Cambodia - Part 8

Monday 28th May 2007

My moto, vulnerable children and community meetings

Wow! I can’t believe over two months have passed already. Time has just flown by. In three weeks I will be half way through my assignment and next week I turn 30! We are planning on having an Aussie styled BBQ for my birthday. We have pretty much everything sorted, excepted the BBQ, but I figure we could always dig a hole, throw some coals in and chuck a sheet of metal over it. I am sure it will work out.

Last week I bought a motor bike. It is a 95cc Honda Wave and it is way cool. I have been practicing all weekend and am now confident enough to ride down the main road of town. I took it for a little spin on some of the dusty cattle tracks outside of town. That was really fun. Don’t worry mum – it doesn’t go that fast and I wear a helmet. The hardest part is actually starting the thing and avoiding the dogs. The dogs just run out in front of you or sit there until you are nearly on top of them, even if you honk the horn. Little bastards. At least, the cows move slowly and get out of the way when you honk, although they do leave little mines along the road. Just another reason not to like dogs, I say. The traffic isn’t too bad either. All that cycling in Sydney has put me in good stead for negotiating vehicles bigger than me. Although it is more chaotic, other drivers are actually more courteous and travel considerably slower.

On my first attempt to ride the moto solo I fell over in front of the office. Basically, I over revved it in first, went flying and stacked it trying to stop. Luckily, I wasn’t going fast and wasn’t hurt and didn’t damage the bike. It was just my ego that took a battering. Half the office saw it. They flocked around me, carried me inside and made me sit down for half an hour. Naturally, it became the talk of the office; they have all been checking on me and making jokes about. They keep telling me that if I want to fly I should take a plane! My boss wouldn’t let me ride solo until the guys took me out for some more lessons. But all is good now. I have it under control. I just needed some more practice.

At work a few things have also been going on.

First of all, I went out with the ‘Happy Children’ program, a program that targets orphans and vulnerable children. They get the kids together and teach them about things like hygiene. After that the kids get to draw pictures and to play. The two staff – Arun and Mab are both former school teachers and were really good with the kids. I took the toys along that my cousins donated and taught some of the kids how to play frisbee.

It was really nice to play with the kids and see them happy. Some of them come from really bad situations. There are six I want to adopt: Two brothers whose parents died from HIV/AIDS and one blind girl (and her three siblings – I couldn’t break up the family) whose parents are infected.

The little blind girl breaks my heart the most. She clings onto her mothers clothes and follows her everywhere. I don’t want to imagine what her life will be like if her mother dies. The other kids, especially her sister, are also really sweet with her. They lead her around and get her to touch the toys. She particularly liked an orange toy that played a song. She just held it close to her ear and played the song over and over. She sang us a traditional Khmer song which was really sweet. She sings quite well and I was holding back the tears.

The two little brothers lost their parents to HIV/AIDS a few years back. They live in a little thatched hut, which MODE built for them, with their 85 year old grandmother. Their grandmother is also suffering from ill health, so they get a bit of special attention from us. Consequently, I have met them quite a few times. They like to pull on my pants and pinch my feet. The eldest tends is very serious and wants to be a doctor when he is older. I hope that he will be. I like to try and make him laugh by pulling faces. The youngest one is really cute - he was in hysterics when I picked him up and put him on my shoulders. He comes up to about my knee. I must seem so big to him.

I have also been going to the community forums facilitated by MODE on HIV/AIDS. They are held after work hours in the local villages, usually on a dusty old dirt volley ball court. The meeting format goes something like this:

Staff tell local villagers of the up coming meeting on their visits. On the morning of the meeting a staff member goes out and puts up the big blue banners with white writing advertising the meetings. A group of us go out to the village after work, at about 5pm, and blast Khmer music really really loudly though a massive stack of speakers. Inevitably a few kids turn up and start running around and don’t stop for several hours. After about 3 hours, of blaring music and kids running around, the villagers and the other speakers turn up and the meeting starts. By this time it is dark and we have fluro lights radiating light from a few strategically placed trees. None of the villages like the light, so they sit in the shadows out on the road or in clumps on the other side of the strategically placed trees. A representative from MODE gets up and talks about HIV/AIDS and MODEs program. A health official gets up and talks about the medical aspects of HIV/AIDS. A person living with HIV/AIDS gets up and talks about their experiences. There is a Q&A session and then some dancing. This is where I come in…

Allegedly, it makes the villagers very happy to see foreigners dance. So I am forced out onto the dusty dance floor by one of the staff and the two of us move three steps forward, three steps back, with hands contorted, around a desk (people won’t dance if there isn’t anything to dance around). I might point out that I am stone cold sober when this is happening. If I am lucky some kids will join me, followed by a few adults. At one I had a bit of a Congo-line happening, which was cool, but last Friday only three people joined in. There must have been at least five hundred people watching me from the shadows. This goes on for a few songs and every song goes for what seems an eternity. Although, it is not all bad. Many people have commented on my dancing skills and the other week I got handed a note from an 18 year old girl with a phone number on it and a message saying that she ‘really’ wanted to ‘get to know me’.

After the dancing, there is a competition. People have to answer questions on HIV/AIDS to get a prize. The prizes consist of Khmer scarfs, writing books and if they are good, and I mean real good, they get washing powder!! Sometimes I even get to present the prizes. Usually, at this time, some of villagers (mostly kids learning English) come up, say hello to me and have a chat. After the prizes are handed out, we wrap up, usually about 11pm. It makes for a long day, but it is interesting.

After one of the meetings, I was introduced to a man whose daughter was about to get married. The man spoke quite good English and invited me to the wedding. So, mostly out of curiosity, I went (with Mab from work). The wedding was held in a restaurant in town which had been decked out with lots of streamers and other decorations. The wedding party greeted us on arrival and we were ushered to our seats. The local karaoke stars were up on stage belting out the Khmer favourites, while we hoed into some great food and skulled copious amounts of beer (poured over ice of course).

