Category: Everyday Life

HiberNATION

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Due to extremely cold temperatures, I guess most of the people in my little town are in hibernation mode these days. The weather is very disorienting because despite the seemingly bright, warm sunshine, the temperature is really sub zero.

This is what -12C looks like in my little town.

In my household, we have shun ourselves from the outside world, but there is a lot of action going on inside the place. I, for one hand, am cooking and cleaning while the boys are trying to have fun even with the limited space available.

Jakub begging his father to let him try the exercise bar.
Kolin fit club, feather weight division
In the absence of a swing, resourcefulness comes into play

Although it was disappointing not to be outside and do anything active this past weekend, I was happy because I felt that we were closely bonding as a family. We slept together in one room, ate together and played together. I am amazed to see how Jakub has grown. He slept through the night, ate by himself, and laughed with us when we were making jokes. All these wouldn’t have been possible if not for this extremely cold weather. Talk about looking at the brighter side of things.

House Arrest

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It’s our second day now on house arrest. We have been having sub zero temperatures lately and I didn’t want to go out of the house. If it was up to me, I would go….just for the heck of it. But with my 18month old, I don’t think it’s a good idea. I cannot put a scarf to cover his nose, nor will I ever train him how to breathe.  I don’t want to risk getting him sick.  So here we are, stuck at home.

When he doesn't get to go out, this is what happens in his room.

Watching TV is a no no for me, but I have broken this rule. I’ve probably watched teletubbies with Jakub 10x already within the past 24 hours. I’ve been cleaning the house, cooking and baking. Jakub on the other hand, has kept himself busy too. Too tired of playing with his toys, he has decided to play with my stuff.

Now he is messing with mommy's gloves

I hope this cold weather won’t last too long. I’m afraid that if it does, I may add 5 inches to my waistline.

The Cannabis Effect?

Published on by Grace4 Comments

I guess i spoke too early when I kept on telling people that winter this year isn’t too bad. For all I know, the worst is yet to come. This week, the temperature forecast says that temperatures may dip as low as -30C. Whoa! Back in the Philippines, I thought 20C was already cold. Back in California, I thought 15C was already cold. Geez, I have yet to experience what -30C feels like.

Together with this cold climate is very dry air. I always have to turn on my humidifier and always make it a point to moisturize Jakub’s skin and my skin whenever we go out or whenever we wash up. I’ve had problems finding the right moisturizer because the brand I used in the US is not available in all the stores. I keep on trying several brands in search of the right one.

Recently, I found a variant that uses Cannabis as one of its key ingredients. Out here, you don’t just smoke it, you use it to moisturize your skin. A very interesting thing though: As the label says, “……it encourages the regeneration of hands.”  I am not sure if that was a typo or simply just the “cannabis effect.”

Children Do Say the Darnest Things

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I almost freaked out yesterday when Jakub uttered the four-letter-word: “F**k”. I thought to myself,  “Goodness, did he hear me say that word?  Has he been watching too much TV?  Did his dad say it? ”  It has been my policy in this family not to say those words in front of Jakub.  I want to raise a well-mannered, polite and well-behaved child.  I don’t want him to have a foul mouth.

Then, he did it again this morning.  This time, he was pointing to his books.  I didn’t make a big deal out if it so he will think it’s not a real word and will soon forget it.  As I was reading his picture books with him, it became increasingly clear where the word came from.

Jakub's picture book

He simply combined “frog” and “duck” , and came up with “f**k”.  Kids do say the darnest things!

 

They call it Fitness

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Ouch! I got muscle pains all over my body. These past 2 weeks I have started a new exercise regime. I do Tai Chi on Sundays and go to the gym twice during the week. The Tai Chi came about when a new friend invited me to try it. Man, it is so much harder than what it looks like. The routines are slow, but they require endurance. I am enjoying it because it is very challenging…very different from all I ever know.

The gym on the otherhand, came about as a New Year’s resolution. It is located very close to Kmochuv Island and I have been eyeing it for the longest time. Since me and my boys are big Kmochuv fans, we often times pass by it. Until one day, I decided to search it online and learned how it worked. It is quite small. It is twice the size of my office in the States. However, I love it because it is so worth the price. There are no long-term contracts, no hidden fees, you pay whenever you use the gym, and there is no time limit.

But if it was a gym in LA, nobody will go there. Not because it’s small, but because the people running it are not ripped. No pun intended, but they are quite heavy.  But really, here in the Czech Republic, it is rare to see people who are fat.   This explains why the people in the gym are not the regular LA buffs that I know.  Those who need to go there are the ones who need it.  😉  That’s fitness.

