Happy Birthday Anita!

Yes, today is my birthday. I have been thinking for a couple of days what Polish food will be the best to prepare. There was a list of criteria that food needed to meet: traditional Polish, not complicated to prepare, quite difficult to be ruined, and fit Chileans taste. Quite a challenge.

I spoke with my mom and asked her about ideas for Polish menu. We both agreed that potato pancakes with goulash should do the thing. Since it has potatoes, meat and is fried, should meet Chileans tastes. So challenge accepted, my fist potato pancakes with beef goulash in my life.

Searching through the internet I found as many goulash recipes as many websites there are, so I decided to do it my way – pretty simple meat and spices. So after a couple days of thinking and planning my birthday menu was to be: potato pancakes with beef goulash and cabbage and sauerkraut salad. It took me half of day t cook everything. It is good I will not have to do it again, a lot of work!

The worst think was – if they are going to like it. If not we have a potato chips and bread that no Chilean will say no to.

I must say they loved the food. Believe it or not everything that I prepared was gone. I was very happy because it was the best birthday present for me – bringing little bit of Poland to Chile.

Being alone here in Chile, many thousand km from home, especially when it is your birthday you would like to be with your friends and family. But my Chilean family made its best to make my birthday joyful. All my friend s from La Calera were here, bringing beautiful present and singing me Happy Birthday song.  Thank to my birthday I became accustomed to birthday ritual and I had to blow candles twice. So here’s how it goes. First they light candles, turn off the lights and start counting. I thought the counting is for me to blow the candles. But no, it’s a countdown for starting a birthday song. Once the song is finished, I think of my 3 wishes, they turn on the lights and now is the moment to blow the candles. And after I should put my head into the cake. They allowed me to skip the last part and only take a bite the cake.

To sum up I had so much fun and great time. I must say this birthday was wonderful although so far, far away from home.