No photo - but some images I have - when thinking of Joao...
- his irresistable smile ...
- always a cigarette in between his lips or fingers...
- and usually a 'cerveja' or a glass of red wine near by...
- his special style - wide colourful african shirts,
- his love for cooking, esp. portuguese cuisine and long evenings at long dinner tables ...
- his ability to endless talking...
- his very special paintings
We met in Sao Bras de Alportel, soon after your family and mine returned from Africa - Niger and Namibia. - With children in exactly the same age... and a shared interest in Africa we became friends easily.
I still remember our first encounter - at a parents' evening for Antonio's and Inga's pre-school programme. We had met Antonio already and heard about his 'French' family who came from Africa like we did from the teacher ... And there they sat, Joao and Jolanda in their brightly coloured African clothes - easy to recognize. From then on we shared a lot of time together, whreeby Joao often preferred to stay at home and prepare the dinner, while we went on outings etc. with Jolanda and the kids.
Mara, my older daugher and Ariana's childhood friend said, that she still remembers Joao's smokey voice and his deliciously cooked food.
The last time I saw Joao was on the 6th of January, when I met him in the pharmacy in Sao Bras, just before I was about to leave to Ghana and he told me about his trip to Senegal.
No photo - but some images I have - when thinking of Joao...
- his irresistable smile ...
- always a cigarette in between his lips or fingers...
- and usually a 'cerveja' or a glass of red wine near by...
- his special style - wide colourful african shirts,
- his love for cooking, esp. portuguese cuisine and long evenings at long dinner tables ...
- his ability to endless talking...
- his very special paintings
We met in Sao Bras de Alportel, soon after your family and mine returned from Africa - Niger and Namibia. - With children in exactly the same age... and a shared interest in Africa we became friends easily.
I still remember our first encounter - at a parents' evening for Antonio's and Inga's pre-school programme. We had met Antonio already and heard about his 'French' family who came from Africa like we did from the teacher ... And there they sat, Joao and Jolanda in their brightly coloured African clothes - easy to recognize. From then on we shared a lot of time together, whreeby Joao often preferred to stay at home and prepare the dinner, while we went on outings etc. with Jolanda and the kids.
Mara, my older daugher and Ariana's childhood friend said, that she still remembers Joao's smokey voice and his deliciously cooked food.
The last time I saw Joao was on the 6th of January, when I met him in the pharmacy in Sao Bras, just before I was about to leave to Ghana and he told me about his trip to Senegal.
