Throughout my life I’ve had trouble with ear infections. I seem to be prone to them. But my left ear has been significantly worse over the last two years. I didn’t want to visit the Doctor during the COVID lockdowns of 2021. Even though I had been vaccinated I was nervous about testing positive and…
Category: Daily life in Cambodia
Preparing to host another International Thanksgiving
I learned a decade ago that in order for me to enjoy any part of guests coming to dinner, I needed to prep. This is more true of holiday meals than any other event. There is always a bit more to do the day of and to be present with people, I need to have…
នំបុ័ងខគោ | Bread with Braised Beef Soup
Rice with Pork/Chicken/Fish/Egg, Rice Porridge, and Kuv Teav soup are the most popular breakfast items in Cambodia. However, there are other less common but equally delicious breakfast items like Bread with Braised Beef Soup. This delightful breakfast soup is tangy, sweet, and hearty. There are heavy flavors of anise, lemongrass, and mint grounded by a…
Flat Tire
This afternoon, I was on my way to pick Charlotte up from school and had just crossed the sewage canal when the rear wheel of the electric moto suddenly started to slide. I pulled to the side of the road and the tire was flat. After calling Crystal and asking her to get Charlotte, I…
The Giving Tree International School
Charlotte and Catherine attend The Giving Tree, a small international school in Phnom Penh that a group of expatriate* parents started as a nursery 14 years ago. The nursery grew into a school with it’s first students and now offers Nursery through to Sixth grade. What’s an Expatriate? Expatriate, often shortened to Expat, is a…
Karma, skin tone, and gender.
In Cambodia, lighter skin tones are traditionally associated with fortune, virtue, superiority, and good luck. These associations have a spiritual component due to how Buddhist beliefs around karma are interpreted locally. Skin tone – along with other traits such as class, health, and gender – are believed to have been determined by the individual’s accumulation…
Big Bad Beetle
This morning I found a delightful rhinoceros beetle in our courtyard that must have been knocked down from it’s perch by the heavy winds and rain caused by Typhoon Noru last night. Well, I shouldn’t say delightful because this pest is one of the critters that’s been infesting our poor coconut palm! The Coconut Rhinoceros…
Pchum Ben
Pchum Ben is the second most significant public holiday in Cambodia after Khmer New Year. The pronunciation of Ben here is somewhere between the name ‘Ben’ and the word ‘Bun’, phonetically ‘Bĕn’ is most accurate. Pchum means ‘to come together’ and Ben means ‘ball of food’, usually a rice or meat ball used as a…
Leena’s Ear Hematoma
Soon after we turned to Cambodia, Leena’s left ear swelled up like a balloon. This was easy to self-diagnose by googling “my dog’s ear is swelling up like a balloon.” I didn’t take a photo of her ear but it was dramatic, frightening, and painful. Apparently it’s a common condition for dogs with longer ears…
Rats! Meet Our Office’s New Rat Deterrent
Since we arrived in 2019, we’ve been in a losing struggle against the rats that keep on invading the Mennonite Central Committee office here in Phnom Penh. When we first arrived, the office had a small dog who was a terrific rattier but – no matter how many she killed – it seemed to served…