I wish I could channel my energies into something more productive or lucrative or good for humanity or something, but I like spending a lot of time on useless things.
Lately it's learning and translating songs from Korean and Portuguese to English so I can sing a long with them (and know what the words mean). I guess it's not completely useless, and it's actually been a really good way to study the two languages, but there are a lot of other things I could be doing with my life (i.e. Taking care of things before I go home again for my sister's wedding next weekend, finshing my TEFL paper...yes, I'm still procrastinating on that, and preparing for my upcoming S.M.O.E. presentation). But being able to sing along to the chorus of 2NE1's "I don't care" is a lot more fun.
Here's the Korean song I'm working on:
Chorus in Korean:
I don’t care 그만할래 니가 어디에서 뭘 하던
이제 정말 상관 안할게 비켜줄래
이제와 울고불고 매달리지마
cause don’t care e e e e e e
cause don’t care e e e e e e
Boy, I don't care
Chorus in English:
I don’t care, I’ll stop caring about what you’re doing wherever you are
From now on I really don’t care, I’ll get out of the way
From now on don’t come to me and cry, and cling on
cause I don’t care e e e e e e
cause I don’t care e e e e e e
Boy, I don't care
As for Portuguese, I've been listening to Ana Carolina a lot lately, and I'm trying to learn two of her songs; "Mais que isso" ("More than that") and "É isso aí" (Not sure how to translate that one) I thought it was a man singing at first, but she just has a very deep, husky voice. Even if I don't end up moving to Brazil, speaking/singing in Portuguese is super fun; lots of crazy vowel sounds.
"Mais que Isso"
Lyrics:
Eu não vou gostar de você porque sua cara é bonita
O amor é mais que isso
O amor talvez seja uma música que eu gostei e botei numa fita
Eu não vou gostar de você porque você acredita
O amor é mais que isso
O amor talvez seja uma coisa que até nem sei se precisa ser dita
Deixa de tolice, veja que eu estou aqui agora
inteiro, intenso, eterno, pronto pro momento e você cobra
Deixa de bobagem, é claro, certo e belo como eu quero
O corpo, a alma, a calma, o sonho, o gozo, a dor e agora pára
Será que é tão difícil aceitar o amor como é
E deixar que ele vá e nos leve pra todo lugar
Como aqui
Será melhor deixar essa nuvem passar
E você vai saber de onde vim, aonde vou
E que eu estou aqui
I've only just started studying Portuguese, but basically the singer is reassuring her 'amor' that her love is true.
É isso aí is a really pretty song too. She sings this one with Seu Jorge, another big name in Brazilian music.
Showing posts with label Brazil. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brazil. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Friday, July 31, 2009
"So Emo" right now
(I wrote this post July 13th, the Minnesota countdown is actually at 1 week today!!!)
To quote Will Ferrell in Anchorman, I’m in a glass case of emotion right now.
In 26 days I will be on a plane headed to Minnesota, and I am so excited to see my family and friends back home I can hardly stand it. However, in 26 days, I also have to say goodbye to some of the people I've spent the last year exploring and enduring Korea with. Some folks are sticking around another year, but most are leaving the Land of the Morning Calm for good. My fellow S.M.O.E.'ers are heading off to graduate school, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, China and Ireland, or back home to the U.S., Canada or the U.K.
When I come back from my home visit, only a handful of the people that have become a part of my life here will still be around, and it’s hard to imagine what Korea will be like without them.
However I'm trying not to be too much of a sap and just enjoy the time we have left together. All of us came here because we love to travel, so I'm sure we will visit each other in the coming years.
In spite of a few bumps in the road, it’s been a really good year. For some of us this year was a break between undergrad and graduate school, for others it was a break from the corportate life, for others, a chance to get teaching experience due to a lack of jobs back home.
For me, this year was about taking risks and being able to look back on my life without regrets. I knew back in college that I wanted to teach or volunteer abroad someday, it was just a matter of when. In January of 2008, in the midst of a particularly frustrating trimester (probably in the middle of teaching "The Great Gatsby" to an un-enthused group of juniors and seniors) I wondered if now was as good a time as any.
After talking to the staff at North, including my principal, I pretty much received a unanimous "get out of here!" I’m really glad that I took their advice, because coming here set things into motion that I never could have anticipated. There are so many ESL teaching jobs out there, and at this point, I could teach anywhere. I’ve thought about Hong Kong, Japan, Spain, and South America for the next leg of my ‘travel the world’ journey.
Here is the tentative plan for now: I signed a contract with S.M.O.E. for another 6 months. (Not really something they like to allow but I fought for it) After that, I want to do a stint teaching at a University in Japan, in or near Tokyo. I know of a recruiting agency that hooks you up with 3-5 month university jobs and I’m really hoping that works out.
After that, my friend Ashley and I want to move to South America, Brazil specifically. When I was dating the Brazilian guy, I started studying Portuguese for fun and I think it’s THE most beautiful language. It’s also pretty easy to pick up having studied French for 7 years and knowing a little Spanish. Also, pretty much everyone who has lived or traveled there has nothing but good things to say about it. It sounds like a magical place, aside from the poverty, crime and corruption, of course.
Lately I’ve been reading Brazilian author Paulo Coelho, and he believes that things aren’t coincidental; that everything that happens in life is part of “the mysterious chain that links one thing to another.” I wasn’t a believer in signs before or the idea that my destiny is prewritten, but I never imagined that Korea would lead me to Brazil. Maybe things do happen for a reason.
