Skewed Views of a Nation or As a Result of Poor Communication/a Language Barrier or Goal 2

Goal 2 of the Peace Corps' three goals reads: "Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served."

Back in June, I was watching Rambo II with a few of the bankers in one of their rooms. One of them, who's grammar is pretty awful but manages to have an oddly wide vocabulary, was asking me many questions about the movie and if there were many people that looked like Sylvester Stallone (Google, by the way, recognized that name in its dictionary). After answering his plethora of questions, the conversation turned slightly political asking about the many policies of America, particularly its foreign policies. I was intrigued with where the conversation was going, and it only seemed to steer towards information rather than opinions, so I was happy to indulge him. Then, out of nowhere he asks me, "What is America's policy [on] Islam?" Huh? I was confused. I asked him to repeat the question again. "What is America's policy [on] Islam?" "Well, America doesn't have a policy on Islam. There are no policies on any religion," I said. His response, "No. No. I know. I know. America has a war on Islam." I'm pretty sure I knew what he meant, but I wanted to clarify. So I asked him where he got the information, and he told me, "My friend tells me this. Yes. My friend, he speaks English." I ask if his friend is Cambodian, he is. "Where did he learn English?" I ask. "He learned in school. He was the top of the class. Now, he works at the bank in Phnom Penh and makes a lot of money," he responds. My friend (and I'm assuming his friend) is 28, meaning he most likely stopped learning English roughly a decade ago. So, being the diplomatic person I am, I responded with, "I speak English, too. It is my native language, and I am from America. I know a lot about the policy of America. I think I can help explain." So, I do. I begin to explain to him that America declared war on a couple of countries whose main religion just happens to be Islam. Still a little in disbelief, he asks, "So, America does not war on Muslims?" I tell him no, and he seems to understand a little better. When I explained that sometimes it's best to get your news from a newspaper, and if you were to do so, you should make sure you find a credible one. They read the Phnom Penh Post every evening before dinner, now.

Four months later, when I returned from Pre-Service Training in Takeo province, I was at my health center when my health center director called me over and said there was something he really wanted to show me on the computer; the health center had internet, now. All I could think of as I walked over to his office was, He's going to show me porn. This is just great. He's tried several times before, asking if I had heard of sites like xxgirlazee.net, to make one up (I checked; it doesn't exist). I come into his office, and he pulls up a chair and asks me to sit down. He shows me a website that contains half of the country's name and a bunch of repeating numbers. He clicks on "Weapons Photos" and it eventually leads to 2 line articles stating "America has war on Russia! Russia is angry!" with a large picture above of some large missile. "Look," he says, "big missile!" He laughs heartily. "Isn't it impressive?"--this conversation is in Khmer--"Are America and Russia very angry with each other?" (He can read the English alphabet and knows very few words like war, beer, meeting, information, project, money, sexy girl). After a brief explanation, I ask him if this is where he reads the news, and he says yes. He tells me that he does not read the Phnom Penh Post, which, while not the most critically acclaimed newspaper in the world, is much better than his current source of information and is in Khmer. I made it his home page.

Where do these strains of skewed information come from? Are they opinions passed down as facts, or are they simply mistranslated information from unaccredited news sources? Everyone is more than entitled to their opinion, but sometimes people do not believe it is their opinion of the matter; they believe it is truly factual information.

Talk to you soon,

Garrett

If You Want to Feel Good About Life,

just stand at the end of the finish line of any half marathon/marathon. It's probably one of the few moments you will see someone giving all of their physical being to completing something, mostly, for themselves. I was at the 16th Annual Siem Reap International Half Marathon this weekend, and I saw much of that after I had finished the 10K. It wouldn't matter what language they speak, what country they come from (about 50 different ones represented), how much money they make, or what they had done with their lives before that moment, you felt proud of all their efforts in that final stretch having finished running 21 kilometers.

This was the first race I had ever been a part of. I had cheered on my fellow Peace Corps Volunteers at last year's race as I had competed in the 30k bike race. It was such an amazing feeling coming into that last stretch. Just as I felt like I wanted to give up and walk the rest of the way, hundreds of people in the last 200 meters wouldn't let me do so. I got this euphoric rush. I ran 10k, having only stopped once to power walk for about 10 seconds after 7.5k, in 1:02:28. This time isn't anything to brag about, as I was just hoping I wouldn't run past my playlist of 1:30:00. So, I think I did alright.

Kudos to all of my fellow PCVs who ran and biked this weekend. I'm impressed by you.

Talk to you soon,

Garrett

Extending My Service

Surprising? At the moment, to me? No. Would it be to me 3 months ago? Absolutely!

Now, before I go any further, I have to state that I am only heavily intrigued and quite serious about the prospect of extending. Notice all the non-committal words in there. Now, I'm actually committed to the idea of extending my service another year, however, it's not quite that easy. The Peace Corps/Cambodia senior staff have to approve such a request, and not everybody who wishes to extend will get to do so; there are quite a few people interested. I will have a much firmer idea by the end of February; people's minds will change, and I will know how the staff will feel at that point. I mean, if I run through my town naked singing songs in Thai, I might not exactly get the vote I was hoping for. As well, who knows if any job opportunities will present themselves. It's definitely up in the air. At the moment, however, I do have some ideas of what I would like to do:

1. Working with a major health NGO, collaborating their efforts with individual Peace Corps Volunteers

2. Collaborating with major health NGOs, in general, networking them with Peace Corps/Cambodia

3. Designing country-wide health projects for CHE PCVs

etc.

I don't know exactly what I'll be doing though as I 1) am still researching opportunities 2) will need to align/collaborate/compromise with Peace Corps/Cambodia on what I'll be doing, should I be granted an extension. When I do, I'll be sure to let you all know.

Until then, here's a fun story of how my mind changed.

During the last weeks of K5 PST:

K5#1: So, Garrett, you're involved in this training, so you must really enjoy working with Peace Corps. You'll probably extend right?

Me: What? Hell no.

K5 #7: Garrett, are you thinking about extending?

Me: You know, I probably won't. Funny you should ask, though.

K5 #12: Garrett, I bet you're going to extend right? You seem to really like it here.

Me: Well, I'm not so sure about that yet, but I'm not closed off to the idea.

K5: #20: Hey, Garrett. How are things? Do you think you'll extend?

Me: You know, I've been thinking about this a lot, and I'm definitely exploring my possibilities in to the matter.

Yes. K5s, I mostly blame you all.

As well, I had a lot of influence from a K2, Greg, who was a technical trainer with me during training. He was a 3rd year volunteer who was, technically, in his 4th year half way through training. He had explained to me that his 3rd year was when he felt most productive and when his Khmer really took off. Kristin, a K3 (who was also a technical trainer for training) was a half ETTT (English Teacher/Teacher Trainer) and half CHE PCV. She had many ideas of what the first extending health volunteer could do, and it just got me thinking.

Questions you might have:

When will I know for sure? Mid-March

Would I get to come home? Absolutely. I'd be home, theoretically, Aug 3rd - Sep 2nd, 2012

When would my service actually be complete then? Either Sep 2nd or Oct 2nd, 2013.

Would you still live in Nimitt? No.

Where would you live, then? Not quite sure yet, but most likely in a provincial town.

Are you actually happy in Cambodia? Yup! I actually am happy here! I spent a lot of time thinking about this question and mulling over my feelings here. To be quite honest, I've felt quite comfortable and at home here since training began in early July in the provincial town in Takeo province.

Are you doing this to avoid the economic crisis affecting the U.S.? No, but I like to think of it as me freeing up another job in the market, not that I'd be assured one anyway. $6k/year isn't exactly ideal. If I were really just doing this to avoid the job market, I'd simply just go find a job with an NGO somewhere and get paid.

It's December, and things change.

Talk to you soon,

Garrett

p.s. Wish me luck in my 10k race on Sun!

He's Going the Distance

He's going for speed. Actually, he's going for completing the race.

This upcoming weekend, I'll be competing in the Village Focus International - Siem Reap International Half-Marathon...Yes. That is the name of the event; I will be running the 10k. I was originally going to run the Half, however, recovering from the soft-tissue infection in my right shin prevented me from running for a good 6 weeks. I can't say that I'm anyone's competition as my goal is simply to finish the race.

This weekend is actually pretty big with the international community. Most hotels and guest houses get booked up and Pub Street (the popular tourist street) gets overrun with bike/run participants and many tourists who have come simply to watch.

I just looked up a respectable time to run a 10k. Dammit! Everybody is way too nice.

Example responses to some girl who is running her first 10k (like me):

"Jenny (not actual name), simply finishing the 10k is respectable"

"Jenny, I agree with everyone above. Not everyone can run a 10k!"

"Great job on competing in a 10k, Jenny! You'll do fine! Even if you finish last, you finished!"

...not the answers I was looking for.

Either way, it's true. I just want to finish. I'm thinking it will be a 6k run and a 4k hobble with my hand to my side because of some unfortunate cramp. A recent professor of mine likes to say, "You've always got something extra!" Let's find out if that's true.

