F.A.T

Fleshy. Chubby. Elephantine. Pudgy. Plump. Swollen. Whalelike. Rotund. Obese. Gross. Corpulent. The list is not exhaustive. I could go on and on listing words that are associated with the notion of being FAT.

I fear putting on weight. Not because I am fat. But for someone whose weight has never hit over 50kg in her entire life and hovering around 44-46kg since in my twenties, gaining an extra kilos of flesh can be quite detrimental emotionally. Like any painfully vain bimbo, I embrace the idea that being slim is beautiful. Before anyone points his/her finger at me and accuses me of being a bitch who ridicules at inflated human beings, let me clarify that weight issues concerning others do not bother me at all. In fact, I think some people who have more flesh than usual do look beautiful and stunning. And I am envious of the fact that they have boobs.

I've gained a few pounds of flesh since my move to Algeria. For the first 6 months here, I've lost a considerable amount of weight due to several reasons such as difficulties adjusting to the new environment, lack of variety of food, missing home etc. But ever since I returned to Algeria after my trip back home in July, my weight has increased. And it has been heading north since then. On my recent trip back home in October, my grandmother-in-law told my mum-in-law that I was more fleshy. My mum-in-law then complimented on my weight gain and that I looked better with more flesh. But I was rather disturbed by the flattery. My ex-students whom I met up with also commented that I looked chubby in the face. That really upset me. I spent a good few hours staring at myself in the mirror the next day and asked myself life's most perilous question - AM I FAT?

So a few days ago, the same question started bugging me again as I've been feeling bloated from over consumption of carbs and chocolates. I decided to scrutinise the pictures of myself taken months ago and compared with the recent ones. Yes. It's confirmed. My face is rounder and chubbier. The pictures said it all. Alas, a catastrophe has befallen me.

Project "Celebrate with a Child"

Christmas is a time to celebrate the spirit of giving and sharing. So on Christmas day, each of us (me + the hubby + hubby's colleagues) invited 1 kid to join us for Christmas dinner at our usual pizza place in town. There were 12 kids in all. We rented a bus to pick them up from home before heading to town.

It was a night filled with joy and laughter. The kids enjoyed themselves and loved the goodie bags filled with candies. The smiles on their faces brought joy to all of us. It was indeed a very meaningful way to celebrate Christmas. I'm looking forward to next Christmas. Hopefully we could include more kids the next time round.

Group pic before heading to town.

Let's dig in!

Christmas logcake in Algerian style.

My driver, Ammar, and his daughter, Nabila.

Me with the lovely gals, Amina and Fatiha.

I love this pic! Look how happy they were. Too bad Taufik wasn't smiling.

(Left to right) Amine, Mohamad, Jason & Hussien.

Group picture before we said goodbye.

It's Done!

Yay! It's done! Not the prettiest tree around but at least I have a Christmas tree on my first Christmas in Algeria.

HAVE A MERRY MERRY CHRISTMAS
& A FABULOUS NEW YEAR!
MAY THE NEW YEAR BRINGS YOU JOY, PEACE & LOVE ALWAYS!!!

Mee Siam

I attempted to cook mee siam for the very first time. The results?

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WOO HOOOOOO!!!

SHOIK AH!!!!

*SLURPS*

Christmas Tree

Today is a happy day. My driver brought me to the mountain to chose a Christmas tree. I have been pestering the hubby to get me a real tree for weeks. I finally got one this afternoon.

It isn't the most good-looking tree but I chose it due to its manageable size. The ones which I initially wanted were all tall and huge. It would be a tedious task for my driver to unearth it and carry it to the car. And from where we were, it wasn't exactly near to the place where we parked the car.

My driver working hard to unearth the tree.

Mission accomplished.

The locals do not celebrate Christmas. There's no way we could get Christmas decorations for the tree. So I have to make them myself. Mostly, I used aluminium foil as the main material. I made a star out of a cardboard and wrapped it with aluminium foil. The star was placed on top of the tree. I also crushed the aluminium foil into balls and hung them on the tree. I intend to add a touch of gold to it. It's a little too boring with silver all over. So I'll be getting ferrero rochers and hanging them up on the tree. After Christmas, we could all enjoy the chocolates. I haven't bought the lights yet and will get my driver to buy them from town soon.

I was rather satisfied and happy with the progress I had made for the decorations this evening. I thought the tree looked lovely. But the hubby's colleagues obviously thought otherwise. While I was away, they sprinkled flour onto the tree to give the 'snow-on-branches' effect and drape serviettes all over it. They even added scraps of unwanted paper on it. How creative is that? I wasn't angry. In fact, I thought they were rather cute to come out with such an idea to 'surprise' me. I supposed men will always be boys somehow.

I haven't removed their masterpiece yet. I have decided to showcase their talent and creativity for a day more.

That's the boys' masterpiece. It doesn't look too bad from the pic eh.

Eh Mister!

Eh Mister!
Would you please grow up?
Don't be a whiner when your fat belly growls.
The belly is yours.
The responsibility is yours.
So stop all the complaining
And act like an adult.

