Old News

Here are the news I've published in this site a longer time ago.

// **17-03-2007 -**// I've started my internship last week (Monday 5th). Everything has been fine during my internship so far, except that they've changed the subject of my internship. Nowadays, I'm working on the development of a web site for managing employees' personal contacts. In the end, this personal address book will be integrated with another software that manages Atos Origin's contacts (about 60,000 employees). It is a nice subject too and I am learning a lot. What is interesting is that I've already requested vacation! :-o But that's just because we're thinking of travelling to East Europe during Easter. ;-)

// **26-02-2007 -**// Happy and said at the same time!! :-/ Happy because I've lived great moments with my new fiancée, Hellen. We've engaged here in Lyon, just in the same day when we completed 2 years of dating. It was an amazing night in that restaurant lyonnais. We've also traveled to Grenoble, Geneve, Annecy, Paris and Rome. And, unfortunately, from Rome she went back to Brazil, to start her master course. But we know she is doing the right thing by going to Brasilia and taking her master course. It may be important for us in the future. So, I'm said she's gone, but I'm happy for us together. I'll never forget those 20 days we spent together here in Europe. It was just amazing! ;-)

// **11-02-2007 -**// My girlfriend has finally arrived and I am very happy for that!! She arrived in Geneve (Switzerland) in February 2nd and we stayed there in the house of friends of mine (Alexandre and Dayse) for the whole weekend. Then, she came with me to Lyon. Unfortunately, I'm not yet on vacation. So, I have to share my time between my studies and my girlfriend. Yesterday, we went to Grenoble, so that Hellen could know the city and visit her friends (Ana Paula and Alessandro). It was an amazing Saturday. We climbed up a mountain by car and it was snowing there. It was the first time Hellen saw snow and she was very happy (and cold :-/). She will stay here at Lyon until February 17th. In February 18th we will travel to Paris and then, in February 22nd we're going to Rome. It will be certainly amazing!!! ;-)

// **23-01-2007 -**// Today, it snowed! It was the first snow of the year here in Lyon. I hope it doesn't get to cold from now on, because I was really enjoying the hot winter we were living here. :-)

// **03-01-2007 -**// I have had a nice Christmas in the house of a French family named Ghizzo. They are friends of my "Famille d'Accueil" (Welcome Family) and they invited me to the Christmas dinner with their family. It was an amazing night full of typical food and presents. I missed only my real family and my girlfriend. For the New Year Day, I have travelled to Barcelone (Spain) with some Brazilian friends. It was a very nice trip!! Barcelone was very crowdy (full of tourists) for the end of 2006. After, on January 1st, we have travelled to Montpellier (France). There, I've discovered one of the most beautiful historical cities I've ever seen in Europe. Full of touristic places, organized, clean and near from the Mediterranean Ocean, Montpellier is really amazing!! I'd say I've even liked it more than Barcelone. Now I'm back to Lyon, but next trip is already scheduled for February 18th, when I will be going to Paris and Rome with my girlfriend Hellen, who is coming from Brazil for a 21-days sojourn in Europe. It will certainly be another great trip through Europe. I'm already looking forward to February 18th. ;-)

// **22-12-2006 -**// Well, it's been a long time since I've written some news here. Well, during that time, I went to a traditional party which is called "Fête de la Lumière" (it was very nice seeing all those lights everywhere in the city). But I had also lots of work to do. I had 2 exams (the first one was fine, but the other... :-( ) and lots of projects during that period. Fortunately, they've all gone and, just today, my vacations start! 8-) But I've just got some books to study for the next 6 exams that will take place during the 6 weeks that follow these vacations. So, not too much to commemorate. :-/ Ah!!! I was almost forgetting to say that I've found an internship here in France. It is a big company called [[http://www.atosorigin.com|Atos Origin]], at Lyon. From 5th Mars until 31st July, I'm gonna work there in a project to develop an administration Web portal for the Louvre Museum. That's nice, isn't it!? I'm very happy for that opportunity God has given me. That's it! ;-)

// **30-11-2006 -**// Yesterday and the day before yesterday (Tuesday and Wednesday) I've worked (with some Brazillian friends) as translator French-Portuguese in a conference on industries that develop techniques to protect the environment. The conference took place at Lyon and it is called "Eurexpo - Sallon Pollutec". It was a different but very nice experience, where I could improve my French and learn a little bit on the technologies used for protecting the environment. Brazil was invited to be there by Pollutec (the organizer of that event).