During the ceremony I got up to watch them cut the cake and take a few pictures on my phone (my camera got stolen when I was at the market last week – my own fault, I should have been more careful). While I was standing there a girl turned around and said something to me. It took me a moment, partly due to the beer consumption and the loud music, but mostly because I just wasn’t expecting it, to realise: not only why she speaking in English fluently, but she was also speaking with an Australian accent. Anyhow, she was a Khmer Australian who has just moved to Kampong Thom from Perth. You can never get away from Aussies. They are everywhere. Even in Cambodian backwaters like Kampong Thom.

Later, somehow, I am not really sure how, I found myself sitting with the bridal party. Which was strange, but which I am sure I pulled off with grace and dignity. The father, the groom and a few others knocked back a couple of coldies with me, until I was well drunk. Shortly after, I decided to make a sensible exit and left. The father who invited me was very excited that I was able to make it and shook my hand vigorously on the way out. It seems, to me at least, that the Khmer people really love to see people participating (especially foreigners), smiling and enjoying life, so I tend to go down a treat at events. Well, that is what I am telling myself…

On a completely different topic, I have been thinking a lot about ghosts lately. Many Khmer people are very suspicious and believe in ghosts. People talk about them quite openly and they appear in Khmer TV shows all the time. One of the girls from work told me she is afraid to go out by herself at night for fear of running into ghosts. Being something of a sceptic, I don’t really believe in ghosts. But I must say if there was every going to be an event that might leave a few tortured souls behind; it would probably be an act of genocide.

And then late the other night something weird happened.

I was at home alone when something caught my eye outside. When I looked out the window there was what looked like a torch light moving across the neighbour’s wall. I couldn’t figure out the source of the light and when I moved closer again. A shadow, of what looked like a small boy, quickly scampered off over the other neighbour’s roof. It was all quite weird. And the shadow moved far too quickly to be a real boy. Anyhow, although I am sure there is a normal explanation for it, all this talk of ghosts has got me paranoid and I was a little freaked out.

Coincidently, I was also reading a book that mentions the concept of ghosts in a western context. That every world view clings to ghosts, including ours. Our ghosts, though, are thinkers, inventors and scientists, like Descartes, Edison or Aristotle, who are made immortal through their teachings, inventions and insights…so maybe there is something in this ghost thing. Or maybe I just have too much time to think.

One thing that is definitely not a spectre is my craving for food. Over the last week or so I have been getting some serious hankerings. It was triggered by a dinner party I went to the weekend before last at my friends, Tim & Ags, house in Phnom Penh. I was down in Phnom Penh for an AYAD meeting and stayed the weekend. Ags made these delicious veggie burgers and after eating some crap fried rice (Bai Chaa) the following Monday, I realised that I had hit a wall. Up until now fried rice has pretty much been my staple. It is easy to order and digest. But I realised on Monday I was over it and have been craving western food since. I spent much of last weekend cooking pastas and potato salad as a result.

Tonight I am going to meet the District Governor. My Khmer teacher lined it up – she is friends with him and told him that I worked in local government at home. So, he is interested to meet me and talk ideas (I suspect he really wants English lessons). But I am hoping to get a foot in and discuss some issues with him on behalf of my organisation. Will see how that goes.

So, as I mentioned, I had my camera stolen. The pics I have taken are from my phone, so the quality isn’t as good. But you probably won’t be able to tell on this page.

I hope all is well back home.

Take Care
Erin

Cambodia - Part 7

Wednesday 16^th of May 2007

Land Rights, the Long Weekend and Eating Crickets

It is the Wednesday after a long weekend and today I have been struggling for inspiration. On Friday I am going to an AYAD meeting in Phnom Penh and to see the doctor for a follow up visit. So effectively, I have a two day week.

Last week, I spent a good few days furiously searching for funding options and putting together a funding proposal on ‘land rights’. Land rights are a major issue here, especially for people who are poor and/or vulnerable (i.e. women headed households, people living with HIV/AIDs, people living with a disability, etc). Without housing and income security (through subsistence farming) people are pushed even further into a life of poverty.

The problem stems from the Khmer Rouge period, when all official documentation was destroyed and the population was displaced. Since then the land title system has not recovered. Only the very rich can afford to buy property and to pay the bribes necessary at each level to secure a title. As a result, most people have no proof that they own a property, even if it has been in their family for hundreds of years (most people started again after the Khmer Rouge though – so many families have lived on properties for about 20 years which is still quite a substantial amount of time). Basically, around Kampong Thom, wealthy farmers and companies, in cahoots with corrupt officials, are forcing families off their family plots, leaving them homeless and without a means of income. Most rural families are ill educated; they have now idea how to stop this from happening or what to do if someone tries to take their land. Even if they do know they can take it to court and defend their rights, then the wealthy farmers/companies will usually buy off the judiciary. So it is a pretty bad situation.

On the up side, organisations like the Legal Aid Cambodia are doing some good work and having moderate success in representing poor people. But, their resources are limited and there is a lot of dispossession happening around the country. It can be quite dangerous work; at worst some activists have ‘disappeared’, at best there have been more ‘inspections’ on organisations helping people defend their rights. Many NGOs are a little reluctant to deal with this issue, but my boss and I think it is worth while and my NGO has a good relationship with local officials, so I hope we go ahead with it (the staff are going to decide this week at a staff meeting). If it goes ahead we will be educating people on their rights, working with local officials, the judiciary and lining up legal support for victims.

