Journal: week in review

There really hasn't been a lot of exciting things happening. My life has become a redundancy. All days roll into one. My weekends are a time to veg out. The only day to sleep in is Sunday since every other day I have to be teaching at 6:00am.

Highs: Picking up postcards from the post office. Cool, rainy evenings. Meeting the occasional Couch Surfer. Homemade lunches or dinners. Milo + instant coffee in the morning. Watching House on AXN.

Lows: Early mornings. Heavy downpours. The occasional poorly-planned lesson. ANZ Royal Bank. Ants. Hot room at night. Having to find a motodop in the morning when Da couldn't pick me up (one morning I was 10 minutes late to class!).

Must-do's before I leave: Visit Angkor Wat and take some pictures since it's so green during the rainy season. Complete my research survey. Find some businesses to apply for Heritage Friendly status. Go shopping for rattan purses to bring back for my aunt's shop. Buy more palm leaf ornaments. Visit the villages to deliver the T-shirts, school supplies, and soaps that are being mailed. Eat more roasted bananas, and bananas in general.

Rain, glorious rain

So, last week was hot and dry. This week it's been raining every day, even throughout the day. Thus the roads stay wet and muddy. But it certainly makes for betting sleeping with the cooler evenings.

So far no serious flooding up here in Siem Reap, either. I'm sure other parts of the country are not as safe.

Journal: week in review

Since I started teaching last week, I found that I had less time and energy to put into my other obligations. That will need to change as I am here for more than just teaching. I really need to nail down my research problem as well as take care of some Heritage Watch business.

I enjoy all of my classes, though it is a bit tiring to teach every morning. Getting up at 5:15 am is not that fun when I finish the night before between 8:00 - 8:30pm. That's just enough time to eat a light dinner, take a shower and get ready for bed.

Lesson planning is not complicated for me. I know what I need to prepare for my students and so I don't have to spend much time doing that.

Saturday night was a fun night. Since it hadn't rained all week, the heat was really making my room a sauna. The night air is so much cooler outside than inside. So when Da suggested driving around town, I was totally up for it.

We ended up going out to the north of town which is referred to as Pyoung You (or something like that) because it was where the South Korean city hosted an exhibition a few years ago along with Cambodia. Now it's just a bunch of open space with nice roads and lighting that becomes the place to hang out at night. There's even a sort of carnival set up with rides and games. Most people go to sit on the mats and drink or eat with friends or family.

While we were driving through the crowds, Da spotted some of his good friends. We actually passed them and continued driving, but they eventually called him and we went back to join them. It was a good thing because my backside was getting a bit sore from sitting on the bike.

The night was so lovely with a nice breeze blowing the entire time. It would have been great to just stay there all night.

When his friends finished, they decided to meet up with a couple more friends and continue the party at a small restaurant near one of their homes. We ordered a few dishes and then the beer was served. We called it quits at 11:oopm, but I'm sure that most of them would be there several more hours. Da had an early meeting the next day as a client was arriving.

I spent Sunday doing very little of anything. I read a book and watched TV. I've been reading The Life of Pi. I didn't think that I had read it before, but I got to the middle section and felt like I was reading something I had already read before. Strange. The book is not as captivating as others I've read, but it's certainly interesting.

Sunday evening was fellowhip, then we went for a drink at the local Sokimex gas station that has a small cafe inside. I was feeling up for bubble tea. It was threatening to rain the whole evening and even sprinkled a bit, but nothing really dramatic.

The drama happened early Monday morning at around midnight. The heavens opened up and it poured for nearly three hours. The sound was so loud because of the metal roof at my place. Of course, this meant fresh puddles and soft mud the next day.

A good laundry day

The only good thing about heat without rain during the rainy season is that you can do your laundry knowing that it will dry without the threat of rain.

I think it's been 4 days without any rain now. Where has it gone? I need the rain to cool it off in the evenings. Sleeping on a hot bed even with no sheets is no fun.

On the other hand, the sunny, breezy days allowed me to put freshly cleaned sheets and pillowcases on the bed.

