Dear Friends,
1996 was a great period of my life. At that time I lived in Cologne and during summer many students from different countries came to town to do their "Praktika" organised by AIESEC. That was an unrepeatable group of people. Together we did lots of things, and had a lot of fun. Those people were nice people, and it was a privilege to get to know them.
* * * * *
One of them was Kirsi, from Finland. She was an extremely nice person, easy going, positive thinking, optimist, very clever and mature. It was an endless joy to be with her. For us, the permanent residents (people that I call "the Cologne friends", although most don't live there any more), she made a big difference. At her farewell party I said that it was amazing how life could put such a great group together. Then she replied: "Maurício, nice people meet nice people".
* * * * *
I never met Kirsi again. I hope she is doing well and making her dreams come true, be it in Finland or anywhere else in the planet. And I'm sure she has lots of nice people around her, because she is definitely a special person. I also know that, should we meet again, it would be a great happiness. True friendship has this wonderful side: it is generous and it is for lifetime. It doesn't matter how long two friends have no contact, when they meet again it is just like the time before. All the goodwill and love is still there, intact.
* * * * *
I remembered Kirsi and the summer of 1996 in Cologne yesterday, when suddenly I was brought back to another happy summer, this time in 1989 in Uppsala, Sweden. That was the first time that I went there. I attended a summer course in Swedish. At that time life also put lots of nice people together. Some of those are among my best friends. They belong to the best part of my life and we are still in touch. Every now and then we meet, even though we live in different countries. Others were very good companions, but we never met again. In most cases, we lost contact.
* * * * *
One of these persons was Carmi, a classmate from Edmonton, Alberta. We were about the same age, shared the same passion for Scandinavia, and already at that time both of us wanted to become writers. He wanted to write books for children and move to Japan. I wanted to write books for adults and move to Europe. Together we travelled to Finland and Denmark. He became a truly good friend.
* * * * *
When the summer was over we both went back to our countries. However, for some years we kept in touch. We sent each other books and wrote letters. It may sound surprising but yes, during last century people used to write letters... About the same time when I moved to Portugal he moved to South Korea. I remember getting some letters from him in Portugal, but when I moved to Spain the following year there were no more news.
* * * * *
In recent years many times I googled his name, trying to find out his whereabouts. I expected to discover the titles of the children books that he had written. I wanted to call him, send him e-mails or visit him wherever he might be. Gun from Sweden also met him in 1989 and some times we wondered what he could be up to.
* * * * *
Last year, when I stayed in Stockholm to write my novel, I often thought of him. We had been together in Stockholm some times. We particularly liked a café at Kungsträdgården. When I finished the novel, I decided to write a letter to his old address in Canada, hoping that somehow it would come to his hands. I wanted to tell him that I had written a novel and spent a summer in Sweden. I knew he would be glad for me and happy to hear from me. I bought a very nice card with Stockholm's skyline. I decided to send it from Brazil, but unfortunately never did.
* * * * *
Yesterday night I remembered one Swedish song and then thought of Carmi. I decided to google his name again. For the first time there was some result. Sadly enough, it was his mother's obituary. She passed away in December last year. I was shocked when I read that: "she was predeceased by her son Carmi". I couldn't believe my eyes. I was deeply sad and couldn't understand how such a tragedy could have happened. Since I tried to get in touch with his family in Canada, but so far without success.
* * * * *
Carmi was a very good friend, a person that made a big difference in my life. Above all, he was a very good human being. I always thought that one day, sooner or later, we would be in touch again. When I remembered him I asked myself where in the world he could be and what he would be up to. I always wished him all the best. I never considered the possibility that he might not be around any longer.
* * * * *
Dear Carmi, I don't know what happened. Maybe you left us a long time ago. Maybe it is only for me that this loss is so recent and difficult to understand. Be sure of one thing though: anyone who had the luck to know you will deeply miss you. For me it is difficult to come to terms with the idea that I will never see you again, at least not as Carmi C. Wherever you might be in your journey through the universe, I wish you bon voyage, dear friend. You are in my thoughts and in my own, non-religious form of pray. How sad that this turned out to be such a short incarnation! Wherever you are, may you rest in peace. Be sure that for decades you will continue to live in the memories of those that loved you. Och vi ses i Nangijala!
