Watching kids play with the four newest additions to our canine clan, and teaching—err, make that learning along side with—Oye how to make a lemon meringue pie. Does it get better than this?
HOW THE WEST(ERN) WAS WON
It’s getting quiet 'round these lampshades, eh? Our apologies for that. No excuses really. Just feeling a little short on words here on the e-frontier. It’s one thing to write about out-of-the-ordinary adventures; it’s another to try to conjure up tales to tell of normality.
Over the past few weeks, our days have really become a wonderfully stable and predictable schedule. We know where we’ll be and what we’ll be doing Tuesdays at 10:30am, or Thursdays at 7:00pm, or Saturdays at noon. And we’re really enjoying it! But as we’ve been going about our daily routines, we’ve learned a valuable lesson to impart:
If being white is alright, then being Khmer is pretty fly!
The far off corner of the world in South East Asia can be a pretty unnerving place to visit. Having no idea what to expect when we arrived in Cambodia, we were quick to draw a few boundaries both for comfort and safety—or so we thought. For example, hopping on a moto with any driver looking under the age of 15 was off limits. Especially adhered to were the rules about food and water: We steered clear of sugar cane juice sold on the street in a recently-“rinsed”, continuously-reused glass. Purchasing room temperature meat from fly-infested stalls in the market was a no-no. Most of all, using bottled water to brush your teeth while visiting the surrounding provinces was a “must do.”
We thought we were set. Wise warranted wanderers we were.
Since that time, we’ve been stretched. Sometimes by choice. Sometimes by force; swallowing any and all seemingly rational defenses, and just doing it. So was the case last Thursday evening.
In one of our previous posts, we tried to give a taste of the culinary scene here in Cambodia. At the time of writing, we had yet to sample from the lowest rung of the three-tiered restaurant ladder (1. sketchy street restaurants, 2. pleasant, homely restaurants, 3. classy fine dinning). Last Thursday we broke that streak, and therefore subjected ourselves to one the grandest gastronomical adventures known to the western digestive system.
Why would you do that? How much money had someone dared you to eat there?
The restaurant belonged to one of our friends and co-workers at Rescue. In addition to having a great personality, sense of humour, and passion for his country, his people, and his God, this guy is one of the hardest workers we’ve met. Not only does he don his title as Translator & Bible Teacher at Rescue, he also is a university student studying Business Management, a tuk-tuk driver, and a marketing rep for a local company. Recently, he added to that list. He is now the proud owner/operator of Phnom Penh’s new 007 Restaurant. Located in his garage/living room, the 007 gives diners the opportunity to feast upon ‘sunburned’ beef (as their poster labeled it), charred lard, or numerous soup-like concoctions of all sizes, smells, and contents.
All in all, a great experience was had by all. We had a great meal, and had no nasty reminders of it in the following hours or days. He had one of his better nights of business. Khmer passers-by flooded into the restaurant when they saw us eating there; apparently, it’s a sight not often seen. It’s amazing how a couple of white folks can draw a crowd just doing everyday Cambodian activities.
And so, it is with our newly gained Khmer experiences that we say, maybe these Khmer folks are onto some things over here. Drinking your coffee from a bag in the morning is great! Why not chow down on lard, or just throw it all in a brothy bowl of soup? (...I'm sensing a severe lack of volunteers for future dinner guests).
Sometimes playing it too safe means you miss the meat of the matter. Though, let’s be honest, sometimes you’re ok when that missed meat passes you by...especially if its thrown over the back of a moto enroute to market.
Oh, and as for those other rules to live by, we still try to avoid motos when junior is behind the wheel. Same goes for the sugar cane glasses and the market meat. As for brushing your teeth with bottle water, unfortunately, as our second package of Imodium will testify, we learned that lesson the hard way…
Over the past few weeks, our days have really become a wonderfully stable and predictable schedule. We know where we’ll be and what we’ll be doing Tuesdays at 10:30am, or Thursdays at 7:00pm, or Saturdays at noon. And we’re really enjoying it! But as we’ve been going about our daily routines, we’ve learned a valuable lesson to impart:
If being white is alright, then being Khmer is pretty fly!
The far off corner of the world in South East Asia can be a pretty unnerving place to visit. Having no idea what to expect when we arrived in Cambodia, we were quick to draw a few boundaries both for comfort and safety—or so we thought. For example, hopping on a moto with any driver looking under the age of 15 was off limits. Especially adhered to were the rules about food and water: We steered clear of sugar cane juice sold on the street in a recently-“rinsed”, continuously-reused glass. Purchasing room temperature meat from fly-infested stalls in the market was a no-no. Most of all, using bottled water to brush your teeth while visiting the surrounding provinces was a “must do.”