Maybe I will celebrate by making popcorn tonight. I went to Angkor Market with only two items on my list but came out with two bags full. The two items? toothpicks and popcorn kernels. What I came out with: toothpicks, popcorn kernels, corn flakes, kitchen sponges, 1.5 liters of Coke, a bag of 12 monkey tea, a carton of soy milk and two cartons of yogurt.

Later on I went to the real market to buy some veggies, fruit and tofu for dinner. Mmm. I'm hungry now.

Journal: Sunday 5 July 2009

Today we were going out to Da’s village to show Magda life in the countryside. We met at Soup Dragon for a quick breakfast. She rented a bicycle to ride all the way out, while we went ahead on the motorbike. It took her about an hour and a half, but she arrived in good spirits.

Houy (Da’s brother) was back from Phnom Penh and he was making lunch. We had a soup with green watermelon and dried fish, a bamboo shoot soup with pork, papaya salad with chicken and fried long beans with pork. I love eating long beans!

We relaxed a little then took a walk into the village. First stop was the village center where there is a kind of meeting place with a raised tile platform and roof. A new addition had been added to this since I was last here, plus there’s now a Buddha statue in the corner sitting behind some curtains that were drawn over it (presumably to protect it from the dust). We sat there for awhile and Magda took some pictures of the children hanging out.

There were some people heading off to the rice fields to prepare the bundles of rice seedlings before they get transplanted, but they wouldn’t really be starting for another half an hour so we headed to the house to visit the new baby.

Little James is a bit more active now. He’s got quite long arms and legs for a Cambodian baby. We got to watch him get a bath and it was incredible to see how strong he is already. He was able to hold his own head up and that’s at 3 weeks old!
Baby 'James', Da's new nephew at 3 weeks old.

After about an hour we took off to see the activities in the rice fields. It was fun to watch them pull out the seedlings then whack the bundles on their feet to remove the excess dirt before tying them up and setting them aside. It’s definitely a messy job! And hard on the hands, too! There were three groups of people preparing the rice seedlings, so we went around to all of them to check them out and get some photos.

Pulling out the seedlings to prepare for transplanting them.

It was now time to go back to town, so we thanked Da’s family and Magda headed back on her bicycle while we drove again. We went straight to the Siem Reap Christian Fellowship service which was at 4:00pm. Tonight was praise and worship and communion, so it was a shorter service.

From there we met back up with Magda for our final dinner. We ate at one of the restaurants at the Old Market. It was good, but they have definitely upped their prices. We said our goodbyes and Da and I headed off to look at furniture. I’m looking for some rattan chairs for the porch, in addition to a shelf. They were a little too expensive and I didn’t have enough money on me anyway to buy anything. But we’ll try again on Monday.

I wanted to go to bed early since I had to be up early for school. Unfortunately I could not fall asleep as quickly as I would have liked. My mind was racing about the first class and my lessons. Just go to sleep already!

Journal: Saturday 4 July 2009

Today started with a quick breakfast at Soup Dragon. I was surprised to hear from the man who is the Heritage Watch distributor who had some things for me. He brought them right over to the Soup Dragon. Now I have business cards, applications and a sim card to use for Heritage Watch related phone calls. Yay!

Today was also the ACE teachers meeting. I attended the earlier one for new teachers since I’ve been away for awhile. Some of the things were the same, but I learned a few new things. I met the other two new teachers, sort of. One I spoke to much more than the other.

I have been scheduled for 18 teaching hours! I will be teaching 6 mornings and 5 nights. That is much more than I was expecting. Plus I may even be given some contract hours, too. I just hope I can manage it all.

Just before dinner, Da and I went on a hunt to find another cell phone to purchase for my new sim card. I'm not interested in switching out my sim cards, so a new phone was a must (sort of). After the 1st place, we settled on a decent used one for $18, and I bought a second one for Da for the same price. Not bad for a mobile phone.

Dinner with Magda at Khmer Family restaurant, owned by the Temple family of restaurants and more (Temple Club, Golden Temple Villa, Khmer Family, Khmer Tradition, Khmer Soup, etc.). Very good food. We sat upstairs on the balcony to watch the life on the streets below. Not as much traffic as during the high season, but some restaurants were fuller than others.

