According to the rules, I should say seven things about me:
1. I have family photos from the second decade of the 20th century. 2. I have some old interesting books. 3. I like attics very much. It's a kind of enchanted world to me. My grandparents house had an attic. 4. I would like to sail one day (like in the movie Message in a Bottle) and watch the sunrise and the sunset in the sea. There are so many boats in The Netherlands! Sometimes, I just stay still, admiring them. 5. However, I don't swim since the trauma I had in my childhood. 6. I would like to travel in the Orient Express. 7. I don't drive.
1. The Sea (O mar/De Zee) 2. Tea (Chá/De Thee) 3. Books (Livros/Boeken) 4. Snow (Neve/De Sneeuw) 5. My cat (O meu gato/Mijn kat) 6. Mountains (Montanhas/Bergen) 7. Old photos (Fotos antigas/ Oude foto's) 8. Flowers (Flores/Bloemen) 9. Portuguese food (Comida portuguesa/Portugese Eten) 10. The Sun (O Sol/De Zon)
According to the rules, I should offer this award to ten blogs that I like. However, this time, I will not follow the rules. I would like to offer this award to a very creative blog that I found a couple of weeks ago, when Rosa, its author, paid me a visit:
De Living where women, specially, should feel at home. There are books and magazines about cooking (koken), gardens (tuinen), relations (relaties) and health (gezondheid).
Almere Stad Library is open between 10/17 hours on Saturday (zaterdag), Sunday (zondag) and Monday (maandag). During the rest of the week it's open between 10/20 hours.
As members of the library, we must pay a fee per year (abonnement per jaar). There are different kinds of fees. Please, click here to choose the most suitable for you.
With all my heart ;-) Congratulations to the Almere's Library for its first year and the award of Best Library 2010 in The Netherlands! Very well deserved!
Today I had a photography lesson. The theme was "Het leven in de stad" (The Life in the City/A Vida na Cidade). Some of the pics didn't turn out very well and I've only these ones to show you. ...
This is my story. In the city of Amersfoort.
Shall we have a coffee op dit gezellig terras? Such a nice terrace, don't you think? ;-) I like very much all this public art we find in The Netherlands.
De stad is van steen, maar gebouwd met de liefde van het land eromheen. Ze bespiegeld gevoel, ze kleurt je gedachte, geeft woorden een reden en je daden een doel.
Dit is mijn leven, dit is mijn stad, hier voel ik me veilig, hier ligt mijn hart. De straten en de pleinen Ik ken ze allemaal. Dit is mijn verhaal.
Laat me maar gaan, Ik kijk over grenzen die lang niet meer bestaan. Ik voel me hier thuis, Want je proeft hier de vrijheid. Ben een man van de wereld, maar hier staat mijn huis.
Dit is mijn leven, dit is mijn stad. hier voel ik me veilig, hier ligt mijn hart. De straten en de pleinen Ik ken ze allemaal. Dit is mijn verhaal.
Dit is mijn leven, dit is mijn stad, hier voel ik me veilig, hier ligt mijn hart. De straten en de pleinen Ik ken ze allemaal. Dit is mijn verhaal.
Ik wil nooit meer iets anders, Mijn hart ligt hier verankerd. Ze begrijpt me als ik haar zeg: ’t is de plek waarvan ik droom, waar ik bid en werk en woon. Ik wil hier gewoon niet meer weg
Dit is mijn leven, dit is mijn stad, hier voel ik me veilig, hier ligt mijn hart. De straten en de pleinen, Ik ken ze allemaal. Dit is mijn verhaal.
En het werd me gegeven, Als een dag in de zon. Hier ligt m’n verleden waar ik ooit begon. Je kunt hier oud en jong zijn, want ze spreekt dezelfde taal. Dit is mijn verhaal Dit is mijn verhaal.
A month after our arrival in The Netherlands, we received a letter from Tricijn.
I understood it was something related with taxes [belasting].The amount [bedrag] was quite high. As I was not familiar with the taxes in the Netherlands, I knocked at my neighbours door to ask Bas about it. He explained to me what kind of taxes we were talking about and then I went home to translate the letter.
...
