My tropical Christmas

I spent Christmas in Lisbon and the temperatures were abnormally high for this time of the year. Or maybe is just me, used to live in Sweden and to spend Christmas in my hometown in the mountains, where is always freezing. Either way, the sun shined every day and the temperatures reached 17 ºC most days. I ran along the beach just wearing a t-shirt. I took walks in the old town and watched the sunset over the Tagus river. It was nice.

Passei o Natal em Lisboa e as temperaturas estavam anormalmente altas para esta época do ano. Ou então sou só eu, que estou habituada ao inverno sueco e a passar o Natal na minha cidade natal nas montanhas, onde está sempre um gelo. De qualquer forma, o sol brilhou todos os dias e as temperaturas atingiram 17 ºC na maioria dos dias. Corri ao longo da praia em t-shirt. Caminhei na parte antiga de Lisboa e vi o pôr-do-sol sobre o rio Tejo. Foi muito bom.

Pastéis de Nata

 Fresh oranges

 Jacob, the parrot-cat / Jacob, o papagio-gato

 A walk before Christmas dinner / Um passeio antes da ceia de Natal

 Merry Christmas

 Inside the Christmas tree / Dentro da árvore de Natal

Enjoying my family's company

Getting the best picture

My activities also included watching a football match in the stadium and a quick visit to my home town and my parents cat Mia.

As minhas actividades também incluiram um jogo de futebol no estádio e uma visita rápida à minha cidade Natal e à gata dos meus pais, a Mia. 

It was all very good and relaxing. I hope yours too.

Foi tudo bom e tranquilo. Espero que o vosso também. 

A year ago

I asked him...

... and he said yes.

2016

Much has been said about 2016. It's the terrible year, the one that took away so many famous souls, the one where things out of the ordinary happened. Bad and good. I'm pretty sure 2016 will be long remembered for all that.

That's no exception to me. 2016 will always be the year I was unemployed. I didn't expect it to be the whole year but so it became. I have to confess that it was a pretty good year to be unemployed, as I got to see history happening in several occasions and I had the time to actually follow the news properly. I saw the UK leaving the EU. I got up early and I saw Hilary Clinton loosing the election to Trump. I was shocked by all the bad things happening in Europe, Turkey, Syria and others. 

I saw Portugal winning the Euro 2016. I saw as much of the Rio Olympics as possible. I got up in the middle of the night and watched the Oscars live. I saw the Nobel prize gala dinner.

I also made friends from all over the world and I learned a new language. I proved to myself that I can do much more than I think and I regained some of the self-confidence I had previously lost. 

In 10 years abroad, 2016 was the year I travelled the least. In reality, because I still travelled as much in my dreams.

I lost my dearest grandfather. 

I got to understand how wonderful is the man who lives with me. Not that I had any doubt about that before.

I won a new home: Sweden.

2016 was made of ups and downs and so will be 2017. As all the other years were and will be. 

I don't really do resolutions but I do have three wishes for the coming year. 

I would like to be at least as happy as I was in 2016. 

I would like to get a job (preferably good).

I would like you all to have a great 2017, full of good moments, laughter and joy.

Cheers!

The goodbye

It is there, when you are hugging goodbye the person you love the most in the world and you think it will be like this forever, that you question all your choices. I have no doubts I want to live in Sweden and I have no doubts I wouldn't stand living in Portugal for long, but when I my heart contracts and becomes as small as nut as I hug my sister goodbye yet again, I can't help but question it all. 

However, one can't have everything and although living close to her would also mean more sun, warmer weather and closeness to my family and friends, it would also imply a lot more I don't want to have. 

I would see people, including my sister, working hard for little money. I would not stand it to live in a place where in most cases dreams do not count, and one has to be thankful for having a job, no matter how bad it is.
I would not be able to be bullied or to see my colleagues being bullied by employers who do not want to follow the law. No, I wouldn't stand to live in a country where women are fired for getting pregnant and where fathers are not allowed to enjoy their paternity leave, even though that's their right by law.

I wouldn't enjoy either freezing indoors in the winter, when it's 10 ºC outside. I did not enjoy having to sleep with two shirts, three socks and three blankets a week ago in my hometown.

