47th Ain't Bad

I finished 47th in a Triathlon this weekend. To be precise... my finish time was the 47th-best of all the non-junior category man racing the "Open" sprint-distance triathlon. Now, if you're thinking 47 is rather a large number... well, you're right.. actually.

To my credit though, it has been a long time since I've run one of these races... and I really haven't swum more than a lap or two since left the balmy waters of the Arabian Gulf... and - oh yeah... some of the other triathletes in the water on Saturday were actually members of the Czech Olympic Team! Anyway - my finish time of 1 hour, 25 minutes 41 seconds was a WORLD RECORD for people named Kevin Rubesh participating in this particular race. And it was fun!

One of my colleagues at work convinced me to join him in the Open Triathlon just a couple days before the race. The Open category was open (thus the name) to non-club racers, and was "just" sprint distance - 750 meter swim + 20 km bike ride + 5 km run. Because it was run at the same time and on the same course as the Czech National Championship race - an Olympic distance race going double the distance in each discipline - the Sokolov Triathlon attracted pretty large crowd - 140 competitors in total!

As usual, I came out of the water in about the middle of the pack, and proceeded to lose ground dramatically during the bike and the run. One fun bit about this race - since it was the National Championship - it was televised. This meant that while I was huffing and puffing along on my bike and on the trail, I was passed not only by elite Olympic athletes going at least double my speed... but also by the TV crew on motorcycle. Fun!

I actually made a brief appearance on the TV broadcast - hit play on the video clip to the right, and fast forward to minute 36 or so. Behind the woman being interviewed, you may be able to spot a tall fellow in a blue shirt walk across the screen, then plop down on the grass to stretch after finishing the race - yep, that's my grand entrance to the Czech National TV scene!

Being a Czech triathlon, the race was followed by an extensive raffle prize giveaway - including gifts such as homemade bread and salami, umbrellas, food baskets... and even a plasma-screen TV!

Unfortunately, this is the last race of the Czech Triathlon season... but I think I've just been re-hooked on this sport. My goal for next year? The coveted 45th spot on the podium (and some salami, of course).

First day of Kindergarten

I'm sure it was just the other day that we brought Jad home from the hospital in Dubai! Just a month or so ago that he was tasting dirt in Zimbabwe. It couldn't have possibly been more than a week ago that he was splashing in the surf of the Persian Gulf in Muscat. It doesn't really seem possible that our little boy started Kindergarten today!

But there he was this morning - in his new school clothes, his Wall-e backpack in one hand, a note to his teacher in the other, raring to head out the door to class! He crawled in to our bed this morning at 5:30, telling us that he couldn't sleep... yep, he was excited!

It was a day of learning new rules, making friends, and figuring out how things work in this wonderful new world called school. He informed us that he met one friend who was a girl who had a "really cute voice" (he didn't remember her name though.) Oh - and that he wants to go back tomorrow!

So - our first graduation has now officially taken place - from the "School of Mom" to the International School of Prague. Jad's first step of many to come... on a journey away from the shelter of home and into the big, wide world that awaits him!

Jad's ready! But are we? After five years of sheltering him in the secure surroundings of home, are we ready to let this boy of ours take his first tentative steps into the big wide world?

He'll meet bullies and have to figure out how to deal with them on his own. He'll bring home new vocabulary (not all of it good), and learn that you can't always win. He'll make mistakes, and have disappointments. Find new friends... and loose friends. Skin his knee when we're not around to slap on a band aid. He'll see things he's never seen before, and make discoveries all by himself. And continue to travel... down the path we've started him on... towards becoming his own person.

Travel well, Jad - and know we'll always be just a couple steps away!

Date Night #16 - Hummus & Beer

Date Night 16 - August 10, 2008
Temperature: High - 77 °F / 25 °C; Low - 46 °F / 8 °C
Location: U Cedru Restaurant

So - it's been a while since we've been on a date night... April 13th, according to our Blog records!

This one was more of a "working" date night. Our job? To explore a new neighborhood so that we could do our jobs as sponsors a bit better. In the line of work I'm in, folks come and go with surprising regularity... a sponsor is your friendly face on arrival in a new place - whether it be New Delhi, Harare or even Prague! Someone to show you where the fuse box in your new house is, where to dash off to at 8 in the morning if you're out of milk, and, most importantly, where to find the closest plate of hummus. We're due to sponsor a new family who will be living in a different part of town, and we had no idea where the closest Lebanese restaurant was! Fortunately, given that we're talking about Prague 6, it wasn't a terribly difficult task.

After wandering around the neighborhood for a while, discovering the closest metro and tram stops, the location of the nearest potraviny (Czech mini-mart), and other essentials, we decided it was time to sample the local Lebanese cuisine. U Cedru ("at the Cedar") restaurant, on Na hutích street just off Dejvicka circle, hit the spot perfectly! On a balmy summer afternoon, very few things could beat a table outside, a plate full of Lebanese mezza, hummus and arabic bread, and a tall pivo. The food was great - the only downer being the slightly stale bread which tasted like it had been broken out of the bag a day or two before. For desert we had their baclava - a sticky, sweet pastry, washed down with a couple cups of Arabic coffee - the kind that's so strong you could almost eat it with a fork.

This is the second Lebanese restaurant we've sampled in Prague - it's a little less "upscale" than El Emir, which translates to a little cheaper as well - Czk 900 for the two of us - that's almost cheap by Prague standards!

