Holiday Creativity

 During this past week, my mom and I have been working on a new terras, build by my dad. I came up with the idea to colour it randomly, instead of in some kind of set sequence. And that is what we did. 

First, we went to pick out the colours of paints; we picked five - red, blue, yellow, green, and white.

Then we prepared for the painting, pick out work clothing, found the equipment and a speaker for music. 

After that, we got to work. It took so much time but it is finally completed! I am so glad to see the results. It was my first time painting wood like that, and the idea to paint it randomly just added a need for more creative and broad thinking - we wanted it to be as out of order as possible. 

I am very satisfied with the results, although it took us over 4h of work it was definitely worth it!

Amnesty International

 Today at the Amnesty International meeting we discussed repressions in Ghana. 

At the beginning of July 21 people have been arrested and charged with unlawful assembly as well as accused of spreading an LGBT+ agenda. 

Arrested people were in fact in the middle of a training session about how to support vulnerable groups. This was not breaking the law in any way, but the police were called and pamphlets and books (e.g. encouraging parents to love their children no matter what their sexuality is) were used as an evidence against them. 

Holiday Activity

 Today my dad and I took my cousins to the big public swimming pool. It was the first time I visited it since the pandemic started, but it was just as I had remembered.

We went to the shallow warm pool, where I and my dad decided each of us keeps an eye on one kid. We were swimming and splashing for a while and then I decided to get into the sports pool to really swim.

I had swum a couple of 25 meters-pools in breaststroke which is my favourite swimming style. After that, I went back to my family and we continued to splash around. 

I think this experience reminded me of how much I like water and swimming (in the garden pool it is entirely different). It also, as previous pool experiences this year taught me to pay attention and protect little children. 

I loved being in a pool with them and I am so sad they are leaving tomorrow!

These two weeks have been amazing and I was doing a lot of physical activity with them (including not only described swimming, but walks, game of twister, casual dancing and so on)

Holiday Activity

 Today my aunt, my cousins and I went on a bike trip together!

I haven't ridden a bike since... over two years ago. I wasn't convinced that the bike trip is a good idea and moreover the one I would enjoy but the perspective over real quality time with my family won over my dislike of bikes. 

We rode through the forest, close-by village, and another forest for about 3.5km to see the oldest pine tree in Poland. It was not that far, so we decided to circle and ride around some more, stopping for ice cream in the meantime.

This experience taught me that the expression "it's like riding a bike" is definitely justified, that it is good to try things one has tried and have not liked that much over again - maybe it will not become one's favourite activity, but it might not be as bad as one remembered. 

I also had to focus and keep the same speed throughout the whole rode, which had been tricky at times. 

Holiday Creativity

 Today I played violin with the older one of my cousins. She is 7, and I have never before heard her play live, because of the pandemic. 

I was surprised at how well she played although I should have been expecting that. 

I played some of the songs I practiced for her, and also gave her a few tips on how to make violin playing be more fun. 

It is very encouraging to know that I am the reason she chose to learn this skill and it is really rewarding to see the effects. I hope we have more opportunities to play together in the future.

Holiday Activity

Last weekend my little cousins came to visit us. They will stay here for two weeks which makes me so happy! It also means that I will be 'forced' to run a lot to keep up with them.

Today, however, except for the usual running around we went swimming in the neighbours' outdoor pool.  

The pool is not big but it was still really fun. 

Of course, it was mostly relaxing, but I had to be cautious as I was responsible for my cousins (one is 4, the other 7 years old). This time in the pool taught me how it is to never be allowed to lose attention and how still have fun even with crucial responsibilities. 

I believe we will jump into the pool at least few more times before they leave.

Amnesty International

 Today Amnesty International meeting took place. Unfortunately, I could not attend it, but I did my best to educate myself on the discussed topic. 

The meeting focused on Hungary and its violation of LGBTQ+ rights, which obviously are human rights. 

Lately, Hungary has introduced new anti-LGBTQ+ laws, which include censoring queer-friendly content on TV, making it impossible for trans people to transition and preventing non-married couples the right to adoption (non-heterosexual marriage is not legal in Hungary, which makes it equal to forbidding non-heteronormative couples adoption). 

These and more laws have passed in Hungary which makes it an EU member that is currently and consciously breaking human rights. 

Holiday Creativity

 Yesterday was my mom's birthday and I decided to do something special for her. As my sister is abroad and my dad is dreadful at cooking I took up the challenge of making her a cake by myself. 

It took lots of planning as I had to find the idea and the recipe for the ideal, original cake. I wanted it to be strawberry as it is still strawberry season. 

After I found the recipe I had to make the cake, I started doing it on Thursday, baked it on Friday, and made all the frosting yesterday. The biscuit of the cake was strawberry in itself which is what made it that hard. 

I had to improvise with the frosting as I wanted the cake to be one of the kind. Finally, I decided on three kinds: chocolate, orange, and strawberry. It took me so much time to complete but it was definitely worth it!

The hardest part of making this surprise birthday cake was that it had to be a secret, made in a room where my mom spends lots of time and, more importantly, I could not ask the person who knows the art of cooking best for help as she was not supposed to know anything.

Thankfully I managed to complete my goal and the cake was (and part of it still is) delicious.