Marta's Sara Jump

My sister and some friends went to visit Sport Lisboa e Benfica's stadium, in Lisbon. SLB has been our football club since we grew up and the stadium is partly open to the public as long as there are no matches that day. During her visit she performed the required (by sisterhood) Sara Jump. 

Thank you Marta!

A minha irmã e alguns amigos foram visitar o estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, em Lisboa. O SLB tem sido o nosso clube de futebol desde crianças e o estádio está parcialmente aberto ao público, desde que não haja jogos nesses dia. Durante a sua visita ela fez o Sara Jump da praxe (requerido por irmandade).

Obrigado Marta!

Marta, Lisbon, April 2017

Stories of my world #12

I met him at work, in the pause room. He is a retired professor of the Chemistry department who comes and visits sometimes. Just before we met, I was in my office wondering if I should or not go to the afternoon break, because I had some stuff to do. I did go. As I prepared my tea, I noticed an available chair across from that man, with his shining white hair, probably aged by many years spent in the laboratory. I sat across him wondering if we had already been introduced or not. There are a lot of new faces to be remembered and his I could not recall. As soon as I sat down he said "you must be the new Portuguese girl". I am. And he replied, in strongly accented Portuguese, that he knew a few words in my language. He had visited many times a group in Brazil and ended up learning some essentials. He had also been in Portugal several times, although he found our Portuguese harder to understand. Not knowing how much he could speak I asked if we should change to Portuguese or continue in Swedish. He laughed and said I got it wrong, he couldn't really have a conversation in Portuguese. 

As I enjoyed my tea and he enjoyed his coffee, I told him how I had also lived in Brazil. We talked about how exotic the country is and shared opinions on how interesting experience it was to be able to live there. He asked me in which city I lived. As always, I replied Belo Horizonte, getting ready to explain where it is because not that many know. But he knew where it is. He not only knew where it is, but it was also the city where he lived in Brazil! In that huge country we both had lived in the same city!

Knowing he is a chemist I asked if he had visited a group in the Chemistry department of the local university. No, he replied, he was visiting a group in the physics department. What? I worked in the physics department for three years! In a 50.000 people university, we actually worked in the same department! His eyes were shining, as I'm sure mine were too, and we shared common experiences and places. We tried to find people we knew in common as well but that was harder, as his last visit to the department was in 1984, when my Brazilian ex-boss was not even a professor. 

That was how a common coffee break at work became a fantastic story. Another one to add to "the world is so small" collection. I love these. Especially the most unexpected ones. Like this one. Thank you S.

Art tour in Majorna

Just outside Röda Sten museum / À porta do museu Röda Sten 

Last weekend was the Konstrundan i Majorna, which means art tour in Majorna, the art neighbourhood of Gothenburg. During 3 days, 73 different artists opened their private work spaces to the public and showed their creations. A sample piece of each artist was also shown in the Röda Sten museum (Red Stone). We started our art tour at the museum and then visited some of the open workshops. It was very interesting to see the some of the spaces, specially those that looked more real and less fixed up.

O fim de semana passado foi o Konstrundan i Majorna, que significa a passeio da arte em Majorna, o bairro artístico de Gotemburgo. Durante 3 dias, 73 artistas abriram os seus espaços de trabalho ao público e mostraram as suas criações. Uma amostra de cada artista foi também exibida no museu Röda Sten (Pedra Vermelha). Foi aí mesmo que começamos o nosso passeio e em seguida visitamos algumas das oficinas abertas. Foi muito interessante ver alguns dos espaços, especialmente aqueles que pareciam mais reais e menos arranjadinhos.

Some of the pieces at the museum (up and down)

Algumas das peças no museu (em cima e em baixo) 

This was one of my favourite workshops. The artist, Anna Eggert, does a lot of work in glass and metals and you could tell that was really her workspace as there were tools and pieces a bit everywhere. It was very cosy and enjoyable, as if one could feel more inspired just by being there.

Esta foi uma das minhas oficinas favoritas. A artista, Anna Eggert, trabalha em vidro e metal e percebia-se que aquele era realmente o seu espaço de trabalho porque havia ferramentas e peças um pouco por toda a parte. O espaço era de certa forma aconchegante e agradável, como se nos pudessemos sentir mais inspirados só por ali estarmos.

 Some of the artists needed that extra space to show their pieces and did it in the kitchen.

Alguns artistas precisaram de espaço extra e escolheram mostrar as peças na cozinha. 

Fabric section with several different artists / Secção de tecidos contando com vários artistas

I liked that behind the tapestry were loads of other pieces. Too many to be shown this time, all waiting for an opportunity. 

Gostei do facto de atrás da tapeçaria estarem tantas outras peças. Demasiadas para serem mostradas desta vez, todas à espera de uma oportunidade.

We finished our tour charging batteries in a nearby cafe where we ate giant sandwiches. Unfortunately, it was really windy and unpleasant and we couldn't enjoy the beautiful sunshine as much. Still, we had a nice time over all.  

Acabamos o nosso passeio a comer sandes enormes num café ali ao pé para carregarmos baterias. Infelizmente estava muito ventoso e desagradável e não pudemos aproveitar o sol como queríamos. Ainda assim e no total a experiência foi muito positiva.

