Category: just life

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just life

so… yeah… and it’s all true!

hello!
posting on this blog has been scarce, and gently replaced by other tasks… here’s a bit of what has been going on:

– i’ve been keeping things running more or less at anita na china and hanzillion, while studying chinese and learning new characters like a mad woman. i’ve finished my first textbook and we’re moving on to a harder one, which uses characters all the way for the texts and exercises. it feels really good to read them now, in full sentences! but i am still too shy to strike up conversations in the street, on the elevator or even with our ayi… which is slowing my learning process a lot, says my teacher. i have to agree, things would go faster if i made the effort to use the language i am learning – must work on that.

– meanwhile, i’ve discovered the wonders of taobao, the chinese ebay site, on which i am now completely hooked. it feels like an online version of my dearly missed mama mini, a shop where you can find the most amazing treasures or everyday items for a small percentage of the price. oh! and all with the chinese convenience of things being delivered to your doorstep on 24 hours, for one euro. :) it’s perfect, and it’s working as a big chinese learning motivator.

– after considering guilin, sanya and thailand, we’ve set or heads on malaysia! we’ve been planning a trip to redang island, which will include lots of sun, sandy white beaches, coral reefs (and some sharks!), blue turquoise sea and snorkeling every day. looking forward to escaping shanghai for a while, especially now that the much dreaded steamy summer season seems to be here to stay, with 30ºC temperatures already!

– i’ve been fighting distractions… and headaches. daily headaches and some dizziness that sent me to the nearest pharmacy, to get checked on my blood pressure. “too high!”, said my mom on the phone. so we’ve been reducing the caffeine & salt intakes to nearly 0. not as hard as i thought it would be. the headaches persisted for a while (lack of caffeine?) but now they are gone and that also seems to be the case with my caffeine dependency too (not that i was that dependent). so how about that? a blog called meia de leite (café latte) written by someone who doesn’t drink coffee anymore! :P

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just life photography

grub’s little trick:

grub

every single time i get home, she runs to her spot, lays on her back and gets ready for some serious cuddling on the belly. :D

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just life

1 year in china (一年在中国)

1 year in china and a lot of mixed feelings. hard to measure how much we fit here, with so many dramatic ups and downs, like cosine waves or bipolar periods.

yesterday, for instance. a bulldozer on a construction site accidentally hit a small brick wall by the sidewalk. p. was passing by on his bike when it happened and got caught under it. he’s cool, just scratches, bruises, a smashed bike and a dirty coat. nothing some ligaments and a lot of love won’t cure. could have been so much worse…

it makes you think, right? more than a year in china, today we’re celebrating each other and taking it easy. that’s it.

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just life

on happiness ^3

smile

three happy, unrelated facts:

* the other day, on the elevator, i was thinking my job title should be “i make people happy”, insted of webmarketing or something. because i think that’s what i do. i surf the internet all day reading blogs and forums, filtering information, listening to complaints and concerns, reviews and feedback, answering questions. oh, and i send out samples once in a while. everybody likes free samples, and sometimes they even say the nicest things of them. therefore, they’re happy, which makes me happy. :)

* postcards. 1 per minute. sheer happiness being received all around the world.

* on this map of web trends for 2008, based on shanghai’s own metro map, we live on the station “happiness”. it’s clearly a sign.

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in portugal just life

“Porque não me limitaram a entrada na universidade…

… se sabiam, à partida, que não havia trabalho para mim?” Volta e meia, a pergunta martela na cabeça de Cláudia Baptista, 29 anos, licenciada em Jornalismo, a trabalhar como técnica auxiliar de educação. Durante quase dois anos, foi estagiária numa rádio nacional.
Começou por fazer um estágio curricular não remunerado, durante três meses, foi convidada a prolongá-lo por outros três. Aceitou. «Durante seis meses, paguei para estagiar», recorda. E depois? «Depois, ofereceram-me ficar a troco de 300 euros, a recibo verde.»
Vivia em casa dos pais, o dinheiro dava para pagar transportes e alimentação. Durante os 13 meses de isenção da segurança social aguentou. O amor à profissão falou mais alto e os elogios constantes que recebia alimentavam a esperança de um contrato. «Trabalhava 15 a 16 horas por dia, editava peças, sonorizava. Tinha responsabilidades de um jornalista, mas, no papel, não deixava de ser estagiária», resume.
Acabada a isenção, «dei ouvidos ao meu orgulho pessoal e profissional que se começava a construir». Pediu que lhe pagassem o salário mínimo e a Caixa. A resposta foi negativa. Cláudia saiu, outros estagiários continuaram. Todos os anos, chegam mais.
À distância de seis anos, Cláudia não consegue criticar apenas a estação onde trabalhou: «Há uma concordância do Estado, instituições de educação, empregadores e sindicatos: todos sabem que esta rotatividade de estagiários existe, mas ninguém faz nada para mudar porque a situação interessa a muita gente.» Não se envergonha de dizer que ainda hoje tem apoio psicológico e deixa o aviso: «Já começámos a gerar uma geração de frustrados.»

e

Apesar da crueza dos relatos, o discurso oficial é positivo. O presidente do IEFP, Francisco Madelino, esclarece que «os jovens licenciados são os que mais rapidamente obtêm trabalho». Demoram oito meses, em média, enquanto os não licenciados levam entre 12 e 14 meses.

da reportagem geração em saldo, da revista visão.

apetece-me comentar (ler puxar orelhas e gritar “acordem para a vida!”), mas é bater no ceguinho. e está-se tão bem em shanghai…