17 Nov BALNEÁRIO CAMBORIÚ – 15 NOVEMBER 2017 – TRAVEL DIARY

World Schooling

Today, November 15th, is a National Day in Brazil celebrating the declaring of the Republic in 1889.
I will say a few words on Brazil’s history, as I find it very interesting. The starting idea is that the Portuguese never fought for real. They colonized, but didn’t kill as the Spaniards did in the rest of South America. After 5 years of living in Portugal I came to the conclusion that they were not as fierce because they lacked the Spanish power. War would have been for them the worst option. That, besides the fact that I consider them peaceful, calm and non-violent people. In 1974, when Salazar was taken down, the revolution of the Portuguese was known as “the flowers revolution”. This is how the Communist era ended in Portugal, without human sacrifice. King Pedro the 2nd of the Brazilian Empire didn’t oppose the coup d’état and went into exile.

Historians say that the royal Portuguese family ran in Brazil to avoid fighting with Napoleon and here I believe that Pedro the 1st made a clever move by “taking care of some things” in Brazil, like declaring independence and crowning himself as first king of Empire of Brazil.
Something like, Pedro the 1st saying to Napoleon: “Dear Napi, we will fight, but not right now! Don’t come, I’m not in. I have business abroad, I’ll go to “open” a new empire. We keep in touch, ok? Ok, bye, bye!”
What would you have done? 🙂
So when things are calm again in Europe, Pedro the 1st comes back with 2 empires now in his “bank account”. And leaves his son, Pedro the 2nd, who was born in Brazil, as king of Brazil.
This Pedro the 2nd, crowned as king at only 14 years old, was a pumpkin, an artist, a philanthropist, a special guy, what can I say. I’m not saying this because I knew him in person, the historians say.
And that’s the reason I was asking myself why do Brazilians celebrate a coup d’état that dismissed a good man that was doing no harm?
And I was having all this existentialist questions regarding ignorance, I get a call from my sister.
Yes, I have a sister and when my parents divorced I went to stay with my father and she with my mother, like in – boys with boys and girls with girls, to cut it short. And she calls me and she is with my dad that wanted to have a mobile operator subscription in order to have a smart phone and install WhatsApp and be able to talk to me more often.
Until now we only talked on the phone, each time I entered in another country waiting for my sister to give him my new phone number. My dad doesn’t use internet and, obviously, doesn’t read our blog. We talk a little, I can’t remember what because what followed “froze” my memory; so he askes:
“Gabi, when your grandmother dies, how soon can you be in Bucharest?”
I am shocked for a second, then I recover and avoid the answer:
“Well, dad, that depends on where I am, time, space, position, I cannot promise I am going to come… ”
As an argument I remind him of his lost trip to South America, he could have been in the same situation, where he is away and… she dies. I must add the man not just loves his mother, he idolatrizes her. And that my grandmother is 94 years old and in the last 15 years since she is alone they have lunch and spend half of the day together. They live close to each other. They have a very close relationship, you don’t want to say something bad about her in front of dad!
And he replies:
“Of course I thought about it! I wouldn’t have come back as it would have taken too long anyway, I would have spoken to her sister to freeze her until my return”
You can realize that I from Brazil and my sister from Romania starting laughing out loud. We couldn’t help to make a few jokes, but my father was very serious:
“You are being fools, I made a research on this and it is very serious and very doable, it’s a new service they provide”

That being said, I hope my grandmother dies when my father is home!

***

Astazi, 15 Noiembrie, este zi libera in Brazilia in cinstea proclamarii republicii din 1889. Voi face O scurta incursiune in istoria Braziliei, pentru ca este foarte interesanta.
Plecam de la ideea ca Portughezii nu s-au batut niciodata de fapt. Ei au colonizat, dar nu au omorat precum Spaniolii prin restul Americii de Sud.
Dupa 5 ani de trait in Portugalia, singura explicatie pe care am gasit-o, ar fi aceea ca Portughezii nu aveau forta Spaniolilor. Razboiul ar fi fost pentru ei in acele conditii cea mai proasta optiune.