Libraries, the best kept Swedish secret - Newbie

I have confessed here before how much I like libraries and how I dreamed of living in a place with cosy, functional and good libraries. My dream came true. Swedish libraries are fantastic and the possibilities they offer go way beyond borrowing books. 

While I was writing the article for the Newbie, I saw in the news section of my library that they had recently got a cat that we all could go and pat. At first I became super happy, because I love cats but can't have any. Then I started questioning the idea, as the cat could get lost in that huge library full of hiding places. Later on, I saw that it was an April fool's joke... I will have to find some other cat to pat.

Apart from that, there's a lot to do in Swedish libraries, as you can read in the article I wrote to the Newbie Guide to Sweden.

Gothenburg's library

The new job

I have now worked for a week and a half, and there's no way I can answer yet the questions I wrote in this post. Although, I do already have a better idea how my life is going to be. In general, I can say so far so good.

1. Surrounded by brilliant minds again

Many have said that one of the challenges of being a research scientist is that one is constantly surrounded by brilliant minds, which can be challenging for the self-esteem. That never really affected me in a negative way and I have always enjoyed listening to interesting and cool stories. I felt quite the opposite, actually. When I was on the verge of abandoning science I feared that I would miss that part. Now I'm back among them, with the advantage that I don't work as a researcher, which removes all the pressure. I can just sit and enjoy their stories and discussions. 

Yesterday, for instance, my office mate was going to film an ice-skating Swedish champion. Later on, the images would be used to make 3D simulations and study the movements of the athlete, during jumps and pirouettes. 

2. Variation

My new job has a lot of movement, I work at 4 different floors and run up and down a lot. Which I like. It involves a lot of organising, planing and talking with people. Which I like. If I would had taken plan B, I would have ended up in a similar job, although outside of science.

3. Boss with a smile

I have had good and bad bosses. To be more exact, I have had great bosses and really bad bosses. No midterm. I have a feeling that I have a great one again. He has not been only been good and understanding, but he has also always a friendly smile. He, who told during my first interview that I'm likeable, probably without having any idea that he is even more likeable than me. 

4. Nice colleagues

Colleagues can make or break a job. Fortunately, the environment at work seems to be great. Of course it is too early to say too much, but it looks promising. 

All these are good points of course, but that doesn't mean that I have now lowered my shields. I know that bad days are coming and that there will probably be times or tasks that I won't enjoy as much. But that's ok. I hope I'm ready for them. 

For now I'll keep enjoying the highs. 

You got to love Sweden...

... but not always.

If you ask any Swede about bureaucracy they will tell you that it is terrible in Sweden. It's not. Everything works reasonably well and that's noticeable if you compare it with most other countries. However, bureaucracy is still bureaucracy. Mistakes can happen leading to funny/weird/stupid situations. Even in Sweden. Like this one.

Johan, who is Swedish, went to the dentist. A week later he got a letter from the social health care (or whatever försäkringskassan is called in English), in which was required that he presented proof from the migration office that he is allowed to live in Sweden. 

Our best guess is that they couldn't find him in the system, although he never had problems when he went to other doctors, assuming immediately that he was a foreigner due to one of his names being German.

He laughed and cried at the situation! What? I am Swedish! Where will you deport me to if I don't show this document? To Sweden?

Perfection doesn't exist after all...

Learning Swedish with TV shows

We grow up listening to our parents saying "you can only watch TV when you are done with your homework". Then we come to Sweden and hear the teachers encouraging the students to watch TV. The times have changed. Or not!

It does actually make sense that one should watch TV to practice a new language. It certainly helped me a lot to develop my Swedish, specially because the language has this very particular melody, that goes up and down.

In my latest article for the Newbie Guide to Sweden I talk about my favourite Swedish TV shows and how they taught me useful things about the language, the culture and the country itself. Read more here.

First day

There's a Portuguese song from Sérgio Godinho who goes "today is the first day, of the rest of my life". I have found myself saying those words on a few different occasions. There are so many first days in life! All of them bring similar feelings, whether it is the first day of school, the first day in a new country, the first day living as a couple, or the first day without someone we loved. They all bring changes, changes that even if are good, are always a little bit scary first. They all bring uncertainty, because we know something is about to change, but we simply can't know what or how. 

Here I am again. On the verge of another first day. This time, the first day at a new job. 

Who will I meet? How will they influence my life? Will I get new friends? How will my daily routine be? Will I enjoy it? Which mistakes will I make? Will my life be better or worse? Will I miss my pre-changes-life in a year? 

And the biggest question of all... Will I be happy?

All these questions will only be answered in the future, as the time passes. It wouldn't be fun otherwise! What would be the point of living if we had all the answers? 

Still, a little part of me would really like to have these answers now. But the other, the biggest part of me, is just enjoying the excitement of a new beginning. 

Photo from the internet

PS. I would like to come back to this post in a year and see how the answers turned out...