So work has been going well and is really interesting. Although I am getting a little frustrated with the internet connection; it is very difficult to research programs and funding, when there is only one connection and it is slower than a train on the Bankstown Line. It seriously takes me an hour to reply to a couple of emails (I apologise to anyone who was hoping for replies and I haven’t – don’t think I don’t appreciate you and your thoughts). The other day I was over waiting, and decided to go to the internet café and work from there. The connection isn’t much faster, but at least I don’t have to wait for other people to finish. No one had a problem with it, so I might do that a bit more often.

As I have already mentioned, the last few days were public holidays. I had a date of sorts with Lainie, whom I have mentioned previously. Lainie is another Australian volunteer working in Poipet, on the border with Thailand. We met up in Siem Reap, where we stayed in the ‘Day Inn Angkor Resort’. It was a nice place – hot showers, air conditioning, a pool and a buffet breakfast. The most luxurious place I have stayed in Cambodia and still pretty cheap. We had a pretty laid back day, drinking, eating and relaxing. In the evening we went out to a French Bar that is tucked away behind a Silk Shop near the Psaar Chaa (new market). We stumbled across this place on a previous visit they have a bamboo loft section above the bar, serve great buckwheat crepes and mix a mean Mojitio. Our friend Bek was also in Siem Reap with a friend Belinda, who was friend’s with Lainie’s sister (small world), so they caught up with us there too. It was nice evening, talking and drinking.

The next day Lainie and I headed off to Sisophon, on our way to Poipet. It is a three hour drive between Siem Reap and Sisophon. Even though it is a highway and the main road leading to the Thai border, the road is not sealed and quite rough. The rumour doing the rounds is that Thai Airways gives large amounts of money to the Cambodian Government so that they take their time sealing it, as the airline makes a lot of money flying tourists to and from Siem Reap (for Angkor Wat) from Bangkok.

Anyhow, we spent the night visiting our friend Laura (another AYAD) in Sisophon. We had a bit of a dinner party at Laura’s and cooked up a western feast, using supplies we bought in Siem Reap, of pasta and vanilla slice. Sisophon itself, is quite a nice spot, nestled under hill that has a Temple (and mobile phone tower) perched on top. There aren’t many hills about, so you can see it from miles away. Laura’s house is massive – it is a little older with six bedrooms and she lives there alone. She has a nice verandah at the front framed by fairy lights.

The next day Lainie and I headed to Poipet. We took a share taxi and they piled eight people in; driver, two in the passenger seat and five in the back seat (including me and Lainie). Sometimes they try to squeeze even more people in, but not that day. Because of the limited room, Lainie sat on my lap, which I didn’t mind at all. The road is at its worst between Sisophon and Poipet; it was really really bumpy, but it only took about an hour and a half.

Poipet would have to be one of, if not the, ugliest parts of Cambodia. It has an industrial, barren, dirty, dusty feel to it. Lainie has it tough there, she is the only AYAD in town and one of the few foreigners, but she is a pretty cool/strong chick. She has to live in a hotel because her organisation won’t let her live alone. A lot of Cambodians come to Poipet from rural areas (like Kampong Thom) to try to find work and are usually disappointed to find there are few jobs and end up sneaking across the border in dodgy wooden hand pulled carts to work in Thailand. The authorities know this happens (it is pretty obvious) but just turn a blind eye as long as they stay out of sight and they are given a cut from the smuggler.

There are parts of town that sit in muddy bogs, houses made from plastic sheeting and rubbish just strewn in piles through the street. Old clothes sit like a carpet across the muddy banks of the back streets. There are few trees and heaps of mud. I felt there was a definite tension as we walked around the town. I realised just how laid back Kampong Thom is in comparison. While were walking about my new thongs got stuck in some mud and broke (cheap thongs) to the amusement of some nearby, orange be robed, monks. We jumped on a moto and went to the markets, where as usual, I had trouble finding something that would fit me and ended up with thongs that were a little too small.

Almost, overshadowing Poipet are several Casinos’ that sit in the ‘no mans land’ between the Cambodian and Thai borders. It is quite surreal, the stark contrast of the casino’s wealth and modernity against the town, but we went there for dinner anyhow. We had dinner in a proper Chinese restaurant and I tried my hand a little roulette. Ever the shrewd gambler, I doubled my small bet and we left. On the way out we found a night club (wonder of wonders) with a live band, so we had a few drinks and a bit of a boogie there. They played a few English pop songs (most likely for our benefit) which we found highly entertaining as the emphasised the wrong parts of the words. We were the only people dancing (well, except for the Thai girls that were being paid to dance) on the dance floor. Lainie claims she won the dance off, but I know better. It has been a while since I have been anywhere where western dancing was deemed acceptable and so it was quite fun.

The next day I had an 8 hour journey to look forward too, but I should have stayed in bed. For some reason the taxi drivers were being reluctant to take me back to Siem Reap or Sisophon. Lainie and I spent a good few hours trying to find me a ride. In Poipet, the police take a cut from the taxi drivers and if they see a foreigner get in the taxi they will expect a bigger cut, so sometimes they don’t want to take them. Eventually, after going from taxi rank to taxi rank I split a taxi with an American, who had just come over the border, and said goodbye to Lainie. After not being able to get in a share taxi, the private taxi companies literally had a fight over us. It was more expensive, but the driver took us all the way to Siem Reap and we had space to stretch out, so it was probably worth it. It had rained over night, so the road was really slippery and slow going, in parts we fish tailed through the mud.

By the time I got to Siem Reap I had missed the last bus to Kampong Thom and had to organise another taxi. Fortunately they know a thing or two about customer service in Siem Reap and I was bundled into a share taxi with 8 others in no time. Funny thing, while I was waiting in the front seat for the other passengers to arrive, one of the drivers friends kept jumping in the car, giving me a cheeky grin and moving it in front of the policemen (presumably so they could see he was carrying a westerner and would have to pay a higher bribe). The other drivers found this hilarious and were in stiches.

Despite the fact that things were quite cramped, the road was soooo smooth (being sealed) that I fell asleep for a good hour. I woke when our taxi swerved to miss a dog, then some buffalo and finally some cows.

