Well of course you should visit Angkor Wat. I don't think I have to go about telling you that. So you will be happy to know that this post is not about Angkor Wat, but instead about a little beach town called Kep.
I would describe Kep as a quaint beach town. I am not sure what the population is but it can't be more than 40,000. There are a few foreigners that you will see scattered throughout the town and on the beach, but on the whole it is very quiet, and a scene much different than the other beach town Sihanoukville. Things quiet down around 8 and I mean quiet down; the city feels dead by that time. Perfect, if you are looking for a relaxing getaway.
I was down there this past weekend to remove myself from the hustle and bustle of the capital. Most of the day was spent around the pool soaking up the sun, however we did stop to eat lunch near the crab market. The prawns were amazing! Yes family,especially Mik, this does mean you will have to try some prawns. We then watched the sunset from the beach. I did not get a picture of it but you will have to take my word that it was beautiful.. Dinner was at the Veranda, a real treat. Great food and an amazing environment definitely a must do.
That basically caps off my trip to Kep. Not a lot to do, but when you are looking for some R & R this is the place to go.
Tuesday, 13 March 2012
Wednesday, 7 March 2012
Livin' the AsiaLife
Some of you may have already seen this, but for those of you who have not, yes that is my mug. I was fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time, or should I say know the right person. Thanks to April and the crew at AsiaLife for letting me start my modeling career off with a bang! Anywho my face is all over Cambodia on one of the more popular magazines here. You can marvel at the lovely cover for as long as you would like, but I also encourage you to go to www.asialifeguide.com and check out the article that goes along with the photo! You can also check out a story on our group of guys and gals that play hockey here in Phnom Penh at montreal.openfile.ca/
Wednesday, 29 February 2012
Hobbies in Cambodia
I am not sure if I have mentioned one of my new found hobbies in any of my previous posts. And frankly I am to lazy to look back through all of them, so I will continue with this post. There is no ice to play hockey on (though I have found street hockey). The only hockey that I can watch is on really early in the morning in one of the sports bars here. The mountains in Cambodia would typically be referred to as hills back home, so hiking is a rarity. To add to that I forgot my saxophone at home and so I have had to search out new hobbies. One that I have become particularly fond of is shirt making.
The first step to shirt making usually involves lunch. A great spot is Asian Spice as it is on the way to Oressei Market, where all the best fabric in town is. At lunch we discuss what kind of fabric we are looking for and for what purpose. Often the reason for purchasing the fabric is for a new shirt. After lunch we go to the market and begin the hunt for that one piece of fabric that we have on our mind. And oh what a search it can be! Looking and feeling making sure it is exactly what you want. Alas! you see that perfect pattern starring you right in the face. Cue the dramatic music as you make your way over to your new found treasure. And now the bargaining begins (sorry Grace my efforts last week were less than spectacular)
"Tlay ponmaan?" you say
"Muey Mite, pram muey dollar" says the seller
"Buen dollar?" you respond
"at tee, pram muey"
"Pram dollar" you try to be a little more forceful this time
"Pram muey" She is not budging!
One more try
"Pram dollar kanlah"
"Chaa"
You got 50 cents off, but she won that round!
With fabric in hand now you need to find a tailor. And there are many options here. First there is the best tailor, a favourite among MCCers. He practices his trade at the Russian Market. Other options include tailors at Orussei (very convenient) or a new place that I have found just down the street from my house. After getting all measured up you play the waiting game. Finally the day comes when you get to pick up your shirt. After that it is time to start the process all over again!
And that my friends is the art of Shirt Making!
The first step to shirt making usually involves lunch. A great spot is Asian Spice as it is on the way to Oressei Market, where all the best fabric in town is. At lunch we discuss what kind of fabric we are looking for and for what purpose. Often the reason for purchasing the fabric is for a new shirt. After lunch we go to the market and begin the hunt for that one piece of fabric that we have on our mind. And oh what a search it can be! Looking and feeling making sure it is exactly what you want. Alas! you see that perfect pattern starring you right in the face. Cue the dramatic music as you make your way over to your new found treasure. And now the bargaining begins (sorry Grace my efforts last week were less than spectacular)
"Tlay ponmaan?" you say
"Muey Mite, pram muey dollar" says the seller
"Buen dollar?" you respond
"at tee, pram muey"
"Pram dollar" you try to be a little more forceful this time
"Pram muey" She is not budging!
One more try
"Pram dollar kanlah"
"Chaa"
You got 50 cents off, but she won that round!
With fabric in hand now you need to find a tailor. And there are many options here. First there is the best tailor, a favourite among MCCers. He practices his trade at the Russian Market. Other options include tailors at Orussei (very convenient) or a new place that I have found just down the street from my house. After getting all measured up you play the waiting game. Finally the day comes when you get to pick up your shirt. After that it is time to start the process all over again!
