13 Dec PRAIA DO INGLÊS, 09 – 10 DECEMBER 2017 – PASSION

If it’s Friday and it’s a holiday there is an extended weekend. When it’s St Mary it’s also an extended weekend and the beach is full of Argentinians. My big surprise was to find how many similarities there are between Argentinians and Romanians. The resemblance is huge, I could say that more or less, they are pretty much the same. The other Spanish-speaking cultures that we met are very different from us, but not Argentinians. That is why, according to the saying

“birds of a feather flock together”, the most and best friends we made in South America are Argentinians. And we only have been in Argentina for 3 days when we visited Iguazu Falls. Nice and jolly people, if I have to talk about them in two words. If you are in no party mood you are in trouble.

I could also say that some are pretty dumb, one day a big one came and asked me if I smoke. I, holding a cigarette, look at him a little baffled and say yes. It was obvious for me, but… ok. He:

“No, man, not the toxic thing you are smoking, I was asking if you smoke weed”

I didn’t quite understand where he was going so I asked what he meant.

He answers very sincerely that he is an idiot, that he came right from Argentine with this nice weed and his nice girlfriend and he’s been trying for 2 hours to roll a joint using a napkin but he just can’t make it and was asking me to make one for him with my cigar paper.

… where did you say you were coming from?

As we don’t like crowded places with people we decided to go out for a cake when the sun is up and people on the beach. Easy said and done, we left the beach behind us and the Argentinians and spent both afternoons in the pastry shop of our new friend, Chef Evandro. We met Evandro last week when we happened to pass by his pastry shop and we smelled the delicious aromas. We were like in a cartoon. We started sniffing down the street to find the place that generated such tasteful smells.

We found Chef Evandro, not in the kitchen, as you would expect, but at a desk with an iPhone brought to pieces. Not destroyed, disassembled piece by piece. Yes, he was dusting it. He was having a break from baking and as the shop was almost empty, he started to clean his iPhone. I understand the tidiness, but the phone? Are you an ADHD, like me, what’s up?

He answers that he is an electronics engineer and a chef out of passion. His passion drove him all way to Italy where he took all grades in culinary art, pastry and wine. He went for three years to the best schools in Europe.

We came back on Sunday just like yesterday to ask him why he is an engineer and why he didn’t follow his heart in the first place.

I asked him because I see this stereotype in which one has a certain job when he actually has a totally different passion.

And these are the happy cases that discovered their passions in life.

I say happy because I look at my mother and while she is a psychologist, she hasn’t really found her passion in life or she may have believed that it was not important to have a passion.

It is important, very important actually. Because, first of all, man is made to be active to the day he dies.

There is no retiring from passion, you can only retire from your job.

As my mother is retired now, and as she doesn’t know what to do with her time, she takes care of her grandchildren most of the time. Not even this is a passion for her as you hear a “oh, my!” every other word. I will stop now, Lavinia says I am being mean with my mom and I don’t want that.

Tomorrow we enter our new home. Kids are super happy, Carla wants to take surfing lessons too and Ana remembered she wants to be a ballerina so we are busy! 🙂

***

Daca-i vineri si e sarbatoare atunci nimeresti intr-un week-end extins. Cand e  Sf. Maria si e week-end extins, plaja se umple de argentinieni. Marea mea descoperire este asemanarea comportamentala ce exista intre argentinieni si romani! Asemanarea este colosala, as putea spune ca, per ansamblu avem acelasi stil. Celelalte culturi tot vorbitoare de limba spaniola pe care le-am cunoscut sunt foarte diferite de noi, ei bine, nu si argentinienii. Din aceasta cauza si dupa vorba romaneasca “cine se aseamana se aduna”, cei mai buni si mai multi prieteni pe care ni i-am facut in America de Sud sunt din Argentina. Si inca nu am fost in Argentina decat fugitiv pentru 3 zile de am vizitat cascada de la Iguazu si de pe versantul Argentinian, atat!

