Since we arrived in 2019, we’ve been in a losing struggle against the rats that keep on invading the Mennonite Central Committee office here in Phnom Penh. When we first arrived, the office had a small dog who was a terrific rattier but – no matter how many she killed – it seemed to served…
Month: May 2022
Battambang, Kuy Teav, and a not so Bamboo Train
In January, we made a long weekend trip to Battambang province to celebrate Sokea’s engagement. We have been waiting to write about it until after she announced her engagement on social media (which she did earlier this month). We travelled by bus with Ringsey and Doungchann. It was a very long, very bumpy ride due…
2022 Traditional Khmer Photoshoot
As has become tradition, two weekends ago we joined the ‘GSL’ team for a photoshoot in traditional Khmer clothing. GSL stands for Global Service Learning; it’s the department that our YAMEN and SALT exchange program fits under. There are a number of shops in Phnom Penh where you can inexpensively rent traditional Khmer outfits and have your…
Two stories about gunmen in today’s news
Today there are two stories about gunmen in the Phnom Penh newspapers. The local story is about a ‘Phantom Gunman’ who – twice this week – has driven through different neighborhoods at night and fired 3 to 4 shots into the air before driving off. The other story is the horrific and tragically familiar school…
Home Leave 2022
Next month we will finally be on our long delayed first home leave. We will be spending June in Pennsylvania/New Jersey, United States and July in Saskatchewan, Canada. Home leave is not purely a time of respite and reconnection, we will still have some meetings and work to do, but we are looking forward to…