#amazing things to do in cambodia

[wanderlustphotosblog]

Top 15 Things to See in Cambodia: Guide to Must-Visit Attractions

Plan your unforgettable trip to Cambodia with my guide to the top fifteen things to see. From ancient temples to pristine beaches, there's something for everyone to enjoy in this captivating country.

From the awe-inspiring temples of Angkor Wat to the lush tropical landscapes and vibrant cities, Cambodia beckons travelers to immerse themselves in its rich heritage and stunning beauty. Whether you’re seeking to uncover ancient history, immerse yourself in natural splendor, or simply soak up the unique atmosphere, Cambodia offers a truly captivating and unforgettable travel experience. In this…

[gatheringbones]

[“I managed to get out in three months. While out on parole for Christmas, I begged my father not to send me back. In another of our few tender moments, he caved. And he was the one who went to collect my stuff from this place. He returned so shaken he couldn’t talk about it beyond mumbled regrets. He’d never actually seen the place. These mumblings marked a third tender moment.

I had a reprieve, but not for long. I still hadn’t learned my lesson. The cure hadn’t worked. And I was still under the care of this same shrink, which meant still seeing Beth. I made the same gaff, telling Beth about yet another woman, and again she reported back. My father, having been informed, made his last strategic strike. This time he told the shrink that his sister was manic-depressive, and perhaps I was, too. Eureka, they’d solved it, solved me.

Once more I was called into the shrink’s office. I listened to a masterful pitch for Lithium. He made it sound like a drug addict’s dream. That it would allow me to manipulate my mood at will. Next he described me as a Virginia Woolf type time bomb. I’d certainly kill myself by forty. Now I was some kind of suicidal genius. But through the miracle of Lithium I could be saved. The flattery worked, the pitch worked. I fell for it hook, line, and sinker. Took another script to the drug store, this time believing in magic.

I didn’t know you needed a blood test for dosage, but presumably the shrink did. For the next ten days I didn’t eat or sleep. No need to, this stuff made me high as a kite. Unlike most actual manic-depressives, I had no experience with mania. And while I’d done speed, of course, and coke, downers were always more my thing. I’d never gone so hyped for so long. You could say my judgment was a bit impaired. This set the stage for the last act.

The shrink suggested I sign myself into a hospital, just for a couple of weeks to stabilize the dosage. Even impaired, I didn’t immediately bite. So Beth was brought in for bait. Unlike me, she’d learned her lesson, was on board this time, though I didn’t know it yet. She coaxed me and I began to waver. I don’t remember why, but I was at my brother’s house when I called her. I do remember I was alone, staring into his kitchen, which had this amazing pile-up of empty Dewars bottles. The same scotch my parents drank by the gallon. The sight of all those bottles seemed to be what made me call.

It was night, a Friday, I think. I know Reagan had just been elected to his first term. Time had passed. I’d later joke it was his election that tipped me over. Beth came and picked me up. Took me to this place. I signed myself in. My parents didn’t even know. The weekend meant two more days of no sleep or food, even so I realized I’d made a mistake, a big one—been duped.

My father bailed me out, took me home. That might have been that, but it wasn’t. I was still on the stuff—the lithium. By now it’d turned me into some punk girl version of Travis Bickle. For reasons I don’t recollect, I was wearing army fatigues, combat boots, and a lot of those heavy silver biker rings. My mother was in the kitchen cooking dinner. My father and I were watching the news. As my kind of luck would have it, Cambodia, perhaps then still Democratic Kampuchea, was news that night—the Khmer Rouge, Pal Pot, the killing fields—they were dredging it all up again, showing old footage.

That’s all it took. The fuse was lit. The only question now was who’d explode first—me or Dad. I think it might’ve been simultaneous combustion. But he was the one on his feet first. When I hit him, I believed it was self-defense. If I hadn’t been wearing the damn rings, I might not have done damage.

My mother tried to break it up—a first. Somehow she and I wound up on the stairs. But how she fell, honestly I don’t know. I only know I didn’t intend to hurt her. I think I was just trying to get her attention. She wasn’t badly hurt, not physically. But she sat at the foot of those stairs yelling she never wanted me inside their house again. Meanwhile my father was on the phone to the cops—or rather a cop. A friend/employee of his. This guy drove me back to the snake pit. This time they took my jewelry, hell, they took everything. This time they doped me to the gills. This time it was progress when I finally got out of a tiny cell to roam a locked ward with women who’d had lobotomies, and I assure you I’m not exaggerating.

I’ll spare you the gorier details. Things you’d expect but might not believe. After all, nobody believed Martha Mitchell either, at least not until it was way too late to do her any good. So let’s just say that given the condition of the other inhabitants, I was a real find for the night nurse. She made a bundle pimping me to the orderlies. I did eventually engineer my release, aided and abetted by a young woman working in occupational therapy. She was the only person who knew or rather cared that I didn’t belong there. She coached me.

For added insurance I managed to get a guy I knew to come pose as my boyfriend. We went so far as to announce our engagement, and I was released shortly after. At the time I believed the engagement stunt was what cinched it. Now I assume it had less to do with the insurance I’d arranged than with my parents’ Blue Cross, which no doubt had been bilked to the max.

The doctor who released me was the same one who’d been there the night I’d signed myself in. I hadn’t seen him or any doctor since, save the one time he’d called on me to act as playmate for a wealthy woman friend of his who was there taking a much-needed rest from the jet-set. If my whole time there had been like that one week with her—good booze, good drugs, good food, and good sex��I might never have left. But it wasn’t. It was a beautiful fluke amidst grueling ugliness.

As this guy released me, he laughed, even gloated about the amount of Thorazine he’d managed to pump into me. I’d remember the number. Again, I learned from a book that this dose was more than double what was considered safe for an actual psychotic. I got the point. I resolved never again to display an emotion, never again to state an opinion, and never again to fall in love with a woman.

Needless to say, I got away from my family. But I still kept those resolutions for nearly two years. The first two fell away first. The last one was lost to a woman I’ll call Ingrid. And while falling for Ingrid would begin yet another sordid story, it’s the end of this one.”]

heather lewis, from richard nixon and me, from a woman like that: lesbian and bisexual writers tell their coming out stories, 2000

[paradisepoisoned]

I'm drunk, and work is consuming my life, so I give you the Death Note tattoo AU no one asked for.

-L was a world-famous tattoo artist, but no one really knows what he looks like except his clients and disgruntled employees, but his work is well recognized. Moved to New York to open his own tattoo shop but he's kinda a mystery in the industry and he's one of those owners that doesn't really show up to his own business anymore he rarely tattoos and when he does its only things he wants to do. Will fuck off to Cambodia for a month or something and then randomly show up to collect money and sleep there for a week.

 -L has only ever took two apprentices and they were Mello and Near. He took them on at the same time and it was a complete disaster. L refuses to take on an apprentice ever again

-Near specializes in sacred geometry, mandalas, and all that tedious crazy shit. Line work is impeccable. I feel like he'd be great at lettering and that fine line bullshit that everyone else hates. No one takes him seriously as an artist cause he looks like he's fucking twelve. He has amazing work but is absolutely horrible with clients due to his non existent social skills.

