The Search for Origami Yoda!

Based on the title, you're probably all wondering what in the world is an Origami Yoda? Those of you with children of a certain reading level might already know, but for the rest of you, here's some background...

Hard to find, books can be, hmm?

Before we moved, I bought Aidan a copy of this book, mainly because he really wanted it. Did he read it?

No. What did you expect? He hadn't exactly hit his reading stride yet. Besides, he was so saturated with video games that he never really sat down to read anything... except cereal boxes and comic books, but those don't count.

What? Am I dissing video games? Did I just use the word 'dissing' in a sentence? Well, no, I'm not coming down on games - they did strengthen his vocabulary and math skills (I only let him play games that he had to read, for the most part... Plants vs. Zombies being the exception). They also gave him an appetite for a good, continual story.

On the down side, interactive stories are more funner than non-interactive ones, so reading a book was more of a chore for him.

Yes, I said funner. 

Darth paper strikes back. One read and he was hooked.

So the end to this mini-flashback? I kinda... sold... or donated... all of his books before we left. Mom bought him Darth Paper Strikes Back before we left, so he had the sequel, but...

Hey! I'm not a bad father! I just didn't have a whole lot of space. You try shoving your house into 6 duffel bags that have to weigh less than 50 pounds. :)

That leads us to the present. I now wish to make amends for the lack of foresight. You see, once we moved here and we cut off some of his video game supply, his active mind craved stimulation. Other than blog stealing, there's not much for a 7 year old to do during the day when school is over. Thus, he started reading... and wouldn't stop. Now he's read most of his books, all decent chapter books, at least twice.

It was time to go book hunting.

See? Time? Book hunting? Get it...? Oh, stop groaning.

So we went in search of Origami Yoda. The first place we tried was a used book store.

Now, this ain't your normal book store. Well, ok, it almost is... except it's Cambodia. Finding a bookstore to begin with is a challenge (remember, Khmer Rouge, all those poor people who wore glasses... you get the idea). A friend told me this was a good place to find English books, so after some back and forth with Sareun (pronounced Sau-run) our tuctuc driver, off we went.

Quaint, this place is. Focus, you must. What? Why? Really dim lighting. :)

Boston books is the name of the place. It's located near the street called Norodom, which appears to be one of the few divided roads here. You in America are familiar with these - it's those roads that have big concrete islands in the middle you can't drive across. What do people do here? Well, they take a side road to near where they want to go, and then go the wrong way on a one way street.

Have I mentioned how fun it is to live here? :)

 Anyway, this was nice, but I couldn't see why it was supposed to be a great bookstore. It had maybe one shelf for young readers. Later, I came to find out that the place used to be several rooms large and is currently being taken over by a steakhouse of all things.


A word on that - I don't eat cow here. Why? Well, they feed the cows differently in America. Meat back home is nice and red. Here, it's almost black, and looks like the meat back home that gets left in the freezer WAY too long.

I did eat a burger at lucky burger once, but it wasn't very impressive. Awesome nuggets and sweet chili sauce though.

Now I'm hungry.

There's children's books where Aidan is standing. The ones on top were fashion books. No idea why.

We tried IBC (not PBC - we didn't find any books there, remember?) and failed. We found books, but mostly in Khmai or for toddlers. Aidan picked up a toy, but we were still without Yoda.

Then, there's the other book store... Monument Books.

End, all journeys must... hey, my Yoda voice isn't that bad!

This place was a veritable goldmine! It looks like a typical American Barnes and Nobles... without the help desk full of fluent English speakers. Still, I can speak a smattering of Khmai, and having a phone to pull up a copy of the book helped alot.


So there we were... me, Aidan, and a wookie... what? Oh yeah, sorry. No wookies or durian are allowed inside bookstores here. It was just me and Aidan. Aidan helped me search by...

Well, at least he's enjoying himself. :)

Sitting on a beanbag and doing nothing. Well, I take that back - he read books while I searched. The bookstore is small enough so that I could keep my eye on him at all times though, so no worries.

Did we find the book?

...

Well, no. We didn't. What? You were expecting some triumphant grand finale? Hey, he still went home with like 10 new books, a toy, and a scoop of mint ice cream and some KFC in his belly.

I'm hungry again. Thanks for that. ;)

Aidan eating said ice cream. It was green - like Yoda - so it will do, for now.

