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