just another friday in paradise.

swamped my moto today.  ended up knee high in babyshit green colored muck.  had the shoes sucked off my feet several times.  no one around.  no one really to call.  Dave couldnt come to help because he'd have no idea where I was (even though I was only a couple of blocks from home).

so, i did what i had to do, and pushed the mofo through the shit mud to dry land.  it took a few minutes for me to catch my breath (that bastard is HEAVY), and wash my nasty feet off.   got myself sorted, turned around and headed off to where i needed to be.

point of this post?   dunno really.  other than i realized that once you stop becoming dependent on AAA/iphones/knights in shining armor, you can do just about anything.  


well, almost.   i still can't do math.  but i'm okay with it.


xoxo

life

hard to believe we've been here 7 months already.   Visa renewals just came back, so we're legal for another 6 months.   Since our apartment lease will be up at that time also, we'll reassess things here and make the decision to stay longer, or return to the states.   My suggestion has been to go back to the US for 6 months and then move to the next destination.  We'll see.....  


Life has been really really good.  Rainy season is just about finished, although its still too flooded for me to ride my moto to school.  Hopefully another couple of weeks ( feels like I say that every couple of weeks!) and everything will be dried up.  

Regular roads are fine, and I'm so happy to be riding again.  I missed that little bit of independence.

School is really ramping up now that the rains are stopping.  There are so many younger children that they've been split into two classrooms, with the basic english lessons held in the main classroom and the beginning students (the abc kids) having lessons in the library.  My older kids have suddenly come to life and are doing quite well.   I finally feel like I'm accomplishing something.  

Saturday nothingness

Saturday, October 5, 2013
10am
Siem Reap, Cambodia


Still sick, but not nearly as bad as I was last week at this time.  Did a course of antibiotics (no help) and a few days of tylenol/claritin/robitussin cocktails to keep myself alive.  Now I'm left with plugged ears and a minor sore throat, but I'm finally sleeping better.  Hopefully a couple more days and I'll be back to normal (?).  

It continues to rain every day.  Hard rain for 20-30 minutes at a time, with short breaks.  Our road isnt completely flooded, a tuk tuk or car can still get down the road, but its really muddy and nasty.  Some parts of town along the river are having some flooding problems, but nothing like they are having in Phnom Penh or other provinces.   It really doesnt impact us much, plenty of food in the fridge and lots of baseball on tv, so life is good.

School hasnt been in session for the past few days because of Pchum Ben (the festival of souls). Yesterday was the last day of the holiday so most Khmer businesses were closed.  Ended up having dinner at a Korean BBQ with some friends.  The food was meh, but it was good company.    One of the drawbacks about living in a town that is made up of volunteers or NGO workers is that people tend to move on quickly.  It makes me a bit sad when my new friends say that they're leaving for another city/country/life.   In reality, I think thats probably how most of the world is, I just havent experienced it much before.

School blog updated here - http://angkorstreeschool.blogspot.com/.

After the holiday break, my teaching schedule is going to change a bit.  Only one hour a day, with the older class.  Its really a benefit for everyone.  I love teaching the younger kids, but I can't speak Khmer, so I have no way to explain the meanings of words in their native language.  It's a disservice to them as well as myself.  I've been questioning my efforts for a couple of weeks, because I havent been sure that I was making any impact upon them.   Starting Monday they will have a proper Khmer teacher with them. A much better decision.    And I have to admit, as much as I enjoy being at the school, 3 hours a day in the heat has worn me out.  I need the break for a bit.

Thats about it for now.  Hoping to have a chance to get out a bit with my camera next week. If that pans out I'll share pics.

-Rhonda

still kicking

Saturday, almost midnight

Woke up feeling absolutely dreadful today.  Went to the pharmacy and had a blood draw to check for Dengue Fever.  Fortunately it came back negative, so my ailment is just a normal upper respiratory infection instead of something far worse.  A course of antibiotics and tylenol should fix me up in a few days.



Today we had a big luncheon and party at the school.  I had received a very generous donation from a friend in the states earlier this week to cover food costs for the school, so a little bit of it was reallocated for a nice celebration of the new school house and the students for being so good.

I blogged about it over on the Angkor's site...  you can read more and see the photos here:  http://angkorstreeschool.blogspot.com/

I stayed as long as I could, but in the end it was just too hot and I felt way too shitty.  So I came home and slept the rest of the afternoon away.


I did get a chance to work on a new photo project though.  Its been a really long time since I've done anything remotely creative and this is going to take a long time to complete and refine, but I like it so far.   I walk past Teacher Sokhom's house every day and never really notice it, but today the light was perfect and really showed off the red walls of the building.  There was no way I could pass it up.

a couple of quick previews.