Let's see this year's letter, it's easier...;-)
After confirming my aanslagnummer [fiscal number/número fiscal] and my address through the betreft object [referente a/refering to], I checked all the main points of the Aanslagbiljet [tax statement/folha de impostos]:
dagtekening [date/data]: 25.01.2011 heffingperiode [refering period/período a que diz respeito]:01.01.2011 t/m 31.12.2011 belastingjaar [fiscal year/ano fiscal]: 2011 vervaldatum [payment deadline/data limite de vencimento]: 25.03.2011
We have two months to betalen [to pay/pagar]. In our case, a bedrag [an amount/total] of €254,94.
How did they come to this value? By a berekening [calculation/cálculo] that I shall explain now.
...
In fact, we are paying two taxes: the watersysteemheffing ingezetenen and the Zuiveringsheffing.
1.The watersysteemheffing ingezetenen
As far as I understood, this one is related to the dijken [dams/diques] maintenance and repairs to avoid overstromingen [floods/inundações] and keep the zeespiegel [sea level/nível do mar] or the waterpeil [water level/nível da água] at safe levels.
For this one, we pay €73,53.
I'm sharing this with you because in Portugal we don't have this specific tax and if you are thinking about moving here it's useful to be aware of this.
2.The Zuiveringsheffing
This one is similar to our taxa de saneamento básico [sanitary taxes]. Zuivering means "purification" or "purificação".
This tax is to take care of the afvalwater [waste waters/águas residuais] and the riolen [sewers/esgotos].
If there is only one person in the household, we pay €60,47.
If there are 2 or more persons in the household, we pay 3 bedrag per vervuilingseenheid [unitary pollution cost/custo unitário de poluição]. The total is €181,41. It's our case.
That means that the bedrag van de aanslag, or the total amount, is €254,94.
During this period, we are more careful with our expenses, but we don't mind. In our opinion, the taxes are well spent.
Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more.)
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more.)
What you say?
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more.)
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more.)
Woah Woman, oh woman, don't treat me so mean,
You're the meanest old woman that I've ever seen.
I guess if you say so
I have to pack ma things and go. (That's right)
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more.)
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more.)
What you say?
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more.)
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more.)
well baby, listen baby, don't ya treat me this-a way
Cause I'll be back on my feet some day.
(Don't care if you do 'cause it's understood)
(you ain't got no money you just ain't no good.)
Well, I guess if you say so
I'd have to pack my things and go. (That's right)
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more.)
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more.)
What you say?
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more.)
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more.)
well!!
(don't you come back no more.)
Uhh what did you say?
(don't you come back no more.)
i did not understand it
(don't you come back no more.)
i came to talk it over
(don't you come back no more.)
i thaught we had a better understanding
(don't you come back no more.)
oh baby dont be so chicken
(don't you come back no more.)
you dont want to see me cry x2
(don't you come back no more.)
oh baby it isnt fair
ooh yeahh
Procuro a ternura súbita, os olhos ou o sol por nascer do tamanho do mundo, o sangue que nenhuma espada viu, o ar onde a respiração é doce, um pássaro no bosque com a forma de um grito de alegria.
Cristina Branco is a Portuguese Fado singer. She released her first albuns in The Netherlands: Cristina Branco Live in Holland in 1997 and Murmúrios in 1998. Cristina Branco sings Slauerhoff is released two years later as a gratitude gesture towards the country where she started her career. Curiosity...she has never lived in the Netherlands...;-)
About this Dutch poet, I read this at Wikipedia:
"In 1932 he published Het verboden rijk ("The Forbidden Realm," 1932), a partly historical, partly magical realist novel combining the life of a twentieth-century European with that of Luís de Camões, the sixteenth-century Portuguese poet (author of sonnets and the epic The Lusiads) who spent part of his life in the Orient."
Interesting the influence of our Major author!
He has also translated with R. Schreuder O Crime do Padre Amaro [De misdaad van Pater Amaro/Father Amaro's Crime] of the Portuguese 19th century author, José Maria de Eça de Queiroz, by the way, my Portuguese favourite author.
Now, I'm very curious! I want to know more about this Dutch author.
As you know, we moved to our first house in Almere, in December 2007. As you also may remember we brought everything from Portugal and the flat needed to be cleaned and painted.
Besides this huge work and the fact we were experiencing the coldest winter we remembered (until then, of course! ;-), we received many and long letters that we couldn't understand...
I felt like an illiterate person...
Very embarassed, I knocked on my Dutch neighbours door (or should I say on the heaven's door ;-).
"In spite of my seven years at University, the 1500 books I have at home in four different languages and my travels in Europe...here am I, knocking at Esther's door, asking her to read and explain this letter to me." I thought.
