I've started another blog where it is easier for me to post. I might continue double posting for a while, but please refer here for the full update (little though that is).
http://karinincambodia.blogspot.com/

Chinese New Year is not an official Cambodian holiday. But would students think about coming to school during a non-official holiday??? Given that we were forewarned about this event, Christa and I officially canceled our classes Mon-Wed (maintaining a slight illusion of control). Feeling somewhat stressed, or just somewhat lazy, we decided a vacation at the beach was very much in order. So we headed out on Saturday morning and after a somewhat bumpy bus ride we arrived in Kep around lunch time. Kep is a sea-side resort town that was very popular before the Khmer Rogue time. Now there is a strange combination of new development and tourist-oriented projects along with ruins of old colonial style buildings.

Sadly there are no pictures for your enjoyment as both Christa and I forgot our cameras (also sunscreen, but that's a different matter). On Sunday we took the short boat trip out the the biggest nearby island and spent all day lazing on the beach and occasionally swimming. We also ate fresh crab and enjoyed the general hilarity that seems to be a part of our daily lives.

On Monday we met up with Sothea, who works with us at RUA. We met his sister and her boyfriend and spent time at a nearby river which is a swimming area in the dry season. Overall there were a lot of people enjoying the holiday and the nice weather, as it wasn't as hot near the coast.

Now we're back in Phnom Penh spending our last "vacation" day preparing the final exam. I'm also trying desperately to figure out how to prepare my students in the scant time that remains.

The cold season, or what there was of it, is definitely over. I have now returned to sweating while sitting still and looking for shade instinctively. It's getting lighter in the mornings, but only very slowly. Our early morning runs are still cool and dark, and at my new house I have to search around sometimes before I find a motodupe at that early time.

School is going ok, though time is winding down before the final exam. I realize this but the students don't seem to see it as clearly as I do. Taking almost this whole next week off for Chinese New Year is a nice break, but it means that there are only a few classes left in the semester. A donor conference involving most of the teachers on campus this past week meant that most of the students decided their holiday would start an extra day early and many of us were faced with empty classrooms, or two or three forlorn students.

My new host family situation is going fairly well, with still the occasional mis-understandings. Sometimes I feel that I am either being followed around constantly or ignored. I guess it is hard to have a middle ground when my vocabulary is focused around food and basic daily events. Last night I ate some strange candied fruit that though being deceptively coated in sugar, still managed to set my mouth on fire. I must say I am coming to somewhat appreciate the sour, hot and sweet tastes, and in various combinations, but it still is always a novelty.

Yes, it is officially very cold here. The thermometer inside the office says it is just below 80 so no wonder we're all so cold. So you can imagine how doubly painful it is to ride on a moto with all the wind or take a shower with water that has been slowly chilling all night. I walk around muttering to myself "I left Chicago for a reason..."

So last night I went to my first Kmae wedding. I wore the dress that I had made at the market and then took home to try to make it look decent myself. It held up pretty well so I've decided to call it a success. A whole bunch of staff from MCC went filling two tuk-tuks and using a whole table at dinner. Since we were a little bit later, both intentionally and unintentionally we ended up at a table a little two close to the speakers and all talking was done at shouting level.

I think there were about 57 courses so we just kept eating for about an hour or so. The bride was the niece of our language teacher who got very drunk and kept hovering very much too close around our shoulders encouraging us to drink more beer. Afterwards the father of the bride came up and asked that we all dance (aka, put on a show of foreigners) so we danced a couple songs before heading out. All in all it was a somewhat surreal experience.

Now this week I'm back to teaching and grading after a New Year's jaunt out to Prey Veng. That is until Wednesday, which is another holiday. They just keep coming.