No more excuses

"A man who wants something will find a way; a man who doesn't will find an excuse."
Stephan Dolley Jr.

It’s been said that some of the smartest people make lousy entrepreneurs. How can that be? The problem is that some people are so smart they can easily predict all of the problems, roadblocks and hurdles they’ll need to overcome to succeed. They can think of all kinds of reasons why an idea won’t work. This foresight can crush possibilities and dreams. When you want something, do you focus on the positive things, or the barriers? To reach your goals, you have to really want them. More importantly, you have to believe that you can do it. Think more about why you CAN make it happen instead of why you can’t.

from Sparkpeople.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This weekend was spent in a flurry of spring cleaning, making picture frames, and moving furniture around. This morning was our first interview here with our first caller from the ad we put out. I went to bed nervous, knowing the house was ready, but was I? I looked at the 'office' this morning and was satisfied. There was no more we could do to be prepared. I went off to teach. We did the last swapping out of chairs and flicked the dust off the table. You won't believe the amount that collects overnight!

Then we waited...

In fairness to the student, she's Brazilian and it's almost cultural to arrive late and, again, in fairness to her, she apologised for being late. She wants a one month intensive, three times per week. She has no English at all. Tat will have to take this one on. She is delighted, naturally, except.... the student wants classes at 7:30am... not teen 'awake' time! My Portuguese was the subject of much hilarity during the interview *groan* In all, it went well. Now we need a few more like that : ) A large chunk of our students are stopping now for the mid-year holidays. Many of them may not return to class or they will return, but to other teachers.

If ever, then, there was a time to move forward and not make or accept excuses, now is it. This can work. It has to work. We're once again moving into a phase of big change. Once before, I worked for a school, then moved to private teaching. I can do that again. In fact, this time will be even better! Yes... it will.... right?

 

Technorati Tags: thoughts,teaching,excuses,work

The drag, the nose, and the economy

Not my photo ; )

As taken from my notebook... that which I can read, of course, as it was scrawled on the bus...

It's a beautiful day today. Clear blue skies; the only thing marring them being the ever-present grey city haze. The warm winterish sun is delightful, a playful breeze being the only reminder that it isn't high summer... that and the fact that most Brazilians around me are wrapped up like Eskimos. The temperature is a 'chilly' 20°C.

As the bus stop-started along Avenida Paulista, I was engaging in one of my favourite pastimes, people watching. It is a great area for strange sights, especially around Masp and today was no exception. Skipping along, blowing some sort of horn sounding like a sick duck, was a drag 'thing'. I didn't say 'queen' because he was making absolutely no attempt to look female other than in dress. His long, plastic Barbie hair lay glistening in a pinkish-blonde mass over his shoulders. His thin, hairy legs were encased in white stockings, topped by a chunky body in the proverbial 'little black dress', sporting enormous stuffed boobs. When he wasn't blowing his horn or shaking hands with onlookers, including two beaming hobos, he was doing a strange fluttering thing with his top lip. My imagination has failed... I can't describe it. It was really weird to watch.

The film crew, though, seemed more interested in the little guy and the tall guy. The tall guy was an ordinary Brazilian-looking chap, dressed in a black suit. It was the little guy who stole the show though. Picture a cross between a toucan and a vulture, his very large, sharp nose curving out from between tiny black eyes in his pale face. It was definitely the focal point of his face, almost, but not quite, obscuring  his toothy grin and deep, long dimples. A queer-looking fellow, to be sure. Oh, I called him the little guy, right? He was no taller than an average 7 year old boy! And skinny to boot. To add to the contrast with the tall guy, he was dressed in a white dinner jacket.

Aroun the outside of the Masp are some short concrete pillars to prevent cars entering. On a signal, the little guy and the tall guy wove in and out of the pillars, the little guy in the lead pretending to steer and doing the whole 3yr old "Vroom! Vroom" thing. Who knows what TV show this was for. I'm now not sure if I'm glad or disappointed that I don't have a TV. I think I'll stick with 'glad'.

My student was telling me today about how his CFO pays an exorbitant amount for a nanny for his kids, as the nanny needs to be able to speak English (the CFO is German). He laughingly asked why I don't do it. Why not? We then embarked on a lively discussion on the pros and cons of being a nanny. He decided that he couldn't do it. It all started with a discussion on being without an income, as apparently British Airways has asked their staff to work for 1 month without a salary. My student said he'd rather recycle cans, but that I was perfect for the job of nanny, as I could offer English lessons to the family at the same time. He wasn't keen on losing his teacher though. It was an interesting discussion though, as we spoke about what people do in different countries and cultures when forced by the economy to be without work or means to earn a living, as so many are doing now.

I'm off to bed now. I have a really early class tomorrow and my Monday Monsters have an extra class tomorrow afternoon. That should be fun  ; )

 

Technorati Tags: people,masp,nanny,economy

Jinxed

Ugh… click on the image to see the legible version =/

That is the word I taught my student tonight... 'jinxed'.

My day started with Jorge powering on my pc and making coffee. Yes, I know I'm lucky and no, he's not for sale (though good offers will be considered). I went to my pc, only to find it dead as a doornail. I think I'm jinxed. Seems the socket it was using on the strip connector is faulty. Ok, so we sorted that out and powered on only to be told by a morbidly black screen that my slave drive is facing an imminent implosion or something to that effect and that I'd be wise to back up the contents. Huh?! *disconnects slave drive just in case* We powered the pc on again and all went well until I got my first post-format blue screen. Can you see now why I think I'm jinxed?

I had a new student to go to. He's a retired gentleman who travels the world. He wants to go to Turkey for his next trip. He asked for an American teacher and got me. Poor thing. By no stretch of anyone's imagination do I sound like an American. I consider my accent to be pretty neutral, but American it is definitely not. He raved about his previous teacher who has returned home to Delaware for the winter. Seems he spends summers in Brazil and winters in the USA... Brazilian winters, that is. He'll be back here in October. I got home to find that he wants to try a different teacher, as he has trouble with my accent. He also wears a hearing aid and I'm notoriously soft-spoken.

I left the old man to go to my next student. In the process, I learnt something about myself. At night, I lose all sense of direction in the city. I tend to go by landmarks. Landmarks in the city at night change dramatically! Google maps and my own map book told me to take the bus on a certain road. That bus does not go down that road. It took a song and dance to get 'bus info' to give me the correct directions. My cell phone battery died while trying to get directions, so I missed a call from my student saying "not to worry... let's have the class tomorrow instead". I eventually found my way to her. Note to self: those boots are danged uncomfortable. Do not wear them for more than a couple of hours!! I have blisters under the balls of my feet. It was a lot of walking.