Maurício
Saturday, 7 November 2009
Wednesday, 29 July 2009
TAWOMG - Refusing to visit Burgos' Cathedral
Dear Friends,
Last weekend I drove from Barcelona to Portugal. I left on Saturday afternoon and stopped over in Burgos. On Sunday morning I wanted to visit the city, specially its famous cathedral, where I hadn't been for many years. To my big surprise, visitors to the cathedral were charged a 5,00 € ticket just to get in. When I complained, saying that it was the first time that I heard that the Church charged an entrance fee to God's House, I was informed that if I wanted to pray or attend the Mass, I could go through the back door and it was for free. Indeed it was, but then those that go this way get into a very restricted, backside part of the temple. From there you can see nothing of its beauty.
* * * * *
In Spain, every taxpayer, when filling the tax return, has to opt whether he wants that 0,7% of his taxes goes to the Catholic Church or not. Only the Roman Church is financed this way. Those that decide not to favour the Church do not get their money back. Although it seems reasonable, this is a highly flawed system: first, because it does discriminate against other faiths; second because the Church argues that they need more money than the taxpayers decide it should receive. Every single government, from left or right, has so far overruled the taxpayers' decision and granted more money to the Church than it would otherwise normally be entitled to.
* * * * *
I understand that the maintenance of monuments like Burgos’s Cathedral does cost money. I also see that there is a business case in charging visitors an entrance fee. However, it did shock me. Other temples in other places have more subtle ways to ask visitors to contribute to their running costs: they sell candles, charge a fee to climb the towers, or visit the caves, organise guided tours and so on. An entrance fee to come inside a church sounds almost like a heresy. On top of it, the Catholic Church already gets a lot more money than we, Spanish taxpayers, would like them to, and they use it in a way that many disagree.
* * * * *
Having all this in mind, I decided not to visit Burgos’ Cathedral. I know my decision made no difference and was not noticed. Nevertheless, I was not willing to help finance an organisation that, in Spain, many times acts against my values and beliefs. More important, I was not willing to support the idea that common people should pay to be allowed into a temple, whatever the faith.
Wish you a nice week.
Maurício
Last weekend I drove from Barcelona to Portugal. I left on Saturday afternoon and stopped over in Burgos. On Sunday morning I wanted to visit the city, specially its famous cathedral, where I hadn't been for many years. To my big surprise, visitors to the cathedral were charged a 5,00 € ticket just to get in. When I complained, saying that it was the first time that I heard that the Church charged an entrance fee to God's House, I was informed that if I wanted to pray or attend the Mass, I could go through the back door and it was for free. Indeed it was, but then those that go this way get into a very restricted, backside part of the temple. From there you can see nothing of its beauty.
* * * * *
In Spain, every taxpayer, when filling the tax return, has to opt whether he wants that 0,7% of his taxes goes to the Catholic Church or not. Only the Roman Church is financed this way. Those that decide not to favour the Church do not get their money back. Although it seems reasonable, this is a highly flawed system: first, because it does discriminate against other faiths; second because the Church argues that they need more money than the taxpayers decide it should receive. Every single government, from left or right, has so far overruled the taxpayers' decision and granted more money to the Church than it would otherwise normally be entitled to.
* * * * *
I understand that the maintenance of monuments like Burgos’s Cathedral does cost money. I also see that there is a business case in charging visitors an entrance fee. However, it did shock me. Other temples in other places have more subtle ways to ask visitors to contribute to their running costs: they sell candles, charge a fee to climb the towers, or visit the caves, organise guided tours and so on. An entrance fee to come inside a church sounds almost like a heresy. On top of it, the Catholic Church already gets a lot more money than we, Spanish taxpayers, would like them to, and they use it in a way that many disagree.