Talk to you soon,

Garrett

I Forgot to Take the Rest of the Photos or My Family Came to Visit Part II

Day 5:

We traveled on the 6 hour bus ride to Phnom Penh, where Scott and Dad got to observe many of the effects of the flooding on the side of the highway including many families who had relocated there in make-shift awnings. When we got to Phnom Penh, we didn't really have much time to do anything, so we went off to the Peace Corps office first to meet Sarah, and then we headed off to see Central Market (its Khmer name translates to "New Market" hmmm) and Sorya Mall, where we bought some things. Afterwards we tried to catch a glimpse of the Royal Palace, which is exactly what we got: a glimpse. We got there 7 min after the gates closed (23 min before they kick people out). It was nice to see, though, as was the National Museum. We went for Indonesian food that night and got some ice cream at Blue Pumpkin. We called it an early night.

Day 6:

6 hour bus rides? Let's do more!!!! We woke up early to catch the 4 hour bus ride to Kep, where we got some pate sandwiches and enjoyed a bit of the Gulf of Thailand. After a nice dip in the sea, we took a nice 2k walk over to the crab market, which was pretty neat. It's always fascinating to watch people fight and yell over flopping fish and shimmying crabs. After that, we took a nap and then came back to the market to eat one of the most delicious meals I've had in this country: fried noodles with crab on top, large prawns ("lobsters"), and really good fried fish. When we got back, we (Dad and I) tried to watch "I am Number Four", and we both fell asleep within 5 min.

Day 7: We started of today with a little bit of rice and pork and then headed to the caves (a Killing Cave [which means that the Khmer Rouge used to commit mass murder and do mass burials there], but the bones were moved to the museum in Phnom Penh) in Kampong Trach, Kampot. They were really amazing to see. Many of the formations of the cave look like different parts of various animals. After our hour tuk tuk ride back, we took a much needed nap, then headed to lunch for fresh boiled crab; it was absolutely delicious, but way overpriced. We got on the internet for a little and read a bit until heading back near the crab market to eat some pizza and pasta, which was pretty yummy. We ended up finishing the movie tonight (Thanks for watching it twice, Scott!).

Day 8: 3 hour ride back to Phnom Penh (bus was movin') was alright despite some major stomach cramps. They were intense. It felt almost the same as when I had a kidney stone 2 years ago. Not fun. It came and went for about an hour and a half, but eventually, it went away. Once we got to the big city, we dropped our stuff off and then took a nice walk to The Shop to meet Aaron and Jane for lunch. I had met both of their families, so it only made sense for them to meet mine! It's nice to meet people's families to see where they came from. After lunch, we headed back to the hotel to pick our stuff up and head to the airport. I dropped them off inside the airport and they said some sweet words to me. It was very sad to see them go, but it was enough to remember that they made it all the way out here, and even though it was for only a week, it meant so much to me. Thanks, guys! Also, the DQ I had after helped take the edge off.

Welp, that was my visit from my dad and brother. It was fabulous, and I look forward to meeting other people's families as they come in and out of the country.

Talk to you soon,

Garrett

Surprise in Southeast Asia or My Family Came to Visit (Part I)

Day 1:

So, I'm hangin' out at Suvarnabhumi (BKK) airport waiting to pick up my dad and Fred, a good family friend. Yet, about 10 minutes before leaving to pick the two of them up, a good friend of mine says, "Enjoy the surprise..." and signs off of Gchat. Hmmm That's strange. Maybe they mean the camera I was thinking they might be getting me. Yeah. That's probably it. 10 minutes before they come through to the waiting area, where all the eagerly waiting families and business people waiting to meet their loved ones or business contacts are, I think...maybe my brot....nah. 10 minutes later, there he is. God dammit. They've fooled me the whole time. My brother and my dad show up. Fantastic surprise! Absolutely fantastic. We chatted a bit and then got some much needed 2 hours of sleep, before waking up at 5:25a to prepare for the shuttle to the airport followed by the 4 hour bus ride to the border.

Day 2:

We ended up meeting a good friend, Lainie, and her father, in Poipet. Lainie attempted to convince me that Poipet is still cool. It was never REALLY cool, my friend. Attempt attempted. Maybe next time! After that we bargained with a taxi driver to rent out the taxi to my town in the middle of nowhere, we greeted my host mother and a couple of the bankers, then set down and sweat for a good while while trying to change the plane flights and hotels; the travel restrictions on Bangkok forced us to adapt our vacation completely to Cambodia (which I think actually ended up working for the better). We exchanged some gifts, saw my bathroom (I think they both thought it was the best way to bathe. I'm definitely not being facetious), then went to the market. They got to try a new fruit, jackfruit (they liked it a lot), which has a fun story. Quick digression: back in the day, the U.S. Navy was in this area of the world and loved the fruit so much they made a chewing gum out of it. Can you guess which one? Juicy Fruit. They also got to try "prohut" which is a sort of blended meat...ball. Khmer meat balls, let's call them, except there is a beef kind, a fish kind, a tofu one, etc. After that, we went back to the house and my host mom served us lok lak (which she's never served me before...that was nice). Lok lak is beef with an oyster/beef sauce served with an egg on top (typically) and all on top of tomatoes and onions. The sauce that goes with it is called "dtuk merihk" (pepper water), which is basically pepper and msg with a squeezed lime. Good stuff. After dinner, Host Mom, gave me a new fan AND a lawn chair to sleep on (don't get excited...it was a pretty crappy lawn chair, even by Cambodian standards). She was tryin' to impress. Unfortunately, my extra mosquito net only went so far to the ground. I had to duct tape myself in.

Day 3: The next morning we woke up and went to my favorite restaurant (one of two in the town) and I got to share the glory of "bai sai(k) j'rook" (rice with pork) and "mee soup" (noodle soup). We traveled next to the health center to meet the staff there and show them around the place. Two seconds after sitting in the health center director's office, one of the staff offered to drive us to Sway (rather than having to flag down a taxi [and pay for one]), which was very generous of him. When we got to Sway, we met up with Rachel and Maddy. We took the 9:30 bus to Siem Reap and got there swiftly in an hour and 30 min. We checked into the Goldan Banana hotel (so swank), and I was able to bargain the price down of a "Superior" room by $18 to upgrade as the hotel wasn't booked. We went down to the market and explored, got to do some more bargaining, try new fruits, dragon fruit and rambutan, walk around the town a bit, then head back to the hotel to do some a/c relaxing. For lunch, we ate at "Psah Chas" restaurant and had fried rice with beef, a pumpkin potato tofu curry, and fish amok. Later that night, we went out to eat at Chamkar, a vegetarian restaurant with all locally produced foods. Both were delish! We called it an early night as we had to be up at 4:00a to catch the 5:00a tuk tuk to see the sunrise at Angkor Wat.

Day 4:

We woke up way early to catch the sunrise at Angkor Wat. Our tour guide there was very knowledgeable and his English was pretty good. It turns out, he was a monk and has trained many tour guides and teachers to speak English. It was absolutely magnificent to see the temple and walk around it. It's just amazing how much detail went into the walls, from armies of monkeys to Hindu gods and goddesses. We were there for about 2 hours before heading back. I think we were there for the right amount of time, as we were happy to get back to the hotel when we did. We were gone for a total of 3 hours. Back at the hotel, we got our complimentary breakfast which was comprised of 2 eggs (any way you want 'em), hot bread (w/ butter and jam), a fruit cup (with dragon fruit, papaya, pineapple, and a mango [MANGOES!]), and coffee (or tea) and orange juice. The rest of the day we did much of nothing as we just got to relaxing, had Indian for lunch, then eventually met up with Kyle (a volunteer who lives in the town) for a drink and picked up il Forno for dinner (eggplant parm., pizza nepoletana, and a bolognese pasta). We called it an early night this time, too, as we had to get up early (5:30a) again for our 6 hour bus ride to Phnom Penh.

Relief Efforts for the Floods in Cambodia. Please Help Support a Good Cause

Dear Readers,

I typically would not solicit the soliciting of funds, but this is for a good cause.

A peer of mine who volunteers in Baray District of Kampong Thom Province in Cambodia, teaching English and assisting in Youth Development, has been witness to one of the worst floods in SE Asia in the past decade. She, her co-teacher and a local NGO, Action for Development (AFD) are asking for any donations which will go towards the purchase and distribution of emergency kits containing food, a water filter, and sanitation products. Each kit costs $25 (for a family of 4). These kits are indeed only a temporary fix but for hopefully, a temporary problem. The idea is that this will help sustain them until the flooding subsides. Any help, I know, will go a very, very long way.

Check it out: http://aidforbaray.wordpress.com/

Thanks!

Talk to you soon,

Garrett

Should I Stay or Should I Go? (100th Post!)

Don't worry. This blog isn't about me leaving Cambodia. It's about exploring it.

