Mark the date of today: only 50 days to the Olympic Games in London!
I love the Olympics.
I love the thrills, the emotions, the stories.
And I end up watching and cheering for sports like archery, ping-pong, or weight lifting...I swear it's true.
I made few mash-ups of youtube videos (sometimes the quality is not that good...but better than nothing!) of some memorable gold medals to commemorate the event, and get the tears going...
One video for each country.
So nobody feels left out.
They are not comprehensive and are largely focused on the most recent Games (from Atlanta 1996 on), but please feel free to write in the comments any other winner (with medal or not!) that have sent chills up your spine!
Enjoy.
Italia
Ho cercato in lungo e in largo un video dell'oro di Federica Pellegrini nei 200 a Pechino...quelli che ho trovato sono protetti da copyright, perciò se volete godervela cliccate qui!
Brasil
... per gli italiani: l'ultima parte e' una nota dolente..Atene 2004, finale di pallavolo, Italia-Brasile...siete avvisati! ;)
Argentina
... per gli italiani: l'ultima parte e' un'altra nota dolente..Atene 2004, finale di basket, Italia-Argentina...siete avvisati! ;)
And last, but not least...Courage, Motivation and Inspiration
In 2006, when we were living there, the country was still called Sudan....last year, history made its course.
In 1955, the year before independence, a civil war began between Northern and Southern Sudan.
In 1972, a cessation of the north-south conflict was agreed.
In 1983, the civil war was reignited following President Gaafar Nimeiry's decision to circumvent the terms of the peace agreement.
The war went on for more than twenty years.
In
2003 and early 2004, talks between the southern rebels and the government made some progress. John Garang, the south's peace agreement appointed
co-vice president, died in a helicopter crash on 1 August 2005, three weeks after being sworn in.
On 9 January 2011, a referendum was held worldwide, with the South Sudanese diaspora voting from the U.S.,
the U.K., Australia, Europe and East Africa. The result showed 98.9% in favour of secession.
The southern region became independent on 9 July 2011, with the name of South Sudan. Despite this result, many crucial issues are yet unresolved. Main threats to the fragile newborn state is the dispute over the control over oil
fields in the region of Abyei, the borders, and the issue of citizenship.
Ryszard Kapuscinski - Ebano (1998)
"E´una guerra interminabile, che si rinfocola, langue, poi torna ad esplodere. Sebbene duri da tanti anni non mi risulta che qualcuno abbia tentato di scriverne la storia. In Europa a ogni guerra sono dedicati scaffali di libri, archivi zeppi di documenti, sale speciali nei musei. In Africa non esiste niente del genere. Per lunga e grande che sia, qui la guerra sprofonda rapidamente nel dimenticatoio. Il giorno dopo le sue tracce sono già sparite: bisogna seppellire i morti, costruire nuove capanne al posto di quelle bruciate."
...at least for a European/South American culinary background.
Enjoy!
We sure did.
Post Scriptum:
When we travel, we travel with open minds and open hearts, in full respect of all human beings.
And animal beings.
And vegetal.
And extraterrestrial. (!)
So, we apologize in advance if some images might hurt people feelings, but traveling for us is really about embracing and fully experiencing different traditions, different cultures and different ways.
Because we believe that there cannot be just one way to see this world...
We lived in Senegal for one year.
Yeah...Africa...we have to tell you about Africa...five years, lived in 3 different countries, visited 32.
But we have time.
Let me share with you the recipe of one of the most traditional dishes of this West African country and a very healthy juice, excellent for the coming summer (cooked and photographed by me!).
...sorry southern hemisphere...I know, for you winter is coming, but still you can make it and feel a bit African!
***
I don't know whether you have followed the recent news, but Senegal has demonstrated in those days to be the democratic example of African country that it is reckoned to be.
(....yes, violent protests have taken place but, hey, can we really judge?...protests around Europe these days are not being less violent...)
