Wass Dining

CHALLENGE  ACCOMPLISHMENT # 3

THE RESOLUTION: Food from 13 Different Countries

The outside of this establishment is an unimpressive yet deceiving entrance, likened to an after hours Shwarma stand. As you descend the staircase into this basement restaurant it opens up immediately into large rooms filled with dozens of tables. The walls are covered with Ethiopian decor, pictures, painted cloth and colourful and informative menus. It's impossible not to learn something about the Ethiopian culture here even though you only came for the meal.

Checking out the facts. 

For example;
"Ethiopian cooking, like Ethiopia itself, now em-bodies elements of several cultures – in Ethiopia there are over 80 languages spoken by people of different ethnic groups living side by side as members of a nation with a long and continuous history of independence and by-and-large unadulterated traditional values. Food in Ethiopia is perhaps more important in everyday social relations than it is in western cul-tures; it is varied, it is interesting, and it is delicious."
Quoted directly from http://www.wassethiopianrestaurant.com

January Review Part II

CHALLENGE  ACCOMPLISHMENT # 7, 8, 9
THE RESOLUTION: Write a letter

Dearest Family
I created this particular letter writing resolution with the full recognition that I am unbelievably blessed to have crossed paths with so many extraordinary people throughout my life. Moreover, I recognize that I am hopelessly terrible at staying in touch with most of these individuals. The absolute goal here is to let you know how much you mean to me, always, even though I may have never told you before. Needless to say that this is the type of resolution I would consider personal. So I will hold my accountability to ThirteenSquared for certain, but the details will not be shared publicly.

The first 3 letters, as illustrated by the tell tale title, were for 3 different member of my family. Perhaps the only people whom you do not get to choose to be in your life from the start, as well as ones who almost undoubtedly get to witness the very worst of you at some point. The blood ties are not enough, tell them how much you love them... I did. 

CHALLENGE  ACCOMPLISHMENT # 10
THE RESOLUTION: Meaningful Hangs

An Indonesian Reunion (January 8th)

One of the hardest bonds to explain to those who have never experienced it is the magical bond of travellers. I guess first you would have to imagine yourself spending weeks/months/years traversing the globe, living out of a backpack, parting ways with ALL expectations, specially those concerning health, safety and nutrition. Then add to that the cultural immersion and language barriers. Imagine being unable to communicate your needs or desires. Imagine being in a land where your way of thinking, your beliefs, how you dress and what you think you know make you not just an outsider, but a completely un-relatable alien! (It is  a fantastic feeling in case you are getting the wrong idea :P) Only now can you even start to consider what it would feel like to feel understood again.
I met Sarah in Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia. I was looking for independent, freedom seeking adventurers to go cave tubing with me. Yes, in a tube, in a cave. Thanks to local couchsurfing hosts and the internet, I actually put together a team of 6: 3 new Indonesian friends and 3 female solo backpackers (including me). That adventure was a story worthy on its own but this entry lands the first 'meaningful hangout' resolution as Sarah and I came together again many month later and on a whole other continent, as if we had been friends all our lives.
There are many people I've met throughout my travels, people that I have know for only days, hours even.  People I have never seen since, and maybe never will again, but nonetheless, will always be regarded as one of my best friends. Like with Sarah, our world connection will never again let us feel like strangers.

CHALLENGE  ACCOMPLISHMENT # 11
THE RESOLUTION: Meaningful Hangs

A Stand Up Guy (January 10th)

You could say that I've moved around... a lot! But somehow Hamilton has managed to not let me go for more than the years it took for me to complete my Neuroscience degree at McMaster University. For the first time since I was a little kid in Guatemala, I have started developing long-term relationships/friendships.

Jose (or Joe as I took to calling him) is one of the few people who has been a good presence in my life for more than 5 years now. That's quite unprecedented in my books. While off travelling the globe for a year I found out that my good friend would be shipping off to Nova Scotia to continue his service in the Canadian navy. Thankfully our schedules overlapped just enough, that I got to see him one last time; a feat that involved him coming to pick me up at the airport and a meaningful Hello/Goodbye dinner at Kelsey's before he got shipped away.

I'm going to miss you Joe. Come visit real soon please!

CHALLENGE  ACCOMPLISHMENT # 12
THE RESOLUTION: Food from 13 Different Countries

Vietnamese @ Pho Dau Bo (January 12th)
One of my favourite meals in the world is also a definite win in terms of price and nutrition. A huge bowl of noodles and beef (or tendon) with bean sprouts, mint leaves and a hot tea will never break the bank and guaranteed to fill you up. (I struggle with accepting anything soup-like as a meal so this is the real deal actually :)

Interesting fact:
I was beyond psyched to sample the real thing when I arrived in Vietnam, the home country for hot, steamy bowls of pho. As a backpacker on a dime I spent a month in this country eating street food. Not like picking up scraps... like vendors. The most popular way to do so is to find the tiniest plastic tables and stools on the sidewalk somewhere and sit there. Undoubtedly a motherly looking Vietnamese woman will appear behind the large tub containing all the rations of home-made pho that will supply her business for the day. The experience always ends up being better than the actual meal. I still love the pho IN Vietnam, but it simply will never compare to the quality ingredients and flavour in Canadian pho!
(Not to mention the peace of mind that comes with not having to wonder what animal your 'beef' just came from :{ )

Vietnam has thousands of other food specialties not to mention the unbelievable history and versatile nature of the attractions here. Don't miss it.

