March 2012
53 posts
Feb 29
Leap year! (Just thought it was worth pointing out.)
Didn’t go into 17 Triggers today (the ad agency for good causes I’m volunteering at) so instead opted for another yoga class. It’s official: I love yoga.
On my way to class my tire burst. First sign of weakness in my otherwise stellar bicycle.
Similar to “picklese” in Haiti, there’s a harmless looking mango slaw here that is the most...
February 2012
66 posts
Feb 28
My friend Gen was running and tripped on a stray 3-ring binder in the street and cut her foot. Amazing. So amazingly Phnom Penh to have wild stationary hazards.
Starting reading “The Art of Happiness” today. It’s a “Tuesdays with Morrie” style book of conversations with the Dalai Lama.
As a result, I started journaling rapidly about the new discoveries I’m making. Tis true, I’m embracing...
Feb 27
First there’s a water brand called “Oral” and now there’s a fabric softener called “Hygiene.” Tell it like it is, Cambodia.
Planning a trip to Siem Reap (Angkor Wat) for the weekend after next. It’s time to start crossing some must-sees off the list.
After last week’s disappointment about my advanced students getting a new teacher… I learned I’d be getting the beginner students three times a...
Feb 26
This was a big day. We finally went to the nearby beauty salon and got “cup sok paongs!” By this I mean we got our hair crimped, ha. It’s tre chic around here and I treated the girls to this 80’s classic.
In order to get my cup sok paong, the lady had to cut my hair. She said my hair so bad that the beauty of the crimp wouldn’t come through.
We showed off our new hair at the joint Leadership...
Feb 25
When to an all day meditation seminar hosted by a Tibetan Buddhist monk. Yeah yeah, hold your “Eat Pray Love” comparisons.
I asked a lot of questions during the Q&A session. The monk answered my first question with simply, “The answer is within your question.”
He also said I was very confused during our self-realization discussion. Ha. I think I got it now. My friend Mike suggested I write...
Feb 24
There’s a brand of water here called “Oral.”
Finally headed to Central Market and bought some gifts. Bartering feel so wrong, yet so right.
Ate at Friends, a really awesome restaurant non-profit, hard to explain. Check it out here.
Went to an art exhibit/ skateboarding/ rap battle/ dance off/ outdoor party in an old train station tonight. Super rad and brought together a lot of PP’s artistic/...
Feb 23
A new law forbids restaurants from showing cows roasting on spits outside. Apparently Buddhism is similar to Hinduism in this regard and I for one, am grateful.
Saw a Colgate Max Fresh ad (in Khmer) where the minty freshness causes a dude to turn the plates in his kitchen into DJ turntables. I’d like to think we wouldn’t have done a similar ad at Y&R, but… I’m not so sure.
Putting yogurt in...
Feb 22
Feeling better. Had a great class involving a super involved vocabulary game that made the girls super pumped!
Feeling worse. They took away two of my classes and replaced me with a professional English teacher. It’s better for the girls in the long run, but I’m bummed.
Feeling better. We’re finding a way to move some students around and keep me busy again.
Feeling… hot. Each day you can feel...
Feb 21
Gonna admit it: today was a bad day. Found out a best girlfriend’s father died. Then found out (via Facebook…) that my other best girlfriend is engaged. The latter is of course very exciting but on both fronts, being this far away is difficult. Not being able to share in the highs and lows of a day like today makes me really realize that following your adventures to the end of the earth isn’t...
Feb 20
Difficult in a weird way to get back into teaching and tutoring. I switched into vacation mode for a second there and forgot I needed to switch back!
Realize my body is adjusting to the heat when I actually reach for a sweater in the “chilly” 75-degree morning.
Did a listening and vocab exercise using the Tortoise and the Hare. Did I make them answer questions using ridiculous turtle gestures...
Feb 19
Rode bikes around Kep in the morning. It was awesome, but the bike? Not so much. Made me miss my Phnom Penh wheels.
Got into a conversation with other backpackers about what to see and do in Cambodia. For my travel time afterwards… Cambodia? Laos? Thailand? There’s just so much here.
Came home to PP that evening. And it really felt like home.
Then came home to a crazy loud dorm with screaming...
Feb 18
Woke up to a baguette and a beautiful view from my bungalow. I’m spoiled.
Took a ferry to Rabbit Island, notably the best beach in Kep. I kept thinking about the girls and how much they would love it. Then instantly plotted to find a way to bring them down.
Caught up on podcasts for the first time in weeks. Learned more about the Eurozone conflict. Come on Greece, get it together.
