warriors without weapons

a few weekends ago i travelled with christel to santos...a seaside city about 40-60 mins from sao paulo...for the closing event of the school of warriors without weapons...an amazing 30 day programme which invites young people from all over the world and people from a poor community in santos to "play at transforming the world"...living, learning and working together to build community projects together

i can only imagine joyfully the amazingly intense learning experience that all of the participants had during this programme....understandably it was hard for them to express with words their thoughts and feelings immediately after such a physically, emotionally and psychologically draining experience...but they were saying it in other ways...through their tired eyes and bodies, which still managed to come to life to dance and sing together spontaneously...whether it was a samba parade through the streets or indigenous dancing circle...through the hugs and held hands and softly spoken good byes...

and the impact that was also created on the community could be visibly seen through the transformation of two old, abandoned and filthy spaces into a beautiful garden and community cultural centre, complete with playground and indoor cinema...the physical transformations were amazing...but the thing that struck me the most there, as an observer, were the tears of the children from the community....crying uncontrollably when they realised that it was the last time they would see, work and play with this group of people who one month ago had been total strangers...the unconditional love that i witnessed between them was perhaps the greatest impact...

being apart of the closing ceremony was inspiring in positive and negative ways...back in december i did try to participate in the programme, but i was told that in order to do so i would have to take one month's leave without pay from work...plus pay USD2500 to participate...so baseed on the financial considerations and also wanting to focus on my work relationships, i decided to not participate....but being there at the closing ceremony and also at a previous world cafe event with the participants...i felt the sting, perhaps for the first time in a long time, of not following my dreams...and not taking that risk....and i vowed to next time do so

o carnaval está chegando :: carnaval is coming!!!

recentemente eu fui para "rosas de ouro"...uma escola de samba em são paulo...com amigos do banco....

antes do carnaval as escolas fazem festas para que a bateria possa praticar e os torcedores possam aprender a música deste ano....também para ganhar dinheiro para apoiar a escola
estas festas estão cheias de energia, música, suor, orgulho e dança...e diversidade...
à parte do estádio de futebol, escolas de samba são os lugares únicos onde eu pude ver negros, brancos, ricos e pobres...juntos...divertir-se...gente fala que "o samba faz o pobre rico"...talvez o banco precise de uma estratégia de samba para melhorar a diversidade ;)

normalmente a festa começa com uma apresentação dos organizadores e do mestre-sala e da porta-bandeira...nesta festa pessoas inclusive beijaram a bandeira da escola também






recently i went to "Golden Roses"...a samba school in são paulo...with some friends from work...before carnaval, the schools hold parties where the percussion band can practice and the supporters of the school can learn this year's song...also it is a way for the school to raise money


these parties are filled with energy, music, sweat, pride and dance....and diversity!


apart from football stadiums, samba schools are the only places where i have seen blacks, whites, rich and poor together, having fun...they say that "samba makes the poor rich"...maybe the bank needs a samba strategy to improve diversity!


normally the party starts with a small parade for the organizers of the party, and the dance master and the flag-bearer (the most important dancer of the parade)...at this party people even kissed the school's flag

buenos aires

eu fui para buenos aires com minha amiga, esperança (abaixo), do banco, durante o feriado em são paulo no fim de janeiro...eu estive lá por 4 dias, e e gostei muito...

eu acho que buenos aires é uma cidade linda, impetuosa e criativa...visitemos os lugares famosos...plazo de mayo (onde as mães dos desaparecidos manifestaram durante o regime militar)...casa rosada (o prédio do governo)...o obelisco...puerto madero...la boca (o bairro mais colorido em ba que foi construido de navios antigos)...comemos nas restaurantes nos bairros recoleta e palermo...incluindo um restaurante erotico (www.

e lógico, nós fizemos uma aula de tango e ganhamos um diploma de tango! mas depois que eu vi o show com profissionais, eu percebi como minhas habilidades são simples!


a maior parte do tempo, minha amiga falava em espanhol, mas algumas vezes eu falei em português e a outra pessoa falou em espanhol...foi muito legal para entender se...um saborzinho de minha proxíma aventura ao redor da américa latina :)


i went to buenos aires with my friend, esperança (in top photo), from the bank, during the public holiday at end of january...i was there for four days and i liked it a lot

i think buenos aires is a pretty, passionate and creative city...we visited the famous sites...May Square (where the mothers of "the disappeared" protested during the military regime)...the Pink House (the house of government)...the obelisk....the port....Boca (the most colourful neighbourhood in ba, which was built from old ships)...we ate in restaurants in recoleta and palermo...including an erotic restaurant!

and of course we did a tango lesson and got a diploma in tango...but after i saw the show with the professionals i realised just how basic my skills are!

most of the time, my friend did the talking because she speaks spanish...but a couple of times i spoke in portuguese and the other person spoke in spanish...it was cool to understand each other...a little taste of my upcoming adventure around latin america! :)

oz day em são paulo

Então...muitas coisas aconteceram desde meu último texto neste blog...o seguinte são as destacas...

comemorei oz day no bar chamado "kiaora" (isto é como diz "hello" na lingua indígena da nova zelândia)...é um bar da australásia...com amigos da austrália, brasil, colômbia, estônia e mexico
well many things have happened since i last made a posting on my blog...so the following are some highlights...

i celebrated australia day at a bar called "Kiaora" (which is how you say hello in the indigenous language of new zealand)...it is an australasian bar...with friends from australia, brazil, colombia, estonia and mexico...

parabéns karl :: happy birthday karl

para meu amigo, karl - um austráliano que é perceptivo, compassivo e louco!! bem-vindo a sua trintas!
to my friend, karl - an australian who is perceptive, compassionate and crazy!! welcome to your thirties!