Eh Mister!
Would you please grow up?
Your mind is corrupted.
Your breath smells like trash.
So clean up your act
And give others their due respect.

Eh Mister!
Would you please grow up?
Your yakkati yakkati yak has ended.
So let's not start another round.
Speak only when you are told.
For the noise would only do damage to the soul.

Eh Mister!
WOULD YOU JUST GROW UP?!?

Blackout for 18 hours

Last Sunday was the coldest night I had experienced in my whole life.

The weather was cold and wet that day. And of all day, we had to live without electricity that night. The blackout took place at about 10pm. There was pretty much nothing we could do except to go to bed and hid under the duvet. And to show how cold it was that night without our electric heater, I had on me 3 layers of clothings excluding my thermal wear and wore 2 pairs of socks.

The hubby began his symphony of snoring once he hit the bed while I tried very hard to get into a slumber. My attempt was futile. The harder I tried, the more awake I was. It was simply too cold to fall asleep.

At around 1.30am, there was a sudden deafening sound of rapid succession of beats on the roof top. The sound was unlike the pitter patter of the rain and yet it sounded familiar. I thought it might be a hail. I got out of bed to check and true enought it was hailing! Overwhelmed with excitement, I woke the hubby up. The hubby went to the front door to confirm what I had told him. When he opened the door, what lay before our eyes were hailstones on the ground! I couldn't help but squeal with joy as I witnessed hailstones raining from the sky. It was the second time we had a hail!

I could not remember when I fell asleep but when I woke up the next morning, my eyelids were heavy and I felt as if my whole body was frozen. There was still no electricity and it was pouring outside. I refused to get out of bed and decided to be a polar bear that hibernates during winter. At about 2 plus in the afternoon, I finally quit being a polar bear. The sleep proved to be too much for me. I could feel there was a dent at the back of my head.

I tried to read while waiting for the electricity to come on. At about 4 plus, we finally had electricity! I was overjoyed! Imagine living in freezing cold for 18 hours! I hope I won't ever go through such torture again!

My Hero!

"Are you at the dentist? What did the dentist say?" I sent an SMS to the hubby. After about 10 minutes or so, my phone peeped.

"Wah! Took out already! 10 sec. Can't talk now." I would imagine the whole procedure to be rather frightening not to mention of extreme pain. If I were in the hubby's shoe, I doubt I would have the courage to let an Algerian dentist extract my wisdom tooth. I just don't think I would be in safe hands. My hubby is truly brave! He's my hero!

So after several hours, the hubby came home a mute. Once he stepped into the house, I bombarded him with numerous questions which all suggested one main concern I had - if it was safe to extract the wisdom tooth. I read on several websites that there could be some complications involved removing a wisdom tooth. The nerves could be damaged if not done properly.

Unable to speak, the hubby nodded his head and replied a weak 'Yes' and 'Ok' just to assure me that he was fine. He then took out his wisdom tooth all wrapped up in tissue paper. I know I run the risk of sounding like a bimbo but I have to say the wisdom tooth looked rather huge for a tooth. The first reaction was an "eeeekk!" followed by the must-take-pic reaction. So, here's a pic of the hubby's wisdom tooth.

Isn't it huge? Are all wisdom tooth about the same size?

Later that evening, the hubby made a confession over dinner. The hubby told me that his heart was actually palpitating wildly when the dentist was about to extract the tooth. I asked him why. He said he was afraid that it would be painful. When I heard that, I was laughing secretly inside my heart. "Heehee...u also scare of pain!", a voice sounded in my head. Then I told myself, "Never mind lah! You are still my hero!"

Eve of Eid al-Adha

My friends and goddaughter donated some stationery for the kids studying in the primary school near my place. So I decided to give them these lovely gifts on the eve of Eid al-Adha (Festival of Sacrifice). In Singapore, this day is also known as Hari Raya Haji. I thought it was a perfect day to celebrate the spirit of giving.

Besides the stationery, we also brought with us chocolates. The kids were so happy to receive the gifts. I could see the joy on their faces which made me even happier. Some of them even remembered to say 'thank you' - something which I had taught them when they received something from someone. I was really delighted. I felt like a teacher all over again while I was in the classroom. It is truly a blessing to give than to receive!

Posing for the camera while receiving the pen.

Doesn't she look sweet?

This little cheeky monkey is absolutely adorable and he's definitely good at posing for the camera.

It's Raining Ice!!!

I experienced my very first hailstorm on 2 December, Tuesday. The pellets of ice which were like the size of a M&M choc landed like marbles on my rooftop. In a split second, the pitter-patter intensified and became deafening. I stood by the windows, taking in the sight and sound of my first experience of a hailstorm. In less than half an hour, the ground was covered by a layer of ice. It looked as if it had snowed. Beautiful!

The beginning of a hailstorm. Can you see the hailstones amongst the gravel?

More hailstones raining from the sky.

It was starting to look like snow on the ground.

Footprints on the ground which seemed as if the ground was covered with a layer of snow.