-Mello is the black and gray guy. He's one of those guys who just whips out a 23 mag and goes to town and bangs out a half sleeve in a few hours. I can see him doing crazy horror shit and those big crazy religious pieces like praying hands statues and all that good shit. He doesn't do color and doesn't like anything with a lot of linework. Looks scary but kinda a softie. 

-Near is great at linework. Mello is great at shading. They compete and fight on a regular basis. They have an ongoing silent war stealing each other's supplies,clients, etc. (They're secretly in love tho, deal with it)

-Matt definitely the anime bruh I could see him doing some super colorful new school anime type shit he's a street shop kinda guy at heart tho hell do the dirty jobs no one else wants to do and he's FAST he can bang out your little infinity symbol butterfly feather clusterfuck matching finger tattoo with your 13 friends no problem. He wears goggles while tattooinglmaoaoa idk why, but he also gives me big piercer energy, lol 

-I'm sorry but I can't leave out Linda. I feel like she's the color girl. Specializes in cover ups and botanical tattoos but shes well rounded and can take mostly anything that walks in. Probably the most organized artist out of all of them and keeps the shop from falling apart on a daily basis. I feel like L also trusts her to be the one to manage the shop while he's not there since the others are all completely unhinged, lol. Shop mom 100%

-Matt and Mello hit the bar at least once a week after work and talk shit till 4am 

-B Specializes in trash polka fucking fight me on it.

-B and L apprenticed together and were working together when L opened his own shop but B kinda went down a dark path and him and L drifted apart and now have beef so B is the artist no one talks about (except Mello cause I feel B woulda played a big part in his apprenticeship) 

-B also kinda legitimately tried to burn the whole shop down before he left soooooo...

-L has kept B's room open for years, hoping he gets his shit together one day and comes back. 

[slytherinshua]

Ah I loved that, thankyou!! I feel like Yechan would hate me tho because I LOVE to tease. I am a menace to my younger sister (I once convinced her for about 5 mins that she didn't actually know what her middle name was, but then again I'm am extremely gullible and my brother has convinced me of things that I have believed for years 😭). He would definitely be so supportive though and I feel like it would be so interesting to have convos about music with him!

Sangyeop definitely strikes me as the reliable "I'm here if you need me" type of of guy. He would definitely be such an interesting person to talk to, the amount of random knowledge that he must know could keep me entertained for hours lol

I need Wonsang to help me through my fears even now lol. He's so sweet and I could see him being so patient with you while trying to get you to face them, why is he not in my life 😭😭

Songwriting with Gwangil would be so fun! And the amount of inside jokes you would probably have is amazing. I definitely agree with you, I think his hugs could solve anything and I absolutely need one lol.

I'm glad piano has been going well! How are you finding the teacher, do you like them? Ooh that's cool, do you have a lot of arm muscles from that? I always imagine that tennis players must have insane muscles but I could be wrong lol. That's so interesting that you lived overseas, can I ask where you lived? I'm sure it must have been hard to adjust! 2 of my best friends also lived overseas with missionary parents, but I don't think they struggled too much since the were so young and then moved back while they were still in primary school. I'm good! Not up to much either lol. I went on a mini roadtrip with two of my friends (funnily enough the ones I just mentioned). It was really good, but also really funny to see them interact with eachother since they are sisters. One is a year older than me and the other is a year younger, so being in the middle of it always very fun. I still live with my brother, but even then we hardly interact lol. Somedays the only interaction we have is when he's filling his bottle up before he goes to bed at like 1am and that's very short lol. We definitely have the same (broken) sense of humour, there was a period of time when we were constantly rickrolling each other and we both became very paranoid messaging each other ahaha. That's definitely the thing with family though, they are so annoying and some days you just want to slap them, but you also love them so much and would fight for them. If anyone touches my baby sister (who is only 3yrs younger lol) there will be hell to pay 😡😡

lmao yechan would lose patience fr 😭😭 my older siblings always gaslit me when i was little OMG like they fr convinced me my nose was blue and now they wont let it go even now like 13 yrs later 😭😭😭😭😭 yeah sangyeop is so sweet and reliable :( and hes so smart too i feel like he'd advice for anything!!! wonsang is the sweetest like stop.... im so sad :( gwangil has so much fun around the people hes close to but he can be so quiet to others i love him </3

i really like my teacher!! i had her back in 2020 too so its not completely new <3 i don't lol it doesn't take as much strength as you would think to hit the ball you just need to practice to get the timing right and accuracy down then its pretty easy in terms of strength!!

yeah i lived in the philippines for 3 yrs and i've also been to some other south east asian countries like indonesia, singapore, and cambodia <3 i remember having so much fun living in the countries and i would make friends really easy but the problem was i would always be moving away so i was never able to keep any friendships. even now im scared to make in person friends cause im scared im just going to move away again, so that's why i only have online friends :( its like a security net ig... cause i know we wont just lose contact one day <//3 omg that's so fun i miss roadtrips!! and i miss having in person friends too lskdjsk

yeah i live with my two closest brother and sister in age but sometimes we don't even see each other in a day not because we go outside but because they're sleeping... 😭 i love broken senses of humor tho like i fr have a teenage boy sense of humor with my best friend 💀💀💀 sibling relationships are so precious imo and so unique to any other relationship out there cause they could be so different from you that if you weren't siblings you would never be friends. but because you are you get along with them and love them to death <3

[back-and-totheleft]

"Moments that stay with you forever"

The process of seeing [the war] as something else, how long did that take? What was that process?

It takes time. First of all, you come back numb. You're alienated. You're not really cogent in that way we're talking [about] now. I mean, I was angry, and being in civilian life is very different than the military; especially in a prospering civilian life in New York where people are making money. Big money was being made for the first time. I met a woman, my first wife, Najwa, who was working at the Moroccan mission to the United Nations. She was Lebanese and she helped me come back to civilization, in a sense. We'd be in the streets and I'd hear a backfire of a car and I'd be on the sidewalk. That kind of nervousness. 

You're very candid about the aspect of war that's invigorating. You write at one point: "Soldiers might say it was hell, but I saw it as divine. The closest man would ever come to the Holy Spirit was to witness and survive this great destructive energy."

Yeah. I think many people who are in combat will tell you, late in their life, that they will always remember those moments, you know. Moments that stay with you forever. This night I'm describing, that night, was my experience of an all night human wave attack, which is very rare. You don't see those very much in Vietnam because the enemy is not interested in human wave attacks. There's too many casualties. But for some reason, because they were on the trail down from Cambodia into Saigon and they were planning for the Tet Offensive at the end of January (and this was the night of January 1, '68) they came at us, full out, from the moment dark fell till dawn and it didn't end - and that battle was amazing. The power, the force of that battle was like a hurricane, being in a hurricane. Of course, the irony of the whole thing is that this is the largest battle I'm in, but I don't see one enemy. I don't fire my rifle. All I do is get blown up by my own side. 

I'm concussed. I'm thrown in the air. I get up, no blood, and I go back into the field. I report to my line, whatever it was called, my perimeter. Didn't see one of them [the enemy] the whole night. People were scared. These guys, the NVA [North Vietnamese Army] were inside the perimeter at times. It was very close fighting, but I was spared. I compared it to Greek mythology, where Pallas Athena comes down and cloaks an Odysseus type in her mist and takes him away from the battle; lifts him off, away from the dangers. There was a godlike intervention. Strange night. And that's what I was talking about. Powerful night. It stayed with me for the rest of my life. Still is with me. 

