Last Saturday marked my second month here. While I admit that I'm beginning to miss homecooked food, every trip to Migros or Coop has managed me to land couple of items that allowed me to cook something very close to what I eat back in Manila.

Soy sauce: Migros is a local importer of Kikkoman, both for cooking and dipping. Chicken adobo turns out okay with it, although there's something different... I should try if it renders well with bistek.

Pork shanks: One of the best...

chipmaker

Just how cold can it get in Zurich during wintertime? This seems to be a major discussion point between me and my wife lately. She just came back from California this morning, still feeling bugged why I kept nagging her to buy me more jackets.

Sure, Wikipedia can easily tell me that during the months of November through February, the temperature can dip as low as -1C. But what is -1C for an Asian? I've been through a couple of Phoenix, AZ winters, but I'm quite sure that the temperature...

chipmaker

It's the first Saturday of September. Hmm, three more Saturdays before I finally fly out of Manila. I should really be preparing for my trip, but I don't know how to start. I've looked at some of the expat websites out there and checked out the relocation checklists that they have. Most of the time, I end up just crossing a lot of things out simply because it doesn't apply in my case.

So I'm taking on a more practical approach to my move.

1. Do I have my passport ready?...

chipmaker