Wastage

In Haiti, some people are resorting to eat dirt as desperate measures to fill their bellies. The country's poorest can't even afford a plate of rice. At school, we throw away loads of food each week-- from candies to bread to pastries to pasta to cakes to meat-- you name it, we toss quite a lot of it to the nearest bin almost all the time. Our kids' usual line at the table is " I don't like it," so we throw away the food because no one else will eat it and will just go stale.

Such wastage was hard to get used to. I'm still not used to it, and probably will never ever get used to it. I think of the street children in Cebu everytime I dump slices of strawberry cakes in the bin, of faceless and nameless children who probably will never know how a chocolate tastes like.

I remember my Mom used to tell us she and her two other siblings only get to have margarine on their bread at Christmastime. Even A's grandma has a story to tell. They used to be so poor they couldn't afford to have foil-wrapped chocolates hanging on their Christmas tree, a Czech custom. These stories, along with the thought of those millions of faceless and nameless children, flash on my mind each time I take hesitant steps towards our orange bin.

Our kids at school are oblivious to how fortunate they are. I wonder, if miles away from here like in Haiti, the less fortunate ones have any idea that a world where such unimaginable wastage on food does exist.

St. Vitus Cathedral

I was browsing our picture files when I saw these photos of St. Vitus Cathedral I took in August. A, the parents in law and I went to Mala Strana for a stroll one hot Saturday afternoon. It was my first time to be inside and I was awed by its magnificence.

These stained glass windows caught my eyes the moment we entered the Cathedral.

St. Vitus Cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of Prague and the place where saints, kings, princes and emperors of Bohemia are buried. The coronations of the kings of Bohemia were held there until 1836. It’s one of the best examples of Gothic architecture.

To get there, take Metro line A to Malostranska and walk your way up to the Prague Castle. (This cathedral is a dominant part of the Prague Castle complex.) There is no entrance fee. Opening hours are:

Monday- Saturday (November-February) - 9:00- 16:00
Sunday - 12:00 - 16:00

Monday- Saturday (March-October) - 9:00- 17:00
Sunday - 12:00- 17: 00

Fruit and nut bars

I think my baking is getting popular among my kids' parents, hehe. Wednesday afternoons are cooking time for me and my kids at school. I have to say cooking is their most favorite activity. All playing, yelling and even bullying with each other will cease whenever they hear the most revered line-- "Cooking time! Go wash your hands with soap, kids."

Today another Mom asked me for the recipe of these fruit and nut bars that I baked with them last week. The same Mom was raving about my experimental (because I didn't even measure the ingredients it took me sometime to write down the recipe for her) banana muffins and how happy she was to bake them with her kids at home. Sometimes feedbacks like this gets me high. As in feeling pud ba, hahaha....

With these fruit and nut bars, the credit goes to the baker behind this website. I came across her blog when I was searching for Christmas cookies to bake last month. I tweaked the recipe a bit by substituting the dates with dried plums and raisins. I got a huge pack of dried fruits from one of the parents for Christmas so they came in handy when I decided to try to bake it. I also used two eggs instead of one because I found the mixture kinda dry. I guess it was because the eggs I had were quite small. Anywho, aside from a lot of chopping and slicing, this recipe is so easy to follow. What's more, it's so healthy you wont feel any bit guilty for eating quite a lot of it. Enjoy!

A hell of a match

You missed a huge deal of great tennis if you failed to see the match between Roger Federer and Janko Tipsarevic at the Australian Open yesterday. The Serb was playing exceptionally well that for a while I thought Federer had to prematurely leave Melbourne. Federer held on and won but with great difficulty I must say.

The match was so thrilling I wonder how the families and friends of tennis stars can watch matches like these without experiencing a bout of diarrhea. As for these two, Federer and Tipsarevic, I wonder how they stay composed all throughout the game. I can well relate to Mary Pierce. I'd be a nervous wreck,too, if I'd be in situations like this. I don't blame her for losing so many matches that she could have easily won.

Click on the video to see Federer's latest glorious moment.



I have no doubt the last 15 players were rooting for the Serb to win. If he eliminated Federer, each would have the chance of winning the first Grand Slam of the year. Fat chance, guys. He doesn't seem ready to relinguish his crown yet. Oh well, let's see next week.

Soap, anyone?

We have a new teacher at school. She's Brazilian-American. Yesterday she cracked me up with her tales of (mis)adventures here in CZ. Here's what she told us:

1. Her boyfriend's parents don't take a bath everyday. I mean, this is not a crime but for OC people like us, getting cozy with your dead skin is a no-no. What's more, she said, his mom thinks when you take a bath you shouldn't use soap all the time. She believes some dead cells have some minerals or whatever she calls them that are beneficial to your body.

I wonder what benefit you can get from not taking a bath often and from condemning an innocent soap for doing its job except, of course, some serious case of B.O.?

2. She attended a Hunters' Ball in a town where the candidate parents-in-law live. In verbatim: " They had prizes like dead hare, dead deer and the biggest prize was a dead wild pig! They put the dead animals on the tables! There wasn't any food on those tables but.....they really aren't so much into hygiene here."

I said well, different strokes for different folks... Just that I don't buy that c_*p about not using soap when you shower. Do you?

Massaged for free!

One of the few perks I enjoyed in Cebu before I moved to Prague was my monthly visit to Ruiz Derma and Spa. After a month of nonstop travelling around the country, I often looked forward to a day of body scrub, sauna, manicure-pedicure-- the works. You name what that spa had to offer, I had it. I even had a "brazilian" several times just for the heck of it. Ha!

