I am getting a visitor!

The countdown has been ticking away for months and it is finally almost here... my mom is coming to Cambodia in TWO WEEKS!

I am so excited I can hardly sit still. She will be getting in the night of Monday the 28th and staying for 2 weeks. Two full weeks of quality time with my mom!

As much as I have been looking forward to my mom's visit so is everyone else in Tany (my community in Cambodia). As her visit gets closer I have gotten more and more questions about her. The questions are typically Khmer and somewhat blunt in nature. The conversations usually go like this...

Khmai: What day is your mother coming?
Me: In two weeks!
Khmai: What date?
Me: The 28th.
Khmai: What time?
Me: Night time.
Khmai: Oh very late...

Khmai: Does your mother eat rice in America?
Me: No, she eats food.
Khmai: Will she eat rice in Cambodia?
Me: Yes, but maybe only one bowl of rice.
Khami: Only one bowl..? Oh.

Khmai: Does your mother know how to dance?
Me: No, but maybe she will learn.
Khami: Oh yes, she will learn.

Khmai: How old is your mother?
Me: I forget.

Khmai: How much is your mother's salary?
Me: I forget. *(sometimes I switch it up and say "I don't understand" for this question because i get it a lot)

Ming Own (my neighbor) is having a festival on the 2nd of April, when my mother will be in country and she is very excited about having so many foreigners at her party. At first I thought maybe I would try to save my mother from a Khmer party but that conversation went like this...

Ming Own: Your mother visits on the 28th?
Me: Yes.
Ming Own: Where will you go?
Me: First phnom penh then maybe Siem Reap...
Ming Own: for how many days?
Me: Maybe 5 or 6 days.
Ming Own: Then you will be here on the 2nd.
Me: Umm, yes.
Ming Own: Yes.

At least now my mom will get the whole Cambodian experience. Can't wait to see you mom, bring your sweat rag because it's is getting steamy!

North Korea

A few weeks ago I was in Phnom Penh and I went and ate at a North Korean restaurant with some other volunteers. We had stuffed eggplant, fried leaves (forget what kind of leaf), dumplings, and cold noodle soup (super spicy).

Then there was a propaganda show. All of the waitresses danced, sang, and played instruments, while pictures of country northern Korea showed on a tv behind them.

Then during one of the final acts the waitresses picked a person from each table to join them up on stage... And yes I was picked from my table. So I danced in a circle holding hands and fake flowers with the performers.

Overall, yet another unique experience in Cambodia!

I swam in a pool!

This weekends adventure started when another volunteer, Garrett, told me that he wanted to see some southern provinces. He is from one of the nothern provinces and had never made the 13 hour trek down to Kampot. First he went to Takeo province to visit a PCV, then he came to Tany* (where I live) on Wednesday. Then together we went to Chouk, where two married PCV's live. Another volunteer, Ben, also met us there. We all spoke English, vented, joked, and ate spaghetti and nutella on banana's.

The next day we all went to Kampot, where we ate wonderful western food (I split a burger and a half rack of ribs with Ben, because we both wanted to eat both) and played Bananagrams. Garrett, Ben, and I stayed in Kampot for 2 days. Then we met with 4 other volunteers in Kep. Kep is its own province within Kampot, known for its beaches. The 7 of us went to the beach, ate crabs (because i was the only one who how, i led a very successful "how to eat crab" session). The next day we went to a very nice resort (much fancier than the $5 a night place where we were all staying), where if you pay for the breakfast buffet you can swim in their pool. So after a beyond delicious $6 buffet of cereal, croissants, eggs, potatoes, coffee, mango juice, and bacon, we all went swimming. Then it was back to Kampot for a shower and another burger.

It was a great weekend full of friends, food, and swimming. Pictures to come!






*Get to know Cambodia fact: I live in Kampot Province, Angkor Chey District, Tany Commune, and Pral Village.

National Victory Against Genocide Day

January 7th was National Victory Against Genocide Day in Cambodia. It marked the 30th anniversary of the downfall of the Khmer Rouge regime. To celebrate, my Operational District Director (the director of all the all the health centers and hospitals in Angkor Chey District Kampot Province) threw a party. My health center, hospital, and neighboring health centers all went to Takeo Province. Everyones’s families came and we had a fancy dinner, danced, and played games.




The food was good. There was a pig roasting when we got there, and people were fascinated by it. Everyone wanted his or her picture in front of the pig. At one point a woman I did not know came up to my host sister and said “The foreigner is beautiful, I want my picture with her in front of the pig.” An interesting request for many reasons including 1) I had never met her and 2) it was my camera so she would never actually see the picture. A lot of things were served that I had never seen or eaten before, so my host sister had to show me how to eat things. The table thought it was very funny.






In between dancing sessions, we would play a game that I never quite figured out the rules for, but I still won two boxes of soap.

The New Toes…

I posted a picture of my last pedicure so I thought I would keep it going. These are my toes currently. We went for a floral theme… well actually my host sister decided the theme. The girl started painting a different design and my host sister stopped her, saying “No, that’s not pretty. Do this one.”

Tis the Harvest Season!

It is harvest season in Cambodia. This is when everyone goes out to the rice fields, cuts the rice down, brings it back to their house, and beats the stocks until all the rice seeds fall off. Ming Own’s house has been rice harvest central. One day I was able to take some pictures. They were laughing that I found it interesting. But I was quickly told to move because it was super dusty and I would get sick.





Bpo and Niza saw that I was taking pictures and wanted their picture taken also.




Vann is wearing a Falcons hat that I gave him. I think he likes it, but that he thinks it’s the Georgia soccer team. Cambodia football equal soccer, and I haven’t quite been able to explain American football yet.





After the day of harvesting, they all sat and had dinner and beers together.

Christmas in Cambodia

My first Christmas in Cambodia was awesome!



It started with getting a Christmas package from my Nonna and Poppop. They sent me candy canes, Christmas chocolates, a stocking, and best of all… Christmas cookies! Not just any Christmas cookie, they were Cherry Winks. I opened up the package with my friend Liz, who was visiting from the town over. I gave her, my host brother, Niza, and myself a cookie. Liz and I took a bite, looked at each other and then started crying. My host brother, Vann, not knowing the awesomeness of the cherry wink looked at me to ask what you call the cookie, then noticed that the Americans were having a moment and quickly looked away (Cambodians are not one’s with the public show of emotions).




On Christmas Eve I went to Koh Kong, with a bunch of other PCV’s. Koh Kong is a very tropical province that borders Thailand. It is really different than the other provinces that I have visited, and it was really beautiful. When I got there all the volunteers went out for a fancy dinner. I got pasta, and it was magical!





On Christmas day, the volunteers who live in Koh Kong organized it so that we got a two-story ferry out to a deserted island in the Gulf of Thailand. The ferry out there took us about two hours. Once we got there we all stripped down to our bathing suits (for the girls this was the most naked we had been in public for 6 months!) and jumped off the top of the ferry. Once everyone was in the water, some people swam to the island, and those of us who would have drowned took the little boat to the island. Then people swam, snorkeled, chatted, and sang Christmas carols. The water was crystal clear and the sand was white… it really was a unique Christmas.

Once we were done swimming we got back up on the ferry and had Philly Cheese steak sandwiches. They were delicious! Then we ferried back as we watched the sun set.

Even though I miss my family and friends so, so much, I was really lucky to get to spend Christmas with some really great people.