Recent Birthdays

Three girls in this house have recently celebrated birthdays so I thought I’d tell you a little about them. Traditionally, Cambodians have not celebrated birthdays, as many of them do not even know when their birthdays are. However, that is changing, especially in the city. Wealthy families are known to celebrate with quite elaborate parties. A few weeks ago we knew there was a party in our neighborhood when we heard the western birthday song being played.

Acacia had a big birthday in October. She moved into double digits. There weren’t many things here that she really wanted, so we got a number of small things, and hid them around the house, made clues, and had a scavenger hunt. She always liked that, even in Pennsylvania. Good for us too – we don’t know yet where to buy wrapping paper! She followed clues to find several plastic animals, a hackey-sack like toy that Cambodians play with, a pack of six chocolate milk boxes, her own carton of chocolate ice cream in the freezer, a certificate for an elephant ride at Wat Phnom, and a certificate for her own Facebook account (much to Janaya and Austin’s frustration.) She chose egg rolls for her birthday meal here at home. Later she chose a German restaurant we have found within walking distance of our house. Now, she didn’t choose the place for the food, but for the cats that the owner has walking about. But as it turned out - one of the cats had just had kittens, and it wouldn’t even come out and see us. But the cucumber salad there is just like both of her Grandmas make, and it is wonderful. And she had a brat and fried potatoes (no rice!).

Next came my birthday. I turned 29 (again). It was on a work day. I had planned to go to MCC for lunch on the roof, but alas, it was cancelled. So, I decided to work through lunch to use equipment that later had to be used in a teaching lab. I ended up eating alone, deciding to try a “new” dish at the canteen for my birthday – sweet and sour pork. The meat looked great, but once you got past the breading, it was mostly fat, AND bone. Cambodians eat all of this, but not me. You know, I think sweet and sour pork as we know it is an American dish. Ron got me a beautiful bouquet of flowers – like the ones that would be used at a wedding or funeral here. I also got an orchid, and a certificate for a massage, which I cashed in on today (International Human Rights Day – a national holiday). I’ve never had a massage before, but they are cheap here. I didn’t go for the traditional Thai or Khmer version. I’ve heard they can be pretty rough. We haven’t found a chance to go out yet for my birthday, but I’m going to choose some ethnic food that we haven’t yet tried, maybe Lebanese, or Japanese.

Janaya turned 15 at the end of November, another big birthday. Her gifts were wrapped in the prescription gift bag that we got from the hospital in Bangkok! She asked for art supplies: colored pencils, colored paper and pastels, something to do when there is no TV and someone else is on the computer! Actually, she picked everything out herself. She also got two body sprays from the Khmer store near us, and again, her own tub of chocolate fudge ice cream. Her birthday was on a Sunday and I think the best part of it for her was the two hours she spent Skyping with all her girlfriends from Slate Hill. They had recently sent a package and Janaya opened it in front of them! Later that day, we took a trip out to see the new Logos campus, and then we went to church. She chose Indian food for her birthday, and we tried out a new restaurant downtown. Indian food is so good. We are beginning to wonder what restaurants we will find interesting after we move back to central Pennsylvania! Later that week, Janaya chose ginger pork for her special meal at home. That is one of her favorites. Her birthday will conclude with a Mom and daughter shopping trip for clothes, once end of the semester finals are over. There are 3 indoor shopping malls in town now, but we think we are going to try the new Golden Soriya. It is an outdoor mall, but new and spacious – as compared to the traditional markets – and it has a lot of little clothes shops!

-Roseann