I spend a fair amount of time lately reading other people’s blogs, many of them written by people I actually know who are right here in Cambodia. For anyone interested in reading others’ perspectives on their work and adventures here, check out the links here:
Finding My Way
Robin is a fellow Vermonter who is here for three weeks or so as part of her around-the-world adventure. We never met before she arrived here last week, but she is the former coworker of the sister of a friend of mine, so we emailed a lot in the months leading up to her arrival. I enjoy reading the perspective of a first-time visitor and being reminded of our own first experiences here as we tried to make sense of everything we were seeing.
Robin is a fellow Vermonter who is here for three weeks or so as part of her around-the-world adventure. We never met before she arrived here last week, but she is the former coworker of the sister of a friend of mine, so we emailed a lot in the months leading up to her arrival. I enjoy reading the perspective of a first-time visitor and being reminded of our own first experiences here as we tried to make sense of everything we were seeing.
Don't Count the Moments...Make the Moments Count
Dorothy and her husband Gordon are here for a couple of months and volunteering fulltime at a new NGO that I’ve visited a couple of times. They were here last year, which is when I first met them at Seven Candles Guest House.
Dorothy and her husband Gordon are here for a couple of months and volunteering fulltime at a new NGO that I’ve visited a couple of times. They were here last year, which is when I first met them at Seven Candles Guest House.
Throw Off The Bowlines
Hahn is a pathologist from Oregon who came to volunteer at a small clinic which has since been closed unexpectedly, so now he’s making the most of things and having other adventures. We met him through Dorothy and Gordon.
Hahn is a pathologist from Oregon who came to volunteer at a small clinic which has since been closed unexpectedly, so now he’s making the most of things and having other adventures. We met him through Dorothy and Gordon.
http://sullivanandgelfer.posterous.com/
The Sullivan-Gelfer family (Joe and Carol and their teenage son and daughter) are from Portland (Oregon) and will be here until April. Three out of four of them are volunteering in some capacity with New Hope, as well as doing other things. They are possibly the most energetic, upbeat, well-adjusted people I have ever met, and we love spending time with them. Many happy dinners have been enjoyed together.
The Sullivan-Gelfer family (Joe and Carol and their teenage son and daughter) are from Portland (Oregon) and will be here until April. Three out of four of them are volunteering in some capacity with New Hope, as well as doing other things. They are possibly the most energetic, upbeat, well-adjusted people I have ever met, and we love spending time with them. Many happy dinners have been enjoyed together.
Asta's Blog
Asta is a young woman from…oh dear, Sweden perhaps? – who is here and doing a lot of work with Life & Hope Association, so she blogs from time to time about the girls at the PAGE program, where I have a bit of a connection, so we’ve met a few times.
Asta is a young woman from…oh dear, Sweden perhaps? – who is here and doing a lot of work with Life & Hope Association, so she blogs from time to time about the girls at the PAGE program, where I have a bit of a connection, so we’ve met a few times.
Barbara in Cambodia
Barbara is a British woman who has been here several times now and is quite involved with the Ponheary Ly Foundation (which was our original volunteer experience.) We see Barbara at Seven Candles now and then.
This one is good if you can read Hungarian.
Our friend Eszter writes a lovely blog, and for amusement, you can ask Google to translate the Hungarian into English for you. Unfortunately, it won't really make it any easier to understand.
Barbara is a British woman who has been here several times now and is quite involved with the Ponheary Ly Foundation (which was our original volunteer experience.) We see Barbara at Seven Candles now and then.
This one is good if you can read Hungarian.
Our friend Eszter writes a lovely blog, and for amusement, you can ask Google to translate the Hungarian into English for you. Unfortunately, it won't really make it any easier to understand.
I also read a number of other blogs that focus on all things Cambodian: listings of upcoming events, news round-ups, blogs from other volunteers at the organization where I originally worked, and varied writing from both Khmer people and ex-pats. Each one provides its own little perspective on life here (and on the writers themselves) and I enjoy the different perspectives. Together, they also keep me in front of my computer screen a fair bit each day, which explains why I haven’t been reading much in the way of books over the last couple of weeks.
Here’s an update on what keeps me busy besides reading about other people’s adventures and volunteer experiences:
I’ve been going out to a little orphanage outside of town every couple of weeks or so to check in and provide some basic health supplies and education. My connection to this place is through a Dutch friend here who has devoted an enormous amount of time and energy there over the past year or two. I originally stumbled upon it while on a bike ride a year or two ago and I remember being a bit appalled by the conditions there. The organization houses 50+ kids in ramshackle palm leaf huts patched together with scraps of wood and cardboard, and is staffed by a Khmer couple. Resources are slim, but the kids living there get three meals a day, access to toilets and a place to wash, and can go to public school, which may be more than many of them would get in another situation. Thanks to a generous donation from someone back home, I’ve put together a bit of a basic medical kit for them – thermometers, bandaids, bandages, paracetomol (aka Tylenol), antibiotic and antifungal creams, oral rehydration salts, throat lozenges, and a Khmer copy of the book “Where There Is No Doctor.” Last Sunday when I went there, Yeum (my Khmer teacher) came along to translate for me, and now he’s planning to volunteer. I also brought Robin (whose blog is referenced above) who had just arrived in Cambodia a day or two before, which gave her a bit of a stark introduction to some of the realities of Cambodian life.
I’ve also promised to do something similar for another NGO/orphanage, but I need to wait until the director returns from a trip to work out the details.
