os dias

30 may 2013

Steve, Eliane, Lucas, Kalina em `retrato de um domingo feliz`

Os dias por aqui tem passado meio como eu gosto, meio como eu posso. 

Sábado passado, 25 de maio, vim para a universidade e trabalhei até 7.20 da noite. Depois fui jantar no Crown Inn de novo, dessa vez com a Eli [chilena], e a Hanadi [arabe]. De novo comi Caesar salad. Tava bom. O papo foi ótimo; como sempre, em torno de diferenças e semelhanças culturais [os encontros e as descobertas] e a vida acadêmica. Essas conversas são sempre uma troca interessante e muito rica. E nos despedimos. E segui meu caminho, fugindo da chuvinha, tão inglesa e pontual.

O domingo foi maravilhoso. Passei o dia na casa dos primos Eliane & Steve. Conversamos um bocado, sobre hobbies, e sobre coisas da vida . . . 

O dia tava lindo, muito lindo. Parecia um verão aberto, com o sol brilhando, com a brisa da primavera friinha, mas bem suportável. 

O Lucas, que tá estudando na Universidade de Oxford, chegou para as férias de verão.  Conversamos um bocado sobre a vida dele na universidade, perspectivas de futuro, atividades físicas e seus infinitos benefícios, falamos mais especificamente sobre jiu jitsu e sobre pilates, estudos, e tal e coisa. O pobe tava tentando assistir a corrida de formula um e eu buzinando conversa nele. Mas foi super super legal. Depois ele deu uma geral rápida na grama do jardim, que ficou mais lindo ainda. Passamos o dia inteiro praqui e prali pela casa e fora dela, fazendo uma coisa e outra, e rindo, e curtindo, curtindo de montão o luxo de um dia de paz. No final do dia cumade Eliane fez um jantar sensacional pra gente.

Peguei uma carona da casa da cumade Eliane e comecei a trabalhar muito cedo, 7 da manhã, na segunda-feira, que foi feriado. Aqui a grandissíssima maioria dos feriados acontece numa segunda-feira, e é chamado de ‘bank holiday’. Resolvi ficar em casa e priorizar organização de assuntos pessoais e de casa. Lavei roupa, várias peças delicadas e ou de cor, e as estendi, pela primeira vez, no varal do quintal, para aproveitar mais um dia lindo de verão, com sol brilhante e um vento bom para alegrar a gente. Lavei roupa, passei roupa, arrumei cozinha, banheiro, organizei um monte de coisas e roupas que estavam amontoadas e as coloquei no lugar certo, e assisti um pouco de tv. 

Ah, escutei música o dia inteiro. Deixei um rádio ligado na cozinha e liguei outro no andar de cima, para acalentar meu dia. Adoro música, e música como companhia é sensacional. Sempre que conheço a música canto junto com o rádio. Parei o serviço para dançar quando tocou “all that she wants”, da banda Ace of Base. Foi super super relaxante. Tenta aí sambar essa canção. Eu fiz e adorei. E agora lembrei que um dia, enquanto organizava uns papéis na sala de aula, me distraí e cantarolei essa ‘all that she wants’ hehehe. Foi muito legal porque um aluno que estava ali perto de mim riu e disse: ‘essa banda é ótima, não é?’ rimos juntos e meu ato falho / de descuido caiu no perdão da paixão compartilhada. 

No final do dia de segunda-feira eu estava toda quebrada, com dor no corpo e de cabeça, por outras questões. A terça-feira ignorou a primavera e trouxe o inverno molhado de volta e eu fiquei em casa de novo, porque ainda estava me sentindo mal. Passei grande parte da manhã na cama; de tarde consegui ler um pouco e responder alguns emails. 

Ontem, quarta-feira, teve chuvinha insistente e temperatura baixa. Passei o dia inteiro na universidade, trabalhando. Hoje, quinta-feira, cheguei chego e tô no batente. Fazia 12.5 graus hoje de manhã cedo, com chuvinha fina, obrigada. Daqui a pouco, às 12:00hs, tenho encontro com minha orientadora.

Mas hoje meu pensamento e meu coração estão alhures, no tropical Brasil, na Teresina, exatamente.  Vamos esperar e torcer por um dia com resultados felizes.

be jolly happy in 2013

31 dec 2012

que em 2013 todos nos consigamos sorrir, brincar, ser leve com o outro e com nos mesmos/as, com paz e saude.
abraco grande e caloroso da minha pessoa para a sua.