Many people contemplate whether or not they should stay at site while they are serving their communities throughout the two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer or if they should go out and explore the country. There are many arguments for or against why one might do either, so I thought I would provide some personal insights (take them as you will) about it.

Staying at Site: This is what it means to be integrated right?! Staying at site. If you leave, the community members will all talk about it: "Why does he/she leave so often?", "Maybe he/she has a lot of money. He/she says he/she does not have a salary, but I do not believe that." Okay, so I might be being facetious a little, but there may be a little truth to this. The truth is, a good portion of the volunteers I've spoken with who stay at site for long periods of time seem to be very happy there. You begin to find a balance at site. You have your alone time, but you make friends with people in your community and it keeps you sane. You might have projects that require you to help with during the weekends. You may just be broke and don't want to spend money on transportation. You may just actually like being there. I've found that the longer I am at site for one period of time, the more people will miss me and want to talk when I return after a trip. Peace Corps sure doesn't give you a lot of money to travel around, but it's plenty enough for hangin' around site and comin' into town once a week. I've begun to make some new friends here and to be honest, I really enjoy the time I have to myself. I've absolutely been able to contemplate the things that happen to me and simply, the things that just happen here. It's also possible to lose a little bit of perspective; if you're in one place for too long a period of time, it's difficult to see things in a different light. Sometimes it drives you crazy, but I sleep easy in the comfort of my room.

Pros: - Integration

- Learn more about your community

- Potentially make new friends

- Definitely save a lot of money

Cons: - Idleness (Stir-crazy)

- Small loss of perspective

Traveling: "OHHH MY GODDD!!! LET'S GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!!!" Okay, so it's not always like that. But yeah, sometimes it is. Again, being facetious, but at the same time, not really. I've traveled a lot around this country and it's given my eyes a much wider scope of not necessarily the way things operate, but simply viewing those operations. To elaborate a little, I've visited many volunteers at their sites and their provincial towns. Before, I really only knew a little about Kampong Cham Town and my training village. Now, I also know about my permanent site along with Sway or Svay or Sisophon or Serei Sisopon (the real name) or Sway Sisophon or Serei Sophon or Banteay Meanchey (all alternative names for the provincial capital). You gain a little perspective by moving villages and by moving provinces (if you do). I think it's becauseyou see what different foods people eat, the way they react to certain questions/gestures/responses. What is acceptable in some communities? What isn't? Do women drink or are they sopheap (polite)? Do men work the town or is it mostly women, because the men are off working across the border? A lot of times, I think we travel from our sites in order to escape a little. We need to gain a bit of perspective before coming back. Sometimes we let things fester and we have no one to talk to about it in English. It's hard to admit, but sometimes you just hate this country and you need to vent about it before coming back. How do you go up to someone you have just made friends with in your community and say, "I hate the way you do things here! It's wrong. It doesn't make sense. Why can't you just do it this way?!" Given, you don't always feel this way, and that's simply a part of culture shock, but culture shock is a part of life when you first get here. There are four main stages of this: Honeymoon; Rejection; Sociological; Acculturation. The previous sentiment would be going through the rejection stage. Culture shock is basically a wave of emotions that eventually evens out. Unfortunately, the down side to using this as a coping mechanism is that if it is used too often, it becomes the only thing you look forward to. Be weary. On the contrary, I find it interesting to think about what we bring home about the countries we serve in in the Peace Corps. Goal 1: Send skilled men and women to countries seeking their help. Clearly, staying at site and performing your primary task, but I always wondered about Goal 3: Bring it home (Share the cultures of Cambodia with the peoples of America). Everyone...everyone will have a different perspective and a different story to tell even if you live in the same country, province, district and are in the same program with any Peace Corps post. Many people will go back and tell of their training site, their permanent site, and some provincial towns to which they escaped every now and then. I find it useful to go back and talk about other villages across Cambodia. There are different terrains, different climates (slightly), different peoples, different attitudes, and sometimes even different languages if you live close enough to a border. I find it useful to not only explain my experiences, but to be able to share the experiences of others.

Pros: - Coping with idleness/forelonging to see friends

- Seeing/learning about different terrains, people, languages, methods of life

- Gaining a greater perspective of the country you live in

- Reconnect with people

Cons: - Over-traveling -->; disinterest in going back to site

- Community members wondering if you are happy

- Not being happy (The reason why you might travel so often. This is not necessarily always the case, just an example)

- Expensive --> go through your monthly living allowance very quickly

The thing is, both are great things to do, however, it's all about finding the right balance for you. There is no perfect equation or recipe for what it is to be a successfully integrated Peace Corps Volunteer. It is up to the individual what experience they have. A K3 volunteer once told me an anecdote:

"There once were two volunteers around the same community. One of them was middle-aged who taught the women of the town the marketable skill of basket making. She didn't travel very often, nor did she try too hard to learn the language. She was happy and enjoyed conversations with her host family. When she left, the town was sad but was left with at least 30 women who could now sustain themselves. The other volunteer was young and in his twenties. He taught English but did not enjoy it very much. In fact, many of the students did not really want to learn. He left on long vacations, but stayed in the town often. He learned the language at a very proficient level and spent most of his time in hammocks talking with community members, laughing and drinking with them daily. When he left, though he only actually taught English one or two hours a week, the town cried."

How are we supposed to define what it means to be a "good" volunteer. Is it about becoming a great friend and giving perspective to the community, or is it about leaving them with skills they did not have before? The first goal of Peace Corps tells of sending skilled men and women, yet much of the training teaches about the importance of the relationships that you build. Like I've said many times before, and I plan on sticking with it, it's about what works for you. Are you happy? Can you create the balance that you need to feel such an emotion and be productive. What is productivity? What does it mean to you? It's all about the balance of things. Should I stay or should I go? That's up to you. Take into account your community, but also don't forget to take into account yourself.

Talk to you soon,

Garrett

P.s. My next post will be about the flood relief efforts in Cambodia. A friend of mine who teaches English has partnered up with her co-teacher and a local NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) to help with the disaster. So, keep your eyes peeled, and hopefully I'll have a little blurb and a link to the site when its up and running.

Flooding in Cambodia

In the recent months, this country has seen the worst flooding in decades; it's plagued at least 13 of the 24 Cambodian provinces affecting 200,000 families and leaving 164 dead. Several of my peers have had school cancelled until the earliest, Nov., due to the flooding. It's so bad, that the citizens in those communities are using the schools as fishing ponds and even navigating by boat at times. The province of Siem Reap is so flooded that every street in the main part of town is flooded up above one's ankles. As a result of the flooding, the Prime Minister, Hun Sen, has even cancelled Water Festival (one of the biggest holidays in Cambodia) stating that the country needs to focus this current problem. Can you see a little irony in this? Either way, this is a very sad time right now for the countries in the SE Asian region. Thailand and Cambodia have been hit the worst. Thailand has had approximately 240 deaths so far. To add to that, and you wonder how you can make it any worse, I read in the Cambodia Daily that 20-30% of the rice crop has damage or affected in some unfortunate way. Anyhow, let's hope the rainy season ends promptly.

Talk to you soon,

Garrett

(WARNING: GRAPHIC!) Cellulitis or Something Similar

The Lead-Up:

So, it's around 6p at night, visiting a friend in Takeo province. We'd been going around town meeting all of his friends/teachers/family around town. We're sitting down and enjoying a good conversation and a good drink when all of a sudden...Ooh! Ow! Ah! What?! Ooh! I tried to stand up when a huge rush of pain went to my right shin. I try to walk it off, and...Hey! It's alright! We head out to his co-teacher's house to sit down and chat. After a half-hour, I go to stand back up and F&@%! What IS this?! The pain turned into a throbbing one and all at the same time I started to work up a fever, which I found out later was 101, and it lasted for 15 hours.

Well, it still hurts, but it's not as bad as before. I'm going to visit some friends out in the town of Angtasom (You're thinking: Man! Is he dumb?!). After a nice tuk tuk ride and a good walk (if you're one of two people, you know what that means), I arrive at my friend's house. We decide to cook up some french fries and onion rings. The pain comes back little by little, but it's nothing I can'....hmmm, maybe I should sit down. I lay down for awhile while my friends grab me some water. I try to sit ba...nope! Nope! That's not happening either. I call the PCMO (Peace Corps Medical Officer), and she suggests some Ibuprofen and to ice the leg and keep it up above my heart. Also, I forgot to mention, my leg is hot to the touch. I can't actually move around, so they call me a tuk tuk. When the tuk tuk gets there, both the driver and one of my friends have to help me in. By the morning, I can't even get my phone, so I call back the PCMO, and she has me come into Phnom Penh.

