Say what?!

So I realize that I am not so good at updating this blog. I know, I know, it's been 4 months since you have had an update. I do apologize, but really, most of the time I can't see what would be interesting enough to talk about here that won't have you flipping back to your Yahoo homepage within 15 seconds. You know you do it.

However, here is a basic update. I have now been in Cambodia for 7 months (7 months?! Where has the time gone?!). I have accomplished very little, frankly, other than to immerse myself in this culture. I am now actively reading and writing Khmer (how many white people can say that?!). Granted, this is at a Kindegarten level (complete with picture workbook) but I can still do it. The main problem that I have encountered is that I can read the Khmer, but I have no idea what the word/phrase means in English. Working on that bit still.

Since my last update, we have gone to Bangkok (before all the Red Shirt protests), Siem Reap (complete with a visit to Angkor Wat and associated temples), Kep, and Prey Veng. Still need to get to Vietnam, Singapore, China, Laos, and possibly Korea, Japan and the Phillipines. All in good time, all in good time.

For my final thoughts today, I am going to leave you with a note that I posted on Facebook some time back. I have added to this in my vast experience in Cambodia. Enjoy.

You know you live in Cambodia when...

1. Hello Kitty silk pajamas start looking like a good alternative for daywear.
2. Crossing the street reminds you of playing the game Frogger.
3. Answering to "Bong" becomes commonplace.
4. Living through driving a moto becomes a feat that you are constantly proud of, every time you get off said moto.
5. You start saying "No problem, no problem" after everything.
6. Smiling and nodding is your main form of communication.
7. Vaguely pointing is how you give directions.
8. You run into at least one person you know everywhere you go.
9. You can easily balance your family of 8 people on your moto, including your 10 chickens.
10. You start talking to the little lizards that have taken up residence in your home.
11. You constantly smell faintly of exhaust fumes, sweat, and trash.
12. You think the safest motos to ride on are the ones that look the oldest and junkiest because these are the least likely to be targeted for purse snatching (never mind the fact that you are a blantanly obvious white girl).
13. Wearing a helmet is only mandatory during the day when the cops are out.
14. The more stickers you have on your moto/tuk-tuk, the cooler you are.
15. You get escorted while at clubs like you are VIP. Because you actually ARE VIP.
16. You find yourself grabbing 16 cans of Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup off the shelf at your grocery store because you might not see this again for another 6 months and chance's are that you will be sick in that amount of time.
17. Wedding's are not a cause for celebration, especially when they are right outside your house and you can't think because of the incessant, constant noise.
18. Rain, any type of rain, causes the streets to be rapidly replaced by rivers. Kind of like a third-world Venice, albeit a very dirty one, without the boats.
19. Paying more than $10 for anything starts to feel like a rip-off and a personal affront.
20. The power goes out in your office at least twice a day and you have to listen to all the back-up battery packs beap until it comes back on.