Six

Happy Chappy in the Rain!

Frequently Asked Questions:

1.  Is Sarah still alive?   Yes, yes I am
2.  Has Sarah given up on blogging?  No, I just never do it.
3.  Are these questions just a lame way to open up a long overdue post? Clearly!

So obviously this post has something to do with the number 6!  I have finally come to terms with it and want to reveal that I have 6 fingers…..”you killed my father, prepare to die”.  Just kidding just quoting Princess Bride.  BUT, our 6 year Camboversary has come and gone already! (a solid 4 months past…haha Terrible blogging skills I have developed) Can you believe it!  Six entire years have passed and I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up.  *sits back in chair and tries to think………..* Yeah, sorry guys, I still don’t know.  I guess technically I am a real adult though, I DID buy a fridge and washing machine this past year for the first time.  That is pretty adult-esk isn’t it.  Gross!

Anyways, enough of the rambling! Let’s get into what you came here for!  Or for you less fortunate ones where this post has arrived at your email even though you thought you unsubscribed (JK)….Let’s get into what I thought was worthy of spamming you with! HAHA  STORIES.  Okay, so mostly I have one, because I think it is hilarious and it has a nice combination of bad timing and funny cultural things.

My gorgeous sister Abby MINUS the potato salad! *photo credit to our amazing friend Karissa who took our pics for work!

So not so long ago, Abby had been doing some cooking for a large group of people.  (Something she does regularly, once a week.)  That particular day she had a blemish or red mark on her upper….CHEST!  And when you read that say chest really slowly and jokingly sexy but in a fake sexy way.  Get a hold of yourselves guys, I mean near her collar bone.  Anyways, she regretfully wore a top that of course was modest but didn’t hide the dreaded blemish.  That morning she thought to herself, “Definitely SOMEONE is going to ask me about this mark.”  So later on in the day and after she had finished cooking, it was time to eat.  She took her food and sat at one of the tables with everyone else.  Sitting across from Abby, one of her friends asked, “Abby, what’s this??”, while pointing to Abby.

Abby thinks..”BINGO…ding ding ding, TOLD YA!”  She didn’t even look down to acknowledge the blemish again but just replied, “It’s a bite or a pimple.”  Abby continues to eat her meal.  The girl stops her once again.  “Really?  Did you go to the doctor yet?”  Already at this point Abby was getting annoyed and said, “What?  No, I have had it for a few days, it will go away on its own.”  The girl answered back, “Oh, well it just looks so strange!”  At this point Abby was done talking about it so she assured her it was fine and changed the topic.  After finishing her meal Abby went to the washroom, while she was washing her hands she looked in the mirror.  To her SHOCK, she saw a clump of potato salad sitting on her skin!!  She immediately found her friend again and asked her if she had been asking about the FOOD on her chest!?  Of course it is exactly what she had been asking about!  HAHA Never assume!

Did you know we got a kitten?  We did!  She has made our life

Scotland AKA Scotty AKA Chicken AKA many other nicknames we give at random!

SOOOOO stressful.  Jokes, she has enhanced our Cambo experience.  It is just so nice to have her around, because she makes us laugh, OOH and AW and she wakes us up at 6 AM by jumping on us while we sleep which isn’t frightening or annoying at all.  Her name is Scotland, but we call her Scotty for short.  ( we like to name our pets after places….usually )  Anyways I have a million cute pics of her but I will try to only add a few.

So as tradition has it….since this is my 6 year Camboversary post, I now present to you the:

List of things Sarah learned in 2018 List:

1. Airplane food in Asia ordered gluten free will ALWAYS include fish something.  Barf Barf puke puke
2. Moving is the WORST!  Seriously, the entire process is highly over rated.  The packing, the lifting, the deciding, the figuring out where to put all your junk.  It’s very much a pain!
3. Dengue fever is even more WORSE!  Especially dengue twice in 6 months in a country based on being hot and sweaty.  Sorry Cambodia, I love you but I will always rant about your HOTNESS!
4. It was so hot this year I didn’t even get my annual sock day.  I may have explained this before but usually there is one day that is just cool enough that I feel the need to wear socks.  NOT EVEN CLOSE this year!  I never put on a pair of socks the entire time I was sick!  Who knew a place like this existed!?
5. Apparently I look East Indian….WHICH I DON’T “AT ALL“… but I was told by an East Indian woman that I look East Indian!  And for the sake of repeating words for emphasis…East Indian.
6. It is much funnier to say Happy University to people instead of saying Happy Anniversary.
7. Shrimp cocktail sauce is two simple ingredients…..Ketchup and Horse Radish aka Horsh Radish.  Are you kidding me, I only JUST learned this!  Break out the shrimp guys! WOOOOOOOOOT WOOOT
8. I will never take for granted having a kitchen.  I can’t even tell you how frustrating it was to search for a new place to rent and yet so many places didn’t have a proper kitchen!
9. Make any gathering, no matter how small WAY more exciting by just adding PARTY to the end.  Or the classic “Par-Tay”.  For example, are you having tacos tonight….no you aren’t, you are having a Taco PARTY!  Are you playing the amazing card game Love Letter??  Light it on FIRE by calling it a Love Letter PARTY!!! haha (sorry somewhat of an inside joke- but still funny for those with elevated humor capabilities!)
10. This list couldn’t be complete without saying that yet again I have learned more and more and MORE patience.  I must have been a REALLY impatient person before because good grief, who knew life required so much PATIENCE!  ( Ironically I am teaching you all patience by hardly posting!  Your welcome….life enhanced!)

Being PATIENT!

Well thanks guys for reading all the way to the end!  You survived.  YES this is a some what shorter version of my usual Camboversary posts BUT I have MORE posts planned!  Some stories are just too good to go untold so please, be patient…*wink wink*  and I hope to get out these stories to you.   Enjoy the mish mosh photos!

I love when people have personal iphone photo shoots at super non-exciting places like the theater. SO much fun to watch! The seriousness brings me much joy!

I know it is hard to see…but the 3rd guy in with a cream coloured helmet…starring at me…has his helmet on backwards….LOL WHY!!!!!haha

Repainting the Wat entry way gate during peek traffic…..something I call “Short end of the stick”

Coffee Breath…..This place is one of many that inspires me to not be lazy and do a post all about strange coffee shop names. Writing this here does increase the possibilities of it happening…..so maybe it will!!!

This just made me laugh.,,,Junk Label. I bet the quality is great and not junk.

This is amazing…..your welcome!

😂 I want a T-shirt that says I love CambodLa! I love saying it too…CambodLa! haha

This was just intriguing….I would say I wanna live there but I don’t want to, so I won’t say I wanna live there.

I don’t think i need to say anymore than what is already said.

I make MEAN OMLETTES! Super mean, like this one would punch you in the face in a dark alley!

Oh Scotty, always so dramatic!

Scotty loves hiding in tight places….exhibit A

Scotty getting her first bath and we found out she is an alien

Scotty made this for us from a napkin she tore up,,,,,talented little chicken she is!

So many scary jobs out there. Working with electricity alone is scary but the height and sheer tight rope work these guys need to do is so crazy town!

FRESH SPRING ROOLS! YUMMO

This is a pic of our little lady the first day we got her. She was so tiny and c’jute!

Hot Season means Hot Hair Cuts! Scotty styling her lion cut!

Again hiding all on her own….I had no part of this beyond taking the picture!

Chilling at the assembly!

I think she does this to keep cool! But I honestly haven’t had a cat lay out like this before! haha

Scotty

Her squinty face!

Chillin’ McGrillin’

After Scotty had her woman surgery I made her this unitard so that she didn’t lick the incision. #nomorescottisheggs

 

 

Something About Nothing At All

Bombs away

Soooooooo yesterday, we were heading down the road on our motos when out of no where a giant coconut rolled into the street.  We thankfully dodged that bullet and just kept driving.

THAT lamo story is about the most interesting thing that has happened to me in a long time.  WHAT IS HAPPENING!!!???  Can it actually be true that even though this story is slightly interesting because how often do you get to dodge raging killer coconuts in your life,  this super boring story is all I have to share with you?  It might be true guys!  Its scary.  The truth is that I KNOW that there is more crazy and hilarious things happening around me all the time but it is not even phasing me anymore.  GROSS!  I don’t like it.  Makes me feel like I am mature and adapting.  Barf!

Garbage Fire and Sky Fire

You know as much as I blame being a human capable of adjusting to ones environment, I also blame YOU!!! *dramatically points finger at Dengue Fever!*  Haha, and you (my audience), you thought when I said YOU I meant YOU.  Nope, I am pointing my finger at a mosquito-borne single positive-stranded RNA virus.  Ever since I had dengue fever in April this year, (ROUND 1) I feel like I have had all the creativity sucked out of me.  I haven’t been drawing, painting, taking photos or writing.  I think some of my killer dance skills have even suffered, as well as my in-shower-Toni-Braxton-Unbreak-My-Heart singing skills. So that gives me full permission to write this masterpiece.  Of course when I say masterpiece I mean the most boring blog post ever to be uploaded to Sez KAPOW!  YAY! Let’s get into some ultra boring banter, shall we?

Weather.  Whether you like it or not there will always be a large supply of weather.  (Reused joke? )  It has been raining here at the most inconvenient of times.  Basically anytime we decide to go outside.  Marcie’s room AKA top floor, AKA the tower AKA the scariest room to be in during a storm is AMAZING.  Being that she is on the 4th floor it literally feels like you are IN the storm.  The trees tippy tap the tin roof as the wind blows them around.  Just outside one of her windows has a tree that kinda scratches the window and looks like a scary hand, so I always remind her its alive and wants to come in.

Lazy people.  There are so many hard workers here in Cambodia aka Camp Blow Diarrhea. (Notice my AKA skillz that I am trying to spice up this post with?? Take notes learners!) BUT, there are also a large number of people that do not want to work.  The other week we had to haul a bunch of large plants across the city that were given to Marcie.  In order to do this we needed to hire a trailer and a driver.  The first guy we asked literally was sleeping in his trailer waiting for work and when we asked him he complained it was TOO far.  He then suggested we wait with him for an hour because possibly his friend would be interested in taking

Travel Green

us.  Anyways, we obviously found a better candidate.  Side note…before this exhausting event we decided to get Mexican for lunch and fill up on spicy meat and beans.  It of course rained during our long drive with uncomfortable stomachs and seats.  FULL CIRCLE…..boring story, weather, lazy people…..The end.

Not actually the real end because I do have something that will ‘possibly’ interest some of you. So, eh-hm *clears throat* “I started a YouTube channel.” *three dancing crickets enter center stage* But seriously, I did.  Why??  Well about 4 years ago I made 5 short and ridiculous 1 minute videos and sent them to my family just for kicks. They loved them.  Even my Mum would show them to whom ever would let her because they apparently were “funny”. Ever since then they have wanted me to make a YouTube channel featuring this bizarre character I created.  So, there you have it.  I caved….  Something else a lot of you wouldn’t know about me is that making movies is my first and forever love.  When I was 12 years old I saved all my money and bought a video camera.  For years and years I would never be seen without my camcorder.  So basically, making people laugh via YouTube, well it kinda makes sense!  Now this might be the only time I plan on promoting the channel using this blog as I want to keep the two separate, also I don’t wanna disgust readers with self promotion.  So here goes….CHECK IT OUT, SUBSCRIBE AND SHARE!  Heads up, it is probably NOT what you are expecting!!  BUT, if you enjoy my stuff here you might be crazy enough to enjoy the content here ↓  I will stop trying to talk you out of looking now and just add the link!

