Slightly heavier

Thursday, April 28, 2016

And the last day has come. Just like that…time flew... and the clock is so sneaky! This morning I woke up 21 years and one week older and with just one more day to be with the children! How is this possible?!

It is so strange to think that  it´s already time to pack and return to the old routine.

Off course, we could not leave without having a celebration…a celebration to honor all the moments that we have been sharing since January. For that we organized a concert for everyone.

The groups were reunited in the common room of the pre-school. As a guest of honor we invited the most spectacular and popular violinist born in Portugal…Carlota Bolota (me!), a total diva, crazy for applauses!  After listen the two firsts plays of the concert we all danced to the sound of a Portuguese song. The show ends with the “Over the Rainbow”.  Carlota received the best ovation that she could ever have asked. After the concert each child received a cup of fruit salad, prepared by us. The children loved our little show. 

The entire staff from the pre-school were so welcoming since the beginning...to show them our appreciation we cooked two Portuguese deserts (Salame de chocolate and Baba de Camelo). They allowed us to have a wonderful experience in here as a students and we will never forget it. 

Today we finally finished our sardine! The children will hear from me in Lisbon. I will let them know how we did in the competition and give some news about my returning.

I was spoiled the entire day with lovely presents and beautiful drawings made by the children.  I offered to the group a flower. Now they will have to look after it. Taking care of the plant is a way of taking care of us. 

The parting make us realize how precious it was  the time we spent together.

I will leave, but a part of me will stay in Swedish lands, among of those beautiful humans being. They crossed in my way. Now they are part of me and hopefully I am part of them.

On Monday, I will return to Portugal slightly heavier…because of all the delicious things that I have been eating…because of the amount of presents that I´ll bring in my baggage…because now I´m carrying more 22 little people in my heart...and how restless they are…how noisy… but I like them in that way. I like them a lot!

Thank you!

The Turkish Dinner

Wednesday, April 27, 2015

The Turkish dinner was a success! The food was so tasty…

The strong smell of species was spreading through the air.

The board was full with delicious dishes. The great majority was meat-free, so I could taste almost every speciality. 

Everyone was enjoying it a lot. 

They served bulgur with vegetables, little cabbages roles stuffed with rice, fried bread with cheese, sweet bread, tomato salad…the table was covered with wonderful colors from the foods. Salsa and tomato were a faithful present in almost all the dishes.

At the end of the meal the hosts served a Turkish Delight, a wonderful cube of fruit covered with sugar (one of my favorites things from around the whole world).

The Turkish prepared a quiz with some questions about their country, in order to decide who would give the next international dinner.  The Austrian and Germany lost the battle against the Spanish and Brazilian team. So…next feast it would be their responsibility. We wont be here to taste it, but I´m shore it would be another big feast!

Natalia

Monday, April 25, 2015

Natalia, my great-grandmother´s name and now the name of a very dear friend.

We met her in a FIKA organized by Max.

On the way home we found out that we live in the exact same building, separated by the distance of three doors.

Since then, she has been our company for FIKAS that extended along the night, big feasts (even when we have nothing to offer) and long-lasting times of laundry.

Natalia has the loveliest shrill and the loudest laugh! She makes every other person smile!

Natalie is patient. Always helps me with the Swedish.

She loves the sun and the water.  She cares about the flowers and the animals.

Sometimes she gets sad.  Sometimes she misses home.

Natalia fears the war. And calls for peace.

We were blessed when we found you in Swedish lands. Thank you for everything.

Meet you soon, in Sweden, in Portugal, in Poland…or in every other part of the world.

Meeting abroad

Friday, April 22, 2016

Our Portuguese teachers went to Sweden to visit our new student´s life. It is a way of strengthening connections between both universities and teachers from Portugal and Sweden. On Friday they went to our practice local and spent the morning with us in the company of the children. They could observe a bit more about our work in here and find out how have been the ERASMUS experience for us.

It was really good having their company during the whole day. They arrived Monday but, since we were in London, we just met them on Friday.

After the practice we decided go for a walk around the forest, next to our apartment.

The weather was lovely. The sky opened for us!

During the walk we found a very nice black cat with gorgeous green eyes. I called him Napoleão. The cat stayed with us the entire time. I could not find better company for a walk into the woods.

We also had the pleasure to meet a graceful and peaceful deer. We were quiet and in silence while that marvelous creature was passing next to us. Nature has created beautiful creatures! We are so lucky to observe it so close to us. It does not happens all the time.

To celebrate their visit we had dinner in a delicious pizzeria in the center of Borås.

I miss Portugal, my family and friends…I miss the light and the flavors of Lisbon. I miss the ocean, the river, my bike, walking around the city…but if I could stay in here just for a bit longer…just a bit…I would do it.

Backpacking in Europe: London

Thursday, April 21, 2016

I was excited about London! I have never been in there before.

We leaved Borås so early…when we arrived to England it was almost lunchtime. After the flight, a long bus trip and a walk till the hostel (that we could not find so quickly) we went to the city´s streets to enjoy what London has to offer.

During the first hours in the capital we went to visit the Freddie Mercury´s house. In the wall we left him a message, like all the others fans that he has left behind. Mariana is a huge fan of the Queen band.  They have been always part of my play list, because I also listen to them since I was a child.  We walked till Harrods, the place where the queen does her shops. Visited the biggest toys store from the entire world. It´s crazy! The shop has 5 floors with incredible toys and entertainments. It is like a new world. We finish our day in the center of the city, experiencing the crazy dynamic of the capital. London is the city that never sleeps!

Live in there can be quit expensive. To don’t spend money on transports we returned to the hostel by walk. It was long way and (since it was late) the streets were pretty cold.

The hostel was a little place with a common living room, a small kitchen, bedrooms for 6/8 people and some bathrooms. We were sharing the space with more three boys from others parts of the world. In the hostel lived, at least, 3 Portuguese that went to London searching for a better life.

On the second day I went to the Natural History Museum! I learned so much…I discovered more facts about the humans anatomy, mammals, birds, sea creatures, little insects, about the Planet Earth…and of course…I saw dinosaurs, those magnificent creatures that lived in our planet millions years ago. The museum is enormous. It is possible spend a whole day in there and don´t finish the visit tour. When the afternoon arrived I met Benny and Mariana next to our hostel. They had been in the Warner brothers Studios tour- The Making of Harry Potter, to visit the backstage of their favorite saga. They were also really excited about their day. At night we gave a little walk around our area, as usual.

On the third day we went to a lot of places. We crossed the Tower Bridge, visited an imposing cathedral, passed through the London Eye, the Big Ben and lay down in the St. James Parks sward. A little bit before dinner we visited China Town and its wonderful lights and colors.

When we arrived to the hostel it was already late and we were really tired. But the people from there were really friendly and invited us to join them for a card´s game. We accepted the invitation. The night went on…when we looked to the clock it was almost 5am. It was time to sleep. A long trip was waiting for us on the next day. I´m glad we could rest during our returning to Sweden. Our home was waiting for us and we were dreaming with our owns bed.