…or maybe I’m just overly emo right now. In any case, I have time to figure it out. I’m really obsessed with Paulo Coelho though, so if you’re looking for a good read, I’d recommend picking up a copy of “The Alchemist,” or any of his books really. He’s a beautiful writer.
To quote Will Ferrell in Anchorman, I’m in a glass case of emotion right now.
In 26 days I will be on a plane headed to Minnesota, and I am so excited to see my family and friends back home I can hardly stand it. However, in 26 days, I also have to say goodbye to some of the people I've spent the last year exploring and enduring Korea with. Some folks are sticking around another year, but most are leaving the Land of the Morning Calm for good. My fellow S.M.O.E.'ers are heading off to graduate school, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, China and Ireland, or back home to the U.S., Canada or the U.K.
When I come back from my home visit, only a handful of the people that have become a part of my life here will still be around, and it’s hard to imagine what Korea will be like without them.
However I'm trying not to be too much of a sap and just enjoy the time we have left together. All of us came here because we love to travel, so I'm sure we will visit each other in the coming years.
In spite of a few bumps in the road, it’s been a really good year. For some of us this year was a break between undergrad and graduate school, for others it was a break from the corportate life, for others, a chance to get teaching experience due to a lack of jobs back home.
For me, this year was about taking risks and being able to look back on my life without regrets. I knew back in college that I wanted to teach or volunteer abroad someday, it was just a matter of when. In January of 2008, in the midst of a particularly frustrating trimester (probably in the middle of teaching "The Great Gatsby" to an un-enthused group of juniors and seniors) I wondered if now was as good a time as any.
After talking to the staff at North, including my principal, I pretty much received a unanimous "get out of here!" I’m really glad that I took their advice, because coming here set things into motion that I never could have anticipated. There are so many ESL teaching jobs out there, and at this point, I could teach anywhere. I’ve thought about Hong Kong, Japan, Spain, and South America for the next leg of my ‘travel the world’ journey.
Here is the tentative plan for now: I signed a contract with S.M.O.E. for another 6 months. (Not really something they like to allow but I fought for it) After that, I want to do a stint teaching at a University in Japan, in or near Tokyo. I know of a recruiting agency that hooks you up with 3-5 month university jobs and I’m really hoping that works out.
After that, my friend Ashley and I want to move to South America, Brazil specifically. When I was dating the Brazilian guy, I started studying Portuguese for fun and I think it’s THE most beautiful language. It’s also pretty easy to pick up having studied French for 7 years and knowing a little Spanish. Also, pretty much everyone who has lived or traveled there has nothing but good things to say about it. It sounds like a magical place, aside from the poverty, crime and corruption, of course.
Lately I’ve been reading Brazilian author Paulo Coelho, and he believes that things aren’t coincidental; that everything that happens in life is part of “the mysterious chain that links one thing to another.” I wasn’t a believer in signs before or the idea that my destiny is prewritten, but I never imagined that Korea would lead me to Brazil. Maybe things do happen for a reason.
…or maybe I’m just overly emo right now. In any case, I have time to figure it out. I’m really obsessed with Paulo Coelho though, so if you’re looking for a good read, I’d recommend picking up a copy of “The Alchemist,” or any of his books really. He’s a beautiful writer.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
It takes time
I wrote in an earlier post that April was a tumultuous month, but I had no idea what the end of June had in store; my first real heart break.
Very uncharacteristically, I fell fast and hard for the Brazilian I was dating. (Yes, the fact that he was from Brazil and had an adorable accent was a huge part of the appeal)
It turns out that all those cliché sayings about love are true; like the one that says “love is blind.” I knew that we were doomed from the start, but I didn’t care about the future because he made me so ecstatically happy.
Long story short, he broke my heart, and it’s been a rough two weeks. Luckily, I have made some really solid female friends here, and they have helped talk sense into me and distract me when necessary. Most of my friends have already been through something like this (I am 26 after all) and have told me the things I need to hear.
One e-mail from a friend back home has been particularly helpful, and I’ve gone back and read it several times when I’ve felt sad. She said that it may take time before I feel good again, but it will work out in the end. She reminded me of how lucky I am to have the freedom at this point in my life to travel and meet new people and experience new things. I felt better after the reminder that she (and others back home in relationships) are living vicariously through me.
As much as it hurt, I’m happy I am where I am right now. So far in my life, in spite of all my anxiety about the future, things have worked out for the best and they will continue to… I just need to have faith that when the time is right, “it” will happen. In the meantime, I will experience a lot, even if it means heartbreak.
Very uncharacteristically, I fell fast and hard for the Brazilian I was dating. (Yes, the fact that he was from Brazil and had an adorable accent was a huge part of the appeal)
It turns out that all those cliché sayings about love are true; like the one that says “love is blind.” I knew that we were doomed from the start, but I didn’t care about the future because he made me so ecstatically happy.
Long story short, he broke my heart, and it’s been a rough two weeks. Luckily, I have made some really solid female friends here, and they have helped talk sense into me and distract me when necessary. Most of my friends have already been through something like this (I am 26 after all) and have told me the things I need to hear.
One e-mail from a friend back home has been particularly helpful, and I’ve gone back and read it several times when I’ve felt sad. She said that it may take time before I feel good again, but it will work out in the end. She reminded me of how lucky I am to have the freedom at this point in my life to travel and meet new people and experience new things. I felt better after the reminder that she (and others back home in relationships) are living vicariously through me.
As much as it hurt, I’m happy I am where I am right now. So far in my life, in spite of all my anxiety about the future, things have worked out for the best and they will continue to… I just need to have faith that when the time is right, “it” will happen. In the meantime, I will experience a lot, even if it means heartbreak.
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