YouTube Channel (Pretty Fancy): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMfHt80yCDCbgP-LnMzpFxA

Instagram: prettyfancygurl   ( I will also put notifications for new videos on Instagram with this handle.)

Ok now that that is over with, lets get back to some classic Sez KAPOW photo gallery! My personal challenge was to keep with the theme of boring, I mean art, and label all the photos using one or max two words only.  Enjoy…..

PS. One last thing, I was going to make a good joke about videos going viral and having a viral disease but I didn’t so consider yourselves informed of the great pun yet spared from hearing lame dad jokes!

PAR-TAY!

Ga-ross (gross)

Veggie Town

cute

Quiet

….on rock’n’roll

Dangerous

Palms

garbage

Dr. Gold

Security

oversized

HAIR BABY

I have to use more words for this one. So one of our friends said he would bring ice cream and this is what he brought…..??? WHY! HAHAHA

Playground

Okay I can’t explain this one in one to two words. All I want to point out is that I had to sit here and then THAT SCARY chain was swaying and wiggling and almost touched my feet the entire afternoon. For those of you who KNOW know me, you know I would have almost died!

Broccoli?

This is a pic of our little beta fish named Brocket. He is sleeping in what I like to call his Leaf Burrito

 

 

Mixed Salad

DOUBLE RAINBOW!!! ( In Montana )

The past year has been a mixed salad of emotions.  It has been exciting, scary, joyous, terrifying, ….tomato.  I have had some big changes that are awesome and some big changes/experiences that I rather wish I didn’t have to deal with.  This particular post might have a different tone than the ush…short for usual, but not sure how the cool kids are spelling it these days.  Lets jump in the DEEP end shall we.

The end of last year my mum was diagnosed with stage 3 lymphoma cancer.  Yeah guys, I said the deep end!  So as you can imagine the stress, the emotions, the “trying to stay sane” was very intense.  Especially being so far away.  Some of you may have wondered why Marcie stayed such a short time here in Cambo this past year.

f=”https://sezkapow.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/b65e141c-8dc4-4d86-b6e9-ca89238f4498.jpeg”> I was very sure to keep a watchful eye on Mum.[/capt

Well there’s your answer.  She went home to help out.  Of course all three of us wanted to come home immediately but my mum told us not to.  It is also the reason we made a trip home to Canada earlier in the year though, so that we could help out with some of the chemo treatments.    Long story short….mum is in full remission now!!  She will have maintenance chemo every three months for the next two years!  Now I know not everyone has wonderful outcomes like this in dealing with cancer.  My entire heart feels so completely different towards those who have cancer or have loved ones with cancer.  UGH…..life, has a way of making you understand pain!

Speaking of pain, lets get some more craziness out on the plate.  So at the beginning of April this year, right before Abby and I flew home, I picked up a little thing we like to call Dengue Fever.  *Someone runs in doing the Saturday Night Fever dance moves but then is slowly ushered out* For those of you aren’t familiar with it, it is a mosquito borne illness.  There are 4 different strains a person can get.  I was the proud owner of one that left me feeling extremely garbage-esk.  There is a nickname for Dengue Fever.  Its called Broke Bone Fever because basically it feels like you have broken every single bone in your body.  I won’t go into major details because that’s super boring. While I was sick though, Abby picked up a bad head cold so we were in pretty rough shape. Thankfully I was able to go home three weeks later and recover in Canada as well as enjoy some cool weather.

Okay, lets move on from all this sickness talk.  JOKES! Lets soak in it a bit longer because I have more to share.  So at the beginning of April I had what the doctor called a severe case of Dengue Fever.  Well, two weeks ago I

://sezkapow.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/690777ab-869b-45fd-bc5d-548d91942b0a.jpeg”> Excuse for cute pet insert

fo

[/caption]found myself laying in a hospital with, wait for it…..Dengue Fever!   Round two!  Is there some sort of Dengue Cup awards I am getting nominated to win or something?  A grant or a scholarship?  All jokes aside, it was really bad.  My platelets were down to 39 this time, which is why I had to be hospitalized.  The normal range is 150-400 to give you an idea.  Also if you go down below 20 there is a very high risk of internal bleeding and basically death.  So…..that was sorta not fun.  I am finally starting to feel like a human being again.  Which is why I have it in me to write a post.  I bet you think this story is wrapping up because I am saying that I am feeling better. NOPE…there is more.  So guys, not only did I get dengue fever twice within 4 months, but Abby ALSO got dengue fever at the same time I did this second time.  LIKE WHAAAAAAA?????!!!!!    I know, so now you all can feel bad for BOTH of us!  She thankfully didn’t have to be in the hospital but it was also hard because we were apart and unable to help one another.  Its like this constant battle for the lime light between us eh!?  HAHA jokes

So how about some good stuff.  Well after a very long decision-making process we decided to move outta the downtown part of Phnom Penh into a bigger place.  Its been great.  There has definitely been some stressful times though.  Like the day we had our air conditioning units installed and at the end of the day the worker says…. oh, these won’t work because there is no power hooked up…. WHAT!!!! (But that was obviously sorted after I had a heart attack)  Or how about when the internet guy used my bathroom.  He right stunk it up, splashed water all over my mirror and used the rest of my face wash!  Are you kidding me!!??  GET OUTTA HERE!!!!  ( Throwback )

We also discovered that living a little bit on the outskirts of town is somewhat like a good couple of years step back in time for some things.  Remember all those flooding pictures I used to post by our apartment.  Well, those days are back.  When it rains hard the road in front of our house floods like crazytown.  When the water goes down though, its fun to look out and see what strange items have settled onto our driveway.  There was a week of severe raining where we watched a bloated diaper move around from the front of the drive to the middle to the road.  One things for sure, the diapers here really retain the water well!  Good to know, ya know…just in case I decide to swap cotton for plastic!

Well that’s the update guys.  Wasn’t that exciting.  More like ridiculous, I know.  It has been an eye opening experience all around and very real.  Usually my life experience has been more of a ” oh hey is that a new mole? No its BBQ sauce” kinda scares.  None of this actual cancer, hospitals and diapers business!

So despite not having amazing, funny or cool stories to share this round, I as-per-usual have pictures to share. Some are boring but some aren’t.  Please read the descriptions on the photos because I put the effort forth to write them.  If you don’t read them and laugh and then tell me you laughed I will be VERY unhappy.  Actually,  I won’t know and I will most likely forget I even run this blog and not write for another 37 months.  Okay guys,  thanks for reading.

Tip:  Use bug repellent and don’t be lazy and let bloated diapers move around your driveway because it is like a life size game of chess nature is playing on your tiled driveway….because it isn’t.  Its just gross!

livin large

This was the night before I was released… I FINALLY started to feel a bit better! I was also extremely bored and couldn’t sleep so…..

When workers come into your home and plug their power tools into your wall outlets…..SO SCARY!!!!!

We bought onions and suddenly we had trees!

Anne of green gables in Phnom Penh in a new bonnet. That is a man by the way~

Carrying the ladder on the back of a moto…. Someone save me! #CanadianCambodian

I see strange stuff like this all the time but this one in particular made me burst out laughing. NONE of it makes sense!!!

The cutest tiniest frog that came into our place after the first flood….aw floods.

The wedding dinner before the rain

The wedding dinner cookhouse after the rain… people were carrying the food across the murky water to the party across the street. No thanks…

Our drive way…. spot the garbage bag. That’s OUR garbage bag! HAHAHA

Bloated diaper day two….check mate

The final load….we said it would be a tiny load and we filled the car to the brim! HAHAHA

Our first table!

Sleeping on the road…just don’t roll off!

Abby and I were SO excited to get the keys for our new place until we got the keys to our new place! SO MANY!!!

Weird car that we saw

One of the houses we looked at renting had people clearly obsessed with Louise Vitton. Check out the next couple pics…haha

More purple!!! Miami vice house

See the purple weird looking shelves above the stairwell….in a V shape!

Corner food in PP

Fascinators….Marcie and I were MADE to be royal!! HAHAHAHA

Chillin’ with the Grills

This tiny disgusting puddle was the only one of its kind in a solid mile radius but yet still Abby managed to dip her entire foot in it!

When it starts pouring rain but you still need a good soak in the ol’ hot tub!

A conversation with Abby….. I was quite impressed she had spoken with the king!

Mami and me the night before I started to get Dengue #1. Who would have guessed, right?

Please notice the name of this fine establishment….Du Du Coffee! HAHAHAHA

MORE MEXI FOOD!!!! Taco’s burritos what’s coming…..

Can’t say I don’t regret making this purchase! ( Charlotte shout out!)

Ice cream with the cuz and the huz of the cuz!

We all know how much I love ketchup chips. Well maybe you don’t, but if this bag doesn’t prove my love…I don’t know what will!

AWWWWWWW….come on, he is pretty darn cute! AWWWW

Mexican Meal with my sisters!!!

My hilarious cat Jasper. My mum sent this to me. When he wants something he just puts his paw on the coffee table! HAHA

Five Alive

Waiting for a hug VS Airing out the ol’ pits because Cambodia is STILL SO HOT

Five years guys! Five years since Abby and I were first tricked into moving to Cambodia.  (Well technically we were tricked a year in advance before we stepped on a plane to leave the luxuries of Canada and step onto the soils of adventure. We did plan a year prior to moving, and yet still were completely unprepared!)  hmmmm…. That intro has real potential but the fact that I corrected the technicalities straight off the bat and the good stuff is stuck in brackets proves I am a real stick in the mud.  Or maybe I am just very honest…..OR that I am so set on correcting people that I even correct myself in front of the masses.  Well maybe there isn’t masses reading this but at least a handful!  Wait, did I just go and correct myself again!?  Stick + in the Mud = ME!

As a small celebration of our big 5 year Camboversary the girls and I took a little trip over to Sibu Malaysia.  We stayed with some awesome friends of ours and had an amazing time.  We tried durian, ( the stinkiest fruit on the planet but if ripe and if you can get past the smell of rotting garbage tastes…not too bad! So apparently, totally worth it…haha PS. Picture of durian with Malaysia pics)  Anyways, we met lots of new people, we played games, we laughed, we danced, we fought….jokes! And we didn’t cry, so basically we had a great vacation!

BARF! Look away!

After our trip to Malaysia we headed down south to one of my favorite places ever….Sok San Beach.  The truth is it is a terrible place so please don’t go there, you’ll hate it.  Also you might ruin the white sand beaches and clear waters that no one else hardly knows about.  I imagine the delicious food and non commercialized aspects of this island wouldn’t appeal to you either so just don’t bother.  Honestly I am just saying the name of this place of terror so that you know what you are looking at in the pictures I upload.  Seriously though, I highly recommend NOT going there….  its a raging station of relaxation.  Yucky!

