This is the main song heard everywhere in Siem Reap Cambodia for the Khmer New Year. All the kids (and grownups too!) love dancing to this! Enjoy 🙂
Author Archives: Danners
I had a blast making Banana Blossom Salad, Vegetable Curry, and Cambodian cooked bananas in Siem Reap!
Danners’ Cooking Class in Siem Reap Cambodia
9 Apr
2014
Celebrating Khmer New Year in Cambodia
Celebrating Khmer New Year in Cambodia
I’m teaching Art and English at two schools in Cambodia and we recently celebrated the Khmer New Year! Ponheary Ly (the organization I’m involved with) is a nonprofit that helps young students at Knar Primary School. Knar School is located in a rural village in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
My friends and I were fortunate enough to be invited to Knar School’s Khmer New Year party. I had not a clue as to what laid ahead but let’s just say it was a good thing I came prepared with my dance shoes on. 😉
Students dancing and throwing baby powder to celebrate Khmer New Year
At Khnar school in Siem Reap, we celebrated Khmer New Year with loud music, throwing & wiping baby powder on each other, musical chairs, “hit the pot” (similar to hitting a pinata, but with a ceramic pot in which baby powder spills out), and lots of dancing!
Click the “Play” icon in the middle of the image below to see a video of us playing “hit the pot” as we listen to fun Cambodian music.
Danners covered in baby powder after getting a two handed surprise attack from a student at Khmer New Year celebration 🙂
This year the Khmer New Year falls on April 13th and lasts for 3 days. Many students begin their break from school (which lasts 2 weeks) the week prior to the first day of Khmer New Year. Families prepare food, go to the temples, play traditional games, and enjoy time with loved ones. The festival designates the end of harvest season for wet season is next to come.
Danners and her students Celebrating Khmer New Year
Danielle with her Cambodian student Siem Reap, Cambodia 🙂
We got a sneak peak of the rainy season as our party was cut short by heavy rainfall. I was told that this year’s one hour of dancing was nothing compared to last year when the young students danced for six straight hours (these kids have tons of energy!) On our way back from the school, we got caught in the huge downpour. Our guesthouse is a 45 min tuk tuk ride from the school so we decided to take a break during the downpour to have some food.
Heavy Rain in Siem Reap as we celebrate Khmer New Year
While the heaviest rain ensued, we ate delicious noodle soup for lunch (USD $1.33 each!) at a nearby restaurant. Although we were only at the party for 3 hours, I was completely exhausted by the time we got back to the guesthouse and my legs barely made it up the stairs!
Danners (far left), Marissa (bottom left), Abby (top left), Esa our tuk tuk driver (middle) Hannah (far right) Maya (bottom right)
Overall, Khmer New Year is lots and lots of fun! Hope you enjoyed learning about celebrating Khmer New Year. In the comments section, leave any questions or thoughts on this experience or your own experience in Cambodia!
~Danners
16 Mar
2014
Gluten Free Banana Pancakes Recipe
Gluten Free Banana Pancakes Recipe
Are you looking for a great gluten free banana pancakes recipe? Do you enjoy eating pancakes, but not the tired, bloated, foggy feeling afterwards? Ditch the Bisquick and try out this healthy recipe made from scratch!
Gluten Free Banana Pancakes Recipe Ingredients (yields 2 medium sized pancakes):
- 1 C. gluten free oat flour
- 1/2 C. gluten free whole oats
- 3 medium sized bananas
- 1 T. chia seeds
- 1 T. coconut palm sugar
- dash of cinnamon
- dash of nutmeg
- 1/8 ~ 1/4 C. water
- 1 T. coconut oil (instead of cooking spray)
Gluten Free Banana Pancakes Recipe Directions
- Mash together bananas in a large bowl.
- Place all dry ingredients into bowl and mix together.
- Add 1/8 to 1/4 C. of water to create a sticky liquid consistency.
- Heat pan under medium low heat with 1 T. coconut oil.
- Divide the mixture in half and place each pancake onto the heated pan.
- Heat each pancake for about 3 to 4 minutes. If you burn the pancakes, don’t be upset because it gives the pancake a nice crunchy outside texture! 🙂
- After pancakes are cooked, eat immediately after as they are best when warm. These healthy pancakes are so flavorful that syrup isn’t necessary. Although, if you’re still a maple syrup fan like I am, don’t be shy 🙂 Maple syrup, raw honey, and peanut butter are all great options!
Paz enjoys his first bite of gluten free banana pancakes!
These gluten free banana pancakes are delicious and I promise your tastebuds & tummy will be more than satisfied 🙂 Plus, you’ll feel lucid and ready to create an amazing day!
Remember to tell me how your gluten free banana pancakes turned out!
What other pancake alternative recipes have you tried?
Bon appétit!
10 Feb
2014
5 Tips for a Successful Interview
5 Tips for a Successful Interview
Interviews, whether a job interview, college admission interview, or a fellowship interview, can be daunting and intimidating so we put together this list of 5 Tips for a Successful Interview.
