Settling In

To ring in our 2 week anniversary, Gavin got sick. It started over the weekend, and by Saturday night he finally committed to being in bed with a fever and aches for two days. In the meantime, I alternated between convincing myself that it was Dengue and being annoyed that he was being so boring. (For you moms out there reading this, I didnt really think it was Dengue, and I kept a very close eye on him!) He missed a day of work, but is back in action today, and is actually on his first site visit in the country.

Despite Gavin not feeling well, we actually had a pretty decent weekend. The new normal included dinner plans with very fun new friends Friday and Saturday night, long walks through construction sites with Daisy, and a visit to the Cambodian National Museum in the middle of our daily monsoon rain storm. Overall it feels like we'll settle in nicely here, there are just so many things to do and interesting people to meet. We're so fresh to the whole Expat scene, that it sometimes feels like we're just looking around and clapping our hands at all of the colorful fibers of this new life. I'm sure at a certain point, it will get as mundane as any life, but right now it's all a fresh hot chili.

The best news since last post was our first arrival of one shipment of stuff, mainly clothes and pictures, which have proven to be priceless. It took me about a week to get things really unpacked and put away, and it's such a good feeling to have little pieces of home in each room. Feels a lot less like we're living in a hotel now, and I think it's started to sink in that we really live here. The flipside to that is that I've been kind of wrestling with the realization that we really live here, and that we're so far away from friends and family. There have been tiny moments of panic related to that line of thinking, but then I just get a grip and eat some more crazy cheap food.

Speaking of food! I think we're also getting the hang of where our routines will lie. After buying pretty low grade produce at the big supermarkets in town, I finally decided to grow a pair and try out local markets to do the shopping. Pretty much everything that we eat whole and raw we have to bleach, so freshness has become more of the issue than source. The open markets can just be a little intimidating, however. Everything is a bargaining situation, and I have found that I'm pretty pathetic when it comes to haggling with the Khmer ladies over just about anything. The ladies, they know how to do that thing.

There are a few major markets in the area, all with their own nuances. We had checked out the Russian Market last weekend and were just a little too overwhelmed to really do much more than buy a book and a bootleg DVD. The book is good, the DVD was missing all of the necessary English subtitles and died 15 minutes before the end. Win/lose. I managed to do some real shopping at the BKK market (which is a lot more of a local no-frills shopping scene) getting loads of fruit, vegetables, and fresh eggs. Side note, thats also where I met my new best friend, the Mangosteen. It was all a blur of doing the conversion from riel (1000= roughly $0.25) to dollar, since this was the first place where they really have only given us prices in riel, but I think eventually I'll get better at it. The end result of having eggs so fresh the yolks are orange is well worth the temporary embarrassment.

As for the rest of life, Gavin is settling in a bit more at work. I think they're still trying to find the best fit for him in terms of which project he'll focus on, but so far he's really enjoying it. Eventually he'll probably try to find a clinic/hospital to volunteer or work in to some capacity as well. I, on the other hand am happily housewifing until further notice. Don't know how long that will last though... I think I'll start looking in about a month, once we get Daisy care more worked out. I am aggressively stalking dog owners in the area to find some support, but it's been a slow process so far.  I am also checking in with some work options at the Embassy, both volunteer and paid. Technically I'm not allowed to work on the local economy, so should limit my search to Embassy jobs, but apparently there are some goodwill grey areas. There is plenty of volunteer work around, just a matter of finding the right fit. We'll see! I have to say, not working isnt all that bad, and apparently I'm also going to outlive you all. Suckers!

All this time in solitude has also given me plenty of time to think about all of the craziness of the world, particularly this fair city, but thats a whole other session. In the meantime, here are a couple of pictures from the week. We're still kind of the worst at taking pictures.... At least we remembered the camera here and there! Also a couple of slick videos that I produced.

Our new favorite channel. Dont be intimidated by the size and quality of our TV.

The sounds of a daily rain storm. 

Mr. Mangosteen- me likey

Home made noodles and dumplings from a tiny little place near the National Museum. The best thing of all time.

My weak attempts at avoiding black lung. Makes me look like a local, too. Win win.

The National Museum of Cambodia courtyard. Incredible. Once I learn how to use my camera, these will be really good pictures. 

 Me and Buddha! 

 This may or may not be in focus.