Last Remark

As promised here his the adress to my new blog:

http://www.aquijazo.blogspot.com/

Since the creation of this blog I got addicted to this...

Take a peek!

Take care!

André Rolo

Back Home

.:back home:.

I'm back in Portugal. I've been doing a million things at the same time, so it's hard to post news lately... I guess that I was also trying to avoid it: because this is the end of this blog. It accomplished its purposes working, at the same time, as small report of my experience in Wroclaw, and helping me sharing this experience with family and friends. Since I'm back home, there's no point in making new posts. Anyway, I'll leave it online, for as long as the blogger server allows it to be.

I never had a blog before, but the thing is that after this experience I'm addicted. I'm planning on creating a new one, with no special theme, just a place where I can "lay" some of my photos & some stories. It's still being "projected", but as soon as it's online, I'll leave the address here, so remember to check in for the new blog address.

To everyone that kept coming here to check on my adventures abroad, I wish to thank you, because you gave me the will to keep on updating the blog. Everyone in Wroclaw, you made my year! You all make Wroclaw a greater place to live, and are the living color of the city. It's so damn easy to fall in love with this city... It will always be a special place for me. A place where I already felt like home (when returning from some big trips). A place where I dreamed of Wroclaw instead of my home town, having in mind what Joren taught me.

Hope to be back soon. Take care!

Lets just say Narazie...

This is not the end

"...just relax..."

Juz czuje tesknote!

Notice that foreigner on the back...

My participation at the diggings came to an end. But it's impossible to put an end in the fabulous friendships I made there. Truly unforgettable! One of the moments I felt the most welcome and beloved by everyone, here in Poland. Great atmosphere & companionship. From the table football games, to diggings, passing through the great times in the "grill"... These were 3 of my best weeks in Poland. Things are not ending suddenly as I expected... they're only ending to fast. But fear not my Polish friends, I intend to come next year, so get the wódka ready! Let me just remind you all, that you are most welcome in Portugal, and you have a place to stay there ("Mate", Portugal is waiting!). Thanks to "Panni Doctorze" for all his kindness and for sharing a little of his wisdom and experience with me (there should be more people like you in the Portuguese Universities!). Thanks to Justyna, for making me use my rough Polish, and for having patience for me & Claudia in our big trip to the south. Thank you all, from the "sponk" of my heart! You are the best, & this is not goodbye, it's more like "narazie"!

P.S. - To all of you who wondered what "saudade" and "fado" is, it's more or less what I'm feeling about this experience now...

Weekend Report

The urn

Pottery from the urn

Fibulae

Pin

Making some shadow for the photo

Football match during the spare time

Once again I'm sorry for the lack of news. For some moments I made it through the WiFi connection at the school where I'm sleeping, but I now I can't make it no more. Anyway, I'm having a blast at the diggings in Sulów, and the findings couldn't be anymore exciting! Everyone is great, and there's a great atmosphere within the group. A lot of "matraquilhos" (table football?) and ping-pong matches during the spare time, and some walks through the village surroundings. Regarding the findings, I couldn't be more fulfilled than I already am! A complete late Hallstatt urn, which besides the remains of the cremated bones, contained also a fibulae and a pin! Here are some photos of this last few days. Take care!

Finding of the day

Roman coin found in the digging today by Joanna Michalska

Wykop

-The digging I'm currently on, in Sułów. Iron Age, Przeworsk Culture, Lusatian & even Hallstatt-

Lack of news

I'm sorry for my absence, but I'm currently digging in Sulów, 60km north from Wroclaw. I already have a lot of new things to post, which I promise I will do, later on. Take care!

Going Underground

Set of sculptures symbolizing the underground movement in socialist times in Poland (PRL).
(photo shot near the Arkady in Wroclaw)

S. João in Wrocław

Before the first bar (and still sober...)!

We couldn't just let this special day pass and not celebrate it. Claudia some days before had the great idea of doing a "Rally das Tascas", in which everyone is supposed to cruise the city, checking in every bar on the way. So we decided to celebrate the Portuguese (from Porto) holly day in this way, cause there's no way we could find any fresh sardines in here... Instead we had cheap, some times hot, beer! The plan was so appealing that even a Turkish friend joined us.

The Portuguese Gang

"...e ela dizia baixinho: Comé qu'eu hei-de, comé qu'eu hei-de, comé qu'eu m'hei-de ir embora..."

After a whole afternoon eating grilled kielbasa, in the garden of João's dormitory, along with Polish, Spanish & even Hungarian company, the group headed for the city center. Once there, precisely in Literatka, it was time to play "scissors, paper and stone"... It's easy to loose, so you never get thirsty and the beer just keeps coming! After some rounds, everyone is singing popular Portuguese songs, and saying all sorts of "non-sense"! What a night...

Queen Libido

She's hungry for you love... or anything else!

If by any chance you find this woman on the street, run in the opposite direction. Stop only when you have ran 1 km or more, because she doesn't give up easily. She keeps harassing all the men she sees on the street. She doesn't smell. She doesn't really look that drunk. She's mad... Something went wrong in that little head of hers... One thing I can tell you for sure: her libido is not working properly! I was lucky... Only got a kiss on the cheek (even with Filipa by my side...)! Some of the others got some neck licking & ass grabbing (among other areas...)! She might also insist on introducing you beneath her skirt. If you're a male and walk through the city of Wroclaw keep an eye for the Libido Queen! Be afraid, be very afraid...

Only a Polski Fiat...

Try doing that with any other car...

A week of Archaeology and Museums

Reconstructed kurgan

Foundations of Early Christian Apsida

Early Christian Graves in Hungary

The whole "archaeological gang"!

