book worm: Um Lugar na Janela

It's very rare for me to pick up a book in Portuguese. First of all, when you read a book, you should always read it in its original language. Maybe if I knew Russian, I'd be able to appreciate Tolstoy even more. Well, once again, a dear friend of mine, recommended me a book, Um Lugar na Janela (A place by the window)  by a Brazilian journalist, Martha Medeiros. She is from the southern part of Brazil, which has a whole culture to itself, and she loves travelling. Of course, I was intrigued! I'm always a bit nervous when I start to read in Portuguese, which I'm sure sounds funny, because it's my mother language, or is it?

I devoured this book, not only does she have fun anecdotes about her several trips, she also writes very well. I didn't find her writing hard and when she threw in some local slang, I chuckled and kept going. I couldn't help dreaming of the many places she went to and I haven't had the chance to go or compare her experiences to the ones I've had. She also lived in Santiago for a few months, which made my heart skip a bit. It was the only part I was mildly disappointed with since I wished she would've talked a little bit more about the culture.

However, all her other stories were fascinating, and filled with her own personal details. She gave lively descriptions of the places she had traveled. As if my list wasn't long enough, I added Turkey to it, since I really enjoyed what she wrote about it.

 As you know, travelling is also a way to learn more about yourself since you find yourself in new environments. I really loved it when she mentioned that travelling is not a form of escaping. Sometimes, many people think, that their problems can go away if they just go to another country. However, they follow you, but the beautiful thing about travelling is that it gives you some perspective.

"When we are travelling we discover our courage and daring nature, our survival instincts and the ability to respect new codes of conducts. Travelling minimizes prejudice. Travelers do not have a political party, social class, football team, official signatures in the notary or memorized passwords in their heads. They recycle themselves every morning and when they wake up - and they certainly wake up, what a blessing, without the tyrannical alarm clock going off."