Misto oamenii si petrecareti, asta pot spune despre ei in 2 cuvinte. Daca nu ai chef de distractie, ai incurcat-o! 🙂

As mai putea adauga ca unii sunt tampitei rau, de genul ca vine unul mare si bine facut la mine si ma intreaba daca fumez.

Eu, cu tigara in mana! Ma uit un pic blocat la el dar ii raspund ca da! Era evident in capul meu dar hai!

El, nu mahhhh d’asta toxica ce fumezi tu, te intrebam daca fumezi iarba.

Neintelegand ce vrea il intreb care-i logica intrebarilor lui.

El imi raspunde sincer si cu naduf, ca-i un idiot ca a venit tocmai din Argentina cu iarba asta buna si cu prietena lui, la fel de buna si se chinuie de 2 ore pe plaja sa faca un joint dintr-un servetel si nu-i iese, apoi ma invita sa-i fac eu joint-ul ca nici nu are foitze si nici nu stie!

Bai frate, de unde ziceai c-ai venit?

Nu, am zis ca e prea mult si cum nu ne place aglomeratia am hotarat sa iesim in oras la o prajitura, acum, cand e soarele in toi si lumea e pe plaja.

Zis si facut, am lasat plaja in urma cu tot cu argentinieni  si ne-am infintat ambele dupa amieze ale week-end-ului in cofetaria noului nostru prieten, Chef Evandro.

Pe Evandro l-am cunoscut saptamana trecuta cand am trecut intamplator prin fata patiseriei lui nou deschise si am fost atrasi de mirosurile delicioase ce pluteau prin aer. Zici ca eram intr-o reclama sau in desene animate. Am inceput sa alunecam pe strada catre sursa generatoare de mirosuri cu gust.

L-am gasit pe Chef Evandro nu in bucatarie cum te-ai astepta de la un Chef ci la birou cu un Iphone facut bucati. Nu distrus, dezasamblat piesa cu piesa. Chef-ul facea curatenia de primavara prin telefon. Da, il stergea de praf! Era in pauza de gatit si cum patiseria e de abea deschisa nici clientii nu abunda asa ca, s-a apucat sa faca curat!

Pai bine bai nene, dar in telefon? Tu ai ADHD ca si mine, n-ai stare?!

El, saracu’ raspunde suav ca el este inginer electronist de profesie si Chef din pasiune. Pasiunea l-a dus tocmai pana in Italia unde si-a luat toate gradele in materie de culinaria, patiserie si vin. Trei ani in total si-a fugarit pasiunea pe la cele mai mari scoli de prin Europa.

Am revenit si Duminica pe tiparul de ieri sa-l intrebam mai pe indelete, de ce e Inginer si de ce nu si-a urmat pasiunea din prima!

L-am intrebat pentru ca observ stereotipia tiparului in care lumea e de profesie nu stiu ce si din pasiune cu totul si cu totul altceva. Si astea sunt cazurile fericite in care si-au descoperit acea pasiune.

Spun fericite pentru ca ma uit la mama si paradoxal este faptul ca psiholog fiind, nu si-a gasit totusi pasiunea in viata sau nu a crezut ca are importanta sa ai o pasiune.

Are importanta si mare are! Pentru ca in primul rand omul este facut sa fie activ pana moare. Nu exista sa iesi la pensie din pasiune, la pensie se iese dintr-un job!

Cum mama a iesit la pensie, de la job, si cum nu stie ce sa faca cu timpul ei, are grija de nepoti in  majoritatea timpului ei.

Nici asta nu o face din pasiune, e un of si cate un vai la fiecare 2 silabe!

Ma opresc din scris astazi, Lavinia zice ca am inceput sa fiu rau cu mama si nu vreau!

Maine intram in casa noua. Copiii sunt super fericiti, Carla vrea si ea sa ia lectii de surfing iar Ana si-a adus aminte ca vrea sa fie balerina, deci suntem ocupati! 🙂