Hello!
My name is André. I’m the trainers team coordinator in Malle. Being a trainer’s team coordinator has always been my dream, ever since I applied, got selected and now I go to sleep still thinking about the PEACE camp. Before that I was at this year’s VSS as a trainer with some fellow trainers who are also in this year’s teams. Go teams! Before that there was Covid, and then my main hobbies were playing guitar and padel (that’s a sport, not a music instrument). Before that I did a lot of theater, mainly improv. Before that I was doing all kinds of volunteering for AFS that not only drained my body batteries but also once, at a camp, my car batteries. Before that I did a masters in Software Engineering and couldn’t attend Portuguese VSS because I was working on my thesis on computational humor. Before that I did an AFS exchange in Norway, in a village near Tromsø. Before that I was super shy unless you were talking about my football club, the clearly bestest, Benfica. Before that I played the violin, but that was a long time ago. Before that I won a national writing competition – I obviously peaked at 11 years old, which is why this introduction is backwards. Before that I had my first intercultural meeting when I met a german boy and his family, in the summer of 1997, when I learned how to count to 10 in German so I could keep the tally of the football matches we played on the beach. Before that I couldn’t speak, but was adorable (maybe I peaked at 4?). Before that my parents had it easier.
But let’s live for today and focus on tomorrow and a PEACEful future…
