Tuesday 3/4/07
Bed Bugs, Siem Reap & tales from Kampong Thom
Look at me I am blogging!!! Given the crap email access in Kampong Thom this should work out better...
My chest, my shoulders and my back are covered in a rash of bed bug bites. It sucks - I am really itchy. This morning I had to spray my clothes, my bed and my sheets with bug spray before leaving them out in the sun. Apparently bed bugs are quite difficult to get rid of. So fingers crossed that this will work (crossing your fingers here means something else entirely, as does sticking your thumbs up – both are rude, so I am crossing my fingers figuratively only).
But to put this all into perspective, I went out in the field this morning, with one of the field workers (named Mab), to visit some families living with HIV/AIDS. The first family that we saw was a family of six. All were infected with the virus and the father was also suffering from TB. The youngest child was about two years old and the eldest about ten. The whole family will be lucky to live for another two years. Basically, Mab sat around talked to them for a bit, checked that they were taking their medication and checked out their house (which MODE had built for them) to see if it needed repairs. These people are seriously poor and marginalised by their community, but they still managed to smile and were very sweet. They pulled out the good matt for us to sit on. I don’t know all that much about HIV/AIDS, but around here I am still
considered an expert on nearly everything, including health issues (I would probably have a similar, if not better knowledge, of things than the field workers have without having attended any training). After that we visited a number of other families including an eight year old who had lost both parents to HIV/AIDS. She was clearly not doing so well and scabs were starting to appear over her body. At Mab’s prompting I took her photo and she lit up when she saw herself on the screen of my camera. Next time I go out I plan on taking some toys with me to give to the kids. I know it isn’t much, but still, it would be nice to try and cheer them up.
So today was pretty full on. MODE appear to be doing some really great work with the local communities and I am glad I am here to help them, if only for a short time and in a limited capacity. The other day I edited a funding proposal that they are putting together. Most of the guys in the office speak pretty good English but there writing isn’t so good. The funding proposal I edited was attempting to get funds for a program which aims to assist the most marginalised and poor people (particularly women-headed house holds that where people are living with disabilities, mostly land mine victims, and HIV/AIDs) to set up sustainable micro-businesses. There are a lot of micro-finance NGOs around, but there is not a lot of support and a lot of poor people end up borrowing from several lenders and end up getting into massive debt ($100 US is a massive debt in Khmer terms – but I could pay it off in a week). The program MODE are proposing relies on establishing networks in the community and has several follow ups over the course of a few years.
Aside from that I haven’t done much at work except ‘build relationships’ (a euphemism for sitting around talking, playing games and learning Khmer off the guys in the office). The guys in the office have taken great joy in teaching me ‘bad phrases’ and making me say that I love different member of the staff. It has been a lot of fun, but at the same time the day drags by…there is no hurry to do things around here – I kinda like that, even if it is frustrating at times.
The thing that has struck me the most over the last couple of weeks is the lack of coordination from international sponsors. There are massive holes in many of the programs. Organisations like MODE have attempted to deal with this by remaining locally focused. Also local NGOs tend to tailor their project to what the sponsors think is the right way to do something rather than shaping the project around the needs of the people the projects are aimed at. I know I was joking about setting up the ‘Erin Blake Foundation’ before I left. But now I am seriously putting some thought into organising something…
Outside of work things are going well. Shin and I moved into the house last week. My whole office turned up to check it out. I was like – ‘is anyone at work??’ The guys at work love checking out what I am up to. The other day I ripped my pants riding to work and the whole office was talking about it all day. One of the guys drove me to the market – my bare white arse hanging off the back of his moto. I then had the joy of going through the market looking for the one pair of pants that would fit me. Finally I found a pair and we went back to work. Everyone came up, one at a time, to look and tell me they were very nice pants.
It was partly due to the pants incident and the fact that I was getting seriously short of cash (we had to pay 3 months rent in advance) that I decided to go to Siem Reap last weekend. It is a three and a half hour bus trip. But it was well worth it. Firstly – they have banks that accept credit cards and secondly, given that it is a tourist hot spot (being near Ankor Wat) they have bigger sized clothes for westerners. The bus was also air conditioned (our house isn’t), so it was all quite luxurious. I text messaged my friend Lainie, who is based in Poipet on the border with Thailand, with my plans and she decided to meet me there (she had a four hour ride over some rough roads in a share taxi).
We met up late on the Friday night and checked into the first guest house (read dodgy hostel) that we found (It was five bucks a night for a room with a bathroom) and then we hit the town. We ended up at a ‘lady boy’ bar drinking cocktails to all hours of the morning….ahh, the expat lifestyle…
The next morning I figured out that it wasn’t just because I was drunk, but that the water wasn’t actually working in my room and in the process of trying to get it to work I had actually broken the toilet – I don’t envy the Plummer who had to fix it. So, I got moved into what turned out to be the ‘bed bug’ room. Given that were both hung over, we decided to forego an excursion out to Angkor Watt, and made a lazy day of it bumming around Siem Reap sucking down coconuts (the local hang over cure – I tells ya it works a treat), getting massaged by blind people (hey – it helps them) and going out to the floating village on Tonle Sap lake.
