New Neighbors

They've been doing construction on a house, not directly next door, but one away, and I met our new neighbors one day after work.



This is how it happened:



I pulled up to our gate, and was in the process of unlocking, when a large fellow walked up to me.  As I took off my bike helmet, he asked if I spoke English, and when I said yes, he said, "Oh good, American."  He then explained that they were opening up a club next door.  I thought they meant the gym/club/mini mart at the end of the block.  I thought maybe we could get a deal on a gym membership and felt cheerful at the prospect. He was a big, beefy fellow, so this made sense to me.  

As it turned out the club is not the gym at the end of the block, but the above-mentioned house they've been working on.  And it's a club for their motorcycle gang, the Rebels.  Oh.

Yes well, I then proceeded to ask him if they were "big bad biker dudes" or if they were "nice guys." 


Yes, it came out exactly like that. 


He looked down and said they weren't all bad.  Then I explained that we are all teachers who live in this house and it's our job to train up children to be responsible members of society. 


Yes, I it came out exactly like that.


He explained that they all have day jobs here, and the Aussies keep a close watch over all their activities, so they have to behave whether they want to or not.  Their 'grand opening' party is going to be Saturday, Feb 8th, and our whole house is invited.  I thought, we are also having our school fair on Feb 8th, with hot dogs and a ping pong toss.  I guess it wasn't very neighborly to not invite him, but somehow I didn't think he'd be interested.  Anyway, here are two pictures of our neighbors' newly renovated house and signs. 

Not very hospitable if you ask me.

I went to their website, just to check it out.  I had to click on a firing machine gun to enter the site. I didn't spend much time there.  Meredith looked them up and read that the Cambodian chapter is applying for a casino license, which the Aussies think they will use to launder money and use as a venue for all sorts of other things.  Gracious me.

There are families who live around us; grandpas, children, an elderly grandma in a wheelchair, moms and dads.  The two scenes just don't mix somehow. I really want to know what they think of these big fellas with noisy motorcycles making themselves at home right next door or across the street.

Well, to end on a positive note, Adam, the fellow I spoke to said that if we ever had a problem at our house there would be someone at the club 24 hours that we could ask for assistance.  I thought that was very gentlemanly of him.

I just can't see myself walking into a party full of bikers, so I'm going to skip that party on the 8th.   Sorry, I know that would be a great blog post.  But if there are any other exciting stories that originate from the newest members of our community, I'll be sure to let you know.

Rice Harvest in Rural Cambodia

Here are some neat pictures of rural Cambodia I took while staying out at my brother's place in Takeo Province.  One day some girls and I went out for a bike ride into the countryside and this is what we saw...

 Mushroom farming

Joe gets to ride on the back rack. 

Rice threshing in process.  That's sugar cane growing in the background.

Pet monkey? 

Blowing the chaff away with a fan 

Bundles of cut rice stalks ready to be threshed 

The home of a relative of one of the girls

Lotus flowers in a pond 

You can eat this part of the lotus plant 

One of the girls came back with a stalk of sugar cane from a neighbor. 

You have to peel away the outside bark with your teeth.  Then you can bite off lengths of the exposed sugar cane.  It's very juicy when you chew it.  When you've sucked out all the juice you spit out the tough, fibrous part that's left.

 

(I didn't eat that whole pole of sugar can in case you're wondering, only about 3 joints) 

 Jon is breaking the cane to share

While sifting through my pictures I  noticed how many ways rice was traveling down the path; on the head, back of a little truck, bicycle, and in this picture by moto.

This fella makes babies around town for a living.  Pardon us, sir, you are blocking our path. 

Taking a rest  

 Any idea what this contraption is for?  My guess is that once the rice is cut and tied in bundles, the bundles can be laid and stacked inside the poles then pedaled down the way to be threshed.

 This granny was working out by the rice fields.  She asked if I had ever harvested rice before and I said no.  She said she can only cut about two bundles before she has to take a break.  I thought it was amazing that she was out there harvesting in the first place.

Harvesting rice by hand. 

On picks a pretty flower growing by the rice fields. 

 During the rainy season these rice fields are a stunning green color.  Now that the rains have stopped, everything is yellow.

 Rice waiting to be de-husked by machine

 

To say 'eat' in Khmer literally translates to 'eat rice'.  These little kernels are central to the Khmer diet and way of life.

 

Christmastime in Cambodia

My first Southeast Asian Christmas was very nice.  Here are some pictures of some of the goings-on for Christmas in Cambodia...

A Christmas Party and a Christmas Factory

 

I was on the committee for the Asian Hope Christmas party.   All of our centerpieces were of the homemade variety, so we set up a Christmas factory in the living room of our house.  We put on the tea, some Christmas tunes and went to town.  It was a holly jolly good time.  Committee meetings usually aren't this enjoyable, but I was more than happy to attend every meeting!



 

We made decorations out of t.p. tubes and glitter.  Perfect for a tight budget!  They looked classy and beautiful despite their humble ingredients.

 

Meredith was the ticket maker.  The tickets were for door prizes. 

 

The great thing about tile??  You can scrape up Christmas ornaments when they become glued to the floor.

 

The Greeters.  Who wouldn't want to come to this party?

 

Party time!  All prettied up for the occasion.  By the way, I had that 100% silk dress made (labor and material) for less than $40.  That's Cambodia for you!

 

Christmas in the Classroom

 

Each student made their own nativity from a paper pattern.

 

 

The kids used their nativity scenes and characters to tell the Christmas story to a partner.

 

Sheep ready for the Christmas production

Christmas in the Home

Don't have a fireplace to hang stockings?  Make your own using dry erase markers on a tile wall.

 

 

 

A Village Christmas

 

After school my brother picked me up and away we went out of the city. 

 

 The downstairs was prepared for all the AGHO kids the next morning.

I got a giant jicama in my stocking. I'm hoping that doesn't mean I've been a bad girl, just that someone thinks I should eat more root vegetables.

There is always something going on around here.  This musical numbers around the Christmas tree.

 My brother and I.  I'm wearing my new blue silk scarf that I got for Christmas. Isn't it pretty?