V for Vegetarian

Recently, I have been sorting out my photos from one year ago, posting them in Facebook and backing them up in CDs. And I noticed a major change in my physique. I am gaining weight, and I have to avert it.

Last summer of 2006, I flew to Prague and spent 2 and a half months. I felt sexy flying there. I was rather lean, due to the fact that for a whole year before that, I didn't cook anything with meat in it at home. I only ate non-meat products. And even my parents noticed it, how flat my stomach was. I even went all the way to specifying my airline meal with Swiss International Air Lines as Ovo-Lacto Vegetarian.

But then, I was on vacation in Prague. Their cuisine was amazing. And, I'd rather try it, even though it has meat in it, and enjoy myself, than restrict myself and leave unsatisfied. So I did eat meat. But the vacation proved to be too long (2.5 months is indeed too long) so eating meat became part of my routine again. I even noticed the change while in Prague when I adjusted my belt a notch.

I came back to Buffalo, but the vegetarian routine didn't come back. I started cooking meat dishes. I also forgot to exercise. When I was living in Amherst, there was a neat little bike path near where I live, and although jogging on it or even brisk-walking on it wasn't regularly done, it was done. I then moved to Buffalo proper and the exercise was forgotten.

So, today, I woke up at 5:00 AM. Even before the sun was up. I got my running shoes and out I went. I started by just brisk-walking. I don't want to lose my breath by exerting myself immediately. I did a complete circuit of the UB South Campus. It was sort of cold, and the wind prevented me from soaking wet in sweat, but I still worked a sweat, as evidenced by my back.

I got back home after around 45 minutes. I guess I worked up my gastro-intestinal system by brisk-walking for that amount of time, thus, I headed directly to the bathroom and sat at the throne.

After that, I fixed myself a heavy breakfast. It is relatively heavy compared to what I usually have. I usually have a bowl of cereal with milk, but then that entails that I have a heavy dinner, which is usually the reverse of what is optimal. One should have a heavy breakfast, a medium lunch, and a light dinner. So, I fried myself one egg, and together with four loaves of whole-wheat bread, a tablespoonful of strawberry jam, some French brie, and a whole apple, I ate breakfast. I washed this down with a mug of green tea.

I have one serving left of my Thai Chicken Curry. I had it for lunch, topped over rice, and I will have it for the last time tomorrow. After that, I won't be cooking any meat products again for the time being.

I also bought some fruit yesterday when I was at the market. I am planning to stick to some fruit and tea for dinner. I bought a basket of oranges and some plums. Plus, there is the whole basket of apples that was bought by my roommate's aunt. My roommate isn't eating it so before it becomes overripe, I am eating it.

So hopefully, I can slice some pounds off my body after this. I did it before, I can do it again.

Ugh, the pains one has to undergo if one wants to look good. Oh well, enough of that. I also wanted to blog about my classes, since all three of them started on Tuesday for me, but I guess this entry is too long now, so I will save it for tomorrow. But, enjoy the first photo from my Oswaldo Guayasamin Series. He is a sculptor and painter who is a native of Ecuador. I visited his house-turned-museum-and-gallery when I was there. This first photo, albeit blurred, is the sculpture that will greet visitors to his compound.

Shrunken Heads and Summer Smells

I didn't realize that I would also encounter the male summer smell that is so prevalent in European cities in the summer.

When I was in Vienna two years ago, I encountered this smell. The smell of a human male, who didn't go to the shower but instead mingled its way through other humans in public. The smell emanating from the dark and sweaty armpits. The smell that would suddenly radiate whenever they reach out for the metal bars in the trams thus exposing their underarms.

You know what I am talking about.

And the fact that there isn't any air-conditioned tram or subway in Vienna makes it worse.

Prague was the same. Last year, I always encounter the male smell everytime I am riding the tram.

And now, I encountered it here as well. In the shuttle that took me from South Campus to North, someone, I think it was the guy sitting behind me, who had this smell. It always crept beneath my nose. I turned my head to see who it was, but I couldn't figure it out. It made my head nauseous, I had to take my handkerchief out.