 Pich

 Sira

Piset

****

back to bed.   

sick

Saturday, Sept 28 2013
1:30a
couched


Sick.  sicksicksicksicksick.     fever.  sore throat.  worst headache ever.  

prolly going to die.  

or I'll be fine by tomorrow.

but i think i'm going to die.



i leave the comfort of my aircon apartment.  walk in the dampness 2 blocks to school.  3 hours spent sweating profusely in the sauna/classroom.   walk back through the dampness which has now turned to full on monsoon rain (today the "puddles" were knee high) back in to aircon.   the perfect breeding ground for death.  

back to bed.    send flowers.

and chocolate.  lots and lots of chocolate.

silly kids playing in the rain.  the wood is from the construction of the library.  

more on that later.  

school life

Its taken a while, but I've finally started a blog for the school.  For those of you who aren't on facebook, you can keep up with our progress here.   http://angkorstreeschool.blogspot.com/


We continue to have new students every day.  The room has become too crowded to teach so many at once, so we've changed school hours a bit.   Younger students have been divided between a morning session ( 8 - 10am) and an afternoon session (3 - 5pm).   Japanese lessions are from 2-3p, and the older students have class time from 5 -6pm.

***

Regular life is good.   Stressed about problems at my house back in the states, but there isnt much I can do from here.   I'd hate to have to come home to handle stuff myself there, but it may come to that.

Rainy season is definitely upon us.  The roads near my house and the school are too floody to use the moto, so I'm walking back and forth.  Its a short walk, but very wet and muddy.  

my walk to school

 the good road

 Turn right at the chicken coop

 Hard to see, but there is a small opening in the fence on the left.  Just big enough to fit through.  Unfortunately it opens into someone's well/shower/laundry spot.

 Wade through the water and try not to think about leeches and snakes.

Once I made it through the water, the path dries out a bit (to the left of the white house) from there its just another 25 feet to the school.  easy peasy.  

I'm the suckiest blogger ever....

Sunday, Sept 8 2013
Midnightish
Siem Reap, Cambodia


I've totally skipped on updates -  July I was back in Michigan for the month, and once I got back to Siem Reap, life got really busy.

I've bummed around town a bit.  Now that I have a moto, its much easier for me to get around - I don't have to wait on a driver, or try to explain where I want to go.   Its given me a bit of freedom back that I was sorely missing.   I still don't drive at night, I leave that to the professionals...  but during the day, I'm pretty independent.

I've gone down to Phnom Penh a couple of times over the past few weeks...  it takes about 6 hours by bus, but its an easy trip.   Giant Ibis is the new bus company in town.  Its about double the price of the older bus lines, but at $13 its still quite a deal.  Nice leather seats, air con, movies and wifi.  Very comfortable.    Didnt do much while in PP, just went to shop and sight see, but had a very nice time.

More recently my days have been spent at Angkor's Tree school.  Its a small, independent school behind our apartment that Ginny (our neighbor) has been teaching at.  Now that she's gone back to the States for a few months, I've taken her place.   It's not terribly difficult work, and its only two hours a day, but I'm worn out by the time I get home.   The kids are awesome though, and I'm having a great time there.

I've also taken on a part time job doing data entry for an NGO that works in one of the more rural areas.
So between my two new ventures, I havent had much time for blogging.

I'll try to do better...   soon.   ;)

 my moto - a yamaha fino - only 115cc.. but peppy enough to get through the mud and tall grass when needed.

I call him "Grigio"

 Marina feeding the pigeons in Phnom Penh

 National Museum

 Phnom Penh madness

 laundry day

 Snack shop on the route between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap.  Dried fishes and meat

Angkor's Tree School

This is the old school house.  Last week it was dismantled and a new school was built a few meters away

 Progress on the new school 

 The new building, not quite finished, but solid enough to have class in

My first "solo" day. 22 students in the first hour (the younger kids), 8 in the second hour (older kids).

3 months!

Sunday, June 17, 2013
12pm
Siem Reap



This week marks three months in Cambodia.  Outside of a couple days of homesickness,  stomach sickness, and unbearable heat,  life has been pretty damned easy here.

I thought I'd try to answer some of the questions that have been asked since we've been here..

What's the weather like?   In a word, HOT.  Dry season is dry, and hot.   We're coming in to wet season now, and its just that.  Wet. And hot.  Average temperatures that we've seen has been mid - high 90's, although we had a stretch of days where it was over 100 topped with very high humidity.  Now that the rains have started, it has cooled off nicely. 80's - 90's, and a bit lower humidity.  The drawback, of course, is the torrential downpour rains that instantly soak you to the skin.  I never thought it was possible to be cold here, but after getting caught in the rain without a coat I learned that it is possible.


