Wish you...

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Happy New Year my fellow bloggers! I hope your wishes come true in the New Year and that you'll have fun tonight.

Cheers!

Girl with Golden Panties by Juan Marse

The action of the book takes place in late 70’s in south of Spain. Luys Forest, an old writer, who strongly supported Franco’s dictatorship, and used to be an official chronicler in his regime, goes to his house by the sea to write an autobiography, settle accounts with his past and exculpate himself. His lonely stay is disturbed by the arrival of his twenty something years old hippie, impertinent niece, Marina, who comes to make an article about her uncle and offers him help with typing out his book. Through the chapters and evening talks of the two of them we get to know Forest’s past, in which he conscientiously changes or adds some facts. Or so he thinks. During her stay with Forest, Marina tries to seduce him. She invites lovers of both genders, smokes weed and takes amphetamine, walks naked around the house, and asks him intimate questions. When she finally achieves her goal, the truth of who they really are to each other comes to light.

The novel is filled with subtle eroticism, however the main plot constitute contemplations of Forest, in which the truth mingles with fiction, the memory plays tricks on man’s mind, the lies cover reality. A good read.

PS. I post a Polish book cover because I like the design.

Show me on a Tuesday... What Created Laughter This Weekend

Today Bubbles proposed to show or tell what made you laugh this weekend. I have no doubts of what to write about. This is my story...

I bought my dad for Christmas a CD with a rather lively music. On the first day of Christmas he played it loudly in the living room and made the most ridiculous dance ever, including shaking ass and ninja-like kick-offs! I had my camera by my hand so I grabbed it and recorded him. When we watched it, my mum, dad and I, we all cried with laughter. If I posted it in YouTube I'm sure he'd quickly become a star. But I cannot do that :] Anyway, it was fun and I still laugh when I remind myself that dance.

A new blog award

I was surprised and happy to get this award from Beatriz from Penpalling and letters. Thank you very much!:)

When receiving this prize some "stuff" has to be done, so here there are the steps to follow in the "Versatile Blogger Award":

1. Be sure to thank and link back to the person who gave you the award

2. Share seven things about yourself

3. Pass the award to other bloggers who you think deserve it

4. Be sure to let the bloggers know you chose them to receive the award

Seven things about myself:

1. I am not sure I've mentioned earlier that my real name is Agnieszka. Aga is a short version I use mostly for foreign friends. My full name seems to be difficult to pronounce, especially for English speakers. My name as well as surname is very common so I meet people with my surname all the time. There was even a girl in my primary school named exactly like me in a parallel class.

2. I love travelling. According to Facebook I've visited 6% of the countries in the world. My goal is 100% but I'm not sure if it's even possible;) So far my favourite place on Earth is actually the land where Beatriz who gave me award comes from - Galicia in Spain. She posted a nice movie with photos in her blog so you can see why:) I have my favourite place in Poland too, in the land of lakes Mazury where I go every summer since I'm 10 and where I met my first penpal.

3. I also love books. I spend hours and my last money in the bookstores. With my mum we have a saying "For books I don't grudge". Unfortunatelly, I haven't had much time lately to read:( I hope it changes in the new year.

4. I learn Spanish and Russian. I can communicate in Spanish and I'm a beginner in Russian. I've been learning German for 9 years and all I can say is introduce myself. Sad, I know. I guess it's just not a language for me, because I think in others I'm doing quite well, so I'm not totally language un-tallented.

5. I am known for getting lost. Even if I was somewhere several times before. I won't share the stories of me getting lost to spare myself looking like an idiot:P But I am REALLY hopeless when it comes to sence of locality.

6. I don't know what's going on in the Hollywood world because I always choose to go to some European, South American or other part of the world movie. So if you ask me about some new film that everyone around talks about, my most probable answer will be I haven't seen it. I still haven't watched Avatar :S

7. No matter how tired I am during a day I get alive in the evening. Knowing I'll have to wake up early the next day is a real pain for me as I have to force myself to go to bed. I love when it dark outside and I can only learn at nights. My brain works best then.

I pass the award to:

Sharon from Resuri Tsukiyono's letters

and Countrydirt from Penpal from Northeastern Colorado

who are also into penpalling :)

My tribute to books

I find television to be very educating.  Every time somebody turns on the set, I go in the other room and read a book. 

