COVID-19: July 2021 Update

Like Thailand and Vietnam, Cambodia was fortunate during the first year of the pandemic but is now facing the kind of spread that was seen in most other countries. The daily cases have become stuck around 800 -1000 since July 1st, which may not sound like much, but considering we were having around 30 –…

Catherine wins Catan

Catherine is starting to legitimately win when playing board games. And she loves it. (So do I.) The first game that she surprised us by winning without any outside aid or anyone holding back was Ticket to Ride First Journey. But she’s now graduated to winning Settlers of Catan. On a sidenote: we’ve been thinking…

ស្រការ​នាគ | Dragon Fruit

Dragon Fruit, or Pitahaya, is a tropical fruit indigenous to the Americas that is grown widely in Southeast Asia. It gets it’s draconic moniker from it’s colorful exterior, the mildly sweet fruit has a gentle flavor that’s somewhere between a kiwi and pear. It’s nice and refreshing when served chilled after lunch or dinner. Dragon…

COVID-19: Second Dose

I’d been holding out for our vaccination cards but as they’ve been delayed I thought I’d go ahead and share the good news. The day before Catherine’s 4th birthday we went for our second dose of COVID-19 vaccine at a local primary school. It was a much faster process than the first dose, which involved…

Catherine’s 4th Birthday

It’s strange to look at photos from when we moved here in 2019 and realize how small Catherine was! She’s so big and strong now. She’s also four as of Saturday! I can hardly believe how fast my girls are growing up. After school on Thursday, Charlotte and I made a chocolate cake for Catherine’s…

Come back to the trunk, Charlotte.

Yesterday I had to run over to the office – which is just three houses down from us now – and when I came back I saw Rosie on the second story balcony looking into our mango tree. I followed her gaze and saw a figure up in the mango tree almost on level with…

COVID-19: Restrictions Lifted

We were expecting Cambodia to continue with targeted zone based lockdowns for some time but over the last week almost all COVID-19 restrictions in Phnom Penh have been lifted. The few that remain, like mask wearing and bans on large public gatherings, are not being enforced. I think we’re already seeing the impact of this…

COVID-19: First Dose

As of last Friday, all of MCC Phnom Penh’s personnel have at least received their first vaccine dose. More than half of national staff have received their second dose. We have two staff in the countryside who are not yet vaccinated but that’s due to preexisting medical conditions. Crystal and I were in the last…

COVID-19: Lockdown Zones

As I mentioned last time, this has been by far the most serious outbreak of COVID-19 that Cambodia has experienced. The country went into full lockdown for several weeks and then, slowly, transitioned to a zone based lockdown. Red Zones: Areas with high rates of community transmission. Complete lockdown. Families are allowed to leave homes…