It’s strange to look at photos from when we moved here in 2019 and realize how small Catherine was! She’s so big and strong now. She’s also four as of Saturday! I can hardly believe how fast my girls are growing up. After school on Thursday, Charlotte and I made a chocolate cake for Catherine’s…
Category: Daily life in Cambodia
Come back to the trunk, Charlotte.
Yesterday I had to run over to the office – which is just three houses down from us now – and when I came back I saw Rosie on the second story balcony looking into our mango tree. I followed her gaze and saw a figure up in the mango tree almost on level with…
សម្លម្ជូរគ្រឿងសាច់គោ | Beef Sour Soup with Kroeung Paste
As COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted, we’ve been able to have some of Ming Ramy’s delightful Khmer food for the first time since early February. We did try our hand at making Khmer food more than a few times during the lockdown but, aside from my Pork stuffed Bitter Melon, we still have a ways…
COVID-19: Restrictions Lifted
We were expecting Cambodia to continue with targeted zone based lockdowns for some time but over the last week almost all COVID-19 restrictions in Phnom Penh have been lifted. The few that remain, like mask wearing and bans on large public gatherings, are not being enforced. I think we’re already seeing the impact of this…
COVID-19: First Dose
As of last Friday, all of MCC Phnom Penh’s personnel have at least received their first vaccine dose. More than half of national staff have received their second dose. We have two staff in the countryside who are not yet vaccinated but that’s due to preexisting medical conditions. Crystal and I were in the last…
COVID-19: Lockdown Zones
As I mentioned last time, this has been by far the most serious outbreak of COVID-19 that Cambodia has experienced. The country went into full lockdown for several weeks and then, slowly, transitioned to a zone based lockdown. Red Zones: Areas with high rates of community transmission. Complete lockdown. Families are allowed to leave homes…
The Year in Board Games
Our family loves playing board games! We especially enjoy cooperative ones like Pandemic or The Fairy Game, though this year we didn’t play any pandemic. We had enough pandemic in real life. As we looked back over our photos from the last year I thought that I’d share some of the board games we’ve played….
Crystal’s Birthday in Lockdown
Yesterday we celebrated Crystal’s birthday in full lockdown. We’d been planning to go visit an elephant refuge in distant Mondulkiri province for her birthday but as the COVID-19 situation in country has worsened we had to abandon those plans. Then, when Phnom Penh went into full lockdown, it became clear that we’d need to celebrate…
COVID-19: Full Lockdown
By many metrics, Cambodia is still doing well during the pandemic but the situation is much worse than it was just two months ago. On Friday, we saw our highest increase of cases with almost 700 people diagnosed followed by almost 500 people on Saturday and another 300 people yesterday. These are not high numbers…
From Flower to Mango
Last year I shared the wonders of mango season with you. This year is a bit different. Our new house has two mango trees so it’s given us a closer perspective on the delicious fruit and it’s growth. It’s been a blessing to have mangos raining down on us during this latest COVID-19 outbreak. I…