Friday (only three weeks left)

Friday:

After a small class in the morning (working on the English exam with a few of the girls), I went to IBC. IBC and PBC are the two big bookstores in town. Last week I went to PBC and bought several books and study guides. At IBC I purchased a few more study guides – two for the GMAT, one for the GRE, and several for the IELTS. In addition, I bought two more of the full size classics (red badge of courage and wuthering heights), and I also got a lot of the abridged versions for English learners. They are in categories from beginner to level 6. Some of the ones I got (alice in wonderland, through the looking glass, wuthering heights, sense and sensibility, secret garden) are the same ones that I have in the full size/original books. Hopefully having both versions will help the girls work up to the original books.

I left the books in the living room on the third floor, and by the evening, girls were everywhere reading them! I have found something they really like!! They love these books and want to read more of them, so I will need to go back to the bookstore for a few more rounds of purchases. Thank you so much to everyone who donated money. Please know that your money is going much further here because the books are much cheaper. For instance, yesterday I purchased two huge bags of books (including study materials which are notoriously expensive), and the total came to $153. It probably would have been double or triple that in the US. I am very glad that I have the money to purchase these books because it is something the dorm is really lacking.

Right now, most of the books like this are in the manager’s office, and people don’t really go in there to borrow them. So, instead, we are going to get another bookshelf and put it in the 3rd floor living room and have all of the study guides and books for them available there. In that location, I think more of the girls will take advantage of the books. They love having the books available, and I can understand why. There really are not libraries here where people can borrow books or just go read books. Likewise, at the bookstores, most of the books are individually wrapped, so it is impossible to just read the books without buying them. Very different from bookstores in the US, which encourage people to sit and read in comfy chairs!

After my extensive book-buying trip, I stopped by the grocery story to pick up some snacks for the movie on Saturday and to get some cash. Once back at home, I just took care of lots of emails and loose ends, and of course took an afternoon nap. I think it is just impossible to stay awake in the afternoon here! Following the nap, one of the girls dropped me off in town, near the Royal Palace on Street 240 so that I could pick up my dress from the tailor. It wasn’t ready yet because the electricity all over town went off, so I will just go by sometime at the end of next week.


Instead of just going home, I walked down the street and went into all of the shops I hadn’t visited before. And, I got some neat stuff! At one place, I bought a really neat bracelet made out of cow horn and two long necklaces made out of bunches of the silk before they weave it. Very interesting. At another shop (artisans association of Cambodia – sell fair trade items made in the country), there were a lot of neat things! I ended up buying something for my mom and this really neat bag out of woven reeds or plants for me. I am not sure how I am getting it home (maybe a carry-on??). But it was just too neat, and for $13 I couldn’t pass it up. I might need to go back there again before I leave to pick up a few things, but I’ll need to bring some cash because they only take visa. There was a ring out of cow horn that was neat and another silver ring that I really liked. Plus a neat black and white bracelet out of the horn, too.

After spending money all day (sheesh!), I went back home and had dinner and class. For dinner we had this shredded ginger dish again. It is garlic, shredded ginger, and preserved soy beans. This time with fish, but I think before it might have been with pork. I definitely want to learn how to make it!!!

On another note, I have spent three weeks here and now have three weeks left. It has gone by so quickly. This is a very interesting place, and I think it would be easy to spend more time here, and I am not even travelling at all or seeing anything else.