Siem Reap and Angkor

Our first BAB intern trip was this weekend. Angkor What Tour 2007. We went to Siem Reap to see the temples at Angkor. The trip overall could not have gone better. We rented a bus - which turned out to be a van - and piled 16 of us into it for the five hour drive north. The first night there we went to dinner at a place called Dead Fish Tower, which was kind of like a big treehouse. Two of the interns ended up doing karaoke on stage after dinner. After dinner we went dancing at Angkor What? bar. Turns out our "Angkor What" catch phrase was not an original.

The next day we spent eight hours at Angkor checking out the temples. It was amazing, stunning, beautiful. Also very hot and filled with Japanese tour groups. My favorite temple was Preah Kahn, because it was deserted when we were there so it was easier to really appreciate the history and grandeur of the place. In the afternoon there was a massive rain storm. Four of us bought ponchos from the children there that sell everything from bracelets to musical instruments, and ran through the rain to Angkor Wat - the main temple. There was a monkey there named Mickey Monkey who came up and sat next to me because he was cold in the rain. I got to pet him. It made my day. There was another monkey who had a pet frog, which might of been the most amazing thing ever. He held onto the frog by its leg and wouldnt let it go.

The children at the temples selling things are pretty amazing. They approach tourists in group and follow you around waving bracelets, postcards, musical instruments, water, hats, tshirts, and other items at you. They ask where you are from, what your name is, and then tell you the capital city of whatever country you live in. It is exhausting telling them no. One guy in our group was physically showing them his empty wallet and they still wouldnt leave him alone. When it first started to rain a few of us had gotten into the van to stay dry and the kids surrounded the van waving ponchos at us.

The second night out in Siem Reap was a slightly more tame repeat of the first, then the next morning we headed back home. On the drive home there was a huge thunderstorm. We passed through one village and saw a house on stilts that had collapsed in the wind. It was hard to see someone who has so little to begin with suffering additional hardship. The drive from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap is competely rural - just villages with houses on stilts. It did not appear that the people had access to clean water, and many of the houses had make-shift plastic things out front to try to catch rainwater. We stopped a a rest stop on the way there and all the villagers rushed to try to sell us fried tarantula and other insects. It was hard but I managed to resist the temptation.

After getting home from Siem Reap I was exhausted and took it easy. Monday it was back to work. My group is still working on editing the Family Law manual. It is turning out to be more work than we had anticipated. Hopefully next week we will get started on Children's rights.

Last night we went out to celebrate two birthdays. Had dinner in one huge group, then went to a place called Elsewhere, which is an outdoor patio bar with a pool in the middle. We all ended up in the pool, which apparently happens pretty frequently there.

More Soccer and the Market

Went to the market today at lunch and got linen pants that tie up. I feel truly Cambodian now. I'm not sure I quite look it though. There is something so satisfying about buying clothes for $3. You can buy so much more when its cheap.

After work four of us went back to play more soccer and basketball. We are quite a unique sight there and we have started to draw a crowd. We also played basketball and while we were playing basketball someone stole our soccer ball. I guess I was asking for it leaving it on the side of the court, but it still sucked. It is still awesome actually interacting with the local people though. They tend to be quite standoffish and the language barrier doesnt help, but when you are playing sports it bridges the culture gap.

At work I am editing a manual on Cambodian family law. If anyone has an easy word for "intestate" please let me know. It is interesting but sometimes difficult to stay inside when it seems like there are so many interesting things that we could be doing. We have a theme song for the summer. Its "Here Comes the Hotstepper" - I'm not sure why. Murdera. I am currently on an ongoing hunt to find poker chips here. Apparently they dont use them and they are basically unheard of. I had no trouble finding a kiddie pool though. We are considering putting one on the roof deck. The logistics of it are a little difficult but I think it might work.

Soccer and Pool

Finished four days of orientation yesterday. The focus was on learning teaching methodologies to help us in creating lesson plans on various areas of Cambodian law. The lesson plans will then be taught in villages and schools in the more rural areas. The three BAB people running the program were very energetic and passionate about their work which kept things interesting.

