When we came to Cambodia I was a complete novice at motherhood. Silas was only 5 months old. I kind of made it a point not to read too many of those “How to Raise Kids the Right Way” books. All the contradictory advice is much too confusing; so Danny and I figured we’d just [...]
When we lived in the Beng Trabek neighborhood in Phnom Penh, we had these neighbors who were movin’ on up. The family ran several businesses from their house. One of the daughters was the neighborhood money changer, changing American dollars intoKhmerriel . Another daughter cooked and sold breakfast food early in the morning. The grandmother [...]
Getting pulled over on a rainy day.
Cop – Can I see your driver’s license?
Danny – Sure, here. What’s wrong officer?
Cop – Your lights are on.
Danny – Ahem, ok, sorry. Turns off the lights
Cop – Get out of the car. You need to pay a fine.
Danny – For what?
Cop – Your lights were on. It against [...]
If you drive about 80 miles northeast from Phnom Penh, you will pass through mainly rice fields and palm trees. Almost 2 ½ hours later you will reach Skoon, a town famous for its fried tarantulas. Then you know you’ve almost arrived at Kampong Cham City. City is a generous term since “downtown” consists of [...]
[Originally written on March 9, 2006]
Ever since moving to Phnom Penh I have been grumbling non-stop about how ugly this country is. A city once full of trees is now mainly covered by dirt roads and concrete. Waking up, looking out the window at a trash laden ally has put a damper on [...]
Begging is not unusually in Cambodia. Beggars are almost as common as flies and often treated as such. After all, they swarm around their prey nipping at clothes and limbs. It’s easy to dehumanize them, swat them away and think of them as annoying pests.
In Phnom Penh there are several types. Some are folks [...]
On the morning of August 23 we finally arrived at the Pochentong Airport in Phnom Penh. It was a long flight. I was tired, hungry, and a little airsick. I didn’t have enough energy to really gage how I felt at the time. All I thought was, “Wow, so this is home now?” We quickly [...]
I’m realizing more and more that I’m someone who likes to boast. I talk as if I’m tough, someone who likes adventure, who’s carefree and hard-core. I say I like to take risks, go out on a limb, and be wild at heart. One example is our honeymoon. I told Danny that I had always [...]