* * * * *
Having all this in mind, I decided not to visit Burgos’ Cathedral. I know my decision made no difference and was not noticed. Nevertheless, I was not willing to help finance an organisation that, in Spain, many times acts against my values and beliefs. More important, I was not willing to support the idea that common people should pay to be allowed into a temple, whatever the faith.
Wish you a nice week.
Maurício
Sunday, 5 July 2009
TAWOMG - Leaving Oporto
Dear Friends,
I am spendin
g this weekend in Oporto. I left the city three weeks ago, after five months working in a project for a local company. It was a great opportunity to come back to the place where I lived sixteen years ago. A lot has changed in the meantime and I think Porto and Portugal improved a lot in the two decades since I visited Lisbon for the first time.
* * * * *
It is not only Portugal that has changed a lot, Europe has. People my age and older certainly remember that up to the early nineties there were border controls all over Europe and every time we wanted to cross them we were subject to passport and customs control. Each country had its currency and even for a coffee we had to exchange money. The infra structure in places like Portugal or Spain were not as good as they are today. It is amazing how different - and better - the European Union is compared to twenty years ago.
* * * * *
During the last months I have read a lot about Portuguese history, old and recent events. One thing that shocks is how the colonial wars in Mozambique and Angola traumatised the nation and how disastrous decolonisation was. The independence of the former colonies resulted in half a million people having to abandon their homes and leave behind what in some cases was the only life and country they had ever known. Most lost all their possessions. They were not welcome back in Portugal and were discriminated as "retornados". Their absence accelerated the economic collapse of the former colonies and local people that remained in Angola and Mozambique suffered the atrocities of almost three decades of civil war. It was very difficult to make it worse and nevertheless people that were responsible for it, like Mário Soares, dare to say that it was an "exemplary decolonisation". Do they mean an example how not to do it?
* * * * *
It is also amazing that in Brazil most of the population, of any age, knows very little or absolutely nothing about all this. How could we be so unaware of this disaster? Even more so considering that many people immigrated to Brazil when they left Africa.
* * * * *
Reading about Portuguese history and being physically here, it is easy to understand why the Portuguese soul is focused overseas. The powerful presence of the Atlantic coast reminds us that we are at the west end of Europe. Beyond Portugal there is only the ocean and the new world. Then come the cultural and family ties with Brazil and Africa, not to mention Asia. It is not so surprising that after so many years of economic stagnation, thousands of people are doing business or even immigrating to Africa or Brazil, in search of new opportunities. It goes with the Portuguese DNA. If you have ever witnessed the sunset from the Portuguese coast, you certainly have felt this attraction for the unknown, for whatever lies behind the horizon. That is a call that during centuries has made this country and people take the chances and go abroad. Will it ever change?
* * * * *
When I left Porto I to
ok with me the memories of the good things that I left behind: the charms of "Casa do Poema", the guesthouse where I lived; the Douro river and its picturesque riverside; the weekend lunches at Cafeína, one of my preferred restaurants in town (good food, very friendly service, nice ambience); above all, the friendliness of the people from the north.
* * * * *
My new assignment as interim manager is in Alvaiázere, a small town in the centre of the country. I am lodging in Tomar. Once upon a time Tomar was the roman city Nabantia and in the 12th century it was granted a fief to the Order of the Knights Templar. It is very beautiful, but also small. It is worth a weekend visit, but then you have seen all that is to be seen. I suspect that while in Alvaiázere/Tomar I will take the opportunity to visit other places in Portugal during the weekends. The more I get to know the country, the more I feel attached to it. I am glad I am enjoying a lot more being here than the first time in 1993.