The Process:

I get into Phnom Penh and the first place the driver stops at is a lab to get a blood sample (quickest blood draw, ever). Next stop is the Peace Corps office. I get a pair of crutches and lie down for a good 2 hours before the results come back. My white blood cell count: 18,000. Normal is 5-8,000. Sounds like a pretty serious infection to me. As the PCMO gets me into the car, I pass a joke about the leg, and she says, "Don't joke about that. Not right right now. This could be osteomyelitis (infection in the bone). I get taken to the hospital to get a blood culture, and then off to another hospital to get 2 x-rays taken; it's not osteomyelitis...phew! We head to the dermatologist just to make sure it's not anything other than a small soft-tissue infection. He takes a good look for a good 10 seconds. Yes, I think this is cellulitis. "We need to perform minor surgery." Huh? What? Excuse me? Can you please repeat that? "When would we need to do this?" "Now," he says. "If you wait two or three more days, I think necrosis." Oh! Great. (And here, I was just thinking I'd get some antibiotics to throw down the hatch) So they coat a nice bit of wax-based anesthetic (I mention this because now, I'm silky smooth there) gel on my leg. In about 20 min, they stick me with some Novocaine and cut into my leg a decent sized hole. After this, the dermatologist squeezes my leg tightly to relieve all of the infected fluid in my shin. Rather than closing up the wound, they shove a bunch of sterile, iodized gauze in my leg but just enough to leave the bottom of the incision open so that the wound can heal from the bottom up. They rub it vigorously with some iodine, rub a little triple-antibiotic on it then slap a loose piece of gauze over it. Then, they inject me with some antibiotics in both of my inner thighs. You'd think I was done, but you would be wrong. The continue to inject me IM into both cheeks, one is 1 cc, the other is 10. I get back up and they send me back to the office to lie down on the couch before taking me to my hotel room. For the next four days, the procedure is: stick around in the hotel room without moving and my right leg above my heart until the PC drivers come to get me. Usually, between 2-4, I get taken to the office and they inject me with the same antibiotics: one, 1 cc, the other, 10. One of the days, they spared my poor gluteus maximus and just had me on an IV for about 30 min. Each day, they also had to remove the gauze in my leg (which to me is best described as a magician pulling ribbons from his mouth) and replace it with just a little bit less gauze. On the fifth day, they started me on 250mg of tetramazoxafhirhhlrol and 250mg of Ceprofloxin two time, daily for five days total. After the 3rd day, the put me on some lactobacillus probiotics to heal up the damage from the antibiotics.

The crazy thing is: no one has any idea what actually caused it. Joanne (the PCMO) thinks it may have been caused by the simple scratch of a thorn or other sharp plant. I don't remember ever being abrased by anything.

Let me tell you: being put up in Phnom Penh sounds glorious and all, but you go a little crazy not being able to move around in that little room. I even got hooked on 5 t.v. shows that I couldn't follow up on! How cruel is that?!

Walking was a little difficult for the next week, but eventually, I was off the crutches and moving around alright.

Asante sana to several people:

Aaron for telling me: "Yeah. I don't think that's normal."

Libby and Danielle for helping me get back to Takeo Town.

Ashley for keeping me company the first night in Phnom Penh and bringing dinner up to me.

Angela, Hannah and Jane for keeping me company and bringing me food the next four.

The guy at the front desk at Phnom Penh City for getting me pork and rice each morning.

Mostly, thanks to Joanne for helping me not lose my right leg. I won't lie; it was pretty bad.

For your viewing pleasure:

The Gauze:

'

The Hole:

Talk to you soon,

Garrett

I've Been Holding Out on You

Hi. How's it goin'? I haven't been here in awhile. Yeah, I know, but that's because I've been very busy with Pre-Service Training (PST) for the 5th group of volunteers (K5s) who all swore-in on Monday, October 3rd at the Korean Cultural Center in Phnom Penh. It was satisfying, relieving, and it made me proud to watch 59 trainees swear-in and become Peace Corps Volunteers at the same time that I was able to drop my tentative "title" of Cross Culture and Safety & Security Intern. It's nice to be back at site. Well, it was nice to be back after about 3 1/2 hours of cleaning. What do you think would happen when you leave a place for 3 1/2 months in Cambodia with no one tending to it? Let me tell you:

- caking of dust

- accumulation of spider webs

- holes in the edges of one side of my sheets because of mice

- dirty bathroom

So, what accumulated over 3 1/2 hours, I spent 3 1/2 hours cleaning, and now, it's impeccable. I feel clean, and the next time mice try to get in this room, I won't be as "nice" as I was the last time. And I wasn't very nice last time. Needless to say, my room is cleaner than it was when I had left it. So, I feel at home, relaxed, and most importantly, clean.

Some other things going on:

- The potential of a Domestic Violence (DV) workshop at the beginning of next year.

- Working with a committee to help better the health program here.

Alright, it's time to catch up on some much needed sleep and relaxation.

Talk to you soon,

Garrett

Climbing the Kirivong Mountain

First off, I need to apologize for 1) my lack of photos in this post and 2) my lack of posts in this blog over the past month.

Over the past couple of days, one of the K5s arranged transportation for his district to bring some people down to Kirivong District to climb this mysterious mountain that I'd been hearing about, so I decided to come along. It ended up being a majority of the 62 K5s plus a few K4s (including myself). It was comforting knowing that everyone feels comfortable fitting as many people into the van as we did (P.C., if you're reading this, it was definitely 15 people in a 15 passenger van).

About 1/4 - 1/3 of the group decided to go to the waterfall while the others (including me) went to the base of the mountain to climb it. Now, in Cambodia, when a mountain is called a mountain, it's typically a large hill, so when I say that it took an hour and a half to climb to the top, I mean serious business. This mountain wasn't kidding around. It was a mountain, comparatively. At the top of the mountain was an ancient wat (pagoda) from the 7th Century (older than Angkor Wat). Atop, an old yee-ay (elder grandmother) lay waiting for anyone who would come by to ask them to sit down and talk for a little. After we sat for awhile, we got to the very tip top, climbed up a narrow rock face and just sat down and looked at our view: rice paddies, mountains, an overcast sky and Vietnam in the background. It was absolutely breathtaking...and then it began to rain...really really rain, which was great. Why? I didn't feel so bad, then, about the fact that my shirt was dark grey because of sweat. I could pretend it was just the rainwater. Needless to say, it was a slippery ride down, and I may have slid down a small part of the mountain knocking someone over as if they were a bowling pin. Whoops! Sorry 'bout that, Kentucky. But seriously, if only my aim was that great in actual bowling, and intentionally... Anyhow, after getting down from the mountain, we all went for bubble tea at one of the trainee's house. I did not know this existed in rural Cambodia, but it does, and I'm going back. It was really hard not to get 5 or 6 of them. After the bubble teas, we all went to meet the waterfallers and chilled out there for awhile.

Needless to say, it was very fun trip, and I think it was one of those trips that really helped solidify friendships cross-village, had they not been cemented already. I look forward to the rest of training.

Talk to you soon,

Garrett

Scales

Not the kind you find on fish nor the kind you use to balance weights.

The kind you find in your typical elementary band room. It's so odd. SO odd. Music here is exemplified through speakers or traditional instruments at a wedding. I'm talking about trumpets, tubas, an alto sax, a clarinet, a snare! This is very, very strange to find in Cambodia, and here I was, just workin' away a the Provincial Office of Education (POE) in Takeo Town and: "Doooooo dooooo doooo doooo doooo dooooo dooo doooo.....dooo dooo dooo dooo dooo dooo dooo dooo."To be honest, my biggest question: "Where did you get the instruments from?" Most music stores in Cambodia have classical or acoustic guitars; it's very rare to see anything else. I would have asked to step in, but I'm not so sure I would have wanted to share reeds.

Talk to you soon,

Garrett

Singing at the 4th of July and Why Didn't I Take Advantage of That?!

Yesterday, both the Khmer National Anthem Quintet (yeah, we have group names) and the Star Spangled Banner Quintet got to sing at the U.S. Embassy for the formal 4th of July event (on the 1st). We got there around 1p just to do an initial sound check. It was sounding pretty impressive throughout. After the sound check, as we were walking to the Marine house, the foreign service officer who was running the event said, "Oh. Yeah. You guys will need ties." Huh?! TIES?!! I brought 1 tie (for swearing in), and I didn't even know where to find it. Thankfully, the gentleman from the Embassy who is housing us has plenty of ties. I thought the red tie with my gray shirt, charcoal pants and black shoes looked pretty fly. Anyhow, the Marine house was pretty swank. 52in flat screen and a full-service bar. When we came back around 4 o'clock until 5, then mingled a little before waiting behind the stage to come on to sing. Both groups did a tremendous job. At one point, a Marine came up to me and said, "You guys were just amazing. You really choked me up with that Star Spangled Banner." So, thanks Star Spangled Banner Quintet. You guys rocked it.

