Wow. It hardly seems like it is possible that we are in countdown mode for our next build. Our first foray in 2007 was a 'test run', and we weren't sure if we would be doing any more builds. We sure got hooked! Janne and her fantastic Cambodian staff have done an amazing job of setting up programs that deliver.
Our fourth (2009) Rockin4Tabitha event was once again a lot of fun. Our crowd seems to be getting a little bigger each year. I think the most fun thing of the evening was when Brad and I donned fake ZZ Top beards and rocked out La Grange and Tush.
The beards only lasted through the first tune, but the crowd seemed to get a good laugh out of the facial hair. We also kicked out a pretty good cover of Crossroads.
As usual the Hitmen were in top form, and the crowd was dancing and singing along until the last note faded away.Because of the financial drop this year we did not quite reach our goal of replicating last year's record twenty houses, but we did manage to hit sixteen, so we are once again very grateful for everyone's support, especially in these tight times.
It was Christmas two days ago, and Wendy and I were chatting about the upcoming build, and how much we enjoy making it part of our vacation. This year we will be in Koh Kong province which is in the south-eastern region of Cambodia. We are very excited about not only the build, but the fact that we will be spending a few days after the build in the jungle, which still has a lot of wildlife; tigers, sun bears and clouded leopards top the list, but there are too many exotic birds and animals to list. Hopefully we will get to see some cool critters.....and not become lunch!
We will once again be updating from the field; loyal readers will by now be accustomed to the inevitable delays and/or black holes that are part of the Cambodian internet experience. So be patient and keep checking for updates and pics from our fourth build.This year we have twelve builders, and it is quite an international group. We have a couple joining us from Germany, two friends of Paula who are on a World tour, a Canadian brother and sister team based in Phuket, Thailand, another couple of Canadians working in Vietnam, along with return builders Dr. Paula Piilonen and Derek Boyd.
We arrive in Phnom Penh on January 27th, and begin our build on Monday Feb. 1, so start checking for updates that week.
Bob and Wendy
