Phnom Penh Sunset

Today was quite different from our past weeks and days. We stayed home! We took the day off from the office as all the others had gone for a holiday break. We spent this morning answering emails, looking at facebook, working at the apartment, and doing FaceTime with some of our family back home. It was unusual for us to not go anywhere.

With taking the break from our regular routine, maybe we can fill you in on some of the little things that are unique here as compared to our home in Utah. Every evening we hear a chirping outside. Sometimes it sounds like a bird pecking on the window. We have realized it is not a bird but a little gecko that has taken up residency by our window. That's fine with us as long as he takes care of any bugs that might be trying to get in!

Another typical thing here is there is no carpet on the floors. All our floors are tile or stone. The tile in our bedroom looks like wood, but it is tile as well. The transition out from the bathroom is about an inch up. I guess that way any water problem is contained in the bathroom and does not overflow into the rest of the apartment. (This is not just our apartment, but we have seen this in the other apartments as well.) Just be careful not to stub your toe.

We don't drink the water from the tap, even though our water might be just fine. We have about a 5 gallon jug of water on our counter that we use to drink. The tap water is VERY HOT, so we are confident in using the tap water to wash our dishes. Also, we wash all our produce when we bring it home. Many of the couples use clorox for this, however we use some Vegetable and Fruit Washing Solution and soak them for about 15 minutes. A capful of clorox in a tub of water will do the same thing.

There are more small shops or stands here than we have seen in any other city. It seems everyone wants to run their own business. Then the like kind of shops are together. All the auto supply shops are lined up one after another. We went looking for a fan a few weeks ago. We hunted all over the city, then when we found fans there was a whole row of shops selling them. There are lots of little produce stands or carts on every street. We have even seen a produce stand at the corner of our alley. (We have not yet been brave enough to buy our produce from these vendors. We probably will soon, though.) There are also lots of little food venders, especially at breakfast time. Of course they all have rice! Sameth and Phanna frequently get their breakfast from the cart just outside the gate of the church.

Finally we are sharing the sunset view from our balcony today. The sky has been clear and the
weather very nice. If only you could hear the roosters crow and the little sounds of the neighborhood!