Getting pampered this way in Praha means you're totally loaded or you are going to burn some seriours cash. I never entertained the idea for obvious reasons. It was a great surprise when Lillian and Daisy decided to give me for my birthday an hour's session of whole body massage at this classy Thai wellness club where Lillian works. It was only yesterday when I went to enjoy the gift as we couldn't squeeze it in our crazy schedules last month.

This wellness club is actually one of the amenities Ambassador Hotel offers. It's right smack in the center of the city where shops, hotels and restaurants are expensive. The moment you enter inside, you'll forget you're in the heart of Europe. The interior is all-Oriental, the furnitures were carefully chosen to give the place an authentic Asian look. The smell of incense and scented candles made me giddy with excitement.

My masseuse was a Thai named Kat. She was excellent. I was actually tensed at first because I'm ticklish on my knees. Anything But The Knees, this would have been my band's name if I had one, haha! I think she felt how tensed I was but I eventually relaxed-- and dozed off! It was only when I heard a voice from faraway telling me to turn over that I woke up. It was soooooo good, especially the shoulder part. I was like, hmm this is heaven. But the trip to heaven ended after an hour.

Too relaxed, I was completely useless afterwards. I thought I was ready to go outside with Lillian to eat somewhere when I noticed I didn't zip up my boots. Then when I was on my way home and wanted to call A, I actually dialed Lillian's number and got confused when she answered the call. I was like-- wait, you're at my place? It was a relief to get home unscathed. I zonked to oblivion until 9am the next day.

Thanks again to the sponsors. Can't wait for another birthday. Maybe I'll get another massage for free again? :)

It's too loud. I'm too old.

The Cure, Korn, Metallica, and Smashing Pumpkins are just a few bands that will rock Praha this year. I was a hardcore Metallica fan and once upon a time "Unforgiven 2" was my national anthem. Then there was a phase when I thought Billy Corgan was the coolest...How our preference changes through time. Now I reminisce the 90's, the decade I was rocking and rolling, and surprisingly the songs that drive me hard to nostalgia are the sort of mushy ones. My soundtrack of years gone by doesn't consist of rock music. I can't even listen to rock anymore.

They say if it's too loud, you're too old. Oh well, I guess I'm getting old. But for those who are still headbanging, this is the site to check out for concert schedules in Prague.

Pasta Arrabbiata

Pasta has always been a fave of mine. When I was still living in Cebu my most favorite place to get my pasta fix was Don Henrico's. Their "grand emperor's pasta" is top-notch. But in Cebu my pasta plate was kinda limited to the sweet Pinoy spaghetti and super oily carbonara. A whole wide world of choices awaited me in Prague the moment I learned to shop and read Czech labels on my own.

I first tasted pasta arrabbiata a year ago (see, the years I missed) when M, a co-teacher, brought us to this Italian restaurant a few minutes walk from Zelivskeho metro stop. It was love at first taste. I love its being spicy. I thought it was something difficult to prepare so I perished the thought of preparing it myself until I stumbled on a recipe after a series of nonstop blog-hopping just to kill the time. It's actually from a food blog I frequently visit. This is the blog to visit when you want an easy to prepare but nonetheless yummy dish.

I got the taste that I wanted. This pasta is so yummy especially when you're a chilli and spice fan like me.

I've done 14 of 35 stupid things....

Tekla tagged me to do this a couple of weeks ago but I've kinda forgotten to. Old age, hehe. Anyway, better late than never....

[ ] Gum has fallen out of your mouth when you were talking.
[ ] Gum has fallen out of your mouth when you were NOT talking.
[x] You have ran into a glass/screen door.
[ ] You have fell out/off of a moving vehicle.
[x] You have thought of something funny and laughed, then people gave you weird looks.
[ ] You have ran into a tree.
[ ] You have tried to lick your elbow.
[ ] You just tried to lick your elbow.
[x] You never knew that the Alphabet and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star have the same rhythm.
This is probably the most stupid-- I'm a pre-school teacher for crying out loud!
[x]You just tried to sing them.
Yeah, I sang it with three other teachers at school today who were as stupid as me, hehe. One was a music major in the university and was absolutely clueless.

[ ] You have tripped on your shoelace and fallen.
[ ] You have choked on your own spit.
[ ] Your hair is/was blond.
[ ] You've put metal in the microwave.
[ ] You have accidentally caught something on fire.
[x] You tried to drink out of a straw, but it went into your nose/eyes.
[x] You have caught yourself drooling when you wake up.
[ ] You've fallen asleep in class.
[x] You have tripped over your own feet.
[ ] Sometimes you just stop thinking.
[x] You are telling a story and forget what you were talking about.
[ ] You have forgotten to breathe. Is this valid? I bet everyone doesn’t think about breathing.
[ ]You are often told to use your "inside voice".
[x] You use your fingers to do simple math.
[ ] You have eaten a bug
[ ] You are taking this test when you should be doing something else. I am taking this test because I want to do something. Heh!
[x] You have put your clothes on backwards or inside out.
[x] You've looked all over for something and realized it was in your hand.

[ ] You sometimes post bulletins because you are scared that what they say will happen to you if you dont.
[x] You break a lot of things.
[ ] Your friends know not to use big words around you.
[x] You sometimes tilt your head when you're confused.
Not sometimes. All the time.
[x] You have fallen out of your chair before.
[ ] When you're lying in bed, you try to find pictures or words in the texture of the ceiling.
[ ] The word "uh" is used many times a day.

I'm supposed to tag some people but I'm not going to. :)

Happy 2008!

Happy New Year, everyone! And thank you, 2007 for:

- summer in the Philippines
- our own flat
- for A
- for families and friends
- good health
- for just the highs and no lows that I could remember.