THE GORILLAZEN
About me
My name is Tiago and I'm from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I came to the UK in 2014 to do a PhD in Biological Science at Queen Mary University of London. My research tries to explain how turning a big forest into small islands of forest changes foodwebs. I've spent the greater part of the last two years travelling back and forth to Brazil. This has been the site of my research fieldwork where I have been sampling bats in the Atlantic forest. During my last fieldwork season, I spent lots of time daydreaming of what I would do after finishing my PhD. For some reason one of the most recurring images was of me going to Japan & travelling the country by bike.
In Rio I used my bike to go everywhere. It was always the best transport option and a great tool to control my Type 1 diabetes which I was diagnosed with at the age of 12. It was also a great escape, a moment where all worries disappear and you enter in that zen, meditative space, where all the solutions just seem to appear in front of you. I always enjoyed this state, and the fact that on a bike I didn't need to move myself really fast, but I could still be quick.
When I moved to London I wanted to get a bike right away. I borrowed one from a friend and on the first ride I crossed a red line, was stopped by the police and got fined. I ended up not using a bike for most of my time in London thereafter. As I was always going back to Brazil, it didn't appeal much to me the idea of buying a bike that I'd need to sell after just a few months.
Since I got back to London, the PhD has been very demanding, and if you don't push yourself to go out and move, you end up reading papers and working on the computer the whole time. I've gained back all the weight I had lost on fieldwork, I was becoming increasingly moody, restless, experiencing sleeping disturbances and my sugars were riding a rollercoaster. I needed to control my sugars again and channel all that energy into something positive. The solution was clear: it was time to get back on two wheels.
I bought a second hand road bike and started riding my bike to university. It took only two rides to ignite my love for cycling again. Suddenly I was making all these plans of going for longer rides, travelling to new cities, across to other countries all by bike. Did I tell you about my dream of going to Japan and getting a bike? Well, I'm doing it. But first things first: I will finish my PhD, I will train and I will learn how to maintain & repair my bike.
My name is Tiago and I'm from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I came to the UK in 2014 to do a PhD in Biological Science at Queen Mary University of London. My research tries to explain how turning a big forest into small islands of forest changes foodwebs. I've spent the greater part of the last two years travelling back and forth to Brazil. This has been the site of my research fieldwork where I have been sampling bats in the Atlantic forest. During my last fieldwork season, I spent lots of time daydreaming of what I would do after finishing my PhD. For some reason one of the most recurring images was of me going to Japan & travelling the country by bike.
In Rio I used my bike to go everywhere. It was always the best transport option and a great tool to control my Type 1 diabetes which I was diagnosed with at the age of 12. It was also a great escape, a moment where all worries disappear and you enter in that zen, meditative space, where all the solutions just seem to appear in front of you. I always enjoyed this state, and the fact that on a bike I didn't need to move myself really fast, but I could still be quick.
When I moved to London I wanted to get a bike right away. I borrowed one from a friend and on the first ride I crossed a red line, was stopped by the police and got fined. I ended up not using a bike for most of my time in London thereafter. As I was always going back to Brazil, it didn't appeal much to me the idea of buying a bike that I'd need to sell after just a few months.
Since I got back to London, the PhD has been very demanding, and if you don't push yourself to go out and move, you end up reading papers and working on the computer the whole time. I've gained back all the weight I had lost on fieldwork, I was becoming increasingly moody, restless, experiencing sleeping disturbances and my sugars were riding a rollercoaster. I needed to control my sugars again and channel all that energy into something positive. The solution was clear: it was time to get back on two wheels.
I bought a second hand road bike and started riding my bike to university. It took only two rides to ignite my love for cycling again. Suddenly I was making all these plans of going for longer rides, travelling to new cities, across to other countries all by bike. Did I tell you about my dream of going to Japan and getting a bike? Well, I'm doing it. But first things first: I will finish my PhD, I will train and I will learn how to maintain & repair my bike.
JAPAN 2018
Brazil has the biggest Japanese population outside of Japan. It all started in 1908, when the 718 immigrants arrived in the coast of Sao Paulo state. In the wake of XX century, Japan was a fast changing country, shifting from an economy based on produce exchange to a money-trading one. This led to many families to lose their land, and a general impoverishment. The solution was immigration. At the same time, Brazil was trying to develop its agricultural technology, and welcomed those families happy enough to do this journey. On the next 4 decades, it is estimated that about 200.000 Japaneses settled in Brazil. And with them, arrived their culture.
Fast forward to the 90's and all the kids would watch on the television was japanese TV shows (Jaspion, Changeman, Jiraya, Jiban, Lion Man, Black Kamen Rider), and a few years later, all the animes Saint Seya, Dragon ball, Yu Yu Hakusho. It was also common to study a bit of martial arts (Judo, Karate, Aikido), but what definitely got me hooked into japanese culture was their food. I remember clearly the first day I went to eat sushi with my mum. In my neighborhood there is a big Japanese community, and there was this awesome little restaurant, Kotobuki. I went there with my mum and I can still recall that magic moment. She told me we were trying some different food, raw fish, and I was really intrigued by it. I could say it was love at first bite!
As the years passed, my interest in Japanese culture was slowly growing: books, mangas, more food, samurai, history... everything I could lay my hands at.
When I was asked where in the world I'd like to go, the answer was always the same: Japan. I guess the fact that it was always the furthest point away from home, on the other side of the world and with such different culture helped with this fascination.
As my PhD progressed, me and my girlfriend decided that we deserve a trip after finishing this PhD. And that's when this whole cycling in Japan started taking shape.
Fast forward to the 90's and all the kids would watch on the television was japanese TV shows (Jaspion, Changeman, Jiraya, Jiban, Lion Man, Black Kamen Rider), and a few years later, all the animes Saint Seya, Dragon ball, Yu Yu Hakusho. It was also common to study a bit of martial arts (Judo, Karate, Aikido), but what definitely got me hooked into japanese culture was their food. I remember clearly the first day I went to eat sushi with my mum. In my neighborhood there is a big Japanese community, and there was this awesome little restaurant, Kotobuki. I went there with my mum and I can still recall that magic moment. She told me we were trying some different food, raw fish, and I was really intrigued by it. I could say it was love at first bite!
As the years passed, my interest in Japanese culture was slowly growing: books, mangas, more food, samurai, history... everything I could lay my hands at.
When I was asked where in the world I'd like to go, the answer was always the same: Japan. I guess the fact that it was always the furthest point away from home, on the other side of the world and with such different culture helped with this fascination.
As my PhD progressed, me and my girlfriend decided that we deserve a trip after finishing this PhD. And that's when this whole cycling in Japan started taking shape.
What is this blog all about?
I love a good story and I always enjoyed writing. In my PhD I write lots, and in English. This was a huge challenge in the beginning and I feel that it is improving with every paragraph I write. But all this scientific writing is a bit boring and I feel I need other ways to explore my creativity and sharpen my style of writing in English. This is one of the reasons I have for creating this blog.
Another reason is to document the pursuit of my goal of cycling through Japan. The short stories are reflections and account of some of my rides, and the experience of living in London and avoiding the use of any fuel based type of transport.
And least but not the last, Gorilla Zen is also the name of a comic book story I've been writing, and I hope that soon you'll be reading about it.
Another reason is to document the pursuit of my goal of cycling through Japan. The short stories are reflections and account of some of my rides, and the experience of living in London and avoiding the use of any fuel based type of transport.
And least but not the last, Gorilla Zen is also the name of a comic book story I've been writing, and I hope that soon you'll be reading about it.