Apartments, Schools, and Food

Life here in Phnom Penh is beginning to feel more normal. We know how much the tuk tuks are (the form of transportation--open air carts, pulled by a motorcycle), how to work the electric shower that is quite similar to a kitchen sink sprayer, and how to cope with feeling as if we're in a display case everywhere we go. Life is good.

As for apartments, we've looked at a few but haven't found the right one yet. More looking tomorrow with great hope of finding something perfect for us. We're pretty set on two bedrooms, so if anyone is dreaming of a Cambodian adventure, let us know. You'll have your own bedroom...for a cheap price! Just kidding. Good price. Once we find something, we'll post a video to show you our new digs.

Schools, too, are another challenge: do we send Sila to a fancy-pancy school or do we throw him in with the locals and hope he doesn't get cut on the rusty playground? Hehe. Again, kidding. But it is proving difficult to find a place that is just right for him and us. We'll keep you posted.

Work (not part of the title, but I just thought of it) is moving along nicely. We're both signed up to begin volunteering for Conversations with Foreigners--http://www.volunteerincambodia.org/programs/cwf/experience/--next week. It will entail teaching three or four English classes a day to tuk-tuk drivers and others who are looking to advance through the English-language-rainbow.

Lastly, food. Sila, by far, as been the most adventurous, primarily because various older women on the street like to feed him random food. He has had duck embryo spoon fed to him, various fruits (which are amazing), a spicy cabbage/sprouts/spice/lime/crab legs (with the shell on) mixture, as well as the multiple noodle and rice dishes we've had thus far. Conan and I are also experimenting, but we don't have the advantage of getting items spoon fed to us in the streets. Sigh; I guess that's the bitch about growing up.

He is also getting quite good with chopsticks: he has developed a squeeze and lift technique, which works well for him.

Sila has been a trooper, both with the food and the non stop attention. Seriously. He gets picked up, prodded, touched, patted, laughed at, and anything else you can imagine when you bring a white baby to a different culture. They love him and are fascinated by him all in the same glance.

I hope this post satisfies some of your desire to know what is going on here. We're loving it, and it is a beautiful country and culture. I'll leave you with one of my favorite pictures I've taken thus far. It's a bit blurry, but I know one day I will capture the monks in perfect clarity and beauty. They are truly beautiful and spiritual, which is great to see on a daily basis. Signing off and hoping you're all seeing something beautiful in your lives right now.

A Picture Update: First Exploration

Phnom Penh: We Have Arrived

I don't remember when I last brushed my teeth; ah, we have arrived. And another tell-tale-sign? It's 5:43 a.m., and I'm updating my blog.

As we settled into our hotel last night (around midnight--2:00 p.m., EST, I believe), took a shower, and prepared to trick our bodies that it was indeed midnight and not mid-afternoon, I said to myself "What are we doing here?" If you've ever traveled before, then you can perhaps relate to this question.

Traveling is a tricky thing: you dream up an epic place to visit, over pack, travel long distances, pay to enter a third-world country, and then ARRIVE. That last one is the bitch, though. What to do now? Our plan? Figure out the city, find food, find an apartment, find a place to volunteer, the list goes on. But as easy as that all seems, sometimes it's just too much and a traveler finds himself (yes, I wrote in the masculine because it's the easiest) stuck. Sometimes the mundane is challenging because we are so used to being told what to do (go to work, raise your kids, go do errands), so doing nothing is when I think the real challenge and living happens, but it's hard.

Okay, enough of all of that. I know a few of you want the details: 1) Plane ride: LONG (17 hours total in-air time) but Sila was amazing. Really. He cried maybe twice, but the rest of the time he slept and watched Elmo. One benefit of not showing your kid TV on a regular basis? Complete zone-out when you do. 2) Culture shock: not at the moment. I'm staying in a fancy hotel ($27 a night!), typing on my laptop, and planning to go down and eat breakfast in a few. This will all change soon, though, because we only planned on staying here for a few days until our Western edge wears off. 3) Safety: we're safe; see number 2.

Thank you to those who support us and will follow our journey as we figure out our lives and ourselves this next year. I don't have any pictures to post, but I will soon. Much love.

Off to Cambodia

Well, plans have changed. Everyone who knows us, knows that plans usually do change. The best part, though, is that while plans change, we still do something. The long story short is this: visas were a hot-mess of a situation (and incredibly costly), so we're off to Southeast Asia instead.

Our first stop is Cambodia, and we fly into Phnom Phen on Monday. We have a little money saved up, so while we'll be looking for some online teaching work (any leads, friends?), we would like to spend most of our time volunteering and interacting with local cultures.

Conan, Sila, and I are super stoked to have the financial means, the opportunity, and the time to embark on this epic adventure, so I hope you enjoy reading our blogs, living vicariously through our stories and photos, and dreaming about your own epic adventure.

I want to know....what is your epic adventure?