Hello, everyone! My name is Henry Sganzerla Lermen, I am eight years old, a globetrotter by heart, and am now a proud provisional member of Travelers’ Century Club, having visited almost 90 TCC countries and territories. My parents are both Brazilian, with Italian and Luxembourg roots, so I have three nationalities and three passports. I was born in Jordan and have lived in Japan, Brazil and Pakistan. We currently live in Malaysia.
I feel very lucky to be a third culture kid and a global citizen, as it gives me a sense of being myself wherever I go, and all the different environments, cultures and codes I experience contribute to my inner development. Travel, nature, sports, reading and LEGO are my passions. My native language is Portuguese, I speak fluent English and am making great progress in Mandarin, which I am studying. I can also speak a bit of Italian and know the numbers and some words in Urdu, Arabic and French.
To me, moving from country to country frequently means a wonderful opportunity to get to know people, celebrations and special meanings in different cultures, but there is also a sense that I do not have the time to dive deeply into any place. In Islamabad, Pakistan, I liked to practice rock climbing, as Pakistan has a mesmerizing nature. I studied in a small, local and excellent school, and my best friend was from Afghanistan. His family escaped the Taliban and is now beginning a new life in Canada. I miss him as we both enjoy reading and playing together. Even though we were from different parts of the world, our friendship was easy and there was no cultural or geographic barrier able to break it. I hope we remain friends for life.
In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, I practice sports, and study in a big, international school, with more than 70 nationalities. I have friends from the East and West there and we get along together, welcoming cultural diversity, different nationalities and languages. Last semester, we did mooncakes to celebrate the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, welcomed Diwali, and the Hindu Festival of Lights, played trick-or-treat on Halloween and enjoyed the Christmas season together at school!
My parents and I love to travel and explore the world. When I was two years old, we visited Pyongyang, in North Korea, and I was presented to beautiful Damascus, in Syria, when I was six. Recently, we visited Kabul, in Afghanistan, where we were very well welcomed, visited the Tomb of Babur and interacted with the incredible local people. I have lived mainly in Asia, and my favorite cities in the world are Istanbul, Dubai, Brussels, Rome, Osaka and Brasília. I would like to live in Turkey one day and want to speak fluent Italian, as my mom has Italian roots.
I love to be part of the TCC and am very excited to break more borders and become a full member soon! I hope the world becomes a better place if people have friends in different cultures and parts of the world. All the kids like to play, no matter the country where we come from, and as much as we can get to know other people’s places more, we can celebrate the beauty and the conscious respect for each other’s countries. We can be culturally and geographically different, but, somehow, we are all the same.
Happy travels to all of you from Henry!