In short, I arrived home after 11pm. Tonight, I give myself permission to be disgruntled. Tomorrow is a new, albeit long, day.

Technorati Tags: buses,teaching,computer,work

Third time lucky

This is the third time tonight I'm trying to get to post. Our ISP is playing mind games again. Most pages aren't loading. Shh... don't tell it I'm in!

A couple of weeks ago, I put an ad into our neighbourhood newspaper. I got one call from that ad, only to find later that the ad had no subject, just content and the content was misleading. There was a subject to my e-mail in which I gave the text for the ad. I wasn't terribly surprised, as the person I was communicating with got their banking details radically wrong and had typos all the way through her e-mail response. With trepidation, in case of further errors, I decided to take a full month's worth of ads in the same paper, starting this past weekend. The paper gets delivered to each household in the neighbourhood over the Friday/Saturday period. We saw no paper on either day. Yesterday, I asked around. Apparently no one received their paper. Let's just say I was a little agitated when I arrived home and asked Jorge to call their offices.

They confirmed that the newspaper was out with my ad in it. Apparently, because of last Thursday's public holiday, none of their delivery guys came to work over the weekend, so no one got the newspaper, but the paper was placed in stacks in strategic places. I don't know what their idea of strategic is, because I didn't see a single paper in the village. The big shot (don't know if he's the owner or manager) was very apologetic though and has given me an extra week's worth of advertising. That was nice of him, but he didn't stop there. He drove around to our place personally to give us a copy of the paper. Now that was really nice : )

My student today was talking about immigration. He said he thought he'd apply for the Diversity visa (Green card lottery). I said, "Why not?" and told him it is fairly easy to apply online. I explained the process as I've found it to be the last few years. He got happy and said he'd apply as soon as possible. A little further into the discussion, I mentioned the time period you have in which to immigrate. "What? I have to go to the US??" Uh.... well, isn't that what it is about? Apparently, he just wanted to apply for a Green card, so that he didn't have to apply for tourist visas and could just come and go as he pleased *sigh* He changed his mind when he heard he'd actually have to live there. That makes me wonder now how many other people apply with the same motive.

He then went on to tell me about a friend he has who went to the US illegally. Apparently, his whole family was over there and sent money to him to get in via the 'coyotes'. Coyotes? These are people who take the illegals across the border. He told the story of how his friend was on the boat crossing the river when one of his fellow passengers got sick. He tried to help the guy and the 'coyote' got mad at him. Eventually, the sick man either fell overboard or was tossed, so the rest of them could go on. This story made me sad. The people pay a fortune to get help getting into the country, only to be thrown aside if things get rough. Dispensable. I understand that a sick person would slow them all down, but it doesn't make it any better. Then there's all those who try so very hard to get in legally and get stonewalled at every turn. Did you know that 80% of Brazilians in the US are there illegally?

On computer news... we got my C drive working, but I'm making sure I'm well backed up just in case. We had to format twice, as the first reinstall went badly. Everything is running smoothly now.

I had a lot more to blog about, but you know how it goes... when a blog takes too long to get 'out there', you kinda lose that 'oomph'. I'm off to bully Tat into working out now. G'night all!

Technorati Tags: internet,immigration,work,advertising

Repost from Y! - Feijoada

It's lovely and cool tonight. Tomorrow night I only get home at around 10pm, but I think that Thursday merits a pot of steaming feijoada (my style). I saw a post on 'not so Brazilian' rice and beans by another expat living here and decided to rescue this blog from the clutches of Yahoo. I'm sure I did bring it over to Multiply, but can't find it right now.

Tonight we had a typical Brazilian dish we, as a family, tend to reserve for cooler weather. Seeing as cooler weather isn't happening and Jorge was nagging, we had it anyway.

Feijoada is a dish that originated with the slaves here. The slave owners would give the slaves no good meat, only the offal... the pig's tails, ears, snouts, etc. With this meat, they were given beans... either black beans or sugar beans, as a cheap form of protein. From this comes one of Brazil's most well-known and well-loved dishes, best served with caipirinha.

Here is a recipe for feijoada I found online some time back when I was looking for 'the genuine article'. Few people make it with offal now. I personally wouldn't touch it made with the likes of ears and snouts. The main ingredients are salt beef, Italian sausage (calabresa), bacon and stewing beef... and of course the beans. The dish is meant to take up to 3 days to prepare, but I do it overnight. Its a dish designed to feed the entire extended family. We're only 3 people, so I scale it down drastically and we eat it over 2 to 3 days. Traditionally, Feijoada is served on a Wednesday and Saturday, regardless of the season or the temperature outside. How they can function on a hot day after eating a hot stew at noon is beyond me.

Don't let the very long process put you off if you want to try it. My quick way tastes just as good and I most Brazilians I have met do it the abbreviated way, which I posted below the main recipe.

Feijoada
1lb carne seca
1 smoked beef tongue (1 ¾lb)
1 salted pork rump (1 ¾lb)
1lb salted pork ribs
½lb salted slab bacon
1lb pig's trotters
½lb linguiça
½lb calabresa
2lb dried black or sugar beans
1 medium onion
4 bay leaves
1tblsp oil
3 large garlic cloves, chopped
salt & pepper to taste

Day 1:
In a large stock pot, add the carne seca, tongue, pork rump and ribs. Cover generously with water and stand for 24 hours, changing water once or twice. In another stockpot, add bacon and trotters. Cover with water, stand for 24 hours, changing water once or twice. In a large pot, combine beans and cold water; cover and set aside. Soak for a minimum of 6 hours, preferably overnight.

