Khmer New Year does not begin for several weeks - April 13 - 15 this year - but the students here at the Leadership Academy as well as most around the country of Cambodia are excited and happy it will be here soon.  Many of the student had semester tests last week and this week and did not have to go to school for several days.  Some of the students are already back in their "home country" which is their village and will not be back in Phnom Penh until April 19.  It seems very similar to winter break for most Americans.  Today, Jonathan and I were hanging out in the room being bored when upstairs I could hear giggling, laughing, and screaming.  After about 10 minutes, I thought perhaps I should make sure the students weren't doing something that they shouldn't be...after all, I live with kids that range from 14 - 23 years old.  Jon and I discovered that they were so ready for New Years that they were playing some traditional new year's games in the open area on the third floor.  The first game called boss chhoung - I was familiar with because my kids had played it at Cambodian Heritage Camp in Colorado.  It's like dodgeball with a rolled up scarf  - about the size of a softball and tied so the ends can be used for throwing and swinging.  Two sides face off and throw to the other side.  If you catch the scarf, you are fine.  If the scarf touches you and you don't catch it, the students here were putting baby powder on your face.   Jonathan played for over a half an hour (I took pictures).  

Another game they played later in the afternoon was called Boss Ongkunh (Augkunh).  Ongkunh is a vine that has a fruit with large seeds/pits inside.  The students had found a little dirt and each side had three of these seeds sitting upright in the dirt in a triangle shape.  The object of the game was to knock over the other sides seeds by tossing more of the ohnkunh pits.  The losing team got their knees 'tapped' with the seeds by the winning team.  Of course, it was boys verus girls.  I was a bit confused at  first because I thought they were tapping each others knees with the pits to see if they could get a reflex (duh).  But the tapper had two of the pits in their hand and they were trying to make a noise with the pits when they tapped the other person's knee.

One of the students told me that new years is a great time for boys and girls because they don't get to mingle much in the countryside and this gave them time to get together and get to know each other.  I found it very heartwarming to think that in this age where many kids know too much about the opposite sex, that this "old fashioned" approach of playing games together provided a safe way to meet..   Some other games we've played with the students here have involved just sitting/kneeling in a circle and doing various counting/clapping type games.  When you don't have a lot of money to buy toys or games or electronics, people do find fun ways to enjoy each others company.  I look forward to learning more games from the students over the next couple weeks as we approach the Khmer New Year.

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B_LWGul2UlSaUDZhaWlqcGUtN1U&usp=sharing

March 17 - Halfway point

It's been a long time since I posted - we are still doing good here, but have been very busy.   Planning for the two English Zone classes has been taking me 8 - 10 hours per week (Yes, I am a bit OCD - that is what makes a good SLP), teaching them another 6 hours, supervising the English Zone skype conversations between the USA and Cambodian students - 4 to 5 hours.  Another of my responsibilities at the Leadership Academy has been trying to get procedures into writing - which became more of a priority when the Cambodian staff who has held the Leadership Academy Director position took another job.  The transition has been fairly smooth - most of the things he was doing can be done by the older students until a new person is hired - but a lot of work between here and the SSI office in Fort Collins getting it organized.  Thank goodness for skype.

Other than that - just been taking care of the boys (& myself).  We were able to visit with Brian's two birth-brothers last month (we met them 3 years ago), as well meet his birth-mom, his brother's new wife and baby girl and a half-brother.  The trip was 3 hours outside of town in the countryside and Mr. Ken took us.  He was my driver when Carol and I came to Cambodia in 2002 to pick up Brian.   It was good to catch up with him again as we have corresponded for over 10 years.  At Brian's request, I will not be posting any pictures or discuss the visit in detail, but I can say we had a very nice visit and hope to see them all again before we leave.

We also had a great trip to Siem Reap - and I've posted WAY too many photos on Google Drive
https://drive.google.com
The ancient temples of the Khmer kings are located there -  Here's a little internet blurb

Angkor translates to mean 'Capital City' or 'Holy City'. The ruins of this holy city are the remnants of the Angkorian capitals and represent the pinnacle of the ancient Khmer architecture, art and civilization.

The Angkor Wat temples were built between 800AD to 1300AD. During this time over 27 kings ruled this large territory, about 400 Square kilometers (250 square miles) in north western Cambodia. The temples are thought to have been abandoned around the 15th century. They were built by the Khmer Empire which was one of the greatest powers in South-East Asia. The 'Khmer' refers to the dominant ethnic group in modern and ancient Cambodia. It is estimated that at its height of rule the population contained more than one million people. The temples are not only impressive because of the beauty. It is also amazing to marvel at the vast waterworks and military defenses that were put in place. They were quite advanced for their time.

http://www.angkor-temple-guides.com/angkor.aspx

We initially planned on going by ourselves, but were invited to join another family from the boy's school, the Workman's - Karen, Phillip and their daughters, Laura and Teresa.  Susan Sain also joined us.   I met Karen and Susan through Logos where the boys are at school - both are special education teachers - and wonderful people to travel with.  I learned how to bargain better with the tuk tuk drivers and market vendors by watching them!  We did three half days at the temples and spent the rest of the time swimming, resting, shopping, and eating.  The first evening, we rode elephants up a hill to watch the sunset over Angkor Wat.  The next morning, we toured Ta Prohm, which is the least "restored" of the temples (where Angelina Jolie was filmed for screens in Tomb Raider) and the Angkor Thom complex (Bayon, elephant terrace, plus more).  That afternoon was spent swimming and the evening we went to traditional aspara dancing.  We got up and left at 5 am to watch the sunrise over Angkor Wat.  It was beautiful and worth the early start.  After resting/swim, we went to the Cambodian Culture Village and saw more traditional dances, a wax museum and miniatures of Cambodia's famous buildings.  That evening we enjoyed an Indian dinner.  A great vacation for sure.

For the most part, all of us have been healthy.  The boy's have managed to avoid the traveler's tummy problems - but not me - luckily it was the day we came home from Siem Reap and I was able to sleep for 5 hours once we got home. I also discovered it is very easy to get dehydrated here and Gatorade is expensive.  I finally learned about Royal D, which is a powder that comes in a variety of flavors and is intended for rehydration.  I've felt much better since I started drinking one or two glasses a day.  As it is getting warmer and warmer, I start sweating (or "sparkling") as soon as I get up (and during my sleep most nights).   When I'm teaching, the students just look at me sometimes and go get the floor fan and turn it on me without me asking.  Must be sparkling for them also.