A new president is set to take office on 3 April 2012. Amidst controversy over the constitutional validity of a eventual third term in office for (now ex) president Abdoulaye Wade, Mr. Macky Sall won the last election runoff.
I don't want to start a political debate on Senegalese constituency and the democratic success of these elections, yet I do want to take the opportunity to remind you of some really notable and influential African leaders (in addition to Mandela...).
Who I think you should know about.
At least the name.
And one is from Senegal. You see, everything links up just about right.
Because people might not know, or simply, are just stuck with the African stereotype of "it's just a mess". But indeed this continent has produced some very wise and inspiring people to help us see the world from another perspective.
Leopold Sedar Senghor (Joal, Senegal 1906 – Verson, France 2001)
A politician. A President (1960 to 1980). A poet. A philosopher. (More)
Cher frère blanc,
Quand je suis né, j'étais noir,
Quand j'ai grandi, j'étais noir,
Quand je suis au soleil, je suis noir,
Quand je suis malade, je suis noir,
Quand je mourrai, je serai noir.
Tandis que toi, homme blanc,
Quand tu es né, tu étais rose,
Quand tu as grandi, tu étais blanc,
Quand tu vas au soleil, tu es rouge,
Quand tu as froid, tu es bleu,
Quand tu as peur, tu es vert,
Quand tu es malade, tu es jaune,
Quand tu mourras, tu seras gris.
A military captain. A President (1983 to 1987). A revolutionary. A Pan-African theorist. (More)
“You cannot carry out fundamental change without a certain amount of madness. In this case, it comes from nonconformity, the courage to turn your back on the old formulas, the courage to invent the future. It took the madmen of yesterday for us to be able to act with extreme clarity today. I want to be one of those madmen. [...] We must dare to invent the future."
If you have time, also have a look at this documentary (1 hour).
To leave you on a lighter note, we've put some pictures of our year in Senegal in our Flickr album.
Despite the fact that indeed there is a need to raise awareness on gender based discriminations, I feel that this day should also be used to celebrate the accomplishments of women in the world.
To celebrate inspiring women.
I've found inspiring women almost everywhere I went. Those I've met in Vietnam.
(If you want to see more pictures visit our photo album on Flickr).
If you feel like knowing a bit more on what Europe is doing to promote gender equality, here is an interesting site. And here and here for a more global perspective.
On a more personal note, let me celebrate two really special women. My little sis will be 30 tomorrow....tanti auguri Marziotti! Anche da chi ci guarda da lassu'.
Ho pensato che forse quello che voglio raccontare attraverso questo blog é quello che c'é dietro questa curiosità, questo istinto che mi (ci) spinge la fuori.
Dicono che sia una caratteristica del Sagittario...non lo so, può anche essere...perché, ammetiamolo, io ci credo anche un po nell'astrologia (si, si ho studiato per essere scienziata ma deep down lo si sapeva che c'erano domande più grandi di me che non mi avrebbero lasciato andare avanti...comunque sto divagando). Ma credo che ci sia anche dell'altro. Magari lo scopriremo insieme.
Intanto mi piace parafrasare Tiziano Terzani (da In Asia)
E più i nuovi mezzi di comunicazione porteranno con immediatezza, ma anche con superficialità', nelle case di tutti gli avvenimenti del mondo ridotti in pillola, più ci sarà bisogno di quelli che vanno a vedere, ad annusare, a commuoversi per una qualche storia vicina o lontana da raccontare a chi avrà ancora voglia di ascoltare.
E cosi si viaggia.
Alle volte semplicemente ci si guarda attorno.
Cercando di andare un po più la.
E poi cercheremo di raccontarvelo. Con un'immagine, una frase, un video o quello che capita.
Ecco, credo sia questo.
Eccovi la prima storia.
Naufragar...in Asia
Chau Doc (Vietnam) in un tempio
Se uno non ha niente dentro, non troverà mai niente fuori. E' inutile andare a cercare nel mondo quel che non si riesce a trovare dentro di sé.
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