After that, it got dirtier. I was wounded twice and I got involved in a lot of dirty combat. One time, I saw an enemy soldier about ten feet away, behind an anthill. I was behind some kind of protection, but I had an M79, which is a different kind of weapon than an M16. It needs fifty to sixty yards to explode. You can't explode it at ten feet. Those kinds of incidents were crazy. 

-Louis Theroux interviews Oliver Stone, Grounded with Louis Theroux, Jan 4 2021

[terresdebrume]

Tonight is a "let's feel undirected stress, frustration and sadness" kind of night, where multiple things might have contributed but we don't know which one! Is it:

Feeling like I fucked up with a student after the lovely words students had to say about me this morning for teachers day, thus feeling a bit like a sham?

Feeling like I fucked up with a student because I'm too focused on their academic performance and behavior in class despite having suffered from this as a teenager?

Some kind of rebound from talking to my mom yesterday and having to say the conversation went well because she said she would see my potential child "even though it would be an effort" and only reminded me once that I was lucky no one refused to see me after my trans coming out?

The vague feeling that I may be done trying, actually. That I don't know why I continue to try and reach out to the family when the best I can expect is them having to wrestle themselves into the idea of even just potentially seeing a fucking infant just because they don't fucking like who birthed it?

... you know what I was going to make one last bullet point but I think this one is it. I'm so fucking frustrated that this is how she feels about it, that this is the fucking best I can expect. I'm so frustrated that I feel more appreciated by my students than my fucking family. I'm so angry and sad because I love my students and I'm glad they like me, but also the importance that has for me is definitely linked to feeling unloved for a long time

I'm so fucking sad and I'm frustrated that I still feel too guilty and too, idk, tied down to some conservative notions of family to just fucking give up on my mother the way I had to give up on my father

I'm fucking frustrated that one of my closest friend offered to house me if I went to give birth in France and I actually like this idea a lot (even though financially it would probably cost me a lot more than doing it in Cambodia, unless I could find someone to do in house pet sitting) but the first thing I did was giving my mother the idea of visiting the child when I'm actually realizing I don't want her there

I would love to have my friend Julie there, because she's the mother of my goddaughter and she's been and amazing support and I think she's doing a great job raising her kid! But I don't want my mom around. I don't want my sister, I don't want my father, I don't want any of my aunts, and I don't think any of my cousins would be particularly interested

I don't know why I keep trying to maintain relationships with my mom's family when it's becoming increasingly clear that I don't want to. They haven't done anything violent (at least physically) or outwardly very bad but honestly

I don't want to try anymore. I'm fucking tired. I'm just. So fucking tired.

[celiastjamesoscar]

Anything for the final exams to be over! The thing i could atleast do is to get some decent scores enough and that's actually what happened for most of my year in tenth grade 💪 idk if sleepytime tea is here but i'll try to find it 😅 searched it up and it has an online purchase in cambodia

I feel furious 😤 my best friend's ex was an a-hole, he literally prevented her from talking to me !! Good thing she dropped him, she really need to stop dating these....men 😭

I have one test left in the next few hours, after i take it im GONE!! Idc if i still have a class left after, i'm outta there 😭 sadly the principal said if we finish our final exams we can't be gone right after because we still have a month left until we finish 10 grade, but i don't think students would take that seriously 🚶‍���️

ALSO GRACE THE EXORCIST BELIEVER WAS GOOD!! It had me covering my ears and my cousin was terrified, she kept holding on to me 😭😭 9/10 ♡

Exam season is brutal, especially final exam season. I’m wishing you the best on all of your exams!! Sleepytime tea works wonders, and I highly recommend it!!

Hell no 😭 your best friend certainly knows how to pick these men, that’s for sure. The fact that he wouldn’t let her talk to you is absolutely insane. You should have been throwing hands with him 😭

GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR TEST!!! You’re going to do amazing!!!!! Your principal is evil for saying you guys aren’t done even though you finish your final exam a month early. I would hand in my final exam and then you would never hear from me entire the next school 😭

I SERIOUSLY NEED TO SEE THE EXORCIST BELIEVER!!! Your rating it 9/10 makes me watch to see it so bad

[imreallyloveleee]

Random question and I might be mixing you up with someone else, but you did a lot of traveling around Asia recently right? What were your favorite places? Do you have any recommendations? Have a great day!

hi anon! sorry, i unintentionally sat on this for weeks. you're correct, it was me! i spent a year traveling around. more under the cut >

I visited Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, the Philippines, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea, & Japan. It was wonderful. Most places we spent about a month, some we spent more like a week (Singapore, HK) and some we spent about 2 months (Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan).

It's so hard to pick favorites! Some of mine were:

Traveling around Java, the largest island in Indonesia, was a cool experience. This was last July, pretty soon after they opened post-covid, so there were not many Western tourists around, and it's interesting as a white person to be a very visible minority for once. Some of the highlights were Borobudur and Prambanan temples, which were incredible, and releasing baby turtles on a beach at a turtle sanctuary (which I'm now kind of skeptical about because I think it should have been at a different time of day for maximum turtle safety, but idk, too late now).

I also really loved Borneo. We spent most of our time on the Malaysian side, where we went scuba diving at Sipadan (amazing) and then stayed at the Kinabatangan River for a few days where we got to go wildlife spotting along the river and saw wild orangutans, which are super rare!!

Cambodia is a special place. Angkor Wat really lives up to the hype, visiting the different temple complexes in Siem Reap was one of my favorite things we did on the whole trip. It was also very heartbreaking and moving to visit the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh and to hear from some of the guides we had about how their own families were impacted by the genocide, or how they themselves were impacted by some of the unexploded cluster bombs dropped by the US. It's humbling, how kindly Americans are treated in ALL of these countries that have suffered greatly as a result of our government's actions.

Luang Prabang in Laos is absolutely gorgeous. Best sunsets I've ever seen in my life. It's touristy, but a nice, relaxed kind of touristy. After that we went to see the Plain of Jars out in Phonsavan, and then went up into the mountains for an overnight wildlife spotting trip, and that was our most off-the-beaten-path part of the trip for sure. Cramming with 30 people into a 12-person van for 8 hours on windy unpaved roads while the lady next to you pukes into a plastic bag then throws it out the window...turns out there are still Experiences to be had in the world, lol.

The Philippines had IMO the most beautiful beaches, and the best scuba diving. Oh my god the diving!!! We saw thresher sharks, they are so fucking cool. I want to go back.

Hong Kong was my favorite big city we visited. The Mid-Levels escalators are so fun.

JAPAN. Holy shit. Everywhere we went was beautiful, everything we ate was beautiful, everything there is just beautiful? Some of my favorite food, too. Lodging is expensive-ish, but everything else really isn't. I don't think I'd want to live there but as a visitor, just incredible.

People were so, so, so nice, everywhere we went.

