from the depths of my soul

given that i am about thirty or so year behind the loving-rocky trend, this may come as a shock.

but.

i hate, with the fire of a thousand suns, ivan drago.  in rocky iv, he kills apollo in a boxing match. and he doesn't even care or show any emotion.

topher told me i was missing the point of the movie- he was bred to be like this, i should hate the soviet union instead.

okay, so.  i hate ivan drago AND the soviet union.  i hate them.  i never use the word hate. but i hate them. 

also, i've collected my favorite daily photos from march for you!

Cheers to April, wherein I get to go on vacation to Vietnam with my fantastic husband!

i have decided

one twenty minute conversation with a complete stranger can do everything to turn any day- normal, horrible or otherwise- into a fantastic "so glad i'm here" kind of day.

i had one of these days yesterday.

now, let's begin with the fact that these conversations are awesome because, more often than not, cambodian strangers are incredibly kind and excited to meet a foreigner.  they also are then out of their seat ecstatic when that foreigner speaks khmer.  and finally, an explosion of questions and khmer come when it is then revealed that said khmer-speaking-foreigner is eager to answer questions!

yesterday, i took some pictures (roop tauts) to get printed, as my dearest cambodian little sister- aary, who works at a restaurant we frequent- is moving to phnom penh to work with her father and brother in a traditional medicine pharmacy at one of the large markets/malls in the capital and i want her to have some pictures of us, and vice versa.

and so. what proceeded at the photo printing shop was a discussion that begins, as most do, like this:

me, in khmer: "hello, i'd like to print some pictures."
them, in khmer: yell for someone else to come, presumably the english speaker.
him, english speaking cambodian, in english: "hello!"
me, in khmer: "hello, how are you? i'd like to print some pictures."
him, in khmer: "oh, you know khmer?"
the conversation lapses into khmer

me: "yes, how are you?"
him: "happy happy, thanks!"
we discuss why i'm here, how long i've been here, and what country i come from.

him: "will you teach me english?"
inevitable question. i explain about the private class i teach, which has stopped for the long holiday but will begin again in may. after five minutes of explaining, they finally believe me when i say that we will start again after the khmer new year, so yes, i really do mean in may.

fellow cambodian, standing by: "oh you know how to speak khmer a lot! you must have lived here for a long time!"
me: "eight months already. and i know how to speak khmer a little bit."
him: "oh, only eight months already!" (which he knows, as he asked me this ten minutes before?!)

we end with salutations, lots of smiling and general merriment.

this happy conversation that uplifts any day can also happen with those people with whom you've built relationships.

the key is that joyous feeling that you understand nearly everything that was said and were understood by many during the best twenty minutes ever.  you leave feeling as if you could walk on khmer-speaking-clouds forever.

here's hoping you have an awesome twenty-minute-conversation-in-khmer kind of day!

austen

courtesy- homestudio. go buy here because you live in america and can!

because she doesn't need much more of an introduction than that, does she?

i love austen.  just this week i read emma and watched sense and sensibility and pride and prejudice.

(not the original bbc p&p. the kiera knightly version. i have to say my preference will always be for the bbc mini-series- COLIN FIRTH I LOVE YOU- but there's something about the music and the gorgeous cinematography in the recent version. and both have just the BEST attention to details, with hogs running around, and table items so clearly...victorian.)

she's just the most brilliant author of her time.  humor, love, getting to knock down the stuffy, snooty, awful neighbor/family member/slighted wanna-be-lover.  what's better?

and to think i refused to even read her prior to my senior year AP language assignment of doing so.

(in hindsight, thank you ms. keezer.  and sorry mom, for the millionth time of not listening to you and perhaps going out of my way to avoid doing as you said i should do. like read pride and prejudice.)

i've decided that if you love austen, or even just love one of her books, we're meant to be bosom buddies.  soulmates do arise out of the crisp pages of an austen novel, by golly they do.

do you just want to PUNCH fanny?

does listening to mrs. elton make you vomit a little bit in your mouth?

do you rejoice oh so loudly when mr. bingley gathers his senses, ignores his stupid sister and finally rises to the occasion to be deserving of jane?

and let's not even TALK about the all encompassing joy that bursts through your limbs when elinor and edward are finally in the same room and elizabeth and mr. darcy admit their affections, only strengthened with time.

so, if you are in agreement, let us heretofore declare that the twenty eighth of march shall forevermore be exclaim-your-love-for-jane-austen day.

and exclaim i shall!

in honor of the montage

source

tonight, the revelation that are the "rocky" movies dawned on me.  i think i love them, and will forevermore love them.

(except for the fighting scenes. i can't watch those. so much senseless hitting in the face and blood!)

i'm ninety percent sure they're awesome because of the rocky/adrian love story. but mostly,

the montages.


as we watched the montage from rocky II, topher made me watch the montage from rocky IV. and it's awesome. "replete with symbolism," as wikipedia says.

and thus, the top montages, according to me. and topher.

pretty woman. 
huge mistake.

rocky
climb those stairs.

rocky IV.
look what he can do in siberia.

team america.
guess who suggested this one.

up.
i cry.

dirty dancing.
she stops giggling.
(the final scene because i can't find the montage. sad face.)

devil wears prada.
clothes. coats. amazing.

cool runnings.
training.

home alone. setting up the traps.
so perturbed i can't find this one online.

and my absolute favorite.
girls just wanna have fun.
preparing for the DTV dance-off.


what are your favorite montages?

a green scarf and shoes.

i heart saint patrick's day.  i love reasons to wear fun colors. i love that no presents are required. i loved it even in high school, before i even knew to love irish car bombs.

and of course, those are part of what i love too.

this was topher and mine's eighth saint patrick's day.  we have some great traditions, which all include general merriment, but this year included celebrating some fellow PCVs birthday!

i won't lie.  there was a teensy bit of worry that some of our traditions would not be possible in cambodia.  but we were able to make it work, and what fun it was!

sadly there wasn't any corned beef and cabbage (well, i'm not sad about the cabbage part- but corned beef! tear!) but there WAS delicious tex-mex, including delicious and cheap tacos and even some fantastic onion rings!

and there is green on that outfit there- i tied a scarf around my dress!

(and my underwear was green, but, well, i guess we didn't need to know that?)

three things that really struck me today

a very, very old photo that i think speaks to the topics of the day.

today, i spent a happy twenty minutes diving into three particularly well-reasoned articles.

one almost makes me sick to my stomach with the injustice of the country that i call home.


10 reasons the rest of the world thinks the u.s. is nuts

one makes me think harder about why i am maybe a bit passive aggressive and have a tendency to freak out if topher tries to tell me i'm overreacting.


a message to women from a man: you are not "crazy"

and the third makes me consider a bit more deeply why i held out so long on using words like "bitch" and "slut" and why i should try even harder to go back to not using them, not even in moments of humor or levity.


the problem with slut-bashing

i highly recommend taking a quick read on your monday morning, and then coming back to tell me your thoughts.

today, on the ides of march...

...thirty one years ago,

the best big brother was born.

he taught me how to ride a bike, 

gave me hands that easily flex and bend from countless minutes of 

silent but strong hand squishing during prayers, 

helped me understand the value of questioning everyone and everything 

(including said prayers), 

and put with endless amounts of crap and screams 

all in the name of getting him in trouble.

happy birthday, colin!  

i love and miss you 

and am very proud to be your little sister, 

always.