My first recollection of encountering this smell was in Japan. A certain guy that was close to the family was host to this smell. During the summer, it would slowly creep its way to our olfactory systems, and add to that the fact that Japanese typically take a bath before going to bed at night, not before leaving the house in the morning.

After riding the shuttle, I encountered the smell again in the elevator. And surprisingly, nobody except me was there! Someone must have been a carrier of that smell and rode the elevator before me. The smell decided to linger in the elevator for a while, and attack the next rider, who happened to be me. I almost couldn't breathe for a minute. Good thing I wasn't trapped in the elevator for a while.

Yesterday, a student came to my office hours. After consulting with me, she asked what those two weird-looking figures who happen to be displayed in my office are. She was referring to the shrunken heads I got from Quito. Apparently she was scared of it. I then explained that they are fake, but they are replicas of the shrunken heads that the Shuar people from the Ecuadorian Amazon used to perform whenever they capture an enemy.

Hmmm, there is still a month and a half of summer. In the meantime, enjoy this photo from my Quito Centro Historico Series. This is the Ecuadorian flag flying high above the Presidential Palace.

Slowly

As I was waiting for the bus on my way to North Campus, I had a realization: that I would never want to live permanently in an American city that relies heavily on cars.

I have just got back from Europe (Prague) and everything was accessible there by public transportation. If there is no bus or tram or metro, there is the taxi. Here in Buffalo, even taxis are a rarity! One must call them over the phone for the taxi to come.

Anyway, I am slowly stacking up on my new apartment. I just ordered some new furnishings so that I won't be living in a suitcase anymore. As my No. 1 Fan has said, I should consider the place I am living currently as my home, so I should not act like I am always living in suitcases. So in order for the suitcases to disappear from my bedroom, I ordered some dressers and racks to store my clothes.

Heh, I know, it's this time of the lifetime again, that weird-feeling depressive low-lying frequency that one gets whenever one moves at a new house. Did you know that moving to a new apartment is a cause for depression? I have to admit that I do not feel all to jumpy and bright as before, but I know that sooner or later, school will start again and I will forget the humdrum of solitude.

I'm Back

Ok. Just so everyone knows that I am back. Yes, I am back in town, back in Buffalo.

So, let me tell you of my trip back home, sans the photos, unfortunately.

I left Prague International Airport at 9:40 AM, on a flight heading to Zurich. Next to me sat a Japanese lady who I chatted with for the entire flight. She works as a travel assistant: she is employed by a Japanese travel company, and she accompanies the Japanese clients on their trips abroad. Many Japanese cannot speak English well enough, so she does the work for them. She assists them in hotels, tours, and other communication matters. She has been to every inhabited continent, accompanying the Japanese clients.

Anyway, as she was flying to Tokyo while I am flying to New York City, we parted ways in Zurich. After going through the security checks in Zurich, I boarded my plane for New York City. Fortunately, I got exit row seats, so I was able to stretch my legs and not feel cramped. After 8 hours, we touched down in JFK.

The immigration in JFK was the usual. An hour of queueing before you get to speak with the immigration officer. No hassles this time, the only question he asked me was "What is the purpose of your trip?" to which I replied that I am a student. After that, the fingerprints, the photograph, and a resounding "Welcome to New York" then I was let inside the country again.

I picked up my bags in the carousel and cleared customs. An Air Jamaica flight touched down at the same time as my flight, so I was together with plenty of passengers carrying Jamaican rhum. One Jamaican family had plenty of suitcases, so when they exited the Arrivals Hall, I heard someone say "Someone brought the whole country with them." Yeah right.

I then hauled my baggage to Terminal 6 (my former flight was at Terminal 4) and checked my bags at the JetBlue counter. I was annoyed at the baggage handler that checked my baggage. After attaching the stickers, he just lifted my two baggages and threw them at the moving ramp. Hello! I know that my baggage are heavy, and I know that he picks up plenty of baggage every day, but my baggage are not a pair of weights that one jerks up from the ground and then throws them immediately afterward. I saw him do the same thing to the former passenger as well. Thus I sent JetBlue an email of complaint.