And that my friends is the art of Shirt Making!
One of my shirts
Saturday, 18 February 2012
A Visit to the Province
So another update is in order!
I have settled into my new host family and have found my role as proh poh quite enjoyable. Growing up as the oldest in my family I always had to be the mature one. I am now the youngest sibling in my host family and am enjoying some of the riches of being the spoiled one. Not that my little sister has ever been spoiled ;). I have been treated to great food, as well as some interesting food (last weekend I ate some pig stomach as well as some crickets). We have also played numerous games of dutch blitz and sequence and for the most part I have been on the wrong end of those games, but it has been great fun so far!
Let me look back to last weekend. I joined some my host family as they traveled to the province for a wedding. This was my second wedding, so I had an idea what to expect but this time I did not have the safety net of my fellow MCCers. We arrived in Kompong Thom Friday evening and made the rounds greeting all the family members. Then it was off to bed because we were going to have to get up mighty early the next day. Turned out to be 5:30 in the morning early! This was to attend the first part of the traditional wedding ceremony, the fruit walk. The grooms family walks from the grooms house to the brides house with platefuls of fruit. The distance between the two homes was a little far for this, so we just walked a little ways down from the brides house and then walked back. Somehow I found myself at the front of the procession.
I have settled into my new host family and have found my role as proh poh quite enjoyable. Growing up as the oldest in my family I always had to be the mature one. I am now the youngest sibling in my host family and am enjoying some of the riches of being the spoiled one. Not that my little sister has ever been spoiled ;). I have been treated to great food, as well as some interesting food (last weekend I ate some pig stomach as well as some crickets). We have also played numerous games of dutch blitz and sequence and for the most part I have been on the wrong end of those games, but it has been great fun so far!
Let me look back to last weekend. I joined some my host family as they traveled to the province for a wedding. This was my second wedding, so I had an idea what to expect but this time I did not have the safety net of my fellow MCCers. We arrived in Kompong Thom Friday evening and made the rounds greeting all the family members. Then it was off to bed because we were going to have to get up mighty early the next day. Turned out to be 5:30 in the morning early! This was to attend the first part of the traditional wedding ceremony, the fruit walk. The grooms family walks from the grooms house to the brides house with platefuls of fruit. The distance between the two homes was a little far for this, so we just walked a little ways down from the brides house and then walked back. Somehow I found myself at the front of the procession.
The one Barang among many Khmer. The guy to my left kept asking me if I wanted a Khmer wife.
After the procession we ate, watched another ceremony called the hair cutting ceremony. Do not worry the brides lovely locks were not harmed during the ceremony. They only pretend to cut their hair. Then it was time to have our noon time nap. With a two hour nap in me I was ready to get back at it, and by at it I mean the food. One of the real treasures of Khmer weddings is the food. Now I know you read earlier that I ate pig stomach and crickets and are probably thinking that doesn't sound much like fine dinning. That assumption would be correct. However, those items were not on the menu for the wedding dinner. Instead we were treated to barbecued beef, fried octopus (slowly becoming a favourite), a big old fish, and I completely forget what we had for dessert but I can assure you it was not cake.
The fish that we ate
Once again we head back to freshen up and then head back to the party for another meal and some dancing. By the time we got back to the party unfortunately all the food was gone so that left one thing, dancing. I have had a few different occasions to practice my Khmer dancing and though I am getting much better it is still far from being any kind of spectacle that anyone would want to watch. Unless, that is, you are into car wrecks. Nonetheless I always have fun out on the dance floor and it was no exception on this particular night. There were some interesting events out on the dance floor but if you are really interested you will have to ask me about those events. That concluded the wedding and what a great wedding it was.
Sunday morning we went to the local church where I shared a bit of my testimony and why I was in Cambodia. After church and lunch we started our journey back to Phnom Penh. We were stuffed into a 15 passenger van, that by the time we hit Phnom Penh had 28 people in it! Of all my experiences in Cambodia it has probably been the least pleasant. Thankfully I had a window seat and could stick my head out and get some fresh air. We arrived safe and sound thus ending another one of my great adventures in this lovely little country!
Saturday, 4 February 2012
1st Semester a howy'
They said time was going to fly, but it is hard to believe that it is February already. So much has happened in the last 5 months and so much has happened in the last few weeks.
Let me get you caught up on some of the recent events in my life over here in Cambodia.
Let me get you caught up on some of the recent events in my life over here in Cambodia.
- Semester 1 classes finished at the university on the 19th of January. It was nice to have a couple weeks off as I was definitely starting to feel burnt out. I think I can be forthright in saying that teaching is not in my future career plans. However, having one semester under my belt now qualifies me as an expert, as I will be having student teachers observing my class this semester. They will be taking notes on my technique, which will be a little nerve wracking. The benefit of this this situation is that these students will then be teaching my classes for a couple of weeks. Ahhhh the perks of teaching, maybe I should rethink the teaching thing altogether.