We thought we were set. Wise warranted wanderers we were.
Since that time, we’ve been stretched. Sometimes by choice. Sometimes by force; swallowing any and all seemingly rational defenses, and just doing it. So was the case last Thursday evening.
In one of our previous posts, we tried to give a taste of the culinary scene here in Cambodia. At the time of writing, we had yet to sample from the lowest rung of the three-tiered restaurant ladder (1. sketchy street restaurants, 2. pleasant, homely restaurants, 3. classy fine dinning). Last Thursday we broke that streak, and therefore subjected ourselves to one the grandest gastronomical adventures known to the western digestive system.
Why would you do that? How much money had someone dared you to eat there?
The restaurant belonged to one of our friends and co-workers at Rescue. In addition to having a great personality, sense of humour, and passion for his country, his people, and his God, this guy is one of the hardest workers we’ve met. Not only does he don his title as Translator & Bible Teacher at Rescue, he also is a university student studying Business Management, a tuk-tuk driver, and a marketing rep for a local company. Recently, he added to that list. He is now the proud owner/operator of Phnom Penh’s new 007 Restaurant. Located in his garage/living room, the 007 gives diners the opportunity to feast upon ‘sunburned’ beef (as their poster labeled it), charred lard, or numerous soup-like concoctions of all sizes, smells, and contents.
Naturally, when invited to give ‘er a whirl, how could we say no? As he proudly showed us around his new endeavor, we were greeted by his sister, his niece, and his wife; all equally glowing with ear-to-ear smiles.
They sat us down on plastic chairs, wiped the table of remnants left from the previous diners, and handed us two cans of warm Coca-Cola. They then hurried about preparing our meal. She chopped meat and veggies, and threw them into the massive fire-heated cauldron. He drew spoonful after spoonful from the aforementioned cauldron to ensure the contents were up to par, tossing in different sauces and powders when he wasn’t convinced. We opted for the sunburned beef…at least we had a photo of what it might look like.
Within 10 minutes, we were seated together cooking beef, green tomatoes, onions, and cabbage on a bbq-esque contraption atop our table. It was pretty entertaining to watch each other try to flip and pick morsels off without either dropping the food or melting our plastic chopsticks.
All in all, a great experience was had by all. We had a great meal, and had no nasty reminders of it in the following hours or days. He had one of his better nights of business. Khmer passers-by flooded into the restaurant when they saw us eating there; apparently, it’s a sight not often seen. It’s amazing how a couple of white folks can draw a crowd just doing everyday Cambodian activities.
And so, it is with our newly gained Khmer experiences that we say, maybe these Khmer folks are onto some things over here. Drinking your coffee from a bag in the morning is great! Why not chow down on lard, or just throw it all in a brothy bowl of soup? (...I'm sensing a severe lack of volunteers for future dinner guests).
Sometimes playing it too safe means you miss the meat of the matter. Though, let’s be honest, sometimes you’re ok when that missed meat passes you by...especially if its thrown over the back of a moto enroute to market.
Oh, and as for those other rules to live by, we still try to avoid motos when junior is behind the wheel. Same goes for the sugar cane glasses and the market meat. As for brushing your teeth with bottle water, unfortunately, as our second package of Imodium will testify, we learned that lesson the hard way…
SUNDAY MORNING IN CAMBODIA
Wedding (rest-of-the-world):
wed-ding -noun
1. the act or ceremony of marriage; nuptials
Wedding (Cambodia)
1. the act or ceremony of erecting a large, garish, kitschy, tent in the middle of the street.
2. the act or ceremony of equipping the aforementioned structure with a hefty sound system powered by an equally obnoxious diesel generator.
3. a traditional feast of apples, fish, and sprite, accompanied with speeches and dancing
4. an act or ceremony traditionally occurring on Sundays, beginning on or around the hour of six, exempt from the neighborhood's unspoken noise curfew.
5. The reason I am at an internet cafe on a Sunday morning instead of at home sipping coffee, doing a crossword, and leisurely getting ready for church.
Seriously folks, it's maddening.
