November Favourites | 2013 ❤

November was so busyyy, I need a break! Unfortunately the only break I'm going to have is going to be spent studying for my future exams, boohoo.

Amidst all the books, essays and exams, I met Carolina Torres. Who? Oh, just the funniest and nicest girl ever.

(Carolina (L) and me (R))

She participated in 'Ídolos' back in 2009 (a Portuguese reality show based on the British show 'Pop Idol'), she was a presenter in 'Curto Circuito' (Portuguese talk show) and now she's part of a rock/punk rock band, THE GIRL IN THE BLACK BIKINI.

She went to my university to play with her band (or part of it) in order to support the E list (candidate to the student association and the one that ended up winning, obviously). I was really happy to meet her and blown away by how nice she is! She asked me what I was studying there and I told her I was taking Language, Literature and Culture or, more specifically, English and North-American Studies. She told me she would have liked to have taken that course which, of course, made me smile.

The last favourite of this month is also related to my university. Our grades go from 0 (awful) to 20 (excellent) and I managed to score a 19 on my English essay!

I was honestly surprised, I wasn't expecting to have such a high score - yay me! (hopefully more will follow).

Songs I had on replay:

• Little Mix - Move;
• Atreyu - Wait For You;
• Lana Del Rey - Summertime Sadness (Cedric Gervais Remix);
• Sleeping With Sirens - Congratulations (ft. Matty Mullins);
• Sleeping With Sirens - James Dean & Audrey Hepburn (Acoustic);
• Atreyu - Blow.

December up next, happy Saturday! x

Portugal vs. Pepsi

If you don't pay attention to football, you probably don't know that Portugal played against Sweden last Friday (15th) and this Tuesday (19th). Portugal won 1-0 on the first match and 2-3 on the second thus qualifying for the World Cup in Brazil.

All of the goals were scored by Cristiano Ronaldo and even I, being a girl and knowing very little about football, thought the goals were amazing and a slap in the face to those who critisice him.

And by those who critisice him, I'm refering to Pepsi. They had the unfortunate idea to post shocking images of a doll representing Ronaldo tied up in a train rail, another with needles stuck to him like you do in voodoo and a last one with a Pepsi can smashing his head. All that just to attract the Swedish customers. I would post the images but I don't really want them on my blog; you can search for them if you want to, I'm sure you will easily find them.

This obviously infuriated the Portuguese people who have been saying that they will never drink Pepsi again and that Coca-Cola is much better. They too edited some images to fight back the ones from Pepsi but once again, I won't post that.

Our national airline (TAP - Transportes Aéreos Portugueses) has even been considering removing Pepsi from their services and keep Coca-Cola instead!

(Source)

In my opinion, this has been blown out of proportion. Pepsi screwed up, it was an awful idea, Ronaldo owned the game and Pepsi apologised and removed the images. They shouldn't have even thought of doing such a thing in the first place but they did and unfortunately it was necessary for us to prove them wrong in order for them to realise what they had done.

The company has apologised and people keep bringing it up and beating them up for it. Enough is enough, I say. I agree that they shouldn't have done that and I'm solidary with the ones who rioted against but it's time to let it go. I'm sure Ronaldo will prove what he's made of once again during the World Cup.

Amongst all the drama, there's always the humourous side of it. A Portuguese humourist called Pepsi to let them know he's angry and that "Ronaldo is the best"! He sometimes speaks Portuguese but the call is in English so you will understand everything (his accent is obviously fake, he's portraying one of his many characters).

Peace and love!

Happy Thursday x

I, Nadia, Wife of a Terrorist - Review

The last review I wrote was in September about Dewey's Nine Lives. The family friend that I talked about in the previous review also lent me this book which I'm highly thankful for.

(Ahh, Portuguese words!)

It tells the story of a real girl, Nadia (fictional name), who lives in Algeria and found herself in the middle of the Islamist terrorists and the authorities after marrying a local hooligan who later became an emir for GIA (Armed Islamic Group of Algeria). She agreed to tell her story to Baya Gacemi aslong as all the names of people/places were changed in order to protect the ones she loves.

You will read about her sufferings and how she was reduced to a slave by a terrorist group always on the run. She had to cook for them and give them shelter but she was forbidden to talk to them. Her husband obliged her to always use her khimar (headscarf that hangs down to just above the waist) and to say her prayers every day. She was also prohibited to bathe.

The stories she tells can sometimes be shocking but it gives you the real perspective of what's actually happening there (rape, murder, injustice). It's a good and easy read, I recommend it.

Happy Thursday! x

October Favourites | 2013 ❤

This month I was overwhelmed with essays and tests so I didn't have much time to sit down and type a new post. I'm afraid this won't change much in the next months so bare with me.

At the beginning and end of this month my family celebrated two birthdays: my mother's (6th) and mine (28th). She opted to invite her closest friends over and have a mini-party for her birthday while I decided to go out to dinner. You can read more about my birthday HERE.

Another good thing this month was one of my best friends moving in with her boyfriend! They found a cozy little flat which is 5/10 minutes away from my house. They invited me and the rest of our friends over for lunch after they settled in and we had the best of times.

(My friend's dog, Sissy)

(Chocolate with cream crêpe)

Songs I had on replay:

• Mindless Self Indulgence - Get It Up;
• Slimmy - Um Anjo Como Tu;
• Apocalyptica - I Don't Care ft. Adam Gontier;
• Apocalyptica - I'm Not Jesus ft. Corey Taylor;
• Emblem3 - 3000 Miles;
• 2NE1 - I Am The Best;
• John Legend - All Of Me;

Hope you had a good month, happy Friday! x