Page 97 - Microsoft Word

I was born in S. Tome and Principe, Agua Grande district. My family was poor but, at that time, even in the colonial era, there was no lack of food, although money was not enough for many clothes and toys. On the farm Claudino Farro, far from the city, where my father was the foreman, the road was not asphalted: only rutted dirt. During the week a tractor collected cocoa and other agricultural products. To go out there, we usually had to travel about a twelve hours’ journey. Sometimes, I swam in the river, enjoying a good bath and even caught some shrimp. I loved to feel that smell of fresh air, that green and virgin landscape! There was a small garden on the edge of the house, where we planted a little of everything for our daily meals. Sometimes, in my thoughts, I still can see my father dressed as a military from head to toe. With a machete and a hook in hands, he constantly measured and oversaw the work in the bush. There was no doctor or hospital in the farm, but only a first aid station. These were our living conditions until I was six years. By this time, I started to ask for things that, at the time, my parents could not afford to buy me: a tricycle, a bicycle, good toys. Even today I can remember the joy I felt when my brother made my first scooter from mulberry wood and bearings. During my everyday journey to school, I often found damaged cars and at that time, for me, a mechanician was like a scientist. Mechanicians were the most intelligent men in the world! It was then when I fell in love with auto mechanics systems. Now, I work as a mechanician, doing repairs and maintenance of motors and I’m a happy person.

Page 97 - Microsoft Word - CMA BOOK_2

Page 97 - Microsoft Word - CMA BOOK_2