I wouldn't like to go back to such a bureaucratic country. It's true that Portugal is not even the worse place regarding bureaucracy I have lived in, but I do enjoy how smoothly things go in Sweden. Especially after seeing my sister struggling for 3 weeks straight between long phone calls, long queues and a lot of nerves, to simply connect electricity and gas in her new rented flat. Three weeks! On top of that, the electricity company passed along her phone number, through which now she is bombarded with sales phone calls, but when the door bell failed to ring the technician from the same company simply left without even trying to call her to see if she was inside.

I would hate having to watch out every single step I would take on the side walk to avoid all the dog feces. Or even worse and find abandoned animals on the side of the road.

I would not enjoy living in a place where common sense does not rule and people, for instance, smoke near children, just because it's outdoors and it's allowed (e.g. in a stadium, where children can't really move away).

Of course there's also a lot of good things. Those I plan to enjoy every time I'll visit on vacation. Vacation that will always imply the goodbye at the end, but that will also always have the happiness of the first encounter and many other good moments.

Writing this text helped me seeing that although I question my choices sometimes, especially in emotionally fragile moments, deep inside I know that they are right and that I chose the right place to live.

Winter wonderland at Liseberg

Liseberg is a famous amusement park in Sweden and is located in Gothenburg. I'm not a big fan of amusement parks but Liseberg has other kinds of enterteinment as well. Among others it has concerts in the summer, theater, ice skating shows and small cosy shops. In December and during Christmas time the streets of Liseberg are transformed in a Winter Wonderland, with snowy figures, lights and of course, Santa's house!

Liseberg é um parque de diversões famoso na Suécia, que fica em Gotemburgo. Eu não sou grande fã de parques de diversões, mas Liseberg tem outros tipos de entertenimento também. Entre outros, há concertos no verão, teatro, shows de patinagem no gelo e lojinhas acolhedoras. Em Dezembro e durante o Natal, as ruas de Liseberg são transformadas num país das maravilhas invernal, com figuras com neve, luzes e, claro, a casa do Pai Natal!

Unfortunetaly the snow was all fake, since we didn't get snow yet this winter, but it looks very real even from close by.

Infelizmente a neve era falsa porque ainda não tivemos neve este inverno, mas parecia mesmo neve rea,l mesmo de perto.

Johan told me that him and his brother used to this in their garden on snowy days.They would make a lot of snowballs and then place a candle inside. 

O Johan disse-me que costumava fazer isto com o irmão no jardim quando nevava muito. Faziam bolas de neve e punham uma vela lá dentro.

Ice skating ring 

We chose the coldest evening to visit the park (obviously not on purpose!) but we could warm ourselves in the fires spread around the park.

Escolhemos a noite mais fria para ir ao parque (claro que não foi de propósito!), mas havias fogueiras espalhadas pelo parque onde nos podiamos aquecer. 

We went there when the sun was setting, so we could still see the park with some day light and later on when it was just illuminated by all the lights. Although it was cold it all felt very cosy somehow. The Christmas songs playing in the loud speakers might have helped to lighten up the mood as well.

Nós fomos quando o sol se estava a pôr e pudemos ver o parque ainda com alguma luz e mais tarde quando estava apenas iluminado pelas luzes de Natal. Embora estivesse bastante frio o ambiente era bastante aconchegante. As músicas de Natal que tocavam no sistem de som ajudaram a manter o espirito em alta.

Santa's house! / Casa do Pai Natal!

To reach Santa's house one had to walk a long path through a pine forest. It had many curves, because obviously Santa lives really far away! In total it was 108m, which I guess for the little ones who believe in Santa is a really long way to walk. I have to confess that it was exciting even for me! Inside Santa's house were all his helpers making gifts, Santa himself, and space where children could write there letters.

Para chegar à casa do Pai Natal era preciso ir por um longo caminho através de um pinhal nevado. Havia muitas curvas, porque obviamente o Pai Natal vive muito longe! No total eram 108m, o que para os mais pequenos que acreditam no Pai Natal é realmente um longo caminho a pé. Tenho de confessar que foi emocionante até para mim! Dentro da casa de Santa estavam todos os seus ajudantes a fabricar os presentes, o próprio Pai Natal e um espaço onde as crianças podiam escrever cartas.

