Today, I learned about:
This post is a tribute to three of my friends, from different places and periods. But the common thing is that they all are/were Brazilians.
Geancarlo
My first Brazilian student of Swedish, Geancarlo Jandre, was an Air Force Captain when he started to learn Swedish with me in 2017. The reason was that he would start to study for a Master’s degree in Political Science at the Swedish Supreme Military Academy in Stockholm in 2018. It was a tough year, but his earlier knowledge of both English and German was of course of big help in that task.
Geancarlo graduated in 2020 and returned to the Air Force headquarters in Brasília, having been promoted to Air Force Lieutenant Colonel already in 2018. Then at the end of 2022, another promotion to Air Force Colonel and an appointment as Commander of the Santos Air Force Base.
I had the privilege of being invited to his installation as commander, which occured on 19’2023 (2023-01-19). The following photo today shows the main building at the base, which celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2023.
Furthermore, here are some more photos from the event, which took place under blazing sun and perfect weather conditions. See also references #1 and #2 below.
Bottom photos, from left to right, top to bottom: Three of the delicious foods that were served during the reception after the installation ceremony, Paella Mineira, Bolo Floresta Negra, and Rote Grütze. Here is a brief description of each one of them:
Paella Mineira (Paella from the state of Minas Gerais) is inspired by its original dish, which made the Spanish peasants endure the hard work in the fields. They brought along rice, oil, salt and ”paella”, which is the name of the big frying pan used to cook the meal. For lunch, in the frying pan they mixed whatever they had of vegetables, and meat.
Bolo Floresta Negra (Schwarzwalder Torte, Black Forest cake) has not got its name from the German region of Schwarzwald, although many people think so. The main reference is a liqueur made of the Ginja cherry. But this cake is said to be inspired by the way the young German maidens used to dress in Schwarzwald. The white whipped cream represents the sleeves of their dresses, the chocolate their bodies and the cherry the “Bollenhut”, a hat with red pompoms which indicated their marital status, the red color means unmarried and black married.
Rote Grütze (Red ”Grütze”) is derived from the German word ”gruzzi”, which means coarse grinding. Today it is used to denominate semola, i.e. the lumps resulting from the incomplete grinding of cereals. Maybe it is therefore used to describe a preserve of red fruits due to its consistency, similar to a porridge prepared from some type of ground cereal, e.g. oatmeal porridge. The dish is still typical in Northern Germany, particularly in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, from where the ancestors of Commander Geancarlo emigrated during the 19th century to a town that thus was named Pomerode, in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil.
Josenildo
In August 2021, I was contacted by Josef Vike, a Brazilian originally named Josenildo Rocha, who had been living in Gothenburg, Sweden since the first decade of the 21st century. There he has, among other things, an academy teaching the Afro-Brazilian martial art of capoeira, in which his title is Mestre Tuburão (Master Shark). He wanted to write a book for his pupils about leadership and how each of them could take control of their lives and lead themselves and others. But since he wanted to present it to them in flawless Swedish, he asked me to help him and translate the manuscript from Brazilian Portuguese to Swedish.
Due to the Covid 19 pandemic, it took longer than he expected, but then finally on 77’2023 (2023-03-18), the book was launched during an event in a big shopping mall in Gothenburg, Frölunda Torg. Besides the book launch, there was also a good mix of entertainment and thoughtful considerations about human behavior, involving courage, creativity, and generosity.
Here you can see a resume of the book (in Swedish) and a video clip with the highlights of the event. See also reference #3 below.
A video clip with the highlights from Be Authentic Day in Gothenburg, Sweden, on 77’2023 (2023-03-18), a fantastic initiative by Josef Vike.
Adriano
During more than 30 years, I had the pleasure of knowing Adriano Lisiuchenko. We worked as managing partners in companies where we were pioneers in introducing SMT (Surface Mount Technology) to the Brazilian electronics manufacturing industry. Many times hard work, but also many moments of happiness and joy. See also reference #4 below.
Adriano passed away on 101’2023 (2023-04-11) after a long period of severe illness. Adriano, you will surely be missed, rest in peace!
That’s what I learned in school today!
Ref.:
1: Santos Air Force Base (needs to be updated)
2: Bollenhut
3: Capoeira
What did you learn in School today? 
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