Where's next?

In expat circles, conversation almost always includes:

•  Where are you from?
• Where have you been?
• How long have you been here?
• How much longer will you be here?
• Where to next?

With Logan’s contract here coming to an end, we’ve been talking about that last question a LOT

Having loved Cambodia + icy roads make this part of the world look attractive...

The boys’ votes illustrate their bias to familiar – Chicago, California, Florida, Minnesota

Meanwhile, Hammy clearly consulted weather.com too - he voted Austrailia

Ironically, after 3 years of mad travel, instead of being road weary, it feels like there is so much more to see.  

Thus, tried the ‘spin the globe method’.   

After landing in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean + Kazakhstan, we decided we better take a more thoughtful approach – turned to the world wide web for inspiration…

Neither a wise man nor a brave man lies down on the tracks of history to wait for the train of the future to run over him.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Balancing a quest for adventure, ‘where in the world’ fantasy with a place the kids could consider ‘home’ (e.g. close to a Chipotle) – we decided to finally act on our on-going ‘5 year plan’ & move to the Bay Area in California.   

Urban driven – we are heading to San Francisco!

This enables: 

1. ‘back to the USA by highschool’ 
2. close to family & friends (altho lose proximity to others too :(  )
3. 'snow-pant free' winters 
4. desirable enough location we might just convince some of our international friends to visit!

A big relief to have a destination – but we’re clearly just at the base of the mountain….. vague export rules here + job(s), housing & schools in SF ….a few key things yet to tackle

In the mean time, we are cherishing every second of the wild ride it continues to be here…and hope you'll come visit us in San Francisco

As my Nana and Gramps said best, “Enjoy Yourself, It’s Later Than You Think”

Home alas - hope for the best, prepare for the worst

It's always good to come home.    

After a fantastic holiday in Cambodia, we donned our 1 set of warm clothes & hit the road...

I was sad to say goodbye to the fascinating scenery….

(meat transportation sans pesky refridgeration)

A relatively uneventful journey.   But landing at what felt like 5 am to us, did show itself

And while we were all happy to get back to our own beds,...

even Hammy...

10 days post balmy, we were not so excited by Mother Nature's welcome 

Unfortunately, we also came home to some fascinating, but far more ominous scenery…

Protests which started in late November have continued, but recently escalated - with Molotov cocktails & bullets 

The results?

New laws making various forms of protest illegal (including wearing a helmet) & 2 confirmed dead - including this man

A sad and complicated situation, where most people simply want a better future.  

I'm not sure how it will be resolved, but here's hoping it can be done peacefully 

(thanks Kirsten & Natalie for the fab shots & updates - now stay safe!)

In the mean time, I'm taking a friend's advice & keeping a full tank of gas 

Here's hoping for peace at home for all

See this link for more telling images

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/images-from-ukraine

And this link for a more detailed explanation

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/140122/deaths-and-harsh-new-rules-fuel-ukraines-protesters-keep-fightin

Cultural cues from the crapper

Bathrooms are fascinating.  We all use them several times a day - but oh how they vary.  What I find interesting about a trip to the pot is the cues it provides into its local culture.

Some things we can glean about Cambodia evidenced by the restroom:

1) Location Flexible

Peeing on the side of the road is pretty common. 

(peeing man on left)

Even in the center of town, I saw several men whip it out along side a tree.  

More surprising, however, was being told that the sewer for this town IS the river.

With these basic living conditions, I totally understand the logistics of this...

But didn't really want to hear it as we were paddling kayaks in said water.  After learning this, Zoe cried each time a drop of "pee water" splashed her.

2) Hard work ethic:  A 6 day work week and rice farming or sewing as primary occupation choices, the toilets foreshadow the hard work required of Cambodians

Stand up pots….

Manual, bucket-o-water flushing 

(required some instruction to the kids)

The physical stamina & balance developed here are visible everywhere

3) Starting from the basics: The country was blown out by a very traumatic history - including almost 4 years of mass genocide in the 70s.  Today it feels like a country starting over.  Attitudes are optimistic and people seem determined to build it up to the grand place it deserves to be.  

This fresh start is visible in the John with some very basic education

Meanwhile, visiting a village that had just received a well from a clean water NGO (http://www.journeyswithinourcommunity.org), our kids needed teaching on how to manually pump water

4) Protecting their people:  While we enjoyed the benefits of a service culture & low wage rate… 

The social challenges associated with this are visible in the restroom…

Children being sent to work instead of school

(a stall poster)

And rampant prostitution

(a bathroom freebie)

Luckily, tourism is growing & helping to drive the legit economy in Cambodia 

We did our part to help buoy the local economy...

The country has a ton to offer & is a fab vacation destination

And feel lucky being reminded that our concerns, by comparison, are clearly quite minor

Cambodia - not exactly blending in…..

We've been in Cambodia for ~a week and are loving it.   Some of the things we have learned along the way

1) Cambodian's are B-R-A-V-E!!!!
They navigate traffic madness….

They juggle some serious loads…..

5 people is the max I've seen so far

Limitless market goods

Or chickens!

Even more impressive - 3 full pigs

2) We're Urban

The fresh market was deemed 'too stinky' by one of our kids

Stepping in mud at a small farm village caused tears from another

Kids running around naked caused serious concern from another 

3) Animals & Play trump World Heritage Sights

Famous Angkor Watt temple trumped by a frog….

by jumping on the fallen artifacts…..

don't stand a chance against a stray kitten…..

Despite the amazing feat of building these massive structures over 800 years ago, it's hard to compete with a ride on one of these massive structures….

4) Tourists are colorful

and often expressive…

("sleep with me, free breakfast")

5) White kids are a novelty
Often asked to be photographed & photographed with

Zoe developed quite the posse in the river village

However, it doesn't seem to translate to white adults - Logan's presence made this little boy (far right) cry

(we deducted he thought him to be some sort of demonic giant)

On top of all this learning - it's an AMAZING place.   Incredibly friendly and optimistic people, despite some serious obstacles.

Here's to new horizons in the new year