Today we started our actual group work on the area of law that we will be focusing on. I am working on children's rights and protection, which should be interesting.

After work today a bunch of us went to the Olympic Stadium to play soccer. We don't actually play in the stadium, but tons of people gather around the outside area and play soccer, basketball and volleyball every evening. There were four of us and we played with four Cambodians. It was great and we were good enough to be invited back for tomorrow.

Tonight I went back to a local pool bar to play pool. It was great, the girls that work there are very sweet and already know all of our names.

I met two monkeys at the restaurant where I had lunch today - Alladin and Mimi. Alladin was fat, friendly and complacent, just sitting at the bottom of the cage eating peanuts. Mimi was evil and rambunctious.

Went to Wat Phnom with a bunch of the interns, it was beautiful. Got caught in a rainstorm and waited it out on the balcony outside the Wat, watching little Cambodian children pretend to swim in the puddles and chase each other around splashing. There was an elephant hanging around outside, and it had shoes on. I never knew that elephants wore shoes. Also saw another monkey grooming two cats.

Then this afternoon I went to a resort called L'Imprevu with my roomate and three other people that are living in the Volunteer house. It was a great time. We played water polo/handball in teams (Canada v. Other). The pool is a little ways out of the city and it was an interesting drive.

The main program leader of Bridges Across Borders arrived in Phnom Penh today so we start the internship orientation tomorrow.

Arrived in Phnom Penh two days ago. So far so good. It is both beautiful and not so beautiful in very close proximity. Very hot but apparently the heat just broke and this is much cooler than it has been. Thank god because I'm melting. Walked around most of the city yesterday and went to the Royal Palace, National Museum, Wat Ounalum, another Wat (=temple), and the riverfront area which is where a lot of the nicer hotels/bars are. Took a hundred photos but the wireless isnt working so I can't post them yet. Already adjusting to taking a tuktuk and finally got up the nerve to ride a moto today. It was fun, the driver was laughing at me because I was so nervous. Swerving into oncoming traffic to turn left is hard to get used to. There are two functioning traffic lights in the city, and the rest of the intersections are a free for all. The food is good, the volunteer house is everything I could have hoped for - wireless (sometimes), AC in my bedroom, a treadmill upstairs, washing machine, kitchen... and I only have to go upstairs to be at work. I don't know if that would be ideal long term but for an internship its great. My only concern is the lack of cheese. Cambodian people hate cheese and will not touch it. They have something called Prahok (that might not be right) but its a fermented fish paste (it reeks) - they love it and foreigners don't touch it. So for them, cheese is "foreigner prahok". On the up side, the food in general is great, and especially the fruit. I've been eating pamello, rambutan, dragonfruit...I've learned a couple Khmer words but nothing impressive yet.

At one of the temples we met an old man who took us into a room in a smaller temple and we sat down and he prayed with/for us. Also splashed some water on us and lit incense. I have no idea what he was saying but it was pretty amazing the way he said it and the ornate statue of buddha with lights, candles and incense.

Walking through the city I constantly get asked if I need a tuktuk or moto, and around the tourist sites there are lots of beggars and children asking for money. But generally people just either stare or ignore me when I walk by. The people that I have approached, talked to, or smiled at, have all been very nice and made attempts to understand what I'm asking. Very few people speak english but some like to try. One woman I was talking to somehow decided that I had told her that I had children and was asking how old they were. I said they were five. HA. Too much effort to explain that we weren't understanding each other.

Today I went to the Russian Marketplace - which I'm pretty sure isn't Russian - and wandered around. It was ridiculously hot, but had everything imaginable: clothes, jewelry, puma shoes, chanel purses, abercrombie shirts, jeans, short (all in piles in booths/stalls), trinkets, dvds, cds, tires, screws, paint... Also went to Tuol Sleng which is the genocide museum. It was totally overwhelming. It's not really done up and a lot of it is pretty much how it was left when the Democratic Kampuchea ended in 1979. I dont think I've ever been that horrified visiting a historical site.