What’s new with Z U M B A

It has been two months since my last post. Tragic… 🙂 Plenty to write about, but I totally lost my time management skills and sense of time in general. I don‘t know where my days disappear. Once again, promise to improve :p

The first zumba class was in November which means it has been more than three months of sweating every Friday in my zumba casses. Been talking to my friend Nokwazi today (much love girl!) about the ups and downs I have. Sometimes I have doubts whether what I do is meaningful, am I taking steps forward, and is the progress not too slow. Investing in the future all the time, but when will I see the results and will they be what I want? Other times I am certian that in September I will already be working as zumba instructor at least part time and will live happily ever after :p Nokwazi was telling me to have patience, the seeds I sow will give great rewards. I tell myself the same and sometimes I can see how consistency gets me closer to my dream step by step 🙂 Last Friday both lessons were full, and kisses, hugs, compliments and smiles of my students is quite a result already I guess. Actually, I received so much positive energy that on Friday night I could not stay still. I had to work, but aroudn 1 am I ended up going dancing anyways…

 During these three months I was featured in Junta de Freguesia de Carnide newsletter. I am not so good at explaining what is Junta de Freguesia, but it is a portuguese local administrative unit, like a municipality. So Junta administers and takes care of many activities in Carnide area. Also I will take part in their project‘s Março é Juventude (March is Youth) events. I will make three zumba workshops, but definitely more about it next time.

My hosting organization SPIN continues to support me morally and in every way possible 🙂 We submited a proposal to Programa de Apoio Juvenil do IPJ, a portuguese fund.  We want to launch an initiative in our neighbourhood called “Horta Nova em Moviment“ (Horta Nova on the move). The goal is to engage more youth into sports activities‚ a productive, positive, and healthy free time. Waiting for the answer…

More, I got a very kind invitation to make a zumba workshop in SalsaSisters’ 5^th international Vilnius Salsa Festival 🙂 🙂 🙂 http://www.salsafestival.lt/en/artists/

Meanwhile, video (if I ever manage to upload it) and photos from my classes, beijinhos:

http://www.facebook.com/video/?id=15802040#!/video/video.php?v=581651423879&comments

Kas naujo zumbos padangėj…

Praėjo  beveik du mėnesiai nuo paskutinio įrašo. Siaubas 🙂 Rašyti yra apie ką, bet praradau laiko planavimo įgūdžius ir šiaip nejaučiu kur ir kaip tirpsta laikas. Eilinį kartą žadu pasitaisyti :p

Lapkričio mėnesį buvo pirmoji pamoka. Vadinas jau daugiau nei tris mėnesius kiekvieną penktadienį lieju prakaitą vesdama zumbos pamokas. Šiandien plepėjau su Nokwazi (sena drauge) apie tai, kad būna visko. Kartais suabejoju ar tai ką darau turi prasmės, ar tikrai judu į priekį, ar ne per lėtai. Vis investuoju, investuoju į ateitį, o kada bus rezultatas, ir ar jis bus toks kokio noriu? Kartais neturiu jokių abejonių, kad nuo rugsėjo tikrai dirbsiu bent puse etato kaip zumbos instruktorė ir gyvensiu ilgai ir laimingai :p Nokwazi sakė turėti kantrybės, ir aš tą patį sakau 🙂 Praeitą penktadienį abi pamokos buvo pilnos, o mokinių bučiniai, apkabinimai, komplimentai ir šypsenos – geriausias rezultatas. Pasikroviau pozityvios energijos tiek, kad penktadienį negalėjau išsėdėti namie, turėjau dirbti, bet pirmą valandą nakties vis tiek išėjau šokti…

Per šiuos tris mėnesius spėjau pakliūti į Junta de Freguesia de Carnide naujienlaiškį. Nelabai žinau kaip paaiškinti, kas jie tokie, bet tai portugališkas administracinis vienetas, panašiai kaip seniūnija, tai jie administruoja ir visaip kitaip rūpinas Carnide‘os rajonu. Taip pat dalyvausiu jų projekto Março é Juventude (Kovas tai jaunystė) renginiuose. Vesiu tris užsiėmimus, bet apie tai plačiau kitą kartą.

Mano priimanti organizacija SPIN ir toliau remia mane morališkai ir visaip kaip 🙂 Padavėm paraišką į Programa de Apoio Juvenil do IPJ, portugališką fondą. Ruošiam iniciatyvą mūsų gete Horta Nova em Movimento (Horta Nova juda [kažkaip nesiverčia]), kurios tikslas įtraukti daugiau jaunimo į sporto užsiėmimus – produktyvų, pozityvų, ir sveiką laisvalaikį. Laukiam atsakymo…

Dar sulaukiau malonaus pakvietimo padaryti zumbos workshop‘ą SalsaSisters penktajam tarptautiniam Vilniaus salsos festivalyje 🙂 🙂 🙂  http://www.salsafestival.lt/atlikejai/

O kol kas video (jei pavyks įkelti :-0) ir foto iš mano pamokų, beijinhos:

http://www.facebook.com/video/?id=15802040#!/video/video.php?v=581651423879&comments

Feliz Ano Novo! Isso vai estar 2011 baby!

