Saying good bye – going home

All adventures have an end and I have eventually arrived at this one. I’m going home in the middle of the Easter holidays. I will have one part of Easter at each side of the ocean, departing on Friday night 6^th and arriving Saturday night 7^th. In Brazil they eat all kinds of fish and sea fruits during this time of year so this will be my good by meal, and in Sweden there will be eggs.

I have said good by to all my colleagues at my internship, managed through my last day, acquired an Internship Certificate and brought candy and flowers. I don’t like goodbyes… it is difficult and sad, even more when it is divided - in happiness for going back to a place I long for, and sadness of having to leave newfound friends so soon.

For some reason all ends seems to come to soon and some how at the most inconvenient moments. Just when you are starting too feel secure, at home, found your place. The funny thing is that it dos not matter if it is an end that comes two or six months after the beginning.

I miss home a lot, I miss knowing my territory, I miss being able to do things I cannot do here, I miss family and friends I even miss the climate, the landscape and everything ells about Sweden. I guess I have a very strong sense of home, and that’s a part of me.

Any way, I am happy to have lived through a very good and rich experience. I dove deep in to the Brazilian society, culture and every day life, deeper than I have done before, and even though it has been hard at times I leave now, feeling that I have learned a lot, not only about my subject but also about my self and what I am capable of.

I have also received a lot of appreciation and admiration from colleagues that I am now leaving - words that means a lot after having spent the last half year trying very hard, without any chance of knowing how many times a day I (the intern/the gringo) have been more of a burden than a help, said something stupid with my Scandinavian Portuguese accent, broken an unwritten cultural code… or what ever.

The final evaluation is that I have done very well and this is coming for someone strictly self-critical. But the final part is not over yet – coming months will be spent in front of the computer – finalizing my thesis – bringing some order in to it all – summing it all up in to words, analysis and conclusions.

Coming home will give me the strength to conclude it all. 

VII Environmental Education Forum and rumors for Rio+20

As I wrote in previous post - fortunately, before this- my last week in Brazil, the state of Bahia hosted one of the countries biggest and very important Environmentalist events - The VII Brazilian Forum of Environmental Education which also this time was a preparatory event for the upcoming Rio+20 in June.

I’m participated with the Environmental Secretariat, helping out at their information boot with mapping of socioeconomically experiences and projects in Bahia as well as the parallel encounter of the Green Libraries (Salas Verdes). Besides this I had the chance to participate in innumerous mini courses, lectures, panel discussions and cultural exhibitions. All on the theme that I will write my thesis on and on top of it all – free of charge.

The work with the Parallel encounter and the information boot took up a lot of time during the four days of the Forum but I had the chance to check out many of the stand and the research exhibition halls where researchers, organizations and students display resent field works and research findings. I also went to a seminar on Green Economy and accompanied the debate on Indigenous rights and solutions in the field.

The four days gave few moments to reflect - they where intense but in a good way. The energy from the 3000 people present mad the conference center in the outskirts of Salvador centrum vibrate – literarily. Strength and hope found a place in every participant to last for the next big and important encounter where it hopefully can amplify and reach to the most remote places on earth.

Let Rio+20 be an as participative, vibrating and creative event as this one and the world can move forward together.