Posts

Christmas In Sihanoukville

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I am about to celebrate my second Christmas in Cambodia...well technically it's my first, because last year we spent Christmas in Vietnam with a group of friends. This year I decided not to travel, so it will just be my daughter and I at the dinner table. We plan to cook our favorite holiday dishes, which includes her favorite candied yam and banoffee pie. Of course, we will Skype our family and watch some Christmas movies. Yesterday, we got to bring a little Christmas cheer to the families in the village where I do mission outreach. We had a little party for the kids and thanks to my church back in Ireland (Living Rock Pentecostal), we were able to bless needy families with rice, noodle, toothbrush, toothpaste and some tin goods.  It was absolutely fantastic to see the joy on their faces. It's one thing to tell people about the love of God, but it's totally different when you can show them that love in action. I am so blessed to be a part of this amazing team se...

My Second Online Order in Cambodia

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On the 7th of October, out of desperation, I placed my second online order here in Cambodia. This order was made through an affiliate of Amazon and promised delivery within 10-15 days. However, in true Cambodian style, this order took one month to arrive. My order arrived!! Yes, it took twice as long but i'm not mad. I'm just soooo happy it came. To be fair, Fado168 kept me updated on the delivery status so the wait wasn't too bad. Upon arrival, everything was as described and well packaged. Will I be placing a third order? I hope to God not, I will be stretching these products to ensure that they last me until I can travel outside of Cambodia. But all been said, I am happy that this company was available when I desperately needed a means to order online. On another note, I mentioned in my last post the lessons of patience and tolerance I was gaining from the local post office. It has been an experience dealing with the local post office in doing a simple task of...

My Biggest Challenge as a Black Girl Living in Cambodia

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I have been living in Cambodia for the past thirteen months and while I've faced many challenges, the biggest by far is the inability to find makeup for my skin tone. Seriously, it is near impossible to find foundation and powder for a chocolate colored girl here in Cambodia. And definitely impossible here in Sihanoukville. I say near impossible in Cambodia, because I once found a foundation in a shopping center in Phnom Penh. It was a random stall in the middle of the shopping center floor and the foundation was an unknown brand and sadly way too red for my complexion. Actually, she had two, one was beyond dark and so I bought the reddish one (desperate times) but sadly, it was horrible once I got home and tried to work with it. In hindsight I should have stocked up on beauty supplies before coming here, but unfortunately, I assumed I could easily purchase whatever I needed online. Wrong! I have always enjoyed the ease and comfort of online shopping but sadly living here...

Here In Sihanoukville

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Sihanoukville, is a small city in Cambodia, it is considered to be a tourist town. However, I believe it's definitely geared towards a particular niche of people. There are restaurants, casinos and beaches- some beautiful, others not so good. While I do enjoy going to the beach occasionally, there is sadly little else for me to do here. That probably has something to do with the fact that I prefer walkable cities, with lots to do and see. Nevertheless, I know that a lot of people visit Sihanoukville and find it to be a great city. So much so, that many decide to retire here. There are expats who have been living here for many years and plan on continuing to live here. For me, I believe the draw must be the relatively cheap cost of living and those few beaches that are...attractive. Admittedly, the locals are friendly enough and I do enjoy meeting them. Of course most don't speak English, but its always nice when they try to have a conversation with you. Cambodia is a r...