New Years blog posts must be all over internet right now 🙂 I also decided to dust off my blog and wish everyone happy 2011! It is already January 2^nd… I did want to write on 1.1.11 (what a number!) but I guess entering the new year with the right foot is very difficult. This dilemma will have to wait for next year:  how to celebrate well and wake up to a productive day on the morning of January 1^st? Yesterday I slept until 5pm, and could not get out of my bed with the right foot because my right leg was not functioning, I danced a bit too much 🙂 Nevertheless, this Sunday morning is much more like a good beginning of the new year 🙂

2010 was good to me and I was not really waiting for it to end. However, I am a big fan of new beginnings. A unique opportunity to improve, breathe in some fresh air and try again… Such a good thing those new beginnings for my kind… you know, the procrastinating and daydreaming kind of people… Though I improved a bit in 2010, in 2011 I plan to try even harder 🙂

I think I should identify at least some new year‘s resolutions. A bit of a system, perspective and commitment can‘t do no harm. Last year I only had 3 big resolutions and I achieved 1.5. Even though all success theories state that it is better to be focused, this time I will allow myself to be free and will not question what on my list really matters and what does not. Besides, it is all connected one way or the other.

 In 2011 I want to:

1. Organize the best wedding in the world for my sister!
2. Begin working rather than volunteering as Zumba instructor
3. Dance (even) more – not going to break this one down cos you would fall asleep reading all I want to learn…
4. Become fluent in Portuguese
5. In September to find myself either in London or in Lisbon
6. Work better and more productively in SPIN
7. Write my blog more often
8. Sleep more!!!
9. In all my inbox’es reach 0 unread messages, right now I have 3116…
10. Be more on time
11. Eat more healthy and exercise more (surpise surprise :p)
12. Organize my music and other files (World War III has been going on for a few years on my computer and all externals…)
13. Pay more attention to my fam n friends, next to me and far away
14. Start DJing again
15. Read more and educate myself. Living in my own world is great and truly ignorance is a bliss, nevertheless, it is also a shame 🙂
16. Be the better me each day
17. Love myself (started working on it in 2010 but still a long way to go)

And now it is time for a Senegalsese dance lesson 😉 I hope to see you soon :p

 ATE JA

Rasinha

Feliz Ano Novo! Isso vai estar 2011 baby!

Tikriausiai visas internetas pilnas naujametinių blogo įrašų 🙂 Aš taip pat nusivalau voratinklius nuo savo blogo ir sveikinu visus su 2011! Jau sausio 2 diena… Kad ir kaip norėjau parašyti  1.1.11 (kokie gražūs skaičiai!) matyt į naujus metus įžengti TA koja (pas mane TA koja yra dešinė) labai sunku. Šitą dilemą palieku kitiems metams: kaip gerai atšvęsti ir atsikelti sausio pirmosios rytą produktyviam? Vakar miegojau iki 17h, o dešine koja išlipti iš lovos buvo sunku, nes ją negyvai nušokau 🙂 Bet šitas sekmadienio rytas kur kas panašesnis į gerą naujų metų pradžią 🙂

2010aisiais skųstis negaliu ir jų galo nelaukiau. Bet esu didelė naujų pradžių gerbėja. Unikali proga pasitaisyti, įjungti naują kvėpavimą ir pabandyti dar kartą… Labai geras daiktas tos naujos pradžios tokiems kaip aš… mėgstantiems atidėlioti viską ir daug svajoti… Nors 2010 truputi pasitaisiau, o 2011 žadu dar labiau pasistengti 🙂

Mąstau, kad reikia įsivardinti nors keletą naujametinių rezoliucijų. Truputis sistemos, perspektyvos, ir įsipareigojimo niekam nekenkia. Pernai turėjau tik tris dideles rezoliucijas ir pasiekiau pusantros. Nors visos sėkmės teorijos byloja, kad geriau susikoncentruoti į vieną tikslą ir nesiblaškyti, šį kartą leisiu mintims lietis laisvai ir nekvestionuosiu, kas svarbu, o kas ne :p Be to tikiu, kad viskas vienaip ar kitaip yra susiję

2011 noriu:

1. Linutei suorganizuoti pačias nuostabiausias vestuves pasaulyje
2. Pradėti dirbti (ne tik savanoriauti) zumbos instruktore
3. Šokti (dar) daugiau – šitos rezoliucijos nesmulkinsiu, o tai užmigsit beskaitydami ką noriu išmokti…
4. Išmokti, o ne pramokti portugalų
5. Rugsėjį atsidurti arba Londone, arba Lisabonoje
6. Geriau ir produktyviau dirbti SPIN
7. Dažniau rašyti blogą
8. Daugiau miegoti!!!
9. Visose pašto dėžutėse pasiekti 0 neskaitytų laiškų, nes dabar jų 3116…
10. Mažiau vėluoti, o tai nuo streso gyvenimas trumpėja
11. Sveikiau maitintis ir daugiau sportuoti  (ha ha, labai originalu :p)
12. Susitvarkyti savo muziką ir kitus failus (mano kompiuteryje ir išoriniuose diskuose trečias pasaulinis karas ir jis tęsias jau daug metų)
13. Daugiau dėmesio skirti šeimai ir draugams, šalia ir toli
14. Vėl DJauti
15. Daugiau skaityti ir apsišviesti. Savo pasaulyje gyventi malonu, bet kartais gėda dėl savo neišprusimo :p
16. Kiekvieną dieną stengtis būti geresne savim (jaučiu, kad išverčiau iš anglų čia… soriuka :p)
17. Mylėti save (jau įdirbį padariau 2010, bet dar ilgas kelias laukia, geras daiktas ta meilė)

 O dabar laikas senegalietiškų šokių pamokai 😉 Tikiuosi iki greito :p

Raskė

Alegria Internacional – my first Zumba class

On Friday, November 19th the first Zumba fitness class took place in Bairro da Horta Nova, Sala Imaginarium! What is Zumba? Zumba is Latin-inspired, easy–to-follow, calorie-burning, dance fitness party. ALL fitness levels are welcome and you do not need to have any previous experience. To find out more about what it is exactly you can check official Zumba website www.zumba.com

I guess I should start by explaining my long road to this November 19th class 🙂 While in US I was attending a Zumba class myself. Since I am quite crazy about dancing and not so crazy about exercise, dance fitness/aerobics was a perfect solution for me. I liked Zumba so much, that on Fridays after work I religiously attended all the classes at my gym no matter how tired I was and despite the fact that because of going to zumba I missed a lot of hanging out and dinners with my group of friends.

As my time in US was coming to an end and I was saying bye to my Zumba instructor, I told her I will really miss this when I am in Lithuania. And she told me – why don‘t you teach it yourself in your country??? And I thought – I can‘t believe it did not cross my mind earlier. As soon as I got home that day I looked up the instructor trainings but the one in Richmond (where I lived) was sold out… But this idea just could not leave my head. I talked to my fam about this, and some friends… I got a lot of encouragement and support, so I was off to Miami, Florida to catch a training before I leave US. Every cloud has a silver lining 🙂 Even though going to Miami was bit more expensive, I was trained by Beto Perez himself, the founder of Zumba 🙂 🙂 🙂

Summer 2009 I spent a lot of time practicing, creating routines, preparing my business cards and CV thinking I will get this thing started in Lithuania. BUT as much as I love my country, enterpreneurship is NOT supported in LT. The permit for individual business was too expensive as I would not be doing Zumba full time. And then I started teaching and working with projects at a secondary school and realized I don‘t have time to sleep or live my life, so I def. had no time for a third job! Sadly, Zumba went on hold.

As I started looking for EVS opportunities, I was determined to finally make my Zumba classes happen! And here I am… I am very greatful to SPIN for supporting my initiative, helping me to find a space for the classes, arrange it and advertise. AND for enthusiasticly attending my classes 🙂 we will be one healthy office soon! Also my friends for support and Catarina for attending 🙂 I am blessed with great people around me!

My schedule is already tight with service, portuguese lessons and all the dancing I do here, but I am committed to Zumba, so Friday nights, the only night I do not have my language class that‘s what‘s up 🙂 I was asked to teach two classes, 19-20 and 20-21. So two classes in a row! I said yes, I knew I can do it, but I won‘t lie, as the day was coming closer I was wondering whether I will last for two hours… As soon as the time for first class was arranged, I was the happiest, but the most stressed out person in the world. I had one week to train and pepare my routines. Memorizing choreography/exercises to 11 songs is not exactly easy no matter how simple Zumba is. Last week was all about practice, every night, and when I was not practicing I was listening to the songs on my i-pod and on the metro or in the bus dancing in my head… Most of the time I felt like someone beat me up, well my muscles did, but I love it nevertheless. I was worried about having energy for two classes, about people coming, about remembering everything, etc, etc… Mostly I guess I knew that last Friday was kind of a moment of truth. Either I do it and do it right, or I am not meant to do it. As I have ambition to do Zumba for living after I finish working with SPIN, if things went wrong on Friday I would be very discouraged. BUT luckily when it was on it was ON. I enjoyed it, time flew, and not only I had enough endurance for the two classes, I also got so much energy from this that I went dancing untill 6am the same night. OK, next day I was dead, but who cares 🙂

The feedback and the vibe was positive. I learned that one woman told my friend she is gonna arrange me to meet her son, ha ha 🙂 While I am not interested, I guess it is a very sweet thing to say 🙂 I also had a sweet little girl, I hope to see her again this Friday. She is 9 years old and after the 19 o‘clock class when her mother came to pick her up she was begging to stay for a second class. I guess all I need to do now is put more effort, more energy, improve on my lead and routines and the rest will take care of itself and soon I believe my Zumba will grow bigger 🙂

Besides a fun way to exercise to variety of music and using variety of dances there is a concept behind my Zumba classes. I am sharing my passion for dance and bringing a positive thing to the neighbourhood where I volunteer, getting to know the community. I called this initiative Alegria Internacional because this name embodies the nature and the idea of my classes. Alegria because Zumba is a lot of fun and brings positive feelings to people, it is like a one hour party that works your muscles. It is always easier to do something you enjoy, and many people do not exercise because they do not like it. Zumba is pure Alegria, just look at everyone’s face after the class!