Day 2:
Take meat and beans out. Wash out the meat pots and add carne seca, tongue, ribs and trotters to one. Put pork rump in a separate pot. Cover meat in both pots and bring to boil - + 5 minutes. Remove meat, drain water and repeat the process 4 times. Boil bacon over high heat for 5 minutes in another pot. Drain and set aside. Prick sausages with a fork and set aside. Boil sausages separately. Reduce heat and simmer calabresa for 5 minutes and linguiça for 10 minutes. Remove sausages and drain water. Brown sausages on both sides. Drain the beans, add onion and bay leaves in a large pot. Cover with water by 8". Bring to boil; simmer covered for 1½ hours. Add bacon and continue cooking, covered, for 1½ hours.
(To test the readiness of the beans, remove one bean. Press with thumb onto a board and rub along. Bean should be smooth and pasty)
In a small skillet, heat oil. Add garlic and cook for 5 minutes. Add garlic mixture, salt and pepper to beans. Add meat and sausage to beans. Bring to boil and simmer, partially covered for 1 - 1½ hours, stirring from time to time. Keep checking the liquid level - add boiling water as needed to keep level at 8". Remove meat from beans and cool. Cover separately and refrigerate.

Day 3:
Remove from fridge. In a large heavy-bottomed pot, add beans and meat and enough cold water to cover by 8". Cove and bring mixture to a simmer over low heat for 1 hour. Cut meat onto serving dishes. Pour a cup or two of bean liquid over meat. Place beans in a large ceramic bowl and serve with rice.

Serves 15

My method? I presoak the sugar beans and salt beef (if I have it) overnight. In South Africa, I simply left the salt beef out. The next evening, I put the beans, stewing meat, calabresa (in SA, I chose Russian sausage as an equivalent. Any spicy sausage will do), and bacon in the pot. Season and cover with water. I use a pressure cooker, but I'm sure a slow cooker will work magic or you cook it for 3 hours. In the pressure cooker, I cook it for about an hour and a half. I then cook up some rice and serve the feijoada over the rice.

With supper filling our bellies, I fully expected to spend the evening relaxing, but Jorge decided he couldn't find his belt. We virtually emptied out the bedroom cupboard with no luck. Turns out, it was on the ironing board, under the hot water bottle, which is put there in the hopes of a night cold enough to warrant it.

Technorati Tags: food,recipe,brazil,feijoada

A rainbow umbrella

Tat and I went in to town today to do a recording. I was grateful, as all my students had cancelled this week for one reason or another. Tat did a narrative on the internet. Mine was interesting, on Freud and the power of dreams and their place in the study of the human mind. What is the correct pronunciation for Freud anyway?

While in town, we saw a crowd around a trio electrico, a huge truck with mega sound systems from which performers play. It was a forerunner to tomorrow's gay parade, rather ironical right after Brazil's version of Valentine's day, Dia dos Namorados. The place was cluttered with gays of all kinds. They were selling rainbow wrist bands, rainbow ties, rainbow everything. I sooo want one of those rainbow umbrellas!!

Note, the photos aren't mine. They were found on random blogs. If I could give credit, I would. The top one is particularly lovely. Which brings me back to my next gripe... my C drive is once again being formatted. It seems my boot sector is damaged. I was fine until I powered off and wanted to turn the pc on this morning *sigh*

Getting back to gay umbrellas... can someone tell me why they get all the colour? If I bought one and actually used it, I'd be labelled as gay. That is so not fair. Bearing in mind, we are living in what is known as the gay capital of Latin America or something to that effect. They're shutting off one of São Paulo's main business districts' roads for their parade tomorrow. Tat said we should go... just for fun... with the camera, but then, I don't want to take the camera into town without my body guard, who, incidentally, won't be caught within a thousand miles of anything remotely gay. I just can't win.

Technorati Tags: rainbow,gay,colour,recording studio,umbrella

All in a week's living

This has been one very intense week (understatement of the year). I'm sitting here trying to remember details from the beginning of the week and having trouble doing that.

Monday, I gave my students their test results. They failed dismally. Trouble is, they are lacking basic language skills and are being tested on intermediate understanding with questions like, "Which program sounds more polemic and is likely to attract many people? Why?" Now, 'polemic' is not a word taught to foreign language English students... teens at that. Polemic is the same in Portuguese, so basically, the students were being tested on their understanding of Portuguese, not their use of English and what teen uses the word 'polemic' anyway??? I walked away from that class feeling defeated.

That night, or was it the next day, Tat and I were in her room. She was trying to decide what to keep, take with, toss, donate, etc. We ended up going through old stored make up. There were some of my lipsticks from South Africa. What was I thinking? Other than the fact that they were good lipsticks at the time and had awesome colours. Well, as she was tossing, I was messing around, 'testing' each one. Uh.... I got a little carried away. We had a good laugh though. Note, I never usually wear makeup. I stop at lipstick and at a stretch, eyeliner and mascara (Tat insists) for special occasions. Ignore the frizzy hair... the current 'joy' of my life.

Wednesday rolled along. We headed out to Poupa Tempo with huge optimism, armed with copies of more documents than any state department could ever want. First, we went to the orange desk. No, we can't give you your RG (Brazilian ID). Yes, we know you had one before. We argued about Tat's constitutional right to an RG and showed all the documents. Ok, said the lady behind the desk. Go and pay at the 'bank' and take the slip to the desk at the 4th door on the left. We paid and went to the 4th door, found the desk in question. There were a few people behind us, but no major queue. Nice. Tat went in. I wasn't allowed with her. People came and went. It's very quick, they said. I read a chapter of the book I brought. Quick? They said around 5 minutes. The people who were after us had left ages ago. Tat eventually came out, her face registering her disappointment and showed me where they had drawn lines on the local version of her birth certificate. The wording was wrong!

They packed us off to the cartorio. The 'cartorios' are notary offices. There, we'd have to pay a fee and get them to change the wording. Ok, we could deal with that... except they weren't very obliging. It turns out that because the document was drawn up at the wrong office - don't ask me... it's a mystery - when we first arrived, we need an attorney to start a legal process to claim Tat's right to a Brazilian RG. That, according to a cousin of Jorge's, is a very long, drawn out affair. We then waged war on the bank within Poupa Tempo for a refund of our fee, as it was 'not their policy' to give refunds and don't we know the fee can be held for us. Until when, was what I wanted to know? The aliens are coming in 2012 and I don't want to be dealing with that paperwork then. They 'made an exception' and gave us our refund. Hmph! My one student commented today and wanted to know why they call it 'burrocracia' or 'donkey-cratics' because donkeys are rather more intelligent.

So now we have to apply for a visa at the offices of the British consulate. They are in Rio de Janeiro and they're sooooo easy to get hold of. Methinks they're hiding from Brazilian bureaucracy. Not to mention the fact that it will cost us a fair penny to get a visa *sigh* I think it's a conspiracy. Do you know that on the visa application form, they actually ask straight out if you're a terrorist or support a terrorist organisation? Who the heck answers that truthfully if they are?

