Christmas in Cadca

It's all about eating so far! My jet lag is also almost gone due to all the yummy food and sweet! It's white outside, except it wasn't snowing :(

I love Slovak's hospitality! I have been eating nonstop for two days!! (my goal of losing weight during this travelling is not happening so far!) For those who know my comment on my first impression on Slovakia 4 years ago ( Man's Heaven - beautiful women, cheap beer and ugly guys), I have to joyfully announce the news - Slovak men has evolved for better in the last 4 years!! :D

Christmas Eve

• People starved for the whole day
• Lots of homemade sweets (I have eaten 7 different cookies and cakes).
• It's great that we went for a walk before dinner or I would feel so guilty eating that much of food. The town is very empty, but the grave yard was busy in comparison.
• "Nice scarf" "It's from T" "This is from S" :p
• Txt from NZ warmed my heart. Texts from NZ are also text from the future.
• Candle set ornament (some people light up a candle four Sundays ahead)
• Watched typical Slovak/Russian fairytale Christmas movies: Mrazik (Father Frost), Perinbaba, Popoluska (Cinderella). I also watched the Shrek's Christmas special in Slovak, of course! Oh! The guys from CSI are so sexy while they all speak in Slovak!
• Dinner started with a prayer
• White wine
• The mother cut the bread, put a honey cross on the rice paper and put into bread, which is a representative for the cattle.
• Then the mother gave each of us the rice paper with honey cross and also put honey cross on our forehead
• First course: Potato with milk (it started light as people had fasted for the whole day, not me though :p I can't not eating when there were full of food on the table. That is against my religious.
• Second course: Cabbage soup with potato
• Third course: Cabbage with potato
• Main course: Fishes with potato salad (For religion reason, Catholics here don't eat meat)
• Some money was put under the table cloth until 6/Jan (Three Kings' day) when all the Christmas ornaments are taken down and the money will be donated to the poor or church.
• Dinner finished with another prayer.
• Presents opening. Guess what I got Tatransky Caj (52% alcohol!!) My alcoholic reputation is back
• Midnight Mass. I was going, but after so much food, alcohol and sweet, I just couldn't open my eyes. My jet lag (? maybe it's more to do with alcohol and food :x) kicked in around 8pm, which has been the best so far.

Christmas Day
She and her mother went to the midnight mess and I pretty much fell into sleep around 10pm after they left and didn't even hear them coming back in (good old ear plugs). On Christmas day, I went to the 9am Mass and it was a quiet time for me to do more reflection. After came back to her place, there were more food on the table!! The mother even packed me food for Zilina. What a hospitality! I accepted the offer because I know it will make her very proud and happy. This culture is quite Chinese, I find.

• Morning Mass. *Kiss* *Kiss* " :o Piece to you! You weren't supposed to kiss me!"
• Bread with garlic spread, Bread with ham+cheese+capsicum+tomato, little eyes (bread kebab), chicken soup with noodles and liver, deep fried pork with potato salad