@Gabi Amaral - it’s downright tropical here in Ottawa right now.. I am still board shorts, flip flops and coffee t-shirts! 

@Paulo - I think we are all looking forward to this winter break. I took advantage of a break between tasks to catch a little rest outside this afternoon 

working on my tan… 

@Gabi Amaral - it’s downright tropical here in Ottawa right now.. I am still board shorts, flip flops and coffee t-shirts! 

 

@Paulo - I think we are all looking forward to this winter break. I took advantage of a break between tasks to catch a little rest outside this afternoon 

working on my tan… 

Hahaha! Enjoy while the weather is still pleasant

HAHAHAHA @john.desborough meanwhile in Canada indeed! Minus temperatures...oh my god, this is the only thing I don't miss about Canada! The folks in Australia must be going to the beach at the moment!  @belinda_long @TFJunkie @Kosta 

Here in Porto it's fine, right now, it's 14 C! Pretty good for the Winter! Getting excited for the festivities! 

@Gabi Amaral I hope you finally had some wine! Sounds like some nice temps up there!
 

@john.desborough for a second, I thought that meme was you HAHAHHAHA. 

I spent the holidays with my extended family (aka friends) in Rome, and it was rainy all the days except today!

My friend did most of the cooking, and we’re terrible at taking photos, so this is the best one I have of her food.  It was basically a mix of American/Italian food (she’s been in Italy for over 10 years now), and then we went to our other friend’s place, which was a mix of Italian/British food!

How was the holiday for you, @Gabriel @Michaela @belinda_long @TFJunkie @Kosta @Gabi Amaral ?

@Liz - looks great and you did it right - had other people cook for you! lol.. 

yeah, that does look like me .. a lot .. or it did lol.. greyer hair now… 

maybe i will try for a recreation of that this afternoon.. lol

NOT!

cheers everyone!

Ok ok okkkkk guys, I have been super quite because - you know - holidays and all.

It’s always so nice to come back to these threads and see what everyone’s been doing! And that’s also exactly why I came over today. To see what this lovely group of folks has been up to 

Actually, kidding, I also wanted to share this picture that perfectly sums up my parents’ house (not only during Christmas). If you couldn’t tell, the theme is ‘cats’ 

Oooh @Liz, I'm happy it's sunny in Rome now! I did have a lot of wine in the last days but I completely forgot to take photos! Everything is closed here with the restrictions so I'm only staying at home, eating, watching movies and that's pretty much it! Can't complain because I'm having a lot of fun with my family! 
I'll head to Lisbon tonight and I'll make sure to take some photos of NYE to share over here. 

@Michaela Love the theme "Cats" and the Christmas tree is also amazing! Did you have a nice Christmas? What are the foods you usually eat on this period? This question is to you as well, @john.desborough and @belinda_long! I'm always curious about food! 

I highly recommend getting a friend that refuses to let you cook, @john.desborough ! 

@Michaela That cat haha! They look so comfortable!! How old is the cat? 

@Gabi Amaral Well, that was only two hours (literally!) of sun, and now it’s back to rain. It’s supposed to be cloudy today, so we’ll see! Any good films you’ve been watching? I just finished Don’t Look Up, and I’m not sure how I feel about it. 

Yesterday, I went to Vecchia Roma, which is one of my favorite places in Rome, and had their infamous dish, bucatini all'amatriciana flambe and nearly died of happiness. 

Hiii @Liz! I watched "Don't look up" as well and although I appreciate the message, I didn't like it! It's weird! Thing to remember: Don't trust movies with a lot of famous actors, they're always weird/bad! 

Oh, I watched "Encanto" these days and I looooove it! It's about the family Madrigal from Colombia. Super cute! I also watched "Cruella" with Emma Stone and it was nice but still not my favorite! Hehehe.

Well, if the weather is bad, at least you're in Italy so you can always eat amazing pasta!  Loooove amatriciana sauce! And how are your plans for NYE? Anything interesting going on? Btw and how are the restrictions in Rome? 

@Gabi Amaral I felt the same! I think the movie was only survivable because it had good actors, but I definitely didn’t find it funny. I had no idea it was actually a comedy when I started watching. 

I’ll add those movies to my list!
 

I just got to Paris for NYE, but of course, it’s raining here too.  It seems like the biggest restrictions here are that clubs are closed, but that’s about it from all I’m researching. Any plans on your side? Or @john.desborough @Michaela @paulo!

@Gabi Amaral @Liz - Encanto has been watched 6 no 7 times in the last 3 days as part of the “daddy, come here and watch with me” marathon. 

Raya and the Last Dragon was also on the list, as well as Over the Moon, Coco,  most of the old Disney catalogue.. 

NYE - snowshoeing in the evening with the ladies, hot chocolate and gingerbread cookies, then after the rest of the house is asleep by 11, i will be able to watch the festivities and drink a nice quiet glass of whisky. quietly.. lol.. (that’s we old folks do… lol)

Exactly, @Liz! Tbh I coudn't even watch it til the end and this is very rare to me! I always watch the movies until the end! I'm in Lisbon now and the weather is great as usual, but of course, the party I was going to go is cancelled so now I'm trying to find something to do! Tbh, I'd love to be in Brazil for NYE!