Giving some serious direction to my students
- Us Cambodian SALTers were blessed with the presence of Isaac and Jenny, fellow SALTers from Vietnam, last week. We had a great time checking out some spots in Phnom Penh as well as up in Siem Reap. Up in Siem Reap we were able to check out one of the partners that MCC works with. Philip Hosler, one of the current SALTers, is currently helping them with there ceramic studio, and you can take a look at the project click here. We of course spent a day up at the temples. I have never really been a museum guy, so although these are the Angkor Wat temples I still had a feeling it might get boring rather quickly. I was pleasently suprised that I was able to be entertained throughout the entire day. There is just so much to take in and you spend a lot of time walking and tuk tuking from temple to temple. Most of the structures are awe-inspiring especially their size. By the end of the day we had visited most of the temples near Angkor Wat, but there were many more that we did not get to. We also had the opportunity to bike around Siem Reap and take in the countryside. Being a country boy at heart I am always happy to get outside the city and be amongst the rice paddies. Phil was an excellent guide and showed us some of the different attractions that are must sees when traveling to Siem Reap. It was sad to say goodbye to Jenny and Isaac, but it was great to spend a week with them hearing about their stories. Now I have to return the favour and meet them in Hanoi.
Jenny, Isaac, and I in front of one of the temples (Bayon I believe)
- The last significant event happened this past Sunday when I moved in with my new host family. My family actually hosted a SALTer last year and one of the members of the family was an IVEPer 2 years ago. One thing I have already learned is that they love to play games. The first night I brought dutch blitz and even though I was sick and went to bed early they continued to play until 11:30. Looks like my remaining months will be filled with lots of fun.
It is hard to believe that I am coming up on the halfway point of my term here. I want to thank all of you for your support so far and look forward to sharing the second half of my journey with you.
Wednesday, 11 January 2012
New beginnings
So who else is still trying to get used to writing and saying 2012? I am sure I am not the only one having that issue. The turn of the calendar has given me a nice boost of energy. The difficult Christmas season is over, and I am extremely excited about the next 6 months here in Cambodida. The beginning of 2012 has also become a period of transition. I am currently living at the MCC Guesthouse getting ready to move into a new host family. What, what, what! That's right I am switching my host families. My host father from my first host family recently left for Malaysia where he will be working for the next 8 months. This past Sunday I moved out, but not before my host brother took me to wade through some lotus flowers on piece of land that the family owns. Not sure why he waited this long to take me there, but I was glad he did because it was a lot of fun. After multiple goodbyes, and promises to meet up again for dinner I made my way to my new home.
The family with a lot of motto hair going on
As disappointing as it has been to move away from a place that had been my home for 4 1/2 months, I am looking forward to meeting my new host family. Right now the plan is for me to move into my new host family in early Februaury, right around the time I start my second semester at RUPP. It is funny that all of this is happening around the same time. It reminds of my early days here in Cambodia, when I was living at the Guesthouse and waiting for my job to start at the university.
On another note I was able to experience my first Khmer wedding last weekend. One of my Khmer colleagues at MCC got married in her hometown of Kratie. A crew of us from MCC rented a bus and headed out to Kratie Friday morning. About halfway along we picked up our Prey Veng workers, and then continued on to Kratie. We arrived for lunch which was the quiet part of the wedding. In the evening we pulled up to music that could be heard blocks away. The way it works at a Khmer wedding is that you find a table and once the table is full they start serving you food. Our table took a while to fill up so we had to wait awhile as the other MCC table got their food. After the food (probably the best beef I have had in Cambodia) a number of us partook in the dancing, both traditional Khmer and Western style. My traditional Khmer still needs a little work, but it is coming.
The scene from our table
The next day Michael, Lisa, Ryan, Daphne, Grace, Mok and I all went to take in the famous Iriwatti dolphins. I would love to put up a picture of them, but unfortunately all my attempts failed. Because of that I have a whole album of beautiful water photos. There were some really neat moments when 3 or 4 dolphins came out of the water at the same time near our boat; It was certainly worth visiting. That afternoon we all climbed back into the bus and made the trip back to the big city. At that is my story of my first Khmer wedding.
Tip of the week: When students ask whether you are married or not the right answer is always married.
Sunday, 1 January 2012
Happy New Years
Well It is now nearly 2012 across the world. I hope that you had a satisfying 2011 and can look back at the highlights and be happy with the year that was.
