First Name Genny

Last Name Fonseca

Maiden Name Marcon

Spouse s Name Alvaro

Address R. Porto Rico, 1001 Granja Vianna

City Carapicuiba

State SP

Zip Code 06345-225

Hm Phone 55-11-4186-2103

Email gennymf@yahoo.com

I DO authorize sharing all of this information on the Class of 1961 Web Site.

Q1 What are some of your positive and some of your negative experiences with modern technology?

Although I feel a little Jurassic when I face some computer programs, I love what the computer can do for us: emails, chats and finding things. Google knows EVERYTHING! I can even "travel" to places I will never go to! I love its speed and comprehensiveness. I even give English classes via Skype! Still about communication, I use my cell phone to give or receive calls, or take an occasional photo, not like my children who can use theirs like computers or TVs! I think it’s amazing what this invention can do for us! Also, in terms of transport, automation, medicine, what computerized and diagnostic exams and surgeries can do for us was never dreamed of some years ago. They’re all welcome and I’m glad we can profit from them.

Q2 What are some of your most memorable experiences?

As a woman, I think being a mother, especially of your first baby, is something unforgettable! Now, with 4 grandchildren, I love it just as much. Isn’t it great to hear a baby say "Vovs" (Grandma in Portuguese) for the first time? Or to see him/her run in your direction and hug you? Of course, my stay in Loveland was memorable, too! It helped me "see" a different world and learn different things. It even helped me decide on a career because of the language I had learned!

Other special moments were, first, in 1996, before leaving the hospital, after a 3-bypass heart surgery, my cardiologist said I could restart my usual life: do exercise, walk, teach etc; the second was, 2 years later, after the cancer had been removed and months of chemotherapy, and a final biopsy, the oncologist said "I was clean". I know what to cry for joy means...although I also know very well, what to cry for frustration, pain, sorrow, hopelessness is...Well, life goes on and I’m alive and "kicking" (when arthritis allows). As we say here: "Bad things don’t die very quickly"

Q3 What fun activities/hobbies, etc. do you participate in?

After working for 43 years in the same private school of English, I retired, ready to do things I’d always wanted to have time for: again learning to play the piano (and again giving up after 2 years, to my teacher’s relief!), learning French (I just finished Intermediate 3), being more active in the charity work I do (a lot of odd things!), dedicating more time to gardening, being a member of the Sco Paulo Garden Club, where I have been a secretary for the last 4 years, participating in the Musical Appreciation course at the U. of Sco Paulo or History in Films, both of them given to 60-year-old people or older...we’re a bunch a white-haired teenagers! I do gym 3 times a week. I also teach via telephone or Skype every day, for a little time, though! I love going to the beach (an hour away), and walk, walk...going to the movies, and occasionally to a play or concert. At night, I watch some TV - one of my favorite programs is "House", to my husband’s displeasure! And OH! My dogs! I wouldn’t be able to live without Rufus and Linus!

Q4 What are some of the major changes in your life?

As I’ve mentioned, retirement was a big change and a chance to do a lot of things! Over 30 years ago, we moved to Granja, in the suburbs of SP, to experience a quieter way of life, to have a house surrounded by green, where we can have trees, flowers, birds, small monkeys, parrots, just a short distance from SP; we can go to "civilization" in 20 minutes, if traffic allows...Our children came and left; now, they have their own "nests". Martha, the oldest, has been living in Milan for 2 years, after 14 in Paris. We see each other once or twice a year or via Skype, using the camera, we can talk to her, her 2 boys and husband. Very practical! The boys, Sergio Ricardo and Marco Antonio, and their families live in SP. I can’t omit the fact that getting married was a special change in my life. Alvaro has been a true and patient friend, has helped me in all my "downs" and taught me important things - that’s why he’s the husband I like best!