A few food vendors pass by our office daily, selling their homemade food door-to-door, but the Nam Pachok lady is my favorite.  Nam Pachok is a delicious fish curry soup that’s made with lemongrass and coconut milk.  She carries all the ingredients, including bowls, chopsticks and condiments on her shoulders as she walks down the street.  My mouth watered as she garnished my bowl with bean sprouts, cabbage, cucumber, banana blossom and mint.  Next she layered in some fresh Khmer noodle before ladling in the soup.  She waited patiently as we all finished eating since she needed the bowls back.  I didn’t eat fast enough because eventually she couldn’t wait for me so Miss Kim, our receptionist, gave her one of the bowls in our office kitchen in exchange.  This is definitely one my favorite comfort food of all time.  Delicious.

Soksabay from Phnom Penh.  I can’t believe December is ending soon!  Where did the time go?  Next month I leave beautiful Cambodia and it feels that there is still so much work to do here.  

I’m not sure why I am not inspired to write while living in Phnom Penh. So many experiences in such little time and I don’t want to forget about any of them yet I don’t feel the urgency to document them.  

I still teach daily at the head office located in the heart of Phnom Penh.  It’s the travel to the communities that I enjoy most.  I’ve been teaching in two of  the slum communities for CVCD twice a week.  The two classes from 8:30-10:30 am go by quickly.   I will travel with a staff member or teacher by moto to the classroom for about 30 minutes from the city.  The kids look much younger than they really are because of malnutrition.  The 14-year olds look like they are only eight.  But they have the same laughter and enthusiasm as any child I know.  

Some kids will ask me to write down the word for them but I encourage them to watch me as I write the words on the white board.  At the other end of that spectrum are some kids who refuse help.  They really are independent and prefer to do the work on their own.

Yesterday, Mr. Pheak and I drove to a slum community by the railroad tracks near our head office, crossing the bridge on Russian Boulevard.  The Khmer teacher who teaches there sat and became our student as we, Mr. Pheak and I, co-taught English for an hour.  The classroom was not designed to fit the 30+ kids that attend.  I watched as they brought in stools from their homes to sit in the back.  Parents and young kids crowded each other in the doorway and window to watch.   A man came in drunk and asked us for $2 but we asked him to leave and we locked the wooden door by lowering the tiny wooden latch.

We asked some kids to come to the front of the classroom and they practiced simple conversation.  How are you?  What is your name?  How old are you?  For some kids this was a difficult exercise in pronunciation so it was good practice.  As a game, I wrote the phrase on the board and called out words such as “name” and “what” to see who would be the first one to point the word out.  Lots of volunteers for that exercise.

As we left the community, I saw a few of the same kids helping their parents selling used clothing or petrol in pepsi bottles on the side of the road.

Currently Reading

“Bong, som kut loy.”  So now I can ask for the bill in Khmer.  I can also order an iced coffee with milk.  ”Cafe tuk d’koh tkaw.” 

I was at T & C cafe with V discussing the plot of The King’s Last Song.  It’s an amazing story that takes place during the present and also flashes back to King Jayavarman VII’s time.  V already knew about the history of Jayavarman’s accomplishments so it was great to hear his view.  I don’t want the story to end but at this rate, I’m going to finish tomorrow.  Actually I’m skimming through the present stuff since going back in time is so much more interesting.  Why are the steps at Angkor Wat so dang steep?  The book gives a theory as to why.

Online Journaling

Mr. Sama, our rice mill project manager, has published his blog.  Please feel free to comment:  http://mrsama.wordpress.com/

Mr. Rotha’s blog is a beautiful view of Phnom Penh and can be found here: http://beautifulview.wordpress.com/

I asked one of my co-workers who he liked better. Presidential candidate Obama or McCain? The video was taken on October 28, 2008.

Sak sa bye from Phnom Penh.  Today is a public holiday (King’s Coronation Day) so I am enjoying my day-off at a coffee shop.  I am online catching up with email, news and updates. 

Yesterday Mr. Sarath, CVCD director, and I met with John, founder of MatesAbroad, a great supporter and contributor of CVCD.

We traveled to five community schools built by CVCD to speak with the teachers to discuss student progress and also to get their ideas on how they could improve learning and living conditions for the community.   

None of the schools have electricity.  The teacher and students work by the natural sunlight that enters through the windows.  There are wooden chairs attached to wooden desks, white boards, posters, and a small library in the back of each classroom.  We visited one classroom equipped with electricity since it’s the computer learning class but the power was down while we were there.  Mr. Sarath mentioned that they are working on a generator for that class.

Electricity is expensive in Phnom Penh.  At the home where I live, the electricity has been turned off occasionally after 8 pm.  This lasts anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes.  Thank goodness for my book light, not to mention my books!

Normally, Miss Thida, the CVCD receptionist will pick me up on her moto.  My duties at the CVCD organization include practicing English conversation with staff, updating computer tutorials (Thanks Mr. Westfall!), and working with Mr. Sarath in accounting work.  On Monday I sat with project managers, Mr. Sama and Mr. Kosal, and showed them how to create an online journal on WordPress.  I’ll give you an update when we finish with that.

It’s almost noon.  Soon, I’ll be walking to a friend’s home for lunch.  I used to pay $1 for a moto ride but find that it’s actually close enough to walk.  From the café it will take me about 15 minutes to reach my friend’s home.  One thing I will never take for granted is sidewalks.  It’s difficult to walk here alongside all the motos and vehicles but I manage.  Pedestrians don’t have the right of way here. 

Here’s a slideshow of videos and photos that I took yesterday during our visit with the community schools.

Hope all is well!

Phnom Penh Sunrise

Farewell my dear Phnom Penh. I didn’t think I would like Phnom Penh on my first impression.  I enjoyed the small town scenery along the roads to Siem Reap and Battambang and didn’t care much for the congested city streets of Cambodia’s capital.  But it turns out that I will miss Phnom Penh the most of all the towns I have seen in Cambodia.  She was the first to greet me and the last to see me as I departed this beautiful land. 

Airport Security

Warning to those who plan to visit Cambodia: This vicious dog is trained to attack so be careful!  Actually the airport personnel were so friendly.  They wondered why I was leaving so soon and even suggested that I should have stayed longer.  

I will miss my friends who welcomed me: Dav, Sam, Mab, Namy, Kunthea, Vir, Sam, Cham and Ly. Thank you for so much.

Until we meet again.

At the Royal Palace I came across this monk with the most beautiful smile and I couldn’t resist asking his permission to take his photo. I never expected the words that would soon follow.

May I take your photo?
Yes, but will you promise to email it to me?
Do you have email?
Yes, I am on yahoo. And you?

Alright I don’t get out much obviously. I didn’t know monks were up to date on email and the internet. Now I know.