Left: Santa is speaking to a little girl. Right: The pile of gifts already prepared.

Esquerda: Pai Natal a falar com uma menina. Direita: Um monte de presentes já prontinhos.

Digital wishlist... modern times. / Lista de desejos digital... os tempos modernos.

Since the factory runs 24h a day some of the helpers were resting at the time.

Uma vez que a fabrica funciona 24h por dia, alguns dos ajudantes estavam a descansar.

When we left Santa's house it was much darker and we could enjoy the fantastic Christmas lights. My favourite was the giant tree, with lights in every single branch! I can only imagine how much work it took to decorate that tree. 

Quando saímos da casa do Pai Natal já estava escuro e pudemos apreciar as fantásticas luzes de Natal. A minha favorita foi uma árvore gigante, com luzes em todos os ramos! Imagino o trabalho que aquilo não deu!

My favourite tree / A minha árvore preferida

Besides the lights one can of course ride in the roller coasters and such, although I can imagine how cold it must feel there. There was also some choirs singing Christmas songs and a sword-fight show, that we missed. The experience however, is worth it just to go, walk around and feel the Christmas spirit. It was lovely!

Claro que também se pode andar nas montanhas russas e outras coisas assim, se bem que o ar lá em cima deve estar gelado. Enquanto lá estivemos houve também alguns coros a cantar canções de Natal e um espectáculo de luta de espadas, que não vimos. Ainda assim a experiência vale a pena só para ir passear e sentir o espírito de Natal. Foi adorável!

The Newbie - Surviving Christmas in Sweden

Christmas time is the highlight of the Swedish winter. The days are now very dark, it's cold outside and one just wants to snuggle in the sofa with a cup of tea. However, when December comes the whole country lights up. It's not only the usual Christmas decorations and lights in town, but people also light up their windows with candles and/or a set of lights typical in Sweden. Suddenly, the darkness is forgotten, people go out despite the cold and everybody is happy. 

A época de Natal é a mais do inverno sueco. Os dias são agora muito escuros, está frio lá fora e só nos apetece aconchegar no sofá com uma mantinha e uma caneca de chá. No entanto, quando dezembro chega tudo muda e o país inteiro ilumina-se. Não são apenas as tradicionais decorações e luzes de Natal na cidade, mas também todas as janelas iluminadas com velas e/ou um conjunto de luzes típicas da Suécia. Assim, de repente a escuridão é esquecida, as pessoas saem à rua sem querer saber do frio e toda a gente está feliz.

Our Swedish Christmas lights. Outside, every window has an illuminated star or the same kind of lights.
As nossas luzes de Natal suecas. Lá fora cada janela está iluminada com uma estrela ou com o mesmo tipo de luzes.

In my post for the Newbie about Christmas in Sweden I describe what most swedes do on Christmas Eve and I also talk about other events celebrated during this time, such as advent and Santa Lucia. You can read the whole text here!

No meu post para o Newbie falo sobre o Natal na Suécia, descrevo como é a consoada sueca e falo também de outros eventos celebrados durante este período, como o advento e Santa Lucia. Podem ler o texto completo aqui!

Sankta Lucia

Today is celebrated Saint Lucy, or Sankta Lucia in Swedish. In a nutshell, Saint Lucy was a kind woman that lived in the 1300s, in Italy, that helped prisoners by bringing them food. Since it was dark, she couldn't both carry the food and light at the same time, so she used candles on her head to illuminate the way. Later on she was tortured and became a martyr. Why is this saint celebrated in Sweden when the tale is originally from Italy is not really know, but here are many theories and stories around it. 

Hoje é comemorado o dia da Santa Lucia ou Sankta Lucia em sueco. Em poucas palavras, Santa Lucia era uma mulher amável que viveu nos anos 1300, na Itália, e que ajudou prisioneiros, trazendo-lhes comida. Como estava escuro e ela não conseguia levar a comida e luz ao mesmo tempo, usava velas na cabeça para iluminar o caminho. Mais tarde foi torturada e tornou-se um mártir. Não são conhecidas ao certo as razões de se celebrar este dia na Suécia, uma vez que a história vem originalmente da Itália não, e há várias teorias e histórias diferentes.