Journal: Saturday 4 July 2009

Today started with a quick breakfast at Soup Dragon. I was surprised to hear from the man who is the Heritage Watch distributor who had some things for me. He brought them right over to the Soup Dragon. Now I have business cards, applications and a sim card to use for Heritage Watch related phone calls. Yay!

Today was also the ACE teachers meeting. I attended the earlier one for new teachers since I’ve been away for awhile. Some of the things were the same, but I learned a few new things. I met the other two new teachers, sort of. One I spoke to much more than the other.

I have been scheduled for 18 teaching hours! I will be teaching 6 mornings and 5 nights. That is much more than I was expecting. Plus I may even be given some contract hours, too. I just hope I can manage it all.

Just before dinner, Da and I went on a hunt to find another cell phone to purchase for my new sim card. I'm not interested in switching out my sim cards, so a new phone was a must (sort of). After the 1st place, we settled on one for $18

Dinner with Magda at Khmer Family restaurant, owned by the Temple family of restaurants and more (Temple Club, Golden Temple Villa, Khmer Family, Khmer Tradition, Khmer Soup, etc.). Very good food. We sat upstairs on the balcony to watch the life on the streets below. Not as much traffic as during the high season, but some restaurants were fuller than others.

Journal: Friday 3 July 2009

The day was more or less the same as any other day. So no surprises here. Rounded the day off enjoying dinner with the two Couch Surfers in town, Magda and Yi.

We ate at a fairly inexpensive place called Angkor Famous in the Passageway behind Pub Street. Enjoyable conversation, then at about 9pm Magda was tired from her day of bicycling around the temples, so we took off for the guesthouse.

Upon arriving she wanted to return the bicycle that she rented, but the person who took care of it was nowhere to be found and the other people there couldn’t speak enough English to really be of any help. After waiting for some minutes, the guy finally showed up and she was able to get her deposit and driving license back. Meanwhile, Da had driven Yi back to his guesthouse before coming back to pick me up.

Off to the house and time for a shower and bed.

McLinky Weekly Blog Hop

Hi Blog Hoppers! I'm Nikki and this is my blog Only In Cambodia. I started this while living and working in Cambodia to write about my adventures and experiences that are uniquely Cambodian. However, as I have traveled around and moved back to the US it has become a way to write about what's going on in my life in general.

I am currently back in Cambodia expanding upon my adventures as a volunteer, intern and a researcher in addition to teaching English again. I hope to continue highlight the numerous experiences that are available only in Cambodia.

Journal: Wednesday 1 July 2009

Today started out as any other around here. Breakfast at Soup Dragon then off to Common Grounds for internet. However, today would be slightly different as I was meeting Rachel (ACE teacher) for lunch and then later that afternoon a Couch Surfer would be coming up from Phnom Penh and I wanted to meet her at the bus and get her set up in a guesthouse.

Lunch with Rachel was great. It was good to see her again and be filled in all the goings on at ACE and elsewhere. She’s getting ready to head back to England for a month with her Cambodian husband. That will be really exciting for both of them. We chatted until nearly 2pm then it was time for her to get back to the hospital and I needed to head out to the bus station to meet the CSer.

To find out more about being part of Couch Surfing, go here

Da arranged the tuk-tuk and we zoomed off towards the bus station in the east part of town. However, once we arrived a group of tuk-tuk drivers hanging said that the bus didn’t arrive there, but in town at the Center Market. Ugh! Back to town again to wait. It was about a half hour wait, then the bus arrived and Magda found me without a problem. I was also holding a hastily drawn welcome sign, too.

We headed off to the guesthouse to set her stuff in the room then it was back to Common Grounds to have a coffee and chat. As the evening approached we decided to walk back to the guesthouse so she could have a shower and we would meet later for dinner. There would also be another CSer from San Francisco meeting us, too, at Khmer Kitchen at 7pm.

There was about an hour between dropping her off and meeting back again for dinner. In the meantime it had started to rain, but not so heavily yet. On the way, we picked up a sim card for her so she could use it while she’s here in Cambodia for the month.

Photo Courtesy of Asia Explorers

Khmer Kitchen is always a great place to meet and have dinner. The food’s reliably delicious and there’s enough choices to offer every taste, including the vegetarian. We stayed there until 11pm (the latest I’ve been out so far), just talking about all sorts of things. It’s fun to have new people to talk to and encounter new ideas.