I could go on and on. If you're looking for specific advice on anything, feel free to ask! I hope you're having a great day too <3

[learningnewways]

Church Visit

This week there was another public holiday... Two in one week?! Yep, it’s a bit crazy... It feels like we just start building momentum with joining the team and then there’s another day off or it’s the weekend... It’s frustrating but there’s not much we can do about it. Over the weekend, I tried to join in with as much as I could, so on Saturday I went to a university Bible study that one of the Destiny Rescue team volunteers for, and on Sunday we did a tour of the children’s ministry and community campus at ICF.

I felt honoured to join the Bible study, which is run by International Fellowship of Evangelical Christians (IFEC), which in New Zealand is called Tertiary Students Christian Fellowship (TSCF). This particular study was for a group of student leaders who lead their own small groups around campus. It was nice to be together, particularly with other young women, to worship and learn new ways of sharing the gospel. They asked me lots of questions and I was able to be an encouragement to them, which was awesome. I felt very welcomed and like I was part of the team. It’s really surprised me how open, friendly and welcoming the locals are here in Cambodia. I’ve found it so much easier to connect than in The Gambia, that’s for sure.

On Sunday morning we got up bright and early, and headed to ICF (International Christian Fellowship). They are the church we visited last Sunday, who started the Wake Park next door. We were joining their tour, which meant we got to see all parts of what they do on a Sunday morning, walk through all the facilities, join in some activities, and learn more about their work throughout the week. It was incredible! (A word you’ll see me use many times in this blog post...) The campus is absolutely stunning and it’s hard to believe they have accomplished so much in only ten years. It was a morning full of awe and inspiration.

The focus of the tour was on children’s ministry, which happens on Sunday mornings. We started our tour by jumping on their church trucks, which drive around nearby villages, picking kids up and bringing them to the church. I couldn’t believe it... They sent out around ten trucks, all in different directions, and most came back full of children. I was partnered with one of the church’s many social workers, and we stopped at about ten stops, picking up kids as young as toddlers through to intermediate age. As we approached the stop, kids would be waiting for us, some of them literally jumping up and down in anticipation! It brought tears to my eyes seeing the kids so excited for church. Others would sprint towards the truck as it tooted on arrival. Children chatted away and laughed on the trucks as we drove back to the church, where they were unloaded and signed in.

Around 350 children come to ICF on Sunday mornings, either making their own way to church or being picked up by the village trucks. That’s a lot of kids! Bigger than a lot of schools! The whole morning was so well organised and ran so smoothly, it was amazing, I��ve never seen anything quite like it. Once the kids arrived, they were given a light snack of bread, fruit and a drink, then they got to have an hour of free time. All around the campus they set up numerous activities from rock climbing to football, hair washing and first aid, to musical chairs and art. So many activities for the kids to choose from and wander between. There was such a good mix of practical things like hair washing and cutting, as well as fun games and crafts.

After their hour free time, the bell rings and the kids go into the main room where they have big moveable stadium seating. The kids do worship and listen to a sermon, maybe watch a live drama or video, and have a game up front. Once the talk is over, they go out into their small groups where they chat about what they learnt in the talk and pray together. Then they all get feed lunch, which is quite the operation! It was so well organised and all went surprisingly quickly and smoothly. Incredible! After lunch the kids go inside for a bit of a wrap up, before heading home on the trucks.

While kids church is on, across the road at the Wake Park is the adults service, which is in Khmer, the local language. There is a Khmer and English service that runs at night, which we went to last week, as well as a youth service on Saturday nights. The whole operation is mainly run by volunteers, over a hundred of them! These volunteers are mainly youth aged and local. They also have all the ICF staff there, including social workers, outreach team, campus staff, educators and maintenance staff, and there’s around a hundred of them too. There is a lot of staff and volunteers, but their community reach is staggering.

While there, we got to walk around the entire campus and learn more about what they do during the week, which was again, incredible! We talked to the head of their social team, who explained the life changing work they do. If families in nearby villages meet certain conditions, such as lack of income, education, basic needs, illness, vulnerability...etc, they can become part of ICF’s program. The team of around 50 social workers, all locals, have about 25 families each that they work with in this program, which makes up 1,250 families, or between 7,000-10,000 people in total. That’s crazy! These social workers spend every day visiting families in their homes, providing support for physical, mental and spiritual needs, hosting small groups, running after school programs... All at no cost for the families. It’s mind blowing.

During the week, the church puts on a free after school program that any child can attend, but they do have to find their own way to the campus. Around 120 kids come every day. The after school program has educators that specialise in Khmer, English, Maths, Music, Art and Bible Studies, and children get to choose two classes to attend each day, which run for around an hour. I believe the children also get fed, but I’m not 100% sure on that. The facilities were epic, so well thought through, planned and executed.

It fascinated and astounded me just how many kids came every Sunday and throughout the week, it absolutely astounded me! In a country that’s over 90% Buddhist, it’s interesting that families here are so open. They are well aware that their children are going to a Christian program and that the social workers helping them are Christians. There is no pressure for the families to themselves become Christians, although of course many do over time. In all the work I’ve seen with Destiny Rescue and ICF, the local people seem overwhelming fine with Christians sharing the Gospel with their Buddhist children. I’m not sure the same could be said for the Muslim dominated Gambia... I think the success is in the way ICF provides such holistic support and is in the community so frequently. They have become a trustworthy and safe place in the community for so many years.

With staff numbers of around 120 and a community reach of close to 10,000 people, I can’t express enough how incredible and inspiring the work of ICF is. And ICF Cambodia has only been around for ten years, with the social team starting seven years ago. Yes, they are bank rolled, with mainly European donors and partner churches funding the 1.5 million NZD per year it takes to keep it running... But our churches in New Zealand spend around half a million a year, hiring only roughly ten staff and reaching maybe 1,000 people? Sure, wages and living costs are much cheaper over here, but man, their local community sure is the focus! And although I’m seeing them now in all their glory, they didn’t start out that way. They were just a normal church plant with missionaries who saw a need and filled it.For things to function so smoothly on a large scale, their systems and processes must be top notch and scalable. You can’t reach that many people effectively without good organisation and communication! They have details on every child that comes to them, files on how many social visits they’ve had, food parcels received, medical checks done...etc. They build such strong and genuine relationships that if a kid is missing for even a few days, someone notices and can quickly check in on them. I’m super organised and admin strong, and it made me say “wow” many times over!

The church has around 20 non-local staff, so foreigners who mainly raise their own funds to be there voluntarily, like most missionaries. We had a lovely American girl Amber showing us around, who’d been there for about three years. We talked about the work of Destiny Rescue and how inspired we were by ICF. Amber is also passionate about human trafficking and hopes to move into that work more specifically over time, but since being with ICF she has realised that their work in the community IS preventing human trafficking. They are so well connected with families, that they catch children who are vulnerable and at risk before they are in danger. They also run seminars that help to educate and prevent exploitation, as well as their sponsorship and after school program which supports education... It really is wrap around support.

ICF Cambodia do so much, is actually a bit overwhelming and unfathomable. I’ve travelled around the world, seen many ministries across New Zealand, and I’ve never seen anything quite like it. Honestly! They cover almost everything you could think of, and if they don’t, they’re working on it! They are extreme visionaries and problem solvers, who get stuff done! I hope and pray they plant more churches with the same community focus in countries that really need it. The Gambia perhaps?

