I've not been the best lately with updating my blog-sorry. My internet phone has not been working so if I want to get online I have to bike 2 hours into town or go to Phnom Pehn. Lately a lot and not much has been going on. A couple weeks ago I met up with my friend Katie in Laos; which was AMAZING! It was good to leave the country for a bit even though she made me really homesick. I took a 24 hour bus to Vientaine, Laos (which included an overnight bus through Laos). I met these cute old Khmer men who I chatted with on the way there. However, once in Laos no one spoke Khmer. It really gave me more sympathy for tourists. Not knowing the language really makes it hard to get around (and you unknowingly get ripped off a lot out of pure ignorance). I then caught an 11 hour bus up north to Luang prabang! Luang Prabang was amazing and I definitely want to visit again. On my way back Cambodia I decided to fly home from Vientaine. So, I took the overnight bus from Luang Prabang to Vientaine again. The guy sitting next to me vomited in his plastic bag all night (and hung it from the seat in front of him...so gross). Just like Cambodia. I'll try to post pictures later. It was good to come back and speak Khmer again. My family and neighbors told me over and over how much they missed me and that when i go back to America they are going to miss me so much. It made me realize how lucky I am to have such a great family and community!
School is officially over for me. We just had exams this past week. This summer I plan on spending time at the health center, studying Khmer, and socializing. I think it's going to go by fast. Everyone at the health center is excited that I'll be coming everyday. Finally, here are a couple funny stories that happened to me this week. I've decided that my community eats a lot of dog (or special food as they say)....
School party:
We had a party at the school because the grade 12 exams were finished and the guy from the ministry wanted to have a party. So, of course, I was invited to stay for lunch. My options for lunch included: fried small frogs on sticks, cow intestine and stomach, and dog meat. I ended up eating the frog (which is good!) and the cow stomach (tolerable). I still cannot bring myself to knowingly eat dog (I have eaten it before but I didn't know it was dog...and yeah, honestly, it didn't taste that bad...)
Going away party:
My friend who is Khmer/American is going back to America so they had a going away party for him. For dinner we had dog (of course), but not just any stray dog (or stolen dog)- his dog. This was a puppy he loved and fed real food (not just rice like Khmer people feed dogs). He said when they killed it he had tears in his eyes! When I arrived at the party I actually saw the dog's paw in the dish with all the other edible meat!
School is officially over for me. We just had exams this past week. This summer I plan on spending time at the health center, studying Khmer, and socializing. I think it's going to go by fast. Everyone at the health center is excited that I'll be coming everyday. Finally, here are a couple funny stories that happened to me this week. I've decided that my community eats a lot of dog (or special food as they say)....
School party:
We had a party at the school because the grade 12 exams were finished and the guy from the ministry wanted to have a party. So, of course, I was invited to stay for lunch. My options for lunch included: fried small frogs on sticks, cow intestine and stomach, and dog meat. I ended up eating the frog (which is good!) and the cow stomach (tolerable). I still cannot bring myself to knowingly eat dog (I have eaten it before but I didn't know it was dog...and yeah, honestly, it didn't taste that bad...)
Going away party:
My friend who is Khmer/American is going back to America so they had a going away party for him. For dinner we had dog (of course), but not just any stray dog (or stolen dog)- his dog. This was a puppy he loved and fed real food (not just rice like Khmer people feed dogs). He said when they killed it he had tears in his eyes! When I arrived at the party I actually saw the dog's paw in the dish with all the other edible meat!
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