Adjusting to Cambodia

Our first impressions of Cambodia were:

(Elias jet-lagged upon arrival.)

-Amazement at the million motorcycles weaving through traffic with a few cars and more Tuk-tuks, with hardly any stoplight at intersections. The rule here is "push until you get through."

(Above: view from the fourth floor balcony.)

-Powerlines aren't the three or four big black lines trailing from a post you'd see in the States or Mexico, but hundreds of lines snaking off of every pole. The electricity has gone out three or four times since we've been here, maybe that or the construction has something to do with it.

-Here, like in Abu Dhabi, instead of toilet paper, it is more common to use a sprayer hose. The only problem is that the water pressure is so high on them you have to be careful. Ezra loves spraying the water. We, like most people here, live in a narrow, very tall house connected to a row of houses. It goes up on very narrow stairs to a fourth floor. There are two bathrooms on the bottom floor where the kitchen, living room and guest room are and one on the third floor where the kids bedrooms are. This morning Elias said "Mommy, why is water falling on my head?" Ezra was up on the third floor in the bathroom spraying the water down the stairs. Our room is on the second floor, and since I'm pregnant, that means I have learned to navigate the stairs half asleep several times a night to get to a bathroom.

-School for the kids starts this week. We were thrilled to find out that all of their supplies were covered under a book fee and we didn't have to go out looking for them!

(Above: A neighbor loaned a bike to Elias and Ezra wanted a turn.)

-Stores here are mostly specialized and not "everything under one roof." We've found a decent "Western" store but before that cereal was anywhere from $8-$18 a box. We didn't get it.

(Above: Talia sweeping with a traditional broom.)

-For breakfast here, most people eat pork and rice, rice porridge or a type of rice noodle soup served with a bread stick. We usually make eggs for breakfast so finding them was a priority. It was interesting to learn that duck eggs are more common here than chicken. They're bigger and richer, so that's fine, but so far we've gotten chicken eggs.

Lots of things have been going on! I'll have to tell you about some of them later.