It’s hard not to think of ideas for The Gambia constantly... But also my brain isn’t sure how realistic many things are, particularly when there’s minimal Christians to help run things, zero funding, and a strong Muslim culture who at best kicks children out of families for converting to Christianity... Some ideas are transferable and others aren’t. I wonder what my place is in all of this... As I approach my final week in Cambodia, I can’t help but think about my future. Am I the link between Destiny Rescue and The Gambia? Or even ICF and The Gambia? Am I to support an already existing ministry, or to start my own? Am I even supposed to go back to The Gambia, or stay in New Zealand, bringing new energy and fresh ideas? I don’t know... But I know all my experiences, learnings, challenges and passions can’t be for nothing. Nothing is wasted in God’s Kingdom.

[shafqatdad]

Julio Lopez dialogue as a source of permanent enrichment

Julio Lopez, dialogue as a source of permanent enrichment https://ift.tt/W4lEYMB Talking to Julio Lopez is like getting a good dose of optimism. His enthusiasm is infectious and listening to him everything seems possible. And that’s just as well, because he helps our students to find the path that is right for them. Can you share your background with us? I am from Marbella. I studied in Les Roches Crans-Montana and when I finished I studied with Cordon Bleu. I have studied in countries like: Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, UK, Cambodia, Thailand, Nicaragua, and Tanzania. Always in something related to the F&B department and as an Operations Manager. What made you want to teach? Today I work as a Finance teacher, but the truth is that when I joined Les Roches it was as a F&B teacher, without knowing what to expect. But I discovered that I loved teaching!!! Being in class with the students is an amazing feeling. Why did you choose Les Roches rather than another hotel management school? Being form Marbella, where there is a Les Roches campus, I always knew that Les Roches was a great school. I decided to go to Crans-Montana campus because I wanted to discover new places. Being in class with the students is an amazing feeling. How would you define Les Roches? What makes Les Roches unique? Les Roches is a family. It is unique because of that. The connection between students and between students and teachers/staff is incredible. More like a family. Has the atmosphere of Les Roches influenced the way you prepare your courses? Absolutely. I try to be close to my students and create discussions on topics. To share information and knowledge not only from me but from the rest of the students. What is your definition of the transmission of knowledge? You need to be passionate about it to be able to share the knowledge. Your students need to know that you love what you talk about. Beyond the technical aspect, what do you try to transmit to your students? Passion and empathy. Your students need to know that you love what you talk about. Do you have a secret for getting the best out of each student? I am very honest and friendly with my students. I believe I am very transparent and they open to me because of that. In your opinion, are there any fundamental values that a student should possess if he or she wants to work in hotel management? Passion, empathy and patience. Be inclusive, be caring, be open. In your opinion, will these notions, which are essential for the new generations, change the face of the hotel industry? Absolutely. Some hotel companies are still a bit old fashioned in some cases. I believe the new generations will change that and will adapt to what they think is important… and I agree with them. Being inclusive, caring and open should be the normality. Sustainability will be essential as well. I believe the new generations will change that and will adapt to what they think is important. In your opinion, what can – and will – the new generations bring to the hotel sector? Or the world of work in general? Empathy, inclusivity, openness, and honesty. In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges facing the hotel sector in 2023? The hotel sector needs to adapt to the taste of a new generation. Technology will be extremely important and even though the hotel sector adapts to technology, probably they will need to adapt even faster. The F&B department will need a big change, whereby fresh, local products will be demanded by the new generation of guests. Veganism and sustainability will be two other things the hotel sector will need to consider. The post Julio Lopez, dialogue as a source of permanent enrichment appeared first on Les Roches.

[homosexualrodent]

another tag game

thank you @theoceanismyinkwell for the tag !! i have to do this now or else i will completely forget before i disappear again for a few more weeks

favourite time of year : the fall, which is sadly the shortest season where im at. the brief weeks at the end of sept / early oct between the gruelling heat and extreme cold is my absolute favourite time of year.

comfort food : literally anything that could clog my arteries in the long run ( i guess that’s what people mean when they say food fills their hearts ) and sushi. i can’t say no to sushi.

favourite dessert : i love most dessert too, but pumpkin pie or a good chocolate cake have to be my all time favourites.

things you collect : books, and ive recently been into collecting vintage watches and turning them into jewelry

favourite drink : iced coffee ofc

favourite musician / band : lana del rey and mitski <33

last song listened to : sober ii (melodrama) by lorde

last movie watched : my policeman

last series watched : young royals s2 i think

currently watching : just started the white lotus

current obsession : reading? it’s been a lifestyle forever tho

dream place to visit : i would love to visit scotland or edinburg

places you want to go back to : cambodia and amsterdam were the most amazing places ive visited

something you want : i am a materialistic person at heart, but the one thing ive wanted forever is to just be able to sit down and read everything on my tbr

currently working on : hand making ceramic mugs for my loved ones, and occasionally dabbling into my expansive folder of wips.

i think everyone i would have tagged has either already been tagged or done this, so im leaving this open ended and inviting anyone to join in :))

[americanredragger]

I do not like Joe Biden's Israel Policy or his Border Policy or more of his other policies than I want to stand here listing, and I won't say anyone else has to either. I also think he should be a one term president by virtue of his age.

But he is ALSO one of the most effective progressive presidents we have had since fucking FDR in terms of actual bills signed into law.

The scope of what he's accomplished IS amazing, especially given the Center Right Democrat Party he has to work with and the political times his presidency inhabits.

None of us have to like him at all, but we DO need to stop lying to ourselves about him. We can acknowledge that he's been one of the best practical supporters of working class Americans in two generations, but still condemn his other policies -- a president can be, and nearly always is, several things at once, and also nearly always those things are contradictory.

Kennedy literally saved the world from nuclear hellfire at Cuba but was a rampant adulterer who also got us stuck in Vietnam.

LBJ was often a tyrant and the man who gave us COINTELPRO and badly escalated the Vietnam War, but also signed the Civil Right Act of 1964, put men on the moon, created Medicare and Medicaid, and pushed hard for the Clean Air and Clean Water acts.

Nixon did a Watergate, militarized law enforcement, enacted Operation CONDOR to support ultra right wing dictators in Latin America and furnish them with well trained Death Squads, blew up Cambodia AND Laos, and used the War on Drugs as a means of keeping track of and incarcerating his political enemies and keeping a boot on the neck of working class Americans and especially the African-American population. On the other hand, Nixon ALSO scored the most momentous arms-limitations agreement history had ever seen up to that point, established the EPA, expanded the social safety net, ended American involvement in Vietnam, opened relations with China, expanded Medicare, and generally deescalated the Cold War.

I won't lie. Biden has SO MUCH blood and suffering on his hands. On account of his border detentions and arms enabling alone, he has more than several past presidents built up over their whole careers. That's not even going into his lackadaisical approach to Covid (which I will hasten to point out is at the very damned-by-faint-praise least still better than Trump's "no approach at all to Covid").

That cannot and should not be denied.