Thursday morning, I collected a package from the post office. Rather big for the book I was expecting. In it was no less than a tartan teddy, a few other bits and bobs, including mixed spice for hot cross buns, and First Light, which I've been waiting for with the eagerness of a child before Christmas. It was worth it! I'm so lucky I have a job that has me whiling away my time on public transport. First Light was written by my friend, Michelle Frost. I know and love her writing, but the book drew me in... totally. It is science fiction and yet, not. It spoke of another world, yet one we could recognise easily. Full of hidden twists, riddles, symbolism... it was a light read, but a meaty one. The end was satisfactory, while leaving me with plenty of food for thought. Hm... methinks I should write a proper review ; ) In short, if you want something different to read, this book comes highly recommended by me.

That leaves today, which I fully planned to spend most of the day checking out the blogs of my friends that I'd been neglecting, as I only had two students. Uh... let's just say the day has gone by and I've achieved little more than zilch.

I'm having a good chuckle here. As many of you know by now, Yahoo 360° is finally dying... again... next month. So Yahoo, in all it's wisdom, gave us a tool to download our blogs. Tat and I thought we'd give it a try, just for the heck of it. My archive turned out to be all of 32mb. When I clicked to download it, I got an error. Tat wasn't so lucky. Yafooey coughed up her 'archive', which included all her images and... wait for this... ALL her blogs in one text file, running into one, in html format!!

 

Technorati Tags: bureaucracy,passports,sorting,michelle frost,teaching,first light,package

The potpourri of life

Today, our internet has been more down than up. I think it showed some life only when I went out to teach. I think it's hiding from me.

My one blog friend, Susan, is a music teacher in China. I love when she posts snippets from her classrooms. This was my early morning smile today:

Later in the hour, I allowed them to come to the piano and "create" a song. On the spot. This was interesting ~ and showed so many different aspects to the personalities in this class. For some, it was a way to transcend their struggle with learning a new language. For others, it was a way to show off what they already knew, what they've already been studying in private piano lessons. And for others ~ it was simply impossible to do. They were too shy, too new to a very foreign place from native lands such as Sudan, Yemen, and Finland. They need to watch and wait awhile.

One little boy from Germany confidently approached the piano with a knowing, expectant smile and played a lovely, sensitive piece he was obviously making up. I knew he doesn't take piano lessons ~ and what the piece lacked in musical structure was compensated for in emotion and peace.

As he walked away from the piano, I said, "Justus, how did you think of such beautiful notes to play?"

His bright blue eyes sparkled with light and life, "I looked at myself in the wood of the piano. I saw my heart. I saw my brain. And then the music came."

I've been a little quiet here. I had, on top of my other students, a new student who wants daily, sometimes twice daily classes on Skype, Monday through to Saturday. She suggested Sunday too, but... ! Each class is an hour and half long. It has been a juggle trying to fit her in and boy, is she hard work! Her English is fairly basic, but she needs advanced business English for some deals she's trying to pull off with an American company owned by Chinese business men who communicate in English. If you've ever heard the Chinese speak English, you may realise the challenge. Of course, not all Chinese speak challenging English, but my experience of them is that their English is hard to understand, especially for those not familiar with it. I have more options for students through Skype. I'm going to encourage it.

I spoke to my mom. It sounds like such a simple thing to do. The last time I spoke to her was briefly in 1994 when my gran died and I called to inform her and before that only in 1988 at the time of Ceinwen's funeral. She sounds old. Apparently she's not being cared for, not that it surprises me. She's stubborn too and refuses to go into a place where she can be cared for. I had so many questions to ask her. Perhaps I'll try when I call her again. Her speech, at times, was hard to understand. She's wheelchair bound now with Parkinsons. I don't know much about Parkinsons. My brother says she'll still probably outlive us. I'm half inclined to believe that is true. She's one tough old lady. My sister... it is so weird thinking of her as a woman. My mental image of her is as a innocent child of 7 or 8. She sounds confident in herself. I am now on a self-appointed mission to find her two kids. As my brother pointed out... "so there are more van der Merwes wandering around out there."

Tat has a student, a child, 7 years old. Her mother takes her Barbie dolls away because she messes the dolls' hair up. Some people are just odd.

My one friend wrote a very beautiful poem some years back. She put it on the net. It is now all over. Sadly, people have been passing it on without her name attached. Many are distributed as 'Author unknown'. Now someone has published a book with her poem in it as 'Author unknown'. The book has a massive copyright blurb in the front, but they took someone's poem without getting permission. Sad and so unfair.

 

Technorati Tags: ma,teaching,children,family

Make a wish

I feel your tears, my child
Washing your heartbreak
A flood in my heart

Look! An eyelash fell
Make a wish, my child
I'll blow it to the stars

I feel your joy, my child
Giggles bursting like bubbles
Sparkling in the sun

Look! An eyelash fell
Make a wish, my child
I'll blow it to the stars

I see you grow, my child
A time of turbulent decisions
Your future laden with dreams

Look! An eyelash fell
Think of dreams, my child
The stars know them all

Tint ©

Technorati Tags: poem,tatiana,wishes,dreams,future

The writer

~ * ~

parchment hands
pale, a web of fine wrinkles
powder dry
long elegant fingers
now crooked
once held a pen
writing so easily
the words are still there
behind faded blue eyes

Tint ©

 

Technorati Tags: -poem,hands,writing

Teaching is an odd job

Well, teaching is an odd job if you teach the way I do.

Yesterday, the unit I was working on for this school had an exercise based on advertising. What advert do they give? Depilating cream. The picture was a crude sketch of a woman's legs and the text waxed lyrical about how it beats shaving and will leave your legs silky smooth. My student: "Huh?" To elaborate... my student is a Brazilian male, an accountant. Now, in Brazil, no one uses creams to depilate. They wax. Brazil is about wax. Then there's the fact that he's a single guy. What do single guys know about women's hair removal processes? I spent, I think, half the lesson getting him to understand what the lesson was about before we could get into the English part of the lesson.

A couple of weeks ago, my delinquent teens (ages 14 - 18), as I fondly refer to them, had to do a lesson on marriage and whether or not your love will last longer if you are friends first. The only girl clammed up and the guys muttered and looked awkward.

This morning, I had to do an exercise on stereotypes. The country of choice? America. The students had to justify the 'common' stereotypes related to America and a list was given.

