19 Oct PRUDENTÓPOLIS, 17 OCTOBER 2017 – TRAVEL DIARY

Today we have been to town, not before talking to Eolia to wait for us with wholegrain bread and home made jam.

Right now we are somewhere behind the Sao Joao waterfall in a camping that belongs to a family with Ukrainian descent.

Therefore, while in Brazil, we still got to experience a bit of Eastern culture.

The waterfall is 20 km away from Prudentopolis, a one hour drive on a rough road.

We were lucky it didn’t rain, otherwise we would have been stuck in mud, but we had to go there because Oscar has been dealing with Bernie worms for 2 weeks and nor the vet, neither our care didn’t seem to make much of a difference.

On our way we stopped for 4 more kilos of strawberries.

You will laugh, but this is how much our family can eat daily.

As I was saying, a 20 km trip with Lollipop takes about an hour, plenty of time for Lavinia to read something to the kids, this time she picked “The ballad of a little cricket” by George Toparceanu, Romanian poet.

They seemed to like it as the were very quiet.

Then they wanted to hear it again… and again… so it ended up being read 3 times, then there came the discussions, contradictory, extensive, with pro’s and con’s.

For those not familiar with the poem, briefly, it is about a cricket that all summer long did what… crickets do – singing – and the arrival of the fall catches him unprepared for winter, unlike his neighbor, the ant who spent all her summer gathering supplies for mighty winter.

We don’t know what happens with the cricket in the end, his story is a sad and tricky one.

Ana, in her characteristic way, had a gazillion questions about this: what do crickets eat, why it didn’t ask the ant for food, whether it had a mommy and a daddy, what color a cricket is, how does it sing, hadn’t it got any friends, is it dead now or how is it doing?

Aris was also sad, he didn’t find right the fact that somebody should be left to starve just because he did a work that he enjoyed (but no money), he still liked the ant because it is hard working, however, he thought, if she was the cricket’s neighbor that means she enjoyed his music all summer long, so she could have saved a grain for him as a reward for the free music.

Carla was very pragmatic: what were we saying, that if she does a career on music that means she is going to be poor?

The poem is taught in the Romanian school. Lavinia brought it to their attention because she was curious of the differences between what she was taught to think of the conclusion of the poem and what free-minded children think.

What is your opinion on the artist cricket? 🙂

***

Astazi am fost plecati in oras nu inainte de a vorbi cu Eolia sa ne astepte cu paine integrala si gem de casa. Momentan suntem campati in spatele Cascadei Sao Joao, intr-un camping ce apartine unei familii cu descendenta Ucrainiana. Asa ca desi suntem in Brazilia am experimentat si un strop din cultura estica! Cascada se afla la  20 km de Prudentopolis, dar un drum de o ora, fiind un fel de poteca de pamant cu gropi imense. Noroc ca nu a plouat ca altfel am fi ramasi impotmoliti in noroi, dar era musai sa facem acest drum pentru ca Oscar se chinuie de 2 saptamani cu niste viermi Bernie, si nici vizitele repetate la medic si nici atentia noastra zilnica pareau ca nu dau rezultate. Pe drum am oprit la familia capsunarilor si am mai comandat 4 kg de capsuni alese pe-o spranceana. O sa radeti dar atat se consuma de pe-o zi pe alta, in familia noastra. Asadar  dupa cum spunea, sa sa faci 20 km cu Lollipop ai nevoie de o ora asa ca Lavinia a hotarat sa le mai citeasca cate ceva copiilor si de data asta a ales “Balada unui greier mic” de George Toparceanu. Toti trei au stat cu urechile ciulite, fara sa scoata un sunet. Apoi au cerut inca o lectura a aceleeasi poezii…..In final poezia a fost citita de 3 ori…au urmat discutiile, contradictorii, ample si pline de pro-uri si contra. Pentru cei ce nu l-au citit pe George Toparceanu si “Balada unui greier mic”,  pe scurt este vorba de un greier care nu a facut decat ceea ce un greiere stie sa faca cel mai bine – sa cante- si cum dragul de el cu venirea toamnei el isi da seama ca nu mai are timp sa-si adune graunte, sa faca stoc pentru iarna asa cum vecina furnica a facut toata vara.

Deci vine toamna friguroasa si plina de ploi, anuntand o iarna grea ma rog in final nu stim ce se intampla clar cu greierele.

O poveste trista cu talc.

Ana in stilul ei caracteristic a inceput sa puna 100 intrebari pe minut tipul: ce mananca greierii, de ce nu i-a cerut furnicii, dar avea mamica si tatic, ce culoare are un greieras, cum canta, dar prieteni el nu a avut, pai si daca a murit acum unde e si ce face. Aris a fost si el trist, ca nu i se pare normal ca cineva sa moara doar pentru ca a facut ce i-a placut si ca ii place de furnica, a fost muncitoare ea asa, dar daca  i-a fost vecina sigur l-a ascultat pe greier cantand si de ce nu i-a oprit si lui niste graunte daca s-a bucurat asa pe gratis de muzica lui. Carla a fost cea mai clara si pragmatica. Ce vreti voi sa spuneti, ca daca ma apuc de cantat mor, ca artistii sunt condamnati sa moara de foame?! Poezia este invatata si predata in scoala. Lavinia a ales poezia pentru ca si-a adus aminte de poeziile copilariei si a fost foarte curioasa de diferentele intre ceea ce a fost invatata sa gandeasca in scoala si opinia copiilor care au fost lasati si incurajati sa vorbeasca liber.

Voi ce parere aveti de greierul artist? 🙂