He's also the most pro-Union president we've seen since the Carter Administration, ended the TWO DECADE LONG War in Afghanistan (yes it was messy but that's mostly on Trump for not negotiating a more doable time frame and also not doing jack fuck to set up or prepare for), has enacted more student debt relief than I ever thought I'd live to see in this country, funded widespread infrastructure renewal (at least enough to finally, finally, FINALLY get that ball rolling for the first time in 50 goddamn years), enacted massive maintenance of the social safety net after his predecessor did everything possible to dismantle it, raised the minimum wage for federal contractors, and the the Build Back Better America initiative is our boldest piece of left wing policy since Kennedy at the least, with expanded childcare and pre-K access, healthcare subsidies, clean energy investments, and tax credits for working class American families. He also pushed and signed the CHIPS Act, which is bringing a lot of tech jobs and manufacturing back to America.

We need to hammer him on his flaws and failures, not treat him like he's Literally Satan. Or, alternately if you are gonna treat him that way, then swallow your fucking pride and never forget that Satan has your back way more than the guy on the other side will ever do.

[trivial-writing]

Shoutout to my brothers for showing me Chinese movies. They deserve the world. They knew the importance of representation, and they took it seriously with me. Everytime they saw yellowface in media, they told me about it, and shit all over it. Thank you, bro, and I love you. They’ve supported me so much. Even though we fight, we still love each other. Sorry about embarrassing you in front of your children btw, Bb#1.

With that out of the way, what the fuck is wrong with Asian representation in media? Seriously, these people do know that Asia isn’t just China Korea and Japan, right? Right?

Why can’t we have a Laos movie. I want a movie about Cambodia. Can we have a Turkish movie? Isn’t 95% of Turkey Asia? Also, are we gonna forget about Tibet? It’s Tibet! By far the most fashionable country imho. Also Mongolia too.

Now, think about this, it’s 2020, and you just read the Ballad of Mulan two weeks ago, then again it was at night, and your sleep schedule is fucking terrible, and it just so happens your favorite childhood Disney film got a live action. It’s marketed to be more accurate to the original. This couldn’t have been the best timing! You pester your now ex to go watch it, to his chagrin, and… IT FUCKING SUCKS! Nothing is accurate to the original source material, let alone the actual Ballad. It strips away Mulan’s agency, her character, everything is ruined! Besides, it only fixes a few teeny tiny things while shitting all over the whole entire country and culture it’s supposed to pander to.

Yeah… that was me. I then got the biggest I told you so from Rai.

See? This is why I hate Asian representation in Hollywood. Because it’s not even fucking Asian. Think about all the times you hear “Chinese” in movies. That’s not fucking Chinese to my limited tone deaf ass ears. That’s gibberish. Might as well make a whole entire new language at this point! Don’t get me started on yellowface. Asian actors get denied parts that are their ethnicity for some white dude. Yay… isn’t that amazing? Everyone talks about Blackface, but no one cares about Yellowface. Or even Asian racism. Isn’t that fun?

[famousinuniverse]

Vietnamese Culture

Overview of Vietnamese Culture

Vietnamese culture is one of the oldest cultures in the world, which has undergone changes for almost four thousand years. Some say that Vietnamese culture is influenced by Chinese culture, but a study shows that Vietnamese culture has its own characteristics and develops alongside Chinese culture.

Throughout Vietnam's history, from the Trieu, Dinh, Ly, Tran and Le. Around the same time as the Chinese Han Dynasty, Duong, Tong, Nguyen.

According to scholarly sources, Vietnam's culture has its origins in ancient Nam Viet, an ancient kingdom of the Giao Chi people that shared characteristics of Han Chinese cultures and the ancient Dong Son culture, considered one of the most important progenitors of its indigenous culture, during the Bronze Age. Nam Viet was occupied by escapees from the North in 111 BC, which led to the first Chinese rule of Vietnam, which lasted for more than a thousand years and propelled Chinese influences on Vietnamese culture in terms of Confucian philosophy, governance, and the arts.

After independence from the Chinese in the 10th century, successive Vietnamese imperial dynasties flourished, while the country embarked on southward expansion, annexing the territories of the Champa and Khmer civilizations, resulting in regional variations in Vietnam's current culture.

During the French colonial period, in the mid-nineteenth century, Vietnamese culture absorbed European influences, including architecture, Catholicism, and the adoption of the Latin alphabet, which created the new official writing system replacing Chinese characters and nominal scripts.

After the departure of the French, Vietnamese culture was characterized by government-controlled propaganda, which emphasized the importance of cultural exchanges with other communist nations such as the Soviet Union, China, and Cuba.

After the 1986 reform, Vietnam continuously absorbed various influences from Asian, European, and American cultures. As part of the East Asian cultural sphere, Vietnamese culture has certain characteristic traits, including ancestor worship and worship, respect for community and family values, and religious belief in manual labor.

Important cultural symbols include 4 sacred animals: dragons, turtles, phoenixes, and unicorns. The national flower is lotus and the most popular plant in Vietnam is bamboo.

10 Amazing Things to Know About Vietnamese Culture

Vietnam is a country rich in history and traditions, dating back thousands of years and imbued with a deep respect for the land, the sea and their ancestors. Here are 10 things you need to know to understand some of the nuances of this beautiful culture.

1. Ethnic Groups in Vietnam

Vietnam is a multi-ethnic country with more than fifty distinct groups (54 in total). Each of them has its own language, its own way of life and its own cultural heritage. Many local ethnic groups residing in mountainous regions are known collectively in the West as Montagnard or Degar.

The largest ethnic groups are: Kinh (Viet) 85.7%, Tay 1.9%, Tai ethnic 1.8%, Mường 1.5%, Khmer Krom 1.5%, Hmong 1.2%, Nung 1.1%, Hoa 1%, with all others making up the remaining 4.3% (2009 census). Vietnamese is used for ethnic group (literally "minority people").

One of the distinguishing features of Vietnam's highland minority ethnic groups is that they are dressed colorfully, whether at home, on the farm, traveling, or in their hometown.

Many ethnic groups elsewhere, such as in the southern part of Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, China, Papua New Guinea, and many other countries, do not wear attractive clothing as part of their daily activities.

The clothing of one group is very different from that of other groups and adds color to the social landscape. When you travel to Vietnam, you will even meet and talk with many of them.

In the trip to Sapa, you can see dozens of them or in a province like Lai Chau which has 20 ethnic groups (more than 300,000 habitats). Dak Lak province is the richest in Vietnam with 47 ethnic groups.

2. Social Beliefs and Customs in Vietnam

The family is very strong in Vietnam. The family and clan (dòng họ) are valued over individualism. The clan is the most important social unit in the country and each clan has a patriarch at the head of the clan and a clan altar.

Even today, in some parts of the country, the tradition of clan members living together in longhouses is quite widespread. It is not uncommon to see three or four generations of the same family living together in the same house.

Clan members are related by blood and often name their village after their clan name. Commemorations of the deaths of clan members are usually attended by all clan members and villagers.

Previously, weddings in Vietnam were mostly arranged by parents and people got married at a very young age. However, things have changed a lot in recent years since Vietnam opened up to the world and tourism picked up in the early 90s.

Young Vietnamese people enjoy greater freedom to choose the time of their marriage and their partner. Weddings are still mostly held in the traditional way, with elaborate rituals and ceremonies. The date of the wedding is carefully chosen by the Feng Shui master or the most respected man in the clan.

3. Vietnamese Cuisine

Vietnamese food is fresh and healthy and is becoming more and more popular all over the world. It has a great diversity but can be classified into three main categories depending on the location: the northern, southern and central regions of the country.