The beautiful hand-made lanterns of Hoi An

Hanging with my new friend in the Northernmost mountains of Sapa, Vietnam. 

This is my pho of choice: http://www.pho-daubo.ca

No Pants in Toronto

THE RESOLUTION: Challenges by YOU!

CHALLENGE  ACCOMPLISHMENT # 1

Impossible to ignore Joe and April taking
pictures of me!

I'm not sure what I expected (or what I was thinking!) when I created the final ThirteenSquared resolution. Apart from finding an exciting way of including you, whomever you may be, I opened myself up for more creative suggestions than I ever stopped to consider. In fact, the first two submission have already proven the versatile nature of the possible challenges.  They both push me outside the boundaries of my 'normality' in very different ways and in my world this can only mean one thing: adventures in self-discovery.

My evil genius little sister Maite has proposed that I go one week, a whole, entire, WEEK without internet. I have accepted this challenge and so I will full fill it... at some point, before the year is up. This is truly a challenge in the sense of the word. Surely I will get to write quite the story on this one with all those hours of my life that will suddenly free up. But this story, is about that other challenge, the one that proposed that I casually take off my pants in a very, very (context inappropriate) public place in the huge metropolis of Toronto Canada.

January in Review (Part I)

The first month of ThirteenSquared has been a truly stellar experience. The blog has started to take shape (mostly in my mind) and the stories are developing slowly. I aim to keep this adventure fun with a hint of inspiration and a dash of humour; this is as much for myself as it is for you. I'm determined to never subject you to a boring story just because I completed another challenge. This has of course required some creative adjustments to the original format. Accountability for all 169 challenges will definitely be provided as promised. This is after all the founding purpose of creating this blog. So for the less... exciting of the challenges, short format documentation will be produced in the form of these monthly reviews.
I should mention that selfishly, I am absolutely thrilled about this amendment. In addition to figuring out  how to keep ThirteenSquared more relevant I have also created something that I look forward to reading too. (For those of you who don't know, I love lists! I make list for everything and fill my planner with checklists. Why? Because crossing off completed tasks and checking of boxes makes me happy. Seriously though, I love feeling accomplished, love it. And what better way to SEE that success than a checklist full of checks? :)

Can't wait to see this be completely full by the end of the year!

Lists

Designated Driver

Try something new

Volunteer

Write a letter

Swim

Cook/Bake

Read Completed

Random Acts of Kindness

Make artsy things

Food from 13 countries

Fix 13 things

Meaningful get togethers

Challenges by you

1

2013/01/01

2013/01/07

2013/01/27

2013/01/13

2013/01/30

laptop

2013/01/19

2013/01/01

2013/01/08

2013/01/13

2

2013/01/02

2013/01/07

2013/01/03

2013/01/12

2013/01/10

3

2013/01/04

2013/01/09

2013/01/16

2013/01/14

4

2013/01/06

5

2013/01/18

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

Anything with a (*) beside it has an excellent and entertaining full story published right here on ThirteenSquared. Check it out if you haven't seen it already!

Without further ado, I present January:

A tale of my relationship with food

CHALLENGE  ACCOMPLISHMENT # 1

THE RESOLUTION: Food from 13 countries


First of, I would like to mention that I absolutely love food! I love eating and often eat until I need to rolled away from the table. I am completely thankful to my intense athletic upbringing for allowing not to be obese by now.

Now, I am not what most people may consider a 'foodie'. I won't be the kind of person who will describe the attributes of the food I will be sampling on this challenge. Nor will I be able to tell you what expensive wine to pair each plate with. I am quite simply open to trying anything new whether its a fancy restaurant serving strange looking aphrodisiacs or snacking on grasshoppers with my new Indonesian friends. I only really have 2 limits that I know of.

 1) Monkeys and Rats
Mainly because of their capacity to carry major diseases that will kill me. And definitely because I love, love, love monkeys, apes, chimps, gorillas, orangutans and I'm absolutely certain none of them will ever want to be my friend again if I eat one of their brothers!
2) Spicy food
This can also be considered life and death. It is not simply that I do not like it or that I'm not brave enough. In fact, I recognize that many spices have amazing health benefits. Unfortunately, a still unknown spice/pepper has been responsible for a near death experience I had a long time ago (certainly felt that way). So this throat inflating allergy that keeps me from being able to breathe, is also responsible for my fear and distaste for most spicy foods.

The first of 13 foods from countries around the world will be a meal at a Syrian restaurant called Ugarit that I went to with my sister when we were visiting Barcelona.
I ordered the 'Meat Arayes Combination Dish' and Maite opted for the 'Kafta Combination Dish', also a meat dish. The combination meant that our dishes were accompanied by hummus, falafel, a salad and a variety of cream sauces. Both plates were absolutely delicious and an enormous portion for sure. I have to give definite credit to the Kafta meat though. I truly don't know how to describe foods so I won't try to. If you are ever in Barcelona or one Ugarit's other locations, I definitely recommend you take the opportunity to sample their tasty Syrian food for yourself.

http://www.ugarit.es


















One woman. One year. 3 down. 166 to go.