My Zumba classes are called Alegria Internacional because it uses music and dance moves from all over the world. In my work-out routines I blend salsa, cha cha, merengue, reggeaton, bachata, samba, cumbia, soca, African beats, calypso, hip-hop, kizomba, dancehall, axe and FITNESS. Also, this initiative is meant to bring different people together. No matter their age, nationality, gender, social status, fitness level, experience… It is for everyone!

It is funny! Initially, I thought through providing these classes I will be breaking divisions between young people in the neighbourhood, maybe soon I will. But now I have a challenge of breaking divisions between men and women!!! Members of local women association are attending my classes and they DO NOT WANT any men to attend! There is little drama going on as there are few men who are interested but if they come to class some women will quit… I need some time to address this. Tonight I am going to a community meeting where I will present couple songs and invite more people to join the class. So I plan to emphasize that the classes are for everyone, as well as discuss if men could attend 19-20 rather than 20-21 class when the ladies from the association come. I think with time when I develope relationship with my ladies, I will try to help them reach the comfort and confidence level of exercising together with men 🙂 for now I see what happens 🙂

cardio to SOCA!!!! 🙂

roll it!

reggaeton

Stretching

Alegria Internacional – primeira aula de fitness Zumba

Alegria Internacional – Aulas de fitness Zumba

No dia 19 de Novembro, sexta-feira, houve a primeira aula de fitness Zumba na Sala Comunitária “Imaginarium” no Bairro da Horta Nova. Zumba é uma dança fitness, inspirada em ritmos Latinos, fácil de seguir e aprender. Não exige nenhuma preparação ou experiência prévia.

Esta iniciativa foi trazida para o bairro pela voluntária da Spin da Lituânia. A Rasa, instrutora certificada de fitness Zumba, é apaixonada por vários estilos de dança e quis desta maneira conhecer mais pessoas do Bairro da Horta Nova e compartilhar a sua paixão com elas.

A ideia de propor esta iniciativa às pessoas da área de Carnide (e a quem mais quiser participar!) nasceu quando a Rasa estava ainda na Lituânia, e agora em Portugal, ela sente-se muito feliz por a ter conseguido realizar. Chamou ao seu projecto Alegria Internacional porque este nome encarna a natureza e a ideia das aulas. Alegria porque o fitness Zumba é muito divertido e cria sentimentos positivos nas pessoas, é como uma festa de uma hora que faz trabalhar os músculos. É sempre mais fácil fazer algo de que se goste e muitas pessoas não fazem exercício porque não gostam de o fazer. Zumba é pura Alegria, basta olhar para as caras dos participantes depois da aula:

É Alegria Internacional porque usa estilos de música e movimentos de dança de todo o mundo. Os exercícios propostos pela Rasa levam os participantes à volta do mundo com mistos de salsa, merengue, reggeaton, cha cha, samba, cumbia, soca, ritmos Africanos, calypso, hip-hop, kizomba, dancehall, axé e FITNESS. Para além disso, esta iniciativa destina-se a reunir pessoas diferentes. Não importa a idade, nacionalidade, sexo, posição social, o nível de aptidão física ou experiência… Zumba é para todos!

Alegria Internacional é uma iniciativa de longo prazo e continuará enquanto a Rasa estiver na Associação Spin, até ao fim de Junho de 2011. As aulas em Novembro são gratuitas e a partir de Dezembro de 2010 custam apenas 1€ por aula! Podes juntar-te a nós nas aulas a qualquer momento!!! As aulas têm lugar todas as sextas-feiras entre as 19h-20h e as 20h-21h. 🙂

Associação SPIN

As you already know I am volunteering in Lisbon, Portugal 🙂 In Carnide, Barrio Horta de Nova, in a so called Barrio Social (government subsidized neighbourhood/projects), NGO SPIN (www.spin.pt) to be more exact. SPIN exists for as long as/only 2 years and is working with non-formal youth education and European mobility projects. Most of SPIN‘s activities are within the frame of ‚Youth in Action‘, but SPIN is still expanding and looking for new dimensions and activities. It is a growing organization, thus, it is very interesting to take part in the developments within SPIN. For instance, I am now responsible for Leonardo da Vinci program which SPIN is going to start working with in February. It is a new territory for me, so I am learning a lot 🙂

Our Barrio Social. To be honest, the state of block houses is better here than in Lithuania. Nevertheless, supposedly just few years ago there was no metro and other developments in this area. It was a kind of a place of social exclusion for unemloyed, immigrants, etc.