Join us next time, as we head off in search of some other hard-to-find item or wander through some unusual-looking area. Until then, we will continue to keep our eyes open for Origami Yoda! (add echo effect here)

Back Home...

So, as I sat and pondered what I might write about next, it occurred to me that most of my friends and family have a lot more on their minds than watching me post about sneaky 7 year olds, giant geckos, and how odd it sounds when the Khmer redo a popular song. Don't believe me? They have Bruno Mars, the Khmer version, available for listening online.

Anyway, I thought I would simply dedicate this post to the people back home. You, my readers, are my support system over here. You give me a creative outlet, and occasionally someone to talk to in something other than my limited Khmai skills.

Colorado, as it was meant to look.

So, home. Granted, Cambodia is really my home now, but I leave a piece of myself in two other areas as well. As you know from reading, I am originally from Florida. I also lived many good years in Colorado.

Florida, as I like to think about it.

The reason for this post is really just to let everyone know I'm thinking about them, and praying. I'd like to ask you, the readers, to do the same.

You see, for those only paying attention to their current location, both Florida and Colorado are experiencing some pretty bad disasters. Florida is drowning, and Colorado is burning.

Enough to bring tears, and not just from smoke. Courtesy local news/Facebook.

Having declared a state of emergency, both places are not having a good time of things. The fires in Colorado Springs are forcing many from homes, and destroying anything in their path. People are displaced, possibly homeless now, and in distress.

For those of you in Colorado, please stay safe. Any other readers interested in helping those in need should head to http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_20935254 and read the article.

The water eats away roads too. Courtesy again Facebook and local news.

The floods in Florida are doing pretty much the same. Homes are destroyed, people evacuated... you get the idea. For those in Florida, just get the essentials and get out if you are in danger of flood waters. Head for higher ground, and avoid driving on roads if you can't see below the surface of the water.

As before, if you aren't in Florida and want to help, the Red Cross is setting up shelters. http://www.redcross.org/

This post will be short and sweet today. Cambodia is relatively calm today. No fires (aside from the people cooking or the guy that has a wood stove attached to his bike), and no flooding (yet). Thanks to everyone who's supported me on this trip.

Oh, and before I go, one last thing...

Yes, that's a jackalope with a lightsaber. I didn't want you to accuse me of being too serious!

Don't forget to smile and laugh, especially if you are in a hard hit area.

Why? Because, as my Mother-in-law likes to say, if you don't laugh, you'll cry.

Please stay safe everyone. I'll get back to our normal funny-but-true posts tomorrow, ok?

A short break

Sorry for the short break! I will be uploading a new post tomorrow everyone. In the mean time, feel free to give me funny looks...

See? I told you I get these all the time.

...like this one!

Hope your week is going great. See you tomorrow, everyone.

Team Players

Ok, so some of the more observant of you noticed that there are non-Cambodians in my photos of late. I suppose you'd like to know who they are.

Here's a story, of a lovely lady... oh, wait.... that's the Brady Bunch. I don't know if these guys actually have a theme song. Sorry.

These fine people are from Denver United Church. They flew in to serve the people, and work with In His Steps International (That's that overall ministry here. Look a few posts back.). While they were here, I got to know them a little bit.

No, this isn't 'monkey in the middle'! We're just dancing in circles.

We started their journey here much like my family's - by going to the church in Saang and meeting the people.

Everyone here was happy to see them, as anyone who is willing to spend their time helping the Khmer are welcomed with open arms.

For their part, they got to experience good ol' fashioned jet lag, and go through many of the things you've seen here on my blog. Of course, being that they were here as a special team to help out, they got to experience a few other fun activities - like eating fried crickets.


...but Aidan already told you about that one. :)

I got to teach a couple of them how to say 'good' and 'very good' and 'beautiful' when they were helping the children color pictures. The children loved the attention and activities too! Bonus!

My interaction with the team was limited, but on the peripheral I got to hear some of their exploits. I recommend just checking their Facebook page and reading up yourself. They got out to a few of the villages I haven't seen yet. Who knows, you might even see a few familiar faces in the photos they took. :)

This was a treasure hunt to find the lost coin. It was a nice compromise, as real money would have caused a stampede, and coins aren't common here.

You can, of course, learn more about their mission, and purpose here by checking out their Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/dumissions.