Bed time!

Journal: Tuesday 30 June 2009

Breakfast at Soup Dragon. I tried to send some of my postcards this morning, but apparently my five dollar bill was too worn for the people there and they refused to take my money. Back to Common Grounds to use the internet. The same thing happened there. But, I wouldn’t take no for an answer with them as they had given me it for change the day before.

In the early afternoon we took off to go check out a piece of land that Da was interested in possibly buying. It wasn’t that impressive as it was a bit far on a rough road from the National Road 6, and there were no trees. I did not like it at all.

Before heading back to the house, I wanted to stop and buy some books to read since I had finished mine and Da was going back home early to take his dad to the pagoda for a meeting. I go through books so quickly when I have nothing else to do, so I found 3 which I thought could keep me occupied. Then I tossed in a DVD of Reservoir Dogs.

I spent the evening reading the Robert Ludlum book, The Holcroft Covenant. It’s a surprisingly good book so far. Da surprised me by coming back later in the evening with a TV. He got it hooked up but could only find a few channels. But, I managed to figure out how to configure all the channels and now there are more than 70 including my favorites of CNN, AXN and Discovery.

Journal: Monday 29 June 2009

I lingered in bed this morning enjoying the coolness of the night before. We headed off to Soup Dragon for a late breakfast of the usual: noodle soup and iced coffee.

Next it was off to the post office to check if I had received any mail. Two postcards and a birthday card for Da that he never picked up (since November!). Then it was off to the bank to check if they had my ATM card yet.

When they finally found my card there was a problem. Apparently the picture on the back of the card was only half developed. This meant I needed to wait until Thursday for them to send a better one. More delays! So, we took off around the corner to Common Grounds.


No sooner did we sit down and I received a call from the bank. They had my new card already. I guess they hadn’t looked hard enough for the other one. Off I went to pick up my ATM card and sign it out. Now I’m back in business.

While waiting in the bank, the owner of Angkor Mondial restaurant came in. I wasn’t sure it was her, but she turned around and noticed me. She was very happy to see me and said that her children had missed me too. I had tutored she and her husband for several months when I first lived in Cambodia. They are a very sweet and well-connected family. Originally they ran a water-bottling company, but then built the restaurant. I used to go there for dinner on occasion because I would get a cheaper price plus the Apsara dance show.

Anyhow, she invited me for dinner tonight with the family. It will be great to see everyone again, and have a free dinner.

I also have lunch plans, too. My friends Maria and Adele invited me for lunch today. Once I got back from the bank I received a message from Maria with the invitation. We had seen each other at the service on Sunday night, but were too busy chatting to connect.

So, a brief hour or so at the café for some quick internet time, then it was off to Mollopor Café for lunch with Maria, Adele and Jane. I had the fried beef with Japanese sauce and rice, along with a cashew nut shake. Yummy! We had a great time catching up and chatting about things only the gals will chat about.

Back to the café for more internet. I actually did some work for Heritage Watch today by organizing some of the contacts and developing a list of new businesses to contact.

Dinner at Angkor Mondial was interesting. The owner’s wife had already eaten dinner and her children were at Chinese school. So I was encouraged to grab some buffet for myself and ate while sitting across from her and attempting a conversation.

A lot of the conversation focused on the poor economy and slow business lately. Not enough tourists and tour companies not paying their bills. Her sister had moved to Australia. Her husband was in Phnom Penh to look for a place to open another restaurant. The daughter studied at the local international school while the son still studied in a Khmer school in addition to ACE.

Needless to say, I enjoyed my dinner. They always have good food there. Although I was a little bugged by the manager following me around the buffet, watching me like a hawk. What was his problem? Did he think I was going to steal the silver? Just weird.

Journal: Sunday 28 June 2009

Slept late today and didn’t have breakfast. We decided to go to Da’s house for lunch and to spend the afternoon. We left at about 10:00am.

His mom was at a wedding to prepare the food, so the brother-in-law was making lunch for everyone. It was some sort of a soup. Da’s mom sent some bags of food from the wedding, so we had more than just the soup. One was fried beef with some onions, the other was fried pork with mushrooms.