I got home about 7pm, after having left Lainie’s hotel at about 9.30am. It was a long trip in a short amount of time, but worth it. Lainie and I had a lot of fun. It was good to get back to the peace and quiet of Kampong Thom though. I think I might be turning into a country boy – horror of horrors!

Today the staffs of MODE are having a workshop that is all in Khmer, so I was excused. But I have been watching them playing games, brain storm on butchers’ paper and singing songs. Everyone seems to be in good spirits.

My house is becoming a popular hang out for the boys from work since I got the volley ball net and the boys keep asking if they can come over and play. If they could, they would play ever day. Thankfully I have other things to do, like Khmer classes, otherwise I know they would be around every day.

My clothes were caked in mud from Sisophon and Poipet, so I was much relieved to see the cleaner this morning. I could get very use to having a cleaner. She bought us a whole bag of fried crickets the other day and left them in a bowl surrounded by water in the wok, so the ants wouldn’t get to them. Shin and I just looked at them. It was a nice gesture, but there was no way either of us were going to eat a whole bag. In the end, Shin took them to work to give to his colleagues.

The crickets are very popular though and I have tried them. One of the guys from work came in with some fried goods wrapped in newspaper. I thought – great they do fish and chips here! Yum! But then they unravelled the paper and it was full of glistening freshly fried black crickets. I have seen moments like this at the movies – but usually they are the nightmare scenes. So I had a go. They weren’t too bad – a bit like a crunchy chicken/dried fish taste. I ate about 5 so they guys from work didn’t think I was lame. But they still had a laugh at me because I ate the little legs. They don’t. Apparently it is gross to eat the feet (it is considered the dirtiest part on the human body – after the weekend I can see why). I was like, so you eat the bum and the brains, but the feet are too much?! I have also seen people putting them on steamed rice and mixing them into their lunch at the restaurant. Gross.

Also, some good news from home – Jane & Tom (my old house mates) had a baby boy! They haven’t settled on a name as far as I know, but they might name him Blake (after the poet, not me). But, you know, I might have to return the favour one day and call my first born Tutton. Tutton Blake – kinda has a nice ring to it. Some other friends, Loreto and Greg also had their baby a few weeks ago, and Paul and Kym got married. So that is two births and a wedding since I have been here. What is going on in Australia!! I haven’t been gone that long!!!

I hope all is well for everybody.

Take Care

Erin

Cambodia - Part 6

Sunday 6th May 2007

Home coming & Home leaving

Last weekend I went home to Sydney for my sisters wedding.

It was nice, but weird, being at home and seeing my whole family together. Even after my short time in Cambodia, Sydney seemed so sanitized, organised and developed. And it was a little difficult to adjust. In the car on the way from the airport, people were discussing Sydney’s tunnels, on talk back radio. Having just got off the plane from Cambodia, it just sounded like a bunch rich people whinging about nothing. It seemed like such a non issue compared to what people go through here. But, if I have learnt anything while I have been away it is that everything is relative to your own experiences. You deal with what you are given.

On the up side I got curl up under the covers in my comfy bed, wash my clothes properly and have a hot shower. It was good to feel the dust and sweat wash away and to put on clean crisp clothes. Although it was pretty cold and I immediately started to sniffle as I walked out of the airport.

The wedding was a lot of fun. It was good to see everyone together, all dressed up and happy. I am really happy for my sister, Meredith, and Don, they have been together for a long time, and I think it is a good thing for their relationship to take the final step. I can’t imagine what it would be like without Don around, it seems like he has been a part of our family for such a long time. They got married and St Patrick’s Catholic Church in the City and had the reception in the Sebel (on the old Pier One) which was pretty schmick. The food was great and I made the most of it. At the moment they are in Tahiti soaking up the sun on their honey moon…

So, I had a whirl-wind three days in Sydney, but still managed to catch up with some friends at the Courtie, by some more clothes and replace my reading glasses which I lost of the back of a moto, before I flew back.

It felt like a long time travelling, even though I managed to sleep a bit, and I was exhausted by the time I got to Phnom Penh. It was weird, I felt quite anxious and out of sorts until I got back to our house in Kampong Thom. I guess it is all part of this culture shock and reverse culture shock thing they told us about. Some part of me feels like this is home now (well for a while).

It is cooler today, the first cool day I have spent here, and there is a nice breeze blowing. At the moment I am sitting on our front veranda looking out over the muddy waters of the Stung Sen River. On the opposite bank, I can see cows grazing, some wooden boats, up turned and a row of wooden/thatch huts mounting the rise. A little golden dog is sniffing around the front of our gates trying to find a way in. Occasionally, a moto putters past, a cow moos, or my neighbours yell something to each other or clink a bowl, but aside from that, it is just the sound of the rustling leaves and the birds chirping. It is really quite peaceful in Kampong Thom on the weekend. It really is a rural town. I have really been enjoying the chance to relax and have spent most of the day lazing back in a hammock reading a book (Cloudstreet by Tim Winton).

While I was away there has been some rain about the province, so things are looking a bit greener. The difference was quite noticeable from the bus as we sped past the vast rice fields. It has also meant an explosion of bugs. I turned on a fluoro light the other night and, within seconds, there was a cloud of them whirling around. This has meant the implementation of a new lighting strategy around the house. Instead of turning the inside lights on, we turn the outside lights on and the inside ones off, and the bugs tend not to bother us as much. Out in the fields and along the road side the locals have erected big plastic sheet with water troughs at the bottom. At night they turn on purple fluorescent lights to attract the bugs and they catch them in the water trap. You can buy bags of fried crickets everywhere around town. I will have a go, but I have to prepare myself for it first. One of my colleagues offered me one the other day, but I feeing a bit queasy as it was and just couldn’t do it. Just watching her was enough.