1.   boastful and arrogant
2.   disrespectful of authority
3.   drunkard
4.   extravagant
5.   laid back
6.   ignorant of other countries and cultures
7.   informal
8.   insensitive
9.   lazy
10. loud and obnoxious
11. promiscuous
12. racist
13. wealthy
14. rude and immature
15. snobbish
16. stingy
17. think they know everything
18. uninformed about politics
19. always in a hurry
20. think every country should imitate the US

I found myself getting angrier and angrier as the list went on. No wonder they have such a low opinion of Americans if this kind of thing is reinforced in schools! The fact that the list came from an American university that interviewed foreigners doesn't help, in my opinion. I had one student who emphatically agreed with every statement until I asked her how many Americans she personally knows, that she can judge these things for herself. I then spoke about prejudice. Ugh... I'm meant to be teaching English!

I spent a longer than usual lesson this afternoon talking about dialects within the city, class distinction, ethnos-mixes, and the Brazilian constitution.

Yesterday I found my first student here in Brazil, or rather, Facebook found her for me. I started teaching two weeks after landing in Brazil. Patricia was a star student with excellent English she wanted to perfect, so that she could immigrate. She was a veritable sponge and would greedily lap up any and all information and correction I gave. She achieved her dream of immigration in 2004. Sadly, she's back in Brazil with major health problems. The curveballs life throws are sometimes really harsh.

 

Technorati Tags: teaching,work

Hermitage

 

I really wouldn't mind becoming a hermit... perhaps in the above location.

This morning, I found a large poodle wandering in the road. It was clean, well fed, tagged and collared. I called the number. No one answered. The dog was old. It had that milky film over the eyes. I stopped it going onto the main road. This was around peak hour traffic with loads of cars and buses. I asked many people if they knew which house the dog belonged to. No one knew. I eventually had to leave it, as I was already late for work. When I got home, I called the number again. "Oh," says the woman, "we always let him out for a walk. He goes for his walk and comes home again." This dog was nearly hit by two cars. Luckily they swerved. I was livid. How irresponsible! This isn't a quiet country lane! Grr! People!

When out, I love to stop and admire the gardens of some of the houses, even those with just a rose bush. One house has a larger garden area than most. It has been sad to see how they've ripped up the garden, cut down the trees and shrubs and put concrete. Today, I saw a patch of grass on the one side of the property and a bunny! I was standing gazing at the bunny with a stupid grin on my face. There was a 6 foot, heavily chained, gate between myself and the bunny. I was startled to hear, "Oi! Oi!" being yelled from the back of the property. Behind yet another gate stood a woman yelling at me. "What do you want?" She yelled very abruptly. I replied that I was just admiring the bunny. I live surrounded by concrete. Bunnies are not common. She continued to yell. I just shook my head and said not to worry... I wasn't about to steal the bunny.  *sigh*

We watched 'Ring of bright water' tonight. It was beautiful... and sad... and happy. I saw it as a young girl. I wanted to see it again and it's Tat's kind of movie too.

I made sausage rolls for supper! We haven't had sausage rolls since leaving South Africa. I made a mock boerewors (a South African farmer's sausage) to fill the sausage rolls. I had to finely chop some pork, as they don't mince pork here at all.

Not my photo... borrowed from Taste.com in Australia. The recipe looks interesting. Nothing I can cook if I want my husband to eat.


I've added another student to my 'collection', an unusual situation. She wants daily classes.... every day, but Sunday! I'm going to be teaching her using Skype. This is totally new and strange for me. I feel a little self-conscious teaching in front of Jorge and Tat and fitting this girl in is going to be a mission, but I get to sit at my pc and earn... less than I would by going out, but still fair.

Och aye... I finish teaching at around 4pm tomorrow, then it's weekend. That will be good : )

 

Technorati Tags: movie,student,work,life

Random access memory

All the computer boffs will think I'm going to talk about my pc, but it's really just my memory... the one I access randomly for randomly unimportant and occasionally important stuff. I started this blog yesterday. My pc shut down on me (ok, so there's the pc bit) and I lost it all. I didn't have time to go back and redo it. Aren't you lucky?

I miss my friends. I see and talk to more people now, but nothing replaces talking to my friends.

Luckily I'm too busy to let it get to me too much.I'm loving my birthday present... a book on reflexology I've wanted for a long time. Transit time is perfect for study.

Having no secrets from the past to haunt me is freeing. Ok, we all keep one or two secrets, but, for the most part, nothing is hidden anymore.

A note to someone who is very important to my very existence... where you are is defined by the people in your life, whether you see them daily or whether you talk to them long distance. A friendship over thousands of miles can be just as fulfilling and real, possibly even more so, than a friendship with someone you see regularly. You are loved.

I'm going to advertise. Then I will be busier. That is probably good.

On Saturday, Tat and I went to one of the newer shopping centers, Shopping Bourbon. Snazzy! It even has a Starbucks. Laugh if you like. I've never seen one before. To give you an idea, most shopping centers have benches. This shopping center has leather armchairs. Cushy! Drool-worthy stores too.

I seem to have a perpetual blocked nose and sore throat from the pollution now.

The photo is a random one from my archives, taken at São Paulo zoo. I've forgotten what the camera looks like. I'm missing my little point and shoot all the more now.

 

Technorati Tags: thoughts,friends,family

Smiling the week away

It's been a gorgeous week. I'm loving the weather, which is fairly fresh and sunny... a balmy 23°C (75°F) and as Kippy put it, life is good : )

Over the weekend, Jurgis got his cousin in Lithuania to join Geni, the site I am building our family tree on. Not only did he join, but he edited some of the family links. I'm thrilled! It didn't stop there. I thanked him for joining, copying and pasting the Lithuanian into his guestbook. I know the words, but there are a zillion accents on those two words - Ačiū už. He replied saying he was impressed with my Lithuanian and did I know that in Lithuania, my name would be Karina? I confessed to copying and pasting, but the 'Karina' just about blew me away. For some time now, I've been working on a writing project. I wanted a name that was similar to my own and our family names, yet different. The name I chose? Carina. The sheer co-incidence of the name I chose so long ago and what he said my name would be in Lithuania struck me as... well... amazing : ) It's a beautiful name.... at least, I think so.