Fellowship and crickets! (They're behind the pizza... and far from me)

They also went to the water park with us on Father's day, and had a blast. A couple of them kept an eye out for Aidan on the slides and helped him out.

All in all, they're good people, and we kinda miss them. It's sad their stay is over so soon.

Hmm? No, everyone swims in full dress here. Conservative, remember?

See you later guys.

Sir Aidan, the Brave!

Brave Sir Aidan - facing the dangers of... a toy store!

Hello I am going to take over my daddy's blog.

Fried crickets, frogs (tiny ones) and a few other assorted bugs.

I ate a cricket. 

Aidan bravely eating the cricket.

I am brave.

The face that comes after you eat a cricket bravely.

It was fun!

Aidan bravely facing the water park.

I went to the water park. 

Wave pool standoff.

It was fun.

I like it.

I got a rash.

Bravely eating! This stuff is quite nasty. The people who think durian is tasty are far crazier than I'll ever be. This stuff tastes like pure methane gas smells.

My daddy gave me durian ice cream.

I didn't like that. It was not fun.

Dad's big day!

Hello again! As most of you know, this past Sunday was Father's day!

I bet you can't wait to see how we celebrate that over here. :)

That's right! We dance around. Ok, to be honest, this was our church service. It was quite lively and festive, but this isn't the part with the Dads. That came later.

The hair was the best part!

They did a skit about fathers disciplining their sons and the sons not listening. This resulted in a hilariously acted-out drunken motorcycle crash. I'm not sure about the rest of the episode, as it was all in Khmer, but I am certain it had to do with respecting your father.

So, respect your pops or risk a moto accident! You've been warned. :)

Yes, that's me way over there. I look goofy, so I generally try to avoid the camera.

Then we all came up and were given gifts. Specifically I received a Krama (see the fashion post. No, I won't be using it as a hammock... at least not until someone shows me how.) and a bottle of soap (stop snickering at me. Everyone got soap!). They were nice gifts, and I was thankful for the prayers and the other dads who stood beside me... especially one older gentleman who must have been a grandfather. That was a real honor, as we've discussed already the issue with lifespans (what they had to survive, remember?).

What's that? My dad?

You sure ask a lot of pointed questions. My father passed away when I was about 13 from cancer. Don't get all feeling-bad on me though - Eric is a great role model as my Father in Law, and really, it helps me relate with half the people here.

You see, since coming, I have not ceased to hear of people whose fathers either got sick and died when they were young, or left the family behind. In fact, most of the people I've met or know have some sort of story to tell. If you want to pray about something, start there. Those wounds tend to run real deep, and they almost always stick around a long time.

That's not mentioning the dads that mistreat their kids or farm them out to bring in income for the family. Honestly, there's a lot of work that needs to be done to teach people how to live and take care of their own. 

Ok, enough heavy stuff - let's move on. To continue the festivities, we dads did what dads are supposed to do. We took our kids somewhere!

What? Yes, we have a water park. Close your mouth already. ;)

Yes, we went to the water park! It's a great way to beat the heat, as well as watch people who have never seen a water park before try to navigate the slides.

Aidan and his friends. No, there's no river monsters here.

Aidan was in this group, as this was his first-ever water-anything. First Wave Pool, twisty water slides, and water playhouse.

Considering it's Cambodia, the park was excellent. It had a large slide that people tried to ride in pairs of... 20. It also had the other things I mentioned.

Just... careful letting the water in your mouth. No bugs here, but the chemicals they use to clean it may not be exactly healthy, yeah?





Aidan even braved the big slide. He only got kicked in the head once! :)

See? Didn't expect this, did you?

After that, we wound up our day by going to see....

It was more fun than a barrel of... pigs...?!?

Strange pig carriers! What? Ok, not really, but we did go to the Airport.

What? You don't believe that one either? Here:

See? :)

No, I'm not kidding. We went to the Airport. Oh, you want to know why? That's easy! Why does anyone go there?

Yes, you have to pay airport parking to come here. It's only 2,000 riel though.

To eat dairy queen, of course! Why else?

I love the looks you give me. :)

This is presently the only dairy queen in town. It's a full-on true dairy queen. The menu is limited, but you won't find any trace of biscuit flavors, rice, or anything un-pronouncable here... just good, old fashioned, creamy goodness.





What? You wanted some cultural background on Father's day, and what it means to the people?

