Family Day

Once a year we get our staff together for a fun activity called "Family Day" - a Saturday away from work with their spouse and children. This year we rented out a local resort and used the pool, the billiards, and set up a seafood barbecue. Here are some photos of the recent event.

I love seeing our staff as daddies.

It's hard for ladies in Cambodia to go swimming. It is a very modest culture, which translates to no swimsuits. If a lady gets in the water it usually involves a t-shirt and long shorts. Our ladies spent most of their time sitting on the sidelines.

A different kind of pool - often called "snooker" or "billiards" here.

I passed on the seafood BBQ. I'm not a big fan of calamari or squid. I also have all kinds of public health fears about eating seafood that hasn't been cooked well.

Christmas in Asia

This picture was taken from a recent visit to Bangkok with my good friend and co-worker Lesley. There were all kinds of gaudy holiday scenes set up when we visited. In typical Asian style there were many people posing for photos among the lights and sets. We couldn't resist! When in Asia....

Kenyon and I are spending our first Christmas in Asia. No trips home for the holiday. I am actually pretending the holidays don't exist this year. It's been rather easy since the weather is still warm like summer (we are in the dry and sunny season now - they call this winter. Christmas day it is 95 degrees and 87% humidity). I am also in a Buddhist country that doesn't acknowledge Jesus birthday in any way and living in the developing world where they haven't quite mastered the art of marketing - let's be real, there is almost zero holiday marketing with the exception of a couple of shops catering to foreigners.

I spent Thanksgiving day working on a grant proposal for UNICEF. Christmas Eve was (not) celebrated at a large, annual AIDS meeting that I attended at a hotel in Cambodia. It was a lot of pomp and circumstance, as these meetings usually are. Today, I did buy tickets for us at a nice hotel in town that is serving a large buffet lunch and giving all day access to the pool. I packed Christmas decorations and shipped them across the ocean. Why? Because this is my favorite holiday, but I am just not in the celebrating spirit this year so I haven't unpacked any of the decorations I packed.

I did receive a couple of Christmas greetings worth sharing. One of my colleagues (an Australian living in the UK) sent an email that was unexpected, but so appreciated. The portion that I liked best reads:

For those of you that are staying in country during the holiday season- I know how hard it is for you to be away from loved ones at Christmas- but this as well will be a time that you will remember all of your lives. I know what it costs to be working in your circumstances, and so at this time, I hope that you will really know that you are thought of and honored for the sacrifices that you have made on behalf of the work.

What a thoughtful note sent through email by someone who understands my current experience. The second holiday greeting worth noting was a text message I received from our favorite pizza joint. Cambodians love, love, love to text. It's cheaper than calling and an easy form of communication. Anyway, this text was basically wishing us a Happy Christmas. I appreciated the gesture, it made me smile.

So, Happy Christmas to all and to all a blessed new year!

our house

I still haven't gotten around to posting pictures of the inside of our place, but here is what the outside looks like. The Khmae word for home is "p-tay-ah." Our house in Khmae would be "p-tay-ah you-ng."

When I drive we park the car inside on the ground floor, it is what would normally be the living room. This is the typical Khmae way, no garages, just park on the first floor on top of the marble tile (for real). Kenyon and I live in the apartment with all the plants on the balcony, that is considered the first floor.

There are two floors above us with single ladies. I spend a lot of time with these ladies. I even share an office with the lady who lives on the third floor, Lesley. We are seriously doing life together - work, home, and we have even started a ladies cell group that meets every other Saturday morning. I don't think I've lived this closely with anyone (other than my husband) since college. Lesley arrived about a month after us. I knew we'd be sharing an office and I knew there was a possibility she would be moving in to the apartment above ours.

Before Lesley arrived I said to a friend of mine, "I don't know this Lesley person, but I hope we get along or else life here could be difficult." Turns out, we get along really well. At the recent regional meetings we were assigned as roommates, it was great. A couple of weeks ago we had a girl's weekend in Bangkok and even opted to share a room though it wasn't necessary. We are planning a trip to Vietnam with her brother and my dad in January and another girl's weekend sometime in the future in Siem Reap. I am so grateful for Lesley's friendship. This picture is one from our weekend in Bangkok while shopping at the markets.

Tomorrow is Christmas, Kenyon and I will be spending Christmas in p-tay-ah you-ng. Now you can picture what the outside looks like. No white Christmas for us, it will be a sunny-living-in-the-tropics-now kind of Christmas!

monthly powdered milk delivery

Kenyon continues to visit the Sisters of Charity children's home. He and Caroline go on a monthly basis to take powdered milk to the babies. Here are some photos he took on a recent visit.

Sihanoukville

Here are some photos from our vacay in September on the coast of Cambodia. This photo is Otres Beach where we spent a whole day lounging and doing nothing else.

Kenyon on the boat the day we went snorkeling (before he got sick from the rocking waves).

A photo taken from our boat while traveling toward an island for lunch.

Maybe now is a better time to ask if you want to come for a visit - anyone? anyone?