Skip to main content

It’s been ten years...

Almost ten years ago to the day I sat in this very spot. Also on my way back from celebrating my cousins birthday in Bergen. But the difference being I’d just moved back to Norway two days earlier, and was a little more dazed.

Ten years.

I remember walking to my gate in Fortaleza. My face red and blotchy from the tears of saying goodbye, and glimpsing through a rare window into the main airport the group of friends-turned-family waving another goodbye as I walked past them. I was so sad to be moving from the place that had been home for the past 6+ years, and yet the sadness in a strange way fuelled thankfulness. Thankfulness for the time I got to live there, and proof that the relationships built went deeper than surface level.

Ten years. It still feels so recent, and yet 10 years of living away.

It feels like an appropriate moment to stop for a moment and reflect. Fortaleza, Brazil. The amazing privilege of becoming part of the lives of so many people I met on the streets, in the slums and in the youth prisons; and them filling up space in my heart as I got to know them as so much more than just their circumstances. And the last ten years hearing news that some of them are now husbands and fathers, working and having a life of future and dignity. Others, sadly, are no longer with us, most of them ending up not surviving the consequences of their choices.

Brazil marked me. It was a part of me becoming who I am today. And I am thankful that part of my heart belongs there.

Popular posts from this blog

Taking in the familiar and a heart connected.

Amsterdam. It still has that muggy feeling in Summer, and a constant flow of people which if you stop to think about it, it's quite amazing that there would even be space to accommodate them all. But then I guess they are not all staying. Just passing through on their way to or from somewhere. It's always good for the heart to visit somewhere that was once home. The familiarity of streets and customs makes it easier to embrace what might be new as well as the joy of being reacquainted with old friends. Friends. So many of them to be found in this city, ready with hugs and good words that are uttered when seeing someone who was away again. Friendship. A treasure that cannot be bought. Cobblestones trodden by many, including myself. Sitting on a bench. Praying. Remembering the first time I stumbled upon this area lined with windows with red lights and curtains. An area which has come to represent no longer windows, but people to me. Some still behind a window. Others who have ...
Read more

Getting to know the local culture.

Life is a strange thing. Last week went…not much happened, and then it was over. The weekend was quite calm without too many wild and exciting things happening. Except, of course, a wee outing to watch the National Championship for Veteran Ploughing. Now, like me, you might be sadly lacking an understanding of what this actually means. So I am delighted to be able to enlighten you in this respect. It’s basically (for the “farm-language-illiterate” like myself) a competition where you use old (hence the name “veteran”) tractors and ploughs, and plough up a stretch of field which is then evaluated and the one scoring the highest sum (accuracy, depth, how well the soil is turned is all given points) wins. I must admit that this information I got by eavesdropping on a conversation next to me where a man was explaining to some of my friends how it all works. So that was a fun adventure….although we only stayed for a bit. What is sort of occupying my mind at present is my upcoming travel abr...
Read more

What was your dream?- scraping the surface of the heart of Albania

“What was your dream when you were 20?” That was a question our guide asked us as we were standing outside a huge derelict cement monument in Tirana, the capital of Albania. We’d spent the day touring and hearing a lot about the history and journey of Albania, a young country with more Albanians living in other countries than in Albania itself. A country where tourism has only really been built up the past 30 years. It was eye opening to hear more of the history, and it made me realise that this country is so much more than meets the eye. A country where the beaches and tourist area of Durres Riviera was packed with tourists, mostly from the Balcan area. A country where hospitality is ingrained in the culture, and where the friendliness of the people was noticeable. After a pause to let us reflect over the question of dreams, for some thinking further back than others, our guide told us that for him it had been to own a pair of jeans. That simple fact said so much. Both of what he...
Read more