// **18-11-2006 -**// Ahhh...!!! I forgot to tell you that, last weekend (Saturday 11th), we went to a party at El Mambo, where there was I nice French band playing Samba songs. They singed very well in Portuguese and they played nice too. It was a nice opportunity to practice my Samba dancing skills. :-) And after the Samba party, we could eat "feijoada" for free, made by an Italien guy, in the restaurant inside El Mambo. But that was possible only because we met a gentle Brazilian woman that worked in the restaurant. ;-) And she decided to give us a gift. =) It was one of the most funny nights here in France!!

// **18-11-2006 -**// I think being away from Brazil is making me valorize more our national culture. For example, here I listen even more to Brazilian rhythms, such as Samba and Forró. Furthermore, it was here where I learned how to dance Samba and I've just discovered an interesting instrument: the "Pandeiro". There's a friend of mine that came from Brazil too (named Flávio Matias), which brought his pandeiro to France. Then, once he brought that instrument to my room and I started trying to play it. And I quickly realized it's a difficult instrument. However, I've also realized that it is a nice and versatile instrument, which can be used to play Samba, Choro, Partido Alto, Baião, Funk, Samba Reggae, Electronic ([[http://www.pandeiro.pro.br/ritmos.html|listen to some of those rythms here]]) and many other musics. The pandeiro was even used in orchestras' presentations already. 8-O There are many pandeiristas (pandeiro players) in Brazil. Listen to some of the most known ones playing the pandeiro by clicking [[http://www.pandeiro.com/videos.php|here]]. Now I want to know how to play it, but it would be easier if I were in Brazil. However, if I were in Brazil, maybe I would never have been so attracted by this instrument. So, I think I'm in the right place! ;-)

// **18-11-2006 -**// Last Thrusday (16/Nov) we went watch a presentation made by "Orchestre National de Lyon" at the "Auditorium de Lyon". It was a concert for students of this region and it was free. It was really interesting and beautiful. After that, we found a party on the street that commemorated the arrival of the "Beaujolais Nouveau", which is a regional wine launched every year by the 3rd week of November. It was quite a private party, promoted by local restaurants, but there should have been a big traditional party, where the wine should be freely served to the population. But, unfortunately, this year they didn't have enough money to do it. :-( So, it was a break in a 15-year tradition. It's a pitty!! :-/

// **13-11-2006 -**// Yesterday, I've visited my "Famille d'Accueil" for the second time. They invited me for a lunch and to comemorate their son's birthday. Théo has completed 11 years last Tuesday (November 7th). Actually, I didn't know it had been his birthday on Tuesday. I was just told about it when I arrived there. But it was a really nice Sunday. There were some friends of the family there and we started eating at 12pm just until 4pm. :-o Amazing, isn't it?! :-) And after that, I went to the church. It had been a long time since I had gone to the church. Two or three weekends. So, it was nice going there again.

// **07-11-2006 -**// Last week we were on vacation for the Toussaint. So, we decided to go to the South of France again, and visit other cities, such as Avignon, Aix-en-Provence, Marseille and Montpellier. We rented a car and we were 4 Brazilians (Ricardo, Karla, Flávio and me). We left Lyon on October 31st (Tuesday) and, firstly, we visited Avignon. It is an amazing historical city, from the Middle Age. Then, we went to Aix-en-Provence, but there is no much to see and to do there. But we found a friend of Ricardo (Emily) and she's given us a tip: "go visit Cassis!". Then we went there, for it was very close to Aix-en-Provence, and it was really nice there!!! The city is very beautiful and we took a boat trip there for 1 hour. That's when we decided to let Montpellier for another trip, because we really wanted to stay longer at Cassis. Finally, we went to Marseille, which is a very beautiful city too. Plenty of nice places and monuments, we were really enjoying the city. Unfortunately, Friday had arrived and we had to go home. But, during the whole trip, we took many photos, which I published in the [[http://www.alissonwilker.blogspot.com|blog]]. You should go there and check it out! ;-)