"living word"

from yesterday - 20 Oct 2009

the acude grande - Campo Maior - PI, Brazil

this is about our meeting yesterday from the group 'Living word'. It was our second meeting this school year. This time we had five more students coming along for the meeting. so nice to realize that the rain didn't sahy people away from coming to have this moment of quiet and peace.

Because it was at Catherine and Liliana's place, we took shoes off as we entered the house. This is actually very common around here and i find it cool for it helps keep the house quite clean. The house was by the way suuuper clean. So, we sat together in the lounge and started talking friendly, very nice atmosphere. i saw the people i had met the week before and also had a chance to meet new people, such as this Nigerian guy whose name insists in not sticking in my mind, this Brazilian guy who was adopted by a Maltese family and would love to visit Brazil at some point in his life and to speak Portuguese.

We are from both Solent University and the University of Southampton. Each week one university plans wht we do in our meeting. Yesterday was Solent's day. I like this a lot because it gives equal opportunity for the different uni guys to plan something they / we find interesting. We started off by singing two songs, with Liliana playing the guitar. I loved it. Liliana is in charge of the Solent Uni students whereas Catherine looks after us from the Uni of Southampton. I tried to concentrate in the words of the songs (church tunes) and to listen to the voices of the group singing together. It did feel good. The tunes were followed by a reading from the Bible - Luke 19, 1-10, about Jesus and Zachaeus. The guy who read studies performance and is an actor. He's got such a strong voice. He read the passage and made some comment about it. I honestly did not pay much attention to it. I think the opennes of having him read and make a comment might mean that in the future each one of us, or at least the ones interested in, can do the same.

Liliana then said a few words, making a connection with our talk from the previous week, which was about the reasons to pray, and then we had some quiet moment for individual prayer. this time anyone could speak up and say whom or why we should pray for. i remained quiet but my thoughts and my prayer were all devoted to a colleague of ours here at uni, who died about two days ago now. I will omit her name here because the most important thing for me now is that we reflect about death and why it happens sometimes when it should not have happened really. I thought, really did, of asking us to pray for her but held my piece because i was a bit insecure about the reception of the group on the terms of how her death happen: she committed suicide.

I remember when I was a child in Campo Maior, Northeast Brazil, one day I was told the Catholic church would not ring the church bells for the people who committed suicide. I remember not understanding it quite well, and finding it not so fair. It was a tradition at that time for the church to ring the bell to announce people's death in the city, so that everyone would know somebody died. I reproduced this practice yesterday, when i neglected my colleague of having the group have her in mind while praying. I did and i still do feel bad about it, in spite of my prayers having been devoted to her, for her to find peace.

My sweet Dorothy made a comment about suicide, saying that it is very sad when people make this choice thinking this is the only way out of any terrible situation when in fact there are various possibilities, always. I am left with my prayers.

- i picked a saying from the hand out we got yesterday:

"Prayer in my opinion is nothing else than a close sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with Him who we know loves us." St. Teresa of Jesus

Living word - 'what's the point of prayer?'

Sunday 18 October 2009

........CATHOLIC SOCIETY
........dear all,a summary of what's on this week Cathsoc wise...

TUESDAY: 7.30pm at Chaplaincy we'll be beginning the 'Living Word' group.. an informal time of reflection and faith sharing together.. the theme for the first evening will be 'what's the point of prayer?'.

Praying for you all this week,Catherine

what you have above is the invitation from our Catholic Society here on campus. i deleted the other part of the message, as i will talk about our group meeting on Tuesdays only this time. Catherine sends us messages about what goes on every week. finally i managed to go this week to this discussion group. it was really nice. we were a total of eight people: Liliana and two other english students at Solent University (can't remember their names, but one's is Tom). Liliana coordinates for Solent University the same chaplaincy activities Catherine carries on for us here at University of Southampton. Plus Catherine, this other english guy, a girl from Sri Lanka, named Asha (suuuper talkative), and a french guy who came over a little late but still participate in the discussion. i DO want to speak english with a french accent. it is the coolest possibility ever. oh, and myself.

we read, prayed, and discussed. i really enjoyed the time for reflection and the opportunity to get to meet new people around.