Laurie's World

Full disclosure: I’m getting a foot massage while I write this 😇.

I’ve decided that I deserve a treat every week! Each weekend, starting three weekends ago, I go to Le Sky and get a massage. It’s a nice place down by the Russian market! The first massage I got here was a footie, I’m sure I told you about that. Then last weekend I got a back & shoulder massage, today I’m back to the footie! While in all honesty the back massage last Saturday was truly excellent, my lower back is still painful to the touch from it! I asked for medium strength at that…..so unsure what full stength would have done to me 😝. So footie it is. These feet need a lot of work tbh! The massage is $10 for an hour. I forgot how strong  💪 these ladies are. I usually don’t  tip for massage in Thailand but it’s clearly a thing here. So I tip $2 and then I decided after the first week when I walked here that I can walk home, but need to get a grab to get here. My feet get grossly dirty and I’m all sweaty if I walk here even though it’s only a 12 minute walk.  I know they probably don’t care, but i feel bad, so I get the grab now. It’s 3,600 riel (which is about 88 cents). Totally an acceptable  amount. I also tip the grab driver 1,000 riel witch is about 25 cents. So all in, it’s just over $13 and is a really nice and reasonable way to celebrate the arrival of the weekend.  The girl doing my foot massage right now ‘found’ the site of the incision on my right foot of my ankle surgeries when I had the two ligaments replaced in 2018 and again in 2019. I could have used her when I was rehabbing those surgeries and the area needed massage to break down scar tissue. 😅😅 Massage is also a little weird on that foot sometimes since I have no feeling in part of that foot now.

(edited to add this after getting home) ALSO, the best part of this massage……as long as I booked a massage at either 5:30 pm on Friday or 10:00 am on Saturday (check for Friday @ 5:30 pm), and was here on time (which I was), I get a coupon for a free 30 minute back and shoulder massage! It’s a special promotion for the month of September called “on time promotion”. Hahaha! Are people not known for being on time here?? 😅  so I have my coupon in hand 🤩 and will be heading back to redeem 😎

As an aside to my tales of massage, I have officially survived 5 full weeks of teaching here and I’ve been here in Phnom Penh 6 weeks total! Crazy how it feels like a really long time since being at home, but at the same time, it has gone really FAST. Two more weeks of school then it a one week break!! What will I do with myself?? I could get out of the city, but supposedly that’s what everyone else will do, so maybe I’ll just stay in the city and enjoy that it’s quiet. After that week, Troy comes in two weeks, then 11 more days and I’m done my contract!!!! Totally doable when you look at it like that.

To address the questions of what happens after Oct 26th?? I’m still not sure to be honest. East-West will keep me on in either first or second grade if that’s what I want, or explore other roles if I want. I just don’t know yet. Last weekend I found a part of town I really like over by coconut park. I now have a real estate guy looking for me. He found a 3 bedroom place on the 39th floor of a building that allows pets and it’s $1,800 usd per month. It has a view of the Mekong river. I think from the 39th floor, a view of something amazing is 100% guaranteed probably 🤣🤣. If we stay this might be a good option for us! Stay tuned on this!! I didn’t hate my job this week, so anything is possible at this point

TTFN

Yes, it has been a while since I posted anything. Once again, this is mostly because things are quiet for me right now. I do have a ‘funny’ story from today though. Not funny haha, but funny perplexing. It’s been on my mind for the last couple weeks that I would like to bring the security guard a treat. I honestly think he has the worst job in the place. He sits down there at the garage entrance 24/seven and it just seems to me like he never gets to go anywhere. I’m sure this just seems normal to him but it seems to me like it would be nice for him to have a treat every so often. I think they feed him his meals here within the building because sometimes when I am passing through at suppertime someone comes out of the elevator with food for him. He also has a kettle so I see him making instant coffee in the morning. And you know how amazing I think instant coffee is! Even though it’s all I drink now too.
Last weekend it was my plan to get him a package of those small pandanas cakes from the Russian market that I bought the last time I was down there. I did talk to Makara and asked her if bringing him a treat would be appropriate. She assured me yes, and then I asked Landon about tipping him money, and he thought that would be a good idea too. Anyways it seemed easier to start with a pastry or something. Unfortunately, last Saturday when I was at the Russian market after my massage, (it was much earlier in the day than the last time I was there), the cart with the pandanas cakes was not there yet. So I walked to the Byon Bakery and got a couple things there. I bought what I thought was an apple turnover, but as it turns out it was something more of a savory/chicken pot pie pastry. I bought two so that I could have one for myself.

Anyway, when I got back from the market on Saturday the power was out and I saw the security guard was quite busy with the massive generator that they have here that powers the building. I gave him the pastry and he quickly set it down (and I assume) ate it later as I was on the receiving end of some very nice big smiles the next few times I came through the garage.

Fast forward to today when I was walking Nichol after school. I remembered to grab money and thought I would get him a doughnut from a donut shop that I pass about about four times a day when walking Nichol. It’s called Daily Donuts and it’s just on the next block over. A donut is 80 cents, which is pretty standard pastry pricing here. So this time for sure I knew it was going to be a sweet treat I delivered! I picked one up for the security guard and when I got back he actually wasn’t there so I brought Nichol in and cleaned his belly and feet because it had been raining and he was quite mucky. Then Nichol and I walked the donut back down and I gave it to the security guard. (His name is Mr. Haeng by the way (I had Sam ask him when she was here on Monday). This is where it got confusing as he opened it up looked in the bag and then promptly took the donut and gave it to someone else. I know we have a language barrier but he didn’t even make eye contact with me. So now I don’t know what to think, maybe he just doesn’t have a sweet tooth? I suppose I’ll just stick with money from now on because I don’t think he’ll give that away …..