Middle Eastern Cooking Class (Prague, CZ)

In a span of 10 days, I hosted 4 events.  Two bigger events and two hangouts.  The Middle Eastern Cooking Class was the last one from the four and it was the most difficult to manage.  Finding a chef and place to have the class was actually quite easy.  The people who wanted to attend were quite flaky and didn't care about my time.  From now on, ALL cooking classes will require a deposit because the cook has to buy all the ingredients ahead of time and it is not fair for the price to be raised for everyone else.  Anyways, the cooking class was great!  The cook for the day was Lamis (you can find her Instagram here).  She taught us how to make baba ghanoush, shawarma, and lotus cups.  Everything was delicious.  Then we had Colours of Prague come by and take photos of the class.  From the classes I have organized, this one was the first time where everything was on time.  Thanks to those who came and kept their word.  Looking forward to events in the future!

preparing the shwarma

making the dessert

baba ghanoush

all of us

yummy lotus cup

Egypt

Turkey (already pictured)

France

Russia

Slovakia

getting rid of the excess water from the meat

nice spread of food

all her creations

Germany

Kosovo  9986

Card Games (Prague, CZ)

When I was home for Christmas, I went through some of my things in my room and I came across a game that I had in my room for 10 years.  I had never played the game because I didn't know how to play it.  I decided to bring it back with me to CZ because I would learn how to play it and play it with my students.  Well, the game (Skip-bo)was a hit.  It wasn't challenging enough for me because I was always playing one on one or against two other kids.  The maximum number of players is 6 and I wanted to see what it would be like to play against five adults.  It did not disappoint.  There was even a mini injury that drew blood! Haha!!  We were having so much fun that someone else in the cafe asked if we played games regularly.  It was the first time I organized a games afternoon, but I think I will be organizing them more often.  It was a great way to meet new people and have fun while doing so.  It was nice to meet you all.  Looking forward to the next meet-up!

during Skip-bo (looking at those hands flying)

All of us

played UNO as well

Poland

Romania

Italy

USA   9980

Galentine's Day (Prague, CZ)

My first Galentine's Day was three years ago.  I saw an event posted, had no idea what it was but decided to go anyways.  Galentine's Day is a holiday invented by the main character of Parks and Recreation (US TV show), Leslie Knope.  Its a holiday where you get together with your female friends and celebrate each other.  The event I went to three years ago had a potluck of sweets and a gift exchange, so I have been keeping up with the tradition.  Last year I organized it with just some friends and friends of friends.  This year I made it open to whoever wanted to join.  It was a nice turn out and we ended up with a LOT of sweets!!! I might have this as a yearly tradition.  I want to thank Tonkin Kafe for having us.  Thank you to everyone who came.  Maybe in a month or two we can have another get together.

Galentine's Day 2020!!

so many desserts

my pink latte with delicious macaroons

gift exchange corner

a bit blurry, sorry

just chatting and hanging out

Russia

Turkey

Slovakia (sorry for the blurry photo, it was this or the one with your eyes closed)

Kazakhstan 

Netherlands

Netherlands

USA  9970

trying to get the flash on my camera to work

USA

USA

Turkey

Czech Republic

Mexico

Curacao   9976

fun group of ladies

thank you all for coming!

flowers I bought myself on Valentine's day

Last Day (Eilat, Israel)

On my last day in Eilat, I saw that there was some rain to be expected in the late morning.  I was a bit disappointed, but it motivated me to try to start the day a bit earlier.  I had to take a bus to the coral beach because it was too far to walk to.  I had to buy a transportation card for 5NIS and then I paid for the daily pass which was just 6.7 NIS.  A one way bus ticket cost 4.2NIS, so I thought it was a great deal.  I used the bus quite a lot on my last day.  The daily pass even included my way to the airport.  I took the bus from the center all the way to the last stop, which is the border between Israel and Egypt.  Then I walked to the Coral Beach Reserve and saw several people on a platform.  Since the wind was quite strong, it was the best way to get into the water.  There were some brave souls in the water, so I decided to join them.  I got to see lots of fish and beautiful coral.  I saw a clown fish and even another lion fish.  It was great!  And I was so happy to do this on my last day.  I went straight from the water to the airport.  I wasn't able to shower before my flight, but I figured I could just do it when I got home.  It was such a nice trip.  It was only a couple of days, but it felt longer because I was able to jam back everything.  I am also quite happy that I traveled to Israel with my "clean" passport because my security questions lasted less than 5 minutes, when I have had friends who had been questioned from 30 min to 1 hour.  If I had my old passport I am sure I would've been questioned a LOT longer. 

pyramid in the city

dark clouds

just meters from entering into Egypt

tents for the public

rough waters

how to enter the Coral Beach Reserve

info

cold waters

stairs to get in the water

Poland

Poland   9962

umbrella covering probably flew off from the winds

go in peach

the kinds of fish you could see

nice place to just relax

old plane upon entering the airport