Matilde Freitas

Activist, Artist, Brainstormer, Change Agent, Concerned citizen, Environmentalist, Global soul, Idea generator, Job-seeker, Policy maker, Student, World traveler, Writer/Editor

Currently studying Games and Multimedia, Climate-Change Activist, interested in Politics, developing a Video-Game called "Obituary" <3

Cats, Tea, Coffee, Politics, Life Stories, Chocolate, Calligraphy, Climate Change, Arts, Design, Baking, Sewing, People, Activism, Laughs, Great Food and Drinks, Poetry, Staring Into People's Eyes, Dark Humor, Performing, Inclusiveness, Excel Documents, Blank Notebooks, Hugs, Philosophy, ... I don't have to fill the 5k characters, right? 'Cause I'd rather talk about this over a cup of black tea and a nice slice of chocolate cake. Or maybe lying on the grass under a starry sky. Or at 4am over some unknown, begging to be discovered, city. Or on a plane or bus while going on a adventure to a far away land. Or even perhaps while we explore a abandoned place? Sorry, I'm just dreaming. Have I told you that I am also passionate about that?

The Importance of Learning a Foreign Language. It is said that at a certain point in time, language is always perfect: Since languages evolve and change as a response to their speakers’ necessities, at a certain point in time a language is perfect, having a word to express all the concepts its speakers might need. But words like “saudade” in Portuguese, “cafuné” in Brazilian Portuguese, “culaccino” in Italian, “wabi-sabi” in Japanese, don’t have any direct translation to any other language. Does that mean that non-Portuguese speakers are unable to feel the sadness and sorrow when someone they love is away and that Brazilians are the only ones that run their fingers through someone else’s hair to show love, care and affection? Or that outside of Italy glasses and cups don’t leave any marks on the table, and that Japanese people are the only ones that find beauty in the imperfect things and in the cycle of growth and decay? No, it doesn’t mean any of that. We do too. We just don’t have a word for it. Vergilio Ferreira, a Portuguese Writer, once wrote “It’s impossible to think outside of the language you’re thinking in.” Yes, it might be impossible to think outside of it, but you can feel outside of it. Our languages aren’t perfect. They have gaps, blank spaces. And the only way you can perceive it, is by learning a foreign language.

TED talks were always meaningful to me, offering a temporary balm for my never-ceasing curiosity and knowledge search. However, for many years, my English (or the lack of it) was a barrier only transposed due to the work of the Portuguese volunteers at TED. So, when my English proficiency allowed it, I decided to give back to my community and joined the PT Volunteer Translators Team at TED.

Having super complex discussions inside my head about stuff I probably should have said or done differently. Seriously. I could go on and on about how I shouldn't have had noodles for dinner yesterday just because the Hongxi Emperor, Emperor of China for a single year between 1424 and 1425 - belonging to the Ming Dynasty, died of a heart attack. #FunFacts (Okay, maybe not so funny 'cause he's dead...)