Now you know what we did to reward ourselves, so its time for you to listen to me talk about my feelings.  Don’t worry, it won’t be nearly as bad as when I give a full detailed account of my dreams for the past week. Then again, maybe you might be the type of person to

SHIELD YOUR EYES! This place is the worst!

find them intriguing… you know who doesn’t like listening to my dreams?  Basically any member of my family! haha  Seriously though, I wanted to just share a few aspects of what Cambodia has done for me.   Now I know I have written story after story about the crazy things that have happened and lets face it, continue to happen to us here in Cambodia, but that’s life anywhere!  Sometimes things are amazing and sometimes things are the worst.

What I do know, is that dealing with a new culture, new climate, new language…..new everything does two things to a person.  One, it opens your eyes!  You realize that even though you may only be familiar with the society you were raised in, a massive amount of people live their lives very very differently.  For me, in the beginning, there were elements that I criticized, but that was because I only knew my way.  I can honestly say what I understand now, even compared to what I understood

Marcie can walk on water!

2 or 3 years into living here is completely different.  Every single time you think you know what its all about, you get a massive life lesson and realize you know barely anything.  It has been nothing less than a constant humbling experience for me, and I know there is more to come. *throws one wimpy ribbon in the air that represents a sarcastic blast of excitement* It’s all been a molding process, and I realize I wouldn’t want to be the person I was before.  I am eternally thankful for all the experiences Cambodia and the people here have given to me.  It has made me a better person… I think! I am not sure I would be who I am today unless I came here!  DISCLAIMER:  No I am not saying I was a TERRIBLE person before, nor am I saying others are terrible because they aren’t here.  I simply am trying to express that I feel like a better person.  Soooo if you liked me before, WOW YOU WILL LOVE ME NOW!  hahahaha. Sorry, couldn’t resist!

What is the other thing that a big fat move does to a person?  Its the fun part!  It brings out all of your negative qualities, some that you just didn’t even know existed, and lays ’em all out for everyone to see, including yourself!  THEN you get the task of changing those qualities into positives.  It is really really easy, so don’t worry!  So easy its not easy!  In fact its so easy its not easy you might cry! A LOT!  Then, you feel better, after a good cry…… and realize, crying changed nothing and you still need to adjust your thinking, your habits and ADJUST!  See….FUN!  No disclaimer here guys…take it or leave it!

Ok everyone, now…*drum roll*…it is time for my famous ( not famous ) list called:

List of things Sarah learned in 2017 List!

1. Nothing. Just kidding.  Does this count as an item.  I am writing this so, yes it totally does!
2. I really need to manage my time better.  I run out of time and inspiration to write my blog posts and draw or paint.  Those aren’t the most important things in life, but I wish I did a little bit more!
3. I LOVE museums.  Well, not boring ones.  I love the Met in New York City.  I spent 3 days there this summer and I think about it ALL the time.  I could have easily spent another 3 days there and felt exactly the same.  There is just something completely fascinating about seeing actual artifacts from thousands of years ago that makes the time man has actually existed seem like a flash in the pan!  Makes you realize the important things!  Deep….well, that is me trying to sound like I am cultured in a fashionable way!
4. Ribs are so cheap here!!  Can you believe it took us 5 years to stinking make ribs!  Do you even know how much I enjoy ribs.  You probably don’t, I really love BBQ ribs.  I might marry ribs!
   

   GET IN MY BELLY

   A few days ago we bought ribs and I am still excited about the meal even though it is completely finished….that’s real love!  Not some teenage crush on chicken wings kinda feeling…. or weird lobster fling!  It’s different, and yes I realize how crazy I must sound now.  NEXT

5. I recently learned that I was using a face wash that was too harsh!  That’s boring for you, but ground breaking for me!
6. I learned that a strange man with most of his teeth missing named Shadow plans on waiting for me because I am apparently beautiful in his eyes and “a girl like me deserves a man like him.”  He knew this after talking to me for 2 minutes.  I believe him….and not just because he is a foot shorter than me, but because he seemed genuine…….ly cray cray!
7. In Canada making nacho’s was one of my favorite things to do.  It is a hassle and stupid here to make them at home.  So, nacho night at Lone Pine is an essential part to my existence in Cambodia!  It is also a 2 year tradition with traditions within traditions.  Sorry to sound cryptic…the people who need to understand, will understand. Wlok
8. Five years and I have STILL not pooped my pants!  Now you subtle and shy people might find that gross and only written for shock value.  But here….its worth at least three high fives!
9. When I grow up I don’t actually want to be an astronaut anymore.  I have come to realize that I just don’t travel so smoothly as I thought I did.  I always get motion sickness and now I get a bit anxious.  So the whole being shot into the unknown seems a bit unappealing to me now. I mean, people change, so maybe when the time comes I will change my mind again.
10. In years past when I would feel bored, I would just complain about it and lay on the couch like a rag doll.  I have made a real effort to turn my boring situations into times where I accomplish things.  So basically, instead of throwing a tantrum, I get things done.  It’s amazing how much I can accomplish!  WAIT A SECOND……that’s what adults do!  UGH….FINE, I guess I am one of those. #gross *throws additional tantrum*

What! How did this slip into here?! Sorry guys, just ignore this filth!

Well readers, that is it!  I would say that about wraps up a solid 5 years of Cambo life and strange blog posts.  The next 5 years should be interesting…..

Please enjoy the mixing pot of photos I am going to share.  Read the descriptions if you don’t know what you are looking at.  Also, if you forget to check this blog regular but don’t want to miss my non-scheduled posts….throw your email address in the subscription box and okay the email from WordPress. ( no spam, don’t worry ) In addition,  feel free to also leave a comment….if you want.

MALAYSIA PICS

I thought this type of palm was just so vibrant and beautiful!

Iban people in Malaysia traditionally live in what is called Long Houses. This is an example of one we visited. Doors on the right are all the individual homes and on the left leads outside. Was very cool to see!

Please notice…..guinea pig meat for sale, strange pigs and rabbits. They had it all!

This was interesting. As you can see in the chicken mural picture and well…obviously this picture…they wrap the chickens in newspaper to be sold.

YUMMY looking cakes. No food colouring used…can you believe. jokes…HEAPS

Umbrellas at the market in Sibu

Laksa….Traditional Iban Meal. Was QUITE yummy

This was another mural at the market in Sibu…..I am just so so funny!

I don’t know why I can’t help myself from telling dad jokes all day long! haha

Trees growing on the tops of buildings had their roots coming down….actually looked super cool

This was a mural describing the 3 different cultures living in Sibu…. Iban, Malay and Chinese.

This was another mural I liked…..mostly because his name! HAHA Emma

SIBU!!!! Full of interesting things and people. ( cool murals all over the market )

This is Durian. Look at it….it looks like a weapon. Isn’t that natures way of saying DON’T EAT ME! And yet, humans are eating it. Why are we so WEIRD!?

Does anyone else have this game??? We played it so many times with our friends Dos and Steph. It was surprisingly addicting.

Another great store name in Asia!

At a really random tailor that also sold coffee??? we ran into this little old lady that was TICKLED pink that I was trying to say hi and then she saw the camera and HELLO!!!!

Because we were really smart people, we booked our return ticket for WAY too early in the morning. This is Dos and Steph dropping us off! ( Marcie didn’t pose well) hahaha

Couple of our witnessing groups!!! So much fun….. AND IN A CAR!!!! WOW

The bottom…”Farmasi” obviously is Iban for Pharmacy. WHY did I choose to learn a language where words looks like this ខ្ញុំឆ្កួត

So NEXT time I go to Sibu I will get a proper video and pic of this. When the water isn’t so high you can go out on the grass and walk around and its all floaty and stuff. Its super cool but we will have to wait till next time! For now you can look at me making a fool of myself!

NOT MALAYSIA PICS!

On our cold snap….19’c. They were selling winter coats and jackets on the sides of the road!

Do I really need to caption this?

There was a puppy sleeping under my beach chair the entire day! So cute

The lone stander…..haha look on the back of the ferry. There was a monk that chose to stand in the restricted area all alone. Made for an interesting photo…

Just chilling like usual!

Ahhhhh…..the truth is Sok San is my favorite place….one of. Anyways, we left early in the morning and the golden lighting was out there waiting for me to take a few photos!

This is what happens at our mall. People hire the massage chairs and disappear into comfort!

Shoes for sale…..outside shoes for sale outside… along the road

came home one day and apparently….they were having a party. haha They set up everything in the alley way to our apartment

This is only half of the tent they set up in front of our apartment. Anyways, just to give you an idea…

Got to visit with one of our favorite little ladies and her parents!

I was COLD!!!!! I hate to admit it, but I felt freezing this day! Totally digging the “hoodie over the helmet” look.

HONK HONK

Lotus flower that was given to Marcie

The newest parts of my life are in fact not new at all and are common to all mankind.  I have just been busy and time is flying by!  I remember a time that FEELS not so long ago, but is in fact many years ago, when a week or a month seemed like eternity!!  So when the calendar pages keep rolling over faster and faster I find it hard to make time to write a post.  We can all be thankful that I have Marcie close by to fuel my creative juices in story telling.

Our gorgeous orchids!

Not so long ago we were cruising through YouTube listening to classics from the 80s and 90s.  Who doesn’t like that right?  After Abby and I had played a few of our favs I asked Marcie which song she wanted me to play next.  Her response was, “How about that guy, uh…Beethoven?  Or it was a song about Beethoven?” I asked her if she meant the song called Roll Over Beethoven that they played in the movie Beethoven about a St. Bernard dog named Beethoven.  ( Could I possibly write Beethoven any more? Probably but I will try to stop myself. )  Marcie said no that wasn’t what she meant.  She said he sang a song that was somewhat like beauty and the beast.  With slightly squinted eyes and a tilted head I replied….” Meatloaf?”  “YES, she says”   Let that all sink in deep guys….. we are slowly getting a brighter glimpse of the inner fabrication of  Marcie’s mind.  Hold on to your purse and keep your hands and feet inside the car at all times!

Its very unlikely that I could write only ONE story involving Marcie, so here is story number two.  Now I wasn’t present for this situation but I later heard about it.  Apparently there was a conversation about motos going on between some friends of ours and Marcie.  They were talking about common issues the motos have and getting things fixed.  Marcie mentioned that she always has troubles with her horns and that she can only seem to get one to work and the other is just rubbish.  As surprised as you might be is as surprised as our friends were to hear that Marcie’s moto was equipped with not one horn but TWO!

Another one of our orchids!