As for the missed opportunity. Well, I was hangin' around chatting with various peoples of varying import, I ran into the director of the Marine Band (from Hawaii: there are 14 I found out). We had an intriguing conversation about this and that, and then he ask, "So, how long have you been singing for? I imagine your answer will be, 'my whole life, of course.'" "I've been singing awhile, but my primary instrument is actually the saxophone." "No shit?!" he said, "You've gotta get up there and play. I was really impressed that you recognized the song, 'Chameleon'. I'm sure our guy'll let you jump in on a tune." My response: "GUhhhhH DFUHHHhh DGUHHHH!!! WHAT?!" At that very moment, our group (definitely not their fault) was leaving to go see another group of friends. Did I stay and play with the ridiculously good Marine Band from Hawaii? Unfortunately, the answer is no. I definitely missed out on one of those lifetime opportunities. The term is "chickened out." No pussyfooting around that one! Eh. Life has passed. Maybe, I'll find the band practicing when decide to visit Hawaii. Props to them, though. They were fantastic. Not only did they play "Chameleon", they played an arrangement of "The Thong Song" and some other fine pop tunes.

Talk to you soon,

Garrett

Open Head Wound (Warning: Graphic) or Keeping the Pain Inside

I have a knack for creating intriguing blog titles, don't I? I mean, you're reading this. Unfortunately, this one really is about what it suggests. Don't worry, this isn't about my head.

This morning, I woke up with a new scrape. It was nothing big, but it was something that back in my other life, I would have complained about and thought about all day. I didn't really think much about it and just dealt with it as I have been since acclimating to this new life. I was starting to think that I've been much more resilient to pain (and complaining) as the people of this country very much are. Below are two examples (one male, one female) of why the Cambodian people meeuhn kla'hahn (or: are brave).

This morning: I was at the health center fraternizing with the staff having a merry ol' time. The receptionists were chatting away about their favorite soap (opera) while the guy who does administers immunizations was asking if it would be easier if I could give him a visa rather than having to go to Phnom Penh to apply for one. After a long explanation of the process, a police car pulled up: everyone stopped what they were doing. This hasn't happened (at least in the morning hours) in the past 8 1/2 months (since I've been at site). Four policemen step out of the car; they open the car driver's side back door, and out walks a kid (I find out he's 22), dripping blood from somewhere on the top of his head. Half of his face was stained with drying blood with a good portion caked on to his eyebrows. The staff immediately brings him into one of the rooms and lies him down on the bed. One staff member cuts away most of the hair from the wound, which is about an inch 1/2 in diameter. Mind you, there are know electric trimmers. Also to keep in mind, there is hardly any medication for the pain. As she dripped some hydrogen-peroxide into the wound, he shut his eyes tight and said nothing. After she blotted the wound, she began to suture the poor kid up whilst he was cringing, his feet moving back and forth, tightening up. Yet, he didn't make a sound. He's now off at Mongkol Borey Hospital (the best provincial (this one) hospital in the country).

A month ago: Again, I was sitting in the health center on a regular Wednesday morning when one of the midwives came out with a patient, holding her new born baby. What?! When did this happen? I asked her, "When did this woman have her baby?" Her response: "Two minutes ago." No screaming! No sounds at all! I was oblivious to the birth of a new baby. It's hard to believe, but in Cambodia, women silently weep while they give birth.

For a country torn by war and genocide by a group that only left the country 13 years ago, you can tell. It's in ingrained deep into their emotions. It's as if all of the suffering of their past has sucked them dry. They are an emotional people, they just don't show it. When they do, though, it's very, very serious. Just today, right before the 22 year-old guy came to the health center, one of my midwives asked how I was. After I told her I was fine, I asked her how she was. She was not happy, she said. I asked her why, and she told me it was because her father was still very sick. He has been sick for six months, now, and it does not look hopeful. Her eyes were red, and she just stared down at the table trying to hold back the tears.

I don't think I've necessarily learned anything new today, but I've certainly been reminded of a lot.

Keep well and

Talk to you soon,

Garrett

The Rainy Season is Here!

I think it is safe to say that the rainy season has begun. I was a little hesitant to state this a few weeks ago, but it is undeniable, now. It has rained everyday, quite intensely, for the past two weeks. The rice paddies are beginning to turn bright green again, and the weather is cooling off. Finally. Finally, I can wear more clothing to bed without contemplating keeping the windows open at night. I've coincidentally been eating more fish, but I won't officially connect the two, because you know, fish come from the sky. Anyhow, it's beautiful here.

If You Love Cute and Cuddly Dogs, You Might Not Want to Read this Blog Post

Last night, the bankers had a party in the backyard for one of the tellers who was moving to ACLEDA Bank Plc. in Poipet. They had all sorts of food and plenty of beer. Iced beer. There was ice-cold beer, and I didn't have to make it that way by diluting it with ice! It was absolutely delicious, even if Bayon beer is a sub-par lager. After awhile of chatting and one of the new guys stroking my nose and telling me it was beautiful, I decided to eat some beef. "Hey, this beef is delicious," I said. The reply, full of laughter, "Oh no! Garrett. That is special meat." Huh?! What is special me....hmmmmm. I may or may not have eaten dog meat. I also may or may not have liked it... So, for all of you dog loving people out there, I deeply apologize. Though, at the same time, I kind of don't. If you saw what they look like out here, you may or may not agree with me.

Talk to you soon,

Garrett

Safety and Security & Cross Cultural Training Intern

Last year marked the first year that PC/Cambodia had a PCV intern for PST (K4 PST). There were two interns (out-going K2 PCVs). One was the Safety and Security & Cross Cultural (SSCC) Training Intern while the other was the English Teacher and Teacher Training (ETTT) Training Intern. This year, there is one additional intern: Community Health Education (CHE), as the K4 group marked the first year of full-fledged health volunteers. I was selected to be the SSCC Training Intern

What is this position, you might inquire?

During PST, there are a myriad of sessions (there’s that word, “myriad” again) that focus on the cultural norms of Cambodia and how they differ from the United States, i.e. celebrations, clothing, gestures, body language, gifts, what it means to be alone in a room with a person of the opposite sex. That leads me to the second half of the job, Safety and Security, which focuses on what risks are feasible and which ones are not worth taking. When should you head back to your hotel in Phnom Penh? How many people should you be out with? How do you keep safe in your community? Who do you contact in order to make that happen? Should something actually happen to you, what’s the procedure? I’ll be leading sessions alongside our Safety and Security Officer and other Peace Corps staff. The position technically starts on July 7th when the ETTT and CHE interns move to Takeo Province (where training will be) to begin preparing for PST. There are a couple of meetings beforehand, but the Peace Corps Trainees (PCTs) will arrive around July 25th, when I will intermittently be in and out of Takeo Province, where training will be held. I would guess that I will be there around 30% of the time. We’ll see how that actually ends up. Because of various (and deep) budget cuts, and my being a currently serving volunteer, my position will be part time. PST lasts from the end of July until the end of September.

Anyhow, I’m very, very excited to be a part of training and work alongside Kristin (CHE) and Greg (ETTT) and the K5 PCTs. I’m anticipating their arrival, and overall, it should be a really fun time.

Talk to you soon,

Garrett

Mid-Service Training (MST)

So, here are couple of things that happened at our (K4’s) Mid-Service Training (MST):

Day 1:

We started off MST by meeting at the Peace Corps (PC) office for a couple of activities in the new Information Resource Center (IRC…there are a lot of acronyms in PC). This was built by and collaborated with our Language Coordinator. It has resources on topics ranging from microenterprise to sustainable health. It only lasted about 10 min, and the time allotted was 4 hours long, so most of us just spent much of our time relaxing in the PCV lounge/library/computer center.

We had lunch served at a different location, the Pre-School Teacher Training Center (PSTTC), for both the K3 and K4 groups. We watched the uncut footage of the PC/Cambodia 50th Anniversary video that was going to be shown at the embassy. It featured six volunteers, their 50th Anniversary projects and them speaking about it in Khmer; the embassy version only featured three of them. After the viewing, we had a PC quiz followed by some ground rules and logistics (including goals and Close of Service (COS) objectives) to go over to begin the sessions of MST. The first actual session was a health slideshow presentation by our Peace Corps Medical Officer (PCMO), Joanne about dangerous snakes. It featured some pretty gnarly pictures of snake bites! After that we all went back to the hotel, changed, and went straight to the U.S. Embassy for the 50th Anniversary party, where they served delicious h’or d’erves (SP!!!) and had many speeches by some ministry people and Jon Darrah (PC/Cambodia Country Director (CD)). It also began to some American National Anthem and Khmer National Anthem singing. Both groups did extraordinarily well, and we look forward to singing again at the 4th of July celebration also at the embassy!