Many types of noodles and noodle soups and all types of spring rolls are popular here. We prefer to use less oil and more fresh vegetables. Soy sauce, fish sauce, mint, and basil are popular ingredients.

Rice is the main food and is eaten in 3 meals a day. The flavors of Vietnamese cuisine range from spicy to sour to sweet. Noodle soup originating in northern Vietnam is a well-known Vietnamese dish.

It consists of rice noodles accompanied by beef, chicken, fish, seafood soup.... and green onions or bean sprouts. There are also vegetarian noodle soups.

4. Traditional Vietnamese Costumes

54 tribes in Vietnam have their own traditional costumes. The traditional costume of the Vietnamese people changed greatly from era to era and largely depended on the whims and fantasies of the rulers of the region.

Before the Nguyen Dynasty, common people had more freedom to choose their clothes. During the Nguyen Dynasty, several restrictions were placed on the type and colors of clothing that Vietnamese people could wear.

Examples of traditional Vietnamese costumes include Áo giao lĩnh, Áo Tứ Thân, Áo cánh, and Áo bà ba. The former refers to a cross-neck dress worn by Vietnamese men while the latter is a four-panel dress worn by women.

The last two dresses were worn by peasants in the north and south, respectively, and resembled pajama-type silk suits.

The color code of robes also varied from era to era, and during the Nguyen Dynasty, only monarchs enjoyed the exclusive right to wear golden clothing, while purple and red were popular among nobles and aristocrats. The headgear worn in Vietnam has changed over the years, with the conical hat or La non being the most popular among the community.

5. Religion and Philosophy of Vietnam

Most Vietnamese worship their ancestors and believe in animism. In the ID most Vietnamese (about 90%), the line: Religion: None.

In reality, religion in Vietnam has historically been largely defined by a mixture of Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism, known in Vietnamese as Tam Giao ("triple religion").

Ancestor worship is common in Vietnamese culture. Most Vietnamese, regardless of religious denomination, practice ancestor worship and have an ancestor altar in their homes or businesses, which is a testament to the importance Vietnamese culture places on filial piety.

6. Vietnamese Music & Dance

Vietnam is associated with a rich tradition of dance and music. Vietnamese music also has differences depending on the region of the country.

It is older and more formal in the north, while the Champa culture exerts a considerable influence on central classical music and the music in the south of the country is more lively. The country has nearly 50 national musical instruments. Imperial court music and Ca Tru are important traditional forms of Vietnamese music.

Vietnam's great ethnic diversity has endowed the country with diverse dance forms. These dances are usually performed during cultural programs and festivals held in the country.

Lion Dance, Tray Dance, Fan Dance, Imperial Lantern Dance are some of the traditional dance forms of Vietnam.

The dances that developed in the imperial courts of Vietnam are quite complex in nature and require great skill to master.

7. Vietnamese Arts and Literature

Literature in Vietnam has evolved a lot over the years, moving from romanticism to realism. Two aspects of the country's literature are popular literature and written literature, which developed almost at the same time.

Popular literature includes fairy tales, folk legends, humorous stories, and epic poems. Written literature was once written in Cham and noun characters and focused on poetry and prose. Today, it is mostly written in the national language and includes short stories, dramas, novels, etc.

Vietnamese art is mainly influenced by Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. However, more recently, the Cham and French influence has also been reflected in the artistic presentations.

Silk painting is popular in Vietnam and involves a liberal use of colors. Calligraphy is also a highly respected art form and often, at festivals like Lunar New Year.

On the third day of the Vietnamese New Year, people go to a village teacher or scholar's house to get calligraphy hangings for their homes. Vietnamese woodblock prints are also very popular. Water puppetry and several forms of theatre represent other forms of performing art in Vietnam.

8. Martial Arts in Vietnam

Vovinam (Viet Vo Dao) is the traditional martial art of Vietnam. Vietnam has a highly developed tradition of martial arts that has some similarities with Chinese martial arts. The Vovinam Vietnamese Martial Arts Philosophy guides the practice of martial arts in the country.

It is associated with intense spirituality due to its close association with Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. The scissor kick is a famous movement in this martial arts form.

Although Vietnamese martial arts are less popular in other parts of the world than their Chinese or Japanese counterparts, there is no doubt that they are gradually and steadily gaining popularity around the world with the establishment of schools teaching this martial art form in many parts of the world.

9. Vietnam Festivals

Vietnam has many festivals. In Vietnamese the festival is Le Hoi. It consists of 2 parts: The: Ceremony + Hoi: Game and Entertainment.

Festivals, whether traditional or from other cultures, are celebrated with great pomp and circumstance in the country. Here are the top 10 festivals in Vietnam:

1 -TET Nguyen Dan – Tet Festival Nationwide

2- King Hung Festival on March 10 (Lunar Calendar) – Phu Tho Province

3- Saint Giong Festival – In March, outside Hanoi, in Soc Son district.

4- Ka Te Festival – In the Champa community of Ninh Thuan province.

5- Perfume Pagoda Festival – Outside Hanoi

6- Dong Da Festival in Hanoi

7- Cau Ngu Festival in Hue in December.

8- Hội đua voi – Elephant race in Don village – Dak Lak Province.

9- Ba Chua Xu Festival – In Chau Doc City, An Giang Province in April.

10- Cam Muong Festival in Lai Chau Province

10. Holidays and Other Important Days

Vietnam celebrates several public holidays, a total of 14 days of holidays per year, including the traditional holidays that have been celebrated in Vietnam for thousands of years, as well as the modern holidays imported mainly from Western countries.

Among Vietnamese traditional festivals, the two most important and widely celebrated are the Lunar New Year (TET) and the Mid-Autumn Lantern Festival (TET Trung Thu), although the latter has been losing ground in recent years.

Vietnamese Culture

Credit: Van Pham

From Vietnam

twins in ao dai (traditional vietnamese dress)!!

[smollobsession]

19.01.

ugh i have a cold. i was supposed to go shopping for some summer clothes for the sgp-cam trip but i shouldn't leave the house today if i want to be in any state for the protest tomorrow >< it's snowing ... but at least it's not -13 any more?

Speaking of Palestine, progress in my neighborhood at least:

wolfie and dwaekki are washed and drying.

I got Dan's book! It's really soothing, and educational. I feel like a lot of it is almost... intuitive? but intuition your anxiety makes you ignore :D so just seeing it written (and hearing it, i'm doing both :D ) is helpful. I also think this would be REALLY helpful to a lot of teens. I don't want to push it on anyone but I have lowkey recommended it to some of my students.

I really wanted to get the audiobook officially but it's not available in my country so.

Everything for trip is now booked, and cambodia visa acquired.

I'm sad that skz 4th gen fanclub doesn't have a digital only option, i'm not sure about how much money i can spend this time. but worried about what they'll lock behind the fanship. sigh.

jeff has a new song out, that i'm really enjoying, and the mv is dropping in uh... 2 hours :D

I've been watching a lot of svt gose, fun and chill :) so far my faves are the8 and seungkwan.

i got my present from P, and L got mine. I wish i could have decorated L's better sigh :( meanwhile, i love my present. so many cute things! (tho i lost the 3racha sticker because i put it in my pocket and it fell out :(((((((((((((((((((( ) but i got 4 AMAZING pins that i need to figure out where to put because if i lose them i will also lose my mind :D

L's present was the small wallet from the doctors without borders fundraiser.