I did have a go at some of the beetle nut that they old ladies chew on instead of tobacco. I can’t say I liked it; it was quite bitter and peppery, I spat it out after a little, but my mouth still went numb. Strange. It is not cool for women to smoke here, so they eat the beetle nut instead.

The other day I went out on a field trip with my boss and some of the guys from work. It was quite a revelation to me to find that there is a second, better and bigger, market in Kampong Thom. It seems that I managed to miss a whole part of the town, on the left as you cross the river. It really doesn’t look like anything is down there, but it appears there is heaps of houses and that they go on for quite a way along the river. Kampong Thom is much bigger than I first thought (it’s more of a two horse town, not just a one horse). I guess it is the provincial capital. Still, there isn’t that much to see or do. Most of the action happens on the main street.

Although I haven’t been around much in the last few weeks work is also picking up. I am conducting a review of their current local governance project and looking around for funding to support it in the future. My boss is also looking at getting involved in a land rights campaign, which I think is particularly cool, but might be a bit dangerous as it could put the organisation at odds with some powerful people. So I am in two minds about it.

Outside of work life in Kampong Thom is coming along as well.

On Friday, I bought a volley ball net and ball. We have set up a bit of a court in our front yard. The boys from the office came around and we promptly popped the ball on the barbed wire lining the top of our neighbour’s fence. So we went and got some beer and pig innards and drank the night away instead. We made quite a mess and in the morning the sight of pig innards warming in the sun did nothing for my hang over. Thankfully, our cleaner came to the rescue and cleaned it all up while I slept off my hangover. She’s a gem! Don’t know how I got by without her!

Yesterday we fixed the ball and half the neighbourhood turned up for a game. It was fun, but hot, and I was drenched in sweat and buggered by the end. It turns out my friend Mab is quite the star about town he played volley ball for the Cambodian National team, although they could never afford to travel out of Cambodia to play in tournaments so they only played the occasional game against a visiting neighbour. I tell you what, for a little guy he sure can jump for the spikes.

I am also getting known around town, some people know I speak a little Khmer and stop me to have a little chat. Most of the time I just smile, nod and agree. Usually, I have no idea what they are saying to me except for the odd phrase like ‘are you married?’ or ‘where are you going?’ - I have moments of brilliance in Khmer, but most of the time I struggle still. My Khmer teacher wants me to take more lessons, so I get better quicker. Actually, to go off on a tangent, I told my Khmer teacher that my parents were ‘retired’ and she thought that I was saying that they had passed away. It was a bit of an awkward conversation correcting her, as some time had passed before I realised; she clearly felt sorry for me and was lining me up with orphan friends. Ahh, cultural misunderstandings…

That is one of the other cool things I have come to like about the Khmer culture. When people go through stuff, they never do it alone. They really pull together and look after everyone in the community. For example, one of the younger girls at work, who has lost her mother, has a very close relationship with one of the older women. They call each other sister, hang out after work and do stuff that sisters do.

On the flip side though I have been having a hard time getting across the point that I chose live on my own at home. They simply don’t understand that if I am not married, why I wouldn’t live with my parents. I could think of two good reasons (sorry mum & dad – you know you wouldn’t want me there anyhow).

My health is also improving. After taking antibiotics and using some cream, my spots seem to be going away at last. I am almost back to full health, but I do have to make the trip back to Phnom Penh to see the doctor for a follow up at some point. When I go to stay in Phnom Penh, I usually stay with my friends, also from the AYAD program, Kate, Bec and Sophie. They have a spare bed in a top floor unit. They have a great upstairs part from which you look out over the southern part of Phnom Penh. They sit up there and sip on G&T’s most afternoons, something I am quite partial to. I watched the sun rise from up there just before leaving for Sydney and had a little moment to myself. I was spending so much time at the girls place just before I left for Sydney that I started to feel like I was the fourth housemate…the tuk tuk driver on the corner outside their place knows my name!

Next weekend is another long weekend. We have a two day public holiday for King Norodom’s birthday. Given that I missed a public holiday while I was in Sydney that will make it six public holidays since I have been in Cambodia. It is pretty cool if you ask me. I think I might go west and catch up with my friend Lainie, maybe spend some time in Battambang or something.

Also, big thanks to my cousins, who donated and collected some toys for the kids over here. MODE runs a ‘Happy Happy Children’ program for orphans and vulnerable children, so the toys will go towards that. I will take some pictures for you.

Take Care
Erin

Cambodia - Part 5

Friday 20th April 2007

New Years & Health Scare

Sok Sabi Chnum Khmai (Happy Khmer New Year)

I have had a mega busy week.

Firstly, on Khmer New Years Eve, we had a big morning of handing out rice (and other foodstuffs, including cooking oil from Australia) to orphans and people living with HIV/AIDs. The day went quite well, heaps of MODEs clients turned up (they were qued up outside when I arrived – I felt guilty that I was carrying my breakfast and had to sneak around the back) and we gave away somewhere in the vicinity 1000kg of rice. They came in big 50kg bags which we had to split into 30kg bags for people to take away. I ended up lugging around most of the bags - They were really heavy and really hot, but I wanted to show that I was really keen to help, so I pretended like it was nothing. All the guys in the office started calling me ‘bourng klang’ (strong man) which sufficiently placated my ego. It was a long/hard mornings work, but well worth it. The guys on the office kept jumping on the scales to see who was the heaviest. They kept trying to get me to go on, but I knew that a) the scales did not go up to my weight and b) I had about 40 kg on the nearest competitor, so I strategically avoided it.

While were handing out the rice, one of the grandmothers came up to me and emphatically thanked me for giving them rice. It was quite sweet at her, but I felt quite embarrassed about it (yes, it does happed). It would have still happened if I had been there or not. It is not like I organised it. I felt a bit humbled I guess.