Day 2:

The second day started off with a session that another PCV, Kurt and I facilitated entitled “How to Work with Your Counterparts”. This was actually not a very accurate title, as none of us could possibly be authorities on that subject, considering how diligently we’re all working on figuring out just how to do that! It’s a long process, but it seems like it’s coming along. We decided to curtail our discussion towards what we could recommend to the new K5 Community Health Education (CHE) PCVs coming in July. Following Kurt and I was Population Services International (PSI) who talked about their mobile video units that come into poor villages and do day long projects about specific health topics. One PCV has already been in contact with them and had them come to their site and said it was a success. We all enjoyed the presentation, and I think most of us will be contacting them in the near future. After that session, we talked about monitoring and evaluation (always a thrill), then braked before coming back to learn about teaching large-level classrooms/classroom management with the Senior English Language Fellow (SELF), Joel Wiskin. This is a position that is supported through the embassy but comes from Georgetown (correct me if I’ve got the wrong university). He was very astute and taught us in a very encouraging and entertaining way. Lunch followed, then a session on what the Small Project Assistance (SPA…I told you; there are a lot!) committee is looking for. The SPA grant ranges anywhere from $50-$2000 for projects during our service. Basically, if it’s related to grade-school level students or teaching microenterprise and the community can come up with 25% of the needed funds (including in-kind donations), the SPA committee (funded by US AID) will review it and consider it for approval. After that we had a guest speaker from RACHA (Reproductive and Child Health Association) come and talk about what we already knew from their organization and then learned a bit from another PCV, Helen about working with Village Health Volunteers (VHVs) and the Village Health Support Group (VHSG). Following this we learned about basic first aid from our resident nurse and PCV, Taylor. Taylor’s blunt and sarcastic, so it made for a very entertaining session about basic first aid. i.e. “Okay. So, it’s pretty easy: if they’re breathing, that’s good, right?! Good. Glad we got that. If they’re not? Okay. You probably want to do something about that.”

Day 3:

This was probably the most useful day (I think the others would agree). We started off the session by discussion potential secondary projects we are in the process of executing now or are planning to do in the future. It was a useful bit of time in that we learned about what others were doing at their sites/in their provinces, and it inspired us to consider projects we had not thought about before. Following that, we split up into groups to discuss the many aspects of Pre-Service Training (PST), i.e. what was successful, what wasn’t, and suggestions for the incoming group of trainees. I facilitated the group focusing on cross cultural training. I thought it was very productive, and I look forward to working with PC in implementing those changes we found necessary. It was especially useful as I’ll be the new Safety and Security & Cross Cultural (SSCC) Training Assistant for the K5 PST (I’ll get to that in my next post). After lunch, I left for an hour to do my mid-service Language P???? I??? (LPI…basically a language test to see how far we’ve come since the end of PST). I’m not sure how I did, as I haven’t heard back from our Language Coordinator and Cross Cultural Trainer (LCCC) yet. After that we had five sessions to choose from that ran simultaneously and repeated three times: Chances for Cambodia (an NGO that supports poor young Cambodian girls to further their studies), GIZ Toolkit (a German volunteer organization), SharePoint Information (a Microsoft program we use to share documents and information updates between the staff and PCVs), Volunteerism, and a session on the PC Fellows Program/Applying to Graduate School which was run by our very own PCV, who was the head of all graduate admissions at a very big university back in the states. That was probably the most helpful and interesting. After that, we all filled out our MST evaluation forms, then celebrated before heading back home.

So, let’s see if you were following along:

At the beginning of MST we had an open house for our new IRC before hanging out in the PC lounge. We all went to the PSTTC to begin a general Q&A session about MST and to review our goals and objectives for COS. Afterwards, our PCMO held a session followed by a SS information session. The next day we had two sessions, one of which about working with your counterparts lead by two CHE PCVs before another session by an NGO, PSI. We then learned about classroom management form the SELF from the US. When that session ended, we learned about SPA grants from a group of PCVs. We split up again, and the CHE PCVs learned very interesting information from both RACHA and another PCV on working with VHVs and the VHSG before learning about CPR from our RN PCV. Finally, on the third day, we discussed SSCC during our PST for the K5s PST before they become PCVs. After that, I had my LPI before going to learn about a specific set of skills from GIZ. We then filled out our MST evaluations before going back to the PC lounge at the PC office to relax before going back to our hotel to change and celebrate.

How did you do?

Hope all is well, and I’ll

Talk to you soon,
Garrett

A Laptop Screen Has Been Replaced

So, I replaced my laptop screen. My old one basically looked like a large magnet attacked it. There was about a 3 inch bar of psychedelic color explosions going on. It seemed I had two choices:

1. Replace the laptop screen.

2. Save some money but take the chances of having permanent vision damage.

I went with option #1.

It was pretty swift and easy. The guest house I was staying at is by a street full of computer repair/sale shops. They were able to replace it in a little less than 24 hours. It's a good thing I'm forced to speak Khmer everyday, as they didn't speak any English other than, "What nation you from?" They were pleasant to deal with though.

I'm going to enjoy this spotless screen for the next 37 min before I will inadvertently cause some sort of damage (smudges, fingerprints, lunch) incurs.

Talk to you soon,

Garrett

I Can Barely See What I'm Typing

So, I'm not really quite sure what's going on with my laptop. Everything works fine, minus the staticy, lines of color that exist on the monitor. I'll probably be bringing it in today or tomorrow.

Wish me luck,

Garrett

White Skin is Prettier

So, despite popular Western thoughts and ideas, you are more attractive the lighter your skin is here. This is a fairly popular belief in much of the world. One might think that it is because they want to look more like Americans or Europeans. That's not quite the case. While, in Cambodia, many people want to be more "Western" with cooler clothes and have a haircut with "sty" (style), the skin color relates to working out in the rice fields. The general belief is that if you have darker skin it means that you are forced to work out in the rice fields more often, more particularly in the sun. As a result, it's a assumed that you have less money. If you have whiter skin, it means that you don't have to work hard and you're able to stay inside more often. Sounds kind of familiar doesn't it? The opposite train of thought is that darker skin is prettier, because you have the money not to work. And what do you do if you have money? Chill out by the pool or the beach. In fact, most bath products in this country (and much of SE Asia) have whitening products in them (i.e. bleach). Sounds health doesn't it? Many products such as make-up, face wash, lotion, soap, etc. have these ingredients in them. Other ways people attempt to have lighter skin is to wear less revealing clothing. You will often see people wearing socks with sandals, jeans, gloves, a mask (for other reasons), and a hat walking around even though it's May and it's 98 degrees out with 90% humidity. People will jump through many hoops in order to be "prettier".

Case in point (actual story):

A PCV leaves on their bike to ride into the provincial town:

Host parent: "No! You can't go out like that!

PCV: "What do you mean? I'm wearing appropriate clothing."

Host parent: "But you don't have long sleeves! Your skin will get black, and it will be ugly!"

This is a pretty popular thought throughout most of Cambodia. In fact, a couple of the other PCVs, who're African-American, have had to face constant shouts throughout their service of "Khmao! Khmao!" which means "Black! Black!" They've found that teaching them to say "Niak Kru!" which means "Teacher!" can deter this. Many times, they (Cambodians) don't realize that they're being rude or offensive (sometimes they definitely do, though). Much of rural Cambodia is based in observations, but that will be another post.

Talk to you soon,

Garrett

Banteay Chhmar, the Last Temple of the Angkorian Period

The temple of Banteay Chhmar lies in the commune of Banteay Chhmar (in Banteay Meanchey province) located 63km north of its provincial town, Serei Sisophon (or Svay). It is one of the last temples built during the Angkorian period of Cambodia in either the late 12th Century of early 13th Century during the time of Javayarman VII (the most famous King of Cambodia who ruled during the naval victory for which Water Festival is celebrated). Not much is known about this temple as a result of years of looting and being uprooted by trees. The temple features many of the famous "faces" of Javayarman VII at different parts of the site. They are hard to find, though. As well, many of the walls features reliefs of military excursions that are quite violent: spears poking through the bottom of ships stabbing enemies beneath the water; alligators eating enemies. The Global Heritage Fund is currently attempting to figure away to make it safer place (for the temple itself) to visit, making low-rise walkways, so as to avoid any further damage done to the temple. None of that has been done yet. Currently though, the town has labeled certain blocks of stone and are attempting to recreate some of the wall faces. It is a very slow process, but a little bit has been done.

I came up here, because I have a friend (another PCV) who lives in this commune, just 2 minutes (biking) from the temple, and he showed me around. It really is quite amazing to see the stones absolutely strewn everywhere across what used to be the temple. Some hallways are intact that we were able to crouch down through, but for the most part, the site is in absolute ruins. Everywhere you look, there are just piles and piles of stones and rocks laid out, and its hard to imagine how some of them ended up there! It is still an amazing place to visit, and I feel a little more cultured for it. The temple is similar to Angkor Thom (the famous temple of Angkor Wat), and was, apparently, more expensive, so I'm excited to see late in my service what it used to look like when I finally visit.

