Delayed Weekend Update/ Today
I've had 5 cancellations for my 6 classes today. However, as four were last minute and on student told me to count today as taught, I will be paid for 6 while only teaching, well, 1. Used the 'free time' to lesson plan in the staff room and buy a cheese bagel for lunch and eat in the park.
Received surprise gift from my 3 pm, a large, beautiful, full-color photo book; Wonders of Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia. Was very pleased of course.
Also, I caved in a read the intro to House of Leaves because I fail at total self-control. Got goosebumps from those few pages and can't wait for more.
As for the this weekend, the dinner/ party at the Ghanaian embassy went quite well. I wore my faux-wrap dress which looks better then ever as I've dropped some unwanted inches. Buekuor and I were almost an hour late, but they hadn't even unwrapped the food yet so we got drinks and circulated. While I would never call myself a wall flower or socially awkward, I still haven't outgrown that initial nervousness when faced with a room full of people I don't know. Actually, go back, we were at the embassy residence, not the embassy itself. The home was located, as were other ambassadorial residences, in the Hradcany district of Prague. As Prague is, quite frankly, a very 'white' place, it was nice to be in such a, well, multi-cultural environment. Non-Ghanaian guests included friends, spouses, and co-workers. The default language for the evening was English and Cwi (pronounced Ch-ee), a dialect of Ghana. I met some of Buekuor's friends and classmates as well as some of the more influential members of her native country. Despite this, the atmosphere was light, easy, open and genial. There was a DJ and the lounge was homey, not formal and stuffy as expected.
As for the food, served on embassy china with the colors and crests of Ghana, it was a spice-lovers dream; spicy, garlic infused spinach stew, bamko (sic) served with pepper sauce, seasoned rice served with chunks of savory, richly-flavored pork, grilled fish, spiced stew, roasted chicken, fufu (sic), and yams. Bamko is a medium-sized, soft, sourdough tasting roll with a very soft, almost sticky consistency. Because of the mild, almost bland flavor, its torn into strips my the diner and dipped in peppery sauces. So good. I was starving by the time we went to eat so I tried everything, but the soup. By the way, fufu is a bit like bamko only it has a more potato-like flavor, less bland and can be eaten without sauce. I watched my alcohol intake and drank more juice then wine.
After dinner there was dancing. Buekuor and I left just after midnight with some of her friends as we had decided to go clubbing. Our first stop was Day and Night, a smallish, lively, but relaxing place where drinks were bought for us by her male friends and the DJ who had played at the house performed several sets. After Day and Night shut down we made out way to M1, a long, smoky, rectangle of a club lit by only a few well-placed lights and the outside street lamps. Met Lucie,a girl who was engaged to one of our group, and got along very well. We swapped numbers as she's throwing a party in the next few weeks and wants me to meet several of her native-English speaking buddies.
We arrived home just before 6 that morning.
I slept till one, woke up starving, made pasta, took a call from Mum, and, outside of planning for Monday's classes, did as little as possible.
Mike wants to do some sort of group outing this weekend as out respective schedules have kept us apart for several weeks. It should be fun and I can return his books.
Okay, now I need to get home, make dinner, and do laundry as I now have washing powder.
Received surprise gift from my 3 pm, a large, beautiful, full-color photo book; Wonders of Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia. Was very pleased of course.
Also, I caved in a read the intro to House of Leaves because I fail at total self-control. Got goosebumps from those few pages and can't wait for more.
As for the this weekend, the dinner/ party at the Ghanaian embassy went quite well. I wore my faux-wrap dress which looks better then ever as I've dropped some unwanted inches. Buekuor and I were almost an hour late, but they hadn't even unwrapped the food yet so we got drinks and circulated. While I would never call myself a wall flower or socially awkward, I still haven't outgrown that initial nervousness when faced with a room full of people I don't know. Actually, go back, we were at the embassy residence, not the embassy itself. The home was located, as were other ambassadorial residences, in the Hradcany district of Prague. As Prague is, quite frankly, a very 'white' place, it was nice to be in such a, well, multi-cultural environment. Non-Ghanaian guests included friends, spouses, and co-workers. The default language for the evening was English and Cwi (pronounced Ch-ee), a dialect of Ghana. I met some of Buekuor's friends and classmates as well as some of the more influential members of her native country. Despite this, the atmosphere was light, easy, open and genial. There was a DJ and the lounge was homey, not formal and stuffy as expected.
As for the food, served on embassy china with the colors and crests of Ghana, it was a spice-lovers dream; spicy, garlic infused spinach stew, bamko (sic) served with pepper sauce, seasoned rice served with chunks of savory, richly-flavored pork, grilled fish, spiced stew, roasted chicken, fufu (sic), and yams. Bamko is a medium-sized, soft, sourdough tasting roll with a very soft, almost sticky consistency. Because of the mild, almost bland flavor, its torn into strips my the diner and dipped in peppery sauces. So good. I was starving by the time we went to eat so I tried everything, but the soup. By the way, fufu is a bit like bamko only it has a more potato-like flavor, less bland and can be eaten without sauce. I watched my alcohol intake and drank more juice then wine.
After dinner there was dancing. Buekuor and I left just after midnight with some of her friends as we had decided to go clubbing. Our first stop was Day and Night, a smallish, lively, but relaxing place where drinks were bought for us by her male friends and the DJ who had played at the house performed several sets. After Day and Night shut down we made out way to M1, a long, smoky, rectangle of a club lit by only a few well-placed lights and the outside street lamps. Met Lucie,a girl who was engaged to one of our group, and got along very well. We swapped numbers as she's throwing a party in the next few weeks and wants me to meet several of her native-English speaking buddies.
We arrived home just before 6 that morning.
I slept till one, woke up starving, made pasta, took a call from Mum, and, outside of planning for Monday's classes, did as little as possible.
Mike wants to do some sort of group outing this weekend as out respective schedules have kept us apart for several weeks. It should be fun and I can return his books.
Okay, now I need to get home, make dinner, and do laundry as I now have washing powder.