Today, I had a lovely day. Everyone (or mostly everyone) seemed to be smiling. It took me a little while to realise it was because I was smiling. Ain't people grand? There was one old man on the Metro who couldn't stop grinning every time he looked at me, as though we shared some or the other secret. That was until my student announced that his boss has just come back from Mexico, while nervously eyeing out the sealed building with its air conditioning. I scolded him for not warning me, as we could have had our class outside in the gorgeous sunshine. "Oh? You teach outside too?" His face was comical. I've taught in odd places. Outside works ; )

By now many of you have been exposed to Kippy's 'positive actions' blogs. The other day, she posted a '9 Elements' blog. I read it, as I do all of her blogs and went to the site she referred to. While I was there, a spark of an idea started flickering somewhere in my consciousness. I went to bed with thoughts swirling in my mind. This was all happening in the US. Why couldn't it happen here? I wrote to Michael Chase, knowing the chances of him coming to Brazil were slim to say the least. I've written e-mails in the past and the most I usually get is an add to a Facebook account an a newsletter. Michael replied to my e-mail and I was awed by how down to earth, genuine...  and simply good and positive he was. What a great way to start my day. I went off with a skip in my step. I hope to work with him in developing lesson plans that I can use here... sharing his teaching of kindness. From the videos I've seen, he's a great teacher! As I put it to him, I live in a vast, impersonal city with its population of 20 million. What a challenge. If I can make a difference just in one little corner... I'll be happy : ) So I smiled... and smiled some more... and people smiled back. A woman's reaction when I gave her a seat on the Metro made it worth it. I hadn't seen that her arm was bandaged. She was tired and very uncomfortable. It felt good and right. Simple little things. I have always felt bad because I wasn't in the position to pay someone's toll booth fees or buy someone a meal, but the little things like this sure do make a difference... at least, I think so.

Maggie posted a link which also presents a challenge.... a complaint free world. Ok, so the site sells bracelets, but wouldn't it be a great challenge to see how long we can go without complaining? I don't use the word 'challenge' lightly either. I'm terrible with complaining!

"If you don't like something, change it.
If you can't change it, change your attitude;
don't complain."
Maya Angelou

Oh and the meerkat? Just an old photo I took at the zoo. I love the expression on his face : )

 

Technorati Tags: kindness,name,work

Just say 'no'

I was reading an article this morning on Gringoes.com, a site for foreigners living in Brazil. I would love to hear your thoughts on the subject:

By Simone Costa ErikssonApril 16, 2009

As a Brazilian working for the international community, I am very often asked ‘why can Brazilians not be trusted?‘. In general, when attempting to interpret any cultural behavior, the first and most advisable approach would be to avoid generalization, but what if it happens too often, especially, through the eyes of foreigners? In that case, the safest explanation must be based on well-known intercultural theories: the concepts of contextualization and communication style as well as the cultural meaning of trust.

Nothing better than to start with a real & sincere testimonial from a reader:

"I am an American who has been very involved with the Brazilian community in the Boston area for 10 years (my husband is Brazilian, as are many of my friends). I really love the warmth of the Brazilian people, but there is one thing that always makes me sad: when my Brazilian friends make plans with me and then cancel at the last minute (or when so many of them promised to come to our wedding and then didn't show up!).

I don't understand why they agree to plans if there is a possibility that they won't be able to make it; if I make plans with someone, I will turn down all other offers that arise later, because I have already made plans; I will make sure I have already done everything else I need to do that day so I will be available for my friend.

But my friends will often cancel at the last minute with excuses like, "sorry, I have to work," or "sorry, it is my father's birthday." If I had to work or it was my father's birthday, I wouldn't make plans for that day in the first place! This hurts my feelings every time -- it seems that my friends don't value or respect my time or my friendship.

What can I do besides stopping to be friends with these people?"

K.

This case exemplifies the focus of our discussion as being only and restrictedly referring to social behaviors and circumstances where people could perfectly say ‘no, thanks‘, but deliberately postponed the ‘no‘ answered until the last absolute minute, but still could not say ‘no‘, instead, chose to give an excuse. If you come from typical western societies (North America, North Europe & Australia), you would probably sympathize with our reader and ask ‘Why, on earth, couldn't these Brazilian people just say ‘no‘ and avoid hunting her feelings, right?

Wrong. In collectivist cultures, people have a hard time to say ‘no‘, because a ‘no‘ means almost a ‘bad word‘ socially speaking; giving an excuse sounds almost better than to say ‘no‘ (believe it or not!); it is ‘too direct‘ for those people raised to value preserving social relations above all. For the Brazilian ears, if someone is postponing giving an answer, they are probably doing the best they can, not to say a direct ‘no‘, and it might even mean they have tried and considered attending the wedding until the last minute. The intercultural term used here would be direct/indirect communication style.

Another explanation would be: while trying not to say ‘no‘, they have given ‘hints‘ or early justifications which already signed that the answer would be a ‘no‘ (that probably only another Brazilian would have understood). Something contextual, a non-verbal & unspoken message was probably given to suggest that the answer was going to be a ‘no‘. However, for a Brazilian way of reasoning, unless someone says ‘yes‘ there is no commitment, the fact of being invited does not necessarily mean a commitment. In this case, the intercultural dimension would be low/high context culture.

In case the explanation above seemed too theoretical and unreasonably, a more practical way to deal with this kind of intercultural misunderstandings are:

- All intercultural communications involve unspoken social rules and meanings, so never assume nor interpret someone from another culture based on your own cultural values. In other words, whatever it is obvious in one culture doesn't mean it is obvious in another culture.- Before making any interpretation, conclusions & judgments in an intercultural situation, you must always confirm and clarify the intentions and values behind it. That is, stop being friends only with those that intentionally mean to disrespect or not value your friendship.

The funniest thing, about this discussing on intercultural differences, was to be told by a foreigner: ‘foreigners living in Brazil seem to adopt this same characteristic of cancelling or not showing up (after they have lived here a while). My opinion on this is that there is so much happening here all the time that it is difficult to keep track of all your commitments...‘ . Or maybe, cultures slowly change the meanings and values of social behaviors!

This article confused me. I can understand why Brazilians would avoid saying 'no', but there are many polite ways to refuse without saying 'no'. For example, "I'm so sorry. I'd love to attend the wedding, but it is my father's birthday on that day." Closer to the event, a simple, "I'm sorry. It slipped my mind that my father's birthday is on the same day. In the end, we're living in a global society where intercultural communications can be a minefield. We, as foreigners need to adapt to the local way of working, but at the same time, Brazilians need to adapt too, as they deal with overseas clients and employers on a regular basis in business. In general, it is up to all of us to be clear and concise in our dealings with people who aren't of our culture to lessen the possibility of misunderstanding.