Well, to be honest, I didn't see much of that. Mother's day there were specials, and free meals at that hotel. For dads though, I think it's a holiday that's going to take some serious work to get implanted in people's minds. First things first though - train the dads to be good fathers and the children to listen, and the holiday will come naturally.

I got a scoopie on my card too!

As for me and my house, well... we'll keep doing our best, and loving each other. God, the Father, can handle the rest of it.

Till next time. Try not to get run over by any herds of cows, ok?

Field trip to the Embassy

Ok, so that trip to the embassy I mentioned... you want to hear how that went?

Fair enough. :)

What? No, that's not the embassy. It's one of the buildings we passed on the way.

Well, as with any trip to a government office in any country, we went out of necessity. You think we'd want to go there just for fun? I thought I was the silly one here... :)

Why did we go? Well, when we were still in Colorado, you may remember (see: In the beginning... post) we had managed to take a 4 bedroom house and stuff it into a series of duffel bags, which we brought to Colorado from Florida. We weren't done though; We also had a car to sell. We were very blessed by Jess' sister Erika, who liked it enough to buy it.

That's awesome, but there's a small catch. We get all the way over here and the bank tells us we have to sign the title.

Yeah. We'll get right on that!

A little statue in a park. You can visit, but remember what I said about crime.

As an alternative, we could have some paperwork filled out and sent back to the States. This, of course, requires a U.S. Notary...

...which brings us to the Embassy. There's not exactly a local UPS store you can go to for these things.

We passed the Night Market on the way. Will I come here with you? Um... no, probably not. Good luck though!

We arrived to find just what you'd expect from a patch of US soil - mowed grass, high walls, boring looking building.

Sorry guys and gals, but the Cambodians have us beat on architecture.

Honestly, doesn't this look like a walk-up ATM?

So we went in, and paid 100$ to have 2 documents notarized. Yep. I overspent on a service more in this building than I have for all other purchases combined. Sure, the markets will slip in extra items and charge you for them, or a merchant will give you (read: me) a price and someone from the back will come running up and change it, but 100$ for a service you could get for 15$-30$ in the States?

Bleh.

See? Kind of utilitarian. Still, it had a nice lawn, and smelled like pizza. :)

What's that? you want to see the inside? Ok, I have one shot...

In the dark, no one can hear... oh wait, that's a different photo.

What? Oh, come on. Like they let you bring phones inside. No, really - they post a sign 'no cell phones' and another 'no cameras or electronic devices' and then ASK for your phone specifically "Do you also have a cell phone?" at BOTH metal detectors (you go through one to be allowed to walk across the lawn, another to get in the building), and I am pretty certain Officer Not-So-Friendly is watching to see if you pull one out of hiding.

The picture? This is the view of the inside of the box where they seal your phone away (mine is an artist's rendition, of course. I left my phone with Ginny). We did bring the printout of our appointment, however. If you don't have it, they won't let you in either. No exceptions.

Yes, it's a line! Why is that important? People don't stand in line here. Read the post about the airport in Denver. It's always first-standing-in-this-spot, first serve in Asia.

Well, we got the papers and headed home. Aidan didn't go, as their website details how they allow children on a case-by-case only. Plus, it was akin to sitting in the DMV with all the take-a-numbers and go-to-window-#33 1/2's. Not a pleasant place to bring children, though they make an attempt with a smattering of toys in the waiting room.

View of the park-thing across the street.

There is a nice architectural monument of some kind across the street. That's all well and good. Just don't park in front of it. That red and blue sign means parking people will be towed at owner's expense. Yes, that means you pay a "fine" (bribe) to not lose your car. For those who refuse to pay the fine, which means you aren't helping the corruption spread, you'll get impounded. Where? No idea. Just don't park here, ok? :)

Better view of the monument from the other side. If you ignore all the carvings of fake gods, it's rather quaint.

Thus concludes our journey. Did the bank take the documents we emailed? No, they wanted the originals.

.....

If it's ok with you, America can keep the red tape, and I'll go back to having fun adventures to share with you. Sound good? :)

Chicken... CAKE!

Hello I am going to take over my daddy's blog.



I went to the bakery.

They love us here... and overcharge. C'est la vie, no?

 

They had crocodile bread.

It was too cute to eat...

I bought a chicken CAKE!