After we handed out all the rice we packed up the office and headed out to the lakeside for an office picnic. There was a lot of eating, drinking and playing cards which was a lot of fun. I ate raw snails, and little clam things. Did I mention the pig innards I had the other week? They go great with beer…

Just as everything was winding up for New Years, we had a rushed meeting/visit from some of the donors. So instead of kicking back for a few days before new years I was busy redrafting a funding proposal and going around with the sponsors. It was good though. I feel like I am finally getting involved in the organisation and the work.

MODE has been working on a project that aims to replicate successful micro-businesses which will help people get out of poverty. If you earn under $20 here you are considered to be in poverty. People living with HIV, people living with disabilities and women-headed houses holds in rural areas are particularly vulnerable to poverty and marginalised by the local communities, many do not have the basic skills or access to programs that could help them develop the skills in order to generate an income. The aim of MODEs is to help these people. By providing them with skills, micro-financing, health services and empowering them through self-help groups.

On our field trip, we took the donors out to see some successful micro-businesses that had been established by people living with disabilities and their families. We visited a cake maker, a rice wine maker (my favourite), a pot maker and basket weavers. They set up their businesses on the side of the road or take their produce to the local village market.

Our meeting and field trip went late, but I still managed to get down to Phnom Penh (there were some seriously bad accidents along the road and it took two extra hours on the bus) for a Saturday departure with some of the other AYAD guys. We hired a mini van with a driver for the weekend and he took us in his ‘Mercedes’ van down to Kampot. We spent the afternoon/night at a place on the river where we went swimming, ate heaps and drank the first day of new years away. It was also one of the girl’s birthdays (Kim) so we made sure she got extra smashed. It was quite a nice spot and was nice to catch up with the guys. On the way home eleven of us squeezed into a tuk tuk. A few of us took turns pushing it up the hills.

The next day the group split up between the ‘mountain goats’ and the ‘beachcombers’. Some of the guys went hiking, while the rest of us (Ags, Tim, Susan, Allison and me) went to Kep which is on the beach. Kep was great – beautiful and tropical and packed with Khmer people on holidays.

Somehow we managed to find a bungalow in this beautiful hotel set among the trees looking over the water. Stunning. It was one of the nicest places I have ever stayed at and all for about $12 a night. From Kep we tried to go Island hoping, but were thwarted by a dodgy boat engine and only got to Rabbit Island, which was beautiful, but not as secluded as we wanted. The Islands off Kep are really close to the border with Vietnam and we were told that if you went the wrong way that the Vietnamese border patrol would just open fire at the boat. So we all had a moment when the boat engine died and we started drifting towards Vietnam. Thankfully our trusty boat driver jumped in and jimmied up the engine so we could get back to Rabbit Island.

While we were on the boat a flying fish jumped out of the water and hit me in the head. Why do all the weird things happen to me? I hadn’t even seen a flying fish before.

At Rabbit Island we splashed about in the water, kicking back in a few inner tubes, lazed about under the palm trees and sunk some beers (to celebrate new years of course). It was so nice to go swimming in a cool ocean. I could literally feel the dust washing away.

The food in Kep was also amazing – fresh fish, prawns, crab and octopus – and soooo cheap. It was great. We ate like kings. On our last night we went to Karaoke bar where the locals all came up to talk to us (there weren’t many tourists about) and get us to dance. But after two bottles of vodka and a couple of goes at dismal Karaoke performances I think they were happy to see us leave.

It was a long trip back to Kampong Thom (over 7 hours in total) and I was feeling pretty crap (see afore mentioned vodka reference). When we got back though, things didn’t improve. I started getting weird aches and pains in my chest and shoulders, on top of which my rash had gotten worse. I was quite worried about this all (being at least 3 hours from reliable medical help), so I decided to call SOS who told me to go to Phnom Penh and get checked out. I spent the night moaning to myself and woke up feeling better, but decided to bum a ride with my boss to Phnom Penh and get checked out anyhow. At least I could get something effective for my rash.

When I got to the SOS clinic they decided that they better do a blood check for malaria and told me to come back the next day. At this point, I really started to get worried. I stayed the night, slightly panicked, at a friends place and went back to the clinic this morning. To my great relief, I do not have malaria (I have been very good taking my anti-malarial medicine), I just had a bit of a bug, no doubt from the seafood or something and the rash it turns out, is most likely due to the anti-malaria medicine (although the doctor kept asking if I took body building drugs - I will take that as a complement. I am like ‘do I look like I am on roids?’). So I am now on anti-biotics and have some kick-ass cream. Phew. If that doesn’t fix it I will have to change my anti-malaria regime.

And I get to spend the weekend in Phnom Penh.

Too add to the good news – I checked my bank balance and have managed to save while I have been here. Cool. Time to go shopping! Maybe I can buy something that won’t fall apart in 4 seconds.

Next week I will be back in Aus for a few days for my sisters wedding, so will see some of you then.

Also, Liz, my cousin, is doing a bit of a collection for toys and clothes and stuff. So, if you have anything that some kids in Cambodia would like let me or Liz know.

Liea Ta (See you)

Erin

Cambodia - Part 4

Tuesday 11/4/07

Khmer New Years Eve…

For some reason I get inspired to write on Tuesdays. It is not intentional; it just works out that way.

Khmer New Years is this weekend coming and office is pretty much winding down. No one is looking to do anything much. I wanted to talk to the boss and my counterpart about some work that I had done. They gave me a kind of tired look and said it would be better to talk about it after New Years. So now I have three days of work and nothing much to do. Which is ok by me, it is hot and I don’t feel like doing much.

