me some time to come post about some of the things we did together in detail. my facebook is already loaded with photos.

you are not happy!

24 aug 2010

at the U1C unilink bus

i went to city centre today with viktoria to get my tickets for our trip to brighton this coming saturday. we had to stop by asda to get the passport photos for my 'young person' railcard, which will give me some discount when i buy train tickets. well, the photos are taken from a photo booth there is at asda. we get in the booth, insert the money, which is £5 for four photos, and follow the instructions until we get our photos. the machine gives precise information about how to take the proper passport photos, give step by step that i should show the face, not wear glasses, one person per photo, and other instructions. i had problems getting to a lower position to fit the screen for the photo because the seat was too high. viktoria was waiting outside (we have to close the curtain) but listening to all instructions. the camera capture the image of me and showed it asking if i was happy with it. then it said that if i were not happy i should press a certain button to try a new shot, which i did. when i did it the machine repeat the process for a new photo and viktoria realised that. she said 'you are not happy!' referring to the words from the machine. they way she intervened from outside the booth was SOOOOO funny i wanted to burst into a big laughter but shouldn't because i had to have the photo done.

photos in hand we were headed to the train station for both my railcard and tickets to brighton. after being in the queue for a while the man said i still need the uni stamp in my photos!!! i was surprised, but he showed the information in the form for the card. i had a document stamped by the office from uni and found it should be enough, but i was wrong. trip nearly totally wasted, i bought my tickets paying full price.

cafe feliz

22 apr 2010

Dear Nene,

Super thanks a bunch for making me part of this special moment in your life. I am certain it was special for everyone who got together with you / us in any one of these days with Adriana, Marcos, and Rosinha. It made my day to meet with everyone and have the tour around uni, following the flowers way, listening to the birds, doing together what I do alone nearly every day. Really, really, it was such a great time for me to meet everyone. I already knew them and the rapport was established even before we met in person. Now it is official: I have more friends, and I add the kids – Nina, Dani, Lipe, and Matheus – to the list.

We were happy to come across the spring blossom with the colours and the beauty all the way in the Common, from one campus to the other, celebrating life. Hilra, I think I can tell you Louise was just as happy to be there with us. The aura of friendship has made us all inebriated with joy and, trust me, we did have fun. I believe Louise didn’t care one bit when we at times spoke Portuguese, which would in practical terms leave her out of the chat. I don’t really think she felt lost at any point. Well, I might be wrong, but she was in the same level of positive lightness and enjoying the great time together. And so were Hannah and little Tim. Moreover, food was good.

It was so nice for the ‘easy riders’ to finally reach here that there was no much need to dwell on the impeding bits that came on their tour through Europe (Mr. Vulcano). I was thinking that this special moment you could have chosen to pass alone with them, but no, you decided to invite me along. Such moments are only possible with special friends, people who know who we are, who follow the events of our life in their very truth. Hope you keep this priceless moment – the days – as a powerful file to be accessed during days when ‘funny’ questions inevitably come to your / my mind. I will.

I just think that the whole walk that we did together is very meaningful. And don’t forget it was on lovers’ walk. Again, thanks for inviting me along. Our café feliz was shared, not planned that way, but it was shared. Did you realize that?

Kalina

abre alas pra minha folia

12 February 2010

Carnival

I just realized that these are carnival days in Brazil. I believe I try not to be connected with events which are very different from here because they show me that I am in a different world. This is, at times, slightly disturbing to me.

Another thing I just became aware of, and which always make me feel heartbreaking is that today is the 12th of February. Well, the day after tomorrow – the 14th Feb – my brother Henrique would turn 49 if he hadn’t passed away at age 28. See, too bad. Maybe I have been away from this blog because sometimes the free writing leads me to pain, not to join.

Well, let’s try and come back to carnival. I don’t remember have been a super carnival enthusiast, but it is very obvious that the beauty, the joy and the good energy that it makes us all feel in Brazil these days is contagious. I like to dance, to watch the wonderful parade in Rio, to see the carnival aficionado people who fully stop leading a serious life to devote these days to, just as seriously, let go of imagination, freedom, joy, opportunity for redemption, really. I find it so healing. Honestly, going to the streets to dance and play along with your peers dressed up in whatever disguise you think fit your mood that year can only be great.

Pernambuco, particularly Recife and Olinda have a fantastic tradition of putting an enormous number of people in the streets. These people remain there for soooo many hours, standing and dancing. Yes, it ought to be a soul cleansing and spiritual development ritual. Olinda has those giant dolls, of which I used to be very afraid. The maracatu, the frevo, and the other many peculiar traces of the local history are indeed very good to see.