Here are some photos:

Talk to you soon,

Garrett

It's May, and I've Been Waiting Outside for 2 Hours

So, here's another interesting fact of life for rural Cambodia: if you live in the sticks, and you're waiting for your taxi to leave, but no one else seems to want to go to your destination, you'll be waiting for 2 hours, like I am right now. Is this typical? No. But, it's not unusual. I don't live in the sticks, but Kenny does, and I'm visiting him; there's a wedding there that I'm attending. Anyhow, it's hot, but thankfully there's shade as the taxi stand is in the market. It's actually kind of nice (I think I wrote this in an earlier post), because I have the chance to read up on the news without much distraction. You know, as much as there really isn't in this town, I kinda like it here (The taxi stand is in Svay, the provincial town). There's a great group of people in this province, and I'll be sad to see a couple of them leave. Anyhow, MST (Mid-Service Training) is in a week and a half. I look forward to seeing everyone; there are some people I haven't seen in months! Well, that's about all. Thanks for listening to me babble while I wait for a taxi; I'm still waiting.

Keep well.
Talk to you soon,
Garrett

Thai-Cambodian Border Conflict.

A bit of background information:

When the French left Cambodia in the 1950's, not only did they leave baguettes, but also poorly demarcated lines around a few temples in the NW of Cambodia. In the early 1960's, the Preah Vihear temple was dubbed an International Heritage Site in "Cambodia." The Thais were very upset about this, and since then, there have been intermittent conflicts along that "border".

Some shelling and shooting at the border of Preah Vihear began again in February because of a "misfired" shot that both countries are blaming on the other. There were quite a few skirmishes, plenty of damage to the temple, and several deaths and many wounded soldiers and civilians. Since then, it has been fairly quiet until a week or so ago when the conflict moved to the Odar Meanchey (the province to the west of Siem Reap and north of Banteay Meanchey (the one I live in)). There are two temples there that are also in dispute between the two countries. In fact, each country has their own name for the temples. There has been a lot of firing along the border and a bit of heavy artillery fire as well. Several soldiers have died and many people on both sides of the border have sought refuge. Many, in fact have fled to wat (temple/pagoda) at Banteay Chhmar, where another PCV, and friend of mine, lives; approximately 200 people have fled to that wat. Don't worry, if you are, as he says that he actually feels quite safe (his town is well away from the conflict by the way, and I live 80km from his site and about 2 1/2 hours away as the road to the provincial town from his village is very rough.). I'll tell you why I feel safe:

Why are they fighting right now?

The Thai elections are coming up very soon, and because of the timing, there's a need to stir up some drama as a distraction to the current political parties. I think this is unfortunate (I just realized I made a post a while back about being apolitical...I guess I've forgotten about that. I'm being vague, though, right?) because of the unnecessary and misdirected fear it has instilled in the citizens of both countries. Many Cambodian's have told other volunteers that they believe Thailand will take over Cambodia. That will never happen. If Thailand wanted to take over Cambodia, it would have happened a very long time ago. I'm not just blaming the Thais; there are plenty of problems on both ends, believe me. Point being, when the elections end, I believe the current fighting will settle down.

Anyhow, I was in a truck on the way from Mongkol Borei (a district in Banteay Meanchey) when I saw two giant flatbeds carrying a tank each. They were headed to Preah Vihear. So much for a cease-fire (a second cease-fire, in fact). I am one of three people (I believe) who were contacted on a daily basis for about a week by the Peace Corps Safety and Security Officer to make sure we felt safe and if we had heard anything from our towns: i.e. if they were worrying, if the borders were closing, etc... There really is no reason to worry, though. I feel safe, and no one in my town has really even mentioned any personal worries. Worse comes to worse, I get a free night or two in Siem Reap, which wouldn't be so bad. However, it'll never come to that.

I'll keep you informed if anything new should arise. Until then, I'll continue to eat my Nature Valley bars with my jar of peanut butter while I go on with my life (as well as the rest of the people around me...minus the granola bars and peanut butter).

Hope all is well.

Talk to you soon,

Garrett

6 Things Happening in the World

1. Osama bin Laden is Dead:

-Much of the world is rejoicing in his death. Will al Queda retaliate in some form (most likely violent)? Probably. So, my suggestion, cancel any trips you may have planned for Pakistan.

2. Syria's Protests are not Looking So Successful:

-1000s of people are fleeing the country and the rest are afraid to leave their homes past curfew. Bodies line the streets and no is removing them in the dead of night in fear of being shot. The government appears to be pretty tight-knit, so it seems unlikely that the people will win the hearts of the military. I hope I'm wrong though.

3. Cambodian-Thai Conflict Continues:

-There have been many days of gun fire, heavy artillery, and multiple broken cease fires for a 50 year-long conflict over disputed borders. Is there any need for Cambodia to worry about Thailand invading? Absolutely not. This is all simply a distraction from the upcoming election. Let's hope it ends soon after the elections. I'm not pointing fingers at the Thais, though. Both have their own issues. (I'll elaborate on this one in a later post)

4. The Death of Ghadaffi (too many different spellings) Junior and the Continual Repression of the Rebel Regime:

- After a bombing on a Tripoli home in Libya, which is currently in a very violent civil war between pro-Ghadaffi supporters and an opposing rebel force, one of Ghadaffi's sons was killed. This is not the same son as the one who has been doing much of the talking for the country as of late. The rebel forces have been held back and pushed back lately.

5. Tornadoes Have Hit the South:

-Storms and tornadoes have ruined much of the South in the U.S. Destroyed homes and families removed from each other. I've been grieving for those affected wishing them all good thoughts. Hopefully, recovery will be quick.

6. The Royal Wedding of William and Kate:

-Thank heavens Kate's dress looked nothing like Diana's! It was all very beautiful, especially the orchestra and choirs. Will the Queen or Prince Charles abdicate the title of King to Prince William. We'll find out soon enough.

Talk to you soon,

Garrett

This Town Ain't Just Filled With Peace Corps Volunteers

If any of you are not familiar with the volunteer organization, VSO, let me introduce you. VSO stands from Volunteer Services Overseas. It is an organization very similar to the Peace Corps, only it involves a wider range of countries (mainly Europe-based but includes Australia) and they get paid better (way better...). Regardless of the higher pay (which actually makes me feel less dissuaded about the association of terms "volunteering" and "readjustment allowance". I still think the VSO volunteers are doing a wonderful thing. I'm just prouder (as a result) of the joking nickname "Peace Poor".

Anyhow, where I was getting at: Recently, I've been socializing more with them. I was invited to a "Royal Wedding Viewing Party" for William and Kate's wedding, which was quite a lot of fun. Rachel and I brought over some cakes and "doughnuts" from one of the bakeries in town and one of the volunteers who lives at the "VSO House" supplies Pringles, Oros, Ritz crackers, and plenty of gin, vodka, and tonic. There were three Americans, two Brits, and one Belgian. We all had plenty of interesting conversations comparing governments and the differences between Royalists and Republicans in England. I became friends with one volunteer who lives out in Thmor Pouk about 40km from Serei Sisophon (Svay), the provincial town. I offered to invite him over for dinner because he can't get tofu in his town (as he's a vegetarian). Today, I was also very surprised as I got a knock on my door around 7:30a: "Hello!" Whoa! That's weird. That sounds like someone who actually knows English. "Hello?" It was one of the Australian VSO volunteers from town who was on his way to Poipet to inspect some new staff at the hospital there. We ended up getting some breakfast in my village and chatting for a little before he left. I've made some friends from travelers and volunteers from other volunteer organizations.

It's nice to have friends outside of the Peace Corps.

Hope all is well.

Talk to you soon,

Garrett

It's nice to have friends outside of Peace Corps.

Health Manual: Complete

After 5 months of hard work,

many contributions between 18 people,

165 e-mails,

247 pages,

and countless hours and text messages on the phone,

the Community Health Education Manual for Peace Corps/Cambodia is complete.

It turned out really well. It only took 6 different times "finalizing" after finding small imperfections like a single indentation and (in the beginning) missing page numbers in the Table of Contents!

Overall, I'm very proud of all of the people I worked with on this. I'm also much less stressed! I'm just excited to hold a copy of it in my hands!

Just thought you should know!

Talk to you soon,

Garrett

p.s. There are already K5 volunteers who have received their invitations to come to Cambodia. That's absolutely crazy. It's like middle school; We're becoming the new 8th graders.

Working Towards a Half Marathon or I Made it 1 Kilometer

So, I've decided that today is the day that I will begin working out again. I've decided that I would like to work towards running the half marathon in December at Angkor Wat (same event as the bike race I did last year). I got out my new iPod (another story), stretched, filled my body with water, and went off...

I made it one kilometer before having to transition into walking for a little. I'm actually a little surprised I made it that far at all! Nevertheless, I have plenty of work to do. It's a good thing that I have 7-8 months to get there.

The best part about all of this was that I still had people (despite 4 months in the beginning getting used to it) trying to ask me questions while I was running with my iPod in. I actually had some children follow me 50 meters. They're lucky I had to turn left into the market, otherwise, no hello! And they are so disappointed when one doesn't respond to the infamous "Hello! ....HELLO!!!! HELLLO!!! HELLOOOOO!!!!! HELLO!!!!" For some reason, they also think that the thumbs-up thing is a popular thing to do. Nope. That ended awhile ago.

