Thanksgiving in Battambang
Celebrating American holidays here in my second home has been an incredible experience. I’ve been able to share many aspects of American culture through foods and activities associated with Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The night before Thanksgiving, I made a last minute decision to cook a traditional Thanksgiving dinner for my dorm sisters and friends. One of my best friends, Alma, was coming into town, so I knew I’d have plenty of help to make the dinner happen. In the morning, she, Omar, and I went shopping for ingredients at a market and a grocery store. For around $70, we bought everything we needed to make a Thanksgiving feast for about 25 people.
With the help of my sisters, we got to work preparing all the ingredients. We washed and cut all the potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, onions, chili peppers, and apples. Alma helped me marinate the chicken in a Khmer-American fusion style (a healthy amount of MSG and soy sauce with some paprika, chipotle, cumin, and Italian seasoning).
Then, we got to work cooking. I made up all the recipes, trusting my gut. Thanksgiving food has always been my favorite. Since there is no oven in the dorm (ovens are quite rare in Cambodia), I had to improvise.
We boiled the potatoes and the sweet potatoes separately, drained them, added plenty of seasoning to each, and then mashed them with cream and butter. This resulted in two delicious mashes: Italian-spiced mashed potatoes, and brown sugar and cinnamon mashed sweet potatoes.
Instead of the typical green bean casserole, which my mom and I usually make, I decided to make sauteed green beans with caramelized onions and Thai chilis. The result was amazing, and I may go on to use this recipe at Thanksgivings to come.

Cranberries are extremely hard to come by here, so I had to improvise the cranberry relish as well. We chopped up some apples and stewed them in cranberry juice, orange juice, and a splash of red wine. I added a bit of sugar and cinnamon to round out the flavors. It got a little bit burnt, but still tasted great as a dessert, paired with vanilla ice cream.
While I was cooking, Alma (who recently got her yoga instructor certification), led my sisters in a yoga class on the rooftop terrace. My sisters had so much fun trying yoga for the first time. Plus, the activity made everyone even more hungry for Thanksgiving dinner.

Before we ate, I asked everyone to go around the table saying something they are grateful for. My sisters all said that they were grateful for the Cambodian Village Fund for supporting their education. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, because it centers around food, family, and gratitude, allowing us to remember the wonderful things that enrich our lives. It was so special to share this holiday with my friends and sisters. Our multicultural celebration seemed to capture the true essence of Thanksgiving.

Koh Ta Kiev
On Thanksgiving, I made another split second decision. Throughout November, Alma had been inviting me to travel to Koh Ta Kiev with her and her friends. I kept saying I wouldn’t be able to, since I was quite busy in November. However, on Thanksgiving, she asked me if I could come once again. I couldn’t pass on the opportunity to experience a new part of Cambodia. If I had been able to make an entire Thanksgiving feast with no preparation, why couldn’t I go to the island the next day? I decided to go, and I’m so glad I did. It was an incredible experience.

Alma and I took a night bus to Phnom Penh, followed by a van to Sihanoukville. We shopped at the market, so we could bring plenty of fresh fruit to the island. From there, we took a taxi to a small port, with boats operated by our accommodation, Kactus KohTaKiev – The Hidden Tree-house Resort. I would certainly recommend this place for a glamping experience.

Koh Ta Kiev is a very small island off the coast of Sihanoukville. After going to Koh Rong Samloem the previous month, I thought I generally knew what to expect. However, Koh Ta Kiev had a special magic that surprised me. It’s much smaller and less populated than Koh Rong Samloem, and it almost has the feel of a deserted island. There are so many opportunities to be fully alone, surrounded by nature. Kactus Resort also has art and music rooms as well as opportunities for yoga and sound healing. It feels like summer camp for adults, and I’ll certainly be back. It was an incredibly refreshing experience that I’ll never forget.

English Language Program Update
The English Language Program team has been hard at work preparing for the start of the new semester. We are adopting policies that aim to boost student achievement, we created a placement test to ensure students are placed in the correct level, and we are planning a meeting with parents to inform them of changes and receive their feedback. We have been making great strides to improve the program so far, and we are looking forward to learning together as we start the new year.
Welcoming Friends and Family to Battambang
When I got back from the island, Chris arrived. He’s pioneering an extracurricular science program at Kaun Khlong Primary School, funded by Bob Field, an American cosmic evolution scientist. It’s been a lot of fun to introduce Chris to my friends and show him my favorite spots in Battambang. He has quickly become a part of our community.
A few days later, Silke and Darren came into town. I was able to accompany them to Stoeng Chak Primary School to give a talk on dental hygiene and pass out toothbrushes and toothpaste. Then, they came to the English Language Program to talk about dental hygiene.
A few days later, Bill and Nancy arrived. It was so exciting to welcome them and share my favorite spots with them. They got to see what a day in my life looks like and get a better understanding of my work. They accompanied me to the English Program one day, and we did a short lesson about names for grandparents in the US. I told the students that there are many names for grandparents in the US and that I call Nancy and Bill, “Nini and Papa”. The next time they came to the school, all the students referred to them as Nini and Papa.
Cambodian Village Fund Tour Group
From December 14-19, the Cambodian Village Fund led a tour around Battambang and Prey Touch Commune. It was a busy and extremely fulfilling trip.
On the first day, we spent time with my sisters, the scholarship students. We toured the dormitory in the morning and then headed to Kaun Khlong Village to tour the new students’ homes. It was so special for the tour group to get a glimpse into their lives.

