Goodbye OLD, Hello NEW

‘chnam niiiii, chnam thamey!’

Although I normally joke that Khmer New Year is the third new year of the year, this year it really does mark a NEW year for me. A turning point of sorts. It’s a goodbye old house, neighborhood, landlords & kiddos, commute, and cats. And a warm welcome to our new house, sweet location {close to friends & coffee}, and hopefully great new neighbors w/ kiddos!

Being in the same house for three years carries some memories that I will be sad to leave: three amazing roommates, lots of screeching cats, slumber parties almost weekly, walking to Crossroads, drinking sugar cane juice with my neighbors, waving to all the guesthouse guards on our street, the bright colors in the kitchen, carefully pushing the latch to our gate just so to open, the landlords’ kids {once i walked in and was attacked w/ water ammo!} and of course our lovely bridge!

Before I packed everything in hurried excitement and for time crunch sake {Borneo pictures to come soon!}, I took a picture of each room to remember it all:

Our colorful kitchen:

The lounge:

My room & bathroom:

Here’s too a new year and lots of great memories in our new house! Cheers!!

Thriving hot season, it’s only just begun

30 days of March, 30 days of looking for ways to thrive Cambodia’s hot season. Mangoes, Popsicles, aircon. Cold showers, coconuts, pools, and green gardens just to name a few.

It’s been a 30 day journey through blackouts and even rainstorms. And one I’ve enjoyed spending with friends along the way. Thanks Jenny and Amie and Lisa and Laura for sending in your hilarious tips and making me laugh (and miss you!); and Mary and Amie for giving good suggestions. And many other friends who followed my photos on Facebook & Twitter. The 30 days is over, but it’s just warming up here and we’re in for at least 30 more days of blazing sun beams & possible blackouts. Here’s a summary of ideas to remind us all how to THRIVE:

Eat lots of mangoes & coconuts, both are God’s gifts to Southeast Asia!

Stay hydrated!! Mix in sugar with Royal D {orange packets sold at most pharmacies}, or EmergenC or Gatorade packs.

It’s not only for babies –> apply baby powder liberally, often.

Make homemade smoothies –> my favorites are mango & passion fruit {I mix a packet of EmergenC and wheatgrass and seeds in mine}

Cambodian kids love this game to stay cool & pass time–> Play rock, paper, scissors, and agree that the loser must fan the other person!

Lounge poolside on the weekends. {The Phnom Penh Out & About Guide has a list of pools & prices}

Eat & drink cold things, like gin & tonics, pumpkin juice {sold at CEDAC}, frozen yogurt, and Popsicles. A follower on Twitter also suggested freezing mango and dragon fruit chunks!

And lastly, DO NOT avoid the outdoors –> still play frisbee, run, and dance at the park, by embracing the sweat with extra water & cold showers!

Keep thriving, April starts tomorrow!

Follow me on Twitter {@aimee_chabdai} and find more #thrivehotseason ideas & photos

An ode to my bridge

The last two weeks have been a bit nuts. Our house was sold unexpectedly, we met a new landlord who told us he intends to buy the block to expand his clinic, three days too early our water & power were cut off, and we were also told that we had to use a different entry way. It’s left me feeling confused, devastated, and overwhelmed with the amount of change happening in unknown spaces of time.

In my effort to never forget the home I have loved for three years, I wrote this ode in the dark while sitting on my bridge during a chaos of negotiating and re-connecting electricity.

{It’s also worth adding that at the time this was written I thought the goodbye would be within days, but favor has been granted to us, and we have one more month to relish & say goodbye to our bridge. #thankful}

Bridge, oh bridge.
You are old and rusty
Randomly placed
And creaky
But I’ve come to love what you connect
And what you lead to.

Bridge oh bridge,
Your creaky noises let me know who’s coming
If Jenny’s coming home
When a friend is at our door
And you make me feel safe too, an alarm for unwanted guests.

You are the exact place that greetings are passed,
Hellos
Goodbyes
Are you there’s
I love your creaky noise.

Bridge oh bridge,
You have been part of my life for nearly 3 years
Connecting me to the family below,
Leading to our bright yellow front gate,
Past three often smiling faces who greet.

In
Out
In
Out

Bridge oh bridge,
I will miss you
and your noises,
Bright yellow gate,
I will miss you,
Doorway that opens to the sunset,
I will miss you,
Farewell,
But fear not, dear bridge, because I will not forget you.

—

God may you forage another bridge in my life
Connecting tears to gladness,
Adding in smiles,
And leading to new friends and welcoming neighbors.

Fun times at the border (Part 1)

Earlier this month I visited the border of Thai and Cambodia (at Koh Kong) and now I’m here again (at Poipet). Two borders, lots of migration –> lots to learn, lots of people and resources to connect together, and also lots of fun w/ new friends.

Here are my fav pictures from Border Trip #1 to Koh Kong ::

Drinking coffee on the seaside, complete w/ a mini cookie.

A cross-border meeting in three languages!

Exploring the mangroves and beautiful sea by boat w/ the conference group.

Karaoke party by night!