// **25-10-2006 -**// Today I've had my first class of the dancing course. Yes, that's it! I'm taking a course of Salsa here at INSA-Lyon. Really nice, isn't it!? It was very nice that first class. Unfortunately, our next class will only take place on November 7, because next week we'll be on vacation. I feel like going to a Salsa party next Friday. :P Just to practice my Salsa dancing skills. :D

// **09-10-2006 -**// Yesterday was a very different and nice day. I went to the house of a family that lives in Lyon and to whom I was introduced by a program called Famille d'Accueil (promoted by the association [[http://brasilparati.free.fr/|Brasil Para Ti]]). I had lunch with them there and they seemed to be very kind people. I have published some photos of that event on my [[http://www.alissonwilker.blogspot.com|blog]]. Besides, after leaving their house, I've found a nice evangelical church, which is named Ciel Ouvert. There are plenty of Brazilians there (even the shepherd is Brazilian!), and that made me feel a little bit at home. However, the worship was given in French. But it was very nice to be there! Gotta go there again next Sunday. ;-)

// **25-09-2006 -**// Classes began today! The first class was quite nice, but the professor talked too fast and, besides, students didn't make silence. They talked a lot with each other during the class and, sometimes, I couldn't even hear what the professor was saying. So, I could only follow the professor during the initial 1 hour of course. After that, it was very difficult to continue paying attention on him. Tomorrow I'll have another class at 8a.m. :S

// **25-09-2006 -**// This last weekend we went to Munich, to see the OktoberFest 2006. It was quite a nice trip, but Munich is very far away from Lyon. So it was a very hard trip too. We stayed in a camping there and we were 10 brazilians again, in 2 rented cars. The photos are published in the blog.

// **18-09-2006 -**// Really happy for I have had another paper accepted for publication. The paper is "A large scale faulttolerant
grid information service", accepted for publication in Middleware for Grid Computing (MGC2006). It's the same conference where I presented the paper "Accurate Autonomous Accounting in Peer-to-Peer Grids" last year, in Grenoble, France. But, this year, the conference will be held in november, in Melbourne, Australia. I don't know yet which of the authors is going to present the article there. I hope it will be me! :P

// **15-09-2006 -**// Today was our last day in the Summer Course of French at INSA. We have made a little party, with different kinds of wine and cheese. It was quite good. Photos were posted to the blog. Next week I'll be free. But, on Monday 25th, classes begin in Informatics Departement. I'm enrolled in the 4th year of informatics here at INSA.

// **04-09-2006 -**// Last weekend (1st to 3rd September), we (9 Brazilians and I) rented 2 cars and travelled to the South of France. We visited three amazing cities: Cannes, Nice and Monaco. The trip was very pleasant and calm. The only difficulty was to find a good place to stop the cars and sleep at night, as we had no reservation in any hostel. The solution was to sleep in the cars and also in camping tents in parkings around the city. But, finally, everything worked out fine. The photos of this trip will be published soon in the blog, whose link may be found in the [[alissonwilker:homepage#personal_info|Personal Info]] Section of this site.

// **29-08-2006 -**// Last weekend I travelled to Genève, Switzerland. I went there to visit a friend of mine (Alexandre) and his wife (Dayse) and get the notebook I had bought at Dell Switzerland before I left Brazil. The trip was very interesting and I put some photos at the blog. The link to the blog is at the [[alissonwilker:homepage#personal_info|Personal Info]] Section of this site. I'm thinking of travelling to the South of France this weekend with some friends, while it is still a little bit hot. There are some interesting beaches to visit there. Maybe we're going to visit Monaco too.