~Groucho Marx

[photos googled]

Polish Christmas Carols

I hope you're having lovely Holidays :)

Christmas traditions in Poland

Christmas in Poland in some points probably looks like in other countries, in others it deffers. We decorate Christmas tree, buy gifts… *cough*… Santa brings gifts and we fest on Christmas Eve together with the whole family. But of course, we can’t start eating before the first star shines! And even before we sit by the table, we share an “opłatek” between us, wishing each person all the best in the coming year. “Opłatek” looks like the Host and tastes like it, but it’s not the same thing. We also share it with friends before Christmas and we send it together with Christmas cards. People in the country also share “opłatek” with animals, but only these which are believed to have been in the stable where the baby Jesus was born. It is also believed that these animals can talk this one night in the year. As far as I know we are the only country that has this tradition (let me know if I’m wrong :) )

All right, we shared an “opłatek”, now we can sit and start eating. On the table, under the cloth we put some hay (as baby Jesus was lying on the hay after being born) and we leave one empty place by the table for an unexpected guest. We have 12 traditional dishes (like 12 Apostoles). The “must be’s” are:

• Carp

• Borsht (beetroot soup) with little dumplings filled with mushrooms. The dumplings are called “uszka” which means “little ears”. Probably the name is because of their shape :)

• Pierogi with sauerkraut and mushrooms. Or some other filling but on Christmas Eve this one is the most popular.

• Fish in jelly.

• Kutia, which is a sweet meal made of wheat, poppy seeds, honey and all sorts of nuts and raisins. We don’t prepare it in my home, but this is a typical traditional dish that is prepared specifically for Christmas.

As you noticed, there’s no red meat or birds. Meat, excluding fish, is not eaten on Christmas Eve at all.

That day we also get presents. We don’t wait till Christmas Day. If there are no kids in the family there’s no problem with gifts. But if there are children, someone must pretend Santa for a while or get the attention of kids somewhere else and then put the presents under the tree. When I was a kid my grandpa always went outside and knocked in the window. Me and my cousins were running to see Santa (who disappeared too quickly) and at that time the rest of the adults put the gifts under the tree. I need to mention that “our” Santa comes from Lapland – in Finland, not from the North Pole or Coca-Cola factories.



At 12 o clock at night there is a mass in church, were people also share “opłatek” with strangers. Then we have two (not just one) days of Christmas. Time for rest after all the preparations and to watch Home Alone ;P

Merry Christmas!

Wesołych Świąt!

[photos googled]

Show me on a Tuesday... your music collection

Hah, I'm late again with Tuesday entry of Bubbles Show me on a Tuesday. But as they say, better late than not at all :) So... my music collection looks like that.

Most of these were bought long time ago. I don't really buy much CD's nowadays. And on the other photo you can see CD's I got from my penpals.

Divididos is an Argentinian rock band which I fell in love with as soon as I heard it <3



The other CD's are mixes, but I'll just show you the most interesting singers.

From my Portuguese penpal I got to know Dazkarieh.

And from my American penpal - Rilo Kiley

Thank you girls and boy, I probably would never heard of them without you :)

Moscow City Ballet

On Sunday I went for "The Nutcracker" performed by Moscow City Ballet. It's such a magical story. It's about a girl who falls asleep on a Christmas Eve night and in her dream the toys become alive. The Nutcracker changes into a prince and saves her from the Mouse King. They travel through the Land of Flowers and visit Spain, Arabia, China and Russia were they see the typical dances of these countries. It's such beautiful and colorful performance. Plus the amazing music. I knew some pieces of the music although I never realized they were from "The Nutcracker".

Moscow City Ballet was founded in 1988 and they're considered one of the best ballet groups in the world. They travel a lot, performing in different countries, so you might have a chance to see them as well ;)

The only thing I didn't like was the amount of children that came to see it. They didn't know what's going on and constantly asked their parents questions and commented loundly every now and then. Ugh. I understand that that people want their kids to have contact with culture but come on, if they're too small to understand the story and they get bored with it, why not wait wait couple of years when they will get it?

All in all, not to end with complaining I must say I enjoyed the ballet and loved the costumes, the music and every step made on the scene.