I wish this had been too cute to eat... ugh. :)

It tasted weird.


Me and my daddy ate ice cream together at the gas station.

Here, they have fixed pricing. It's more expensive, but everyone pays the same.

 
 






That was tasty!  
        

Fashion at its finest!

...and we do too! :)

Hello again! You're probably all wondering why it's taken me a couple of days to put up a new post. Well, a trip to the embassy on one day followed by an early morning the next is the culprit. But you don't really want to hear about that. What you really want to know is... what are people wearing??? (cue red carpet music here).

Well, you are in luck! While riding around, I was struck with the notion that I haven't exactly covered fashion here yet. So, that's exactly what I am going to do!

Sophaek in his second appearance. This time, a fashion model!

Yes indeed. I'm going to tell you who's wearing what, and where!

Well, first off, some typical misconceptions include the thought that Cambodians live in the stix, and sit around not wearing shirts and dirty shorts. While this may actually hold true of a few older people I have seen, the vast majority here are conservative. (by the way, if they are old, then you know what they lived through, and survived. Let's let them wear whatever they want to, shall we?)

Students in uniform. Some schools even give out matching helmets to promote safety!

Typical clothing choices include a sensible top for women with a skirt, cropped pants, or jeans. Every now and again you see a younger person with shorts on that aren't calf-length, but for the most part, they dress with modesty in mind.

Again, thanks wikimedia commons.

Headwear is essential here, as the sun beats on you without mercy. We're very close to the equator, you see, which makes that sunshine all the brighter.





The Krama is one example of Khmer head gear. This traditional garment can be used as a sling to carry children, a scarf, and in extreme cases, a hammock. Never let it be said that this is a wasteful people. They are quite innovative when it comes to using the resources at hand.






What's the smartest thing people can wear on their heads here? Why, that's easy!

Remember, Sa'aad means beautiful. I'd love to say 'sensible too' but I don't know that word. Thanks to Aidan, I can tell people my name is cheese, and then ask them politely for a monkey.

Yup! A helmet! What? I've already shown you how people drive here...

Traditional wear, courtesy of In His Steps International. This was a Christmas presentation they put on one year.

There are also traditional garments for special occasions, such as dances, or weddings.

What? What's the normal everyday Cambodian wearing?

Pajamas!

Stop looking at me like that. You have weirder stuff at Wal-mart!

Yes, PJ's are in this season. I'm not talking your typical running pants and tank top either. I mean full blown silk PJ's. No booties though...

Headwear and sensible top/slacks on one, PJ's and slippers on the other. ...but no helmets! No, I don't know if that's a chicken in her hand.

Outside of this, you'll see the younger generation in USA wear - jeans, angry bird shirts, hello kitty hoodies (no idea why they all wear hoodies in this heat), and more.

 

Siri gives me funny looks too, especially if I tell her I'm cold...

What's that you ask? Is it hot?













So how does one survive the constant heat and overhanging thunderclouds? Well, you can do the tourist thing, and wear shorts. However, you are likely to put someone off if you are attending a business function of any kind, or trying to appear professional. What's more, 'tourist' is another word for 'please hike up your prices' when you are at a market or vendor.

Another way of overcoming the heat, is to shop locally. The Khmer aren't immune to the heat, and in particular they think it unseemly to sweat visibly.

Hmm? No, they're Larry Hilfiger. Tommy's younger cousin....'s roommate.

Take my jeans, for instance (...not literally. It's bad enough you have to guard the clotheslines sometimes here, much less having my readers wandering off with my clothes!). These are fakes... knock offs, if you will, but the material is ultra-thin and light. They still provide great insect protection, look good, and have pockets that keep my wallet VERY tightly enclosed (Pickpockets fear my jeans, they are so awesome. It's like having Chuck Norris with me while I walk around.), while also being lightweight enough to keep me cool...ish.

What shouldn't you wear here?

Revealing clothes, muu-muus, pictures of batgecko (it attracts small children that may cry when you don't hold still), and anything political. You also don't want to wear too much bling, as you will either get robbed, or mistaken for an American celebrity of some kind.

Also, don't wear this:

This is a tuctuc driver. Anyone feeling brave? He may or may not have already hit the bar a couple times... :)

Ok, that's it for today. I do have the trip to the Embassy to talk about, and a few other odds and ends. Until then, Aidan, Siri, and I wish you a great day!