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| The orphanage - I worry about conditions when the rainy season returns. |
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| Some Khmertastic brickwork there |
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| New (Dutch) brickwork and sinks being installed |
I’ve also promised to do something similar for another NGO/orphanage, but I need to wait until the director returns from a trip to work out the details.
In addition, I have a real “job” of sorts with an international organization that houses young girls who have been victims of rape or have been rescued from sex trafficking. This will keep me busy 2-3 times a week for a few hours each time, providing some health oversight, training and supporting the housemothers in addressing minor health problems that arise, and generally being available for anyone and anything that might benefit from the attention of a nurse. So far the bulk of my orientation has been spending time hanging out and playing with the girls so we can all get to know each other better, which has been delightful. They range in age from 5-17 and come from all over the country, with a variety of stories to tell. Unfortunately, our lack of a common language means I can’t communicate with them as I wish I could, but it has certainly been a motivating factor in buckling down with my Khmer studies. In the meantime, we use a translator and/or the universal language of smiles, gestures, and body language.
My brain continues to resist all efforts to learn a new alphabet and new language, and I continue to try to overcome that resistance. I know enough of the alphabet now to occasionally be able to read a sign as I pedal around town, and I’m as excited as any self-respecting six-year-old who’s just learning how to read. I’ve started combining my effort to learn the alphabet with learning a few words or phrases every week that I can use with the girls – and those words seem to stick better as I have a chance to practice them immediately. I can now name eleven colors, and some basic emotions/states (happy, sad, worried, scared, hungry, thirsty, tired.) It’s slow going, but I’m trying to be patient.
Someday, when my Khmer gets much better, I’ll be able to read children’s books, which will be exciting. In the meantime, there are many Khmer children’s picture books printed in both English and Khmer (for the benefit of Khmer people learning English, I assume) – which provide me with another interesting glimpse into the culture. I’ve begun to collect these inexpensive paperbacks, choosing them mostly based on title or cover illustration. Some of my favorite titles include:
Unfortunately for those learning English, the translations are sometimes a bit off, or at the very least awkward. Of course, sometimes the stories are just a bit awkward themselves. One story titled “Kong Hean” tells the story of a cowardly man whose two wives repeatedly save him from savage wild animals and other threats, while he takes credit for their actions. At one point, Kong Hean is riding an elephant into battle and as he “was getting nearer the enemies, Kong Hean was frightened nearly to die, excreting and urinating and shivering with fear...” There’s a wonderful illustration of Kong Hean on the elephant with his two wives behind him covering their mouths and noses in disgust. The story goes on to use the terms “excreting and urinating” at least twice more. I don’t really understand the lesson meant to be taken from the story. Despite being a coward and taking credit for others’ bravery, he never gets his come-uppance. The last words of the story are in bold print: Fear is stronger than love. What are we to make of that?
- Magic Nose Boy
- Rose Growing on Cow Dung
- The Girl Entering the Age of Puberty
- Obedient Baby Frog
- Ghost on Large Banana Tree
- Salted Egg Child
- Godlike Doctor
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| This one is about a robber who kidnaps a young girl and keeps her locked up in a room until puberty. Eventually, she is rescued by a young man who loves her for her beautiful white sun-deprived skin. |
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| This wins for scariest cover illustration. (That's blood coming from her eyes.) |
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| Part of the paragraph on this page: "The husband suspected his wife's strange behavior since he saw her eyes became big, came out in a reddish way and moved up and down, and the unpleasant smell of corpses came from the bedroom." The unpleasant smell of corpses is generally a good warning sign, I think... |
Unfortunately for those learning English, the translations are sometimes a bit off, or at the very least awkward. Of course, sometimes the stories are just a bit awkward themselves. One story titled “Kong Hean” tells the story of a cowardly man whose two wives repeatedly save him from savage wild animals and other threats, while he takes credit for their actions. At one point, Kong Hean is riding an elephant into battle and as he “was getting nearer the enemies, Kong Hean was frightened nearly to die, excreting and urinating and shivering with fear...” There’s a wonderful illustration of Kong Hean on the elephant with his two wives behind him covering their mouths and noses in disgust. The story goes on to use the terms “excreting and urinating” at least twice more. I don’t really understand the lesson meant to be taken from the story. Despite being a coward and taking credit for others’ bravery, he never gets his come-uppance. The last words of the story are in bold print: Fear is stronger than love. What are we to make of that?
The moral of another story is Good-looking people are not always industrious ones. Hmmmmm….
And The Girl Entering the Age of Puberty has some interesting quotes:
- An unmarried rich man says, “This wealth will be useless, it is regretful. If I have a wife and children, they will inherit it and I won’t be so lamentable."
- A young couple meet for the first time and then: “They chatted with each other. Moreover she welcomed him in a way of loving.”
So perhaps if I keep plugging away at learning Khmer, “I won’t be so lamentable.”
The most intriguing book of all comes courtesy of my friend Lori, who posted this image on her Facebook page:
This comes without English translation so it remains a mystery why the woman on the cover appears to be breastfeeding a full-grown man while forest animals gather around and laugh. According to Jaz, the title of the story is "50 Minutes to Give the Kid Advice." Someone might want to give that woman some advice...
This comes without English translation so it remains a mystery why the woman on the cover appears to be breastfeeding a full-grown man while forest animals gather around and laugh. According to Jaz, the title of the story is "50 Minutes to Give the Kid Advice." Someone might want to give that woman some advice...
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