It was hot as usual and we went back to the house to rest. Later it started to get cool and then started to rain ever so lightly. This was an unusual rain because it continued for the rest of the afternoon and into the evening, and it wasn’t terribly heavy.

We took advantage of a slight break in the rain to head back to town to attend the Christian Fellowship at

4:00pm. The rain started halfway there, so we arrived a little wet. It was a good service.

Afterwards we decided to go to the Old Market to pick up some things I needed for the house: hangers, laundry soap and rugs. I also stopped at my student’s mother’s stand to pick up some more fruit, too. Tonight it was chicken egg bananas, mangosteens and custard apples. I love tropical fruit. Even the names are exotic.

In this photo (top l to r): lichee (small red bumpy), custard apple (medium green bumpy, longan (small yellowish), mangosteen (purplish/brown with white interior), rambutan (spiky), and tamarind (smooth brown snaky-looking)

Custard Apple, sweet and delicate

Mangosteen, white and slightly sweet.

Chicken Egg Banana, small and oh so sweet

We went back to the house to relax a little and put away the things. I actually washed a few things, then we headed back out to enjoy Indian food at our favorite restaurant called India Gate. The owner was really excited to see us, especially since it had been so long since I had been there. We both got Thali sets, but I got the vegetable and he got the non-vegetable. It was such a cool evening that dinner was really pleasant.

Before heading back to the house we stopped in at Zanzybar where Da’s friend Sochea is working. We had a drink and his friend Nara came, then another that I can’t remember his name.

Time for bed!

Journal: Saturday 27 June 2009

Yay! Finally, today is moving day. We moved to the new room. It required only 2 tuk-tuk trips to take my bags and all of Da’s other stuff like the fridge, fan, table, chair and a huge box of unknown contents.

I’m happy to be in the new room. It’s bigger, brighter and quieter. Plus, it’s much closer to downtown on a much less bumpy road, so it won’t be such a hassle driving back and forth. The bathroom is not so big and the toilet doesn’t automatically flush, which means you have to pour water down it to flush it. But, there is a kitchen counter with a sink and a back door to allow a breeze to blow through. Also, I now have a wardrobe to hang my things.

Some things I still need to get to completely make it home:

• Hangers
• Rattan shelf
• Two rattan lounge chairs (to chill out on the veranda)
• Clothes bar to hang towels to dry

Finally after sweeping, moving the wardrobe and bed into better locations, putting some things away and making the bed we were both hot and sweaty and ready for lunch. Off to Common Grounds for lunch and a cool place to use the computer.

Today I had a grilled cheese sandwich that came with a really nice garden salad. Spent the rest of the afternoon chilling in the café. Dinner was a quick stop for fried rice, the back home to eat it. A fairly uneventful day.

Journal: Friday 26 June 2009

The morning started out with a final visit to the hotel for a send-off of our clients. We enjoyed breakfast at Soup Dragon and then followed that with some time at Common Grounds for internet time.

I finally called my mom to let her know I arrived safely. I know, bad daughter. But, she comes to expect this from me. I take a long time to call home. Really I just didn’t have internet access at a decent time for her.

When we arrived at the café, I was stunned at the news on CNN saying that Michael Jackson had died. What a loss! But I never really was all that fond of his music. I can remember when Thriller was out, I was in sixth grade and intentionally chose Lionel Ritchie as my favorite singer just to be opposite of everyone else. I still prefer Lionel over Michael.

Lunch was Beef Lok Lak. I prefer to cook it myself, but this was tasty enough. Making it is very simple. All you need is some beef that you slice into bite-sized pieces, steamed rice, freshly sliced cucumber, tomato and onion with some lettuce leaves, and finally a sauce made of freshly ground pepper, salt and lime juice squeezed over at the last minute.

If you want to know how to prepare Lok Lak, go to Kitchen Surprises.

We stayed at the café until mid-afternoon. We left to go get my massage that Da had promised me. He gets a really good price ($2/hour). I must say, however, that every massage that I have had in Cambodia is different. No two are alike.

