Colombian Lunch

My friends, from a project last year, and I have been having potluck dinners since November.  This month, we weren't able to have the potluck, so we went to a Colombian restaurant, El Arriero, instead.  The food was great as always and I was happy that I was able to introduce my Colombian friend to this restaurant.  The look on her face when she was scanning the menu and then eating the food was full of love.  She was so happy to be eating food from her home country.  We had a nice afternoon chatting and eating delicious food.  Hopefully, next month we will be able to have a potluck again!

                                                                        patacones 

chicken steak

                                                                     

Galentine's Day (7th!!!)

My first Galentine's Day event was in 2018.  I happen to come across it when I was looking for events in Prague.  Little did I know that I would be celebrating it every year.  The first Galentine's event was at a hostel called Clown and Bard and this past Christmas when we were looking for places to have a cookie exchange I remembered this hostel.  I thought that this year I would have it again at the hostel where the tradition began for me.  We had a mixture of savory and sweet snacks, but there was definitely a lot more sweet.  Unfortunately, we didn't have many things for the exchange as in the years before, but it was still fine.  Thanks everyone for joining and see you at another event in the future!

                                before the event, I helped my student write letters with candy hearts

                                                                        Turkey

USA

card table playing UNO

                                                              smallest exchange this year

                                                                        Azerbaijan 

                                                                            Italy  10,436

                                                               7th Galentine's together!!!

                                                            Happy Galentine's Day!!

Hotpot/Chinese New Year Celebration

One of my friends invited another friend and me to her house for hotpot. I was so excited for the hotpot because it had been a while since I have had it.  She also invited a neighbor and her family to join us.  It was so nice to meet everyone and share a delicious meal.  I didn't want to go empty handed, so I made Chinese walnut cookies, but added a bit of chocolate on top. The cookies vanished in no time. We had some fun with their bird and it was flying around the house going on people's heads.  It was quite funny and I was able to get some pictures before the bird flew off again. It was such a fun afternoon filled with delicious food!!  We'll have to do it again in the near future!  Thanks for everything!!!

                                                                    yuzu tea is heart shaped cups

                                                                lots of teas to choose from

                                                                spicy and regular broth

                                                                        China

                                                                            Japan

                                                                            Czech

                                                                        Czech  10,430

                                                                            Slovakia

                                                                                Czech  10,432

                                                                            so cute!

                                           

                                                                    Japanese sake

                                                                            sake

Masopust

Leoš wanted to go to a Masopust celebration.  He checked online and there were so many places to choose from.  Finally, we decided to go to Zadní Treban.  Once we arrived to the village, there were so many cars parked everywhere and the main road was closed.  Luckily, we were able to find a spot to park the car.  My friend recently went to a Masopust celebration and the Czech President was there.  She was even able to take a photo with him.  I was really hoping that the President would attend this Masopust, but I think it was too small of an event.  Regardless, we had a good time and enjoyed some nice food. I do not think hygiene control would've been too happy with how the meat was being served.  There was a man that was basically separating the meat from the bone with his bare hands.  Just before serving Leoš, he took a bone and starting to suck the meat off of it.  I had to turn away and laugh.  I couldn't believe what I saw.  No one in the line cared though.  It was a great way to see how Masopust is celebrated in a small village.

                                                                delicious langoš I got

                                                            long line of people waiting for meat

                                                                the meat was "cut" by hand

                                                                meat that Leoš got

                                                            had to take a picture of the village

                                                    eating some retro candy we got at Masopust

                                       Masopust celebration in Praha next to the Charles Bridge