ON MY OWN

So, the sun is setting on my alone time in Libreville and of course I'm terribly excited that Jandro is coming back. But I am also very proud of myself: I have survived a whole week on my own, which means that both my French and social skills have developed sufficiently to allow it.

My week consisted of going to work, going shopping and going to the gym, as well as visiting and receiving friends. I also contacted and met up with a new French teacher. I spoke more French than ever and was complemented on it several times. I moved around in taxis, apart from a couple of times when one sympathetic colleague or other picked me up on the road. I was surprised at how natural it was for me to come back to Gabon and take up the life I'd left here.

Even though to you all these things may seem trivial - after all you go to work on your own every day and most of you have lived alone - for me it was a challenge, and one which I tackled succefully. Do you remember the girl you met in April? The one who had doubts whether to go for a walk on the beach or not? Well, she's not here anymore. Africa is really growing on me, the more I learn, the more I want to know. And, believe it or not, I did not see this coming.

LATITUDE DOWN, TEMPERATURE UP

Yesterday I got up at 3:30 am and boarded my plane to Frankfurt at 6. I had (of course) trouble with the weight of my suitcase, which, in short, means that I ended up travelling with a plastic bag full of kiełbasa (I'm sure the smell made me rather popular with fellow passengers).

I got to Frankfurt on time and landed in Libreville as scheduled. In 12 hours my world changed from freezing cold and snowy to hot and stuffy. My body is still making the necessary adjustments, which results in my being terribly tired and dizzy. As I was going through customs I had the following conversation with the customs officer, who was dutifully guarding the exit:
Officer: Where are you coming from?
Me: Poland.
Officer: I said: where are you coming from?
Me (thinking I understood him wrong): Can you repeat the question?
Officer (patiently): Where are you coming from?
Me: Poland. As I said.
Officer: What is Poland?
Me: A country in Europe. Do you want to see my passport?
Officer: Will you go already?
So I hurried out.

I got home, having been picked up by one of our lovely neighbours. The lift wasn't working. I asked the security guy to help me with my suitcase and he boldly claimed to be able to take it up on his own. I told him it was heavy and that I lived on the eighth floor but he insisted on doing it alone, probably not very keen to share his tip. Judging from his face and grunts, he regretted his choice as early as the third floor.

The flat was just as we left it, apart from two things: a huge dead cockroach on the living-room floor and the fact that there is no electricity in the bedrooms and ensuite bathrooms, which consitute exactly half of our flat. Luckily kitchen and air-conditioning work.

And here I am, in Libreville again. Jandro will arrive on Friday night and up till then I'm on my own. Let's just hope my Survival in Libreville skills are as developed as I believe them to be.

MISSION: NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE

As painful as the decision was, I decided to invest in a new camera. I like taking pictures and there are so many pictures to take in Gabon! Seize the day, I figured, and thus I went and seized. Or at least tried to seize, for it proved to be at least as complicated as getting anything done in Libreville. Luckily, I'm trained in not giving up.

My Dad was kind enough to accompany me on this sad occasion which required getting rid of a large part of my savings. He knows I could not have done it alone. Consequently, we met up in one of the biggest shopping malls in Europe (you think I'm using a hyperbole to enhance the effect of my prose but I am not and it really is). The day before I had seen Sony Cyber Shot and Canon Power Shot proudly displayed in one of the big shops and was inclined to purchase the latter. Sadly, overnight my Canon disappeared.

My Dad generously offered to take me to another shop belonging to the chain, in another shopping mall. We spent thirty minutes in a horrible traffic jam. Wasted another quarter of an hour trying to park. There was no Canon in the other shop but by then I'd decided to buy Sony anyway. My Dad and I got the camera, the memory card and even a nice little bag to fit all that. We moved to the till. My card didn't work. Error. My Dad had forgotten his.

On our way home I tried to get money from one of the cash mashines but it said that "transaction was not possible". Error. We went home, picked up my Mom and a card that would work and went to yet another huge mall, not far from our house, which also boasts the same cheap chain of shops (now you see Warsaw as the land of shopping malls and you're not very much in the wrong). The Sony camera was there but it cost 200 zł more. My heart sank.

My parents suggested going to a small photo shop, also in the mall. It turned out that the camera was there and on offer with an eight GB memory card. I also found a much cheaper bag. And a very helpful salesman, who explained a lot. My Mom's card worked. Now I only need to give the money back.

And I was naive enough to think that everything was easier in Europe... But all's well that ends well, I can't wait to try out my new toy!

KASIA'S GREAT COOKBOOK: CARROT CAKE

I got this recipe from the official Carrot Cake Master, Lucinda, and I tried it out today. Turns out the cake is easy, quick and very tasty. The latter of course I'd known before. By the way, I'm having so much fun cooking and blogging, I'm starting to worry that reports on my culinary explorations will become a regular thing...

Cake ingredients: 4 eggs, 250ml vegetable oil, 350g white sugar, 350g flour, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 2 teaspoons nutmeg, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 250g grated carrots, 100g chopped hazelnuts.



Preparation:

1. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, white sugar and vanilla.









2. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Stir in carrots.





3. Grease and flour a large pan. Preheat oven to 175 degrees. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.





Icing ingredients: 125g soft butter, 225g cream cheese, 500g confectioner's sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 100g chopped hazelnuts.






In a bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, confectioner's sugar and vanilla. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Stir in chopped nuts. Frost the cooled cake.







Keep your father away from the cake or else it will disappear too fast! Enjoy!

Merry Christmas everyone! Have a wonderful Christmas Eve!

KASIA'S GREAT COOKBOOK: PIEROGI

It's Christmas and Christmas is all about cooking. So today, as the title suggests, we shall take a close look at how one of the most important Polish dishes is made. And one of the few I can actually prepare. Here goes, ladies and gentlemen, pierogi z kapustą i grzybami!

Dough ingredients: 3/4 kg of flour, a pinch of salt, two eggs and some water.






Stuffing ingredients: chopped sauerkraut, mushrooms, salt and pepper; all cooked together until it's brownish and soft.





Prepare pierogi:


1. Mix all the ingredients, kneading until the dough resembles pizza dough, maybe a bit less soft but definitely elastic.

2. Roll out the dough until it's quite thin and cut out round pieces - we always use a glass.







3. Put a bit of stuffing onto the dough.








4. Fold the dough and make it pretty.







5. Boil some water with a pinch of salt and a spoonful of olive oil. Boil pierogi for about 3 minutes after they appear on the surface. Don't forget to stir!






6. Last but not least, my favourite part: happy consumption. Serve them boiled (possibly with a bit of lard on top if you dare) or fried. Enjoy!




Task for tomorrow: carrot cake. Not typically Polish but I'll keep you posted anyway!