The massage began with a foot wash. Then I traded my sandals for some plastic flip-flops and head upstairs to a room with three mats on the floor. I was instructed to change, which meant to take off my clothes and put on the T-shirt and pants provided. However, the pajama pants were a size Asian too small so there was no way I was getting into those. The T-shirt might have fitted, but I just took off my clothes and laid under the blanket.

When the girl returned (without knocking I might add), and she saw me lying there, she indicated that putting my shirt back on was ok, then she quickly decided, “No change.” This meant I had to put all my clothes back on. So silly.

On to the massage. . . I have never been so manhandled in my life. I swear she had Superman thumbs. I think that she felt she had to squeeze and kneed extra hard because I was so much bigger than what she is used to. It was not relaxing in the least. I could have sworn I was going to wake up the next day with bruises all over my arms and legs.

She massaged some of the strangest places. I think she rather enjoyed kneeding my backside and inner thighs, with all the extra squishiness. She was a pincher, too. My arms were squeezed and pinched. Everything always ended with a pummeling by her hands. Bang, bang, bang. Bonk, bonk, bonk.

If you like it a little rough (all you S & M types), I highly recommend a Cambodian massage.

Nothing else happened that evening. Da left early to go back home and I stayed in the hot room reading my book (Fall on Your Knees). Another day ended.

Journal: Thursday 25 June 2009

Today we decided to breakfast at another location, Common Grounds Café, where we usually spend the afternoon utilizing their free WiFi. Unfortunately, today the WiFi wasn’t working so we headed over to the Singing Tree Center to try out their wireless, but that was also not working either. As it neared noon, the heat was rising and we wanted to go somewhere to use the internet, so back again to Common Grounds.

We just wiled away the afternoon on the internet. There’s really nothing much else to do as I haven’t gotten any further updates from Heritage Watch. Until then it’s chill out time. I guess I should be thinking more about my research.

Eventually the evening came and we decided to do a little souvenir shopping to find a suitable thank-you gift for our clients who will be leaving tomorrow. Off to the Angkor Night Market we went, braving the heat and humidity.

I was thinking some spices and a krama would be a nice gift. Da was thinking a wall hanging or stone rubbing would be better. Of course after wandering around and working up a sweat, we settled on a variety of Cambodian teas and coffee packaged in lovely, colorful palm leaf baskets. We found a nice little bag with Angkor Wat embroidered on it to place the teas in.

Back to the room to drop of the computers and head back out to the restaurant to pay the bill and give the clients their gift. We had a dinner of fried rice and headed back to the room.

Upon arrival there was no electricity. No electricity means no fan! That would not work, so Da suggested we go back out. Grudgingly I agreed because I’d rather have the air rushing past me on the motorbike than sitting in stagnant heat, tired as I was.

We headed through town and out to the Pyung Yi exposition grounds which has turned into a night-time picnic spot for Cambodians. There are even some carnival rides and games set up out there now.

An hour was all we needed because when we got back the electricity had come back on. Relief! A shower and bedtime for me. Tomorrow’s moving day.

Journal: Wednesday 24 June 2009

Same old breakfast at Soup Dragon. After we went to check on the room and to pay the deposit, but were surprised at the funeral set-up in the yard. Apparently the son of the old woman had died. His sister told us that he had some mental problems and had run off on Monday. They found him the day before in the Siem Reap River. Such a sad thing, but she didn’t seem sad, more relieved. Move in day will be Friday, to allow them time to hold the funeral.

We had some errands to run to take care of arrangements for our clients on a tour, then it was lunch at the friend's restaurant for Samlor Majou Groen and fried ginger with pork.

We rested a bit at the room, then I got a message from a Couchsurfer about meeting for coffee that afternoon. At a little before 3pm we arrived at Common Grounds to wait for the visitor. She was a German living and working on Penang in Malaysia, though she had just finished her job and was traveling around SE Asia before returning to Germany.

We had a great time chatting and sharing travel stories. Eventually it was getting close to dinner time so I recommended Khmer Kitchen for some good food, plus it can be cooked vegetarian for her. We walked over as Da drove. On the way I spotted a roasted banana vendor and bought some for her to try. Those are my favorite snacks and could eat them every day!

