The cat that we inherited, Sumo, is a great hunter and was quite bored at our new house. He kept on disappearing for weeks at a time until we’d find him again at a local kuy teav restaurant. Meanwhile, the MCC Cambodia office was having a terrible rodent problem. In short, Sumo got a promotion…
Author: Charles
The flood car
In October we helped pull a car out of the flood zone. We were worried that the car wouldn’t run again but, two weeks later, we got to see it in action! It was worse for wear but able to be driven! The waters had not entirely receded by this point so it was rewarding…
Catherine Singing on the Balcony
Catherine singing a song of her own creation up on the top balcony. She’s wearing her Bluffton University shirt so you know it’s a good song.
Prey Veng Female Disabled Federation
Last week I had my first meeting with a local NGO in rural Prey Veng province, the Female Disabled Federation. We are hoping that this will be a new partner for MCC Cambodia working with people with disabilities in the countryside. Our Connecting Peoples Coordinator, Clivia, and Rural Education Coordinator, Maly, were the first to…
Playdough Artist
Per COVID-19 protocols, after our recent bout of illness, Charlotte had to stay home from School until she was completely symptom free and cleared by a Doctor. That ended up being about two weeks. In that time she fully made some progress on Playdough mastery (well, she at least impressed her dad!).
Phnom Penh Flooding
Seasonal floods are a blessing in rural Cambodia. The rich silt, fish, and water they provide have sustained life here for millennium. There’s a rhythm, a consistency, to these life nurturing flood waters. This week Cambodia, especially the capital of Phnom Penh, experienced a different kind of flooding that is becoming more and more common…
Sick, again, over Pchum Ben
Pchum Benh is a long series of ceremonies honoring the dead. The week long holiday is actually the conclusion of these ceremonies when most Cambodians travel back to their ancestral homelands and perform ceremonies to honor their ancestors. I’ll write a more detailed post on this another time but in Phnom Penh it is the…
Rory and Marcia
Last night our new Peace Coordinators arrived at the Phnom Penh airport after a harrowing journey from the other side of the world. Their first flight had ‘technical difficulties’… Which is the tactful way to say that it collided with another plane while taxing at the Philadelphia airport. This delayed their departure from Philadelphia causing…
2020 Visit to Ta Prohm
Ta Prohm is my favorite of the ruins in Siem Reap province. This starts with the walk through jungle from the perimeter wall to the temple ruins. This post will be video and photo heavy, so please mind your bandwidth, but I included some quick text at the end offering some background on Ta Prohm….
2020 visit to Phimeanakas
Phimeanakas is one of the older temples in Angkor Thom built at the end of the 10th century. It sits in the walled enclosure of the royal palace and it’s southern neighbor is Baphoun. It was closed when we visited in 2020. It ended up being better that Phimeanakas was closed. After a long morning…