 

Straight to the Point

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One of the things that I really like about Czechs is their straightforwardness.  What I mean by this is that everyone is responsible for taking care of their own.  When going out with friends, one cannot expect the person inviting them to pay the bill. Everyone pays for the things they ordered. In Philippine culture, it is almost expected that whoever makes more money pays. In American culture, whoever makes the invitation pays, unless otherwise agreed upon. But in Czech culture, it doesn’t matter what social or financial status you’re in, you foot your own bill. It also doesn’t matter if you got invited to somebody’s birthday party. You are still responsible for paying everything you ordered.

I like it this way. It makes people responsible. There is nothing like a free lunch.

Another thing I have noticed is that everything out here is really functional. You don’t own just for the sake of owning. Big cars are for big families. Small cars for single people or for a couple. I haven’t seen anyone driving a big pick-up truck without a load of hay or workman’s tools. In LA, pick-up trucks driven by single guys flood the streets. I may be wrong, but it almost seems like these guys do it to prove a point — I am a man. Oh well, different culture, different means of expression.

Several months back, I snapped this photo of preschool children taking a walk with their teacher. This may seem a little bit harsh for some, but I totally like how this teacher wanted to prove her point. There are no words that can beat the message she wants to relay: “Don’t stray away from the pack.”

There are no fancy equipment to keep preschool kids all in a row. A simple rope will do the trick.

CHANGES

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Now that autumn is here, the leaves have beautifully changed colors.  Although it is quite chilly for me to go outside, I am enjoying the outdoors more and more because of the beautiful fall colors.  Together with the changing season, we will also be making a lot of life changes.

Kmochuv Island in Kolin, CZ

Prior to coming to CZ, Jiri and I already talked about building our dream home.  We currently live in his old house and we just recently sold this one out.  Come November, we are moving to a rental apartment while waiting to build our new home.  I am excited about the move because I somehow like our new place.  It is very close to our favorite place in Kolin — Kmochuv Island.  These past few weeks I have been dealing with some sort of seasonal depression which probably came with the changing season.  Somehow, the excitement about moving has lifted up my spirits.   I remember my boss James told me before:  “The next worst thing after experiencing a fire is moving.”  I think that now it has been my saving grace.

Trust Thy Doctor

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“Trust but verify” – Ronald Reagan

I had my first visit to the doctor today due to a minor ear irritation.  Since my Czech is still limited, I had to ask my husband to accompany me to the doctor.  When we got there, I was glad to be assigned to a young doctor who spoke English.  He was very good.  He explained everything to me.  As we were heading back home, I told my husband about the whole check-up episode.  In the examination room, he had an instrument where he can project my ear on the screen.  During the whole process of explaining what he found, a short phrase caught my attention.  He told me:  “You have to believe me.  That gray matter you see on the screen is your eardrum…”  I thought that was rather funny.  I never doubted him.  I told my husband that maybe it was just one of those lost-in-translation stories.  But then he told me that perhaps the doctor was serious.

Then I remembered a story he once told me about a friend of his.  This friend was sitting in the living room watching TV when his wife’s grandmother came in.  The grandma exclaimed: “Oh, so you understand Chinese?”  To which he replied: “No, this is English grandma.”  With a quizzical look on her face, she went on to say: “hmmm…. I better ask someone.”

Safety Around Here

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Here are a couple of observations on safety that I noticed around here:

1.   Dogs are everywhere.  Sometimes, an owner walks with a dog without a leash.  Friendly or not, I don’t care.  I don’t want them anywhere around my son.

2.  There is one main highway without traffic lights.  You really have to watch even when you are walking on a pedestrian lane because you can get run over by a truck very easily.

3.  Harnesses not needed.  When I was in the States, I have always been so vigilant about people not wearing harnesses when working up distances taller than 6ft.  By OSHA (Occupational Safety Hazard Agency) rule, you have to be on a harness once you go up higher than 6ft.  Out here, people could be working in tall buildings with nothing on them.

workers renovating an old structure

4.   For some people, pedestrian safety is regarded very lightly.  I was walking with my husband and my son on a runner’s path and on came at a high speed, this guy on a bicycle.  No word said.  Not even a honk to announce his approach.  What if I swerved a little bit?  We could have collided very easily.

Oh well, who am I to complain.  From where I came from, things are even worse.  You could just be standing by a bus stop and still manage to get run over by the bus.

 

Our first 2 days in Kolin

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Kolin Town Square

Kolin is my new city.  It is an hour away from Prague.  It has a lot of beautiful architecture…a whole lot of things to explore.  Here are a few pictures I snapped on our first 2 days.