We had a great meal at Khmer Kitchen. I ordered my favorite: fried pumpkin with tofu. She got a veggie amok and really enjoyed it. Then it was time for her to go and we headed to the restaurant where the clients would be eating that night to take care of the bill.

Back to the room for a shower and time for bed. I've been an early bird lately cause it's been so hot and stuffy even with a fan. Last night was probably the worst so far. Plus, my right shoulder has been really bothering me and it makes it hard to sleep comfortably. I'm hoping the new room will have a more comfortable bed.

Journal: Tuesday 23 June 2009

Same old breakfast at Soup Dragon. After we drove to look for a new room to rent. We were given a heads up that there were some possible rooms available in the Artisans Angkor area, so off we went. Drove past a place, then came back. At first the old women said that she didn’t have a key, but then she decided that there were more rooms at the back of the property and were led there by one of the current tenants.

The room is much larger than the current one with a back door to allow for a cross breeze. There’s a sick and a counter where we can cook and wash clothes. The bed is a double and the room includes a wardrobe. There are very high ceilings. I like that this is a quiet area. You could say that there’s a large garden just past the large veranda (perfect for sitting on during the evenings), but it’s really just an empty lot filled with overgrown weeds that look lush during the rainy season.

Da decided he wanted it, so he told the woman he’d be back that evening to pay the deposit.

Next was a visit to ACE to check in with the director and see what was in store for me. The familiar faces were very warm and welcoming. Savoen was still there running the office, though he now has an assistant. Steve was there to welcome me back and introduce me to Shirley, the new director. We went into her office for a quick chat. She just wanted to check on the number of hours I could work and my willingness to be flexible. She made some comment about hearing stories about me. I’m not sure if that was meant to be a threat or what. It was just a strange thing to say. I suppose she could have heard both good and bad.

Steve then took me on a tour of the new rooms in the back. There’s 3 levels of classrooms with a computer lab and learning center on the top. Now there are over 1,000 students. He shared a bit about some of the new ways of doing things that have since been instituted by Shirley, mentioning that things are more professional now. I think it will be good to be back. I hope to be a breath of fresh air to uphold whatever good things have been said about me and to put down any of the negative comments. That’s the benefit of coming in for such a short time, too.

Lunch was out at the family’s house. He had to pick up water for the clients. It was a tasty lunch of fried morning glory with pork, roasted dried & salted fish and some fried sausage (all with rice of course). A visit to the house wouldn’t be complete without saying hello to the little baby, too.

We didn’t stay too long since we had things to do in town to prepare for the clients arriving that afternoon. We headed back to the room to pick up our computers and head to Common Grounds for some internet time. At about 4pm we head to the Borei Angkor Hotel for a tour and to meet the clients. Such a beautiful hotel. The clients are friends of my friend Allen. It was a family of 5 touring SE Asia.

It didn’t rain all day, but rained at night instead.

Journal: Monday 22 June 2009

The day started with breakfast at Soup Dragon. Our regular of chicken noodle soup and an iced coffee for me. We had some errands to run with a first stop at the post office to pay a very delinquent post office box fee. It’s $15 / year and Da hadn’t paid for 2 years.

Following the post office was a visit to the bank to deposit my money and make sure my account was ok. I first tried using my ATM card but it was taken by the machine since it had expired in November 2008. So, I went into the main area to get it all sorted out. Of course it was not without a lecture by the bank worker about an expired card and why didn’t I pick up my new card. She started to tell me that I would have to pay $5 for a new card since I hadn’t picked up my re-issued card within 2 months. I politely told her that that was preposterous since I never received a phone call, nor was I here to pick it up. I should not have to pay for a new card simply because they didn’t contact me. It all worked out just fine, except that there was another admonishment about not leaving my account untouched for more than a year or they would be charging fees, etc.

After all that, I managed to deposit some of my money into my account with the promise that I wouldn’t let it lapse again. We’ll see if my new card is ready on the following Monday when she promised. I have little hopes since last year I waited 2 months for a new pin which never arrived.