What do you think?

Technorati Tags: etiquette,brazil,culture

I'm trying... I'm trying...

But I seem to be fighting a losing battle. We had a long weekend. I was home. Do you think I spent that time visiting blog friends? Nope.

See... it's like this. A time back, our internet carrier was hacked. Yep... how's that for security. They went pretty much belly-up for a while. We could access nothing on the net and when we could get on, it was at 1 or 2kb/second. The problem was apparently nationwide. Since then, our internet has been on in fits and starts. Some people are saying that the service is back in full swing, but we're having to reset our modem a few times a day. I clear caches every few pages I load or I get the stupid Telefonica "This page does not exist" notice. We now have a little system. Load the page. Page doesn't load. Clear cache. Load a different page, which, naturally, doesn't load. By then, the original page might load. Grr!!

I have been reading though. My mail tries constantly to send and receive, so I've been getting the e-mail alerts of the blogs. Getting to where I can respond has been another matter. I'll keep trying. Now... I'm going to try and post this. Fingers crossed...

Technorati Tags: internet

Saturday thoughts

Well... sort of. I found tortillas in our supermarket the other day. Today I got a recipe for making tortillas that actually looks doable. Now the question is what to do with them, other than toasting them and making mock Dorito things. What is your favourite way to enjoy tortillas?

On a side note, I found a few things this week that really got me riled:

• an English 'teacher' colleague comes up to me and says, "I should talk to you. I need to practice my English." Argh! Good to know I'm valued for something... y'know... my magnetic personality and all that
• same English teacher teaches one of my students in regular school and proceeds to complain about him (note that she didn't remember his name) and speaks of his dyslexia as though that makes him a retard or something. I wanted to read her the riot act. I may still do that. Way to go... earning the respect of your peers. My student can't stand her. I wonder why. This student has far better English than the teacher in question. Go figure
  
• director of the school disrupts my class to tell me that she noticed that my delinquent class is behind schedule. Yay... go me. My students sit looking at us with saucer eyes. When she leaves, they proceed to blame each other on who disrupts the class the most. Got to love them. They're great kids really, just badly mismatched
• the student who brought that on is a) Never in class and b) Never says a word and doesn't participate in any way. She was worried that she hadn't done enough of the book to be able to pass the upcoming tests. Well, no duh... if you don't do anything in class, you're not going to be ready. She is in an upper intermediate course and doesn't know how to say, "I don't understand"
  
• men who feel that beating a woman is a manly thing to do - 'nuff said
• someone who thinks that typing a business e-mail in caps lock is professional
• I'm a sap. I go to confront someone on a serious work related issue and end up feeling sorry for them an the issue never gets dealt with

All that aside, it is a glorious day here... warm and sunny, but fresh. I rather wish all of summer was like this. I have a long weekend ahead of me. Tuesday is a public holiday, so the schools are closed on the Monday. Banks and supermarkets are open, though, so I'll be able to get some errands in. I might even fit some more sewing in this weekend. That would be good.

I hope you're all having a lovely weekend!

 

Technorati Tags: etiquette,teaching,tortilla,angry

Daily adventures in Lala Land

I had to go into town today to get my worker's book. While we were there, we were to pick up Tat's account cards, which she couldn't get last time, as she only had a copy of her identity and not the original. We try not to carry originals, as they're well nigh impossible to replace if stolen.

The day started out well. We were halfway down the road to the bus stop when Tat saw the bus coming and flagged him down. We were thrilled when he actually stopped. That is so rare. Aside from me grouching because there were old folk standing and teens sitting in the reserved seats, the trip in was uneventful with Tat and I discussing elder respect in various cultures.

Our first stop of the morning, just beyond the gypsies (they camp out and pounce on you on the bridge to the right in the photo), was Shopping Light, one of São Paulo's weirder shopping centers. I wanted to pay clothing accounts and Tat would collect her cards at the same time. She ended up not getting the cards today, as she didn't have her proof of address and proof of income with her. It's always a paperwork song and dance, it seems.

Shopping Light used to be the head offices of the electricity department and was called the São Paulo Light and Tramway company (or something to that effect). The structure is a square 'doughnut'. There is no courtyard or anything in the center... there is nothing, actually. On two levels, the escalators go across this 'nothing' area, which isn't even done up. It looks like the back of the building. It's odd, to say the least. We decided on our way out to smile at everyone to see what reaction we get. Thus far... odd stares ; )
 
We went on to the Dept of Labour (or whatever it is called). The glare off the sidewalks was prohibitive. We hid our smiles behind screwed-up eyes. The process of collecting the book went smoothly, in spite of the fact that the poor guy working there looked a little lost.

The sun was baking down. We were hot and sweaty and looking forward to getting into some shade. Around us, many were wearing jackets and jerseys. These Brazilians are crazy.

On our way back to the bus stop, we were again crossing the bridge where the gypsies are and I spotted a person walking ahead of us with what appeared to be a dead cat over her shoulder. I dragged Tat forward. From the front, it looked like one of those fox fur stoles... surely a dead cat... a dead ginger cat. The cat was lying like this. Yes, really. Except it was just draped over one shoulder.


Ah... Felipe sent us the photo!

It was sleeping. The woman was eager to talk to us and tell us all about her cat. We were joined by a chap called Felipe, who took a photo of the cat. He promised to send the photo on to us when he uploads it. The woman is apparently with a writer. All the poetry this guy writes is apparently inspired by this cat. He has his book online here. I won't be rushing out to buy the book, but the cat was amazing. We stood there for ages and only once did the cat lift his head to peer at us before going back to sleep. The cat had apparently been walking (it has a collar and leash), but it got cranky and started swiping at passers by, so the woman picked it up and it went to sleep. That was about the oddest thing I have seen in a long time. Odd, even for São Paulo where I firmly believe absolutely anything is possible.

Further on, we were still talking and laughing about the cat story and participating in our favourite hobby of people watching, when a small person.... I think it was a woman... started yelling at us from behind her mask. It was one of those masks that dentists wear to stop them breathing germs over you... or breathing in your germs. She admonished us to stop laughing at her. She knew we were laughing at her and we shouldn't laugh at her because we'll die too and on and on and on. My confused look didn't have much effect on her. She carried on with her yelling until we escaped into a clothing shop. I think she waited, though, because we had her yelling at us virtually all the way to our bus stop, a good 4 very long blocks away. I suspect she has AIDS, which would explain her obsession with death and the mask... anything to lessen the chance of getting a passing virus. I don't know... it's just a theory of mine.