Wish you a nice week,
Maurício
I am spendin
g this weekend in Oporto. I left the city three weeks ago, after five months working in a project for a local company. It was a great opportunity to come back to the place where I lived sixteen years ago. A lot has changed in the meantime and I think Porto and Portugal improved a lot in the two decades since I visited Lisbon for the first time.* * * * *
It is not only Portugal that has changed a lot, Europe has. People my age and older certainly remember that up to the early nineties there were border controls all over Europe and every time we wanted to cross them we were subject to passport and customs control. Each country had its currency and even for a coffee we had to exchange money. The infra structure in places like Portugal or Spain were not as good as they are today. It is amazing how different - and better - the European Union is compared to twenty years ago.
* * * * *
During the last months I have read a lot about Portuguese history, old and recent events. One thing that shocks is how the colonial wars in Mozambique and Angola traumatised the nation and how disastrous decolonisation was. The independence of the former colonies resulted in half a million people having to abandon their homes and leave behind what in some cases was the only life and country they had ever known. Most lost all their possessions. They were not welcome back in Portugal and were discriminated as "retornados". Their absence accelerated the economic collapse of the former colonies and local people that remained in Angola and Mozambique suffered the atrocities of almost three decades of civil war. It was very difficult to make it worse and nevertheless people that were responsible for it, like Mário Soares, dare to say that it was an "exemplary decolonisation". Do they mean an example how not to do it?
* * * * *
It is also amazing that in Brazil most of the population, of any age, knows very little or absolutely nothing about all this. How could we be so unaware of this disaster? Even more so considering that many people immigrated to Brazil when they left Africa.
* * * * *
Reading about Portuguese history and being physically here, it is easy to understand why the Portuguese soul is focused overseas. The powerful presence of the Atlantic coast reminds us that we are at the west end of Europe. Beyond Portugal there is only the ocean and the new world. Then come the cultural and family ties with Brazil and Africa, not to mention Asia. It is not so surprising that after so many years of economic stagnation, thousands of people are doing business or even immigrating to Africa or Brazil, in search of new opportunities. It goes with the Portuguese DNA. If you have ever witnessed the sunset from the Portuguese coast, you certainly have felt this attraction for the unknown, for whatever lies behind the horizon. That is a call that during centuries has made this country and people take the chances and go abroad. Will it ever change?
* * * * *
When I left Porto I to
ok with me the memories of the good things that I left behind: the charms of "Casa do Poema", the guesthouse where I lived; the Douro river and its picturesque riverside; the weekend lunches at Cafeína, one of my preferred restaurants in town (good food, very friendly service, nice ambience); above all, the friendliness of the people from the north.* * * * *
My new assignment as interim manager is in Alvaiázere, a small town in the centre of the country. I am lodging in Tomar. Once upon a time Tomar was the roman city Nabantia and in the 12th century it was granted a fief to the Order of the Knights Templar. It is very beautiful, but also small. It is worth a weekend visit, but then you have seen all that is to be seen. I suspect that while in Alvaiázere/Tomar I will take the opportunity to visit other places in Portugal during the weekends. The more I get to know the country, the more I feel attached to it. I am glad I am enjoying a lot more being here than the first time in 1993.
Wish you a nice week,
Maurício
Monday, 23 March 2009
The Amazing Week is back to town
Dear Friends,
Long time no news. No news, good news. That is the say, but for quite some time that is not what we read on the paper every morning. All around the world the crisis is hitting hard and many of us are going through tough times.
* * * * *
Maybe by now it is about time to update you of my whereabouts. Last year I spent the last three months of my sabbatical year in Brazil, mainly in São Paulo. That is where I wrote the last posting. Since 1 January I'm back to Europe and since mid January I'm working as a consultant for a Portuguese company in OPorto. After fifteen years, I'm back to the place where I moved to when I left Brazil in 1993
* * * * *
When I wrote the last posting the turmoil in the world economy was gathering momentum. At that time I may have sounded pessimistic. Now, I think I was quite conservative. So far reality has proved to be a lot worse than we dared to figure out last summer. Maybe the good news is that probably most of us will not experience again such a crisis during our lifetime. No doubt, that the economic cycles still hold and there will be other downturns in the future. However, a crash like the one that we are witnessing will probably not happen again in many decades. Let's just hope that the recession will not turn into a depression.