One for the left and one for the right handle bar!  It didn’t take long to work out the clarity.  The button on the left, the horn that works and is clearly marked with a horn logo is, yes, a horn.  The opposite handle bar with the same size button and unsurprisingly located in the same place is the “2nd horn.”  Low and behold the reason it doesn’t blare out an alarming HONK isn’t so mysterious, because in fact it is actually the start button.  Yes, the same start button that Marcie pushes every time she starts the moto but apparently soon after, magically turns into a broken horn.  Mystery solved.  Now if only I had a follow up story to redeem Marcie but alas I have only to add what JUST happened.  When I was clarifying the story with Marcie I asked her what exactly happened with her moto story having two horns.  She was completely dumb founded. “What???  My moto doesn’t have two horns ”  ” Yes I know, Marc but the story when you THOUGHT it had two horns!”  She replied laughing saying she thought I meant her moto had “two horns like COW horns!” Oh sis…..I am TRYING to help you here! HAHAHAHA

The star of the show

Now do not think I am trying to paint Marcie as a big dumb dumb.  She isn’t, I just happen to capture the moments in writing that we ALL have from time to time.  It’s just Marcie’s usually are more funny than others!

Next I want to tell you about someone Abby recently met.  In Asia it is very normal for people to have two names.  They will have their birth name of course, and if they are invested in trying to learn English often choose an English name that is easier for foreigners to pronounce.  It isn’t as common here in Cambodia but it is especially common in places like China for sure and Korea too.  ( As far as I am aware! ) ANYWAYS,  last week Abby had the honor of meeting someone who had chosen their own English name.  Goldcorn!  I am not kidding, Goldcorn.  When asked why they chose that name their response was that they felt corn is an amazing food and it truly doesn’t get the recognition it deserves.   I couldn’t agree more!

Well I am going to leave it at that!  I do have a few funny photos to include for your viewing pleasure so please feel free to take a peek.  I added some pictures of our flowers growing in our kitchen to glam up this post also. I always enjoy your comments as well if you feel so inclined!

Tip of the Day: Take your vitamins!  Not on a walk, ingest them!

After I took pics of all the flowers I threw this in the mix as a joke. It actually turned out pretty cool though!

Special thanks to snapchat for providing us with the digital chicken suit and endless laughing!

After Marcie and I had these ridiculous pics we took Abby’s ipad and gave her wallpaper and lock page a brand new look!

With my friend Neth at the first Cambodian book fair to include a booth for JW.ORG. ( PS we all wore the scarves if you are wondering )

I never tire of seeing this. Especially by the markets you see TONS of people riding motos like this!

I always admire the bright colors from all the veggies! Makes me think of paradise

This guy was driving and all of the sudden his bonnet flipped up! ( bonnet..hood… whatever )

No caption needed

MORE MORE MORE

Keeping it real and keeping it safe….

Good ol’ poop emoji 💩

Fill’er up guys

PIZZA OVEN PARTY

It just kept starring at me!!

Across the river home

Someone gave us roses! Had to capture it…. #beautyandthebeast #surelythatswhatyouthinktoo #givemeabreakyoudo

Uncommon quality from people who care. Just seems like a super strange slogan to me. haha

I embrace my artistic side whenever possible!

Don’t get me wrong I am TOTALLY a cat person but this felt a bit eerie to walk through.

This lady totally wanted to race us! You can see my response…..( Nothing a little photoshop can’t help. Can you spot the other extras scattered through out??)

Straight To the Point

pretty

Procrastination– NOUN-  the action of delaying or postponing something.

Sarah– PROPER NOUN- the person whose picture is next to the word procrastination in most modern dictionaries.

Boring – ADJECTIVE- when you realize your brain is turning into soup.  Might define this blog post.  Consider yourself warned.

Ok guys, I won’t bombard you with too many more definitions.  Though I was tempted to write the entire blog in dictionary form but quickly realized that would take time and effort and I almost put it off to another day!  Let’s just see what comes out of these finger tips tapping the keys shall we!!??

Not so long ago Abby decided she needs another hobby beyond cooking me food and cutting my hair! HAHA  She decided she would try sewing.  A good friend of ours lent Abby her sewing machine.  We had bought some material so Abby was well on her way to make a couple new pillows for our couch.  I guess I should mention this isn’t Abby’s first trial at sewing.  She used to make herself some really beautiful floral high waist lady suits back in the day.  Styles have changed a bit….fortunately.  By the way I am going off of memory so maybe she didn’t make those outfits when she was younger but she definitely wore them.  At least this provided a good opportunity to share with you guys my fond memories of Abby and of course  Amber’s as well, business woman teenage fashion phase.  It was all the rage!  Me?  Well not me I was probably just IN a rage because I couldn’t buy enough tee shirts with snowboard logos on them.  Okay this has gone WAY off the rails.  Lets get back to the story…..

Just a nice flower to distract you from the poor writing.

So while Abby was sewing her heart away the needle in the machine bent.  Thankfully here in Phnom Penh there is a street devoted to selling sewing machines and sewing machine thingys.  No joke.  So we hopped on the ol’ moto and drove on over.  We brought the bent needle to make sure we bought the correct sized needle and also as a guide for the shop keep to find us what we wanted quickly.  We saw a guy standing in front of the first shop so we pulled up, and handed him the bent needle.  Abby asked him if he has a new one we could buy.  He looked at Abby very strangely and pondered.  He turned around and started talking to the guy sitting just off to the side and showed him the needle.  They literally had a conversation about the needle obviously wondering what to tell us.  Again, this was at a shop absolutely filled to the brim with sewing machines.  He clearly would have known what we handed him and Abby asked for a new one in Khmer so it couldn’t have been a language thing.  Back to the story…. So a couple minutes pass by and then he returns back to Abby and hands her the needle back.  He then says, “I’m sorry, we only sell straight ones!”

Does anyone have a mic close by that I can drop?  I feel like that was close to the best punch line of a story I’ve ever been able to write.  Seriously!  Am I right? Anyways guys, it was a healthy reminder to always always always be very specific for everything, even when something might seem extremely obvious. HAHA

So in conclusion to this short but sweet blog I want to conclude by sharing an observation of mine.

Randomness is chillaxing isn’t it??

A week ago I realized that Asia has changed my style of waving.  Not so long ago I would only give the high single handed wave farewell to people.  I might even have done the cool guy wave where you actually stop waving mid wave and just kind of palm people, confidently of course, instead of actually waving.  Well, I am sad to say, gone are the normal days of normal waving and palming.  Unknowingly I have now officially resorted to the mid torso two handed frantic wave goodbye.  NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Someone save me!

The end *No waves included thankfully because this is a blog not a video!

PS.  I DID happen to go back to Canada and the states for a while so there are a couple random photos in there. WHAT no home stories??  Nope, sorry guys…so MYSTERIOUS!!!  haha

Tip of the Day :  Don’t sweat the small stuff. Instead, just sweat all the time like I do because I live on the surface of the sun.

MING HAIR. This little cutie pie was just TOO cute to resist. Fluffiest hair around…..

This is the MOST jack fruit I have ever seen on one tree. I think i counted like 21. Also i hate how they taste.

What is a post without a cute puppy pic…

What is a post without a guy sleeping in a hammock by the road!

Why have a regular bun when you can have a RICE BUN!!! OOOOoh

I am sure this isn’t the only picture of ribs I have posted. We had a ton of people over and we had a GIGANTIC cook up! These are what my life is about! RIIIIIBBBBBSSSS

Annnnnddddd another flower pic merely to add colour and flavour to the blog!

This chunky monkey….he is just too cute. I can’t not post this pic. Sorry for all the animal haters out there.

WHAT!!! KONA…he is also so cute and again, sorry to all the animal haters. I love my dogs what can I say!

Went on a hike back home and this was one of the views.

Went on a hike and this was one of the scarier views!

HAIL no

Thumbs up for effort!

No, no body dropped those bananas. They are a gift….notice the incense? Hope no one trips on them…..

It IS in fact a moveable stick but a bit of a far cry from the real name.

Every time my buddy Neth and I go out together it POURS!!!! But we dont mind.

Bringing home the goods

The most exciting kids park in town…..

A wider view of HAPPY TOWN for kiddies

Sotf opening….

I guess this is just more funny…keeps the sun off the car and keeps it cooler but it just looks funny. Can you blame me for snapping a pic??

 

 

 

Tum Tums and Hobo Shoes

It is May and I am in Cambodia.  That can mean one obvious complaint.  It’s been hot!  Oddly though, it doesn’t feel as hot as I remember all the other dry seasons I have managed to survive.  Nonetheless I have taken my health into my own hands so I am starting what I call the Intense Water Program.  Simply put, it involves me actually drinking water and more than the typical small glass per day.  Anyways, I don’t want to come across as one of those fancy health people and start using too much of their crazy lingo or anything.  But what I will say, is that I do feel rather hydrated these days.  I know that sounds technical but, it is the truth!

Anyways,  just the same as every other human being on this planet can observe, time seems to being flying by.  It feels like just yesterday my parents were here in Cambodia as well as my buddy Anne who visited us from the states.  Obviously when people visit a slew of stories are created.  Stories??  Exactly…..let’s begin.

So as I mentioned my friend Anne who we like to call Pervert Anne came to visit for a few weeks.  I should mention Pervert Anne isn’t actually a pervert but the name makes her feel uncomfortable and being the amazing friend that I am, of course, enjoy watching her feel uncomfortable or annoyed.  Maybe this is why I don’t have many friends…hmm…anyways that is far from important.  Back to the story telling.  So it was a Friday morning that Abby goes to the translation office to cook and Anne was heading off with her early so that she could get a tour mid

This is what she does to pics of me so I think I have the right to give her amazing Nicknames!

morning.  I had been feeling a bit under the weather so I stayed at home and tried to rest.  I ended up sleeping in a bit and hanging out in the living room for a while.  Probably around 10:30 or 11:00am I had texted Abby about needing to borrow something of hers.  She said it was in her bathroom.  I immediately went to Abby’s room, opened the door and thought to myself, “Those two idiots!”  Here they had gone off all morning and left Abby’s bathroom light on…..argh! Waste power much ladies!?  So I go and open the door to the bathroom and then proceeded to nearly have a heart attack!  Why?  Mostly because Pervert Anne was sitting on the toilet!!  “ANNE!!!” I yelled.  She frantically says, ” I have diarrhea!”  And so while closing the door of course my response was ” NO JOKE, it REEKS in here!” ( Which was the rest of the reason I just about had a heart attack! )  The two of us then continued the awkward conversation through the door.  Come to find out that poor little Pervert Anne’s tum tum didn’t do so well with some of the Indian food we had the night before.  Doesn’t get more cliche than that now does it!?  What I still find crazy to this day is why no one thought they should inform me that there was still someone in the house.  Pervert Anne had been sleeping in ALSO and didn’t leave Abby’s room.  All I can say is good thing I wasn’t preparing for any upcoming lip sync battles!