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

Catherine Morland is a casual girl with a big heart and big imagination, although a bit naïve. When she turns seventeen her family friends, Mr. and Mrs. Allen take her with them to visit Bath, where she enjoys balls and makes new acquaintances. She meets Isabella Thorpe with whom she quickly becomes friends and who soon becomes her brothers fiancé and Isabella’s rough mannered brother - John Thorpe. At the same time she also meets the Tilneys – Eleanor and her brother Henry, a sympathetic and clever young boy, who unlike other men, shares her interest in gothic novellas which she avidly reads. No wonder Catherine falls in love with him. When the Tilneys invite her to their house in Northanger, which turns out to be a real Abbey, Catherine imagines it to be full of dark secrets, like in her favorite novels. She get’s lost in her own fantasies which turn out to be nothing more than just fantasies when colliding with reality. In the meantime the situation in Bath where the rest of her friends stayed as well as the situation in Northanger gets complicated. Catherine must face the truth about friendship and the importance of family wealth and connections. In my opinion (and as the main character would say) the book is very agreeable.

Potato pancakes (placki ziemniaczane)

The Tuesday is over according to my clock, but here's my "Show me on a Tusday... a simple recipe" entry. Potato pancakes is my number 2 (after pierogi) favourite meal. Unfortunatelly it's not really healthy and must have thousands of calories, so I don't eat them often. But I get really wild when my dad makes them :D Unfortunatelly, for some misterious reason, although I make them from the same recipe as my dad, they don't come up so good, huh. I must admit he's potato pancakes master :P

Ingredients

• 2 potatoes
• 1 onion
• 1 table spoon of flour (or more if it's needed)
• 1 egg
• some salt, pepper and some oil

How to do it?

Grate potatoes and onion. Mix them with flour, egg, add salt and pepper. Fry (on big heat).

Most people sprinkle the pancakes with sugar but I prefer without.

Enjoy :)

Get wild

Just some envelopes inspired with wild animals. I know they reached their destination so there's no risk of anyone knowing what to expect ;P

Blog award

1. Thank the blogger/s who gave you this award.

So, I was awarded for my blog. It's no official award but I was very pleased to get it for it means someone enjoys my blog. Thank you Bursts of Bubbles^^

2. Sum up your blogging philosophy, motivation, and experiences using five words. (I tried with 5 words, but it's mission impossible for me ;P So let it be more)

Blogging Philosophy: To show the world seen with my eyes. There's a little bit about penpalling, a little bit about books, music, my country and a little bit of my blabbing.

Motivation: All who visit my blog and find something interesting for them make me happy.

My experience: Blogging for me is a great way to sort my thoughts, to meet new people, learn about other cultures and traditions and things that interest me.

3. Pass on to ten other bloggers.

I pass it on to:

Resuri

Tanuki

Joana (miss your blogging<3)

Nina

and all the other lovely people who enjoy my blog^^

A postcard from... Zaragoza, Spain

Because of the contrast Puerta del Carmen makes with surrounding it blocks of flats, my first thought when I got the postcard was that it looks like a gate to some other world ;)

Show me on a Tuesday... your favourite drink

Hello on a next Tuesday with Burst's of Bubbles. Today's entry is about drinks. My favourite drinks are:

1. Hot drink: Tea! - I cannot live without it. I drink 1-2 litres of tea every day! When I watch a movie at home or when I write a letter or I do something on a computer or I read a book... I must have tea. My favourite is simply Earl Grey with a slice of lemon. I ocasionally drink flavoured fruity tea too. The "special edition" of my standard Earl Grey with lemon is Earl Grey with lemon, lime, grapefruit and brown sugar of which once a friend told me and it's really the best tea ever!

Surprisingly, when I am thirsty I must drink something cold. Hot drinks (even if it's tea) don't satissfy my thirst. Therefore I mostly drink water, but whenever I can I drink...

2. Cold drink: Grapefruit juice! - must be freshly squeezed of course. Sometimes I mix it with orange but I prefer plain one. I don't like ready juices that you can buy at shops and I only drink them ocationally when I visit someone. The same goes with soda's - only when I visit someone. Although I must admit when I go to some hot place for vacation I suddenly start liking coke O.o

3. Alcoholic drink: Mojito! - the taste of it is heavenly. I don't drink it much though because in most places they don't serve it and if they eventually do, it's not good. So, the only option is to make it by myself at home or order when on vacation in some other country (I don't go that much abroad :P). Ah, and it must be with soda water, not with sprite! With limes, not with lemon or with any substitute of lemon juice! And with brown sugar, not with white!