Unlike HNIC, this is one tradition that must cease to continue.
until next time....
wed-ding -noun
1. the act or ceremony of marriage; nuptials
Wedding (Cambodia)
1. the act or ceremony of erecting a large, garish, kitschy, tent in the middle of the street.
2. the act or ceremony of equipping the aforementioned structure with a hefty sound system powered by an equally obnoxious diesel generator.
3. a traditional feast of apples, fish, and sprite, accompanied with speeches and dancing
4. an act or ceremony traditionally occurring on Sundays, beginning on or around the hour of six, exempt from the neighborhood's unspoken noise curfew.
5. The reason I am at an internet cafe on a Sunday morning instead of at home sipping coffee, doing a crossword, and leisurely getting ready for church.
Seriously folks, it's maddening.
Unlike HNIC, this is one tradition that must cease to continue.
until next time....
FROM CAMBODIA WITH LOVE
Well, here we are, back in the capital. For the fourth time this year, we will spend a whole weekend at our place in Phnom Penh. Consequently, we are planning to spend 4 whole nights in a row sleeping in the same bed, something that hasn't happened since the 3rd week in January. After seeing quite a bit of this (actually beautiful) country in 2008, a good chunk of it with company, we're looking forward to some time to chill after another good week in Bek Chan.
As mentioned in previous posts, one of our new favorite parts of the job is teaching some kids to read. We have some keeners eager to show us what they know, practice their skills, or in some cases, sit in the background for story time. In any case, this is great news. The only downfall is the number of usable books. Our library has 2. One about a giant who is missing a boot, and a tattered copy of Dr. Seuss' "One Fish, Two Fish". After several reads, I have to say- they're both excellent. The kids love 'em and since that''s the case, how could we not?
Another laughable part of the week was a rousing rendition of the Hokey-Pokey jointly performed by our 1 o'clock classes. The kids just finished learning body parts and now are learning verbs, so we thought it would be good. It was great alright. And loud- So loud in fact that Julie actually lost her voice for a couple hours. Nonetheless, I'm sure everyone got the message and those kids can really shake it all about. Ahh you gotta love it.
Last night was Valentines Day- another North American holiday widely ignored in this part of the world. We spent the evening eating rocky road ice cream and watching Jack Bauer save America, and consequently, the world. God Bless America.
Another thing worth noting is our return to the ever-changing world of Catan. Since being reunited, Julie is up 3--a figure that is sure to change before too long, as sometime soon, the score will be settled.
Finally, to all those who sent their greeting along in the care package Bill and Jan brought over, a heartfelt Thank You- it made our days.
To the youth group at Hazelglen: We miss you guys!
And to Frank and Danielle: Thanks a ton- the package was awesome. And you're right--beer, pizza, and movies will be great.
Until next time...
As mentioned in previous posts, one of our new favorite parts of the job is teaching some kids to read. We have some keeners eager to show us what they know, practice their skills, or in some cases, sit in the background for story time. In any case, this is great news. The only downfall is the number of usable books. Our library has 2. One about a giant who is missing a boot, and a tattered copy of Dr. Seuss' "One Fish, Two Fish". After several reads, I have to say- they're both excellent. The kids love 'em and since that''s the case, how could we not?
Another laughable part of the week was a rousing rendition of the Hokey-Pokey jointly performed by our 1 o'clock classes. The kids just finished learning body parts and now are learning verbs, so we thought it would be good. It was great alright. And loud- So loud in fact that Julie actually lost her voice for a couple hours. Nonetheless, I'm sure everyone got the message and those kids can really shake it all about. Ahh you gotta love it.
Last night was Valentines Day- another North American holiday widely ignored in this part of the world. We spent the evening eating rocky road ice cream and watching Jack Bauer save America, and consequently, the world. God Bless America.
Another thing worth noting is our return to the ever-changing world of Catan. Since being reunited, Julie is up 3--a figure that is sure to change before too long, as sometime soon, the score will be settled.
Finally, to all those who sent their greeting along in the care package Bill and Jan brought over, a heartfelt Thank You- it made our days.
To the youth group at Hazelglen: We miss you guys!
And to Frank and Danielle: Thanks a ton- the package was awesome. And you're right--beer, pizza, and movies will be great.
Until next time...
HERE'S TO YOU!
Now that they're home, it's time for a poem:
We’re at day number 10 of month number two,
and it’s hard to believe our visit is through;
With all said and done, it’s been a great time,
so how ‘bout a reflection in the form of a rhyme:
You toyed with ideas, Should we go? Should we not?
