Tatiana, Den Bosch,Netherlands

Girl from Ipanema in Europe! Seize the day, don’t settle and never be afraid of change!

This brave, international girl, who definitely isn’t afraid of change and who is curious towards life itself, had a Portuguese-Brazilian upbringing in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She has lived most of her adult life out of Brazil, in USA, Mexico and Portugal, and today happily based in Netherlands. After all these years, if she could give an advice to herself on her 20th birthday it would be: “life is actually long, and you can reinvent yourself again and again.”

Check out Tati – what else we can learn from her and how she got her name !

Meet Tatiana, originally from Brazil, today living in Netherlands.

And how she got her name Tatiana, or “Tati” as called by her family and friends? On their first date Tati’s parents went to see Jaqcues Tati’s (French screenwriter, actor, filmmaker) movie and voilà, a few years later newborn baby girl was named accordingly after one of the greatest maestros of cinematography!

Tati was raised in a small and mostly Portuguese-origin family, so she had a joined Portuguese-Brazilian upbringing in Rio de Janeiro.  After school she lived in the USA over 10 years, sometime also in Mexico, but at some point, she just felt that it was time to cross the ocean and experience living in the country of her ancestors. She has always been a Portuguese citizen because of her mother so it was a quite self-evident decision to move to Portugal for a while and work on her photography and design projects fulltime which always had been a great dream of hers. After a few years she started to miss having more people around (photographer’s work can be pretty solitary) and so she applied to different kind of jobs. At that point she was already long-distance-dating her South African boyfriend who lived in Amsterdam, and in the process of looking for interesting companies, she applied and was offered a position in Netherlands – so everything really came together for her to move into same country with her spouse.

For living Tati has done many different things: she has a passion for photography, and she has published her creations of as art prints and products.

Go and check: www.thediscreetpeacock.com

She also loves people and traveling and most of her jobs has been focused on managing teams, communities and groups. Today, unfortunately, for the same reason as so many others working in the tourism industry, she has lost her job. But there is no doubt that she wouldn’t follow her own guidelines – when asked which advice Tati would give today to herself on her 20th birthday and what would she say to a woman at her age on the other side of the world, she puts her ideas firmly together: “Life is actually long and you can reinvent yourself again and again. Own your choices and move forward resolutely.”

Tati and Mirka know each other for years as they were pen pals in the 90’s. Tatiana says: “Mirka was my favorite and longest lasting pen friend ever! It was very sweet to grow up together through snail mail letters full of hopes and dreams and very teenage girls’ moments !”.

Mirka continues: ”Even at age of 16 I realized how amazing it was that there was a girl living in totally different country and culture, but we shared so many thoughts, joys and fears and yes, also about the boys! We lost our connection for some years but then I found her at the amazing world of Facebook. Luckily for me, she hadn’t changed her last name, so it was easy to find her!” We have never met face-to-face (yet) and I remember how we planned to meet at halfway in Portugal where her grandparents lived at that time. Oneday, oneday we will meet!”

EVERYDAY LIFE

Tati’s ordinary Tuesday starts with morning coffee and cuddling: “there is never too much cuddling!”, she says. In a normal Tuesdays she works, either goes to the office or works from home, and enjoys both because of the balance of social environment and a quiet introspect one alternately. In everyday life the worse and the most stressful thing for this South American girl is freezing, windy rain. And who could blame her.

Long walks, gardening, meditation and company of good people gives her energy.  As well as the other hobbies: traveling and photography. “Do I need a haircut?”, she asks herself in the front of the mirror. When needing a treat, her choice are blueberry pancakes.

Find out more about Tati’s hidden gems, Garden of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and Museum in Lisbon: www.gulbenkian.pt

Music plays a significant role in Tati’s life. Music is not just music: it is a source of inspiration, something that leads her thoughts to her family (one of her favorite artist is her own mother Silvia!), a way to enjoy, as she has always been a huge fan of live music, and also a way to reflect: “my favorite song is Wish you we here by Pink Floyd. It has made me question if my choices were being motivated by sincere wish to grow or stay stagnant cold comfort for change?”

DREAMS & FEARS, PAST & FUTURE

What are your dreams?
“Being able to travel again in a world that has become more respectful of people and resources.”

What is your worst fear?
“Losing loved ones.”

What is the most important advice you have received?
“Health is paramount. Everything else is manageable.”

What has been the greatest global invention of your time?
 “Internet? It’s from before my time, but only became significant in my life from the 90’s.”

Where would you donate your money/time to?
“Upliftment of humankind, education.”

Has the position of girls/women changed during your lifetime?
“Yes and no. I was already born at the time for great freedom for women – in the countries where I’ve lived. What has changed is women acting on that freedom.”

If you could, what advice would you give to your 20-year-old self?
”Life is actually long and you can reinvent yourself again and again.”

Where will you be in 10 years?
“Contributing positively to the lives of the people who make the world a better, kinder, more meaningfully connected place.”

What would you say to a woman of your age who lives across the world?
”Own your choices and move forward resolutely.”

And what about Christmas traditions? It is a mix of the best parts of all: because of Portuguese-origin of Tati’s family, the traditional codfish is a must, but there might also be a typical meat stew served for dinner of the 24th. For 25th lunch it is all about leftovers of previous evening and doing absolutely-nothing together.

STORY

”Last year I had the opportunity to fulfill a lifelong dream of seeing giraffes in the wild, up close. Nobody seems to care about giraffes when they are in Africa and can see lions and cheetahs, but I always admire how giraffes can be both strong and awkward, sensitive and wild. It took me about one hour of walking in parallel to the giraffes, back and forth, until they felt comfortable enough to let me stand around while they went about their day. It happened at sunset with the stunning mountains of South Africa as background, and it was just a perfect moment.”

QUICK ONES

Drink: wine and very close second Brazilian Caipirinha

Favorite food: Mexican, through and though

Delicacy: huitlacoche (ie. Mexican corn)

Restaurant/café: Degrau in Rio de Janeiro. “Where they know exactly what each member of family-Brasil will order as we walk in.”

Spice: chipotle

Feeling: contentment

Music: from rock to classic Indian, by way of Brazil. Always interested in seeing live music.

Scent: Majmua oil with jasmin and sandalwood

Travel destination: the one I haven’t been to yet

Book: 100 Years of Solitude (Gabriel García Márquez), Lord of the Rings (J.R.R Tolkien), Mythos (Stephen Fry), Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen).. “I can keep going!”

Movie: “Impossible to choose just one: Cinema Paradiso, Wall-E, Up, Coco, Lord of the Rings, The Remains of the Day, Star Wars (OT), Back to the Future, The end of the Affair, Inception, Interstellar… It is very difficult not to keep adding titles to this list!”.

Favorite Public Holiday: New Year’s Eve

Artist/Band: Pink Floyd, Queen, Ella Fitzgerald, Miltom Nascimento, Chico Buarque, Teresa Salgueiro/Madredeus, The Beatles, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. “And last but not least my mom, Silvia Brasil!”

Plant: Staghorn, Maiden’s hair and all variations of fern

Evening routine: moisturizer

Favorite piece of clothing: alpaca fingerless gloves in autumn and winter

Animal: giraffe

Scenery: mountains overlooking the sea or a lake

Sport: “does karaoke count?”

Motto: Embrace the present moment.