Happy New Year!

It has been a wonderful journey and I thank you for being a part of it.  

Each soul that we meet along the way brings different colors into our lives which makes this whole journey bright and meaningful.

From each soul we learn something... so we continue our journey until we find what we are looking for.

The journey never ends...

 But hopefully, we still know how to find our way hOMe.

Namaste.

Merry Christmas from North Pole

Photo taken by Jessica Ho.

Asking for peace and healing this Christmas season...

This is in response to "Help Heal Our Land".

***

Don't you notice anything
In your environment?
The air is has gone polluted
Even so our children..

Progress isn't a bad thing,
and we've come a long way for it
But look at the waters of the seas
before were blue but have already turned to black
Don't let all the dirt we have made and scattered into the air to reach the heavens
So when we are gone, we will only have fresh air to breathe in heaven

There is only one thing I'm asking for,
that when I die I hope it will be during the rainy season
With me, I'll bring my guitar, so together, all of us will sing upon the clouds

Those children that are born today,
Will they still have the air to breathe?
Will they still have the trees to climb up on?
Will they still have rivers for them to swim onto?

Why don't we think about what's happening to our environment?
Progress isn't a bad thing if it does not harm our nature
There will come a time, even those birds will have nowhere to perch on
Look at that tree that has stood there robust for a very long time, now dying because of our foolish actions

All of the things that exist on this earth are all blessings from God even when you're still not here
Let us take care of it, and protect it because if He will take it back from us, we will all be gone.

***

Credits:

Video originally posted by youtube user joennika214.

English translation from lyricstranslate.com

http://lyricstranslate.com

The Perfect Chana Dhal

The term is almost over but I still have to finish two essays on psychology of coaching.  It's been a wonderful 3 months in Finland and while most of my new European friends are going back to their home countries, most of the Asians are staying either to travel within Finland or around Europe.  The snow showers have been frequent the past few days so we will definitely see a lot of snow soon.

This evening, I made perfect chana dhal... at least for my standards.  I was reluctant to use the chana dhal spice mix that I bought from the Pakistani shop the first month that I was here because it was too spicy and I didn't really liked the taste when I added it to the regular dhal.  But today, the "feeling" was good and I was in the mood to cook.  Here's what I did.

I sauteed 3/4 cups chopped onions in oil until translucent.  Then I added about 1 cup of chopped tomatoes and mixed it to the onions.  Turned the heat down and let it cook until it became pulpy for 1-2 minutes.  I turned off the heat so as not to overcook the tomato-onion paste, then I stirred in 1 tsp of the chana dhal spice mix.  Added 280g of cooked chickpeas, 5 pods of cardamom, about 1.5 cups water, stirred everything well, and let it simmer for 3-5 minutes.  Remove from heat and serve over steamed white rice and top with crispy fried onions. YUM!!!

I think the onion-tomato paste made the difference plus I didn't put a lot of spice mix.  It was deliciously spicy.  It was also good for three servings but I ate two.  What remains will be breakfast tomorrow. 

Oh, and I passed Suomi Yksi!!! Yey! Can't take Suomi Kaksi next term though as I will be in Germany from April to June.  The Suomi Kaksi will start in January and will continue until May so I don't think I can really miss a lot of classes and still pass it.

Ok, time to finish those two remaining essays.  Heippa!

Suomen itsenäisyyspäivä

Happy Independence Day Finland!

Pinaattiohukaiset

Spinach pancakes! 

You easily get it from the supermarket and in the first month that I was here, I eat it like vegetable patties.  As you can see in the photo, I ate it with fried rice and topped it with chilli garlic sauce.  It's not the Finnish way of eating it but it went well.  I think the "proper" way is to eat it with lingonberries.

It's actually easy to make.  Here's a recipe that I found online.

Will kangkong work as well?

***

I practiced at the shala this morning and I think I was a bit distracted because I was conscious about the time.  Nevertheless, it was a good one and I enjoy being a student.  The whole afternoon was then spent looking for winter boots.  I found a pair that I like but it's 100 euros.  When I went to another shop, I found one that I liked also but there was no more size 42.  Will continue boots hunting tomorrow.

Time to do one assignment then I'm off to sauna.

Moi.

Piirakka

Breakfast this morning.

That's piirakka, a traditional Finnish pastry made with rye crust and filled with rice, potato, or barley.  It is usually eaten with cheese or boiled egg.  But you can always be creative and top it with anything you like.  I have tried it with tomattia ja kurkkua (tomatoes and cucumber) and it was delicious.

***


The term is almost over and time does fly really quickly.  I still have assignments to complete, Finnish written exam, and thesis topic presentation next week, but it feels a little more relaxed now that I'm done with the puhu tentti suomeksi.  This is how it sounds when a Filipino speaks Finnish.


***

This weekend I plan to attend Jura's class and maybe look for a winter boots.  The weather forecast says that it will snow in the next two days.  I better get ready and gear up for more snowball fights.

Hyvää viikonloppua!  

Heippa!

The First of December

Three months have passed and still everyday I am grateful to be here.  Somehow, I know that I had to be here and experience life from the other side of the spectrum.  I sometimes wish that my dreams are simpler and smaller... that at my age, I should really just be focusing on earning as much money as I can so I can have a comfortable retirement later on.  But no, my mind has never thought of that.  My mind is always looking for ways to make this life more meaningful... more useful.

I already had 3 cans of beer and I decided not to write anything more than what's necessary.  I thought I'd chill out the rest of the night because I had been a good student the whole week and maybe a little reward won't hurt.  I believe I did well in my Finnish speaking exam today and did my weekly karma yoga.  As a gesture of gratitude for the opportunity to be here, I have been teaching yoga for free at the University.  Next week will be the last for this year but hopefully the venue is available again next year so that the program can continue.

The Christmas season is here.  I believe that this will be the first time that I will be celebrating this season away from loved ones.  Even when I was in Saudi, I was able to go home to the Philippines and celebrate the season with my family.  

This year, however, it won't be very practical to go home so I'll just stay in Finland.  I will be celebrating Christmas in Lapland though and just might be able to see Santa himself.  I thought it was time to grow up and celebrate Christmas like an adult but hey, it's my first time to see snow and probably see Santa so who cares about being an adult?

And as a genuine university student in Finland, what can be more appropriate than ending one's day with sauna, beer, and pizza.

Not very yogic but allow me to celebrate my 3rd month in Finland like "normal" graduate student.  

Tomorrow I will do vaman. 

Hyvä yöta!