What do you do there?   Although we don't have a formal schedule, we seem to run through the same paces most days.  Breakfast and, if its early enough, calls to the US to catch up.  Then off to the market,  or to have coffee and a massage.  We usually try to be back home before noon to avoid the heat.
In the afternoon we watch movies, or nap (or a nice combination of both).  Several days a week the cleaning lady's daughter comes to visit me so we spend our time eating grapes and watching cartoons, with some english lessons thrown in.     Two or three nights a week we go out for dinner, or meet up with friends for whatever activities have been decided on for the week.  There is always something going on, whether its a pub quiz, or movie night, or hotel happy hours.  No reason to ever be bored in this town.

Sundays are dedicated to "Talk Time", which I've written about before.  Open to everyone, its a time for English speakers to meet with local people who are looking to improve their speaking skills.  Conversations are guided, but never have an agenda.  Its just free talk on any subject.

Sunday nights are spent with the F&B club for dinner somewhere.  Tonight we're headed to TELL steakhouse, and I really hope it lives up to its reputation, as I'm really missing a perfectly cooked steak.


What do you miss from home?  The people.  My people.  Life here is crazy fun and easy, and I wish there was some way I could scoop everyone up and bring them here to live.  Then it would be pretty close to perfect.

I also miss driving, and the freedom that it allows.  We have a great set of drivers here, but they don't understand that some days I want to go in to EVERY SINGLE STORE on the street, without a reason.



So, thats it for now.  Tomorrow night (Monday morning in the US) I start the long journey home.  I'll be in Detroit for about 6 weeks to "check in".    I'm hoping its sweater weather when i get there!

****
some snapshots of this past week

 Poutine, and silence of the lambs on the big screen - Under Construction Bar.

 Vienna schnitzel and fried potato - Schnitzel Wirtin restaurant

on stop shopping, fruit, fried things and clothing.   The bag of yellow is fresh sugar cane juice.  my newest addiction.  Cold, sugary and yummy.  

 Our new friend Narek, and his assistant making kebabs near the night market.  

His cart just "opened" last week, and he's made quite a nice reputation already.

a rare sight indeed!   I havent gotten a chance to read this guys blog yet, but 

the note in the window says that he drove this corvette from England to Cambodia.

www.bencoombs.net.

***

weekly updates

Sunday, June 9, 2013
Siem Reap.


Busy week with activities within both the Food club and Social club.  Both are made up of expats who, for the most part, are relatively new to Siem Reap.  Great people in both groups, and there's never a lack of things to do.


Last Sunday night the groups joined forces and  went to the European guest house for a pig roast.
It was AMAZING.  Everyone was well fed, and I'm quite sure I'm the only one with a food hangover the next morning.    Somehow I failed to take any pictures (maybe it was to prevent a greasy camera), but if you look the the left on this blog there is a link to the Food and Beverage blog with pictures and commentary from all of our meetups.

Got my point and shoot camera fixed after breaking the screen at the boxing match.  $130 dollars that I really didnt want to spend, but I needed it fixed and it was cheaper to fix it than replace it.  Since living here, and not having a job, I've become very thrifty when it comes to spending, so I spent Monday and Tuesday in a bit of a funk over it.

Friday the Socialites met up for Quiz night, and I'm proud to say that we took first place!  We have a bunch of smarties in the group combined with fierce competitiveness, so Quiz night is a blast.

I HAVE FOUND MY PEOPLE!

Last night we were invited to the Sombai rice wine company to come for a liquor tasting.   Sombai is the brainchild of Joelle and her partner Lionel, and they have created quite a nice little business.  Sombai is rice wine infused with different flavors.  There are currently 8 flavor combinations available, and although I passed on the actual "sampling", they provided me with small amounts of each to smell and have little baby tastes of.  All were quite delicious.

www.sombai.com

 the group gets lost on the way to Sombai.

 Sampling bottles.

 and cups.

 Two choices of bottles, these are handpainted by local Cambodian artists. 

 These are the plain label bottles, same sizes but slightly cheaper in cost.

 Zita listens to the information, Dave just drinks.

 Host Lionel, and blurry Sue Kawa.

 Some of my tasters.

Tonight is a farewell to our darling friend Ruby, as she's headed back to London to have her baby girl and recuperate for a couple of months.  I miss her already.  :(

Photo walk with Kimleng

Last year when we were here we met up with a local photography guide and spent a couple of days shooting with him.

Fast forward to March, maybe 2 days after moving in to the apartment, someone knocked at the door.  Surprise, it was Kimleng. Turns out, he lives across the street from us and had seen us on the balcony.
He's now become a good friend and now that the low season is starting, his business has dropped off.  We took advantage of his free time to head out to the countryside and use our cameras.

 building a new house

 Our fearless leader, Kimleng.

 Planting rice

the long ride home.

-r