Let them eat cake.

Yesterday was our office I.T. (and general know-how-to-fix-anything-you-could-possibly-imagine) guy, Sophea's, birthday who turned what I have deemed the new 25 (which is of course "29").

And today, in typical Cambodia fashion, we held a party for him at our offices here, complete with fresh veggies (safe for even the fragile Western stomachs among us), fish (caught fresh today by our very own Dr. Lina), lemon pepper dipping sauce, rap music (this is a new addition...), brahok (fish paste), and lots of cooked beef (yes please).

Oh, and two kinds of ice cream. One Coconut and one that was labeled "Vanilla" but was later revealed by the taste buds of my poor unsuspecting husband to be in fact "Durian." True story.

Our soon-to-be-here Santa Rosa team can appreciate the irony of this after we once accidentally served a team member (Shannon!) a birthday cake made with Durian (her arch nemesis) for her birthday. Durian is an unfortunate discovery no matter how much sugar has been used to disguise it.

In preparing the amazing birthday dinner, Sophera and Srey Pin excelled in the fine art of cooking a large fish in a banana leaf using an outdoor grill, two sets of tongs, and one former golf club (of course).

Josh went around and made sure to get pictures of everyone at the party for our own personal keepsake.
And yes, it's okay to play cards in Cambodia if it is a holiday, a birthday, or maybe just a Saturday...

Ratah, our fourth year dental student, has the loveliest smile in all the land (see above).

Josh has the uncanny ability to maintain the exact same expression for each and every picture he is a part of.

Almost always.....

Eventually, out came the birthday cake, complete with candles, approximately four feet of frosting, and green spongy-like material hovering around the 3rd layer.
What began innocently enough with singing and celebration soon turned ugly as cake, rather than being carefully sliced and gently placed on individual plates alongside "Vanilla" ice cream, was instead used as a weapon. A terrible kind of weapon that comes concealed within a human hand all too quickly gliding across delicate faces, leaving in its wake both destruction and frosting filled nasal passages.

Sick.

I later thanked my husband for not doing this to me at our wedding. A perfectly good dessert wasted.

As if flying cake smashed in your face isn't enough of a celebratory event, we can all remember from last Thanksgiving the tradition Pastor Ted began fondly known as, "Throw As Many Unsuspecting People into the Pool as Possible"! No Cambodian celebration would be complete without it! (apparently....)

I employed some clever hiding tactics including forcing my way into dish washing duty in order to not be visible, and eventually walking...then fast walking...then breaking into a flip-flop-fast- run back to the house with my husband before either of us could be forced to uphold tradition. I also didn't know if cake and chlorine would be such a good mix.

In a brighter piece of news, in the end, a little bit of the birthday cake actually got eaten....

In non-party-related news, my athleticism in Cambodia is widely known throughout the vast expanse of land stretching from our bedroom (also known as our "workout room") all the way to a few feet outside our front door in our driveway where I have run with my iPod in many a morning, acquiring both fitness and puzzled looks as I go. I have also lately acquired something new.

"Runner's Knee."

How do I know? Well, I went to webmd.com and self-diagnosed myself, so it must be true.

The name of it sounds like it should actually make you a better runner (I would call it "Non-Runner's Knee" but apparently you can't submit these things to webmd.com), but all it does in reality is make you frustrated and cause you to pray for more faith that the Lord would just miraculously heal it.

And in the end it also causes you to buy some $2.50 knee braces at the store (only the finest) convincing yourself and your spouse that supportive athletic gear can be fashionable if properly pulled off.

And, as is evidenced above, I haven't quite figured out how to exactly pull it off...maybe brighter shorts.