If you know me at all, you know about me and Canadia. I'm not going to to into my list of possible spies (aka American impersonators aka LIARS), or reasons why the place simply cannot be trusted, if you love and want to protect the very fiber of U.S. American-ness. I do have to admit, however, I have found two good things from Canada.
Both are food related. The first I have never eaten, but if I ever went to Canada, this is why I would go. The second is Voortman's Oatmeal Cookies. They are AMAZING. For the past two weeks, the inside of my head has been a continuously running track of LMFAO's Party Rock Anthem, Kimbra's Settle Down, and every sensory experience I can recall from eating these cookies. Their smell, their taste, their consistency, the way they feel in my hands, how it sounds inside my head while I am chewing them.... it's so good they need theme songs. Two of them.
Another reason I might be obsessed with these cookies is that it's currently Ramadan, and as most of you know, although I am not Muslim, I've been fasting during the Islamic holy month for the past 4 years or so... I'm pretty lucky because sundown is before 18:30 here (that's 6:30 PM) so I don't usually get too hungry or thirsty. Of course, before every one freaks out (like they do every year), if I feel sick, or faint, or anything like that, I will definitely eat/drink. I thought it would be hard here because it's so hot, but it ends up that I spend most of my time sitting or laying in air-conditioned rooms. Plus, I probably have little bit of extra "energy" stored up from Mak feeding me a marathon runner's diet on the feeding schedule of a newborn baby.
That does bring up the issue of Pa and Mak. They are my adoptive parents for my sejour here, and they have promised my parents I will make it out of Cambodia alive and well. They are taking that promise very seriously. Apparently there is an illness that I will contract if I "starve myself" (not really how I'd describe fasting or skipping meals, but whatevs). I'm not sure what it is, but Mak tells me about it when she suspects I haven't eaten when she thinks I should have. I've been pretty crafty dodging Mak around daytime meal times, but Pak is stealth. Phia and I compare him to a turtle-- slow and quiet, til he snaps and you're missing a finger. He snapped today and I got so busted! He just asked point blank if I skipped lunch. I can't lie to him... I had to say yes, but I promised (honestly) that I would eat soon. He shamed me in his quiet way and told me not to starve, lest I get sick.
I'm not sure how much longer I can last like this, but I'll do what I can within means. For now, I will daydream about my America-lite cookies.