// **23-08-2006 -**// In France! :-) After 3 flights and a long trip, I've arrived at INSA-Lyon with 4 friends of mine last Sunday (August 19th). Everything is all right here and the weather is hot. There are people from everywhere in the world here and most of them have been surprisingly sympathic (all exchange students, just like me). For now, I share the room with an 18-year-old guy from Vietnam. He is a good person and is going to stay at INSA for 5 years. Unfortunately, I do not have either a digital camera or a notebook with me yet. But, as soon as I have it (probably next week), I will post some photos on my Flickr album and the blog that I created specially for this sojourn in Europe. The links for the Flickr and the blog may be found in the [[alissonwilker:homepage#personal_info|Personal Info]] Section.

//**18-08-2006 -**// Tomorrow is the day. The day in which I'll be leaving for a long sojourn abroad. I'm both excited and sad. :-? Excited because I think it is a great and unique opportunity, and also because I think it will be an amazing moment in my life. But sad because it's not easy being apart of so much loved people, such as my parents, brother and sister, relatives, girlfriend and friends. :-/ But I'll be fine, because God will be with me everywhere I go! ;-)

//**05-08-2006 -**// Happy birthday to me!! :P Thanks to my friends for all live messages and scraps I've received through Orkut. Thank you all very much!! Thanks to my family and girlfriend for being so kind to me. And, specially, thanks to God for allowing me to get older once more. :) It's been a very happy day!

//**02-08-2006 -**// Today is my last day in Campina Grande. I've arrived here in June 2002, in order to begin my graduation course in Computer Science at UFCG (Universidade Federal de Campina Grande). I consider that it was worth it leaving my parents' house when I was only 17, because here I think I had a better professional qualification, as well as I knew a lot of special people, specially in the LSD (Laboratório de Sistemas Distribuídos). However, I cannot say it was an easy task living here, apart from my family, friends and girlfriend, who live in João Pessoa. Unfortunately, once more I will be moving away from them in 15 days, when I'll be going to France and, probably, stay there for at least 1 year. But, I do think it will be worth it too. Gonna miss you all in Brazil!

//**28-07-2006 -**// Half-happy day: i) today, my girlfriend is graduating. She has just finished her graduation course in Civil Engineering. Congratulations, amor! God bless you in this new phase of your life and I hope you take a nice Master course soon. ii) unfortunately, my grand-grand-father died today. I hadn't much contact with him, but he was a good and very strong person. He was 103 years old. Amazing, isn't it?! God be with you, grand-grand-father Abel.

//**27-07-2006 -**// Today is a very happy day!! Many reasons for commemorating:
i) a friend of mine, named Eliane, has just known she is pregnant!! That's great, Eliane! I hope you'll be very happy with your husband and new baby. :-) ii) I've just received the visa I was waiting for!!! From now on, I have permission to stay in Europe for one year. :-D iii) my friends from university and I are going to commemorate my exchange. We will go to the best pizzeria in Campina Grande (Forno de Pizza). ;-)

//**19-07-2006 -**// From now on, I am a Sun Certified Programmer for the Java 2 Platform, Standard Edition 5.0. :-D I've gone to Recife with two friends of mine (Xico and Neto) to take the certification test. Xico also passed the exam, but, unfortunately, Neto didn't. :-\ Try again and you'll surely pass it, Neto!! ;-)

//**17-07-2006 -**// I've just received the confirmation from CAPES of my scholarship to study at INSA-Lyon. :-) The next step is to go to Recife and ask a visa for one year in France. ;-) I'll probably do that next Friday.