Ate my...
Feb 17
Took the bus to Kampot (and Kep… mainly Kep) today! It’s SE of the city, right on the Gulf of Thailand.
Unfortunately/ fortunately nothing went as I planned the first day… Rain swept in took away my dream of driving a moto to Kep and crazy tour guides swept in and took away my dream of having a normal day in Kampot, ha.
BUT. There was a pretty amazing random moment of eating grilled squid and...
Feb 16
Wore jeans (a rarity) today and the girls called me “elegant.” Yes, I like to think so.
“Cup sok paong!” It means “crimp” as in the 80’s hairstyle. Still very popular here. For less than a dollar at the salon next door? Oh yes, you best believe there’s some crimping in my future.
Working on a campaign at 17 Triggers encouraging people not to give to begging children. Pretty scary stuff that...
Feb 15
Got my new visa today. Can’t believe it’s been a month already.
There’s a kid in my neighborhood who roams the streets naked in the morning. Not worried, just chillin. One of the women always takes care of her though and/or brings her back home. In fact all the people in this neighborhood treat each other like one big family.
Took de-worming meds from my Mekong adventure. Strongly doubt I had...
Feb 14
Valentines Day! It’s new to the people here. They’ve only be celebrating it for about a decade now, but they go all out.
Gave out balloons, candy and little Valentines. I’m trying to get the girls to understand it’s not just about romance. It’s a perfect occasion to let the people in your life know how much you love them.
Had a long, reflective journaling session today. A lot has been...
Feb 13
How is it possible that everywhere you go, no matter the melody, the song of the Ice Cream Man, will always get stuck in your head?
Everyone around here is obsessed with Angry Birds. Not the game, just the paraphernalia.
Taught my beginners the difference between present simple (for a habit) and present continuous (something you’re doing right now). It’s amazing all the little idiosyncrasies...
Feb 12
R.I.P. Whitney Houston.
Every barbershop around here seems to boast a photo of David Beckham outside. I guess he’s changed his hairstyle so much you can just order from a catalog of cuts. “I’ll take a Beckham 1998 please.”
Spent hours cutting out hearts and making little Valentines for each of the girls. Yep, they’re the loves of my life.
Made popcorn and watched “Soul Surfer” with the girls....
Feb 11
Khmer class number 4! Sinking in? Jah.
It’s official: Celine Dion is the queen of the world. In Haiti, India and now Cambodia, her jams rule.
Went to a Pajama Regatta boat party today. If Khmer people can wear pajamas in public all the time, why couldn’t we?
In case you were wondering, tight red silk pajamas are incredibly sticky. But hilarious.
Feb 10
Took a yoga class this morning. No matter how many times I do yoga I will always feel like the most uncoordinated girl in the room.
Finally made it to the Killing Fields Museum. It was a really well done exhibit with a guided audio tour that paints a clearer idea of the atrocities that occurred there. Horrific. Horrific. Atrocities to mankind.
Then took a class at Tuol Sleng, the prison camp....
Feb 9
Learned about the passing of “Big Dave”, a friend of EDV down in Haiti. He was robbed a gunpoint after withdrawing money for the orphanage he started down there. He was in the ICU for a week, but didn’t make it. Rest in peace.
Subsequently got into a big discussion about death and the purpose of life in terms of Buddhism with one of the girls.
There are two birds that always creep into our...
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Feb 8
Woke up with a sort throat. I blame my insistence on swimming across the river. I got Mekong-ed.
Reading dates with the girls are still going strong. We’ve got Jane Eyre, Huck Finn and Sherlock Holmes. Albeit the Cliff Notes versions, but still my high school English teacher would be proud.
Have not bitten it on my bike yet.
Have not bitten it on a moto yet either. Overall: Steph 2....
Feb 7
Today was a holiday. Anniversary of Buddha predicting his own death. Hm… Seems like an odd choice, but I rolled with it.
In honor, 14 of us piled into a van and went to Bopha’s village about 2 hours from here. My first time out of Phnom Penh and I looooved it.
Speaking of love, the girls were like a machine making curry in the kitchen when we arrived. I ate an embarrassing number of...
Feb 6
Some people got up at 6am to watch the Superbowl this morning. I was not one of those people. But hey… go Giants!
Taught my morning girls the difference between present simple and present continuous this morning. Serious Haiti flashbacks.
Had an MSG heavy lunch at a Chinese Noodle Bar and made me crash and BURN afterward. Mmm… naps.
The debates continued in both classes tonight! “Are arranged...