*sigh*

I have so much to share, I don’t even know where to begin. I guess I’ll start with my trip to Phnom Penh last week to see the Secretary of State, Siphan Phay.

Tongpang and I caught the 7:10am bus, planning on returning the same evening. It was an uneventful ride. When we arrived in the capitol city I called Siphan Phay and asked if he had time to see me today. He said yes, but not until 4 o’clock. We were hoping to be on our way by then. But ok, we’ll wait. So we went to a mall, which is really a glorified market. BUT! I did get to eat a hamburger, and it was one of the most delicious things I have ever tasted. Or at least it did to me at the time. I bought a bunch of DVD’s because they were so cheap. Either $1 or $2. And a watch. At around 3:30 (when he asked me to call him back) I called Siphan Phay to arrange a meeting place. He told me that the immigration office was now closed for the day. I would have to stay the night and see him first thing tomorrow morning.

Not impressed.

I don’t much care for Phnom Penh. It’s too big and busy and dirty and scary. But none-the-less Tongpang and I set out to find a cheap guesthouse. We succeeded. $5 for the night, and we got what we paid for. It was a bucket shower, no toilet seat, burn holes in the curtains and bed/blanket. We spent most of the evening watching TV in Tongpang’s room. I called it a night early, and set off for my own delightful room…

I can’t remember a more sleepless night except for when I’ve been sick. And sick is something that I thought I would get if I stayed any longer than I did. All night long I heard men’s voices out side, doors being knocked on, whispering, high heels clicking down the hallway. And I mean all night. It was going on at every hour and I could barely get any sleep.

I called first thing in the morning and Siphan Phay picked us up at 8:30. We went to his office only to have him say that I needed a letter from my employer. I didn’t have one and Jonah was not at SLM. He was in Koh Kong province. He made a few phone calls and it was arranged that I would meet with the immigrations officer at 2 that afternoon.

We had time to kill.

Tongpang has a friend in Phnom Penh so we called her up and spent the day with her. Her name is Rachel and she’s from America!! This girl is really, really awesome!! She’s 24 and from Buffalo, NY. She is very much a combination of Sharon and myself. It makes me miss Sharon SOOO much, but at the same time I feel like I’m getting my Sharebear fix!! =)

She took us to a coffee shop that screamed Asian Starbucks!! No kidding. I loved it. Iced vanilla latte, coming up!!

Eventually Tongpang and I made our way back to the offices, and we were told that we would have to wait another day.

My heart stopped. My eyes welled up. I wasn’t going to cry. I wasn’t going to cry. I don’t want to stay here one more minute!!

But then this beautiful, beautiful man told me he’d take care of things and have my Visa delivered to me in Sihanoukville when it arrived. Plus, he’d taken care of it so that I didn’t have to pay my late fines.

I cried.

I thanked him again and again, with the occasional tear slipping out. I was going home!! THANK GOD!!!

We took a taxi home, it cost $30. In Winnipeg, $30 for a taxi won’t get you across the city, let alone 3 hours through the country side .

Unfortunately, I still have not received my Visa, but I was never told how long it would take, and it’s only been a week. I’ll call him this weekend when I’m in Phnom Penh and see if maybe I can pick it up.

The next day Rachel was coming to Sihanoukville with her team for the weekend! Yay! I spent Friday evening and Saturday with her. It was such a blessing! We are so alike, it’s a little freaky at times. We went for lunch at Holy Cow, one of my favourite restaurants!!

Saturday night I went to a Khmer wedding! It was so much fun!! I danced like a Khmer girl, and ate the Khmer food. It’s very interesting. They have many of the same traditions as North America, but yet have so many of their own. The bride wore like 6 different ball gowns throughout the day! The day begins with people carrying fruit trays to the brides house. Then sometime in the morning they have the actual ceremony. They are married by monks. Lunch is served. Then there is activities and games and hanging out for the rest of the afternoon. In the evening you show up for dinner. The bride and groom greet you at the entrance to the most brightly decorated tent you’ve ever seen. It’s hilarious! They also present you with a gift. You go sit down and only once your table is full will they begin serving you your first course. There were many. Many fish and rice and peanuts, duck, noodles, soup, you name it! After we’ve all eaten, the bride and groom walk in. As they enter we all throw confetti and ribbons and what appears to be fake snow (?) from a can at them. Then they cut the cake, drink Champaign, serve the parents and grandparents do a kissing thing (not like making out) and then they have their first dance as husband and wife. They also make a short speech to thank everyone for coming and inviting all to come and dance. And dance we did!

I also went to another wedding on Monday in Kompot province. Vothanak’s brother was getting married. This one was a bit different. The one on Saturday was a city wedding. A bit more glamorous. This was a country wedding. It was kind of tucked away in a village sort of setting. But there was still the bright tent and all the food! I spent part of my afternoon sitting in a mud and stick house. It was neat. I could see the people sitting in hammocks through the floor boards. There were some mighty big cracks in the floor.

This wedding was a bit more on a smaller scale, the family was poorer. Unfortunately I couldn’t stay for the dancing and cake cutting and all that jazz because we had to drive two hours home and Jonah wanted to be home by 8. I was surprised when Vothanak told me he wanted me to stay and dance with him. That I should just spend the night. I almost did, but decided against it. Vothanak is pretty quiet and doesn’t often express major emotions. I didn’t even think he would dance!! He’s not the type. I was very honoured that he wanted to dance with me. I told him we’d dance at another wedding someday. Maybe at his or mine!!

Friday I am heading to Phnom Penh again. I will be spending the weekend with Rachel.

Tongpang is going for a Naga Christian Fellowship weekend. All the Naga’s from India that are in Cambodia will be gathering for a get together. I’m tagging alone because I A) want to get out of the house. B) Go see Rachel. C) Visit my Naga friends that I don’t see much of because they live a 9 hour drive away. And D) it’s the Water Festival this weekend. This is one of the biggest holidays in Cambodia. There will be an extra 2-3 million people in the city. I’ve never been around so many people. Although I need to be very careful and watchful of myself and belongings. I don’t want anything bad to happen!

OH!! And the absolute best part of the whole weekend is that Rachel and her team are celebrating American Thanksgiving!!! I’m eating turkey this weekend!! I was told that they’ve imported American turkey’s and everything!

My mouth is watering already… Mmmm, turkey….