Photo from Pinterest

Nowadays, Sankta Lucia is celebrated mostly in schools by chanting Lucia songs, but it also happens that a choir is found singing in the city. The group of singers are all dressed in white and hold candles in their hands. A girl/woman, that is selected in advance to represent Lucia, has four candles in the head. Afterwards, everybody gathers together for a fika (swedish word for coffee break), where Lussebuns (Lussekatter in Swedish), among others, are served. 

Hoje em dia, a Santa Lucia é festejada principalmente nas escolas, com cânticos típicos de Lucia, mas às vezes também há coros a cantar pela cidade. O grupo de cantores está sempre todo vestido de branco e cada pessoa segura numa vela. Uma menina/mulher, que é selecionada com antecedência para representar Lucia, tem quatro velas na cabeça. Depois dos cânticos todos se reúnem para um fika (palavra sueca para coffee break), onde se servem bolinhos de Lusse (Lussekatter em sueco), entre outros.

Our Lussekatter / Os nossos Lussekatter

Lussekatter are super yummy saffron buns, with two raisins each, usually in the shape of an S. Because life is all about integration in new cultures (and I love to try new recipes!), me, Johan and his mum decided to bake Lussekatter last weekend. It was really fun and they turned out really fluffy and good. 

Lussekatter são uns deliciosos bolinhos de açafrão, com duas passas cada um, geralmente na forma de um S. Porque a integração em novas culturas na vida é importante (ou se calhar porque eu adoro experimentar receitas novas!), eu, Johan e a mãe dele decidimos fazer Lussekatter no fim de semana passado. Foi muito divertido e ficaram fofinhos e óptimos.

Of course we didn't stick to the S shape and invented other forms as well. They were all good!
Claro que nos pusemos a inventar nas formas e não fizemos só S. Eram todas boas!

Nobel prize ceremony 2016

I was there and I want to tell you all about it! 

I wish that was completely true. I was there but through the TV only. 

The ceremony is shown on Swedish TV and for the first time I watched almost the entire thing. It all starts with the handling of the prizes, with speeches from the head of each committee. The prizes are handed by the Swedish king himself, who is a relaxed funny person. Protocol exists, but it's not a big thing if one of the laureates forgets in which order to nod (king, Swedish academy and then the audience). After the ceremony comes the long awaited banquet, which lasts for about 4h and counts with music moments in between dishes, and ends with the laureates speeches. The whole day ends with the ball where everybody is finally able to relax and enjoy themselves.

Photo from nobelprize.org

I don't know if it's because of my scientific background, but for me this is the best ceremony in the world, beating even the Oscars. Why is it so special? Because "normal" random people get to sit and talk with the king, queen, princesses and princes, living their own fairy tale for one day. Surely the laureates are incredible people as well, that's also why they are there, but I also know that most academics live a simple life, among books, students and scientific discussions. The, suddenly one day, they get to seat among two members of the royal family and have a long discussion with them about who knows what. That is all visible when you watch the dinner on TV. The laureates, yesterday all men, entered the room with one of the princesses or the queen hanging on their arm, while their wives entered the room holding the arm of a prince or the king. One of the wives was in fact Swedish, although her husband was not, and they have lived in US for years. For her it was even more special, as she had never dreamed of sharing time with the royal family, that she grew up hearing all about. A moment I particularly liked was the exit of the banquet. The wife that was paired with the king stood up, grabbed her purse, the dinner menu, her seat card and all she could take to remember that moment forever, and then happily grabbed the kings arm with a very big smile. That's the spirit of the Nobel Prize. The simplicity of the people that for one night get to live in a fairy tale. 

Photo from http://www.svenskdam.se/

Closest are the king Karl Gustav, and the wife of the laureate Bernard Feringa, that is just behind, with the queen Sylvia. Behind them is the crown princess Victoria and the laureate 

Most of all... I wish I could be there. Not necessary on the kings side, but behind a column of the magnificent blue room in the city hall in Stockholm, watching all this live.