We've had a great time in Cambodia, and will be back in 3 months or
so. Hotels and galleries seem to only want Khmers as they work for
lower wages and fit within a kind of hierarchy that I as a foreigner
wouldn't.
Managers seem to worry I'd start acting like their boss.

Was offered english teaching for $5-7/hour (!?) but I don't want to
"teach" ever again. A discussion group in a cafe, a more natural way to
learn english, would be fine. Had already created a poster for an
"English Salon" at the Grand Cafe here, but then decided to postpone
the group till I return.

The Corsican is freaking out because I'm leaving for 3 months - he
thinks I won't be back to manage his cafe by the middle of May. I'm
going to drink myself silly at Le Tigre de Papier (his cafe) my last
nights here and try to reassure him.
Even if it doesn't work out, I've got other things to work on here when I come back.

Have begun a partnership with a "fair trade/cooperative"workshop run
by a french guy. They make silk clothing/purses/household things out
of the most beautiful fabrics, all handwoven in Cambodia. Went to a
silk farm yesterday to get photos of how silk is made....today will go
to a trad. fabric center to get some more.

Plan to visit designers in Minnesota and perhaps Chicago with some
fabric swatches (once he sends them to me! current fabrics he has are
banned for export because of their dyes....can't ANYthing be simple
these days?!). Custom silk stuff. Turns me on. Hope I can do the same
for other people.

Preparing for cold and low-paying temp work for a while in the states.
It's temporary, though, so won't be too bad.

Yáll should come to visit when I come back here.

Why?
~ There is a guesthouse near my apartment that's just $4/night. They
also have alligators in the back yard. You can watch kids feed them
writhing meat in the mornings.

~ Vices are cheap: Ara cigarettes are only 25 cents a pack. They're
not bad. I prefer Alain Delon (though Robert says if I ever saw their
horrible ads on TV I'd never light one up again) - they're a whopping
50 cents.

~ Beer is 50 cents a glass at the Sunset Bar, a leisurely ride down
dirt lanes in the kindof cleared jungle, about 5 minutes from my house.

~ "Happy Pizza" isn't too expensive and I've been told will leave you
happy for about 12 hours.

~ Cambodian men are more attractive than Korean men and laugh a lot
more. They never giggle like Koreans, either. Many of them also have
motos so you don't have to ride the subway on a date. I wouldn't know any of this from personal experience; ít's just from observation.

~ The American dollar is the de facto currency here, so Korean won and
Canadian dollars and everything else are worth lots in Cambodia these
days.

Well, I hope this has convinced you to come on over soon!
Soon I'll be writing from the frigid wastelands of central North America.
As always, au revoir, and never adieu.