The second day, we visited schools the CVF has built in Prey Touch Commune. We got to observe a certificate ceremony for high achieving students in the CVF English Language Program. The ceremony started with a “chicken dance” by the Kindergarten class at Kaun Khlong Primary School. Then, the English teachers gave awards to the students that scored in the top three for each level. Academic achievement awards like this are important in Khmer culture, and it was quite special for me to recognize my students’ success.

We then returned to Battambang to visit Phare Ponleu Selpak, the Khmer arts and circus school I work with. We had a tour of the facilities that showed the scope of their work, from their kindergarten program to their professional circus performances. Phare made our group a delicious Khmer dinner, and then my sisters joined us for a circus performance in the evening. The performance told a compelling story of Hindu prince and princess Rama and Sita through circus acts influenced by Khmer dance and arts. The tour group and scholarship students deeply enjoyed the performance.

Since my mom’s birthday was on Tuesday, it was an extra special day. In the morning, my parents and I went to my weekly drum lesson together, so they could learn about Khmer traditional music. Then, we went to Preah Sihanouk Raja Buddhist University to hear a lecture on Buddhism and Buddhist education. I was quite inspired by the work the university is doing, especially their recording archives of people who were impacted by the Cambodian Genocide and their work in peace education that aims to build unity across religion and nationality.

After this, we went to the Peace Gallery, a museum dedicated to the way peace was built after the Cambodian Genocide. Then, we traveled back to Kaun Khlong to teach English for an hour at the English Language Program. I organized the tour group into teaching teams that taught two lessons each, so each English class got two different lesson plans. It was so fun to share my work with the tour group and give them a chance to participate in the program in such a meaningful way. Happy and exhausted from the long day, we headed back to Battambang for my mom’s birthday dinner at The Fringe. We enjoyed a healthy dinner followed by a delicious cake. It was such a great day!

On Wednesday, we went to see the dedication ceremony of the CVF’s newest school building, Prean Nil Primary School. It was amazing to see the community and government officials come together to celebrate the opening of this school.


Our last day was absolutely incredible. During the morning, we got to explore the city on our own. My parents and I decided to go to Banan temple, which has become one of my favorite spots in Battambang. After that, we prepared for the annual CVF reunion party. All the English Language Teachers, current and graduate scholarship students, and others that have worked with the CVF gathered at the Bambu Hotel. We talked, ate a delicious buffet dinner, and then got ready for the talent show. I sang a song I wrote in my masters degree about education being used to disrupt cycles of poverty. The scholarship students sang Karaoke songs, Ruth sang a gorgeous Christmas song, and Chris did a fun hacky sack act. Malay and Oun Lea sang the last song, Sway with Me, and encouraged everyone to dance. After they finished, my mom yelled out “put on VannDa,” starting a dance party that would continue into the night. We danced to Khmer and western songs in a huge circle, as is common in Cambodia. It was so fun to dance the night away with my family and friends.

Christmas in Battambang
Christmas in Battambang was amazing. I hosted two Christmas parties: a small White Elephant party for my friends and a large Christmas dinner for my friends, family, and sisters.
White Elephant is a common Christmas game in the US. Everyone is requested to bring a wrapped gift under $5 (handmade and recycled gifts are encouraged). All the gifts are displayed, and one by one we each choose a gift and unwrap it. Each person can either choose a new gift or steal a gift that has already been opened. The catch is that every gift can only be stolen two times. The result is a fun and oddly competitive game where everyone ends up with a gift. I ended up with a beautiful wallet!

The Christmas dinner party was extremely special. I decided it would be fun to share another cuisine that’s important to me, Mexican food! My parents and I decided to make chicken tacos with all the quintessential condiments and sides. Like Thanksgiving, we went to a market and a grocery store to get all the ingredients. Many of the important ingredients, like tomatoes, onions, and cilantro, were easy to find, but the tortillas, chips, cheese, canned beans, and sour cream required some extra searching. Finally, we secured all the ingredients and began the prep work.
Since many of the ingredients are eaten fresh, without being cooked, we had to keep food safety top of mind. Food safety is often taken for granted in western kitchens, so it presented an interesting challenge for our group. We washed everything in filtered water and added a lot of salt and lime juice to kill any additional germs. My dorm sisters were extremely helpful and careful as we prepared all the food together.
After hours of work, we had made guacamole, cooked salsa, Mexican rice, refried beans, black beans, and Mexican chicken. My sisters were excited to try tacos, since they had seen them in pictures but never gotten the opportunity to taste them. Their reaction was a bit mixed, since tacos are so different from any food they’d tried before. However, many of my sisters thought the food was delicious. It sure tasted like home to me!

After we ate, Nini (Nancy) arranged a raffle for some things she’d brought from the states. We all enjoyed this activity, and lucky Bong Vanna ended up with the coveted Barbie Doll. Then, I led everyone in a Christmas craft. My Grandma Juanita had suggested we make a paper chain. I decided to ask each person to decorate a piece of paper for the chain. The result was a festive mix of different drawings and messages.

The night closed with loads of different sweets. My Grandma had sent her famous gingerbread men, some candy canes, and a tin full of assorted cookies, all of which were a huge hit. Additionally, some of my sisters had bought a Christmas cake for us to share. We ended the night with full stomachs and hearts. I truly felt the Christmas spirit even though I was so far from the states.
