meet dodek

At the very end of the semester, Fernando, my teacher had an accident and the classes were cancelled. Because of this, Chris had to do even more. He was correcting my handwriting, because I had to learn from the beginning how to write without a keyboard. He was also making a small talks about strange topics and listening to my terrible monologues. I really like talking with people, but when there is only me and no one else to chat, I just stop, because it is weird.


Besides, my friends: Pedro, Dani and Rafael had additional work - they were correcting my writing. Do you know any better people than Spaniards to correct those? Thank you. With your help I could improve my writing.


The cake is for all of you who helped me to prepare to the exam. You are amazing.


I still want to improve my Spanish. Living in Spain without mastering the language is like flying without wings.

Little heart shaped cookies stuffed with custard cream with rum or coffee flavour with strawberries and mint on top, to make your day better.

During the gastronomy contest in EOI I was given brief information about the ingredients. I need to ask about a proper recipe because my humus tasted differently than the one made by a Syrian.


Do you think having a recipe is useful?


Do you like humus?

Teaching - what exactly does this word mean? In my opinion it is much more than explaining the rules, reading books, doing exercises, it is opening our brains to the world. Each person has his story and when you listen to it you can understand more about cultural differences and problems they usually cause.


Yesterday the Spanish Department of EOI Malaga organised a gastronomy contest. Participants from different countries brought typical dishes from their areas and briefly explained the recipes. Some told jokes or stories.


Do you know the history of sandwich? It is very interesting. The first written usage of the English word appeared in Edward Gibbon's journal, in longhand, referring to "bits of cold meat" as a "Sandwich". It was named after John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, an 18th-century English aristocrat. It is said that he ordered his valet to bring him meat tucked between two pieces of bread, and others began to order "the same as Sandwich!"


There were participants who moved during their life several times, that's why some dishes contained ingredients from different countries. For example, a man born in Indonesia who lived in Germany for years made bami goreng - a pasta with German sausages (bratwurst) with Asian-flavoured sauce.


The Italians prepared two pies. One filled with cheese and ham decorated with hearts and another one with spinach. They also made arancini - stuffed fried balls and crepes.


At first I did not know what to prepare because many typical polish dishes are supposed to be hot or at least warm. I made kapuśniaczki - dumplings in two different flavors with cabbage and onion that are usually served during Christmas and with lentils. From the same dough I made rożki - sweet cookies with plum jam and marzipan. What you can see is a Belgian quiche  and Christmas strudel from Slovenia, both made by men :)


My Spanish teacher laughed at that name and called it "Kiss" - "Beso" in Spanish. It has a bit of alcohol and maybe because of this after eating a piece you would like to kiss the others ;)


Surprisingly the food was not the most important thing. Thanks to this contest we could talk about our lives, what we do and why we moved here. Did you know that in Spain there are many emigrants from Syria, who left their whole lives there and had to start all over again. Can you imagine it? The world needs to come together.


Beautiful and tasty sweets from England. There are more things there than fish and chips ;) If you are interested you will find pictures on gallery.

As you may know I've been attending Spanish course in EOI (official school of languages). In my group there is a very friendly Italian couple who invited me to a gastronomy contest.


Fiorella made a casatiello - typical Neapolitan Easter bread with boiled eggs and Roberto prepared marru - a dish made of onion, celery, fennel and his secret ingredients.


I was really lucky, because the same day the school organised also Portuguese fiesta, so I could enjoy even more dishes.


I really like the variety of flavours and ingredients. Some of them had familiar tastes, but there were also some tastes that I could not even describe.


EOI is organising a similar gastronomy contest for foreigners. It will take place in the school in B24 class 11 of may at 11.


These events are interesting not only because of the food, but also because of people and the differences between our culture. Sometimes we are laughing at us and mistakes we make, thinking that everybody is the same.


If you are interested you will find picture on gallery.

We had handmade eggs made in Poland and a woollen sheep, that made us feel even more like during typical Polish Easter.


Last glance at the homemade cuties. Maybe in the future I'll write a separate post, because they are really impressive :)


What do you normally eat during Easter? This mazurek is a Spanish variation of a Polish crust cake, because mixing cultures and tastes is the best what you can do. At least in my opinion.

That's the first coconut I've opened without any tools, using only a knife, because I had to get the water out of it.

Recently I was very surprised when I heard that to absorb iron well you need not only to eat product rich in vitamin C but also should not mix it with wholemeal products.


What is your favorite fish? I do not think I have only one ;)


Would you like to taste a salmon a la dodek? Which picture do you like the most and why?

I recommend Bodega Gonzalez, because every time we go there we and our bellies enjoy it ;)