Bine, asta in afara faptului ca ii consider in general oameni molcomi, pasnici si nonviolenti. In anul 1974, cand a fost dat jos Salazar, revolutia portughezilor a fost cunoscuta sub denumirea de “revolutie cu flori”. Asa a cazut sistemul in Portugalia, fara pierderi umane. Regele Pedro al 2-lea al “Imperiului Brazilian”, nu s-a opus loviturii de stat si a fost exilat.
Istoricii spun ca familia regala Portugheza a fugit in Brazilia sa nu se lupte cu Napoleon, aici eu iarasi cred ca Pedro 1 a facut o miscare tactica si si-a “facut de lucru” prin Brazilia cu lucruri mai importante gen declararea independentei Braziliei si incoronarea lui ca si prim rege al Imperiului Brazilian!
Ceva de genul, Pedro 1 ii zice lui Napoleon:
– Bai Napi, ne batem, dar nu acum! Nu veni ca nu ma gasesti. Am treaba frate, ma duc sa-mi mai deschid un imperiu. Vorbim, da?! Hai, pa papapa!
Voi, ce-ati fi facut? 🙂
In fine, dupa ce se linistesc apele prin Europa, Pedro 1 se intoarce acasa dar acum avea 2 imperii. Asa ca, il lasa pe fi-su, Pedro 2, nascut in Brazilia, rege al Braziliei.
Pedro 2 asta, rege la numai 14 ani cica a fost o bomboana, un artist, un filantrop, un deosebit, ce sa mai. Nu zic eu ca nu l-am cunoscut personal, istoricii spun asta.
Acum eu ma intreb, de ce sarbatoresc Brazilienii in esenta o lovitura de stat si inlaturarea unui om bun care nu facea rau?
In fine, cum imi faceam eu probleme existentiale vis-a-vis de fenomenul de ignoranta, ma suna sora-mea.

Da, suntem 2 la parinti, ei tot doi sunt ca s-au separat de cand eram noi mici si au decis ca fiecare sa-si ia cate un copil. Asa am ramas noi baietii cu baietii si fetele cu fetele, asta fiind varianta foarte scurta a familiei mele.

Deci sora-mea era impreuna cu tata si mergeau la nu stiu ce operator de telefonie mobila sa-si faca abonament si sa-si cumpere un telefon pe care sa-i instaleze whatsapp.
Sa putem vorbi mai des.
Pana acum m-a sunat doar pe mobil, asteptand tot timpul ca sora-mea sa-i dea noul meu numar de telefon pe care il am odata cu intrarea in fiecare tara straina. Tata nu foloseste internetul si evident ca nu ma citeste! 🙂

Vorbim noi un pic, nu-mi mai amintesc ce pentru ca partea ce vine mi-a “inghetat” toata memoria si la un moment dat ma intreaba:
– Auzi, dar daca moare bunica-ta, tu in cat timp poti ajunge in Bucuresti?
Ma blochez un pic dar revin rapid pe pista cu niste eschivitze!
– Tata, uite, depinde de unde sunt, ce moment e, nu stiu si nu-ti pot promite ca am sa
ajung…..
Ca sa ma justific in continuare incep sa-i zic de excursia lui din America de Sud (v-am povestit ca trebuia sa vina sa ne vada si a luat teapa de la firma de turism) ca si lui i s-ar fi putut intampla ca sa moara mamaie in timp ce el este plecat si ca n-ar fi putut ajunge nici el!

Trebuie sa va mai spun ca omul asta nu ca o iubeste pe mamaie ci o idolatrizeaza de-a dreptul. Nu zic, si eu o iubesc pe mamaie, din toata inima, jur. Sa va explic, mamaie are 94 de ani iar in ultimii 15 ani mananca la pranz impreuna cu tata si petrec impreuna jumatate de zi.

Stau separat dar sunt vecini!

Adica tata are o relatie foarte stransa cu mama lui! Sa nu-i zici ceva de mamaie ca gata, asta ti-a fost!
La care el imi raspunde:

– Pai nu, ca m-am gandit! Nu m-as fi intors, as fi pus-o pe sora-ta sa o inghete pana ma intorc eu din concediu!
N-am ce sa va mai spun ca eu din Brazilia si sora-mea din Romania nu ne mai puteam opri din ras. Am glumit pe tema, am vb de lazile frigorifice ce le are ea pe la tara, la care tata serios, parca simtindu-se prost:
– Radeti ca prostii, m-am interesat si se poate, nu trebuie sa faci nimic, e un serviciu mai nou.
Ce sa va mai zic, sper sa moara mamaie cand o fi tata acasa!