December Update

Hello everyone! Happy day after my grandpa’s birthday, and two days after my birthday! This message comes to you from my room, where I am cosily sitting under my Peace Corps-issued red blanket at 8 in the morning on a Thursday, with my fan on “1.” (the lowest setting!!!) Ahhhhh yes: December in Cambodia. Birds are chirping, the sun is not a devilish foe but a warm and playful friend, teaching at school is not an inferno to be dreaded, and time spent in my room does not quietly bake me but leaves me feeling comfy and refreshed. Savor it, folks because this is the last time you’ll hear me talk about Cambodian weather this favorably until I’m back in America and my memory has gone fuzzy.

There is not too much to update on from my end but I’ll give you the highlight reel of my most recent escapades and try to make it snappy so I don’t lose you to more important things like foodgawker and etsy.

As I mentioned above, two days ago was my birthday. You may remember that last year my friend Ohn threw me a little party complete with a birthday muffin with whippy frosting. This year she asked me if I wanted her to do it again, but not being sure if she *really* wanted to do it or if she was just being polite, I insisted she not. Ohn’s and my conversation went something like this:

Ohn: Do you want me to buy a cake for you in Phnom Penh?

Me: No! No no no… Don’t worry about it! You don’t have to do that.

Ohn: But do you want me to buy a cake? Come on. I’ll buy a cake if you want me to.

Me: No really! It’s okay! Don’t worry about it! But if you want to, you can.

Ohn: Do you want me to? I will if you want me to.

Me: No, it’s fine! Don’t buy the cake. Don’t do it.

And so it went. In the end the party didn’t end up happening, which was probably for the best since Garrett was here and these things always end up being terribly awkward, if endearing and sweet. Instead, I had a quiet birthday at home with Garrett, my mom, Ghirardelli brownies with rainbow sprinkles (brownie points to Garrett for that one), and a dinner of mac n cheese with veggies and bread to sop up all the thousands of calories of cheese. It was perfect. At school my co-teacher remembered my birthday and gave me a card ("Happy to you! Lucky to you!") and a present, and in the afternoon a gang of my students stopped by my house to give me presents and wish me a happy birthday. They gave me a series of sparkly hair clips and earrings, which they cheered when I tried on, a necklace, a couple of phone charms, and a sherbet-colored quick dry towel haha.  All in all it was a great birthday and I felt a lot of love from the people here who matter most to me.

And now, since I think we all can agree that pictures are worth 10,000 imperfect words, I will continue this chronicle in photo form.

This is Banya, my seven-month old nephew. He is perhaps the only Khmer baby who does not break into tears at the site of me but instead makes me go all gooey inside cause he spoils me with this adorable grin every time I poke my head downstairs to say “hi.”

Deciding on my wish to the birthday brownie gods.

I ate a tarantula with my friend Diana…

… on the way to run a half marathon at Angkor Wat in Siem Riep! I won, obviously.

I cleaned my fan for the first time in 15 months and discovered it’s white under there! Who knew!

And that about does it for me! I hope you all are well and that you have a very happy holiday season with your loved ones, eat until you have a distended belly, drink some eggnog, and pass out to the sounds of Randy snorting into his plate of mashed potatoes in A Christmas Story playing (this year and every year until the end of time) on TNT. I send you lots of love from Cambodia.