Bed Bugs, Siem Reap & tales from Kampong Thom
Look at me I am blogging!!! Given the crap email access in Kampong Thom this should work out better...
My chest, my shoulders and my back are covered in a rash of bed bug bites. It sucks - I am really itchy. This morning I had to spray my clothes, my bed and my sheets with bug spray before leaving them out in the sun. Apparently bed bugs are quite difficult to get rid of. So fingers crossed that this will work (crossing your fingers here means something else entirely, as does sticking your thumbs up – both are rude, so I am crossing my fingers figuratively only).
But to put this all into perspective, I went out in the field this morning, with one of the field workers (named Mab), to visit some families living with HIV/AIDS. The first family that we saw was a family of six. All were infected with the virus and the father was also suffering from TB. The youngest child was about two years old and the eldest about ten. The whole family will be lucky to live for another two years. Basically, Mab sat around talked to them for a bit, checked that they were taking their medication and checked out their house (which MODE had built for them) to see if it needed repairs. These people are seriously poor and marginalised by their community, but they still managed to smile and were very sweet. They pulled out the good matt for us to sit on. I don’t know all that much about HIV/AIDS, but around here I am still
considered an expert on nearly everything, including health issues (I would probably have a similar, if not better knowledge, of things than the field workers have without having attended any training). After that we visited a number of other families including an eight year old who had lost both parents to HIV/AIDS. She was clearly not doing so well and scabs were starting to appear over her body. At Mab’s prompting I took her photo and she lit up when she saw herself on the screen of my camera. Next time I go out I plan on taking some toys with me to give to the kids. I know it isn’t much, but still, it would be nice to try and cheer them up.So today was pretty full on. MODE appear to be doing some really great work with the local communities and I am glad I am here to help them, if only for a short time and in a limited capacity. The other day I edited a funding proposal that they are putting together. Most of the guys in the office speak pretty good English but there writing isn’t so good. The funding proposal I edited was attempting to get funds for a program which aims to assist the most marginalised and poor people (particularly women-headed house holds that where people are living with disabilities, mostly land mine victims, and HIV/AIDs) to set up sustainable micro-businesses. There are a lot of micro-finance NGOs around, but there is not a lot of support and a lot of poor people end up borrowing from several lenders and end up getting into massive debt ($100 US is a massive debt in Khmer terms – but I could pay it off in a week). The program MODE are proposing relies on establishing networks in the community and has several follow ups over the course of a few years.
Aside from that I haven’t done much at work except ‘build relationships’ (a euphemism for sitting around talking, playing games and learning Khmer off the guys in the office). The guys in the office have taken great joy in teaching me ‘bad phrases’ and making me say that I love different member of the staff. It has been a lot of fun, but at the same time the day drags by…there is no hurry to do things around here – I kinda like that, even if it is frustrating at times.
The thing that has struck me the most over the last couple of weeks is the lack of coordination from international sponsors. There are massive holes in many of the programs. Organisations like MODE have attempted to deal with this by remaining locally focused. Also local NGOs tend to tailor their project to what the sponsors think is the right way to do something rather than shaping the project around the needs of the people the projects are aimed at. I know I was joking about setting up the ‘Erin Blake Foundation’ before I left. But now I am seriously putting some thought into organising something…
Outside of work things are going well. Shin and I moved into the house last week. My whole office turned up to check it out. I was like – ‘is anyone at work??’ The guys at work love checking out what I am up to. The other day I ripped my pants riding to work and the whole office was talking about it all day. One of the guys drove me to the market – my bare white arse hanging off the back of his moto. I then had the joy of going through the market looking for the one pair of pants that would fit me. Finally I found a pair and we went back to work. Everyone came up, one at a time, to look and tell me they were very nice pants.
It was partly due to the pants incident and the fact that I was getting seriously short of cash (we had to pay 3 months rent in advance) that I decided to go to Siem Reap last weekend. It is a three and a half hour bus trip. But it was well worth it. Firstly – they have banks that accept credit cards and secondly, given that it is a tourist hot spot (being near Ankor Wat) they have bigger sized clothes for westerners. The bus was also air conditioned (our house isn’t), so it was all quite luxurious. I text messaged my friend Lainie, who is based in Poipet on the border with Thailand, with my plans and she decided to meet me there (she had a four hour ride over some rough roads in a share taxi).
We met up late on the Friday night and checked into the first guest house (read dodgy hostel) that we found (It was five bucks a night for a room with a bathroom) and then we hit the town. We ended up at a ‘lady boy’ bar drinking cocktails to all hours of the morning….ahh, the expat lifestyle…
The next morning I figured out that it wasn’t just because I was drunk, but that the water wasn’t actually working in my room and in the process of trying to get it to work I had actually broken the toilet – I don’t envy the Plummer who had to fix it. So, I got moved into what turned out to be the ‘bed bug’ room. Given that were both hung over, we decided to forego an excursion out to Angkor Watt, and made a lazy day of it bumming around Siem Reap sucking down coconuts (the local hang over cure – I tells ya it works a treat), getting massaged by blind people (hey – it helps them) and going out to the floating village on Tonle Sap lake.