Unemployment

To be unemployed is hard and it brings a lot of questions, indecisions, and insecurity, harming our self-esteem as well. I'm no longer unemployed (yay!), but I have been for over a year and it was a new experience. I'm actually preparing a "more serious article" about that for the Newbie blog, but that's not what this post is about. This one is about the good side of being unemployed. 

I have always been a positive person and I tried to use my unemployed time the most fruitful way possible. Now, looking back at these last 16 months, I think I did a pretty good job at being unemployed. All those moments I was not moaning about how I would never find a job again, that is!

Learned a new language

This was probably the most useful thing I did. Quite exactly 11 months ago I started the first Swedish course. Quite exactly 11 months ago I could say about 20 words in Swedish and that was it. Nowadays, I can have conversations, read books and use the language on a daily basis. I actually got the job because I can speak Swedish!

Read

I love reading and I have never read so many books as these past months. I read 32 books in 2016 (plus some easy ones in Swedish) and just this year I already read 10. This I will miss...

Blogged

Although I didn't catch up in writing about all my trips in this blog as planned, I wrote more than ever. I wrote here, I started blogging for the Newbie Guide to Sweden and I created a blog in Swedish for my school. I certainly enjoyed this part too!

Ran

I could have written exercised, but truth is that it was mostly running. I'm not sure I ran more than normal, because I did it already a lot even when I had a job, but somehow it was more pleasant. I could run in the morning without having to do it at 7am. Or I could wait for the rain to pass. I could avoid running in the dark even during the winter (a luxury!). Basically, I had more options and freedom.

Organised and cleaned

If the boy was paying most of the bills it was only fair that I was the one organising things and cleaning the house. Just like a couple in the 50's! Truth is since I could do a little everyday it became much easier to just hold everything under control. 

Watched TV

Even though I'm not a big TV watcher, there were times that I just stopped what I was doing, sat down and watch an episode of something. These were the moments in which I really had the feeling "I'm unemployed therefore I can".

This was basically how I filled my time. Most days were actually pretty busy but I know that it couldn't have been any other way, because I just can't sit around the whole time without freaking out. I will certainly miss the time to do (more of) some of these things, but I also miss other things that come with having a job. It's all about having the right balance and if I could find it while unemployed, I can certainly find it again while working. Or so I hope.

Stories of my world #11

Não me lembro do dia em que te conheci, mas lembro-me de muitos outros depois. Fecho os olhos e vejo-te naquela cozinha escura em frente à lareira, que crepita alegremente e emana aquele calor bom e único, que nos aquece por dentro e por fora. Nessa mesma minúscula e escura cozinha estou também eu e a minha irmã. Estamos nós três sentados, tu na tua cadeira e nós as duas nos banquinhos de madeira de três pernas. No centro está aquele banco mais alto, cujo tampo serve de mesa enquanto jogamos às cartas, com aquele baralho espanhol de figuras estranhas. Jogamos ao peixinho e ao burro de contar, os únicos jogos que a minha irmã sabe jogar na sua tenra idade. Nunca fazemos batotice. Nunca a deixamos ganhar porque ela é pequena. Umas vezes perde-se, outras ganha-se. Como na vida.

Abro os olhos e regresso à realidade. A lareira está apagada e os joelhos doem-me quando me sento nos banquinhos. As cartas estão gastas e o baralho incompleto. A minha irmã já sabe muitas outras coisas, inclusive que tu não te levantavas cedo na manhã de Natal para ver as botas ao Pai Natal, enquanto este escapava apressadamente pela chaminé acima. 

A realidade pesa e magoa e volto a fechar os olhos. Volto novamente à tua cozinha. Desta vez estás a assar castanhas, naquele assador velho e preto, que nos pinta as mãos e a roupa. Expectantes ouvimos o som das castanhas a estalar e sentimos-lhe o cheiro, enquanto nos vai crescendo água na boca, na antecipação pelo sabor que sabemos que vamos sentir daí a momentos. A espera não é longa mas parece infinita. Para nos acalmares um pouco o desejo, tiras do assador duas castanhas ainda mal assadas, que em vez de nos sossegarem só nos aguçam ainda mais o apetite. 

Volto a abrir os olhos. É Abril e não há castanhas. Nem mesmo aquelas que guardavas meses num sitio especial para que sobrevivessem até eu chegar do estrangeiro. Mesmo que fosse Outono também não ia haver castanhas. Não na tua cozinha. Não assadas pelas tuas mãos. Pelo teu assador.

Também não voltaremos a presenciar todas as outras coisas, como por exemplo os teus talentos de encantador de galinhas, que trazias atrás de ti sempre tão amestradas. Ou de encantador de crianças, com as tuas lições da escola na ponta da língua. Ou de encantador de pessoas, com as tuas histórias de uma vida de outrora, mais dura e difícil, mas mais jovem e feliz.

Eras mágico. Sempre o foste para nós, mesmo depois de crescemos. Continuas a sê-lo mesmo um ano depois de nos teres deixado. Continuarás sempre a sê-lo enquanto viveres nas nossas memórias. Por toda a eternidade portanto, o que parece uma imensidão de tempo para viver sem ti.
Tudo continua. Nada é igual.

*Texto dedicado ao meu avô.

(click for English)