This blog post introducing SPIN is about a month and a half late 🙂 But for a reason!!!!! Many people were saying to me that I should be prepared for slow tempo and I shoudl take it easy. It is Portugal afterall! Since I am workoholic (though recovering!), I came to PT ready to face ‚a manha‘ mentality towards work. I don‘t know if entire Portugal, or just SPIN are quite the opposite of southern stereotypes. Activities and work started from day one, everything was planned and organized. See, I don‘t even have time for my blog! 🙂 Facebook or personal email during service hours usually are out of question. In the beginning, and sometimes throughout their projects, many EVS volunteers have too much time on their hands 🙂 Nothing to do is the least of my worries 🙂

My service starts at 11am and I stay in the office until 6pm, after which I go straight to my beloved portuguese language course and come home 9ish 🙂 Lunch is one hour, but often as we eat we speak about work 🙂 We have lunch in a cafeteria next to our office, which is run by people with mental disability. They work, eat, and hang out here. Besides us, few social workers come to eat here, so for the regulars of thsi cafeteria we are very entertaining. I already got used to a ot of attention and all the characters of this place. For example, there is one romantic man, who sits and speaks potery as we eat. Though my colleagues told me that he is just saying a lot of unrelated words that rhyme and sound nice 🙂

In the Office we are four, although SPIN has more members who have their ‚real‘ jobs and SPIN is there extra/voluntary work. So, our team – Sara, Maria, Aneta, and me.

Sara is portuguese, the only full time paid worker in SPIN and one of SPIN‘s founders. Intelligent, optimistic, creative, caring and so on and so on 🙂 It is easy, interesting, and wonderful to work with her 🙂

Sarinha, Friday 5pm in the office

Maria is from Paraguay, but she also lived in Boston, then Spainm and last year she volunteered in SPIN. This year she stayed with SPIN as Leonardo da Vinci intern. It is a proof of how great it is to be a part of SPIN, and I am aso thinking that 9 months will not be enough 🙂 I will look for my way to stay…

Maria working hard although its Friday

Aneta, like me, is EVS volunteer from Polan. She is great!!!! Genious and super nice, AND fluent in Portuguese. She is my second Portuguese language teacher.

Friday 5pm, Aneta sending yet another email and Senhor Belarminho and I dancing semba 🙂

There are two more people worth mentioning, who drop by teh Office very often. Senhor Belarminho, around 60 years old tutor and social worker in Solnasente, a non-profit working with people with mental disability, who is like our dad and has a very loving smile. Also there is a thirty-five year old Barrio Horta de Nova inhabitant, who comes to us sometimes to help and sometimes to disturb our work 🙂 But SPIN is still seeking connections to local community so hsi friendship and insights are very important to us. For example, I am implementing my own initiative in Barrio Social which is one of the first SPINs activities working directly with community of Barrio Horta de Nova. He is helping me to advertise, as word of mouth from a local has more impact than posters 🙂

So very shortly and generally, a bit about my service… I can only be happy that SPIN is supportive of new ideas and is a great platform for learning and self realization. This is exactly what I am up to… Thanks to SPIN one of my dreams and goals is being realized. On Firday I start ZUMBA classes, but about that to be continued…

Bejinhos,
Rasa

Associação SPIN

Kaip jau supratote savanoriauju Lisabonoj, Portugalijoj 🙂 O dar tiksliau Carnidoje, Barrio Horta de Nova, taip vadinamam Barrio Social (socialiai remtinoj neighbourhood), nevyriausybinėj organizacijoj SPIN (www.a-spin.pt). SPIN gyvuoja jau/dar tik du metus ir dirba su neformaliu jaunimo ugdymu ir tarptautiniais mobilumo projektais. Daugiausiai veiklų vykdo programos ‚Veiklus Jaunimas‘ rėmuose, bet taip pat ieško naujų dimensijų ir plečia savo veiklas. SPIN vis dar auganti organizacija, todėl labai įdomu prisidėti prie šios organizacijos vystymosi proceso. Pvz., esu atsakinga už Leonardo da Vinci programą su kuria SPIN žada pradėti dirbti nuo vasario mėnesio 🙂 Man tai visiškai nauja, taip kad mokausi 🙂

Mūsų Barrio Social. Atvirai pasakius, daugiabučių stovis geresnis nei Lietuvoj 🙂 Bet nežinau, kas dedasi viduj. Be to, prieš kelis metus čia nebuvo nei metro, nei parduotuvių. Tiesiog viena iš vietų, kur buvo ‘išmesti’ socialiai remtini portugalai ir imigrantai…

