Winter can be so depressing. But it’s even more depressing, in my opinion, without snow. I actually have snowman earrings I wear sometimes in order to encourage the Weather Gods, but since that hasn’t worked, I have been talking to people the last few days about how something has got to give – meaning, either the Weather Gods have to give us snow or lighter mornings. I just can’t handle the winter otherwise.

In fact, I was having a conversation about this with my dad just Monday:

And it’s true! Today we got a massive (compared to nothing…) amount of snow. I can’t find how many centimeters it was but it was enough to cause major traffic accidents.

I took some photos on my happy walk to Borač:

Here’s the only problem. I’m the type of person who never checks the weather forecast, or even looks outside her window to see what it’s like before getting dressed or leaving the house. I want to wear what I want to wear, so I put it on and don’t care about the weather. This has led to many a day getting rain-drenched- I’m incorrigible. But to be fair, it’s too dark to see much of anything at 6:30 am anyway 😦

Still, as I have been told today, there’s not much of an excuse for this:

It’s funny; I almost never wear these shoes, which are called tenisky in Czech after the British English “tennis shoes.” (Thankfully I have a Bigfoot Boyfriend who ordered me to walk in his footsteps so I don’t get sick. Psh. Czech people and their obsessions with my American right to make stupid footwear choices.) But I decided to turn my bad decision into a good lesson for my youngest students, teaching them the phrase, “You should/n’t” and asking them to advise me on how to dress properly 😀

I’m just glad I wasn’t wearing these shoes:

In Borač, we had lunch with my boyfriend’s grandmother. After lunch, she asked me if I had ever tried her apple horseradish. The answer was no, so she gathered her ingredients and grated them into a bowl. Then she sat expectantly across the table from me as I tasted it. I don’t know if you can imagine what happened next…

You put the spoon in your mouth and immediately say, “MMMM, apple.” This feeling continues for a few milliseconds but then the taste changes, gets strange… suddenly there is FIRE in your nose and you are coughing and tearing up, and wondering to yourself, “WHY ARE THESE APPLES SO SPICY?!”

Every time you test it, expecting it to be less harsh, but no… it’s not. It just surprises you again and again by targeting different sinuses. After I ate half a bowl, I could feel every single pathway in my face 😛 This is why, Grandma says, it’s great for people with colds!

Strange combination, overall good, save it for special occasions 😛

I suggested that the Czech presidential candidates hold a contest to see who can handle more apple-horseradish combo, and the winner will be declared president.

In other news, I just found out Brno has a cat café – Kočičí Pelíšek. I’m wondering how behind I am on this. I LOVED Lviv’s Cat Cafe, which I was so lucky to happen upon when I had to pee badly after being on a bus for seven hours overnight, and enjoyed the cappuccinos and kitties so much I went back a second time- not just because they could speak English and had a toilet! 😀 I’m looking forward to a visit ASAP!