//**01-07-2006 -**// Brazil's soccer team has lost the quarter-finals match against "Les Bleues" (France) and has been eliminated from the World Cup 2006, in Germany. :-/ The result was France "1" and Brazil "0". Brazil's team played no soccer throughout the whole competition and it was not different against France. Although full of stars, such as Ronaldinho Gaúcho, Ronaldo, Adriano and Roberto Carlos, the team seemed to need a fine tune that could not be reached by Parreira (coach) and his assistants. Unfortunately, it was not this time that we could win the World Cup for the sixth time. But I feel we are getting closer. Maybe in 2010! ;-)

//**28-06-2006 -**// No time for happiness! I'm really said for I've just known my cousin has a serious cancer. God bless her and her children. :-(

//**28-06-2006 -**// Today it's my girlfriend's birthday. Congratulations to you, //amor//! =) God bless you more and more! :*

//**21-06-2006 -**// I've passed the contest for DATAPREV (Empresa de Tecnologia e Informações da Previdência Social) in the 14th position. :-) Unfortunately - or fortunately (I don't know yet) - I will probably not be able to get the job, as I've not graduated yet. A second reason for not going to work there is that I will probably get the scholarship to study at INSA-Lyon by September/2006. So, I won't be able to go to France and also get the job here. Anyway, it is worth the experience. ;-)

//**21-06-2006 -**// After spending several nights awake, now it's easier for you (reader) to post a message in this site. Take a look at [[alissonwilker:homepage#post_your_comments|Post Your Comments]] and try it out! Moreover, my bookmarks are now being held by [[http://del.icio.us/|del.icio.us]]. Take a look also at [[alissonwilker:homepage#bookmarks_and_placemarks|Bookmarks and Placemarks]] Section and enjoy it! ;-)

//**13-06-2006 -**// Today, my girlfriend Hellen and I have completed one year and 4 months together. We are both very happy and we thank God for that. I like you very much "mô"! :-)

//**13-06-2006 -**// Today, Brazil has stopped to see our team playing against Croatia in the World Cup 2006. Fortunately, Brazil's team won the match (1x0) :-D However, it was not easy. :-( Brazil's team did not convince the brazilians and Ronaldo did nothing at all during the match. We hope next match will be better. And it will next Sunday, against Australia. 8-O Go on Brazil!!! ;-)

//**11-06-2006 -**// Yesterday I went to one of the best São João parties ever! :-D It was the 10th edition of a São João organized by Sebrae, and it was called Forró Zébrai. It took place at Boîte da Caixa and the group that animated the party is called Tamborete de Forró. They are so good Forró players that I even bought their first CD. It costed only R$ 5,00. ;-) What a bargain! :-o

//**06-06-2006 -**// Today this site has been accessed for the first time from outside Brazil! :-D Yuuuppii!!! LOL The accesses came from Germany (18 accesses) and from France (1 access). And what a coincidence! The access from France came just from Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1. Exactly the city where I'll be in a few months! :-P I have no clue about who accessed it from France, but from Germany I believe it was a friend of mine who lives there and for which I gave the link.

//**05-06-2006 -**// I found a very good French site on the Internet. It is [[http://www.tv5.org/|TV5 Monde]]. I think I can really profit from its contents for improving my study on French. Check it out! :-)

//**04-06-2006 -**// I've just found a place to buy my notebook in Europe. I was looking for a cheap and accessible country where I could by a notebook with a keyboard not so different from QWERTY. And I found it! It's name is Germany. As soon as I get all documents necessary for the trip, I'll surely buy a notebook at [[http://www.dell.com|Dell.com]]. ;-)

//**01-06-2006 -**// This morning I've eaten the most delicious chocolate ever. Directly from Europe! I just can't remember its name, but I know that it was a Lindt chocolate (www.lindt.com). Check it yourself! ;-) I wish Hellen were here to taste it too. :-(

//**01-06-2006 -**// I feel good about this site! But it's 2am right now and I should go sleep. :-o I think it will be camera ready in a few days. =)

//**24-05-2006 -**// Today, I've received the acceptation letter from the INSA (Institut National des Sciences Appliquées), located at Lyon, France, where I will be studying from August/2006 to August/2007. It will be great!!! ;-)