Same clothes

In PI, wearing the same clothes the next day is a crime. It makes us assume you didn't take a shower in the morning (another crime) or got drunk the night before and went straight to work in the same clothes, therefore committing two crimes in one day beyond a shadow of a doubt. We are a country obssessed with personal hygiene.

So it's been my observation that it's not the same case here in Czech Rep. When one co-worker showed up the next day in exactly the same outfit, I assumed she would recite a litany of excuses. She didn't. Then I noticed another Czech co worker doing the same pattern. This leads me to assume this is the norm here.

Of course I'm just assuming. I could be wrong. And even if I'm right, there's actually nothing wrong with wearing the same clothes. It's one's prerogative. Just as long as you wont pollute the air you and I will co-exist in peace.

Leche this flan

Forgive the other meaning of the word if you speak Spanish. What supposed to be a very easy dessert to prepare gave me nightmares- figuratively and literally. Leche flan or custard is ever present during fiestas and noche buenas in PI. I thought it would be a good dessert for the dinner with my co-teachers last Monday though it isn't actually all-Filipino. It's a Spanish legacy to the Philippines.

I wanted a lighter version of the heavyweight 12-yolk original recipe. Twelve egg yolks made me visualize the clogging of the girls' arteries and I refused to be responsible for that especially when two of them are trying hard to kick out so much unwanted flabs. I also didn't want to steam it because we don't have a steamer. Through constant food blog-hopping I found just the right recipe here. I'm not sure about the caramel though. It's the reason why I had nightmares but I'm not going to relive the experience here. Another blog gave me the solution: Caramelized Sugar--1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup hot water. Melt sugar in hot water and boil on low heat until syrupy. Pour in mold and let cool to harden.

Ta-dan, leche flan galore! The girls were all praises. This flan was gone in less than five minutes but sweet of them, they actually left a small slice for A. Dinner was a success. Now they are craving not just for glass noodles but for springrolls, adobo, and this custard as well.

In two weeks it will be the Aussie's turn to feed the hungry. And I'm hungry already.

Snow in Sahara...er Svatoslav

Mamka called to tell us it snowed in Svatoslav today. It's a tiny village near Brno where the family has a weekend house. Snow in October?

With the accelarating rate of Mother Nature's inconsistencies, I wouldn't be surprised if snow would fall on the Sahara. This thought reminds me of Anggun's song from way back. I searched it at You Tube and voila!



I love this song but honestly, I shudder at that thought that it would snow where and when it shouldn't. Now snow is falling in October. What's next?

What to cook?

This Monday I'll be cooking for four people from different countries. My four co-teachers are coming to our flat for dinner and they requested me to prepare an all-Filipino/Oriental meal. This, plus the fact that two of them are trying to eat only healthy food, makes me virtually hyperventilate. What in the world am I going to prepare?

One of them is craving for glass noodles. That means cooking "bihon" is a done deal. The others said they will eat anything I prepare, which even makes it difficult to narrow down the list. One thing that's sure is they will appreciate to have a healthy meal on their plate.

This drove me to experiment in the kitchen last night. Adobo is the "national dish" in PI. Everyone eats or cooks it, but it is mainly meat and spices. I wanted something with veggies in it. What about adding veggies in adobo? Now that's an idea! I immediately raided our fridge and found carrots, beans and broccoli. The result?

Adobo with a twist! Having basmati rice to go with it was perfect. To cook or not to cook this on Monday? Hay, kakapoy baya....

Adieu to summer...and fall?

It's Friday! Fridays are the best days of the year. They were so insignificant to me for five years in Cebu because I didn't have to follow usual office hours then. I couldn't relate to The Cure's song. Now it's the one going on and on in my head the moment dusk settles in on Thursdays.

What's so exciting about this weekend is we are just going to stay at home and do nothing. No shopping for furniture at Europark or Ikea. No friends to come over from Brno like last weekend. No long train ride to Tisnov to visit the family. Don't get me wrong though. I like hanging out with these friends and of course, it's given that I love the family. You just need to be a couch potato sometimes especially on cold days like this weekend.

It's mid October and it's already 1 to 8 C in Prague. This morning I had to don my long coat and knee-high winter boots to fight off the cold. Last year October was so warm I remember I was wearing flip-flops at this time. Fall is supposed to be the season in between summer and winter, meaning it shouldn't be too warm or too cold. Mother Nature must be menopausing for her to have hormonal imbalances and I'm afraid we are the delinquent children to blame.

So I'll be a potato for the weekend. What will you be? A carrot?

Asian Food Shop's new address

From Palackeho Namesti they are now located at Francouzska 466/66, Praha 10. To get there, take tram number 4, 22 or 23. Tram stop is Krymska. You have to walk back a bit from the stop.