My troubles started when I was waiting for my last flight. My last flight from New York City to Buffalo got delayed. Well, every plane got delayed. I was supposed to depart JFK at 8:30 PM but as of that time, we were still not boarding. Apparently, there was a radar outage in JFK so no plane was able to land and take off. So after two hours, we were able to board. Our plane waited for a long time in the tarmac to take off. At around 10:10, we were still waiting for the go-ahead signal for take off. By the way, 10:10 was my supposed arrival time in Buffalo. Finally, at 10:30, we were able to take off, and at 11:45 I touched down in Buffalo. I then called the person to pick me up and that was the end of a long day.

The next day, I moved to my new apartment. It is slowly becoming mine, after some tweaking that I needed to do.

For this week, I am running some errands I needed to run, such as forms I need to fill up, among other things.

Anyway, I am glad to be back home. Another year up ahead.

PS: I didn't realize that it has been a year since I started this blog back in July 18, 2005. Wow. One year and still running eh?

Kutná Hora Part IV: Chrám sv. Barbory

This final post about Kutná Hora will deal about the Church of St. Barbara.

The Church of St.Barbara, as the name indicates, is dedicated to St. Barbara, the patron saint of miners. It is said that the church is worth visiting for the architecture, so we strolled from the Italian Court to the church.



On the way, we passed this Church of St. Jacob, a Romanesque church. See how bland the design is, compared to the church that we will see later, which is in the Gothic style.



This is a small alley that we passed on the way to the church. The name of the alley escapes my memory, but it is the name of a girl who was buried by her father alive, due to some small mistake.



This is a former Jesuit college that is across the church of St. Barbara. Now it is an abandoned structure.



Here it is, the Gothic church. Notice the spires on the side, again, a perfect place for human barbecue.



The other side.



And another side.



The front.



Again, the front, from afar this time.

Unfortunately, as with most of the other churches here in the Czech Republic, taking photographs inside the church is forbidden. But I can assure you that the inside of this church was a feast for the eyes, due to the amazing frescoes it had.



Finally, it is time to return home, and we rode this small single-car train to go to the main station, then we transferred to the express train back to Prague.

By the way, this will be my last travel post. I am flying back to Buffalo this coming Tuesday. Time to go back to my routine, eh?

Kutná Hora Part III: Interior of the Vlašský Dvůr

Since our ever-reliable guidebook recommended seeing the Italian Court, we decided to buy ourselves a ticket for the guided tour of the Vlašský Dvůr. The tour began at 2:00 and lasted for about 30-45 minutes.

By the way, we had a guide, who was very interesting.



This is a shot of our guide, letting us in. If you look at her from the back, she looks sexy, eh?



But if you look at her from the front, she looks like a female version of Chucky the Killer Doll, sans the chainsaw.



Anyway, here is one of the exhibits of the ancient coins. Kutna Hora was a mining town remember?



This is a silversmith's workshop. The silver was laid down on the round thing, and then he would then use a huge mallet to smack the silver piece and put the royal insignia to it.



Then, on to the main hall. This is a wall painting that shows the first ever Monarchial Elections in Bohemia. Yes, there was a time when the right to be king wasn't passed on by blood, but instead, by votes.



These are authentic 17th century chairs, used by the ancient Parliament.



This is th special exit to the balcony made for the emperor. The emperor was short, thus the size of the door.



Finally, this is the lucky post. Legend says it that anyone who touches this post will live prosperously. Yeah right...

Kutná Hora Part II: On to Vlašský Dvůr

After visiting the church of bones, we walked to the town center to visit other sites. I promise that none of the following pictures would be as macabre as the previous ones.

After a twenty-minute walk, we reached the town centre, with its typical Czech-style colorful buildings.



