Just so you guys know, it's really freaking hot.

My parents love to tell this story about how when I was a little girl, I was a big whiner.  It's true.  And in all honestly, I still am, but I try to keep it under wraps most of the time.

Anyway, apparently one day when I was very young, my mom was carrying me into a restaurant as I was screaming at the top of my lungs, "I'M HOOTTTT!!!!!!  I'M SWEATY!!!!!!!"  I was sobbing and screaming so hysterically that a complete stranger came up to my mom and asked, "My goodness, what is wrong with her?", to which my mom replied, "Listen to her!  She's hot and she's sweaty."

Now, it's important to note that the reason I was so hot and sweaty is that my mom had just CARRIED me from the AIR CONDITIONED car into the AIR CONDITIONED restaurant.  If only Little Kelly could see me now...

Yes, I am hot and I am sweaty.  But the difference between then and now is that I am hot and sweaty pretty much all the time.  And I don't cry about it...usually.  Instead I have found other ways to cope with the heat in Cambodia, and I've decided to share my wisdom with all of you.

1) Bike just fast enough to create a breeze, not not fast enough for it to actually count as exercise

2) Be naked as much as possible (opportunities for this are rare)

3) Sit directly in front of your fan.  Sure, sometimes it feels like a hair dryer is being blown on your  
    face, but hey, at least you feel something.

4) Avoid moving at all costs

5) If you are fancy enough to buy a drink with ice in it, blow directly into the cup so the cold air blows
    back into your face

6) Spend as much time as legally possible in the air conditioned ATM cubicle thing (why these things
    are pretty much the only places in Cambodia with air conditioning is beyond me).  A lot of people in      
    my town think I have trouble working the ATM, but I honestly just go in there and press buttons for
    about 10-15 minutes each day.

Well, it's a constantly growing list, so I'll let you know if I come up with any new plots to stay cool.  Until then, enjoy your snow while I am sweating in my sleep!

An unexpected sight

This afternoon I trekked out to hang with some fellow Peace Corps Volunteers in our provincial town.  While I had a wonderful time chatting and eating some delicious noodles, but I have to say, the best part was the ride back.

After seven months in Cambodia, I'm still constantly surprised by new events and experiences.  Today, just as I was about to turn onto the road leading to my town, I was caught by surprise by this little guy.

Okay, so maybe he's not so little, but I SAW AN ELEPHANT, GUYS!!!!!!  JUST WALKING ON THE STREET!  Yeah it was crazy.  But also awesome.  Here are a few more pictures!

Aaaaaand this is why it's so important to carry a camera with you at all times.  You never know what's going to cross your path!

Anniversary: It doesn't mean what you think it does

Prepare yourselves for yet another story about me being really confused for a majority of the day.

A couple of weeks ago, one of the teachers at my school approached me and invited me to his anniversary party.  I thought this was pretty awesome since marriages seem to often be made out of obligation, not necessarily out of any sort of romantic notion.  After he handed me the invitation I said a polite thank you and asked him how long he had been married.  He seemed slightly surprised by the question, but told me he had been married for seven years.  "Wow, seven years," I thought to myself "It's so great that they celebrate every year they have been together."

I came home and brought out my wedding outfit so it could air out before the party in a couple of days. My wedding outfit consists of a shocking, slightly off the shoulder, white lace top, and a flashy blue peacock sampot.  I was so pumped to be able to wear it again.

Me looking fly at our swear-in ceremony in my "wedding" outfit

Unfortunately, I soon realize that I had no idea at what time the actual party was....and the invitation was entirely in Khmer.  Now, I do speak a decent amount of Khmer, but I am completely illiterate.  I mean, you try reading Khmer sometime.  It's ridiculous.

Thankfully, I had a tutoring session later that afternoon, so I figured my Khmer tutor could help me decipher this cryptic invitation.  She helped me to learn that the party would start at 3:00pm (but like all fashionable parties, no one would show up until about 4:00).  I then asked her if she could kind of go through the invitation and show me what each part says.  She arrived a list of about 10 names on the invitation and said "These are all the people who are celebrating the anniversary."  As far as I am aware, polygamy is not commonly practiced, so I was pretty confused as to what all those names were doing on there.  I asked my tutor, "Why are so many people celebrating it?", to which she replied, "Because it's an anniversary party."

So now I'm thinking they have joint anniversary parties, so I ask, "Did they all get married on the same day?"  At this point, my tutor is really confused.

Finally, I take a step back and ask, "Alright, what does the word "anniversary" mean to you?"  I was informed that the term "anniversary" in Khmer refers to a ceremony that honors your dead relatives.  Yeah, definitely not at all close to what I was thinking.  It's actually much closer to a funeral than a wedding....which would have made my outfit choice extremely inappropriate.  I ended up wearing a long sleeved light colored shirt and a black sampot.  Much more acceptable.

The anniversary party itself was very nice.  I got some awesome baboa (a sort of rice porridge that I normally despise), some snacks, and soda with ice!  There was an area for prayer toward the back of the party, but for the most part, people just gathered to eat and enjoy each other's company while remembering those who have gone before them.

That's my kind of anniversary.

(also, sorry I don't have any pictures, I forgot to charge my camera battery before I left!)

February: a month of plentiful blog posts

Alright loyal blog readers, I'm hoping February will be a great month for blogging, and here's why.  I just reviewed my calendar, and due to national holidays and national testing, I teach for a grand total of 8 days this month.  That's right.  Eight days out of twenty-eight.
So I'm going to try and theme some of my posts this month.  This week's theme is (drumroll, please) parties!  I have blogged before on a few holidays and celebrations, but now I have videos!
Recently I was invited to a harvest celebration, which was probably one of the most awkward days of my life.  Although my Khmer is vastly improving, all I could decipher about what was going on is that this happens every year, everyone would eat the same noodle dish, and there would be dancing involved very close to our house.  So I sat at home all day waiting for the noodles and dancing.  At one point I came downstairs to discover about 20 people I did not know just hanging around my house.  Now, normally this would not really be an issue, but Cambodia has changed me into a crotchety old woman who hates changes in her daily routine.  Much like this cat:

What my face looks like anytime I can't go to bed at 7:00pm

So these 20 people were all waiting around to go dancing, which I was told would occur at 7:00 (the time I normally head to my room for some quality blogging/reading/movie watching/sleeping time).  We did not leave until 9:00.  I was tired and a little overwhelmed with all the Khmer and confusion, but I am so glad I went.  It's really great to see people I see all the time at school or in the market, just having a good time with one another.  I also got to do some quality dancing, which I was also able to record for you all.
This first video is an example of traditional Cambodian dancing.  You pretty much just walk around a pole and wave your hands around.  I have yet to really perfect this.

However, a lot of parties now include some western songs, and obviously, K-pop.  Gagnam style has completely taken over Cambodia and everyone goes CRAZY when this song comes on.  They also play it at least 20 times at any party.

Those kids sure know how to dance:-)
Well, that's it for now, but I'm going to an anniversary party on Thursday (it's not what you think) so you can look forward to an update on that (including how I found out that the meaning of anniversary is a little different here).