I’ve been implementing these amazing 5 tips for the past two years in interviews for fellowships. Follow my tips to absolutely crush your interview and walk away on cloud 9! 🙂
1. Visualization.
Lay down so your back is on the floor, on your mat, or on your bed (just don’t fall asleep!) Close your eyes, picture yourself walking into the room you are going to be interviewed in. If you know the panel, visualize them as vividly as possible sitting in front of you. Visualize the interviewer asking you questions and see yourself answering these questions swiftly and enthusiastically. Your bright energy lights the room and the interviewer is SO convinced you are fit for this. You then leave the room still smiling (since you’ve been smiling LOTS this entire time) and you know you have crushed it. Open your eyes and know this will happen. See it, believe it.
2. Arrive at Your Interview Early
Show up to your interview AT LEAST 15 minutes early. This gives you time to settle into your new environment. You are ready to start manifesting your awesome, confident energy in this new space. You are prepared to crush this interview.
3. Positive Affirmation
5 minutes before your interview, go into the bathroom and look yourself in the mirror. Set your feet hip distance apart. Raise your arms above you in a Power Pose. This power stance has been proven to show positive results in those who do this for 2 minutes before an interview. As you hold this pose, look directly into the mirror and say, “I AM GOING TO CRUSH THIS INTERVIEW.” Repeat this 5 times with complete presence. Confidence, power, and energy will all radiate from you!
4. Practice.
No, not practice your lines. That’s actually the next on this list of tips for a successful interview. 😉 I’m talking ASANA. A few Sun Salutations, Warrior II, Camel, and a Shoulderstand before the interview. These three postures are great for opening your throat and building your self esteem.
Breath is SO important, especially at times like these when your body naturally tenses up and restricts normal rhythm of breath. Some prefer to practice at home beforehand. If the location of your interview has enough space, you can even practice there! Find quiet space in the bathroom or that small room down the hall that’s calling your name. 🙂
5. Know what you are going to say!
Of course we can’t know EVERY question that will be thrown at us, but we CAN formulate questions that we are pretty sure will be asked of us. The most obvious question is, “Tell me about yourself.” Be prepared for this!
Define what you want the interviewer to take away from you. Define four key points that you will show that you are the right candidate. Tell yourself that you will not leave that interview without making these four points. If you prepare and rehearse, these four qualities/qualifications will be easy for you to remember and express gracefully during your interview. Don’t think too hard, or stress yourself out; remember, this is fun and spontaneity in answers is still so effective! 🙂
One of the cures to nervousness is preparedness!
Conclusion on Tips for a Successful Interview
On top of all these tips for a successful interview — it’s most important to BE YOURSELF AND LOVE YOURSELF! You deserve this and your interviewer deserves to see & hear how fantastic you are! 🙂
I’ve found these tips for a successful interview to be extremely helpful in my preparation. How about you guys? What practices have you found helpful for your interview?
26 Dec
2013
Mouthwatering Gluten Free Vegan Pizza!
After my mom ate one bite of this pizza she shouted, “This is the best pizza I’ve had!!” Not to mention, my tummy thanked me afterwards for remaining free of achy & bloated pains that occur from other fast food or frozen pizzas 🙂 Give this simple+to+make Gluten Free Vegan Pizza a whirl and I think you’ll find it just as delicious as we did!
Prep Time: 12 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 47 minutes
gluten free 🙂
Ingredients
+brown rice flour pizza dough (2 C. brown rice flour, 1 tsp. sea salt, 2 tsp. baking powder, 1/4 C. coconut oil or olive oil, 3/4 C. water)
+tomato sauce
+nutritional yeast
+sunflower seeds
+garlic
+red onion
+spinach
+red bell pepper
+cauliflower
+broccoli
+parsley
+fresh rosemary
+black pepper
+sea salt
+cumin
+crushed red pepper
+oregano
dough rolled out on pizza stone
all ready for the oven!! 🙂
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 420 degrees
2. In a medium size bowl, combine brown rice flour, salt, and baking powder.
3. Add water and oil to the mixture to create a dough consistency.
4. Lightly coat a baking sheet or pizza stone with oil (so the dough won’t stick!).
5. Plop dough onto the baking sheet/stone and spread out (working outward from the center) so that it covers the sheet. You want the dough fairly thin (about less than 1/4 inch).
6. Place pizza in oven for 15 minutes to pre+bake.
7. Remove from oven and add tomato sauce & toppings. I like to add the nutritional yeast, sunflower seeds, and garlic first. Then I add the other ingredients and top it off with the other spices (rosemary, salt, pepper, cumin, crushed red pepper, oregano). Additionally, I like to top it off with more nutritional yeast 🙂 (simply because i LOVE the taste!)
8. Pop pizza back in oven (same temp) for another 20 minutes (or until crust edges look golden brown).
9. Cut pizza and serve immediately since this pizza is tastiest when warm 🙂
**REMEMBER** the most important ingredient is: to bake with love 🙂
Enjoy and let me know how your pizza turns out! What other gluten free doughs or recipes have you tried? 🙂
17 Dec
2013
“Don’t depend on your background. Develop your own.”
~Mother of Toshiko Takaezu