I will admit that while there have been plenty of times of missing people, places, foods and the ways of doing things back home, I had yet to grow tired of Cambodia. Perhaps because of Covid my culture shock curve is doing strange things, but I continue to wake up every day amazed that I’m…
Author: Crystal Conklin
Mosquitos
Here in Cambodia, the mosquito we watch out for is the Asian Tiger mosquito. It’s identifiable due to black and white stripes on the body. The tiger mosquito is usually a little larger than other mosquitos and can potentially carry dengue and chikungunya, which we are all too well acquainted with, as well as zika…
Being a cross-cultural Mom
Being a cross-cultural mom here in Cambodia has been a learning experience. Things that had priority for parenting in the US have shifted and changed, influenced both by the expat community and the Cambodian culture. The most challenging part of parenting in the US was trying to figure out how to do it right. I…
PSEA in MCC Cambodia
PSEA is the acronym used for the Prevention against Sexual Exploitation and Abuse. About a decade ago, the world began to discover that sexual exploitation and abuse were possible, and even at times rampant, in the humanitarian world. Scandals in large international NGOs were made public and the international development and humanitarian sectors began to pay…
Myanmar: Light in the Darkness
“I hate the military. They kill. They rape. They torture. But if they come to my house I will offer them something to eat. Not because I like them. But because we must have forgiveness in my country. There is no peace possible if we do not choose what is best for all of us,…
COVID-19: Myanmar Update
The situation in Myanmar is very sad and desperate. We had calls with our partners there last week and wanted to share their updates (with all identifying information removed). • People are dying everyday from COVID and numbers of cases and deaths are increasing at a rapid pace. (One partner Director) said that it is…
Myanmar Coup and Protests
It’s other-worldly to watch a coup unfold less than a thousand miles away, on streets you have walked, with people that you know. We check in on our friends there, listening and showing we care, despite our feelings of helplessness. We’ve passed messages onto MCC advocacy offices, stories of the ups and downs of the…
Sundays during COVID-19
It’s 7:15 on Sunday. We’ve been up for a few hours already, though we had a lazy snuggle with the girls in the pre-dawn light. The plants are watered, laundry put away, compost turned, breakfast cooked and eaten and girls dressed. I’m preparing to wash the floors before our isolation pod arrives for coffee cake…
First Program Review
Last week we had the pleasure of going through our first country program review with our Area Directors. Arthur and Phyllis Mann are multi-term MCCers who live in Chiang Mai and supervise programs in Southeast Asia. Their wealth of experience in MCC, in international living and in transitions and living abroad with kids is so…
Coronavirus
Given our proximity to China, the single confirmed case in Cambodia and the cruise ship situation, I thought it would be worth updating people on our response to the new novel coronavirus which is spreading across the world. First, you should know that we are not worried. Healthcare in Cambodia has improved dramatically in the…