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Lettre
d'Amérique
Des nouvelles de notre amie Teresinka
PEREIRA, de Toledo OH – USA
Love, medicine and poetry around the world.
My
son Luis Carlos was my company on the trip around the world and we had
the first stop on May 22 (2006) in
Palermo (Italy), for the inauguration of the new campus of the school of
Medicine Naturopatia, directed by Dr Ignacio Li Vigni. The president of
ths school is Prof.BIagia Paternostro. I had the honor to present the
first class. The topic was "The medicinal use of the coca leaf by
he Incas of Bolivia and Peru". Two students from the old campus
received their diplomas that day, and I was appointed as International
Director and Visiting Professor of Alerican Culture and Natural Medicine".There
was a reception, which extended for several membes. The theater group
directed by the play-wright Anna Mauro presented several one acte plays
and a recitation of my poetry, translated into Italian by Giuseppe
Filippone. We stayed four days at the Villa Naturopatia
and Ignazio, Biagio y Salvo made our stay to remain in our heart
as a sweet dream which we will never forget.
May
25 we arrived in Hong Kong, after stops in Rome and Amsterdam. We
checket in the Ramada Hotel in Kowloon, where I got in touch with my
patron Lisa Choi, President of the "World
poetry Foundation" of Hong Kong
that awarded me with the "World Poetry Prize". In Hong
Kong, I participated in meetings and banquets
with important intellectuals, poets, professors and authorities,
and in a Poetry Contest for poets of all of the schools of Hong Kong.
250 poets of all ages received trophies, recited their poetry and took
photographs at my side. The whole event
lasted for five hours. Hen I had
the opportunity to hand in the IWA trophies to poets Choi Lai
Sheung and Zhang Zhi,
El Diablo, Editor of Messenger for World Poets.
The following day we had a banquet with the
intellectuals and Pressidents of important cultural organizations and
Professors of the University of Hong Kong. A good surprise was the
presence of the great poet Li Qing, President of the Kong Kong PEN Club.
During our stay in Hong Kong poet and
prosessor David Heung was our efficient guide and organiser of programs
and a very pleasant company. In China, we went to Lantau, where there is
a very large statue of Buddha. It was very impressive to see it from the
bottom of the stairs and see his face covered
by clouds and fog, very high up on the hill. It was interesting
also
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À Hong
Kong, de gauche à droite, les poètes Lisa Choi,Teresinka and
David Heung. Mai
25, 2006.
In Hong Kong, from left to
right: poets Lisa Choi, Teresinka and David Heung. May 25, 2006.
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To
see that many Chinese people
still have fait hand were praying at the temple. In a restaurant in
Lintau we had another banquet with typical Chinese food. There we did
not find occidental silverware, only the chopsticks. I did not eat, but
Luis Carlos learned how to use them and ate everything with pleasure.
Now he his an expert in using the chopsticks.
The most interesting place for me in China was
Macau, where we went by boat. Macau was discoveredd in 1557 and
colonized by Portugal. We visited the "Fortaleza do Monte" (Fortress
on the Hill) one of the monument classified by the UNESCO as a Patrimony
of Humanity, and the old colonial Buildings and quares, much like th
sones in the Ouro Preto city in Brazil. All the names of the streetsand
buildings are in Portuguese. The guide we hired could speak a little
Portuguese, but he felt more confortable seaking Chinese. We had the
company of Cely, Lisa Choi's secretary
in that trip and she could translate for us. She wenteverywhere
with us, taking a back pack ful of snacks, fruits and drinks. Cely is an
immigrant worker in China. Her native land is the Philippines. It is
interesting to note that people from Philippines and Malaysia in general
immigrate to China looking for jobs. They are allowed to get their
documents in order to bebabysitters, servants and domestic workers, and
they make enough money to send money back home. Cely is a very educated
lady and she speaks three languages.
After
stopping in Japan, we arrived in Guam, May 29, on Luis Carlos'birthday !
He had a good celebration in a typical Chamorro restaurant. From the
first sight we were amazed at
how beautiful Guam is, this island located in the most remote place at
the end of the world! My daughter Luzia lives there with her husband
Lewis and their son Noah, the boy who was born during the typhoon ! The
islandd suffers from typhoons every two of three years. And when there
is a typhoon, everything
flies away or breaks down into pieces. December 2002 the typhoon made
their house become a pile of trash. They lost everything that was inside
it. But they saved the baby, today a beautiful and smart boy three years
old. They rebuilt theit house, which is now a constrction of cement ,
has high walls and large
rooms, one of which is the ceramic studio where they both work. The
house is perfect and beautiful, decorated by three artists, Luzia, Lewis
and Noah, who made the art work in the living room walls. The suite's
bathtub is my favorite piece in the house, because is covered with
mosaics, a master art work by Lewis. Around
the house there are palm trees, coconuts trees , banana trees, a
propical paradise. Luis went outside and got two fresh coconuts and gave
us drink of its delicious milk.
We Went out to
see the island. Blue sea, mouuntains and palm trees make the typical
landscape of the island. Our principal sight seeing was Puerto Soledad,
where a monument tells the storyof the visit of our Portuguese ancestor
Ferdinand Magellan (from my paternel grand mother), who in a mission
sopported by the Spanish king was te first man to go around the world,
proving that the Earth is round. Before he was killed by a native of the
Philippines he stopped in Guam, in 1521, going ashore in a small boat,
which was robbed by the Guam natives. He was very mad at the natives and
killed many of them. He
named the place "Islnd of the Thieves". To this date the
chamorros hate is name. Magellan is not a good name in Guaam. On the
other hand, Pereira is a very recpected name, because the Treasurer of
Agana, who signs the checks that oay the government, is signed by him.
Pereira is another of my ancestors who traveled around the world !
After Guam we
went to Japan. At the airport there were a group of poets waiting for
us. They were Ritsuko Kawabata y Goro Ihara, an old friend from many
years ago. We had met in Rio de Janeiro in 1998, during yhe Congress of
the IWA.. Since then we have corresponded frequently. With Goro were is
wife Ms. Etsu Ihara and his daughter Natsuko Tina
Ihara,tranlator of Hollywood films from English into Japanese.
They were our hosts in Japan, and they took us to visit a Buddha temple
in Narita and other interesting buildings,and shops. They also took us
for dinner in an elegant restaurant in witch the chef chopped the meat
and put seasoning in the food while we watched, at the same tabale we
ate. Luis Carlos, who ordered a beefsteak, comments that this
was the best meal he ever had in his life. We are very obligated
to the Ihara family for their patronage and hospitality.
Our trip was
the opposite of the one by Magellan who left the Iberian Peninsula going
West, went to South America, discovered the strait that goes from the
Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, and went west until he reached the
Philippines. We went to Europe, then to China and Guam by
the Orient, and came back to America via the Pacific Ocean.
The way back
on the Pacific Ocean was easier and faster than the trip going towards
the Orient. This was the wonderful and unforgetful trip on my life !
Teresinka Pereira
C'était
une longue description d'un long voyage de notre amie Teresinka autour
du monde.
Et
pour terminer cet article, un poème, traduit en français, de Teresinka
:
Homme
Homme de ma vie,
Tu es une ombre debout
Au cœur de mon silence.
Avec toi je frissonne d'effroi
Multipliéeen milliers de femmes
Une géographie intime
Comme autant de vagues errantes
Tenue à distance,
Dans la vaste étendue de l'océan
Dans la bonté bleue
D'une après-midi parfaite
T.P.
Ou encore de l'incandescence
D'un couchant au moment
D'aller dormir
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