Another part of Pervert Anne’s elegant vacation was our little road trip down to Takeo to visit our friends Kyle and Glori.  We took two motos on what should have been a smooth non-issue-ridden trip.  Well it started off great until we made it about 3/4 of the way.  It started to rain a little bit so we pulled over to put our beautiful ponchos on.  That isn’t the bad part, at all, rain is normal.  The bad part was that Abby’s moto wouldn’t start up again.  The macho lady that I am managed to kick start her moto and get it going again.  As I started to walk back to my moto I noticed something sticking to the bottom of my shoe.  Come to find out it wasn’t something sticking to my shoe it was

Stupid shoes!

something falling off.  The rubber on the bottom of my sole peeled off one of my shoes.  Are you kidding me!!!  Talk about feeling like a hobo.  (  Actually I think that the heat had messed with the glue and the shoe just said…I’m OUT guys )  So we get back on the road, ” Here we come Takeo!”  Oh wait, hold on….Abby’s moto stops again and this time there was no amount of kick starting to get her going again.  Fortunately there was a random mechanic RIGHT there! haha  Long story short, it was her battery.  While we were there we found out that this same mechanic was Kyle and Glori’s old mechanic when he lived in town.  We were in good hands.  THEN when we made it to Kyle and Glori’s  to find out that he was a terrible mechanic so we weren’t in good hands.  Fortunately he only needed to change the battery though so it was an ok deal.  When we finally had to head back to Phnom Penh, everything fun started happening again.  First off,  the rubber on my second shoe also threw its hands in the air.  We made it about 10 minutes out of town when it started raining extremely heavy.  Tropical storm heavy if you know what that means.  Pervert Anne was having the time of her life though.  She rides motorcyles of her own back home so this was just amazing and she was riding my moto as I was with Abby.  It was really amazing until she was going through the single most scariest roundabout outside of Phnom Penh that always has massive semi trucks and gravel everywhere.  In the

Balloon man….not even the rain keeps him from spreading joy!

absolute middle of it she braked a tiny bit and it locked up and dumped the moto.  Not a huge dump, she caught it thankfully, but enough that if there was a passenger they would have fallen off.  Also enough that if I had still been the driver my stupid smooth hobo shoes wouldn’t have helped me one bit!  So as I look back and see poor Anne in the middle of the roundabout stopping huge trucks and they are honking at her she is up in a flash and stops behind Abby and I.  The back brakes were shot!  We then began our very slow trek back to our place with Pervert Anne following behind with only her front brakes in working order.  We ended up making it back to the apartment safe and sound, filthy, but safe!  And that is the abrupt end to that story!

Well guys that about wraps up this edition of SezKapow. I would keep writing but I should go drink some water!   Enjoy the few photos I have for this post.  You might notice we took Pervert Anne down to the beach again….it was painful but we had to!

*Extra note for the people that worry.  We are not stupid girls on motos, we would have tried to fix the brake and or not used it if that was an option.  We are super safe and there is nothing to be alarmed about. The end

Tip of the Season: Drink some water guys.  Sip don’t gulp…hahaha

OK….I WILL!!

Never get tired of seeing cuties like this….

I LOVE crazy cutouts! And I especially love ones that are really boring. For example these ones that are meant to get you excited to learn a new career. There was about 20 of them at a school we had to go to.

Someone had a very good idea….or maybe they didn’t? At least they finished the job all the way through….or did they???

She was opening and closing the newspaper just like her dad 🙂

This is the most hilarious picture of Pervert Anne…haha

Our Mechanic. Sent this pic to Kyle and Glori while we were waiting to see if our guess that they knew each other was correct.

The memorable mechanics shop we spent about a LONG time at!

Anne and I were making the best out of having to wait while Abby drove into town to buy the battery. Oh, didn’t I mention our mechanic had no batteries….he didn’t.

This beach….can’t get enough of it!

At the resort we stayed at this was my shower-toilet situation……the curtain pulled across the whole shot.

COOLNESS!!

MASSIVE wedding tent….ridiculous loud of course.

Meetings in Cambodia…. still have to dress up folks.

I love this pic of Abby and I…..captures our sisterness. hahaha

The things you see on the road. The guy in yellow was totally asleep

People everywhere

Unhinged….

I mean seriously guys…..just AMAZING

More to enjoy

I realize that you are sick of seeing this beach, but I don’t care. This blog is my diary and I want to remember! haha

For Four Years

Little Island we went to with Mum and Dad

Can you believe it? Four years in this crazy country and I am not dead yet! WOW!  The craziest part of having lived here in the vast grossness of a big dirty city is that…..( pause for dramatic emphasis) I love it here!  That is really strange isn’t it?  It isn’t rare to meet people who often really dislike the city of Phnom Penh, minus all of its amazing luxuries of course. *Insert sarcastic tone and eye roll*  Don’t get me wrong there are many things about this city I would change if I could.  Traffic, the heat, the gross, the noise…..but there is just something so unique and basically indescribable that warms me inside when I think about it.  Come to think of it, the warm core might be because I am overheated.  That or I am really tired and need a nap.  In which case…win win guys!  Sometimes the best reads you get out of this blog are when I am not entirely thinking straight!  (Don’t you dare ask yourself in a comedic way if I am ever thinking straight….shame on you! HAHA)  Everything I know about this city is what I see as normal now and a person has to make the best of where ever you are.  True I could leave, but if I left now I would miss it so much it hurts!  Okay okay…..bla bla, lets not get too emotional here.  In a nutshell, what I really mean to say is that after 4 interesting years here I can confidently conclude: things are good, I feel good and that’s good!

Needless to mention, yet I will anyways, I have been rather busy.  Since my last post, I had a whirlwind trip back to Canada and my parents came to Cambodia.  Canada was really nice.  I haven’t experienced a “cold snap”  in a few years.  When I got off the plane in Calgary and stepped outside it was -38’C./-36.4’F  HELLO!!!  Good thing I have the most amazing parents who brought me my ol’ stash of winter gear.  Turns out I came not only during the coldest

This is GOLD

time of year, but the longest, coldest, as well as snowiest time southern Alberta had experienced in many years.  Is this me complaining….nope!!!  I wasn’t working this round, so I got to spend many mornings drinking coffee in my jamms with a cat or dog (sometimes both) sitting on my lap (or head) keeping me toasty warm.  I had awesome visits with my family at home and with my relatives up north.  Once we were walking through a mall and there was a guy looking very very chill chatting on the phone.  I had to take a second look because for a moment his level of comfort in a public place really reeked of Cambodia.  I couldn’t give up such a photo opportunity so I went and sat next to him.  This guy, he didn’t even FLINCH!  Thankfully too, because it made for this amazing photo!

As I mentioned previously my parents came for a few weeks to finally see what this Cambodia is all about.  They had a great time.  At least that is what they told us.  We were able to take them sight seeing and introduce them to all our cool friends. ( Yes they were all paid appropriately!  If you are reading this and are

Dad came but we kept him at a distance. That’s him waving for help.

wondering where your money is.  Maybe you were confused, I said ‘Cool Friends’ haha)  Had some really good laughs too.  For example I can’t not relate the story about my Mum when she came into our place and was looking around.  Abby said to her, ” Oh did you notice the mirror I had made?”  Mum turns herself completely around and looks up at the tiny lamps on the wall ( that came with the place ) and said ” OH, look those mirrors are so nice!”  The already ugly lamps also have diamond shaped mirrors behind them and are mounted on the wall.  She thought Abby had taken the time to add mirrors to them.  What she didn’t notice was the gigantic full length mirror she was standing in front of that is so big we can’t even mount it on the wall!  ( Mum, I know you are reading this rolling your eyes and planning my discipline….and thats all.  Just acknowledging that I know you will feel this way! hehe )

Other ridiculous things that have happened don’t necessarily need long winded novels written about them.

I imagine this is what she looked like.

They are funny in general as facts.  For example, Abby literally slipped on a banana peel.  WHO slips on banana peels….Abby does.  Such a Cambo experience though.  In fact we were talking about it and to be honest, there is an oddly high amount of random fruit peels, seeds or the whole fruit all thrown aimlessly on the roads and alleys.  I would say sidewalks but those don’t exist here.

Random funny fact number two is Abby made butter tarts (Canadian Classic of course) and forgot the butter.  It gets better, she also made carrot cake and yup….forgot the carrots!  Don’t worry guys, she is an amazing chef/baker but yes, I have sent her for some therapy!

Random fact number three….. you can not get rid of “old” money here.  Even if it is in pristine condition, no store, no restaurant, no spa, no nothing will accept a bill/note that is not of the latest print.  Please see exhibit A:

This is Exhibit A

I am ashamed to admit how many arguments I entered into because no one would accept my Dad’s crisp $20 bill!  Why you ask?  Well they say that they can’t get rid of it themselves.  So the problem is created within them.  If they took it to a bank it is fine, but if you try to give it to a money changer or any service provider they won’t take it.  Also if your money has tiny rips, marks or anything that makes it “not beautiful”  you are in for it. So tip for those traveling here, bring NEW clean unmarked money only.   By the way this is not a new issue, it has been this way for years.  Yet, every time I have to deal with it, it is freshly annoying! Hmmm

Ok, its time for my Camboversary: “List of things Sarah learned in 2016 List”

1.  Stupid shows like Master Chef hold the power to make me cry!  It is a cooking show for goodness sake and still when the contestants get booted off they use this majestical music and close ups to people crying….toys with my emotions.

2. Daddy Long Legs are NOT Dandy Long Legs…..seriously, my entire life!!  I honestly thought to myself every time I saw them….”My those are some Dandy long legs!”  I thought it was the perfect name.

3.  Fun Fact!  Latvia is a country in Europe.  In fact, you will be interested to know it is NOT a poor and little known country in Africa.  Nor is it an exotic island off the coast of South America somewhere, which was my second guess!  One more fun fact, in googling how to spell it….there is no “E” in the name.  Well, geography….BOOM!

4.  This isn’t ground breaking, but I still really dislike olives.  Even since my post entitled “One Olive”, I have tried to like them more. Nope, don’t.

5.  You can survive a 6 hour bus ride in Cambodia with an extreme case of diarrhea but you will have your life flash before you eyes during both stops along the road at facilities that are far below par!  Keep in mind you need to have headphones and not move a millimeter along the way beyond the body shakes that are completely out of fear!

6.  Never promise to photograph your friend’s visit to historical monuments like Angkor Wat in +40’C/104’F weather in the middle of the day with an already high fever.  Again folks, this is important, you might die.

7.  If you laugh enough and put on a good show, taxi drivers in Thailand give you a discount!

8.  I am allergic to the Khmer potato flour that is used in basically all baked goods here.  Win win, not!

9.  When you are lazy and don’t take the time to study a new language, even if you live in a society that speaks that language, opposite to what the Simpsons may have taught you, you don’t magically become fluent one day. Osmosis plays a very very VERY small role in language learning,  but a very high role in the process of solvents equalizing between a semipermeable membrane!

10.  My phone constantly auto corrects the word ‘think’ into ‘honk’.  ex. Let me honk about it first!  I honk so!  Completely ridiculous!

Alright, well that officially wraps it up. Enjoy the pics or at least try to.  They sorta suck this round! I realize there is a strong lack of cartoons to go along with the stories.  Its called ‘I didn’t feel like it, sorry!’

Till next time…

Tip of the Day:  Don’t blog about all the things you learned recently because these things might be the equivalent learning of a 4 year old and people will think you aren’t smart!  If you happen to do so anyways, be sure to throw in a scientific term and its definition. Key is to play it off like you commonly talk about it over breakfast.

