It’s 7am and there is a pleasant breeze and it’s raining on and off.  It’s very comfortable.  The morning ritual seems to be to head out to the balcony at the guest house with tea or juice and watch the town come alive.  There is a steady stream of pedestrians, bikes, motos, tuk tuks, vendors w/ carts and all kinds of motor vehicles.  Sometimes I feel I could spend all day just watching this stream ebb and flow.  I have been sleeping well, getting  up just once or twice as I usually do when I’m not at home and traveling.  Actually it can happen at home too, old age.  My dreams have been interesting also, as dreams tend to be.  Some of them have to do with my now ‘old’ job.  For example I dreamt last night that I forgot to turn in a day sheet, which I never did.  Can I still turn that in Danielle?    I love dreams.

  The past couple of days have been filled mostly with finding or trying to find what we need for our new home.  We’re shopping  for everything from bed sheets and towels to wastebaskets and kitchen tools.   It can be overwhelming at the market where they have everything it seems.   So we do it in spurts.  In between of course we eat and drink.  And I did get a haircut and a shave included in that was a short shoulder massage.  I did feel pampered I must say.  And it’s good haircut, of course not as good Jess as the ones you’ve given me for the past 20 years. 

rows and rows of stuff

  Speaking of food as I am prone to do we ate at a Burmese place just down the road from the guesthouse.  Jaz complained that the prices were raised from last year when they opened.  Most dishes shot up from about $1.50 to $3.  I wish we would have taken pictures as the food was absolutely delicious.  We could not stop ooing and ahhhing.  I had a mouth watering curry lentil (yellow) and chicken dish, man it was good!  Jess’s rice, tea leaves and ‘bean’ dish was equally good as was Jaz’s fish dish.  Funny though Jess’s dish listed beans as an ingredient yet it had Spanish nuts and peanuts.  Well legumes in any case.  It didn’t detract form it’s sumptuousness.  They seem to specialize in fritters, we got ‘gourd’ (squash) but I’m told the onion ones are great.  They also sent out a very tasty broth w/ bamboo shoots complimentary.  I told Jess this is at the top of the list for visitors from the states. 

not Burmese but a cheap feast

  So now we’ve been busy unpacking and setting up our place, which means mostly shopping for food (I can start cooking!) and cleaning the place to our liking.  We really like our abode. 

  We of course have had time for meals and spending time with the family and meeting some fellow travelers.  There is an Italian couple who we went out to dinner with to a new Khmer place.  Excellent well prepared food.  Jess got a whole Red Snapper and I got frog thighs, if memory serves me in curry sauce.  Jaz got this very good porkchop with the longest bone I’ve ever seen on a chop.  Lori and Ponheary joined us also.  The Italians are very friendly, young and interesting.  The woman works for the Vatican and he works for Travelocity.  They have traveled quite a bit and been to 26 states! Unfortunately for them not the best one, Vermont.  Last night, their last at the guest house, they cooked for the family a pasta dish with a tomato and tuna sauce.  It was delicious.  Marina also cooked the traditional fish amok dish and fried spring rolls.  Fresh pineapple and Italian chocolates for dessert.  What a combo of flavors!  It’s a tough life here.  A young French woman joined us also, she’s been in Korea for two years translating.  The conversations were great with these folks.  Talking about politics, travel and life in general with folks from other countries has been a goal and we’ve only been here a week.

I have to say we revisited the Burmese place at my insistence and were wowed again.  The spicy shrimp would have blown my socks off if I were wearing any and got my endorphins going with the heat.  Jaz got Jess’s last dish and Jess got a chicken, potato curry dish.  We had to get the onion fritters and they again sent out a soup complimentary.  This time a veg soup in broth.  Everything was delicious.  Oh and Jaz got a avocado milkshake which I loved more than she did, it helped to cool the shrimp dish.

  Jaz came home a couple of days ago and was frustrated by her job and struggling with what to do.  You may recall from I believe Jess’s blog about the ‘kindergaten’ Jaz is teaching at.  It’s really 2 and 3 year olds and they are trying to get them to learn as if they were 5 and 6.  Of course it drives me crazy and Jaz suggested I go talk to them.  I said I can’t go in there as the ‘know it all American’ saying I know what’s best.  She said they know somewhat it’s not the way to teach the kids and would welcome some input.  The next day they asked if I could come in the following morning.  So I did and the director (Khmer) is a great guy with good English.  It’s often me that has a hard time with accents, though I got much practice at my old job at the WONDERFUL Family Room.  We talked for a good hour and he was in fact knowledgeable about child development and wants to change the way teaching is happening for the young kids.  As he repeated several times he is up against the parents who pay money so their children learn and not just play.  He certainly seemed to know that children that age learn best through play as all the research and early childhood educators support.  I told him that teachers of young children in the US also often have to be convinced that children benefit most from being able to play.  He suggested that he and I have a meeting with the parents.  He and the co-director said the parents’  expectations are too high.  How true, I was glad to hear that insight from them.  This should prove interesting. 

    The director has 3 daughters,  2, 4 and 10.  I inquired about this and he also told me he was originally from Phnom Penh, but was moved around when he was @ 6 years old during Pol Pot.  As he said ‘slave child labor’ collecting cow dung for compost.  Once again talk about resilience. 

  He did take me around the school.  They have a new and big very colorful plastic playground structure, certainly good for gross motor development.  As we were about to enter the ‘playroom’ where Jaz works with a few Khmer teachers a teacher stopped us.   After she talked  briefly with the director he said we shouldn’t  go in as it smelled because a child or two peed.  I told him “no problem” I’ve changed many a diaper.  There were about twenty or so kids in the ‘playroom’ and I was taken aback at the starkness of it.  The only materials for play were a small set of legos, that was it!  We had talked earlier about room structure/set-up.  I told him no wonder the teachers have a hard time as he stated earlier, there is nothing for the kids to do.  I don’t know how Jaz is surviving this.  I hope the director and I can help the situation for the sake of the children.  I’ll keep you posted. 

   It’s another pleasant morning here and a day to get the house in order.  This coming week we go talk to folks from New Hope, perhaps Jess and I can work together, that would be great.  And perhaps tonight I’ll make risotto con funghi or some type of risotto.  Till next time, Steve   PS   As I was reviewing this a woman came by selling something and Jaz said she said bread, in Khmer.  We bought an Italian looking loaf, still warm, 63 cents.  Ahh  peanut butter and jam on warm fresh bread.  Thank goodness for Jaz.

  I’m very excited that we found a house to rent to make our home.  And we found it in just the 3^rd day we were here.  It’s a great find for us in many ways: close to the family at Seven Candles Guest House (good location), they actually know the family whose house it is, the family lives below us (security), it’s upstairs with a large front balcony and small back one ( we like that), green front yard with a mango tree!, good natural light, large bright kitchen (I love to cook), a bdrm for Jaz a bit separate, a guest room w/ air, we’re  almost certain wifi, tile floors as opposed to dark wood, of course each bdrm has it’s own bthrm (a Cambodian given), hot water showers (yeah I know cool showers rule here), AND it’s  cheaper than we expected for such a desirable place (300!)  We’ll be excited to move in and really unpack. 

  We are so excited about this eventual home as Jess and I will be ‘setting up house’ for the 1^st time, I moved into her house 20 years ago.   PS 2  i wanted to post more pics but had a problem   next time hopefully