Looking back now, was it all that you thought?
In Hanoi it was rainy—ah, what a drag!
Good thing you purchased those snazzy new bags;
But here in Phnom Penh you were greeted with heat,
And two happy faces who were eager to greet.
You toyed with ideas, Should we go? Should we not?
Looking back now, was it all that you thought?
In Hanoi it was rainy—ah, what a drag!
Good thing you purchased those snazzy new bags;
But here in Phnom Penh you were greeted with heat,
And two happy faces who were eager to greet.
First stop Goldiana, adorned with Buddhas and pigs,
Then off to “Toule Sleng” for some fruit in our digs;
The mangos were fresh and the pineapple sweet,
But how ‘bout those tarantulas—now those were a treat!
The very next day, we tukked out to Bek Chan—
our home away from home; why we came to this land.
We saw puppies and palm trees, and one flying fish,
and also got to teach the kids some English.
It was great you got to see it, at least get a taste;
we love those kids; Rescue’s a great place!
we love those kids; Rescue’s a great place!
The next two days we stayed in the city—not too far from here;
visited Toule Sleng, the Boddhi Tree, and tried Angkor Beer.
visited Toule Sleng, the Boddhi Tree, and tried Angkor Beer.
We went to Wat Phnom, the birthplace of the city,
with elephants and monkeys, that place sure was busy!
The markets were packed, but also were good,
from silk scarves, to mufflers and chopsticks of wood.
There were pigs’ feet, DVDs and places for meals,
all this could be yours for a few thousand riels.
The place sure was dizzying; almost made your eyes hurt
...kind of like Dad’s new colourful shirt!
...kind of like Dad’s new colourful shirt!
Next stop Royal Palace, where the shirt blended in,
with the Bougainvillea bushes in the gardens within.
with the Bougainvillea bushes in the gardens within.
By day number five, we wanted to see more,
so we hopped on a bus headed to north to Angkor.
Angkor Village Resort, now there's a great place!
A welcomed oasis from the temples' rat race.
A welcomed oasis from the temples' rat race.
We got up at dawn to see Angkor Wat,
and stumbled in the dark to get to our spot
and stumbled in the dark to get to our spot
with a coffee and chair, we watched sun rise,
but unfortunately for us there were clouds in the skies.
Next stop Angkor Thom, the site of Tomb Raider,
“Hey, sir, buy t-shirt!” No thanks, maybe later.
Then off to Ta Proehm where temples and trees mix,
I’m sure we won’t forget it, we have a million good pics!
I’m sure we won’t forget it, we have a million good pics!
...and also, can’t forget Art...yeah...
But the temples themselves just weren’t quite enough,
we wanted some more of this cultural stuff.
So we watched the dancers, with fingers bent back;
The music was something, I want the soundtrack.
The very next day we boarded a boat,
All four of us wond'ring, ‘Will this thing stay afloat?’
We saw floating villages and basketball cages,
And watched school kids of all different ages.
A pen full of crocs, the kid with the snake,
and the tuk-tuk ride there, was all we could take,
So back to the pool, our favourite place to be—
along with the Red Piano, like Angelino Jolie.
Our time in Siem Reap left us wanting some more,
But that didn't last long, the beach was in store!
We spent 24 hours in Sihanoukville,
Where the swim-up bar was a great place to chill.
But that didn't last long, the beach was in store!
We spent 24 hours in Sihanoukville,
Where the swim-up bar was a great place to chill.
Ate a steamboat for supper with some chilled French white wine,
Amidst the birds and the waves and the geckos we dined.
Amidst the birds and the waves and the geckos we dined.
After a day on the ocean and its perfect white sand,
All we could think of was "Isn't life grand?"
But now you’ve gone home; you’re somewhere in the air,
probably wondering, ‘were we really just there?’
Although those 12 days somehow flew by,
We’ll still think of you when we say “Soksabay!”
Your vocab may fade, as might those shots,
But our time here together will always stay in our thoughts.
Thanks for coming to see our small world in this corner,
and for living three weeks as a touring foreigner.
So today as you eat granola or use the laundry machines,
Know how much your visit with us means.
I'm sure we’ll be together in the spring,
and we look forward to the good times that’ll bring.
Until then, Jum-Riep-Lea, farewell, adios,
And so ends the saga of this long-winded toast.
Congrats, Mom and Dad...you did it!
WE LOVE YOU!!! xoxo
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