Amber and I created this meme with a picture of our crazy dog 🙂

Made this for my mum and dad’s 46th anniversary 🙂

I brought back mattress foams from Canada…don’t know why i figured I could sleep on it straight outta the bag. Has to sit for 24 hours to expand….haha I was so disappointed! (WORKS GREAT NOW THOUGH)

Safety first. Water festival boats and the guys are screwing in all the light bulbs for the display. No ropes, no nets.

Just a cutie who thought i was pretty funny.

Again….keeping things safe. I know I have posted pics like this before but it never fails to strike me as bizzare!

um, sure…wait no. Sorry you are WAY OFF!!! The North Face not THF NOBTK EACF And I even see some quiksilver logos on there too! HAHA

On the way out to SokSan Beach. Abby and I were being all modern and taking a nice selfie. Minutes later we were drenched. HAHA realites

I HONK (think) this picture looks sorta cool

SO RELAXING!

Specify……not specials. hehe

Breathe it all in guys….the best!

How gorgeous was this pup taking a dip in the ocean! Love the color contrast as well!

In Seim Reap mum and dad had fish pedicures!

The rockies!

One of my favorite roads. Summer or winter it is so beautiful the way the pine trees edge the road. Miss pine trees!

Elk

My little wintery town…

WE SAW MOOSE!!!! Majestical

WIth Wendy and Charlotte. This picture is our super typical Canadian group shot in Super store. The FUNNY part is look at how TALL i look. You would think I am 7 feet tall~

We re enacted the guy at the mall with my uncle and Andrew! haha Classic

Drove out to get pics one day. Not a cloud in the sky, it was so beautiful! SUPER freezing, but beautiful!

This is the photo I have set for Abby’s profile pic in my ipad. Just wanted to share that!

AW, and my friends missed me! They set up this pic to re-enact the photo from the other convention in Thailand. I realize now I should post that one again, but you can look for it yourself in the previous post! I am way too lazy!

This saved me. Traveling home I had to spend 8 hours in the Shanghai airport. I was so cold that i took my little water bottle and filled it with boiling water every hour on the hour and stuck it under my hoodie. I would have froze to death if I hadn’t done that!

See what I mean…..COZY

 

 

Get Outta Here

Moments before…..

How about I don’t dilly dally with a pointless introduction and lets get into the goods!  Not so long ago our amazing friend Wendy came for a whirl-wind visit.  She only had so much time away from her family in Canada so we squeezed as many shenanigans into 10 days as we could.  Straight off the bat after she arrived we flew to Bangkok, Thailand to catch part of the English Regional convention.  And “straight off the bat” things were insane.  The flight itself is less than an hour long from Phnom Penh to Bangkok, but for some crazy reason it took us about 6 hours to actually arrive at our hotel.  The taxi services in Bangkok are extremely frustrating for starters.  There was a line up within the airport that we stood in for a while and then realized it hadn’t move an inch!  We decided to go outside the airport and flag a taxi down off the highway before it reached the airport.  Genius right!?  Actually it was….usually I might ask a question like that to lead you into thinking it actually wasn’t a good idea.  Hold up, why am I explaining myself to you!?  Ok, so our good idea was in fact good.  The frustrating part was getting a taxi that would actually agree to taking us!  I am not kidding around with this, so many times they would look at us and say no.  Finally one of the guys Abby flagged down actually agreed to take us.  Thank goodness!  She popped her head through the passenger side window one last time to ask him a final question.  When all of the sudden we see her aggressively pointing away and using her classic “Armageddon Voice”  and told the guy, “GET OUTTA HERE!!!”  The taxi then sped away.  Obviously Wendy and I wanted to know exactly what happened, for example, did he ask her to flash him or something really offensive!?  She said he was just charging to much money.  SoOoOOOOoo, I took over that task and thankfully the next taxi that stopped was our ticket to the hotel!  We were on our way!!

I took a picture of the sky mooning me! #supermoon

So here is the tricky part about traveling in Asia, every place speaks a different language.  All the little countries that make up Asia all speak their own language.  So, even though I do know some pleasantries in Thai, neither myself nor Abby are capable of giving directions in Thai without a map, let alone in the craziest of cities, Bangkok. “Hello”, “thank you”, smiling, charades and dancing only gets you so far when there is a language barrier.  So of course our driver didn’t speak a lick of English  (three cheers of joy)  so we relied on our map.  Unfortunately this guy also didn’t have GPS and our cell phone SIM cards didn’t work because we were not longer in Kansas…sorry Cambodia!  Either way we were on our way.  Realistically the hotel was roughly 30mins from the airport but by the time we finally arrived we had been driving for 1.5 hours!  Thankfully we brought some dried fruit and nuts.  The funny part about that is when we finally cracked those babies open Wendy had just put a fishermans friend in her mouth so she said no thanks!  She was sitting in the middle though, so we had to pass the packages across her over and over again. haha! *crinkle crinkle* Basically added to the on going joke that we never fed her while she was here!

Ok, so  f i n a l l y  we arrived!  There was a funny little office that we waited in while the lady checked us in.  Abby pointed to the cooler and said, “Grab those 2 mini containers of milk for our coffee tomorrow.”  So we paid for those and then we were led to our little suite.  Of course it was a long walk in a separate building but we arrived to our room.  We stepped inside and it was very clean.  Thank goodness.  BUT, we quickly realized that though it was clean it was extra small and not the room we had booked.  So, here we go again.  Abby went down to the office while Wendy and I stayed with the luggage in case our real room was close by, but of course…..it wasn’t.  Big surprise.  Off we went to yet to a completely different building and yes, had the correct room.  As we set our bags down and flopped on to the chairs my heart sank! I realized that I had put the milk in the

This captures how much fun we had. It was literally laughing for 10 days straight!! (This is Abby and Wendy on the dinner boat cruise through the center of Bangkok.)

fridge in the original room.  I was SO irritated with myself and exhausted but told the girls I would handle it.  So I grabbed some money and headed back down to the office.  The office lady that was helping us was really nice but again, only minimal English.  I tried to explain my best that the milk we bought was in the original room.  She pointed to the cooler so I took two more.  I started getting frustrated though because I didn’t feel we should have to pay for them again since they could grab those original ones and restock the cooler.  (PS.  Maybe when I get tired and desperate I also get cheap?…er? ha)  I asked the lady if she understood what I was trying to explain and she nodded yes.  But hey, I KNEW she didn’t understand so I explained again. Actually I explained it 3 more times.  Finally I left feeling sooooo angry that we were being ripped off.  I went upstairs and told the girls about it.  Abby just looked at me and pointed to my hand that had the money still in it, which means I never paid for it anyways.  Which also means the office lady never asked for me to pay for it in the first place which means YES she understood me the first time and didn’t need me to rehash my idea FOUR TIMES! Talk about embarrassing!  And good grief how crazy must I have come across!

….poured half the bottle of pepper on my eggs. The day only got better as you can see!

I bet you are thinking the story is complete….or wishing??  Well it isn’t.  So after a horrendous sleep as I developed a cold with an extremely stuffy nose and headache it was time to get ready for the day.  Abby was so kind to boil water and make three cups of coffee with our little travel coffee maker that might at first sound cute, but is actually a pain to use.  So truly a kindness on her part.  Abby drinks her coffee black but both Wendy and I like to add a bit of milk.  I was puttering around while Wendy was pouring milk into her coffee.  She made a strange observation like, “Wow, is milk clear here in Asia?” or something.  Then she tasted it and almost spit it out!  I thought to myself, there is no way the milk is bad!  So what do I do?  What any other genius would do and pour the “milk” into my coffee too!  And indeed it had a horrifying taste!  Turns out the milk wasn’t milk, it was juice!  Also turns out Abby had no idea in the first place if it was milk or not.  She assumed it was because it was in a white container with blue Thai writing. *insert eye roll*  I had assumed she knew it was milk because she had just been in Thailand a couple weeks prior and would have been sooooo milk savvy by now!  In the end, we were all a big bunch of idiots.  If you are wondering if I drank the juice/milk….of course I drank it.  I PAID FOR IT DIDN’T I!!??  Plus it was tasty, on its own that is!

The rest of our brief trip to Thailand ran a bit more smooth.  Most of our taxi drivers gave us discounts after taking us places because we were all laughing so hard and they found us very entertaining.  So crazy.

Alright, well a big sigh of relief outta me because it is finally done!  Writing this post since the day it happened and I knew some of you might have been wondering when the latest SezKapow was going to hit your inbox.  Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed the stories.  Keep in mind that was only one day into Wendy’s trip here so you can imagine how many more crazy things happened.  This blog couldn’t handle them all though.  I also have to keep things PG….Oh come on, I am joking!

Tip of the day: Don’t steal or yell.

Yelling Match

Enjoy the pics guys. They are a random assortment of places….Bangkok, Angkor Wat and Phnom Penh.  Leave me a comment if you like 🙂

Some of the UGLIEST mannequins I have ever seen!

At first these look like pastries but they are squid on a stick! Bangkok markets

Our good friends Kyle and Glori made their return to Asia and we got to catch up with them in Bangkok! Bunch of crazies

Wendy posing for my artsy photo!

Close up of the Angkor Wat carvings…..hundreds and hundreds of them all over!

Entrance to the moat that surrounds Angkor Wat.

You can see the temple in the background, but you can see how intricate all the carvings were…..everywhere you turn!

I don’t know either of these people, but they wanted me to take their pic. Weirdos, it wasn’t even raining. #supersunnythough

Ceiling view

The girls walked up the stairs but I couldn’t…but it was pretty steep!

So my cold only got worse as the days went on. Basically because we didn’t have time to stop. But I didn’t want to miss out on pictures at Angkor Wat.

SICK photo op dude! Ps I wish i was exaggerating but this is literally how I felt. Had a fever and it was scorching hot ourside…she was a doozy!

More temple jazz

When trees take over the world buildings will look like this!

Looks coo man!

The buildings were smiling at us! But that is kinda creepy hey!?

this is an elephant. Moo Moo

This is ACTUALLY an elephant.

I love this, Wendy literally was so taken being able to get so close to the elephants and pet them. So cute!

Wendy’s first ride on a Moto!

While Wendy was visiting she wanted so badly to get caught in a rain storm….we did!

Don’t go bacon my heart

Finally finished my latest painting for our living room. Took me long because I am way too lazy when it comes to art for me personally!

Meanwhile in Canada….my cousin Paula finding secret notes I had left eons ago! haha

Phnom Penh airport…..gotta have some cows hanging out f-shizz

 

When Things Start Heatin’ Up!

I bet you think the story is about hot food! It isn’t, these are just delicious chilies!