Esther and Bas were amazing and during the following months they helped me a lot! They knew almost everything about my private life by reading the letters: taxes, insurances, etc... Their friendly and supportive attitude helped me to deal with this awkward situation: exposing my privacy to people I had just met.
I remember to say to my husband: "I used to read letters to illiterate old people in Portugal who never went to school because they had a poor childhood.". My mother always told me to be gentle with people in need.
"I never thought to be in the same situation:knocking at someone's door asking for this kind of help." Again, I remembered my mother who always told me that life can be very twisty and we must be helpful, humble and polite with people. "We never know where we will be tomorrow." So true...
Let me share with you what I've learned then...
Usually a brief [letter/carta] begins with a Geachte heer/mevrouw [ Dear Sir/Dear Lady or Caro Senhor/ Cara Senhora ] and indicates the onderwerp [subject/assunto], generally something belangrijk [important/importante] or nodig [necessary/necessário] like:
an informatie [information/informação];
a toelichting [clarification/esclarecimento];
an aanmaning [notification/notificação];
a verrekening [payment/ liquidação];
an inschatting [evaluation/ avaliação];
Generally they ask you to...
doorgeven [to transmit/transmitir];
wijzigen [to change/alterar];
invullen [to fill/preencher];
machtigen [to autorize/autorizar];
betalen [to pay/pagar];
onderteken [to sign/assinar]
...something.
Finally, they will say they are bereikbaar [available/disponíveis] for more information, they will thank your medewerking [colaboration/colaboração] with a Bedankt and end the letter with a Met vriendelijke groet [Best Regards/Saudações cordiais].
Sometimes you will terugvinden [to find/encontrar] an envelop [envelop/envelope] that doesn't need postzegels [stamps/selos] to sturen [to send/enviar] to their kantoor [office/escritório]. After that, it's possible to ontvangen [to receive/receber] another letter with a "Graag ontvangen wij... " [We have gladly received.../Recebemos com agrado...].
Now, the song that always was in my mind each time I was knocking Esther and Bas door...;-))
the worst economical growth of the last 90 years... the largest public debt of the last 160 years... the biggest external debt of the last 120 years... the worst unemployment rate of the last 80 years... the lowest saving rate of the last 50 years... the corruption... and in consequence... the second biggest emigration rate of the last 160 years...we are part of this history.
A peaceful demonstration took place today in Lisbon and other Portuguese cities, organized not by political parties or unions, but people around 25/35 years old, most of them unemployed, poorly paid, working in precarious conditions and living yet in their parents house.
In spite their university degrees and high qualifications, many of them don't receive any salary, or when it happens, they receive about €500, without a working contract, but through the so called "recibos verdes" (green receipts}. That means that their working rights are almost zero.
Portugal has a 11% unemployment rate and 2 million poors. Projects like to buy a house, marry and have kids are in "stand by" during several years. Our birth rate is very low and we have an aged country.
These demonstrations were organized via Facebook.
You understand now why we came to the Netherlands three years ago...before it was too late...an emigration process has got many costs.
(Foto by Daniel Oliveira)
200 000 people only in Lisbon...young and old people...a whole country in trouble saying "Enough!" to the current situation...
I follow the Moskva Down to Gorky Park Listening to the wind of change An August summer night Soldiers passing by Listening to the wind of change
The world closing in Did you ever think That we could be so close,like brothers The future's in the air I can feel it everywhere Blowing with the wind of change
Chorus: Take me to the magic of the moment On a glory night Where the children of tomorrow dream away In the wind of change
Walking down the street Distant memories Are buried in the past forever
I fallow the Moskva Down to Gorky Park Listening to the wind of change
Take me to the magic of the moment On a glory night Where the children of tomorrow share their dreams With you and me
Take me to the magic of the moment On a glory night Where the children of tomorrow dream away In the wind of change
The wind of change blows straight Into the face of time Like a stormwind that will ring The freedom bell for peace of mind Let your balalaika sing What my guitar wants to say
Take me to the magic of the moment On a glory night Where the children of tomorrow share their dreams With you and me
Take me to the magic of the moment On a glory night Where the children of tomorrow dream away In the wind of change
Located in Eemnes, nearby Laren and Blaricum, in the Gooi, the Theetuin is a bucolic scenery tea house surrounded by a a romantic and nostalgic garden with cosy and enchanting corners. The perfect choice for the shinning and warmer Sunday we had last weekend...