​​​​​​@john.desborough Loooove Encanto! Hahaha Coco is also one of my favorites! Good selection you have over there! Are you going to cook the gingerbread cookies? 

Hey Community! I'm very excited for 2022 and I already have some ideas of places I want to visit this year! So, hopefully this thread will be very active (hopefully, will be working from a lot of different places!). 

I have some countries on my list such as: Brazil, Albania, Montenegro, Croatia, Greece, Australia (my sister who lives there is pregnant so I'll be an auntie! Need to plan my visit to meet my nephew!). What about you? Any ideas of where to travel this year? @Liz @john.desborough @Paulo @Michaela @belinda_long @Olgasolo @TFJunkie   

@john.desborough @Gabi Amaral Ah, I should really watch encanto! I haven’t yet. 

@Gabi Amaral what did you end up doing for NYE? Did you stay in Lisbon? Australia is a great place to have on the list, too!! A few of my friends live there, and I went there when I was younger. I need to go back - one of my friends just bought a home there. Hopefully they open the borders this year (or maybe they are open?) so you can go. 

Also, @john.desborough did you get all the snow up there? I’m not excited to return to it this weekend, especially after the sun finally came out in France (after rain….) last weekend: 

@Gabi Amaral @Liz - welcome back to the working world lol

Snow: nope.. didn’t get it over the weekend. They were calling for 10cm last night but it seemed to go around us .. i was awake at 3 am and watching the stars in a clear cold sky. Hopefully some more snow this week but it is just showing flurries so far. sigh

Travel: hah! At this point, I would like to be able to travel 2 hours away to Montreal to visit the spawn lol. Will likely be another quiet, stay-put first 6 months of the year - also hamstrung by school year lol. Plans right now are to visit the Rockies with Mikaela this summer and see a little more of Canada.. 

But I am trying to plan a sneak-away on my own to Barcelona in the fall… 

@Liz I ended up going to a friend's terrace and we had a party with 15 people over there. Everyone tested in the same day so I felt safe! It was good fun, we had a lot of food and drinks and the weather was not bad! Yes, I love Australia but it's far and not sure how are the restrictions at the moment. Do you happen to have an idea, @belinda_long? 

@john.desborough Hahaha not ready to the working world yet!!  I'm joking, just trying to get back on track with some of my 2022 goals! I'll go back to Barcelona tonight and in 15 days should be flying to Rio de Janeiro to surprise my mom(She thinks I'll arrive on the 31st, but actually I'll be there on the 20th!) Very excited for it! It'll be nice to be with my family. Wow Des, I love the Rockies, ridiculously beautiful! I'm sure she'll love it! 

Passing by to tell you all that I'm back in Barcelona! Cold but sunny but I'll be home most of the times these next weeks! It seems everyone in the world got covid so I want to make sure to be safe! 

Wishing you all a great weekend! 

Ok, I'm getting curious to know where @Liz is working from at the moment!!  I believe no one else is traveling at the moment, right? @john.desborough @Paulo @Michaela

@Gabi Amaral - um.. well.. er…. i travel from the office on the lower floor to the dining room table to sit beside my daughter during online kindergarten.. and back again.. does that count??

We are back on/still in restricted travel motions due to omicron. but that should resolve itself in a year or two. 

lol

also the joys of having a soon to be 6 yr old - tied to school year (mostly) for the next millenium

I feel you @john.desborough! My youngest is finally in her senior year in High School and I'm looking forward to have some independence from the scholar calendar.

@Gabi Amaral Abroad flights are halted due the Omicron, except for the natives. Which means if I leave the country I might not be able to come back, so... No traveling for this guy for a while

Hahaha ofc that counts, @john.desborough!  Oh, yes, restriction are back! Btw, have you got the booster shot?

​​​Ah @Paulo, I understand. But I thought you had the Japanese citizenship! How does it work to get it by naturalization?  
 

@Gabi Amaral - both my wife and I are boosted and and Mikaela gets her second shot on Feb 4th. Luckily, or at least as of yesterday’s announcement from the province, schools are set to re-open on Monday - the benefits of children in school outweighs the risks of covid.. let’s hope that works. 

@Gabi Amaral Nope! I have the Permanent Residence Visa, but not the citizenship. Naturalization in pretty difficult, as you need to be proficient in reading/writing Japanese characters along with a long list of requisite. That would not be a problem for me now, but if you weigh all the work to get the citizenship against the benefits, it’s not worth the effort.

Hi all! Sorry I haven’t been giving any fun updates. I’m back in cold, desolate Chicago, and this is the scenic view from my window: 

It finally reached above 0F here recently, but when I cam back, it was VERY cold, and thus, I have not been going outside. 

Though, I’ll be getting oysters with some friends today, so you know there will be pictures! 

@Paulo Are you fluent in Japanese? How long did it take you to learn it, if you know it? (I don’t want to assume!)

@Liz It took me 2 years to learn the basics, and another 5 years to become fluent at a native level. However, the reading/writing is a never ending learning process. Now I can read/write about 4,000 characters, which is about the same a college student would learn, but you are never really done when it comes to learn the Japanese characters.

Looking forward to the oysters photos!