my desk

In case you are curious what my desk at my new job looks like - here it is. Now you know where I will be spending a large portion of my time here.

business card

I've been asked by a number of friends and family - what does Cambodian writing look like? Well, I thought I'd show you my new business card. I received these in our welcome packet from the office when we arrived. On one side is English, the other side is Khmer (pronounced k-maer or k-my). Here's a photo of the Khmer side of my business card. I was really excited to receive these and love the look.

If anyone can read this writing, you now know how to get in touch with me at the office. I think the writing is beautiful script eventhough I can't read it, what do you think?

travel essentials: canteen

On my last day in the office my boss in Boone gave me a gift. He and his wife had spent a few years serving in Africa and he had lived in Vietnam prior to that. He said there were two things he really appreciated in the field: his knife and his canteen.

He said he didn't think it was appropriate to give me a knife.

I told him women's clothes often don't have pockets or belt loops so I wouldn't have anywhere to put a knife anyway.

Why is a canteen such a good travel accessory? Because it keeps your water colder for longer than any plastic bottle available. They also often come a handy carabiner so you can attach it to any bag you may be carrying.

Above is a photo of a canteen we bought after I received one as a gift so we could each have one. My mental image of a canteen is what you see army men drinking in movies, but I quickly discovered that canteens are all the rage in our environmentally conscience society. Even Old Navy sells them with trendy designs on the outside. So far, it has worked very well to provide us a handy source of water in our new location.

What is your favorite travel accessory?

trip to a Cambodian grocery

In our recent tour of Phnom Penh we stopped in at one of the chain groceries called Lucky. I wasn't sure what we'd be able to find at our new locale or what we'd be missing, here's some photos of our discoveries.


Packaged meat, including ground beef. I actually recognize most of this stuff...though I wouldn't consider everything available to be appetizing. Anyone out there a big fan of chicken feet?Kenyon noted that the toe nails were still intact. Chicken innards were also nicely packaged on the shelves. No, thanks!

Yogurt! I do like yogurt. I've never tried apple flavor, that could be good. What about corn flavored yogurt? I'm not so sure about that. There is also corn flavored ice cream in case you are interested.

I didn't think fresh milk would be available. Usually when I travel I have UHT milk (more on that in a second). I am told that on certain days of the month this grocery carries the kind of milk I grew up on. I am also told it arrives in limited number and that most expats (foreigners like us) mark it on their calendar and hope to get some. We just so happened to be there on that day and had a milk sighting.

Here's the other stuff - milk in a box. Also known as UHT milk, this stuff can keep on a shelf unrefrigerated for six to nine months. This will be the kind of milk we will consume most often.

To go with our milk varieties is some varieties of Post cereal.

Dried squid anyone? I think I'll pass.

For dessert there are some boxed cakes...the only way I bake! My Tia Carmen likes to say, "we don't raise Betty Crocker women in our family." That's the truth!

Don't forget the salsa - I could eat just about anything if it is covered in salsa. Since I've been here I've been served chicken fajitas twice. Yum! The only thing missing was the fajita seasoning packet I would buy at the store that give it that extra punch of flavor. I do miss those and have not seen them anywhere.

The other thing I didn't see was Ranch dressing, I sure am glad I picked up those ranch packets before we came. Kenyon has already mentioned them multiple times, they are packed in our boxes which haven't arrived, yet. He'll be glad when they get here.

I hope you enjoyed your tour of a Cambodian grocery. Kenyon was embarrassed of me because I was taking photos at the store. He thought no one who reads this would care what is sold at the grocery store. I disagree, which is why I kept taking photos anyway. So, I pose this question to you - do you find the items sold at the grocery to be interesting or should I spend my writing energy on something else?

...not in Kansas any more

A few short weeks ago Kenyon and I were in our town, Kansas City. We are a long way from that now! One of the first things Kenyon said when were exiting the airport in our new town (Phnom Penh, Cambodia) is, "we aren't in Kansas any more!" That's for sure!

We have arrived in Cambodia and spent our first full day touring the city looking for a place to live with Caroline, the Country Director's wife.

We rode around in our tuk-tuk going from place to place. She showed us some of the essentials we will need in making our new place home - grocery, shopping, etc. We...eventually...found a place we like, but it's not available until the end of September. Caroline and her family invited us to live with them in the meantime. What hospitality! Her kindness has made all the difference in making this transition an enjoyable experience instead of a completely overwhelming list of tasks.

Thank you, Caroline. You are a gem!