Šis blogo įrašas pristatantis SPIN vėluoja pusantro mėnesio 🙂 Bet ne veltui!!!! Daug kas sakė, kad nusiteikčiau lėtam darbui ir atsipalaiduočiau. Juk tai Portugalija! O kadangi esu darboholikė (bet gydausi :)), atvažiavau nusiteikus kovoti su ‘amanha’ (rytoj) požiūriu į darbą. Nežinau ar visa Portugalija, ar tik SPIN visiškai neatitinka pietietiškų stereotipų. Į veiklas ir darbą kibom nuo pat pirmos dienos, viskas buvo puikiai suplanuota ir suorganizuota. Net neturiu laiko blogui! 🙂 Apie facebook’ą ir asmeninį elektroninį paštą darbo metu paprastai nėra nei kalbos. Dauguma savanorių pradžioje, o kartais ir viso projekto metu turi per daug laisvo laiko 🙂 Man tai negresia 🙂

Tarnyba prasideda 11 val. ir būnu ofise iki 18 h, po to tiesiai į savo numylėtas portugalų kalbos pamokas ir grįžtu namo po 21h 🙂 Pietaujam valandą, bet dažniausiai per pietus kalbam apie darbą 🙂 Pietaujam šalia esančioj valgykloj, kurioje dirba, valgo ir laisvalaikį leidžia protinę negalią turintys žmonės. Be mūsų ten užsuka keli socialiniai darbuotojai, todėl mes esam jiems didelė atrakcija. Jau pripratau prie daug dėmesio ir visų ‚vietinių‘ veikėjų. Pvz., yra vienas romantikas, kuris deklamuoja eilėraščius, bet mano kolegės paaiškino, kad iš tikrųjų jis tik sako tarpusavyje nesusijusius žodžius, kurie rimuojasi 🙂

Ofise sėdim keturiese, nors SPIN turi daugiau narių, bet jie turi savo darbus ir SPIN yra jų papildoma/savanoriška veikla. Taigi, mūsų komanda – Sara, Maria, Aneta ir aš.

Sara, portugalė, yra vienintelė pilnu etatu apmokama SPIN darbuotoja, viena iš organizacijos įkūrėjų. Protinga, optimistiška, kūrybinga, rūpestinga ir visokia –inga 🙂 Su ja labai lengva, gera ir įdomu dirbti.

Sara. Penktadienis, 17 h ofise 🙂 dirbam 🙂

Maria yra iš Paragvajaus, bet taip pat gyveno Bostone, Ispanijoj, ir pernai savanoriavo SPIN. Šiais metais ji pasiliko su SPIN Leonardo da Vinci programos rėmuose. Čia ženklas, kad su SPIN būti labai gera, aš irgi aktyviai mąstau, kad 9 mėnesių neužteks 🙂 reikės ką nors sugalvoti.

Maria. Penktadienis, 17 h DIRBAM

Aneta, kaip ir aš, yra savanorė iš Lenkijos. Labai faina ir protinga 🙂 Ir puikiai kalba portugališkai. Jin mano antra portugalų kalbos mokytoja.

Aneta dirba, o fone Senhor Belarminho ir aš šokam semba

Dar yra du veikėjai, kurie labai dažnai užsuka į ofisą. Senhor Belarminho, šešiasdešimtmetis socialinis darbuotojas ir mokytojas, kuris yra mūsų tėvelis ir labai meiliai šypsosi. Senhor Belarminho dirba su ne pelno siekiančia org. Solnasente su protinę negalią turinčiais žmonėm. Ir vienas 35 metų Barrio Horta de Nova gyventojas, kuris kartais ateina mums padėti, kartais patrukdyti – bet kadangi SPIN vis dar kuria ryšį su vietine bendruomene, jo draugystė ir komentarai mums labai naudingi 🙂 Pvz., aš vykdau savo iniciatyvą skirtą šitam Barrio Social, vieną iš pirmųjų SPIN iniciatyvų tiesiogiai dirbančių su Barrio Horta de Nova gyventojais. Jis man padeda reklamuotis, nes iš vietinio lūpų informacija sklinda greičiau ir efektyviau, nei iš plakatų 🙂

Tai tiek labai trumpai ir bendrai apie mano tarnybą… Galiu tik pasidžiaugti, nes SPIN remia naujas idėjas ir yra puiki erdvė mokytis ir save realizuoti. Ką aš ir darau… SPIN dėka, viena iš mano svajonių ir vienas iš mano tikslų virsta realybe. Penktadienį pradedu vesti ZUMBA aerobikos pamokas, bet apie tai daugiau ir vėliau 🙂

Bejinhos,
Rasa

My African Weekend

This weekend was complete opposite of what I planned and the finest definition of spontaneous 🙂 After my service on Friday I met with Catarina who did her EVS in Lithuania, but more about her in another post as you can’t introduce this girl in a sentence or two 😉 After a long and nice coffee with her I was rushing home. The plan was to quickly get ready and go check out a kizomba party in one club/dance studio. But next to my metro station I heard really nice music and figured I can check it out at least for a minute. My minute became 45 minutes…

The music sounded sooooo good and there was one man dancing like a mad man so I just had to stick around. The atmosphere was I guess what my fellow volunteer Aneta would call a ‘cheesy Lisbon moment’: Antique Lisbon surrounding, evening lights, Capo Verdian music… As the music was picking up random people started dancing. I could not stop smiling and thinking: this is exactly why I love Lisbon.