Anyhow, I'll be at it again tomorrow. I hope you realize I'm simply wrote that sentence in order to guilt myself into actually running tomorrow.

Hope all is well.

Talk to you soon,

Garrett

On That Note: The Rainy Season Has Begun to Begin

I'm not sure if I can safely say that the rainy season has begun, however, it has rained pretty hard the past two days. The rainy season doesn't really begin until the end of May/beginning of June, but it's comin'! This is great, as it's getting really, really, really, really hot. My skin has become the color that a pastry should be when you take it out of the oven! I find the rain cathartic, so it's been very pleasant to listen to music/watch a movie/read a book in my room while listening to the rain pour down and the thunder shake my room.

Last night, my family served me this rice that looks like it's speckled with bits of red streaks. It turns out that this is the most expensive rice in Cambodia. Apparently it has natural healing abilities. I was very grateful for the rice (and the tasty fish and egg/onion omelette)! My friend, Phannah told me that this rice is sometimes difficult to buy as Cambodian people would rather sell it to Thailand and get the most value at it as it's not an item to really be bartered with.

That's about all.

Talk to you soon,

Garrett

A Small Explanation Missing: The Meaning of Water Festival

The Meaning of Water Festival:

There are two differences to note:

1) Thailand and Laos celebrate Water Festival along with their New Year (which is the same time as Cambodia), yet all three have similar practices.

2) Cambodia's Water Festival means something COMPLETELY different.

Since the New Year (which takes place in the middle of April) in this small SE Asian clump is so close to the beginning of the rainy season, both Thailand and Laos call it Water Festival. They splash you with talcum powder and water to signify a fresh start and the hopeful beginning of a very wet rainy season.

Though Cambodia takes part in these practices, they celebrate their Water Festival in November, which signifies and glorifies a 12 century naval victory led under King Javayarman VII. It is also a thanks to the river.

Hope that helped.

Talk to you soon,

Garrett

Water Festival in Vientiane, Laos

There is rioting in the streets. Child and adult, foreigner and local alike have taken to the streets with (water) guns and buckets, pales and Super Soakers, all ready to attack at any given moment and at every available opportunity. It is Water Festival in Laos, and we happen to be back in capital, Vientiane for it.

We started in a minibus with 15 other people headed to the bus station and at every corner, there were children and other locals with buckets, Super Soakers, and hoses waiting for us. The windows on the bus were open. Oh, we tried to shut them, we did. But, for some reason, they just wouldn't close. It was as if someone had planned that... Every small town we passed through children and adults alike were tossing pale after pale of water on to the bus (thankfully, we could close the windows at this point). When we got to Vientiane (from Vangvieng), all hell had broken lose and havoc had been reeked. The streets were filled and traffic was held up. It was at this point we all realized that we should probably put everything of value in our bags (thank god for that waterproof Timbuk2 bag). We were pretty wet by the time we got to the third guest house and thankfully we were able to get our stuff safe and sound. Well, as safe as you could get in our situation (i.e. there's no lock on this door). Some of us went out to find food, and by the time we found it, our clothes were absolutely soaked. We had some brick oven, wood-fired pizza. Trevor actually made the pizza that he and I shared. I was really impressed. He apparently worked at a pizza place for awhile, just up until coming here.

The best part of the day was while three of us were relaxing in the room, perusing on the internet, and the other two came barging in sopping wet demanding we come with them. We said, "Nah! It's okay, come get us in a little bit." 10 minutes later... "COME, NOW!" So, we did. Little had we realized, there was a stage set up, flashing lights of all colors and varieties. People were dancing in the streets and by the stage. There was a fire truck spraying water (the guy was holding it between his legs) into the crowd. I was really glad I saved that waterproof bag I bought back in Vangvieng.

Happenstance is a wonderful thing, but if you should ever decide to come visit Southeast Asia during the dry season, do it during Water Festival. Yes. Transportation will be more expensive, but it is well worth it.

Talk to you soon,

Garrett

Tubing Down the Nam Song River (Readers [Mom] Beware!)

The small town of Vangvieng in Northern Laos is a magnet for tourists from every corner of the world. The reason: tubing down the Nam Song River, a tributary of the Mekong River (I think). For 55,000 kip (or $6.87) and the down payment of 60,000 kip (or $7.50), which is insurance on bringing back your inner tube (you get it back as long as you return before 6:00pm or else you get fined 20,000 kip (or $2.50) from your down payment, you can rent the spare tire of a tractor and get a free tuk tuk ride down to the river. Once you get down to the river, you are immediately met by plenty of fellow foreigners and a bar ready to hand you a free shot of whiskey and a buy one get one free bucket (Yes. A bucket of alcohol). That's a pretty good way to start off a very, very "safe" trek down the river.

Picture from: http://www.google.la/imgres?imgurl=http://farm1.static.flickr.com/210/504024568_e1a32b1cfb_o.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.asianramblings.com/travel/laos-tubing-nam-song-river/&usg=__oDHhB1iQE1JmThOO5FbUmVYRPjU=&h=344&w=456&sz=55&hl=lo&start=32&zoom=1&tbnid=m8XkAMfo21FifM:&tbnh=122&tbnw=149&ei=pending&prev=/search%3Fq%3DNam%2BSong%2BRiver%26hl%3Dlo%26sa%3DX%26biw%3D1080%26bih%3D545%26tbm%3Disch%26prmd%3Divnsm0%2C1000&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=148&vpy=250&dur=491&hovh=140&hovw=186&tx=103&ty=56&oei=_dmmTaDoC4nUvQPI3Nj0CA&page=3&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:12,s:32&biw=1080&bih=545

As you float down the Nam Song, you are greeted by what cannot be accurately depicted in a photograph. It is something you need to see for yourself, so I will merely try to explain it in words. As you float down the Nam Song, you are greeted by giant wall (almost obelisk-like) of rocky mountain covered in patches of green with visible caves towards the top. The river is wide and the mountains are daunting, yet beautiful. You cannot believe the romanticism that you are living in.

Picture from: http://thundafunda.com/5/5.2/motor-boat-crossing-nam-song-river-pictures.php

There are about ten or eleven bars lining the river. About every 100m, a local (or fellow tourist) will throw a half-filled water-bottle tied to a rope to your inner-tube (sometimes getting close to hitting you in the face) so that you can get reeled in (literally) to the bar. The moment you get there men are treated with Lao bark-treated whiskey or shots of whiskey from bottles filled with snakes, scorpions, or other creepy crawlies and the women are treated to a free drink "for sexy ladies". While tubing down the river, you are constantly deciding when the right moment is to left you back completely onto the tube as at times the water-level is extremely low with rocks sticking just under the surface. Meanwhile, you are being barraged with streams of water from Super Soakers (purchased in the town) by fellow tourists.

The most fun (and most dangerous) part of the ride is all of swings, slides, zip-lines and other contraptions laid at the crux of each bar. The average zip-line is about 20 ft. above the water with the tallest approximately 35 ft. Of course, this I could not pass up. It was absolutely thrilling, and I would do it again. I have heard this "the tubing" (the "gift shop" t-shirt to buy says, "Vangvieng: In the Tubing") is a rite of passage for backpackers backpacking through Southeast Asia. There was also an inflatable "blob" which you jumped onto and stopped at the very edge until someone inevitably jumps into the middle and sends you flying into the river. Now, all of these things are of course very dangerous as there have been a few reported deaths in the past five years. We were very careful (we were very careful, Mom). My fellow companions were filled with worry in the hours leading up to the adventure as we witnessed many hobbling and ace-bandaged tourists. One only had one shoe.

Picture from: http://www.google.com.kh/imgres?imgurl=http://upload.heyhotshot.com/artist_images/0000/9308/SameSameBuch27_blog.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.heyhotshot.com/blog/index29.html&usg=__ADQAeY4m720uFdXUIPzm0nYWgx4=&h=392&w=512&sz=163&hl=km&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=env-EHv7svJMYM:&tbnh=147&tbnw=178&ei=n9emTfHMO4zWvQOR_MCHCQ&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dnam%2Bsong%2Briver%26hl%3Dkm%26sa%3DX%26rlz%3D1C1WZPD_enKH412KH412%26biw%3D1080%26bih%3D588%26tbm%3Disch%26prmd%3Divnsm&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=275&oei=n9emTfHMO4zWvQOR_MCHCQ&page=1&ndsp=14&ved=1t:429,r:4,s:0&tx=105&ty=130

At one point, we met up with a group of travelers (who most had just met only 20 minutes earlier) from Canada, Sweden, Norway, and the U.S. (Phoenix to be specific). We ended up together for the last leg of the trip and met up at a restaurant in town and spent the next part of the night together. All in all, the trip down the river was an unforgettable one and hopefully, one day I'll return.

These pictures were NOT taken by me as I was not confident of the water-proofness of my purchased bag. It was a good decision; the money got wet.

Hope all is well (as I am in one piece),

Talk to you soon,

Garrett