Over the past couple days I have been trying to think how to define my 2011. Often you hear people say if you could sum it up in one word what would it be. I have been trying to do that, but it has been tough to pin point one word that could some up the entire year. This morning I got up and the word Faith popped into my mind. A year abroad had never really entered my mind as something to do. I certainly would not have done if it weren't for God poking me and prodding me to sign up.
So I signed up for SALT in February 2011, and specifically requested placement in Africa. After about a month I was told that the African spots had been all filled up and that I would be placed on a waiting list. Shortly there after I received a call that there was a position in Cambodia and that MCC Cambodia was interested in me. This was another instance where I had to put my faith in God. I can distinctly remember telling Eva, the SALT coordinator that I felt that God was calling me to Africa, and only Africa. I could have easily used this as an excuse to back out and say no thanks but no thanks. I quickly realized though that maybe it was just myself who was calling for Africa and not God. I emailed Eva back the next week and told her that I was interested in Cambodia, and within a couple weeks it was settled.
These past 4 months here in Cambodia have been full of ups and downs, and I think I will experience similar things in the next 6 months. It isn't easy entering a new culture, and having create new relationships (at least not for me), but it has been a challenge that I have embraced and enjoyed. I have learned to take joy in the little things like fighting through conversations with my neighbors or students, learning new Khmer words and actually remembering them, and making new friends.
With that in my mind I have some sad news. My host father has just taken a job in Malaysia and will be moving there in a week, and my host mom is moving there at the end of the month. That means that I will be moving out and will have to find a new host family. It is sad because I have developed a good relationship with my host dad, as well as with my host brothers and one of our neighbors. I am really going to miss them and it will be tough to move out from a place that had felt like home for awhile. That said there is a bit of excitement when it comes to change. I will be moving into the MCC guest house for awhile during the transition, which will allow me to have a little more alone time. After that I will get the chance to meet a whole new family, which like I said is a little bit exciting. I ask that you keep me in your prayers in the next couple weeks as I go through this transition.
Thing to remember this week: God works in mysterious ways. On Thursday my computer cord went missing, which basically renders my computer useless until I can find it. In the last few weeks I had been spending a lot of time in my room on the computer, and I think this was Gods way of saying "you have a week left with your host family spend some quality time with them." So I am trying to listen to him and spend as much time as possible with them.
Many of you may have already read about my Christmas on facebook (thanks to those who filled out the quiz), but for those of you who do not have facebook here is a look at my Christmas weekend.
Over the past couple days I have been trying to think how to define my 2011. Often you hear people say if you could sum it up in one word what would it be. I have been trying to do that, but it has been tough to pin point one word that could some up the entire year. This morning I got up and the word Faith popped into my mind. A year abroad had never really entered my mind as something to do. I certainly would not have done if it weren't for God poking me and prodding me to sign up.
So I signed up for SALT in February 2011, and specifically requested placement in Africa. After about a month I was told that the African spots had been all filled up and that I would be placed on a waiting list. Shortly there after I received a call that there was a position in Cambodia and that MCC Cambodia was interested in me. This was another instance where I had to put my faith in God. I can distinctly remember telling Eva, the SALT coordinator that I felt that God was calling me to Africa, and only Africa. I could have easily used this as an excuse to back out and say no thanks but no thanks. I quickly realized though that maybe it was just myself who was calling for Africa and not God. I emailed Eva back the next week and told her that I was interested in Cambodia, and within a couple weeks it was settled.
These past 4 months here in Cambodia have been full of ups and downs, and I think I will experience similar things in the next 6 months. It isn't easy entering a new culture, and having create new relationships (at least not for me), but it has been a challenge that I have embraced and enjoyed. I have learned to take joy in the little things like fighting through conversations with my neighbors or students, learning new Khmer words and actually remembering them, and making new friends.
With that in my mind I have some sad news. My host father has just taken a job in Malaysia and will be moving there in a week, and my host mom is moving there at the end of the month. That means that I will be moving out and will have to find a new host family. It is sad because I have developed a good relationship with my host dad, as well as with my host brothers and one of our neighbors. I am really going to miss them and it will be tough to move out from a place that had felt like home for awhile. That said there is a bit of excitement when it comes to change. I will be moving into the MCC guest house for awhile during the transition, which will allow me to have a little more alone time. After that I will get the chance to meet a whole new family, which like I said is a little bit exciting. I ask that you keep me in your prayers in the next couple weeks as I go through this transition.
Thing to remember this week: God works in mysterious ways. On Thursday my computer cord went missing, which basically renders my computer useless until I can find it. In the last few weeks I had been spending a lot of time in my room on the computer, and I think this was Gods way of saying "you have a week left with your host family spend some quality time with them." So I am trying to listen to him and spend as much time as possible with them.
Many of you may have already read about my Christmas on facebook (thanks to those who filled out the quiz), but for those of you who do not have facebook here is a look at my Christmas weekend.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)