Of course my favorite was an old couple. Older couples dancing to me is one of the most beautiful things in the world. Looking at them I like to imagine their stories and I can only guess about the power of their love or what they have been through to be dancing with such ease now. I know my camera is not doing the justice, but to stimulate your imaginations here is a video 🙂 And the beautiful song they are playing is Saudade by Evora Cesaria, a Cape Verdian diva.

I don’t know what was with me that night. Surprisingly enough I did not join all the dancing people. Maybe I was shy, but that makes no sense as no one knows me in Lisboa and no one cares 🙂 Nevertheless, I was just observing and enjoying the vibe. With my (still) poor Portuguese I understood the band saying something about playing tomorrow during the day. So after their street performance was over I asked them (in English!) where and when they will be playing tomorrow. Since Catarina and I were meeting for sightseeing, I already foresaw a nice take out lunch in open air with this music in the background 😉

By the way, the band is called Guents dy Rincon and I think they will be releasing a CD in a week or two. Enjoy:

By the time I got home my motivation to go out was disappearing as I was just too tired.

So on Saturday after sightseeing in Castelo de S. Jorge I pulled out the paper from last night to see where was the band playing today. And luckily for us it was actually in Alfama, just few minutes from the castle. So we got some food and enjoyed it on the stairs of one of Lisbon’s viewpoints. Nice weather, nice music, nice view, good company. It was a perfect closing for the day as we both talked about all the things we have to do and that none of us is planning to go out tonight.

After our lunch we moved closer to where the band was paying to listen. (Un)fortunately for me the singer of the band remembered me and started saying (on the mic!) that if I don’t dance I will have problems with them personally because I already saw them yesterday. Not only I was embarrassed but also unlike yesterday no one was dancing. So of course I said no way and just continued to sit. But after another song, I was getting a speech from them about some concept in my head that I need to get rid of and if I think I can’t dance… In my case – a provocation. I said FINE, you want dance you will get some. I ended up having a looooot of fun dancing on the street, and at some point more people joined. The musicians went crazy as I think they did not expect that I actually really can dance. The energy I got from them was very nice, the excitement and the compliments. They were saying something that I heard a lot this weekend: How is this possible, you have white skin!?! Of course I was feeling very shy. I know it makes no sense, but while I dance I am having fun and feel completely comfortable, but if someone compliments me afterwards I feel uncomfortable and shy. To be honest, it is even hard to write about this amazing weekend and I am trying to summarize the feedback I received because of the fear that it may sound like bragging. Oh well, the Lithuanian in me…

The drummer was saying we should come to their evening concert but as I said, the plan was to stay in so we said no. But on the way to catch metro we met the singer of the band again and he invited us to what they call here African Discoteque. In his own words, since he was singing and could not dance with me, he wanted us to join him for that. Even though we were hesitating, there is nothing better than going out with local people (not to mention my interest to discover new places for dancing) so we just had to take this opportunity… And it was sooooooo worth it!

We met up later that night and Santos (the singer) took us to a Capo Verdian bar/club in Barrio Alto (another place with its own culture which will get its own post :p) a bit off the main streets with high concentration of bars. When we walked into the bar the situation did not look good: Backstreet Boys were playing!!!! Don’t ask me why, but maybe the people who wondered into the bar asked for it or something. Cos for the rest of the night the music was PERFECT. As soon as we came it changed immediately. We tasted what was supposedly truly Capo Verdian cocktails made exclusively in this club, there was a table set up to make them separately from the regular bar. They were REALY GOOD. But the best part of course was dancing which is all I did until 4am 🙂 We did it all: Funana, Taracha, Semba, Kizomba… Catarina and me got a very warm welcome 🙂 First, I am excited that Catarina enjoyed and now she wants to dance more 🙂 Always happy to spread the love 🙂 And for myself it was humbling and reaffirming how surprised and excited everyone was about my dancing, and all the nice things people told me 🙂

As initially I was not planning to go out on Saturday, I actually was going to go to a concert on Sunday night. This time alone, as no one else was interested (guess even if people don’t need to get up early next day Sunday night does not register as a going out night in people’s brain) . With the help of almighty internet I found something called African Sundays in one restaurant/club Chapito (www.chapito.org ). Amazing place with theme nights and usually live music. Definitely was not my last time there 🙂 Luckily I was late as usual. I think being on time in Lisbon too often would be major source of frustration 🙂 The concert started after 11 (program says 10) and it ended at 2:30am (the program says 1-1:30am). This time it was Guine-Bissau in the house 🙂 Ze Nuno was performing with his band.

