I'm not an island

No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friends or of thine own were; any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

(John Donne - Meditation XVII, taken from Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions, 1624)

This is such an inspiring quote, isn't it?

Happy Teacher's Day!

Every 15 October, I phone Maria Aparecida Yasbec Sebba (Cidinha), a professor of English and teacher trainer I used to have when I attended the Modern Languages course at university.

This year I was unable to phone her. Nevertheless, blogging can be useful to show how important a person can be to another one.

I still remember my first English class at university. Cida came into the room, introduced herself and presented the syllabus along with the material we would use over 2001 and 2002. This first class was an icebreaker and I fell in love with my teacher. It is worth to remark that at that time I could barely read and translate some things in English, but was unable to speak and my listening skills were not good at all.

Cida's lessons were so motivating and so inspiring that I have no words to say how enthusiastic I was for learning another language. Gosh, those classes were the best and the ones I most expected in the week.

I remember how patient, how careful, how organised and how strict she used to be with me and my classmates. Her lessons were so well planned, with the activities well linked, a good warmer and Cida was very kind to all of us. OK, her tests were very difficult, but this has only helped me.

The academic year had passed and in October, she gave us a (quite) difficult assignment: to read the book This is London, by Phillip Prowse and present it in November. When I got the book I thought I wouldn't make it, given I was shy and I considered my English rather poor to present a book to classmates who seemed to be more fluent than me. I got anxious and a bit nervous, but the presentation was a success. Gee, how happy I was. I guess that was the first time I could feel the sense of achievement, after all I was unable to speak in February and in November I was presenting a book. I owe this to Cida, who always encouraged me and my friends.

In 2002 Cidinha invited me, Nilvânia, Marcela and Viviane to take part in the selection process of Centro de Línguas da UFG, but we all chickened out. In 2003, she asked us to take this test again and to my complete surprise, I got 9.0 in the written test, 7.9 in the didactic test and was qualified for the teacher training course.

In 2005, when I was about to graduate I had all sorts of difficulties at university and I really considered the idea of leaving UFG and never ever think of teaching in my life. I remember the day when Cida and I had a tough conversation at the lobby of Faculdade de Letras. She told me not to give up my dream of being a teacher. She was my English VI teacher at that time and she encouraged me to study harder and keep on working so as to improve my English and become a better teacher each passing day.

Nowadays, I still have Cida in my memory and my heart. If I am a teacher at one of the best English courses in my city, I owe this to her. I'm so thankful for having Cida to give me a supporting hand and that is why I will always consider her as the BEST teacher a person can have. I will cherish her for a lifetime.

The "Ex-" Files

Wow, what a birthday. It looks like I'm having (and making) fun of the idea of getting aged. Yes, I'm getting aged, not old. I was born on a sunny and warm day on 10 October 1981 in Iporá, a small city in the State of Goias, at 6:00 am -- according to my mum and to the medical registers --, and 28 years later I still see myself as a child who's getting mature based upon his own (and other people's) life experiences.

My birthday week in a nutshell: 4 surprise parties arranged by my students and colleagues, some discussions/arguments with my family, going out with friends and on 10 Oct. 2009, the DAY.

Tonight I went to a nightclub with some friends. One of them decided that we have to put up with an unknown one (the unnameable) and then a moral and personal dilemma: should I tell the truth to the betrayed one?

Had I known what was coming next, things would've been quite different. An ex of mine in such an embarrassing and pitiful situation drew my attention to the following question: do we really learn from the EX-relationships? So far, the answer would probably be a shouting YES. How good I am compared to those I left behind. Good for me, of course. I had never felt so mature like I did tonight.

Música para uma noite de quinta-feira

Nem sei porquê, mas hoje cheguei em casa sedento por música. Há dias em que adoro ouvir música, há dias em que estou para filmes, musicais, livros. Sim, sou uma pessoa que vive mudando de humor e acho que isso é uma idiossincrasia.

Pois bem, cheguei e fui garimpar meus arquivos MP3, em busca de algo que pudesse me deixar mais alegre. Ouvi de tudo um pouco: Leoni, Yma Sumac, Elizeth Cardoso, Ella Fitzgerald, Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Mozart, etc.

Entretanto, o destaque da sessão musical noturna vai para a ária Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen, de Mozart. É a segunda ária da ópera A Flauta Mágica (Die Zauberflöte), composta pelo gênio em 1791.

A ária fala sobre um momento de fúria em que a Rainha da Noite põe uma faca na mão de Pamina (filha dela) e a incentiva a assassinar Sarastro, o rival da rainha, sob a pena de amaldiçoar Pamina, caso ela não o matasse.

Veja a letra abaixo -- em alemão e em inglês -- e, ouça-a pelo podcast.

Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen,

Tod und Verzweiflung flammet um mich her!

Fühlt nicht durch dich Sarastro Todesschmerzen,

So bist du meine Tochter nimmermehr.

Verstossen sei auf ewig,

Verlassen sei auf ewig,

Zertrümmert sei'n auf ewig

Alle Bande der Natur

Wenn nicht durch dich Sarastro wird erblassen!

Hört, Rachegötter, hört der Mutter Schwur!

Hell's vengeance boils in my heart,

Death and despair flame about me!

If Sarastro does not, through you, feel the pain of death,

Then you will be my daughter nevermore.

Disowned be forever,

Forsaken be forever,

Destroyed be forever

All the bonds of nature

If you do not make Sarastro turn pale!

Hear, Gods of Vengeance, hear a mother's oath!

And the week goes on

Essa tarde foi fodasticamente fodástica. Trabalhei pra caramba, alguns colegas de trabalho estavam doentes e a atmosfera lá na escola estava super esquisita nessa segunda-feira. OK, ninguém é de ferro.

Continuo sem entender um dos grupos que eu tenho. As aulas simplesmente não rendem como eu gostaria que rendessem e eu não consigo encontrar uma forma de resolver essa situação.

Final de tarde super gostoso, pois Dona D'Aguia preparou uma canjica super deliciosa para os teachers e engordantes sempre caem bem.

Moments...

Uma noite com a rainha

Ontem eu e André saímos e nos encontramos com Regina Perri (minha rainha). Achei ótimo conversar e dançar com ela. Puxa vida, há pessoas que realmente são muito marcantes e isso é uma das coisas que fazem a vida valer a pena. Como eu admiro a rainha. Long live REGINA!