* * * * *
This time in Portugal I decided to spend most of the weekends travelling around the country, instead of going back home. I will take the opportunity to visit the places that
I haven't visited when I first lived here. Last weekend Neus, Angela, Gemma and I visited Lisbon. On the photo beside you can see me in the gardens of Queluz Palace, in Sintra. I was very impressed by it, although the building requires some renovation work. However beautiful, it is not my preferred royal palace in Portugal. I think that Mafra is more beautiful and also a lot more interesting. I quite understand why D. João VI preferred Mafra, apart from the fact that he wanted to live far from his wife, Carlota Joaquina, who lived with his mad mother, Queen Maria I, in Queluz.
* * * * *
Saturday night we had dinner at "Alcântara Café". That is one of my favourite restaurants in Lisbon. I hadn't been there for years. I was a bit worried: I didn't want to disappoint my friends. Quite often a very good restaurant doesn't keep the same service and food level of its early years. In this case I'm glad to say that we had a very good dinner and the service was competent and friendly. We also had a unique opportunity: when we arrived there was a power break in the neighbourhood. The restaurant was lit with dozens of candles spread everywhere. It was a fantastic ambiance that we enjoyed drinking Champagne while waiting for the electricity supply to be re-established.
* * * * *
Lisbon is worth many visits. For me it was not love at first sight, but every time I go there I like it more and more. And I know I will continue to go there as often as I can.
Wish you enjoy your week,
Maurício
Long time no news. No news, good news. That is the say, but for quite some time that is not what we read on the paper every morning. All around the world the crisis is hitting hard and many of us are going through tough times.
* * * * *
Maybe by now it is about time to update you of my whereabouts. Last year I spent the last three months of my sabbatical year in Brazil, mainly in São Paulo. That is where I wrote the last posting. Since 1 January I'm back to Europe and since mid January I'm working as a consultant for a Portuguese company in OPorto. After fifteen years, I'm back to the place where I moved to when I left Brazil in 1993
* * * * *
When I wrote the last posting the turmoil in the world economy was gathering momentum. At that time I may have sounded pessimistic. Now, I think I was quite conservative. So far reality has proved to be a lot worse than we dared to figure out last summer. Maybe the good news is that probably most of us will not experience again such a crisis during our lifetime. No doubt, that the economic cycles still hold and there will be other downturns in the future. However, a crash like the one that we are witnessing will probably not happen again in many decades. Let's just hope that the recession will not turn into a depression.
* * * * *
This time in Portugal I decided to spend most of the weekends travelling around the country, instead of going back home. I will take the opportunity to visit the places that
I haven't visited when I first lived here. Last weekend Neus, Angela, Gemma and I visited Lisbon. On the photo beside you can see me in the gardens of Queluz Palace, in Sintra. I was very impressed by it, although the building requires some renovation work. However beautiful, it is not my preferred royal palace in Portugal. I think that Mafra is more beautiful and also a lot more interesting. I quite understand why D. João VI preferred Mafra, apart from the fact that he wanted to live far from his wife, Carlota Joaquina, who lived with his mad mother, Queen Maria I, in Queluz.
* * * * *
Saturday night we had dinner at "Alcântara Café". That is one of my favourite restaurants in Lisbon. I hadn't been there for years. I was a bit worried: I didn't want to disappoint my friends. Quite often a very good restaurant doesn't keep the same service and food level of its early years. In this case I'm glad to say that we had a very good dinner and the service was competent and friendly. We also had a unique opportunity: when we arrived there was a power break in the neighbourhood. The restaurant was lit with dozens of candles spread everywhere. It was a fantastic ambiance that we enjoyed drinking Champagne while waiting for the electricity supply to be re-established.
* * * * *
Lisbon is worth many visits. For me it was not love at first sight, but every time I go there I like it more and more. And I know I will continue to go there as often as I can.
Wish you enjoy your week,
Maurício
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