To kiss 2007 goodbye on a high note, I went to Campo Grande and Salvador these past two weeks, respectively on business and for fun, but the truth is I had a great time in both places.
As it's always the case, I met some great people in Campo Grande. This was my fourth visit, again for a teacher training course, and again I had the time of my life. I want to take this opportunity to thank everybody there, especially Giselle, for making it all possible and for making me feel so at home. Campo Grande rocks!
Salvador, despite what many people say about it being dirty and old, was a very pleasant surprise. I stayed at a great hotel located at the top of a hill (Blue Tree Towers), and the view from the pool and from my room was absolutely breathtaking. Beautiful beaches, warm people, boiling-hot weather and great food all contributed equally to our having a great time. On top of all that, we also had the luck of meeting three adorable people there: Carlos, Juliana and Thaís, who will certainly be in our hearts, and hopefully in our lives, for many years to come (not to mention the fact that we now have a great excuse to finally go to the south!)
The end of every year is always quite busy, but this year definitely stands out. I have been busy and working non-stop every day, with private students and, obviously, with the daily grind being the coordinator at St Giles. I still dream I'm in London sometimes, but then I wake up and see my beautiful wife lying there and then it's OK I'm not in the UK anymore. But I really want to go back!
I'm reading a great book at the moment, of a genre I'm not very used to enjoying: Eric Clapton's Autobiography. To be very honest, I don't remember the last biography I read, and I don't think I've ever read and autobiography. Anyway, it's God's life, so I'm enjoying it to bits. EC has had a really fucked up life at times, but an incredibly interesting one too. I'm not even halfway through it yet, but some of his songs, even the ones he didn't write or compose himself, only chose to sing, already make a lot more sense to me now; I obviously like and admire him and his music even more now.
Finally, I'm going to use this blog as a means to reach out to people I like very much and miss, but who seem to have dropped out of the face of the earth: Ricardo and Denise... CALL ME!!! :-)
Europe was great, especially London, and now I'm back. Actually I've been back since Sunday but hadn't had the time to come here and 'blog'. Here I am!
I re-started working last Monday, and despite what one would think, I was very glad to. Seeing my students again on Tuesday was really great, as I'd missed teaching to bits while I was away. Obviously I was only that happy about coming back to work because this was a short week. And next one will be short, too. Lucky times.
Below is a picture of me and my teaching idol Jeremy Harmer. This picture was taken at the St Giles Teachers' Conference, at St Giles Highgate in London, last Saturday (November 10). His workshop on what a good teacher is was very inspirational.
Unlike how I felt about Paris, I'm desperately in love in London.
The weather's great (although I'm probably the only one that thinks so), the people are kind, the money is valuable, food is good - despite general assumptions, the city is clean, the Underground goes everywhere, the police are respectful and always willing to help the tourists (of course I haven't forgotten they killed Jean Charles de Menezes and all, but this is just my impression from a week here) etc.
I have, so far, visited The Buckingham Palace and seen the changing of the guard, the Houses of Parliament and the Big Ben, Oxford Street, Regent Street, Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus and several other lesser known spots. It's all beautiful and I wanna keep on coming to London every year now.
I AM going to post pictures, I promise, but I won't lie: I may only do so when I'm back at home next Sunday.
CI, SWEETHEART, I LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU LIKE CRAZY. I WISH TOMORROW WERE SUNDAY ALREADY.
I admit I was really excited when I woke up on Saturday and said to myself: I'm on my way to Paris. I took a shower, put on my fanciest clothes and off I went to Waterloo International. Boarding on the Eurostar was a sensational feeling, and the breakfast I had onboard was nothing short of spectacular. So far it was amazing.
Arriving in Paris, however, I was a bit disappointed. First because it was a lousy day: cold, cloudy and wet. Also, because the French are pigs. They're impolite and they hate speaking English (too bad for them, fuckers, that it is the universal language). My first plan was to get on the subway and go to the Louvre Museum to see Monna Lisa.
The Museum is all it's cracked up to be and more. It's huge and incredibly beautiful. I expected it to take me hours just to get the tickets, but it only took me 20 minutes. I thought it was going to take me hours to find the Monna Lisa, but it only took me 15 minutes. Then I thought it would take another hour at least for me to find Venus de Milo. It took me 5 minutes. To make a long story short, I expected to spend the whole afternoon in the museum and ended up staying one hour, tops. So, I had plenty of time to go see the rest of Paris.
Next stop was, obviously, the Eiffel Tower. I don't know what I expected, really, but what I found was certainly not it. It's just a damned tower. OK, I'll admit it's beautiful and everything, and that the place where it's at is breathtaking. Still, it's just a tower. It's a lot of metal and some lights. Again, people will say it's more beautiful at night and so on. Still, I was disappointed. Very disappointed. After all, The Eiffel Tower is one of the most famous spot in the whole world, and it should be a whole lot more interesting.