Take note of their opening hours:

Mon- Sat : 10am to 8pm
Thurs : CLOSED
Sun : 3pm to 8pm

Visit http://www.asianfood.cz/ for more details.

I already went there a few weeks ago and hoarded once again. The dried mangoes are a bit more expensive now but at least you can buy them when you have the craving. I'm thinking of asking the owner if she could import MILO from PI. From dried mangoes and Funchum, A's now longing for this tonic food drink.

The Queen incarnate

Do you believe in reincarnation? I'd like to. The idea of coming back rockin' and rollin' once more is very tempting. I mean, my life hasn't been groovy all the time but it's obviously a good one for me to be tempted to, hypothetically, come back and dance to the tune again. What bugs me is Jesse's line in Before Sunrise; "Fifty thousand years ago, there were not even a million people on the planet. Ten thousand years ago, there was like two million people on the planet. Now, there's between five and six billion people on the planet, right? Now, if we all have our own, like, individual, unique soul, where do we all come from? Are modern souls only a fraction of the original souls?"

This was our topic one morning while me and my other four co-teachers were sitting outside for our kids' playtime. If there's such thing as reincarnation, what would or who would you like to be when you come back? The Aussie wanted to come back as a seal. I bet she had her reasons but I didn't dare ask. The Czech was toying on the idea of coming back as a man. The two Americans were unsure, but one wanted to be a man just for a day, just to know what goes on in a man's head.

Me? I said I would be the Queen, and those who annoyed me to death in this lifetime would be my slaves in the next. It takes time for me to be annoyed these days though, the bonus of growing up or getting old, so I guess my staff wont be that extensive. But if I had the honor to handpick them, they would be:

-people who line up at the grocery express counter at 7pm when I'm starving to death and pay for 2 or 3 rohliky (rolls) with a credit card.
-smokers who are purposely blind, puffing away right next to a disapproving NO SMOKING sign. I can never forgive them for contributing to my future demise and for making me smell like a stale ashtray.
- people who.....I can't think of anyone else anymore. The thought of cigarette smoke makes me mentally constipated right at this instant. I'll get back to this post when I can think straight again.

Sorry, I'm drifting. We were talking about coming back, weren't we? So what or who would you like to be? A said he would probably want to be a tennis player. Oh well, if he would be famous I would definitely work my way out to get hitched with him again.

Going veggies

It's cold and it's gloomy, these surely are signs that autumn is here. Wonder if we'll ever have indian summer this year...

The cold weather sent me cooking this vegetable soup which is a recipe borrowed from Mamka. I always go for something warm to eat or drink after coming home from outside. Czech cuisine is basically complicated to prepare but this one is easy and a lot healthier compared to what usually lands on Czech dining tables.

Can you imagine a week without eating vegetables? I can't. This soup and I immediately hit it off the moment I tasted it at Mamka's kitchen. Recipe is available upon request. Remember it's borrowed and the owner might not approve of me sharing it to the rest of the world here. :)

Getting "Czeched..."

...means joining the rest of the country in scouring the woods for mushrooms. You have to dress the part, too-- you have to look like a mushroom yourself.

My CV

I had to laugh when I was about to update my CV. My previous and recent job titles are so starkly different I find it very amusing. From Immigration Consultant to Preschool Teacher, life certainly moves in funny ways.

The job titles are just the start. The meaty part is really the job description. My previous job description includes "handles Dumaguete satellite office, supervises two assistants, meets a Php 2M monthly quota, etc." I had to stare at the ceiling for a while with this bewildered look on my face thinking how to add my recent "accomplishments" to my CV.

Should I write that I sometimes have to hold a wad of tissues for my kids at school when they blow their noses because they don´t know how? Should I add that aside from wiping noses, occasionally wiping bums is now added to my repertoire?

Let me digress. I can´t help but share one of my toilet stories; This new kid is four and all the four year old kids at school can wipe their own bums with finesse. This one just refused to do it himself. I don´t know who spoiled him rotten because his parents certainly don´t look like the culprits. Anywho, with the help of a co-teacher we somehow managed to convince him to try and we would help him if he really couldn´t. He awkwardly wiped his bum but then showed us the browned toilet paper after. I told him to just drop it in the bowl but he did it again the second and the third, and even the fourth time he wiped it. The paper was less brown each time but really I didn´t need to see it.

Back to my CV, I guess I just have to do it sans the gory details. I actually don´t miss the fast and furious pace of my so called career back in Cebu. Been there, done that. Now I´m fully in control of my time and work finally feels like a breeze.