Khmer New Year is a big celebration here it goes over three days. While we only get one public holiday, the office will be closed for almost a week (everyone takes leave). Everyone goes to spend time with their families and dances for three days. My counterpart, Nary, only gets to see her husband a few times a year – New Years is one of those times. A few guys from the office are also travelling back to their home towns to visit their families, but most will stay and celebrate in Kampong Thom. As for me, I plan on catching up with a few of the other guys from the AYAD program. We are going to go down to Kampot in the South near the Vietnamese border – surf, sand, trekking and no doubt a few cocktails. It will probably take me about 8 hours to get there, but it will be worth it.

Around the streets people are putting up big colourful stars, lights and decorations. The local kids have been setting off fire works…like the good old days…it’s starting to feel a lot like Christmas…

Last weekend Shin and I got to go to our first Khmer party. It was really fun. It was a house warming party for the new office and house. We received formal invites on nice paper with golden writing. I am told that it was a fairly upmarket affair in comparison to most Khmer parties. They set up a big colourful marquee at the front of the house. We had to register when we arrived and make a donation to the party. Given that it was bosses party and that I am a foreigner I was expected to give a little more than most others. I am seen as rich and close to my boss and you pay according to the respect you should give. But still I got off quite lightly. The food was great and the beers just kept coming. Everyone wanted to drink with us because we were the foreigners.

Before drinking the people will designated how much of the glass should be drunk. ‘Moi moi’ translates to ‘one after the other’ which means you have to knock back the whole glass. Most of the night people kept saying ‘moi moi’ to us. Thankfully I am much bigger and quite the experienced drinker, so it wasn’t too much of a problem keeping up and remaining composed. Later in the night they broke out the Karaoke (it was nice to be on the other side of the stack of speakers for once) and everyone started to dance. Again, everyone wanted to dance with us so we were up dancing for quite a while. Khmer dancing pretty much consists of going slowly around a centre piece: stepping a few steps forward, then stepping a few steps back while contorting your hands. I was a natural and received many compliments, but it might have been the beer talking. They all knew that Shin and I weren’t married so they kept angling for us to dance near the single girls at the party which was kind of funny. We were still metres away but people were giggling and saying that we should get married. A few guys from the office, including my boss Sinal, got up and sung a few songs. They were all really good. Lucky for Shin and I, there were no songs in English and we could decline singing ourselves. All in all it was a really fun night.

Aside from the party Shin and I also went up to Siem Reap for a night. We stayed in a good hotel which had air conditioning and a hot shower. I forgot how good a hot shower could be. It was heaven. Lainie was also in Siem Reap for work and we met up with her. We all went up to watch the sun set over Angkor, which was quite cool, but packed with tourists. I am still to actually see Angkor though, but I am gradually getting closer.

Last week I also went out with my boss to Sunden; a small town about 2 hours north east of Kampong Thom. Sunden is my boss and his wife’s home town and is also home to one of MODE’s satellite offices. I thought Kampong Thom was quite rural, but this place was more so. No sealed roads and only about two shops. It was nice to visit, but I wouldn’t want to be stuck there. Sinal told me that up until about 3 years ago the Khmer Rouge was still active in the area between Kampong Thom and Sunden, and that there were still a few hiding out in the forest. They would often hijack cars on the road that we were on and kidnap westerns. But that was three years ago, they pose no threat now (phew).

The reason we went out to Sunden was because it was the Chinese day for the dead. Sinal’s wife is Chinese in ethnicity and she goes every year to meet her family and pay respect to her ancestors. We went to a big mound where her father was buried next to his old rice paddy. There the family decorated the graves with colourful pieces of paper, lit some incense, chanted a bit and then made offerings of food, money (they burn fake money that they buy at the market) and drink to the dead. Strangely, it got me to thinking about my own family and history and I got a little emotional about the whole thing. After, we went back to her family house where we had a big lunch and played English teacher with the kids. They are quite smart and quick, so I had to keep my wits about me. They were writing words I said in the dirt with sticks.

On the way back from Sunden we visited Parsat Tao, a largely in tact temple on the outskirts of Kampong Thom. The temples in the area are mostly made from clay bricks (Angkor is made of stone) and are located in the middle of the forest. It is quite a cool area and would make a great picnic location (or rave party). The temples are quite simple, predating Angkor by about five hundred years, and have been worn by the elements. This area use to be the capital of Kampuchea before it was moved to Angkor and it still remains quite a spiritual place for the Khmer people. The boss’s kids were really excited to see it and went running ahead; it was nice to see them so interested in their history. The other great thing was that there were no other tourists about! We had the whole place to ourselves.

I also got my first haircut in Cambodia. All I knew how to say was ‘short’, so I was pretty much at the mercy of the barber. It cost me $1, but they took a lot of care. I was day dreaming away and didn’t notice the guy pull out the razor - I have been worried about getting my haircut over here because of the high rate in HIV and hepatitis that may been transmitted via razors etc, but the guy started before I could say ‘’no’’ and then he had to even it up. Well, he didn’t cut me, so I think I am safe for now. But I had images of going to HIV/AIDS support groups and hanging out with ex-junkies and prostitutes telling them how I got HIV at a barber in Kampong Thom…” he splashed my face with windex after – I thought that would kill it’’. Seriously though – he did use windex as lubricant, after shave and gel. I smelt like a freshly cleaned window for hours! On the upside he also gave me a massage.

Aside from my meanders, not much else has happened this week. Except that our cleaner started and we found a Khmer teacher. Both should make our lives here a little easier. I think I have forgotten more Khmer than I can use.

Tomorrow we are going to be giving out rice to the needy for New Years celebrations. That should be pretty cool. Aside from that I have finally been given some work to do, although, they have given me over a month to complete it. They want me to conduct a review of the local governance and decentralisation program. I am hoping I will be able to do some surveys and stuff with the villages, so I can gauge how much they understand about democracy etc, but I think that money will probably be an issue. On the up side it good to have something to concentrate on. Shin has nothing to do at work and has been amusing himself creating posters.