After another long week, here I am again with a report on another trip. As if walking 20km a day, through the Sleza Mountains wasn't enough, I enrolled in a second trip, this time "over borders". Organised by the the Institute of Archaeology and it's professors, this trip consisted of a week of archaeological sites & museums throughout Slovakia, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. For the value of around 200 zloty's (50€!), the students had a bus taking us every where and accommodation included, for the whole week. Now that's an example, my department back in Porto should follow... First stop, the city of Nitra, near the capital of Slovakia, Bratislava. There we went to an "archaeological experimental field" which consisted in the reconstruction of some dwelling structures from several ages. There we also had the opportunity to visit the reconstruction of a previously excavated kurgan, which amazed everyone by the quality of its realisation. Next stop a well known pre-historic site, already in Hungary, but near the border. Among the findings there, there is the occipital bone of the first "humans" in Europe, and one of the first evidences of man made (or started) fire also in Europe. After this, we headed for Budapest, where we had the chance to visit the History museum, which had a very rich, and well elaborated exhibition, comprehending some of the cultures that where present the nowadays Hungary, and also a great exhibition on the Mongols, and it's invasion of Hungarian territory, being Genghis Kan (of course!) it's main symbol. Following the capital it was time for Pecs where we had the chance to visit the main museum and later one one of the best preserved archaeological sites I've ever seen. It consisted of 4 underground levels, beneath an 18 century building, that I can't even imagine how hard it was to dig and later on "musealize"! After some "regular tourism" in the capital, and another fine in the underground (already had been fined there in February this year!), the group headed for Pecs, where we had the chance to visit the main museum and later one one of the best preserved archaeological sites I've ever seen. It consisted of 4 underground levels, beneath an 18 century building, that I can't even imagine how hard it was to dig and later on "musealize"!Next stop: Balaton. A huge lake in the middle of Hungary, where we had a break, and enjoyed the great view and nice Hostel. The Polish ran for the water, while me and Claudia had a beer, and chatted with the nice hostel owners. And this was our last stop in Hungary, after what we went for the Czech Republic, for the city of Brno. After one good night of sleep, and a funny adventure regarding our room key, we visited two more museums, the first mainly pre-history, and the second with a full range of findings of cultures present in the territory of the country until the present day. All in all, a great adventure, a nice opportunity to return to some previously visited places, but now with an "archaeological perspective". I realy wish that this kind of events would be made in my home university in Porto, but "people" always seem to busy for this. Regarding the museums and sites visited, it was great to testify that countries like Slovakia, Hungary and Czech Republic are investing so much money into archaeology and preservation of sites, most of them with the European Union Funds. I wonder, in 21 years of Portugal in the E.U., how much of these funds were applied to archaeology and heritage... It's great to see that somewhere else, people are doing better... I would also like to leave here a big "ZAEBYSCIE!" to all the polish friends I made in this trip! Never met any foreigners who could learn Portuguese swearing so quickly and well. Take care!

Ślęza Mountains In a Week

Ali à direita, com jeitinho, até faz lembrar o Monte da Virgem...

During the week, the blog has been quite inactive due to the fact that I've been visiting the Ślęza Mountains everyday with a some Archaeology colleagues and Artur, one of my Professors here and my Erasmus Coordinator. It ended last Friday, and it was a great experience. We started the day in Sobótka, the village on the bottom where the bus stopped, and proceeded to the natural park, starting our tour along old paths through the mountains. Wild nature, observe and study some archaeological sites, and in some of the days, 20km walks... I leave you here a panoramic shot from the top of the highest mountain we've been on. Take care everyone!

A Resposta

Agora, em resposta: ...ele já morreu, quem o descobriu fui eu!

Após anos a fio, a ouvir a pergunta de quem "ele" é, eis que eu, após aturada investigação no estrangeiro, descobri a sua identidade. Seria esta uma das maiores incógnitas da cultura popular da cidade do Porto e arredores, que desde tempos remotos nos aflige, e nos incita a procurar saber quem é "ele", perguntando de modo sistemático a qualquer transeunte ou conhecido. Caros compatrícios, tenho-vos a dizer que, a verdade é decepcionante: ao que consta, parece que já não será de todo correcto perguntar quem "ele" é, mas sim, quem ele era... Paz à alma deste icon da cultura nortenha!

Boat Trip on the Odra

There's Captain Ahab!!
Just cruisin'...

I couldn't miss this one, because I missed the one in the first semester! What's there to say? A lot of Erasmus, plenty of beer, loads of fun, nice view, great weather, Antonio DJ'ing, great time! Here's some photos I shot during the trip. Hope you like it! Take care!

Driving a Polski Fiat

Just look at those shinning rims!

Finally, I had the chance to do it... I have been craving for this moment! OK, so it's not the real thing... But the game is loads of fun! Try it, you can download it, for free, from this site: http://www.ms2.boo.pl/

It can be quite tricky to get a hold of that slippery Fiat. Have fun!

Sueca

Nostalgia, saudosismo, o que quer que seja...

Bruno em casa da Agnieszka, numa festa rica em português!

Maluch, "o pequenino"

"Tu fala-me com jeitinho..."

"É frequentemente referido pelos polacos como sendo o único carro "com alma", uma vez que muitas vezes se desliga espontaneamente e pode demorar bastante a voltar a ligar-se. Algumas pessoas afirmam mesmo que é necessário "falar-lhes com carinho"."

Obtido em "http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polski_Fiat_126p"

First Diggings

"Yes, yes, maybe a little bit more in your right side... Yes ... Perfect..."

So recently I had my first chance to dig in Poland. The digging concerns the area of a future construction of a speed-way around Wroclaw, that should be ready for the Euro 2012. Apart from the strange weather, you can see it's a hard knock life for all of us digging there... It is. The photo was taking during a break! I swear. This is not Portugal.