[happymeishappylife]

Movies I Watched in 2023

1. Tu Me Manques

The premise of this movie and its subsequent is both beautiful and absolutely heartbreaking. Based on a play and a true story, the idea is that an estranged father who didn't understand his son because of his sexual orientation, finds his phone after his death and wants to learn about his life. This leads him to connect to his son's boyfriend who shows him, teaches him, and pours his heart out to this stranger because their relation is what leads his lover to commit suicide. And that in itself is promising, until you get to the end of the movie and find out that these are the actors of the play, showing what would be the better ending to such a heartbreaking story. Instead, that father wanted nothing to do with Sebastian and never goes to find out about his life.

2. Spirited Away: Live on Stage Production

I'm so glad they filmed this live show and made a movie. It's such an incredible production and just as enchanting as the movie itself. The puppetry, scenery, and staging to bring this animated film to life is a delight and so well done, that honestly it felt like watching the original movie. And honestly, with a caliber this high, I would love to see more of Studio Ghibli's works brought to life.

3. The Best of Enemies

This was an incredible movie and had amazing performances by Taraji P Henson and Sam Rockwell. What rocked me though is this is a true historical story from my home state and it happened 50 years ago. 50 years ago!!! And yet here in North Carolina we were still fighting the segregation movement, even if it was technically illegal. But watching the people of Durham clash because of the destruction of the 'black' school and watching how the clan tried to intimidate black and white folk for supporting segregation was wild. But watching Ann Atwater fight and then also help the new Klansleader C. P. Ellis with the caring of his son was an absolutely fantastic moment to prove to the audience and I'm sure the people of Durham, that change can happen. Which is why that ending scene, while tense, is so hopeful and a cheer worthy moment.

4. Tick, Tick... Boom

Rent has always been one of my favorite musicals, and the story of its creator has always been so bittersweet. Andrew Garfield deserves the world for such a brilliant portrayal of a man who struggle so much to make his dreams come true, and sadly never saw them thrive. Sure Jonathan Larson's obsession with his musical and the alienation of his friends and responsibilities is hard to watch, but that also influenced his art so much. And while we may never see a full production of Superbia, I applaud his risks to create amazing music.

5. First They Killed My Father

The story of Cambodia's Civil War is gut wrenching and guilt ridden, as I'm aware that we caused it. When I watched Funan a couple years ago, I was absolutely grief stricken by the way people were treated and how much they suffered. So while I had more background going into this, it didn't lessen the impact or the pain. The way its directed from the eyes of Loung Ung, a child at the time that the Khmer Rouge forces her family to leave Khmer Republic. She then watches as her family is forced to leave everything behind, be compelled to do hard manual labor and starve, and watch slowly by slowly as her family is torn from her, treated badly and killed. Plus watching her be trained as a child soldier and then having to walk through a mine field that she understands how it was created is just absolutely gut-punching as other people around her hit mine after mine. Just an incredibly powerful movie.

6. Free Guy

One of the more lighthearted movies on my list, I really enjoyed this movie because it twists the general conception of video games. I would love if some random NPC like Guy just decided to go rogue and do his own thing in a game. How beautiful would that be? And why would anyone try to terminate that? (I don't care if they are played hilariously by Taika Watiti). But I also love the understory of these two indie developers trying to reclaim their original build and preserve it from a giant game company who only wants profits.

7. Nope

Watched this during Spooktober this year and I wasn't that scared by it, even with the one true horror-esque scene of the blood and guts pouring down the farm house. Instead, I was super intrigued and loved this brilliant sci-fi movie because it envisioned a truly unique alien. I mean we don't know what's up there and of course there could be life who don't act like humans so why not a giant creature that's just eating people? I love OJ's calm collective approach to discovering what the alien is and what it wants and that he pulls from his long years of horse training to understand it. Plus, paired up with Em's hilarious and charismatic approach to trying to get famous off this footage it makes for a great partnership.

8. Marshall

Rest in Power, Chadwick, but you were so incredible. And in another movie where he gets to play one of the legends he absolutely shines. Seeing his portrayal of Thurgood Marshall on this case against a black man accused of harming a white women, we see his absolute relentless dedication to defend this man's innocence against the racist judge and jury, but we also see his compassion as he helps guide and show Sam Friedman that this more than just a trial. This is about civil rights. And as Sam has to deal with the pressure of our racist systems, he eventually comes around to become a civil rights fighter of his own.

9. Welcome to Chechnya

I happened to watch this documentary a couple days after Russia's supreme court ruled that the LGBTQIA+ community as a terrorist organism which is just devastating. But watching this and seeing how the problems first started gaining more attention because of Chechnya's horrific violations of human rights, made all the people featured in this documentary even more heroic. I can't even imagine going through anything like this and its so tragic that where more of the world is slowly making gains, its getting so much worse in Russia. But kudos to Maxim Lupanov who took the step to try and bring attention to the issue and take the persecutors to court. While it may not have changed the situation in Russia, it brought attention to the issue and raised the voices of that community which needs our help right now.

10. Liz and the Blue Bird

This was such an interesting story because at the heart of it, was the exploration and showcase of a relationship between Mizore and Nozomi. Mizore is a talented and introverted oboist who is getting ready to move on in her life, but rather than focusing on what's best for her, she only wants to be with Nozomi. But Nozomi is an extrovert and while she plays flute, she's not a star like Mizore is. So she doesn't have the opportunity to go to a star school. As the two figure it out, the background is the story of the new musical piece they are learning, which is about a lonely girl who rescues a blue bird that turns out to be a magical young girl that then makes it hard for either to let go.

Other Movies I Watched:

11. My Father’s Violin

12. Everybody’s Talking About Jamie

13. Judas and the Black Messiah

14. Miss Saigon: 25th Anniversary Performance

15. Over the Moon

16. Prayers for the Stolen

17. Dance of the 41

18. Homestay

19. Railroad Tigers

20. Shazam 2: Fury of the Gods

21. Saw

22. Parasite

23. Once Upon a Time in China 2

24. Needle in a Timestack

25. The Giver

26. Les Miserables

27. Tell it to the Bees

28. Amaraica

29. Real Women Have Curves

30. The Last Emperor

31. Te Ata

32. Funny Boy

33. The Death and Life of Martha P Johnson

34. Predator

35. The Sorcerer and the White Snake

36. West Side Story

36. The Wailing

38. Drive My Car

39. Saving Face

40. Confirmation

41. The Farewell

42. Son of Monarchs

43. Rosemary’s Baby

44. Weathering With You

45. Beginners

46. Passing

47. Please Don’t Save Me

48. One Night in Miami

49. I’ll Follow You Down

50. The Royal Treatment

51. My Name is Pauli Murray

52. The Harder They Fall

53. Mogul Mowgli

54. Mur Murs

Movies I rewatched in 2023:

1. Doctor Who: The Movie

2. Phantom of the Opera

3. Rent

4. Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat

5. Hairspray

6. The Muppet Christmas Carol

7. It's a Wonderful Life