PAULA BOND, OPEN HAPPINESS

Paula is graviting inside the Space Station

Paula Bond. Astronaut. Greece.

I was born in Ithaca, Ulysses hometown in Greece. Living in an island, offers you a micro vision of life because you live isolated and your daily routines are very limited. This is the reason because of I decided to have a macro vision of the world and I became an astronaut. When you're in the space you feel like an ant and realize the magnitude of the universe. I like reading biographies and photography.

-Good morning, Paula Bond, and thanks to attend us.

-Good morning. Welcome to my country, the cradle of Mediterranean civilization.

-Thanks. It's always a pleasure being here. Well, to start this interview I would like to know how you define yourself.

-I'm an astronaut, a person who travels in space and tries to search answers to thousands of human questions.

-The most part of people, when they were children wanted to be an astronaut. How can you explain them to them?

-Yes, it's true. An astronaut or a firefighter. I don't know but perhaps an explanation could be that children are honest and maybe they perceive astronauts and firefighters like modern heroes. Everybody wants to be a superhero when he/she is a child because a superhero represents good things and because of they are still innocent, they have the superheroes like someone to imitate. A child always imitates the things that he/she sees. It's normal. They're under an age of knowledge and learning.

-Then, do you believe in heroes?

-Yes, of course. I was born in Ithaca, Ulysses and Penelope’s island and for the Greek culture heroes and gods have been something very important that has influenced our personality. Everybody can be a hero, because a hero isn't a superhero. A superhero is a modern creation, a person who has incredible powers but a hero is a person who resists adversity and fight against it. Then, in our society, we can find millions of examples of heroes.

-How do you feel being a member of The Bond's family?

-It's a good experience. The family is a group of fantastic people and I'm very proud of being a part of them. It has been a great experience to open happiness.

-How is a normal day with The Bonds?

-It's difficult to talk about a normal day with The Bonds because we're a family full of energy and creativity and then all is possible and they can change all things in a second but I must accept that I've improved my English with them.

-How long have you been studying English?

-English has been always very important in Greece, especially since the arrival of the massive tourism but I didn't study English at school, I studied Russian.

-Russian? It's not possible!

-Yes. Greece has a lot of things in common with the Russian culture. Both of us are orthodox and we haven't latin alphabets.

-Then, you speak two languages? Is it very difficult to do it?

-No it isn't. In fact, as many languages you speak is easier to learn the next. I have learnt this from The Bonds. All of them speak, at least, two languages and this is very important because a language is a powerful tool of communication and, in my case, two languages mean two alphabets, too.

-What can you explain about your life with The Bonds?

-It's a great experience. I spend my life up, in the sky and it's good to stay with your feet on the land and pay attention about the reality from another point of view. I've spent good moments with them.

-And after?

-When we started as a family, we arrived with different ideas, knowledge and perspectives. During our experience as a Bond's member, we have been working together and we've created a good team. This is something that we won't lose although every member of our family is going to take a different path but I'm sure that we're going to open happiness wherever we stay.

-Which is your best memory with the family?

It's very difficult to choose one but I remember two special moments: the day that King Kong took me and the family rescued me and the day I could explain to my family my opinion about the education in a closer future. It was a very interesting discussing.

-You like photography, don’t you?

-Yes, I do.

-What's your own favourite photo?

-When I was in NASA, training and being fit were two important things. We were in Arecibo, Puerto Rico. We swam a lot in the Caribbean Sea and I remember when I discovered a whale shark swimming next to me. I was astonished. Imagine! It lives in oceans and rivers and finds its prey with its sense of smell and kills them with their 3,000 teeth and it was there swimming with me.

-You have also said that you like reading biographies. Which is your favourite?

-Although I have read all the biographies of the most important astronauts like Neil Armstrong or Yuri Gagarin, my favourite biography is about Christopher Columbus, the man who sailed from Spain to the west in 1492 and believed that the Earth was round. After ten weeks, he found an island and he named it San Salvador. I like this biography because I don’t believe anything. It’s an incredible fake.

-How can you be sure about it?

-I don’t say this. Science says this. There are a lot of evidences that indicates it. It’s the same case than William Shakespeare or Miguel de Cervantes. It’s difficult to separate the myth and the reality.

-Who is your favourite character?

-I haven't got a special one although I like Captain Ahab of Herman Melville's Moby Dick. I would like to think that one day, in a closer future; someone will be able to read The Bond's Biography because it will mean that we have contributed to do something positive to our society.

-What title would you choose for this biography?

-Open happiness, because every day has been an open door to learn something new and to live unforgettable experiences.

-Do you like this message?

-Yes I do. It's a motivational message. It's the message that completes another one which I like a lot: When God closes a door, somewhere He opens a window.

-What will happen if it's not possible to open this window?

-Demolish the wall. Don't forget that if you don't find a way, you must create it.

-Thank you very much, Paula Bond.

-Thanks to you.

C'mon and lift me up to a better way.
Open up a smile on another face,

so I can feel something new.

 Butch Walker