I just realized all my favourite drinks include citrus fruits :)

[photos googled]

Nicolas Day

Yes, it's today. A very important day for kids, for adults not so much. That is because at night of 5th to 6th December Saint Nicolas puts little gifts for kids under the pillows or inside the slippers (depends on the house, he always put MY gifts under the pillow). It is a foretaste of Christmas.

Now my mum replaced him and gave me two books. Unfortunatelly one is out of my interest, because it's a biography of a man, whose travel books I really love, but I cannot stand himself for his radical political views and open manifest against homosexuals (whoever knows me, knows how sensitive I am on this topic, or any other form of intolerance). So, no, I don't want to read about that.

The second book I got is a book of a German author - Steffen Moller, who is living in Poland. I already read other his book, where he made his observations about Poles - the culture, mentality, habits and compared us with Germans. The book was witty and pointed out the things about Polish that I haven't even realised they might be surprising for others as I don't even think about them daily, they're natural for me. The new book is more about his personal experiences in both counries than just Poles in general, which might be interesting as well.

The book was only published in Poland and in Germany (under the title "Vita Classica").

Like I needed more books;P My bookshelf is straining under the books I haven't yet had a chance to read! But, well, what can I say, I am happy :D

Winter bad!

We have a really snowy and frosty weather outside so I thought about this Polish song about winter that every child knows, the text of which was written by Maria Konopnicka - a poet and novelist from the turn of 19th and 20th century. Unfortunatelly, the video of only good version of the song that I found in YouTube is unavailable to post on other sites, so if you're interested in it just click the link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2ben4OiDHE

Hoo hoo ha, hoo hoo ha, our winter bad

It nips noses, it nips ears

It sprinkles freezing snow in the eyes

Strong wind rushes in the field

Our winter bad

Our winter bad

Hoo hoo ha, hoo hoo ha, our winter bad

Cloth on it is long and white

In its hand hoarfrosted branch

And on its back fire-wood

Our winter bad

Our winter bad

Hoo hoo ha, hoo hoo ha, our winter bad

But we don’t fear it

Go on, throw a snowball it its back

Let it have a memory

Our winter bad

Our winter bad

Hoo hoo ha, hoo hoo ha

Hoo hoo ha, hoo hoo ha

Hoo hoo ha, hoo hoo ha

Hoo hoo ha, hoo hoo ha

[photo googled]

A postcard from... Wisconsin, USA

Actually, two postcards. With nature views and animals typical to this state - robin and wolf.

If there was such a postcard for Poland the animals on it would be stork and european bison. What's your country's animal?

Dracula

Couple of days ago I finished reading a very scary, mysterious and keeping in tension novel of Bram Stoker from 1897. That wasn’t a first book about vampires that was ever written but surely the most significant one, because who hasn’t heard of Count Dracula?

The story starts in Transylvania, where a young lawyer Jonathan Harker is sent to accomplish formalities of real estate transaction with Count Dracula in his castle. At first nothing announces horrifying scenes that Harker is going to experience, the Count is very hospitable and polite, but soon the young man realizes he’s imprisoned. Somehow he manage to escape, but it’s just the beginning of his troubles.

The novel consists of pieces of diaries and letters of main characters, affected by Dracula’s arrival to England, so we can see the story in the eyes of all of them. There are also pieces of newspapers describing essential events connected with vampire’s malice actions. It’s a totally absorbing, frightful and worth reading book.

Viva Cuba!

Today I went to Pasion de Buena Vista concert. I saw a poster advertising this concert some two moths ago, when driving to university. As I love Buena Vista Social Club, I bought tickets straight away. I was so excited about it all the time. And finally the day has come! I loved every minute of the concert. There was so much energy in their music, and so many emocions in the ballads sang by Inocente "Pachin" Fernandez-Jimenez.

After a concert I bougth a CD and got an autograph from Pachin! and from another singer whose name is Marieta (I couldn't find her full name). I am so happy because of it! It's my first ever autograph of a musician, and of so great one! That was a joyful day :)