nadiafebina.com

Just before I went for a vacation in China, somewhere in 2005, I was informed by a friend and actually also by a travel book not to be surprised to read some english statements in billboards or public places that is not easily understood. Aparently those are just straight literal translation of Chinese to English. And it is funny to find out that some chinese migrants have brought this to Angola, too.

In Angola, as well as some African countries (I was told), a lot of construction project are underway and being done by Chinese companies, and that might be the reason why Chinese food is quite popular here in Angola. Although food in Angola is generally quite okay, more to the "safe" side with lots of Portuguese influence -ingredients are mainly garlic, pepper, salt, and olive oil- as an Indonesian who is used to spicy and rich-taste food, I am so happy that a lot of Chinese restaurants are in Luanda. Not all are good, but there are some good ones, of course.

Couple of days ago I went to another Chinese restaurant that I do not so often go to,  and all of a sudden memories from my vacation in China flashed! When I tried to pick the food from the menu, I was actually quite amazed that they had all 3 languages in the menu: chinese, portuguese, and english. But still, it took me sometime to pick my choices for the dinner.

 Just take a look at the names of the food:  
- Does the Pot Chicken (= chicken in a hot pot??);
- Explodes the Banana (= Fried Banana??),
- Explodes the Apples (= fried apples??),
- Saliva Chicken (=spicy chicken??)..

After a while I can figure out what the name actually means, except this one:

- Imperial Concubine Milk Emperor Steamed Stuffed Bun (= ........????????)

I was so tempted to order, but since that day I did not feel too adventurous, I decided not to. Next time, for sure!

I am you. I am him. I am her.

I am a princess. I am a peasant.
I am a general of an army. I am a helpless child.
I am a geisha. I am a samurai.
I am an angel. I am a demon.
I am a trader.
I am a president.

I am you.
You are me.
I am him.
I am her.

I am nothing. I am everything.

Life is a joke.
Let's laugh with it.

:D

Have a good week, friends! Let's not work too hard, it's not healthy. :)

Hello... Am officially back in Luanda. And it is rainy here!

Gotta catch up with backlog at work but also to upload some pics from my vacation. It was a nice one so would like to share the photos with you.

 This is one pic that I have uploaded... So can you guess where I was? Hehe.

I'm taking a 2-week break from work and from blogging. Happy easter to anyone who celebrates easter.

In the meantime, I bumped into this video. Somehow it gives this warm feeling.. Or is it just me again? :)

Speak to you later.. !

Before living in Luanda, I did not know this important fact about slavery. Apparently the first black slaves were the ones taken from Angola by the Portuguese back in the colonial days. And that is why sinceever I arrived here it has always been in my agenda to visit this compact and nicely put slavery museum about 30min at the south of Luanda. People here call it: Museu da Escravatura.

So 2 weeks ago, things were carefully planned. We got the brochure of this museum and it is explicitly said that it is open Sat and Sun until 18.00. So that Sunday I was going with my husband and our friends the lovely malaysian couple for a recreational trip to this area outside Luanda which is a very nice area with road on a cliff looking over atlantic ocean.

We did a little bit of swimming, lunch, and then finally it was about time to visit the museum. It was 2.30pm. Although with our limited Portuguese basic conversational level, four of us are pretty sure that the gate guard of the museum said that the museum was open. We even paid the parking fee for Kz350 as everyone is obliged to do so. We parked the car, climbed up to the big rock where the museum is on, and found that the museum was closed! Knock knock knock..  nobody's inside. But there were aparently some people patiently waiting for the door to be opened. And of course it was never opened. *oh how i'm so used to this! hehe.. T.I.A*

We got back home empty handed. The "museu de escravatura" in what-to-visit-in-Angola list was not then ticked. Well, next time....

But, was happy that at least I got a chance to take a photo with these lovely ladies with lovely Angolan national dress. Click click click! :)

Frustated of always speaking in not-my-mother-tounge language, I just created a new indonesian blog. Still in the same nadiafebina.com, but in different room.

If you happen to be able to read a bit of bahasa Indonesia, I would like to invite you to visit.
See you there! :)

Applying mindfulness in money management.. That sounds keren! (keren in bahasa Indonesia Jakarta dialect, means: cool or... hot. Well, it depends).

I did not read her book yet, but her blog is pretty cool too.

So , who says people who does yoga can not be chic.. And that to be chic is to spend a lot of money? :)

From www.usnews.com

 

Applying Yoga to Your Money Management
By Kimberly Palmer
Posted March 12, 2008

Kimberly Wilson, author of Hip Tranquil Chick: A Guide to Life On and Off the Yoga Mat andentrepreneur (she runs clothing, jewelry, and yoga studio businesses), urges a "mindful" approach to personal finance. Successful money management isn't necessarily about pinching pennies, she says, but about making sure spending habits are aligned with one's values.

Read more.......