That is all for now.

Take Care.

Liea Ta.

Erin

Cambodia - Part 3

Friday 6/4/07

An average day in the life...

Reading over my last few instalments it has become apparent that I sound like I am doing a lot. The truth is, is that there is a lot of sitting around between doing really cool things. So to break this image people may be forming of me saving entire communities single handed, pushing back the scourge of corruption and bring democracy to the people, I have decided to detail an average day of my life in Kampong Thom:

Wake up at about 5.30am when the sun rises and shafts of light bore through the wooden windows. Lie in bed for two hours trying to ignore my stomach cramps and cursing the fact that it is already hot and I am sweating, despite having the fan pointed directly at me. (Over the last week I have had the added joy of waking to the neighbour’s music – it has been the festival of the dead, I think they are actually trying to wake the dead. They like to kick things off between 4am and 5am – now I get a bit antsy where here an alarm go off at a low level, so music blaring at levels I have only heard in night clubs or at concerts standing next to the speaker does not entirely impress me, but mostly starts around 7ish, by which time I am wide awake anyhow).

After I get up I often grunt at Shin before getting ready for work. I have to dress fairly conservatively for work – long sleeve shirts and long pants (with sandals of course – I bought some faux Birkenstocks in Phnom Penh for $7 - bargain!). I also lather myself in repellent and sun cream – there has been a bit of a dengue epidemic around Kampong Thom over the last few years and my office is opposite a swampy area.

Sometimes I make breakfast, but usually I get some noodles from a road side dinner (by which I mean a couple of chairs on the footpath next to someone cooking) on the way to work. The cycle ride to work is about 1 km. Not very far – but I do have to avoid the dogs, chickens, cows, ducks, children, buffalo and other human traffic (including tour buses steaming through town and crazy moto drivers). There is one particular dog (which I suspect is rabid mostly because it doesn’t like me) that likes to chase me and bark loudly. To put it plainly – I hate it. I plan on eating it before I leave town (actually, the Khmer don’t like eating dog – they only did so during the Khmer Rouge period when there was no other food. Now it is frowned upon).

I arrive at work around 8ish, sit around and say hello to everyone (they don’t say hello to each other – they just smile and nod at each other – so they indulge me). If I have work to do usually I do it first thing in the morning before it gets too hot. But most days I do some Khmer practice from a book, chat to the other staff, write emails on my laptop or try to break my top score on pinball. Now I know a few people out there will think I have merely transported my old ways in Sydney to Cambodia (I never realise how much work I put into work avoidance before). But, seriously it can be quite dull and frustrating. Even when I push for work it hardly ever comes. We warned about this though. It is simply not the Khmer way to make people work hard for the first few months – not until they get to know you. So I have put it down to a ‘learning’ experience and make sure I take something to do to work.

By about 12 noon it is scorching hot and time to go home for my two hour lunch break. I usually swing by the markets to buy something fresh to make lunch with (the town isn’t that big and it is kinda on the way home) and a cold drink.

It is so hot by this stage, I usually have to take some clothes off (sexy I know – but it helps it the sweat dry – not so sexy now, hey) while I have lunch. After lunch I sleep for an hour or so on the hammock with the fan at maximum setting and angle. Most days I wish I could just stay there in the hammock, relaxing with my thoughts, but somehow I manage to get up and ride through the thick thick heat to get back to work.

No one does much in the afternoon. We usually sit around eating fresh fruit and chatting (read ‘relationship building’), waiting for five o’clock to come. No one dares to leave early, unless they have a good reason.

After work I swing by the market again and/or the internet café. Generally, Shin and I take turns doing the cooking, even though our options are quite limited. I like to eat dinner on the veranda over looking the river with a few drinks (I bought some gin and vodka in Siem Reap). Sometimes we watch TV. There is an Aussie channel that shows Aerobics Oz style! But aside from the ABC Asia news it has little else of interested. We also get BBC, NBC, CNN, a movie channel (which changes every few days to another movie channel) and a heap of Khmer and Hindi channels. There is this guy that is always on TV – I think he is like the Khmer Daryl Sommers (circa 1984 – during the Hey, Hey it’s Saturday period). He wears a big mop like wig, a fat fake moustache and a tight tight tight yellow t-shirt. Apparently he is very funny, but just like Mr Sommers, I can’t understand why. Most evening though I read or listen to music or call our other friends from the program and see what they have been up to. Sometimes we catch up with the other expats in town for a game of badminton and some drinks.

At night we have to negotiate having the fan on high and trying to get the mosquito net to stay in place. Any romantic notions I may have had about mosquito nets have been quashed by the practical realities. Once tucked in, it is a pain the arse to get out again, but inevitably I have to go to the toilet five minutes after I get settled. Usually I am in bed by 10 pm – mostly because there isn’t much else happening and I try to go to sleep.

But, because of the afore mentioned ‘festival of the dead’ sleeping hasn’t been so easy this week. The music and mega phones have been blaring well into the night – at one point I could hear it clearly over my ipod at top notch – it was soooooo LOUD! Now, I have thrown some loud parties in my time, but nothing compared to this. For such a quite people they sure love an amplifier and speakers. Shin and I decided to check out the action and road past on our way away from the noise early this morning. There were only about 30 people there! They were just sitting round drinking tea under colourful awnings. I always say though – if you got more than 5 people coming to a celebration you an amplifier is a must.

While I am writing this some guys are working outside my window. They are putting up an awning on a second floor building. I feel ill looking at them. They are standing on this flimsy scaffolding thing (which buckles under their weight) with a ladder lying across it, in thongs, welding (with no glasses or protective clothes on). A while ago some of the structure fell down, but no one was hurt. I am just waiting for one of them to die. I expressed my concern to my colleagues, but they just shrugged it off. That is how they do things here.

Till next time
Erin

Cambodia - Part 2

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.

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