Jad and His Hair

A couple of months ago I decided to expand Jad and Danna's music repitoire. (And Kyler's too, but he is too young to have a favorite song.) It was time to move beyond "Jingle Bells", "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and "The Wheels on the Bus". So, being a good mother, I pulled out an oldie but goodie -- "Bob Marley's Greatest Hits". Ahhh...now this was music! Reggae at its FINEST!!! Nobody sings reggae like that famous Jamaican, Bob Marley!!

I put this classic CD in the car and it became a hit almost at once!! We quickly decided as a family that "Three Little Birds" was a favorite. This song has that familiar chorus "Don't worry, 'bout a thing; every little thing's gonna be all right." We have taken to singing that bit of the song whenever a crisis occurs, such as misplacing a favorite stuffed animal or when Kyler knocks over a newly built tower of blocks. Another favorite is "Buffalo Soldier". Since this song is about black slaves being forced to serve in the US army and fight Native Americans I guess I'll soon be explaining a tragic part of American History. But for the time being, Jad and Danna think this song is about a guy riding a buffalo and being a soldier. Ahhh...ignorance is bliss!!

So what does this have to do with Jad and his hair?? During his entire life of 5 years and almost 8 months, he has always worn his hair short -- buzz cut. In fact, since the age of 2, Jad and Kevin would go and get their hair cut together followed by a trip to the ice cream store. Recently Kevin planned to get his hair cut and when I asked Jad if he was joining his daddy, he simply answered, "No." I was rather shocked, so I phrased the question in another manner, "Jad, don't you want to go get your hair cut with Daddy?" Jad had a sincere reply ready, "No Mommy, I want to grow my hair like Bob Marley." So, next time you see a white skinny 5 year old with dred locks, it might be Jad!!

Of Manatees and Rowboats

Meet the newest member of our family! Flash is a manatee (also known as a sea cow) who lives in Florida. We "adopted" Flash from the Save the Manatee Club a couple weeks ago, and just got his picture and adoption certificate the other day (OK, so he is a bit pudgy... but that's a good look for a manatee.)

Jad discovered manatees a month or so ago, while watching an episode of the "Reading Rainbow". Ever since, he's been very concerned about the fate of these large, slow moving marine mammals. One of the biggest threats to this endangered species is injury from propellers on motorboats cruising the waterways of Florida.

The other day... in the middle of his normal activities (figuring out if he could fit a manatee in the bathtub, conducting science experiments, saving the world, building "inventions" and "reading" Tintin and Asterix and Obelix books), he decided it was time to pray about the situation.

"Dear God" he started. "Please help all the people in Florida to drive rowboats. Amen." Talk about a specific, logical prayer request! If all the people in Florida rowed rowboats, the number of propeller injuries to Manatees would certainly decrease dramatically. Of course, whacks on the head by an oar may become more prevalent, but oars are seldom lethal.

So - if any of you out there are reading this from Florida... for Flash's sake... please consider trading in your Boston Whaler for a nice, reliable rowboat. Just think of the money you'd save on gas alone!

Hole-in-the-wall Hallal

We've been here almost a year, and it's taken that long to finally find it - a good hole-in-the-wall Indian/Pakistani restaurant here in Prague! We were out on a Friday Family Fun Night, trying out the playground on Opletalova, just outside the Hlavni Nadrazi train station (a fabulous playground, by the way). Dinner time was fast approaching, so we turned to our trusty Prague in Your Pocket to scope out the neighborhood dining possibilities.

One of the first to catch my eye was Hallal Fast Food - just a couple blocks away on Ruzova street. It's not hard to see why this place had escaped our attention for so long. Tucked away down a side street a couple blocks off the beaten path, you'd really have to be looking for this place to stumble across it.

The kids were very impressed by the fact that we were the only ones in the place... and by the green walls (they had redecorated since the picture above was snapped). Even more impressive, though, the kids actually liked the food! Jad and Danna scarfed down their chicken curry. Even Kyler was munching happily away on hot chapatis and aloo gobi. My discerning Sri Lankan tongue gave it the official third-culture-kid stamp of approval.

The food came quick, and hit the spot. So what if the staff was neither Pakistani nor Indian (they were Bengali) - at least they knew how to nod/shake their heads in the authentic South Asian way! The menu was pretty complete - and, from our limited sampling - tasty! Danna suggested that Erin and I return here for a "date night." Must have been the romantic ambiance!

The only disappointment? The after dinner "chai" - which consisted of a Lipton tea bag dunked in a cup of hot water... a couple packets of sugar on the side and milk added - but only when I asked for it.

Have a hankering for authentic curry at prices that won't break the bank? Head down to Hallal Fast Food!

Kyler's One!

Kyler's officially a number old - he turned ONE yesterday. To help celebrate the event, we had a very special guest - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice stopped by in Prague - just to help celebrate! She had to break away from the party a bit early to meet some Czech parliamentarians, sign a treaty, attend a state dinner, and run some other errands while she was in town. Dr. Rice did stop long enough to comment on Danna's Cinderella dress, meet Jad's friend "Panda", and wish Kyler a very happy birthday! Kyler, of course was much more interested in grabbing the hair of the kid standing next to him.

The second most exiting event of the day? The chocolate cake, of course! We have a tradition in our family - turn one, and you get to plant your face in a chocolate cake - stuffing it in your mouth whichever way works best. Kyler had no problems fulfilling his role as a our latest one-year-old-cake-eater!

A job well done, I'd say... only thing left for me was to help the special guest hop back on her plane this morning.