My plan was to check out the place and get home with last metro. But by the time I found the club I had no idea how to get to metro, plus, I did not even notice when it became 2:30 in the morning… too late/too early.

The music of course was GREAT, but I was not sure if I was in for a night of music appreciation or a night of dancing. But I was alone, at first no one was dancing and it seemed like a lot of tourists came there. It was hard to keep seated when an African band was playing, but once again for some reason I was shy… One woman, I think the wife or relative of the singer and I am guessing about 40 years old stood up to dance and she was soooooooooooo gooooood. I really wished to join her. Then another younger woman also danced one song and she was also with the band so I am guessing from Guine-Bissau. Finally more people came and more people started dancing. So did I, and once I start, usually I don’t stop. The drums were too good and I was just dancing on the side but the two women were so nice and so welcoming to me. They came and huged me, kissed me, were pressing my hand and asking me how is this possible… I did not know what to say, except for thank you. They made me feel very comfortable and also it was the biggest compliment for them to want to dance with me. So then of course we all entered the point of no return, played around, danced with everyone… I really missed the more traditional African dancing since I left US. But this was even better than my experiences in dance group in US as we were free styling, impossible to be wrong and no limits to creativity 🙂 I think the older woman hugged me at least six times that night, was throwing her scarf on me as a sign of appreciation and as I was leaving she made her husband (?) take my number. Another band member also concluded that I must have lived in Africa in my past life. Maybe…

On Monday I woke up with major muscle aches (I was missing the pain from dancing :]) and new energy 🙂 Already have an invitation to Senegalese concert in November, potential dance teacher for traditional African dance, and can’t wait to come back to what I call the Capo Verdian spot (it is bad I did not take good note of the name of the bar but loosing sense of time and location is usually a measure of my relaxation which was 120% on Saturday and Sunday) & the African Sundays in Chapito. I find Portugal quite ethnically mixed in terms of dancing and social life so I knew there is no big deal about me going to African events even if I was alone. BUT what I did not expect was such a WARM and genuine welcome I got from all these strangers 🙂 Looking forward to discovering more places like that and importantly many more open and warm people like that.

RAPIDO! RAPIDO! or how I am learning to speak Portuguese…

RAPIDO! RAPIDO! or how I am learning to speak Portuguese…

One of my goals during these nine months is to learn Portuguese language. Now there are many ways to achieve your goals and mine happens to be quite extreme. My hosting organization registered me for intensive Portuguese language course for immigrants. Three months, four times a week, each lesson one and a half hour long. Not really complaining 🙂 I wanted intensive course, nine months is not that long afterall. Plus, it does not cost me anything. Surprisingly, it does not cost anything to my ‚classmates‘ either. Still trying to understand how come. After we finish this course we will take an exam after which we receive certificates as a proof that we can communicate in Portuguese and we can work here. My understanding is that this paper is necessary for residence permit, visas and gainnig citizenship. If I compare this to United States where they squeeze every benjamin out of immigrants, I must say Portugal is quite generuos!

Generally, it is a very interesting experience. Very diverse group of people I am studying with. Ethnicities, age, motivation, and stories in that classroom are really diverse. Few erasmus students, but majority are adults/middle age. China, Nepal, Ukraine, Romania, Finland, Russia, India, Benin, Japan… And everyone seems to be a character. For instance, one lady from China talks to hersefl about the things we are learning 😀

But I am off topic. So where is the extreme I mentioned? Well, first of all, on Monday when I came to class I learned that it started in September, which means I missed 8 classes. Will have to be catching up a lot. Second, the teacher speaks only Portuguese in class. She pretty much explains everything untill more or less we get it. Interesting method. Though I can understand, as not everyone‘s Engish is much better than their Portuguese… However, sitting down clueless for an hour and a half is exhausting. Today I had my third lesson so slowly I am getting used to it and understanding more and more. Thirdly, to my class I go straight from the office where I volunteer. The language course ends half past eight in the evening and by the time I get home it is half past nine. Dinner, shower, and not much more that can be done. I hope in a week or two I can manage to find energy to go dancing and stuff after these classes. Finally, the TEACHER. Such a pitty I cannot film her 😀 I must discover a secret way to do it cos it is worth to see it. Sometimes I cannot help myself, it is too funny – a round woman, dramatic face, and she is shouting in a foreign language at a forty year old man from Nepal… RAPIDO! RAPIDO! And also clapping her hands 😀 So far, after each lesson I need at least half an hour for my head and my ears to regain its senses. On the other hand, no matter how tired I can be, no danger of falling asleep in class. I commit to at least getting a soundtrack to this post sometime soon. So you can hear the RAPIDO RAPIDO!

Without a doubt, I will learn the language 🙂 I feel the pressure from everywhere. And the quality of my life wil skyrocket as soon as I can understand the signs around me, information on websites about events, instructions on food and household products… Can’t wait for that day and comfort 🙂