a new kind of wine...

While in Siem Reap visiting Angkor Wat for the third and final (for a while, at least) time, Topher and I went on an adventure with four other Volunteers: rice wine tasting!

Now, usually rice wine is not something you 'taste.'  If you're me, it's something you avoid.  It burns, it's not delicious and it's typically only offered by already-drunk men at weddings.  It also might kill you, as it can be homemade and then sometimes stored in bottles once used to store terrible, deathly chemicals.

I digress.

This rice wine is being produced safely and deliciously by a couple in northern Cambodia.  And the best part is that they are infusing it with all sorts of fantastic things.

At our tasting, we sampled every single flavor- from mango and green chili to banana and cinnamon.  Other highlights were a coconut pineapple and green tea orange.  Yes.

I never would have guessed but my favorite was coffee and anise.  Anise, like black licorice? Which I typically hate? But it's amazing.  Topher's fave was the banana and cinnamon (you could not have designed two flavors he likes more.  And in one bottle, alcoholic and all? Done.)

The bottles are also hand-painted with some sweet Cambodia scenes by some local young artists. 

And of course, these hand-brewed, hand-painted and hand-bottled flasks of wine were just twelve dollars each.  Which I don't think is a lot, but I can't really tell anymore? So, you'll have to let me know in the comments if that is actually a great deal or I'm nuts.

I'm excited to bake with the banana cinnamon and add some of that coffee anise rice wine to some Bailey's!

Have you ever had rice wine?

and they usually only make fun of bachelors...

If there was an award for least likely to eat correctly unless someone else is cooking for them, I would, hands down, win.

I am not proud of that fact.

However!

I am proud of this grocery trip's outcome:

Wine, diet coke, cereal, ice cream and all-the-cheesy-chips-bag.

It's ever so strange being here in Cambodia sans-Topher.  I often don't know what to do with myself when I turn to say something to him...and he's not there. 

Plus, there is no one to eat my yucky pretzels from my otherwise perfect bag of snacks.

Go ahead, tell me what you really think of my grocery store decisions.

july

It's July.

JOOOOOO LYYEEEEEEEEEE.

That's how I've been saying it my head all week long.  Slowly and methodically and disbelievingly.

A lot has happened in July thus far. So much that I haven't really taken a moment to fully process it, and thusly, write about it here.

So let's recap:

We visited Angkor Wat one final time.  I got so many braided string bracelets, I feel like I've got good luck and health going for me forever.  Which I'm so celebrating and counting on!


We left our provincial site in Takeo.  We said goodbye to our family.

We ended our time as Volunteers and officially became Returned Peace Corps Volunteers.


This ending involved a lot - too many- goodbyes with fabulous people, including these women:

This guy had to go home, without me.


I may or may not have hurt my toe somewhat badly.

I have, and continue to, work endless hours preparing session plans for the incoming group of Volunteers.   There are no fun pictures, because it's me, at a computer, typing and occasionally staring as I think something through.  Maybe it's a lot of staring? I can't really tell.  (I talked about what I'm doing in Cambodia while Topher is home here.)

And I've been working alongside this awesome woman, who is managing the health education program side of training for the new group.  (Cambodia has two main programs- English Teaching/Teacher Training and Community Health Education.)

It still doesn't seem like 2013 could actually be half over, but I guess I have to believe the tick of time.

How has your July been thus far, world?