Our final stop before lunch was the Old Market to do a little shopping. I had to pick up some soap, shampoo, toilet paper and postcards. The woman who I used purchase those things from in the past still remembered me. Next was to buy postcards. The aim was to get them for 50 cents. The women we went to originally started at 3,000 Riel, but because I was going to buy 10 packages, she agreed to our offer. 100 postcards for $5: such a deal.

We continued on to buy some fruit and eggs. The woman who I used to buy my vegetables from (a former student’s mother) was now only selling fruit, so buying from her was natural. The eggs were just opposite her, too.

We took our prizes home for a home cooked lunch of steamed rice, hard-boiled eggs and beef jerky. Yum! Not really something I would choose to eat every day, but if necessary I think I could do it. Maybe.

We spent our afternoon at Common Grounds Cafe to use the internet in an air-conditioned location out of the heat and humidity. Dinner was out one of my favorite places to go, Da's friend's restaurant, where we get really great Cambodian food for decent prices. Though now they've raised their prices to 7,000 Riel ($1.75) per dish, but that's still 2 dishes for the price of one cheap dish in a tourist place plus we get rice and iced tea included.

My favorite is the Samlor Majou Groen, a sour sour made with morning glory plants and beef. We also like to order fried ginger with pork, a fish paste & pork omelette or pork spare ribs.

Arrival in Cambodia

Left San Francisco at 1:30ish a.m. on Thursday June 18th. Arrived in Taipei at 5:30ish a.m. twelve hours later on Friday June 19th. Just a 3 1/2 hour flight to Phnom Penh and at 9:30ish a.m. I arrived.

Da was there to greet me. I almost thought I wouldn't get out of the terminal because I had to check in my carry-on suitcase and didn't realize that it would actually be put in with the checked bags and not returned to me after disembarking the plane on arrival.

Once realizing my mistake I had to convince the airport staff to take me through customs and to the baggage carousel to wait for my carry-on. "Why would you leave your valuables in that suitcase?" She questioned. "Because I wasn't told that they wouldn't return it to me immediately after the flight." (Duh!)

So, after a little delay, I got my suitcase and headed back to get my visa, go through the checkpoint, pick up my other suitcases and go through customs. Easy peasy.

It was so good to see Da after more than 1 year. We took a minivan to a hotel in the city where I could shower and freshen up. I was actually surprised that I wasn't more sore from the long flight. I was worse after one night on the crummy hotel bed.

We walked down to Soriya Market for lunch and to do a little shopping, then back to the hotel for a rest. I met the staff from Heritage Watch at 3:00 p.m. Then it was back to the hotel again where we met up with Da's brother, Houy, and a cousin for a short time.

The plan was to have dinner at the new KFC (I know, eating fast food in Cambodia is not exactly a thrill.). Unfortunately (or fortunately), I fell asleep and was out for the rest of the night. No KFC on that day. But, there's one coming to Siem Reap soon!

On Saturday we took the Capitol bus at 10:15 a.m. (more like 10:45) to Siem Reap. After 2 stops we arrived at about 4:30 p.m. at the Old Market where his older brother was waiting to pick us up and drive us to the office/room where I'll be staying.

It's nothing special and quite far off the beaten track. The hope is to find something else really soon.

After dropping off the luggage we headed up up to Prie Khmeang to see the family. Everyone was so excited to see me. My Khmer did not kick into overdrive, though, and I felt like I had gone back several paces in my ability to communicate. We had dinner there of some kind of soup and fried pork dish. They were good. I like eating his mom's cooking.

Sunday would be a big day as it was the ceremony to bless his sister's baby and to release her from sleeping over the heated bed. We had to be there before 9:00 a.m. for the ceremony attended by the older people, including his grandfather who led the ceremony.

The baby is very quiet and calm. I haven't heard a peep out of him. And wouldn't you know it, but Da gave him the name of James without even knowing that it was my dad's name.

We stayed the afternoon. It was hot and uncomfortable. It took Da nearly an hour, after several tries, to hang a hammock for me to lay in. I was glad to have it eventually cause my backside does not enjoy sitting on all of the hard surfaces around here.

We got back into town just in time to refresh ourselves and go to the Christian Fellowship of Siem Reap. It was great to see some familiar faces and reconnect. I look forward to more time to spend with these folks.