And late night hair washes at the salon with friends

the sea speaks, hear

Last week I joined a two-day workshop in Koh Kong with anti-trafficking organizations from Cambodian & Thailand.  Every morning and evening the sun shone gorgeously through my hotel window, but during the day I heard stories of men living in the sea, enslaved.  This is my reflection of the plight of Cambodian fishermen trafficked onto boats through Thailand.

the sea.
a beautiful landscape for sunsets-
it’s rays sparkle.
but look behind their sparkle,
see the bright light highlighting the shadows of fishermen,
their boats black against the sun rays of hope.
can the sun break into the harrows of the fishermen?

the fish.
a staple food for this country,
prepared tasty,
and sometimes fresh.
hidden is the story of where the fish came from-
the lack of water and food,
abundance of abuses,
and tired bodies trapped to catch my meal.
tricked and trafficked, what do they think of the sun?

the boats.
big trawlers and small net boats-
both sharing in their quest for fish.
littering the deep sea, the big owners avoid regulations
flying a flag of convenience,
unchecked.
they are full of men hoping only in the chance of jumping ship,
to return home.
can the system of the sea provide more rays of hope for being rescued?

the demand.
that’s me and you.
i never asked where my fish came from before-
but my stomach fuels the need for more
sea,
fish,
boats,
and more fishermen.

God, help me be one of many rays of hope
by asking questions,
paying more for fair trade fish,
and acknowledging their labour with gratitude before i ever eat fish again.

the sun.
exposes the truth, and demands the world’s attention.
promises hope.
guarantees rescue.
provides comfort.
God, cries of fishermen & their families are rising up-
rescue them.
God, send the Sun to shine hope through us.

Celebrate Hot Season w/ Me this March

It’s hot season again… for everyone in Cambodia you are all aware of this and for those of you have been here & are now living elsewhere (I miss you!!) you know how hot it gets.

This year the power supply is lower than ever before it seems, and cuts happen daily.
And I complain a lot.
But my idea is to stop that.

I want to celebrate and appreciate ALL the creative, funny, innovative, & survival method-strategies that people use to stay cool in Cambodia.
I don’t want to just survive or endure this hot season,
….I want to thrive, celebrate, and life fully embracing it!

It sounds ambitious, a little.
And I hope it can be done!
I have asked friends to share their ideas, and welcome your suggestions too!
The plan is to post one hot season celebration tip every day during the month of March,
Starting today.

Here’s where you can follow, learn, experiment, and hopefully join my daily celebration:

• If we’re friends already, on Facebook.
• Or on Twitter (this is my account: @aimee_chabdai).
• And add your ideas too –> use #thrivehotseason to tag them on Twitter!

brunches are the bestest!

brunch,
what a great thing.
there should be ode’s to these late morning meals -
which combine the best of sweet & savory treats
into one-long-relaxing meal.

french toasts, buns,
fruit salads, eggs-of-some-kind.
and of course, cups of coffee.

but the best part?

those with whom you get to be lazy with.
and the possibility to where the meal may lead -
to a topic, a second meal,
or lingering until dinner time.

if you haven’t brunched recently,
i recommend calling together the potluck-shmorgus board
of friends & treats,
and savor it.

No Electric

This week the electric has gone out nearly everyday. I’m growing less fond of the humming generator sound, which supplies not me but my neighbor with the endless joy that comes with having electric.

No electric…

To me the first word that comes to my mind is headache,
Misery and suffering -
An accurate picture of my true selfishness exposed.
Does it’s absence make me stop?
Yes.
Do I always want to stop?
No.

It suffocates my mind,
Overwhelmingly it becomes all I can think about.

I wish for my fan,
And forget about my broken aircon.

I dream about popsicles.

I forget to drink water, try not to move,
And at a last resort have more than once held my head in the fridge.

Sometimes it’s dark,
Which really makes you stop everything.

And when those lights finally flicker back,
…..The streets erupt with cheering,
………..Quiet sighs of relief can be heard by a listening ear.
……………….And those jealous-causing-humming-sounding generators stop.

Life resumes,
Fans are working double-time.

What I’m learning about trust.

Don’t be afraid of falling!

Trust is like a staff you can lean on.

Enjoy the tempo of God breathed life by letting God set the pace.

God’s Light shines most brightly through believers who trust God in the dark.

Refresh yourself in God’s presence.

God plans out each day and has it ready for me, long before I get out of bed!

Let thankfulness and trust be your guides… step by step, moment by moment.

*Words that stood out to me in my daily reading of Jesus Calling.

8 Rules of Honking in Phnom Penh

My good friend Jenny made the big switch from a push bike to a big blue flashy moto recently. She asked me a day or two into her driving if I used my horn. Oh my gosh, ‘YES!’ I said, ‘I use it all the time. In fact, if I don’t have my horn I don’t feel safe driving at all!’ Her next question, and rightly so, was then WHEN do I use it. So it got me thinking. I came up with this list of 8 scenarios in which having a horn may come in more than handy:

1 – Really!?!? You just cut me off!! {long beep if it was really stupid, shorter beep if it was maybe not on purpose}

2 – I’m not stopping, so watch out I’m coming through {a few short beeps}

3 – Hey I know you, let’s talk {as many obnoxious beeps it takes to get your attention- sometimes to the tune of a hit song}

4 – I’m passing you, just making sure you see I’m here {one or two bright honks}

5 – I’m outside the gate let me in! {a short beep and calling ‘boo-oi!’}

6 – Go faster!! {as many beeps as it takes to motivate their speed increase or go around them}

7 – I know it’s a yellow-okay red- light, but I’m still going through so don’t hit me! {strong beeps – scanning eyes highly recommended too}

8 – I’m crossing this intersection or turning this corner and I can’t see you, but I want you to see me! {a few honks and slowing down, or making a mega wide turn just in case!}

Happy Honking!

Be safe. Wear a helmet. And if I forgot any scenarios please let me know.