This is not a travel blog: to Vietnam and back

My hiatus from blogging was the price we all had to pay for the incredible adventures I've had over the past 4 months: Vietnam, Cambodia, Bangkok and Burma, plus a flood in Kratie.

In my last entry, I had the luxury of visiting Koh Kong just two weeks before my sister and her partner's arrival in Vietnam. A Vietnamese/Cambodian adventure with family from home was just what I needed!

Serene water and mangroves in Koh Kong

On May 1st, I took the bus from Kratie directly to Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). It only took a few hours

Day by Day

How blissfully the months have gone by! I wish that was true in all aspects of my life here in Cambodia, but it has most definitely been blissful in my new apartment, including the wonderful house-warming party where I hosted volunteers from Kratie and around Cambodia. I'm really sinking in to my Cambodian life, and have had a lot of revelations over the past few months: some good, some bad. I'm just taking it day by day and we'll see what happens.

In my work life,

7 Things I love/hate about my house

I was feeling a bit wistful about my last weekend in my house...

I am moving tomorrow to my 'penthouse suite'. It is going to be a big change living in a third floor, brand spanking new cement style house with a wrap around balcony. There will be some modern conveniences there, as well as excesses (two bathrooms! big overhead fans! Nine huge windows!). I am sure that it won't be complete paradise in Kratie, but I am still very excited to move.

I am a sentimental person, so I am definitely going to miss some things in my old Khmer wooden house. So here's a little list of the things I'll miss...and those that propelled me to move in the first place.

Things I will miss about my wooden Khmer house:

Banana and boiled peanuts to accompany my electricity bill

1. My lovely, generous and open landlady, her English-speaking daughters and her extended family. They all speak to me, even if I don't understand. They're just a lovely family that has made me feel at home - and they feed me, too!

Happy Merry Christmas!

Season's Greetings and Merry Christmas! Or, as I heard several times over the past week, Happy Merry Christmas!

New friends at Christmas

My time working in Cambodia over Christmas got some coverage lately in the Post City Magazine. As it turns out, I did indeed

Putting one foot in front of the other

Today was my first sit down with the entire District Council (minus the Director and two Councillors) and I am happy with the result. Yay! I went in with low expectations and was happy to find that, although the conversation was dominated by one council member, almost everyone participated and gave some small contribution. I hope it sets the tone from here on out.

The District Councillors and I

Sa-aat na! Perceptions of beauty in Cambodia

Sa-aat. It means 'beautiful' or 'clean' in Khmer. When I go out, pretty much anywhere in Kratie and definitely when I walk alone in Phnom Penh, I hear the same thing: sa-aat!

In Kratie, the ladies in the market like to chat and are generally talking about you as you walk by. Sometimes they ask me how old I am, where my family is, and generally want to know my business. They like to comment on my clothes and generally say "Sa-aat, sa-aat na" to themselves, me, or each other. It's a little awkward but always friendly. I say 'awkun' (thank you) and scurry away, not quite sure that I should say awkun at all.

During my fieldwork in 2010 a lot of photos were taken

The women that say

A mouse in the house

Two blog posts in two days! Craziness! This is what happens when you're self-quarantined due to conjunctivitis. While I wait for my eye drops to arrive from Phnom Penh, I had a little visitor to deal with...

Yesterday afternoon, I chased a mouse around my house with a bowl. I tried to capture it, but the wily bugger got away. This was the second time yesterday there was a mouse in the basket in my shower. There is nothing for it to eat, no soap out or anything. It just likes sitting in my basket?

Later that night,