I am going to cut to the chase.  I have what I think is a pretty funny story and I honestly couldn’t be bothered to wait around to collect more stories and photos to put together some fancy blog post.  So instead, I am going to just tell you the story and be done with it.  More importantly, if you don’t judge me, well I won’t judge you.  Actually, in all truthfulness I have already individually judged each of you.  Don’t worry though, it is entirely based on a particular personal choice in reading material you have made.  I am going to let that one soak for a bit as you READ the rest of THIS BLOG.  Soaking, saturated…DING DING, you got it now didn’t you!? Ok nerds, story time!  (Segue:  anyone notice how even though I said I was going to get to the point and tell the story I still managed to write an introduction to bring you up to speed and prepare your mind for a story?  Clever clever! wink wink)

THE STORY:

So not too long ago Abby and I were working out at home.  Abby usually uses the living room and does her

This cat also has nothing to add to the plot.  It is just scary looking and in a stairwell!

thing and I go in my room and do my thing.  Now don’t get too carried away thinking I don’t actually work out and just have personal lip sync battles in the mirror for an hour, because that is not the case.  The lip syncing only lasts 20 minutes tops and then straight to seated stretches similar to the ones done on some airlines.  It is pretty exhausting let me tell you!  So, while all this was happening Abby started to smell a strong burning odor.  She said it was quite strong for a moment but very quickly disappeared so she didn’t think anymore about it figuring it was obviously one of the small BBQ pots being lit or something.  Not too much long after there was a frantic knock on the door.  Abby didn’t know who it was so she quickly grabbed a different top and yelled out “just wait!”  Well they continued to pound so, obviously, for those of you who know Abby she yelled again with her Armageddon voice, “WAaaaiT!”  Anyways, she gets to the door and there was no one there.  She did hear someone running down the stairwell yelling FIRE!  All the meanwhile I was still in my room with my headphones on.  Abby came into my room and yelled at me, but of course I didn’t hear her so she decided to hit me on the back of the shoulder.  So I used my Armageddon voice to say “what the heck!?”  And in my defense, I had my headphones on so was is it really fair that I get hit because I couldn’t hear her?  Anywho, Abby only mumbled “fire bla bla, fire something something,” and she ran out the door.  My next reaction shows my extreme lack of urgency because I stood there and then began to consider which clothes I wanted to keep.  Which I should mention is almost none, my cambo clothes are the worst.  After making my way to our front door I started hearing a bit of a commotion in the stairwell, so I stood, watched and listened.

This picture is what I like to call a filler!

Abby, didn’t want to just assume fire, which is smart, so she ran up the stairwell to the rooftop.  There are a few people renting a room up there that has a small space outside for a make shift kitchen, cambo styles.  As she had predicted earlier, someone had been cooking all this time.  So she only just popped her head up there enough to see a guy sitting on the floor scrubbing his clothes in a big bowl, so she quietly started walking down the stairs so that she didn’t bother the guy.  Well, as she was coming down she passed two people frantically running up the stairs to check out the FIRE!  Abby informed them it was nothing though they needed to see for themselves.  Not far behind was our security guard following with the largest fire extinguisher in hand.  He had a small message in his eyes as he passed me, and it was, “I HATE STAIRS, but it’s okay because I am going to be a HERO!”  So after a moment of him hauling the gigantic extinguisher up many flights of stairs I saw two more random guys I had never seen before running upstairs also.  Their eyes said “I HATE STAIRS, but who cares, this is so exciting!”  By this time Abby had almost made it all the way back to our apartment.

There is a chance you aren’t finding this story quite as funny as advertised.  You have to envision the situation more closely.  In your minds eye,  imagine a guy after a long days work comes home to his comfortable new little place and starts to make dinner.  Unfortunately though, burns the meal and smokes up the place for a few minutes.  Moments later he has 5 strangers with an elephant extinguisher pointed in his direction, standing in his kitchen with fear in their eyes.  He probably felt awesome.  In fact, he probably wished he had kept his shorts on as he was only in his tiny undies throughout the whole experience.

Tip of the day: Calm down!

Enjoy the photos I managed to scrape together…haha.  Hope you enjoyed the read. 🙂

We had a crazy rainstorm a couple nights ago. Doesn’t stop people of course, but it flooded and gave me a photo op!

More of the big torrential downpour we had. Our alley was flooded but as you can see, doesn’t stop walking through or getting your dinner from the cart!

Just another angle…you can see the one kid shoveling out the water and his little brother standing by in yellow shorts.

Five massive tires attached to that moto, pretty impressive!

This kid was just hanging alllll over the place in the tuktuk. The parents really didn’t seem to care what so ever…haha

If I am not mistaken I am pretty sure it is just Thousand Island, but Thousand Islands sounds good too!

Probably dangerous, but looked like this kid was having a pretty good time with his long dancing ribbon!

More proof that I cook……delicious french toast. Next to the memorial bowl for our old fish Kabooba. And for those wondering, our scary fish named Nice Fin Bobby is still alive and strong and scary!

Our typical sidewalk area…

Leave it to me, but the back of this truck made me laugh because someone just wrote SMELL on it! haha

Weird cage delivery guy!

This kids were beautiful. They were breaking down a ton of cardboard boxes to collect in the cart. I talked to them afterwards and they were doing this work as their parents were off working somewhere else. Sometimes I question if the parents WERE working too, which is sad. All i know was these three were well behaved and super friendly!

Here is a closer shot of the three little hard workers. They were so cute.

Varicose Vein pie….haha Abby made pumpkin pies! They were soooo yummy

Remember there was a face in my pizza picture, I found a face on the tile that water had made! WOW eh…hahaha

Murals….i love to see interesting murals here. Some are cool, some are dumb, this one was ok!

 

One Olive

Helping dad clean the moto… #babybumsfordays #atthecarwash

There is something to be said about pushing yourself past your comfort levels.  And I am not only talking about picking up and moving to a new country, as some crazy people do. No, I am referring to the subtle things in life.  Perfect example for me: Eating Olives!  I know that I am not the only person on earth that hates olives.  Plenty of people would agree that they are stinky and taste like formaldehyde.  NO I haven’t tasted formaldehyde, but I can tell you, when you are dissecting frogs and pigs in high school, the smell is so potent it might as well have been in one’s mouth.  And the concept is similar too. Think about it,  you pull out a rubber-esk type thingy out of a stinky liquid.  Case closed, in my mind anyways.  Sure I haven’t convinced you to join Team No Olives but what I am about to tell you might surprise you.  I hate olives, but I SO want to love them.  I do, truly.  I envy all you stuck up olive loving people out there.  All fancy with your crackers and OLIVES, making life look so good and luxurious.  So, for a long time now, when olives are on the menu I will always take one, but only one!  I pop that sucker in my mouth hoping that the magical taste of olives changes me to a new person. I can assure you though, the first bite is sorta OK….but the after taste….BARF and PUKE! I just can’t do it. So groaty!  The point?  I TRY!!!  I sincerely try and that has to be worth something!  So what is your “one olive“?  What is it that would seem enhances the existence of those around you, but you just can’t seem to grasp.  Maybe it’s mushrooms?  Do you hate coffee?  Let’s think outside the box here, perhaps your “one olive” is camping, leggings or going to water parks? Every time you try it you can’t understand why others love it?  For the record I  generally like those things.  Also for the record, if you thought combing your hair, washing your clothes or brushing your teeth were your “one olives” I can assure you that you are not normal and you clearly are not picking up what I am throwing down.  As well, I should mention, subscribing or reading this blog does not count as your one olive.  Let’s be honest,  this blog is more along the lumpy gravy lines.  No one likes lumpy gravy.  Or wait, I have a better example, you know that gross hard blob of lotion that comes out first when you haven’t used your lotion in a while.  THAT’S this blog.  You try to embrace it and rub it in, but there is no getting past the fact that it is completely useless. ( haha )

This guy barks like a crazy person, but he at least posed for this picture.

As I am sure you would guess, Cambodian life is full of things you have to push yourself to get used to.  Even getting used to the fact that crazy things will happen to you constantly can be a struggle.  The other day I was sitting with a friend in her little shop and I literally was almost knocked on the back of the head by an old dirty toilet that some random person decided to carry through the store.  I am not kidding, it was completely out of nowhere and thankfully I had leaned forward just in time.  So weird.  I really feel that I have pushed myself to accept strange music more openly too.  It used to drive me nuts, but now, I embrace it.  Went for a massage a while ago and the entire time they played the broadest spectrum of music, all played on some Asian flute.  We’re talking songs like “Careless Whisper”, ” Time to say Good-Bye” and the oldie goldie “Love is blue”.  (If you don’t know those songs you can YouTube em.)  I have to push myself to not laugh at people too. Isn’t that terrible, but it is true.  I met a young guy who had clearly just bought a brand new hoodie.  I asked him if he understood English and he said no. I just didn’t have the heart to tell him that his new hoodie had in huge letters “I am pregnant! I am uncomfortable! I am crabby!”  If I told him what it said he would never wear it again and I didn’t want to crush his coolness.  So instead I told him it was totes dope yo! Jokes, I didn’t say that.  I did pinch his cheeks though.  Haha, na, I didn’t do that either.

There will always be some things in life that I just won’t be able to try or simply doesn’t appeal to me.  I am sure you agree with that. Lesson here though, push yourself to try “some” things you don’t like.  No one likes a stick in the mud.  Another personal example is that I would say for a certainty I love being around people.  Not 100% of the time of course but in a general sense of the meaning, I love people.  Abby recently went to Bangkok for a week without me.  It was my big test of being alone.  I had to do everything on my own.  Shop, cook, clean etc. I even had to brush my own teeth and argue with myself for goodness sakes. (That’s clearly a joke for the people who have the questionable “one olives” as mentioned before.)   Apparently though, I am a pretty industrious sorta person and organized.  Thank goodness she will be back and I don’t have to fill that description for much longer! haha But again, bit out of my comfort zone, but turned out really good!

Well that’s it guys.  Now you can go enjoy your fancy pants jar of olives, happiness and foo foo lives!  I will get there….one day!  Just remember,  try something new!  *NOTE* This is about as inspirational as I will get so….

TIP: If you think there is a booger on your face, there is probably a booger on your face.

You don’t get much cuter than this!

We were stuck here for a while, the rain was insane.

This is Abby, but I can assure I look exactly the same as I drive down the road in my poncho.

Always a fun day when you get a flat. Even more fun when the road mechanic takes a million years and is super cranky.

We found this cool shop that sold collectable guitars.

Guitars for days….

Danmeat…this place gets my official shout out because I have NEVER met anyone who authentically is excited about sandwich meat as the owner of this shop, Dan!

Never get tired of seeing these…

Get your pumpkin here!!!

Across the street the workers just balancing and setting up the scaffolding.

HUMMUS for days! Thanks again Dave and Rae-anne for taking care of me!

Chicken Wings for days….soooooo delicious, but i ate too many. Abby forced them down my throat. Good grief!

Donuts for days! Jokes…donuts for people on the streets that want on-the-go khmer donuts. Apparently they look better than they taste.