The floating village was first established by people escaping the Khmer Rouge. They put their houses in the river and pushed them into the middle of the lake (which is massive) out of sight of the Khmer Rouge. Talk about crafty. They have floating schools, restaurants, basket ball courts, houses, farms and a tourist centre. It is pretty cool. We got a boat to ourselves and our guide was quite entertaining.
Because we were practicing our Khmer the Cambodians really opened up to us and we met heaps of nice locals. Everyone is poor and everyone has a story, but they were all so warm and engaging. After we got back from the lake we found a rooftop bar where we kicked back in some hammocks, with a couple of G&Ts, to watch the sun set over Siem Reap. It was actually quite pretty (thanks mostly to the pollution).I must say I was a bit embarrassed by the behaviour of some of the tourists. They can be so loud, disrespectful and rude. I think if you are going to travel somewhere you need to at least try fitting with the local customs. Walking around in bikini top and short shorts in a country like Cambodia is not cool – they get excited when they see a shoulder (sorry girls – the boys in the office went mental at the pics from my party). Aside from that Siem Reap was pretty cool. It is still a small town, despite the number of tourists that come through (very different to Kampong Thom) and there are some cool places away from the hordes. Lainie and I found a cool little bar at the back of a silk shop. It was tucked away and we were they only two people in there. It had a great range of cocktails, crepes and a cool bamboo seating area. They also played some great world music, we spent most of Saturday night hanging out there.
So I got a heap of stuff for the house (like sheets and booze and stuff) in Siem Reap and some more clothes, as well as bed bugs. All in all not a bad little haul and it was good to get away from Kampong Thom (I have mentioned that it is small haven’t I?). On the way back a grand ma and her grand son fell asleep on my shoulder. It was quite cute. Actually all the kids are really cute. Lainie and I were talking about splitting one. It could work…
Last weekend was also the election for the Commune Council. Shin and I were asked to be international observers which would have looked great on my CV...but we had to decline after the AYAD manager gave us a stern warning. There is a high risk of political violence. Also, the Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP) won 97% of the seats – I wouldn’t want to legitimise what is obviously a corrupt system - sorry I am not suppose to be political (but I am teaching people how to advocate for their rights). If one was cynical (and I am not saying I am), one might think that that the CPP held the election in the driest time of year when food was short and then drove around last week handing out food to people who don’t have enough food for a reason…but that would be only if you were cynical.
I am getting better at Khmer and I am also getting use to the whole living in Asia thing. It is weird just how easy it has been. The guys at work have been a great help in learning the language. Although, Mab (who I went out in the field with this morning) has been spreading a rumour around town that I am learning Khmer because I want to meet a Khmer girl. As a result, there are a couple of ladies interested to meet me…not sure what I can do about that. All the Khmers keep telling me that I am very tall and very handsome. To the point where I know that they are talking about me if I hear (Bourng Saart – handsome man). It isn’t bad for the old ego, but I am also a little unsettled by it.
I dig the no shoes thing at work, taking siestas in the middle of the day, sleeping in a mosquito net (although once the fan goes on it is a bit of a pain) and using a bucket to wash with instead of the shower. The temperature has been in the high 30s nearly every day, so I look forward to splashing myself every night when I get home from work. Aside from house stuff I have also bought myself a bike. It’s grey with a little basket on the front and goes like a little rocket.
Shin and I have started cooking. Although our food supply is restricted to whatever looks fresh at the markets. The following are easy to get – rice, noodles, mangos (lots of other weird fruits), green tomato, garlic, ginger, mint, potato, mushrooms, cucumber, leafy greens and fish (the meat is always covered in flies – don’t think I can stomach it yet). If anyone has any ideas for recipes – let me know. We have also discovered just how quick the bugs can be…especially the ants. Thankfully the cleaner starts tomorrow. Again – ahh, the expat lifestyle…
Tonight we are heading to another expats house for badminton and cocktails. We have also been invited to a big party on the weekend (we have to take cash as a present). The weekend after that is Khmer New Year – which looks like it will be fun wherever I end up.
I am also planning on getting involved with some soccer and volley ball at the local ‘stadium’ (the ‘stadium’ makes Birrong Soccer Park look like a world class facility). The boys at work play and have invited Shin and I along…should be fun.
Anyways, I hope everyone is well.
Take Care
Erin
1 comment:
Hi Erin! Great to hear of all your foreign exploits. I'm one week away from handing in my master's thesis (argh!) and have decided to go to journalism school next year.
You ought to make cucumber pickles with ginger, garlic, soy sauce and sesame oil on the thinly sliced cukes. I like that with a few cashews and some nice steamed white rice.
This week is my first in the bloggosphere too -- Fringe launched a blog , so I've been typing all week.
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