THE PROMPTS FOR THE
MONTH
FRIDAY 1st I LOVE DOING
THIS: There is nothing I love more at the moment than teaching basic literary
skills to the little monks twice a week. This was taken at yesterday’s class
and is my favourite of the smallest class member making himself right at home
while practising his letters
SATURDAY 2nd FREE
CHOICE: I choose today’s sunset over the iconic symbol of Kep
SUNDAY 3rd FAMILY: I
feel fortunate to have close connections to both family and a supportive group
of friends, who are the family we choose. Unfortunately I couldn’t get more
that 9 photos in the collage so not all of those scattered across several continents
are included but they all hold a place in my heart
MONDAY 4th PARTIAL: This
mandala of vegetables is the partially complete salad I have now packed into
our lunchboxes. I am very partial to a mixed raw and roasted vegetable
salad..... bring on lunchtime I say
TUESDAY 5th IN MY BAG:
are all the teaching materials for the class with the monks today. After a few
rides in the rain we bought this recycled packaging bag to protect our
resources on the journey to the monastery. I love that it is locally made of
what would otherwise be waste. We leave it packed and ready to go for the next
session
WEDNESDAY 6th ART: The
playground art at Kep Gardens Association where we volunteer twice a week. Not
sure if this fun blackboard assists or distracts the kids when they’re shooting
THURSDAY 7th MONEY: In
Cambodia ATMs dispense both American dollars and Cambodian Riel and you can
chose, which you want. When there is no choice American dollars are the
default. Small change is always in riel as there are no coins. I always prefer
to get American dollars because the Math is easier when one dollar equals 4,000
riel. Inevitably you have a combination of both in your change whenever you
purchase anything. We foreigners stand at the counter counting and converting
but I marvel at the locals who think in units of 4,000 and do the sums quick as
a flash and in their heads most often. The number system also works in units of
5 not 10. No wonder they are all so much better at Math than me
FRIDAY 8th OPPOSITES:
The Chinese philosophy of balance and harmony created by matching opposites. I
have worn this tiny earring since I first visited Nepal in the 1980’s. It is a
rare occasion on which it is removed but I did today just to take this photo
SATURDAY 9th SILLY:
These hats are about the silliest thing Cambodia produces but since they are
such good sun protection we see hundreds of people wearing them. Ian was not
only silly enough to buy one but he also managed to buy one that was too small
for him to wear. Having seen this photo he has now decided to leave it in a
place where a local will find it and make good use of it. Silly possum
SUNDAY 10th THE SKY: in
Kep Bay at dusk as we returned from swimming
MONDAY 11th SPLASH: just
a little splash in the water to cool off.
TUESDAY 12th BIG: The
big Buddha at the monastery where we teach the little monks
WEDNESDAY 13th TINY:
From this small sector of the world map hanging in the classroom it’s obvious
that Cambodia is a tiny nation even in South East Asia let alone in the world
THURSDAY 14th PEACE: My
go to place for peace and tranquillity is the ocean. Nothing beats listening to
the gentle lapping of the waves
FRIDAY 15th ON THE
FLOOR: These little monks sit or squat on the floor to pray, to eat and to study
and they are often asleep on the floor when we arrive to teach them. Taken in
yesterday’s class when we were trying to master numbers 11 to 20 or as one of
them would have it “oneteen” to “tenteen”
SATURDAY 16th OUTDOORS: Although it
looks like a perfect summer’s day outdoors, it is in fact mid-winter. Like most
of South East Asia, Cambodia doesn’t experience much variation in weather or
climate across the seasons except for the wet season
SUNDAY 17th JOY IS...:
giving and sharing. As the year ends we have been baking and preparing small
gifts for those we truly appreciate. This was the first hamper to be delivered
to Janine and Andrew at Kep Gardens Association on our final day before the
break
MONDAY 18th LIGHTS:
Fairy Lights
TUESDAY 19th TREE: This
is the huge Banyan tree right on the shore in Kep Bay. Beautiful trees with
sacred significance. This one has a spirit house at the base
WEDNESDAY 20th ‘TIS THE
SEASON TO: play hosts with our first guests visiting from the US. Five people
have arrived in the last two days and we are getting out and doing all the
local tourist things in Kep and Kampot at long last
THURSDAY 21st ORNAMENT:
The one and only Xmas card of ornaments in front of the origami Xmas trees
which were hand delivered to us in Kep a couple of days ago. Thanks to McKenny
for the thoughtful gesture and Barry for being the courier
FRIDAY 22nd WRAPPED:
This is a beautiful “furushiki”
-or Japanese wrapping cloth. I received it as a gift from McKenny a few days ago and it is now wrapped around the gifts we bought to give our guests. The cloth is already a favourite and will be used constantly. Anyone who has spent time in Japan knows and loves the tradition of wrapping cloths
-or Japanese wrapping cloth. I received it as a gift from McKenny a few days ago and it is now wrapped around the gifts we bought to give our guests. The cloth is already a favourite and will be used constantly. Anyone who has spent time in Japan knows and loves the tradition of wrapping cloths
SATURDAY 23rd SPARKLY:
The sunlight makes the water in Kep Bay sparkly in the early morning
SUNDAY 24th ON THE DOOR:
This lovely Japanese New Year ornament was given to me by Barry, when he
visited. He purchased it on a recent trip to Kanazawa. A perfect gift as my
feeble attempt at a Xmas wreath failed miserably
MONDAY 25th MY DAY:
culminated with this meal. After visiting our little monks to deliver bananas,
cake and milk this morning, we took a tour to a local pepper plantation and
came home to prepare our Xmas feast for friends. A simple day with simple
pleasures and the perfect celebration
TUESDAY 26th WHERE I
SLEPT: in my bed at home in Kep as usual
WEDNESDAY 27th GOOD
TIMES: To me good times involve playing hosts to old friends from Bhutan days,
who departed this morning, cooking up a storm with fresh ingredients from the
local market, monkeying around with our little monks after class and care
packages from home arriving. All in a day’s excitement in Kep
THURSDAY 28th SNACK: No
lunch today so the afternoon snack was homemade Xmas cake and chocolate chip
shortbreads
FRIDAY 29th MAKES ME
HAPPY: After playing host to guests for the last 10 days we went back to the
pool today and resumed our regular swimming routine
SATURDAY 30th BEST PHOTO
OF 2017: Having spent time in eight different countries this year, this
has been a really difficult choice. However I can’t say I haven't enjoyed the
last couple of hours looking at every one of the thousands of photos I have
taken. Finally out of a selected five, three of which were taken in Peru, I
chose the shores of Lake Titicaca from Puno. So many memories were made this
year and recollected today
The other four
choices just for the record
SUNDAY 31st CHEERS: We
made a Japanese inspired meal to accompany the champagne, to finish 2017 with a
bang. Many thanks to Barry, Allan and Andy for such a lovely treat. The
final memorable moments of a truly awesome year of travel and new adventures
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