Fantastic News From Home

I know we're risking sounding like one of those insipid Christmas newsletters but this is too big to ignore. This morning we woke up and checked our email. There was a message from Josh telling us that the movie that he had written with his friend Matt Johnson had won the grand prize for feature film at the Slamdance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. This is a really big deal! We have no idea where it will lead or what it will mean but it's quite an honour. We're proud parents. That's it, we're done bragging (for today, anyway).
After breakfast, Tim drove his motorbike and we followed in a tuktuk up to the house where one of his Cambodian friends lives. She works for a travel agency, has a 15 year old daughter and also a 4 month old son with her new husband. Their house is on a rough little back street with vacant land nearby. From the outside the house was very modest, built of wood and with a tin roof. Inside it was fixed up as nicely as they could afford and was spotlessly clean.
Tim has known this woman for over 3 years. She speaks fairly good English and is clearly an entrepreneur who is intent on making life better for her family. Her husband is only 28 but he was a Buddhist monk from age 15 to age 25. He was educated by the monks but has no certification to prove it so that's a hindrance to him in getting job interviews. However, he was clearly intelligent and a good guy. It seems likely that they'll be able to make a decent life for themselves.  He was willing to talk about Cambodian politics but she seemed very uncomfortable with that type of discussion.

Here we all are under the low roof at the back of their house. Tim and I had a little trouble fitting under there.

The baby didn't quite make it into the first picture so here he is. Obviously a free thinker in regard to what to wear for company.
This afternoon we went for a walk down Occheuteal Beach and bought some pineapple and mango from a young fruit vendor. I gave her a tip so she threw in a cut up banana as well, not wanting to take the money for nothing. Nice girl.
Tonight we'll go out for our last dinner in Sihanoukville. Tomorrow we're taking a minibus to Phnom Penh where we'll stay overnight at the GGP Hotel again before leaving by rented van for Siem Reap and the temples of Angkor Wat.