Leaving the tower, I went to Champs-Elysees and the Arc de Triumphe. The first is nothing but a fancy avenue where a cup of coffee costs an arm and a leg. The second is very beautiful, but brought back some terrible memories of the French people's parties when they beat Brazil in the World Cup in '98. Again, I was disappointed.
My day was worth it, however, because of my last stop before coming to London: The Notre Dame Cathedral. I'm not a Catholic or anything, and I only went there because I'd promised my mom I would. I was absolutely flabbergasted, though. I cannot put in words what I felt, but it was huge. I nearly cried, to be perfectly honest. Everything about it is perfect, beautiful and divine (whatever that means). So, I tell you all: you can get to know Paris in one day if you want to. It's more than enough. However, you have to start by going to the Notre Dame Cathedral.
I arrived here last Friday, after a 12-hour flight that was delayed 2, absolutely exhausted, but still obviously very excited. While spending my first pound (on a calling card), I recognized the bald - and totally, totally gay - man in front of me immediately, but it took me a while to work up the courage to walk up to him and have my first conversation in English after immigration:
- Sir, you are Michael Stipe, aren't you? - Yes. - Can I please take a picture with you? - Of course.
I was so incredibly nervous that first I forgot to turn the camera on. Then, still very nervous and now ashamed for asking to take a second picture with him, I was trembling so much the picture was crap. I didn't have the guts to ask for a third picture, though, and this shitty picture of REM's lead singer is what I'll have for posterity. No problem... I think the picture portrays exactly how I was feeling at the time. (I'll post the picture here shortly).
After this 'exciting moment', I went straight to Waterloo International to buy my tickets to go to Paris. It took me a while to decipher the Underground system but, after some 40 minutes, I finally arrived at Waterloo and, thankfully, managed to get tickets for Saturday at 7:09. I arrived home (I'm staying in a beautiful suburb called Hampstead) at 11, had supper with my lovely hostess Mrs. Irving, and went straight to bed, absolutely exhausted (or 'knackered', as they say here).
Yesterday - it's Sunday now - I went to Paris. But that's a different story which I'll only tell tomorrow. Pictures will be available too.
Anyone who's known me for over 10 seconds knows I'm a fanatic supporter of São Paulo. My team has been one of the most important parts of my life for as long as I can remember, and that makes today a very special day.
We have just won Campeonato Brasileiro (Brazilian League) for the fifth time, two times in a row. Therefore, I want to devote these few lines to thanking all of our players and our administration for this unbelievable achievement. Tricolor has won again. I couldn't be prouder.
I couldn't thank Muricy and Rogério Ceni enough, for being symbols of our days of glory. Thank you, São Paulo, for so many years of happiness.
I've just received the agendas for the conferences I'm going to attend in London next week. I nearly had a stroke when I read the following:
-Elective 1A (Room 11) Session Title to be confirmed - Jeremy Harmer.
Jeremy Harmer! Harmer! I can't f@#$%& believe it. My teaching IDOL! The most incredible teacher trainer/author I've ever... well, read in my life. Now I'll meet him. I'll take pictures with him. He'll autograph my millions of books I have by him. Oh, God. I know I sound so gay, but I don't care. I love the guy! (May my beautiful wife forgive me for it!).
This Friday I'll be at DISAL talking about writing: how to teach, when, how often, what kind of writing etc. If you wish to take part in the talk, please check the info below:
Where? At Disal Auditorium - Av Marquês de São Vicente, 182 - Barra Funda - São Paulo
When? October 26, 2007 - 10 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
Want to participate? Call Disal at 3226-3111 or visit the website: www.disal.com.br
The "Tricolor" nickname does not do us justice anymore. Of course I know the "tri" thing has to do with the amount of colors in our jersey, but still, after winning absolutely everything there is to win in this world, I think we deserve new nicknames: "Pentalor" and our stadium "Morumpenta".
Poor Cruzeiro! They really had a dream... they actually thought it was possible for them to come here and beat us at home. They lost, of course, as teams do when they 'visit' us. But better than that: they lost their second place, and to one of the most ridiculous teams in the league: Little Green (Palmeiras).
Now, all we have to do is break Millionarios's neck on Wednesday and wait for Brasileirão to end. We are now focused on winning the "hexa" in 2008.
Now it's official. I've just received confirmation that my trip to London is a go!
I'll leave Brazil on November 1st and will be back on November 11th. It's going to be super!
I have already made a list of books I'm going to buy (if possible, of course). I want Tom Perrotta's The Abstinence Teacher, Nick Hornby's Slam, Cecilia Ahern's There's no Place Like Here, Nicholas Sparks's The Choice andLinda Nichols's Handyman. I also want The CELTA Course, by Scott Thornburry, but that one is for the school.
U2, George W. Bush, Pope Benedict XVI, Tony Blair and Condoleeza Rice (maybe Oprah Winfrey) sing Head, Shoulder, Knees and Toes. Absolutely hilarious! (Thanks, Cris!)
Escrito por Higor às 14h33
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