Let’s Get to Know Cambodia!

Over the coming weeks we hope to share more about our hopes for living and working in Cambodia. To start, let’s get more acquainted with this small nation in Southeast Asia!

·       It’s officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia. As a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, they have both a royal family and a prime minister.

·       Similar in size to the state of Missouri

·       Population of 17.3 million

·       Primary language is Khmer

·       Cambodia has a tropical climate with only 2 seasons, rainy and dry

·       This climate produces multiple tropical fruits, including jack fruit, dragon fruit, mien, and our kids’ favorite, mangos.

·       Baskets of fried bugs are popular with both locals and tourists, and Nic definitely had his fair share. His favorite was the fried caterpillar larva.

·       Cambodia is home to rainforests, coastline along the gulf of Thailand, rice paddies, and floating villages along the Mekong River. Fun fact: the flow of the Mekong River reverses twice a year, propelled by the wet and dry seasons.

·       Interesting animals: pangolins, monkeys, the slow loris, water Buffalo, and some type of wild dog called a “dhole”. If you’re wondering about the pronunciation of that last one, join the club.

·       Ridiculously scary animals: leopards and tigers and bears, oh my!!!! (Not even joking.) However, I would rather face all of these combined than even come close to one of Cambodia’s king cobras. Seriously.

·       Their most popular tourist destination is Angkor Wat. This ancient temple complex is known as the largest religious structure in the world. It was initially Hindu, but was later converted to Buddhist temples.

·       Sadly, Cambodia is most well known for the reign of the Khmer Rouge, a communist party that took over the country from 1975-1979. During this period, about 25% of Cambodia’s population was murdered by their fellow citizens. There are several mass graves in the country known as The Killing Fields. The Khmer Rouge caused complete upheaval of the nation’s infrastructure, and Cambodia is still working to make a full recovery from this devastation.

We hope you’ve enjoyed our first foray into the wonderful Kingdom of Cambodia! Keep an eye out for our next installment.

St. Teresa of Calcutta, pray for us!!!