A wonderful birthday

This is the third time I've written this...my flash disk broke and one of the computers at the office is crap.

So....

I had a wonderful visit with my mom who was here the end of March. We were able to visit Prey Veng Saturday through Monday and then do some stuff together in Phnom Penh. She came with a medical team that held clinics in and around the capital for the week that she was here; however, she had a strange reaction/rash for part of the trip, so she stayed with me. Personally I think the rash was a blessing in disguise as I was able to spend the entire time with my mom and relax.

Showing my daily life to someone fresh from North America was exciting, yet challenging. I'm comfortable with my life here, but it does lack previous comforts that I used to expect- air conditioning, screens, personal cars, temperature controlled markets where the meat comes in Styrofoam packages and is clearly labeled with ingredients and price. I love the fresh, outdoor markets where women call and entice you to purchase their goods and you can smell the fruits as you walk by, but I think my mom didn't like the pig heads or racks of acrid beef.

One of the highlights of her visit was meeting my host family. When we arrived at my host family's house, they all ran in front of the house to meet us. I introduced my host mom to my mom as "Khmer mom meet American mom" and they both just smiled. Buntha, my host dad, was especially glad my host mom came to meet them. We had a wonderful talk and then went around to see the mango and papaya trees as well as the rice paddy in the back and other vegetables that they grow. Afterwards, my host mom gave us a bag full of mangoes to take back to my house.

Sunday we went to the Easter service at my church in PV. It was a lovely service and afterwards we shared beef curry and chicken cabbage salad together. That afternoon I had a tea for all of the various expats in Prey Veng could come meet my mom and eat chocolate. I figured that way my mom could meet the people I talk about in emails and she could get to know they a bit better. That night, however, she was starting to get her fill of bugs and heat. Her rash started to show up and she was getting miserable.

Tuesday was my birthday and I had the best present I could ask for! As my mom's rash was still pretty bad, we were advised to stay in PP near the air conditioning because the group was going 40 kilometers into Kandal Province (to the southeast of PP, on the way to Prey Veng). We spent the morning in ac comfort watching Animal Planet and Mythbusters. Midmorning we visit Rehab Craft, a fair trade store that Carrie works with, to buy some silk purses and gifts for people back home. Afterwards we went to lunch at Java Cafe where I was able to get a blueberry smoothie. (Yes, blueberry smoothies are available in Cambodia. At only $3 a pop, you can have one too! But with a personal allowance of $66 a month, this rarely happens.) Afterwards we returned to the hotel and I went to MCC to check my email and mailbox which was full of letters from lovely friends! That evening I invited Amy, Carrie, and Lauren up to KFC for dinner. My mom and I were feeling lazy and didn't want to go far, and the rest of us wanted an excuse to have KFC!

Wednesday we also stayed near the hotel and visited the central market. Thursday was the group's free day and we visited Toul Sleng in the morning along with a quick trip to the Russian Market. Toul Sleng was a high school before the Khmer Rouge. In 1975 when Pol Pot came into power, it was transformed into an interrogation/torture center. After the desired information was extracted, the victims were taken to Choeung Ek, or the Killing Fields. Now it is a museum to commemorate those who suffered. This past Tuesday I was talking to Gunthia about the Khmer Rouge. She said she did believe the genocide happened (some Cambodians don't believe this happened and blame it on the Vietnamese) as her mother told her stories of her family being split up and family ties being broken down. Her mother didn't have enough to eat and was forced to work in the rice fields.

Friday was another free day and I enjoyed spending it with both my mom and my uncle, Curtis, who came along. I was able to take them to one of my favorite restaurants in Phnom Penh, Khmer Restaurant, for lunch and then we wandered around the Central Market and Sorya for a while and bought ice cream. I ate a lot of ice cream while they were here. That evening Amy met us at the airport as I said goodbye. I was really thankful for the visit and it was quite wonderful.

Now however, I need to refocus on work, which is a little difficult. Khmer New Year is next week so we get 3 days off. I'm going to Siem Reap (to see Angkor Wat) and Rattanankiri with friends. A week and a half later, I'm going to Laos on the MCC Southeast Asia retreat. A week after I return from Laos is the King's birthday it's another 3 day holiday. So, even though I won't be working, I'll definitely be busy over the next month or two.