Today, I learned about: Once more I need to use the expression ”How time files”. Nine years ago, I started this blog, but it seems like it happened yesterday. I am sooooo grateful to all of you, my faithful followers, soon we will be celebrating a whole decade together! In my last post of 2023, 356’2024 (2023-12-21) , I had the pleasure of portraying myself with two Olympic gold medalists, and now the turn has come to my daughter, Karina. One week before Christmas, she went to São Paulo to assist the SLS Super Crown World Championships 2024. Among all the famous skaters present at the event, I have chosen to show her together with Momiji Nishiya, a Japanese street skatboarder who won the gold medal in the Olympic Summer Games held in Tokyo in 2021. See also reference # 1 below.
A selfie taken by Karina with Momiji Nishiya, a Japanese street skateboarder who won the gold medal in the Olympic Summer Games held in Tokyo in 2021. The photo was taken during the SLS Super Crown World Championships 2024 on 350’2024 (2024-12-15) in São Paulo, state of São Paulo, Brazil.
The following photo was taken the morning after the fantastic full moon I showed in the last post of 2024, 366’2024 (2024-12-31) . What a lovely day the rising sun is bringing to us all!
This photo, taken on 352’2024 (2024-12-16) shows the sun rising at Praia Grande, Paraty, state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Almost two years ago, 113’2023 (2023-04-23) , I wrote about the ceremony when Air Force Coronel Geancarlo Jandre was sworn in as Commander of the Santos Air Force Base. Well, those days are gone, now he is moving on to another position within the Brazilan Air Force (FAB). My girlfriend Valéria and I had the pleasure of meeting him and his wife Fernanda on their very last day at the base.
Below are some photos taken during that encounter. On that very day, 356’2024 (2024-12-21), there had been concluded the upgrade of the base’s take-off and landing strip, and now there will start a procedure to qualify it as fit for also civilan passanger traffic. When the complete airport finally is inaugurated, it will be part of a multimode transportation system around Santos, for cargo and passengers. In fact, yesterday, the Brazilian President Lula da Silva sent the project for a tunnel between the two cities of Santos and Guraujá for analysis by the TCU (Tribunal de Contas da União), and once approved hopefully there will be construction of the tunnel starting alreday during 2025. Furthermore, there are plans of doubling the capacity of the whole region to receive and dispatch merchandise with a volume of a double size as compared to today. See also reference # 1 below.
The two pictures to the left, taken by Coronel Geancarlo, show the Command building of the Santos Air Force Base and a view from the jetty, where the base can be approached by boat. In the photo in the lower left, in the background you can also see a building where the Brazilian celulose producer Suzano and DP World Santos operate an intermediate customs warehouse for merchandise transiting through the port of Santos, see also reference #2 below. Also, for the first time you may see the concluded strip for take-off and landing of the future airport.Thanks to Geancarlo and Fernanda for receiving us on such a hectic day.
The following photo was taken on the same coast as the Santos Air Force Base, but 290 km further northeast, close to the historic city of Paraty, state of Rio de Janeiro. We had the opportunity of watching the full moon spreading its glow over the calm waters six days earlier.
A beautiful view of the full moon glittering in the South Atlantic Ocean on the beach Praia Grande, Paraty, state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Picture on 350’2024 (2025-12-15).
Finally, after all my posts about this amazing athlete, was there any doubt that Armand “Mondo” Duplantis would be crowned the best male athlete of the year? See reference # 3 below.
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 shows the main building at the base, which celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2023.
This impressive building is the headquarters of the Air force Base Santos, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. Photo taken on 19’2023 (2023-01-19) during the ceremony of installation of the new base commander, Air Force Colonel Geancarlo Jandre.
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.
Top photo, from left to right: Myself, my friend Gloria, Air Force Colonel Geancarlo, and his wife Fernanda.
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 summary of the book Styrkan med självledarskap – Upptäck ledaren som finns inom dig (The power of autoleadership – Discover the leader within yourself), written by Josef Vike and which I have had the pleasure of translating from Brazilian Portuguese into Swedish.
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!
What did you learn in School today? 