Inverno... porra! Ja te punhas a andar, nao?

photo by: cdgabinete, Rio de Janeiro, February, 2013

On living abroad and being an ex-pat by Chelsea Fagan

"It’s hard to deny that the act of living in another country, in another language, fundamentally changes you. 

(...)
But there are the fears. And yes, life has gone on without you. And the longer you stay in your new home, the more profound those changes will become. Holidays, birthdays, weddings — every event that you miss suddenly becomes a tick mark on an endless ream of paper. One day, you simply look back and realize that so much has happened in your absence, that so much has changed. You find it harder and harder to start conversations with people who used to be some of your best friends, and in-jokes become increasingly foreign — you have become an outsider.
(...)

So you look at your life, and the two countries that hold it, and realize that you are now two distinct people. As much as your countries represent and fulfill different parts of you and what you enjoy about life, as much as you have formed unbreakable bonds with people you love in both places, as much as you feel truly at home in either one, so you are divided in two. For the rest of your life, or at least it feels this way, you will spend your time in one naggingly longing for the other, and waiting until you can get back for at least a few weeks and dive back into the person you were back there.
(...)

When you live abroad, you realize that, no matter where you are, you will always be an ex-pat. There will always be a part of you that is far away from its home and is lying dormant until it can breathe and live in full color back in the country where it belongs. To live in a new place is a beautiful, thrilling thing, and it can show you that you can be whoever you want — on your own terms. It can give you the gift of freedom, of new beginnings, of curiosity and excitement. But to start over, to get on that plane, doesn’t come without a price. You cannot be in two places at once, and from now on, you will always lay awake on certain nights and think of all the things you’re missing out on back home."

Cdgabinete: living abroad since 2004!
(yeap, that year in Lisbon counts like living abroad)

Beyond eggs and bunnies

Independentemente de valores religiosos - or lack of thereof - eu associo a Pascoa a ti. Aos rituais que tu guardavas e com os quais cumpriamos de roupa acabada de estrear, casa limpa e flores arranjadas.

E talvez por isso, me custe mais a tua ausencia no domingo de ramos e no domingo de Pascoa do que nos outros dias.

Duvidas papais

Por obra do acaso, vi em directo a primeira comunicacao do novo papa. Nao posso deixar de me questionar sobre o que fara ele depois de ter abencoado os fieis...

Sera que vai para dentro e se vira para o camerlengo e diz: "oh pah, mandamos vir umas pizzas para jantar para nao termos que cozinhar?"

e se ele tiver familia.... sera que liga para o irmao ou irma e ela diz " atao ze tava a ver que te ias armar em importante e nao ias ligar hoje! estou preocupada com o nosso primo frederico, ve la se lhe das uma telefonadela que se nao ja sabes que ele descamba!"

ou entao, imagino-o depois de fazer a barba a debater "sera que ponho o after shave da Axe ou nao?! Isto da ultima vez f
deu estrilho com as mocoilas todas pelo beicinho a custa do efeito Axe... se calhar ponho antes old spice!"

Ou, e tendo em conta que ele e argentino, sera que ele tira as roupinhas brancas e se poe de um lado para o outro no seu quarto a festejar com uns passinhos de tango?!

eh pah, isso sim... ate tinha piada!

Things i only tried after 30

Snowshoeing. 
Snowshoeing to 2560 meters high.

photo by: cdgabinete, Gemmi, Switzerland, March 2013

Things I only tried after 30

Stargazing at 2400 meters high.

The most beautiful sky i have ever seen!

Adversity vs Conformity

Adversity may create outliers, however... society, and particularly the swiss IRS, rewards conformity!