We were finally on the bus heading home. Tat kept glaring at a guy who was playing his rather weird music out loud. There are signs on the buses prohibiting radios and such. I eventually suggested that we plug into our mp3 players, so we could try to tune him out. Tat sat folding an origami box out of a street-side flier. The guy started asking around for a pen. Next thing, I saw him folding paper and nudged Tat. Oh cute... he was doing origami too. Not long after, he tossed into her lap a paper aeroplane!! I grabbed it when I saw it had writing and packed up laughing. It read: Tom *insert telephone number* Gata. 'Gata' is what the guys call girls here... much the way English guys will refer to a 'chick'. 'Gata' is a female cat. Weirrd... and Tat was blushing and the more she blushed, the more I laughed. And no, Tat is not going to be calling him. He is not... uh... her type ; ) Strange encounters of the romantic kind? *laughing*

Oh... and Kippy... my first birthday present arrived today. I can't wait to get reading *grins*

Technorati Tags: shopping light,cat stole,sao-paulo,brazil,bureaucracy

Pancakes and blessings

Tat and I made pancakes for lunch and reminisced over past pancakes. Back home, Sunday night was pancake night for us. I'd 'camp' on the bedroom floor with the gas cylinder, making the pancakes, while Tat and Jorge camped on the bed. We'd watch Disney cartoons on TV, Ducktails being the most memorable right now.

 
Image borrowed from the Greedy Gourmet. Do visit the site. There are loads of spectacular recipes there combined with excellent photography

This evening, we'll have beef stroganoff, sans mushrooms (I couldn't find mushrooms anywhere in the city this week!), with a fruit salad for dessert. We'll probably watch a movie together. Not sure what. It is a relaxing day in all. Now why, as I typed that, did my mind flit to the pile of laundry that still needs to be finished??

A friend sent me a blessing this morning. It reminded me of something I read about blessings a while back. I always avoided using the word 'bless', as, to me, it held major religious overtones. The dictionary has, as one of its definitions: "to bestow good of any kind upon". In fact, when we say, "Bless you!" when someone sneezes, we bestow good to the extent of preventing bad. I like the idea of simply wishing good on the person I am blessing.

I thought I had saved the article I read on blessing, but found this instead. Again.... I like the idea.

Leaving A Positive Footprint
Blessing Space

Physical space acts like a sponge, absorbing the radiant of all who pass through it. And, more likely than not, the spaces we move through each day have seen many people come and go. We have no way of knowing whether the energy footprints left behind by those who preceded us will invigorate us or drain us. Yet we can control the energy footprint we leave behind for others. In blessing each space we enter, we orchestrate a subtle energy shift that affects not only our own experiences in that space but also the experiences of the individuals who will enter the space after us.

While we may never see the effects our blessing has had, we can take comfort in the fact that we have provided grace for those that follow after us. When you bless a room or an entire building, you leave a powerful message of love and light for all those who will come after you. Your blessings thus have myriad effects on the environments through which you pass. Old, stagnant energy is cleared, creating a vacuum into which fresh and invigorating energy can freely flow. The space is thus rendered harmonious and nourishing, and it becomes a hub from which positive feelings are transmitted. Intent is the key component of the blessings you leave in your physical wake. If your intent involves using your own consciousness as a tool for selflessly spreading grace, your blessings will never go awry. Whether you feel more comfortable performing a solo blessing or prefer to call upon your spirit guides for assistance, visualize each space you enter becoming free of toxins, chaos, and negativity as you speak your blessing. Then imagine the resultant emptiness being replaced by pure, healing white light and loving energy. Even a quick mindful thought of love can bless a space.

This type of blessing is cumulative and will grow each time you bestow it. Try blessing every home, business, and office you visit for an entire week and observing the effects of your goodwill. Your affirmative energy footprint will help brighten your day as you contemplate your blessing's future impact on your siblings in humanity and your environment.

Like a snowball that starts small and rolls down the hill growing larger as it goes, a simple blessing sent out by each of us can make a change in the world, don't you think?

 

Technorati Tags: blessing,anniversary,memories,pancakes

Let me introduce you...

You probably know him by now as the funny guy I tend to tease a lot. You also know that I consider him to be enormously talented. He works magic with wood that most people throw away. He has a way with people. Wherever he goes, people stop to talk to him. He's strong (heck, he can pick me up!). He works like a Trojan when he gets going. He's funny and playful and enormously patient. I mean... he taught me to drive. That takes some doing. He even continued teaching me after I put a sizeable dent into his pride and joy... his first ever car. My very own live-in Mr Fixit, Tech. support, perfectionist, and sometime dishwasher ; )

Today is our 23rd wedding anniversary. Being a man of many interests, even in old hags, there are many things I could get him. There is one thing, however, that I know he dearly wants. I have done research and can only give this gift on a personal level. Officially, it is out of his reach still.

You see, when he was to be christened, the local (yes, here in Brazil) church decided that he couldn't use the name his parents chose for him, as it is a name belonging to a pagan king. They were then forced to give him the Brazilian version of his name. He was registered as Jorge. All his life, he has dreamed of being called Jurgis. This dream has become almost an obsession since his trip to Lithuania.

I have resisted his desire for a name change. After all, I married Jorge, not Jurgis. I have been giving it a lot of thought lately though. Why not? It is something he wants really badly. The man I am married to now is different from the man I married so long ago in many ways. We change nicknames through the years. I often call him names that I didn't call him when we got married, so why not call him Jurgis... or at least try to. It is a small thing on my part that means a lot to him.

Unfortunately, to change your first name in Brazil is virtually impossible. Most people don't even change their last names when they get married because it is such a bureaucratic process. To change your first name, you need to prove that the original name is embarrassing, humiliating, or some other extreme reason. They recommend you hire a professional to deal with it and you need two witnesses to the fact that the name is causing problems for you.

So, I'd like to introduce you to Jurgis, my husband.


Happy Anniversary, Jurgis! Yes, I have issues with names, so I'll still call you all sorts of other things, but to me, you are now Jurgis : )

 

Technorati Tags: jurgis,identity,anniversary,name,jorge