We went on a holiday, so there weren't a lot of people around. See the cobblestoned streets.



Another shot of the idyllic town.



The town center, with its decent food establishments and a lone fiacre waiting for tourists to chauffeur around.



The Italian Court, or Vlašský Dvůr. This was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, for its architecture and historical importance in Czech history.



A wall outside, reminding us of the Florentine style of architecture.



The outer wall is largely reconstructed, with original parts in its original color.



The courtyard. Notice the different colors of the pillars. The darker ones are the original stones, while the lighter ones are the reconstructed portions of the building.



The protruding window.



And the balcony, with the low-hanging door, just enough for the short-heighted emperor to go out and view his courtyard.



Finally, the view of the Bohemian countryside at the back of the building.

My next entry would show pictures of the magnificent interior of this building.

Kutná Hora Part I: Sedlec Kostnice

Kutná Hora. My last excursion outside of Prague. This is a place that is famous for its mining industry. It was once the second most-important town in the whole Bohemia, due to the fact that the money was mined from this town. It is also famous for the church of human bones, the Sedlec Ossuary. In this post, I will detail this church, and I will post pictures of other attractions in subsequent entries.

We went to Kutná Hora by train. It was a one-hour train ride from Prague Main Train Station.



Here is a shot of the non-descript not-too-optically-appeasing train station.



After an hour, we got off at a small station and walked a few meters to this statue. This statue marks the entrance to the ossuary. If you notice the small door at the left, that is where we went after gazing at this.



A close-up. A pope, a soldier, and someone in a toga.



Ah, the chandelier. Now that I review my shots, it was unfortunate of me not to take a shot of the panoramic view of the church. I only focused on the individual macabre items in the room. How unfortunate. By the way, this chandelier was made with human bones, and it is a fact that every piece of bone in the human body was used at least once in this chandelier.



The sculptor who did it all, Frantisek Rint, even used bones to affixate his signature in the wall. This was done in 1870. And you guessed it right again, these bones are the bones of the people who died in the plague in the medieval era.



Another shot underneath the chandelier.



The ceiling is decorated by these curtain-like ribbons of bones, connected together.



Another shot.



A two-dimensional sculpture of a crown, made with bones.



Finally, LIW-style wallpapers for your computer, if you want. This is one with flash.



And this is one with no flash.

Enjoy.

Mělník

I think I have had enough of tragedies. So after Terezín I went to Mělník.

Mělník is a town found on the north of Prague. It is famous as the place where the Czech wines are manufactured. So I went to a chateau that had a wine cellar. I also visited the chateau but they forbid me from taking pictures. The interior though, is amazing. Oh well. One must respect the laws of the host, eh?



This is the "town gate" should I say. I walked from the bus station to this tower, and after going under this tower, I found myself in the town square.



This is a typical town square for a Czech town. The square is lined up with the medieval-style houses that are painted with bright colors. I ate my packed lunch here, while enjoying the breeze.



I then reached the chateau, which was on the edge of the town. The back of the chateau offered this spectacular view of the rivers Vltava and Labe that part from this point.



So, on to the tour. Underneath the chateau, there is a place where one can find small barrels of wine.



And large barrels of wine.



Contrary to the optical illusion, the cellar is pretty dark. The only reason it seems so bright is because of the flash. This is some corner where the wine is being processed.



The pressing vat where the grapes are pressed. How redundant. I mean, the sentence.



Some more barrels. Notice the interesting creature on top of the big barrel.



I found this small enclave within a wall, filled with opened and closed bottles of wine. If not for my flash, I would have no idea what the enclave looked like, because it was total darkness. Seeing this, I would have second thoughts when drinking wine.



After the visit to the cellar, I visited this church, just next door. The reason was because this had an interesting ossuary, or crypt.



Yes, the crypt housed tons of bones, human bones. These were the bones of the people who died in the medieval plague.



Care to have bones for your wallpaper?

By the way, if you find boned interesting, then wait till I post pictures of my trip to Kutna Hora, which is another Bohemian countryside.