Seriously, this guys hair! Just look at it, its NUTS! #iwannameetthisguy

 

Word For Word

Life…it finds a way! (wow Sarah, So deep)

Yesterday Abby and I were on our way to a store and were having a conversation.  Part way through she changed the subject and told me to remind her to buy “Pin Boil”.  I said, “OKAY”, literally sat on the back of the moto and whispered to myself, “pin boil? What the?”  I tried to figure out what on earth she was saying without asking her again, but I had to ask again. “Sorry Abby, what did you need to get?”  We were stopped at an intersection at this point so she was actually  able to turn to me this time, and I won’t pretend there wasn’t a definite pinch of older sister annoyed elevated loudness to her words as she enunciated “PIG OIL!”  I was even more confused at this point but also didn’t want to be the most annoying person on the planet.  So I waited a even little bit more  and then asked her, “What is Pig Oil?”  Her simple, and yes even louder response was, “TIN FOIL!  Goodness its like Marcie never left!”  The saddest part of the  whole story is for a few moments in the store I couldn’t find her.  I was looking down isles, I was holding my breath dodging the bad B.O. from the stock boys and I just couldn’t find her anywhere UNTIL low and behold I found her.  Where was she you ask?  She was buying tin foil!

So apart from my apparent loss of hearing I think I am losing my memory too.

A beauty….the flower and Abby’s eye!

I recently was talking with some friends when I went into describing the time I had that flu that went around called HDMI.  No, don’t worry, you read that correctly I was infected with standard cables for high definition video streaming.  Haha, What I meant to say was H1N1.  Seriously, I think I am losing it!

I am always thankful to see that I am not the only one who has word issues.  There is a Khmer lady that has a shop near us who I talk to fairly often. She is always trying to learn small new English words so I help her when I can.  Mind you I am sure you are all questioning my qualifications by now, but anyways.  In one particular discussion she asked me to translate a word from Khmer to English.  The word was “introduce.”  So she sat back in her tiny chair, looks at me and slowly says “eat-some-roots.”  I tried not to laugh too hard and I helped her again…”IN-TRO-DUCE.”  Her reply, again with elevated volume “EAT-SOME-ROOTS”  All I could say was, “um, yup….close.”  She is a gem though.  The worst pronunciation I have ever heard, but a gem.  If I ever tell her a joke she says I am “c’jute!”  The first time I heard it I asked her what the meaning of the word was.  She was practicing her English again and was trying to say “Cute!”  I stretched the word out for her, ” Cuuuuuuuute”  Her reply, “Caaaaaaa-Juuuuuuuuute!”  HAHA, Love it!

Language mishaps are so funny though.  Abby was having a discussion with some people who were learning English a few weeks ago.  They were talking about Samsung vs Apple products.  There was one person in the group who clearly wasn’t following because when Abby asked them which they like better, the answer she got was “I like peaches and mangos.”  I do laugh at these mix ups but I do realize that most likely more often than not I am doing the exact same thing trying to speak clear Khmer.  Usually I am corrected easily but there are definitely moments where I am left with a head spin.  The worst is when I ask for someone to speak slower and all they do is speak louder.  Actually I think they usually start speaking faster too!  It is the exact same situation in Canada though too.  Not to throw you under the bus Dad but I think anytime you ever encountered someone who didn’t have great English skills there was a definite volume increase.  haha

SEE THE FACE!!?

Thankfully I am the editor of this blog and choose to include one last tidbit.  A tidbit that no one else thinks is interesting, but I DO! So the past while I have been craving pizza.  Of course being celiac means I have to make my own. (Or Abby might make it..haha)  Well, that takes time and effort so I have patiently waited.  In the meantime, for over a month now I changed my wallpaper on my iPad to a gorgeous GF pizza we made back in Canada last summer.  As I stared at it…as you do, and discovered a face in the cheese.  No it isn’t anyone famous but it definitely is a scary face.  It stares at me from behind the YouTube icon.  Since I have found it I haven’t changed it either, not yet…..I am letting it fuel my fear of cheese. It isn’t working though, I still love cheese.  Even if it stares at me with the eyes of a clown with shattered dreams!

TIP OF THE DAY: Never leave the house without your rain poncho during the wet season…..enough said!

Enjoy yet again another weird collaboration of photos.  Some of them are from our trip down to Sihanoukville.  One of the beach towns of Cambodia.  It rained everyday! THE END!

I can’t make this stuff up guys!!

We had to rent a moto and we got this grand honda scoopy. Haha, the logo was so ridiculous!

Hanging out at the beach in Sihanoukville.

One minute in Sihanoukville…..

The very next minute….RAIN RAIN RAIN! (but still smiling)

Sihanoukville and its red roads.

So what like…shepherds?

Fast asleep

This guy sleeping too! How creepy am I taking pictures of guys sleeping! hahaha

One of the many awesome/scary stairwells I find myself in looking for people!

“Put your hands where I can see them! This is a stick up!”

Construction haircuts!

We had a severe case of knotty hair! haha

Helmet Hair Abby, safely cutting hair! Safety First!

When Abby wants to avoid being near me she goes into places like this….THE SCARIEST store on the planet. I have a severe jewlery/ beads/ jibbly things phobia! (maybe i need to blog about this???)

Not a great photo but I was impressed!!

We are now in the rainy season but in the hot season there are two things that are good….laundry dries lightning fast and the mangos are SOOO yummy and cheap!

Couple of dudes preparing coconuts to sell for drinking. You can see the prepared ones on the table in the background.

It was raining and all I could think was that our TukTuk driver was the Mary Poppins of Cambodia. The hat and the umbrella…love it!

Cactus Pickup Lines

These little kids were using a bucket to get water out of the well and dumping it on themselves. Actually looked super refreshing!

Pigeons at the royal palace

In front of the Royal Palace on a nice blue sky day…..mind you blue sky means no clouds and it is blazing hot…but whatever. You can look at this nice photo and ignore the fact that I sweat like a pig that day! haha

One of the local dinosaurs. (Introducing Dave and his wife Rae-anne….but Rae-anne is hiding)

Went to the meeting and carried my dress shoes in a bag and wore my stupid ugly flip flops for walking there. Open the bag and this is what I had brought to change into.

Abby and I went for Khmer massages. They gave you special pants to wear. 1 and 2 are me realizing what it feels like to have rapid weight loss. 3 and 4 was me trying to fit my whole body in the giant pants and 5 and 6 were post massage!

 

Throw a big Stink!

So I have given it quite a bit of thought and I would like to do a piece on, aromas.  You know, nothing to obscure of course.  Tasteful, but packs some punch.  I also will point out to those who maybe haven’t already noticed the upscale tone of my writing so far.  Please take note of my reference to a blog post as a piece. That’s correct!  This blog isn’t just words on a screen….IT’S ART!!  Actually, I just wanted to write that so I could feel like an important journalist or something.

Ok, so guys lets talk aromas! Aromas..haha.. who am I kidding here, lets talk stinks and stenches!  As any long time SezKapow reader already would be well aware of, Cambodia is not entirely known for being filled with the best smells.  Unfortunately the open sewer rivers don’t help the overall situation but definitely the heat and the majestic nature of the human body tends to escalate matters as well.  No no, I know you think I am shooting straight towards a poop story but actually, I meant more of a body odor story.

Picture of flowers to offset the overall mood here!

Still with me, ok good. So not too long ago, Marcie was packing for a trip home to Canada. That day it was only her and myself hanging out at the apartment.  Well, from the get go there was certainly a smell happening that was NOT agreeing with my comfort levels.  OBVIOUSLY it must have been Marcie.  I mean, come on right!  So as the kind and gentle sister that I am, in the most sensitive manner possible I addressed the issue.  Well, I was redirected with some again, kind and thoughtful words, that the smell was coming from the living room where I sit.  I was pretty confident it wasn’t, but then again, I don’t always shower the second I feel sweat pouring down my back so…..perhaps!?  Well, thank goodness it wasn’t my chair.  It had to have been MARCIE’S chair, right?  I am sure you are catching onto what this all turned into.  It was the great search for the stink in the house.  I think Marcie and I smelt every single piece of fabric in our entire living room and found nothing!  The only thing we found was the two of us standing in the middle of the room wondering what the smell could be?  “Are you SURE it isn’t YOU Marcie!? Smell your pits!”  So she lifts her arms and……wait for it….nothing. It was fine.  Yup, I even lifted the back of my hair thinking….hmmm you never know!?  Well, admittedly we didn’t smell like a big bag of flowers but the crippling smell was thankfully not coming from either of us.  Nor was it coming from a place we may have left stink behind at. Ok, I won’t drag this story on much further but near the END of the afternoon I was going to grab an onion. Well my fingers sunk into the onion.  “I FOUND THE STINK!!”  Yup, it was an onion that had gone off and was totally gross.  I think it must have had something wrong from the inside though because we haven’t ever had our food rot like that……we aren’t animals people! “Smell your pits!!” Sorry, random flashback quote. Back to the story, anyways, made me laugh that instead of thinking a terrible rotting onion smell was coming from say…an onion perhaps, my first reaction was to blame Marcie! haha What are sisters for right!?

This just makes me think of a story from years ago at

PRETTY AND SMELLS NICE!

my house back in Canada.  I remember I was sitting at the computer and suddenly I caught a whiff of my breath and was like,  “WHAT on earth, I am going to die!”  Seriously I couldn’t get over how terrible it was! And THEN, I realized that it was not my breath but that an un-named loved one had just destroyed the bathroom which was next door to the office.  It made me shutter that I would have ever second guessed that a smell with that sheer…velocity, came from my mouth!  Anyways….real stories here guys.  Its just life, so take it or leave it!  I am sure we all have similar stories….right?? haha

Speaking of life, seems to be moving along.  I know my blogs seem few and far between these days, sorry about that.  But a girls gotta keep busy! You know, I have things to do, places to go….smells to find!  Honestly though, hope this hasn’t bored you too much.  And as far as apologizing for the nature of this “piece”, I am far beyond that.  If you haven’t figured this blog out by now…..I can’t help ya! haha  Thanks for reading everyone, drop me a comment if you like!

TIP:  When something smells bad, save yourself some dignity and check all the food in the house first!

Just outside this woman’s home she was cooking some fish so we got a chance to show her a video.

 

Riding the ol’ ferry across the Mekong. I don’t know, this guy just seemed like he was concentrating or sad. Also, notice how everyone immediately takes off their flip flops! haha

Snack Bar on the Ferry….pretty impressive eh…not

Your typical line up of buildings here in Cambodia. I am sure you have seen these before in other posts but specifically I took this picture to show you…..SO LOOK AT IT!

Gas Station! I am not kidding

Please tell me why, but there are SO many advertisements here for Laundry service that features SUMO wrestlers doing the laundry. I just don’t get it.

This just weirded me out….empty lot with a scary maniquine in the back….

thats one way to fill the gap in a fence….not entirely how I would personally care for the issue, but….

Teddy Bear was suntanning. Actually it is sooooorta scary but also a touch funny how often you see all the stuffed animals hanging out to dry….

This was in the MIDDLE of Phnom Penh, this guy was trying to calm down the horse. They had a couple more attached to carts and were heading through town. Was like 8am, so probably trying to beat traffic but still…..made Abby and I laugh.

Just a super tight walk way that opens up to many homes inside. Kinda unique.

So I was fighting a shark when all of the sudden…..I wish. More like I was doing laundry and slammed my toe on the ledge. I think it is only just fractured, but it has not been the funnest thing I have done lately!

This is my ATTEMPT to capture the solar eclipse a couple weeks ago.

My study’s baby’s hair is just unreal!