Dream home

Our home had tapestries of flowers from Guinea in the walls, switch baskets full of flowers, yellow courtains in the windows and bamboo furniture in the living-room. It had a big fireplace, and sunflowers candelabra. There were wooden African statues of hunters and animals everywhere – elephants, zebras, lions, gazelles and even wild boars.

Our home was full of books – there was more than one thousand. Those books went to Africa… They are probably in hands of children that need them more and love them more. I miss those books – old friends – but what good would they be doing accumulating dust in an old empty house where no-one would read them? So, they will be friends of their new readers, and give them all the riches and fantasy that they gave us. For the best.

Our home was full of memories. I’m sure it still is. It has seen our children arrive, and grow. It has seen our love story, our parents, our friends, our dogs and birds. It has seen our dreams grow and break. It has seen our efforts, our tears, our joy. A part of us remains there.

Now, we can only dream of a home – a home of children, of parents, of Love, of dogs and birds and flowers. A home where we can rebuild our dreams, our work, our family. A home where we can be… And finally find our refuge, our rest after this long storm.

Rock the cage

Rock the cage

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Rock the cage: The Portuguese Bard

Rock the cage: The Portuguese Bard

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Rock the cage

Rock the cage

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Rock the cage

Rock the cage

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The Blue Dragon

“A spark of blue illuminated the darkness, as the shining scales moved towards the lonely light coming from a hole in the ceiling, somewhere. The great turquoise blue dragon lifted its black polished claws before them and its red eyes flamed in wrath.” (The Wolves’ Keeper Legend)

“Whatever the scientists may say,

if we take the supernatural out of life,

we leave only the unnatural.”

(Amelia Barr)

Image via Wikipedia

The legend of the blue dragon-snake has resemblances with Quetzalcoatl, the Mayan god, even though it wasn’t inspired in it. Quetzalcoatl was a snake with the magnificent blue feathers of the Quetzal-bird. He is also known as the god of the Star of Dawn. He is the Spirit of the Water, the god of birth and rebirth, the one who came from the skies to teach humans the wisdom of the space-travellers.

Quetzalcoatl knows the secrets of the snakes. He is “El curandero”, the one who heals, using all kinds of medicinal plants.

“The water column changed, defining thousands, millions of little water drops, in a light-blue colour, like sea-water stone scales, and the extremity transformed into an enormous reptile mouth. The water dragon undulated, as if dancing to an invisible flute.”

(The Wolves’ Keeper Legend)

Design by Robert Weber

 

I moved to Blogger

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Visit Rock the Cage in Blogger

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Manifestum of an unemployed teacher

Today, one more time, I started looking for a job.Once again; how many times did I do it in the last two years?

It’s not because my Book Tour started today; it has no particular reason related to the job I do nowadays – it’s because my bank account fell disastrously to zero, it’s because I owe already more than I earn in one month. And I already reduced my expenses to the absolutely indispensable.

My mom told me yesterday, when I was talking with her in the phone, as I do every weekend: “Oh, Silvia, if it was to get in the situation you are now, you should have staid in Portugal!” Dear mom! One one hand, she has a point – in Portugal, I had a free house (my father’s house) and a permanent well-paid job as a teacher. “But, mom! If I had staid in Portugal, I would never have published a book as I did here! My husband would never be able to get a job (he was considered too old to work, at 38) and would never have been allowed to be studying again! I wouldn’t be studying too and, worst of all, the children wouldn’t have a future!” Tough choice, isn’t it?!

“But, Silvia! For example, this week Miguel Sousa Tavares published a book!”

“Dear mom, give it a thought! Who is Miguel Sousa Tavares?” I know, he is an excellent writer – no-one ever puts that in question – but would he ever publish a book in Portugal if he wasn’t already famous?…

I love to teach

I know! How hard is it to understand and sometimes it is even painful to think about it. I’m a teacher. In the UK, the Teacher is the “Most wanted profession”. There is such a lack of teachers that they are producing “fast-track” ones to fill the vacancies, with six months to one year of training. I have a five years Degree, with specialization in Education, and I just can’t find a job as a teacher! I’m qualified in Modern Languages and Literature, fluent in English, French, Portuguese and Latin, sixteen years of experience, approved by the NARIC and fully registered in the GTCE and no-one gives me a chance.

What?… Am I ugly? I’m asking this because there were schools that asked for a photograph with the application form… I didn’t know that one needs to be a top-model in order to teach Latin!

Am I a criminal, someone who can’t approach children or vulnerable adults? No! I have clean police checks from the UK, including Scotland, and from Portugal. I never in my life did any wrong to anyone and I even have participation in several charity and cooperation activities.

No. I’m not selling my position. Sometimes I have doubts about my willing to go on being a teacher in those “terms and conditions”. I’m just letting the injustice and the grief out of my heart.

Someone recently asked me why I published my book. Why here?… Why now?…I didn’t come to England with the slightest intention  of publishing a book – it’s the absolute truth – but when I was looking for a job (this time as a teaching assistant!) I was told (how many times?): “We can’t give you this job, because, you understand, we can’t be sure that you know enough English to teach!” When I tried to do a training course, in an University, I was told: “As a foreigner, you couldn’t write an whole essay in English!”

OK! Discriminative reasons, but still I can understand the feelings behind them.

But now, what is happening? “Turn your talents into teaching” advertising is passing on TV on and on. I applied.  “No, you can’t do it! You are already qualified to teach any subject at any level.” This was the answer of the TDA. A dead end.

I was then asked for letters, written and stamped by the Boarding Directions of every school where I worked. I contacted the schools. The answer from the British schools where I worked was (quite reasonable indeed) “We can’t write references for someone who worked here just one day or two days!” In Portugal, it isn’t done because a teacher  isn’t an employee of a school. The employer there is the Ministry of Education, not the schools. And the Ministry kindly provided all the documents it could.

So, am I being penalized for being a foreigner or not?!

To be a teacher in the UK, I would need experience in the UK. “Thirty days at least”, they say. I can’t have experience, if no-one gives me the chance to work.

A refuge in the river

River Tejo

 

Almourol castle

 

Sparkling waters

 

A door to the past

 

Can we ever reach the top?

 

Battlement

 

Feel the wind

 

As far as the eyes can see

 

Almourol is a very beautiful and peaceful place. There, we can enjoy the silence and the tranquil flow of the river.

It is very difficult to get there, so few people know it. It is situated in the centre of Portugal, in a small island of the Tagus.

Its building still isn’t dated, but it is certain that it already existed in 1129. It was used by the Templar Knights during the Reconquista war.

Still, History isn’t what we were looking for when we went there. Instead of it, the beauty of the landscape, the stunning walls… It’s like a journey in time.