Long time no see

I have turned into the kind of blogger I hate the most, someone who does not update their blog! However, I have a good excuse...I have been in the jungles of Borneo followed by a romp of the Cambodian countryside. Can't help it...I like to spoil myself:) I am in Cambodia at the moment trying to get some work done but my busy social calendar is making that difficult. This is a town where there is lots to do and great ways to procrastinate:(

As soon as I get home i will be sure to post some pics of our amazing adventures.

Busy busy busy

We have had a very busy few weeks. Todd's mom came for a 2 week visit and we did a lot of sightseeing. Todd and Mary went up to Port Douglas and the GBR for a little R and R. I stayed behind and defended the fort:( We did embark on numerous little day trips in and around Brisbane. There is really so much to see in this area of Queensland and it was nice to have a reason to go exploring.

Todd and I just celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary on Friday. We went on a yoga retreat to Murwillumbah with his yoga studio. It was the second time we had gone and we had such a lovely and relaxing time. I spent plenty of time by the pool, eating, walking, eating some more, and stretching. Murwillumbah is on the NSW-QLD border in one of the most breathtaking areas of Australia. Lucky for us, it is only 1.5 hours from our house. Picture undulating green hills full of sheep and cattle. Everything is bright green and lush. Ahhh, say it with me "Gorgeous!"

I am now in super panic mode. I leave next week for India for my conference followed by a trip to Borneo and then on to Cambodia for a month. I expect to be back in Brisbane sometime in mid-December. Needless to say I have a lot to do before I leave. Anyhow, enjoy the pictures...I must get to work!





Todd and Mom at GBR














Todd and Kids at Glasshouse Mountains














Waterfall at Springbrook National Park













Kookaburra chill'n














Can you spot the koala?















Posing in the Brisbane Botanical Gardens by Mt.Cootha














Tagalooma Wrecks off of Moreton Island, Brisbane. The Brisbane City Council sunk these dredging vessels in the 60's to create an artificial reef. The area is full of colorful fish, dolphins, and dugongs (relative of the manatee). We did some snorkeling.















Moreton Island















Todd on Moreton Island beach














Katia coming down one big ass sand dune! It is 10 stories high!!!














Dolphins racing our boat, so cool!

New Picture

My friend Ian took this picture of me back in July. I wonder if the monk and I are looking at the same beast???

More Cambodia pics

I have decided that I have WAY TOO MANY Cambodia pictures. Therefore I will devote 2008 to visiting more SE Asian countries. I have my eye on Laos and Burma (Myanmar). I think Burma will early next year with my friend David but Laos evades me. I have no idea when I will have the time to fit it in! Plus Lisa wants to meet up somewhere "different" for her spring break. Perhaps Kiribati, outter islands of Japan, Manado, I just don't know! God help me when I get a job. I will be so miserable:(


Some Wat in the middle of nowhere




















Bai! Or rice to the white folk.














Typical house in the countryside














Hashers! Those crazy people:)

What I will never become

A mother who hangs out with her baby and other "mommies" at the mall during lunch time. They drive me CRAZY and crowd the Starbucks!

and I am home again...

So nice to be home! I am relaxing to Thelonius Monk and trying to procrastinate a little longer. My trip was a success and I want the high to last, but I know that reality is going to set in soon enough. I had a reality check the other day when I realized that in order to gradute in Dec 2008 my dissertation needs to be submitted by Oct 13 2008. That gives me about one year to write up my thoughts. Folks, I have A LOT of thoughts. However, I have much planned for the rest of the year so I think I will start Jan sometime. I will be out of the country starting Oct 2nd and not coming back until Jan 3rd so the idea of starting something only to put it on hold seems foolish.

Anyway, here are some pictures of my last trip.

Women in my focus group














local kids















me on my hash run



















common running obstacle
















My friend Ian and I next to our ghetto broke down tuk-tuk














Favorite pic from the zoo

More updates

Well...let's see...what have I been doing? Actually, best to ask "what haven't I done?" I am exhausted from all the work. Seriously, I want to go home and rest. The data collection is really in full swing but the days are long and the heat is punishing. I spend most of my time hiding from the sun or wiping my face. Seriously, Cambodians DO NOT SWEAT. It is the most amazing thing to me.

I have been engaging in some runs with the Phnom Pehn Hash House Harriers. The runs have quenched my appetite for rice paddies. If I see another rice paddy I will vomit. They are so lovely though and the kids LOVE to chase us through the fields. Cambodians are FAST! My social calendar has also never been more full. That could explain a lot of the late mornings:/ I have also enjoyed hanging out with my friend Ian, from England, who makes PP so much better! It is really the people around the place and not the place itself. Actually, PP is a dump and few people would argue with me. However, I have had a better time socially here then in the US or Australia but the living is hard.

I did receive good news that my abstract for the 4th Annual Conference on Reproductive Health and Sexuality in South Asia was accepted for a 30 min oral presentation! I am super excited and this will be the largest (and most significant) presentation yet. It is in Hyderbad, India in October. All I need now is $$$ to go...but I am working on that.

I will post pics when I get home. I am working off my very old lap top and I am afraid that if I hiccup the thing will stop working. Come on baby, hold together for a few more weeks!

It looks like I will head home next week, which is good. I miss my boy, dogs and bed!

Cambodia...again

Well I am back and playing researcher again. Pretending is a lot of fun:)

I have not written much b/c I am BUSY most of the time. Here is the update:

In Phnom Penh until mid August. I am house sitting in the lap of luxury. I have a cleaner, a security guard and a gardener. My friend Ian from the UK is also living with me!!! Yeah for friends in Cambodia. This house is so huge that it feels eerily empty with just me, so it is nice to have some company. I also have internet which means I can surf anytime and bother my friends with endless Skype calls that cost about $0.021 a minute. Super cool! I am sold on Skype plus it is the only way to make an international phone call, so I don't have much choice in the matter.

Let's see what else...I joined my local sports club (rubbing elbows with Khmer high society) and my little yoga studio down the road. I even went to the Phnom Tamao zoo. We broke down in our tuk-tuk about 20km from PP and were stuck for an hour until the carburetor got fixed. That was not good. Too bad having all these neat things doesn't enhance my research. On the contrary, I have so many other fun things to do that my research...is well...slow. To even make matters worse I was asked to go on a 5 day trek around the Mekong Delta which is hard to say no to. I will be very pissed at myself if after a month I have done nothing:(

I miss everyone and will posts some pictures soon.

Happy Birthday Cappers

My big girl is 3 (21 in dog years)! Happy Birthday to my baby!

Why I do not practice yoga at home...

Casey preparing my mat for me

If I wriggle in this way maybe she will see me


Ok maybe I will try this way

Please mom just touch me!!!!

Good video

At first I really didn't know what the message would be. However, you quickly catch on.

Why girls are EVIL!

Procrastination

I am the QUEEN of it! I have decided to stay home and "write" today...hah, what a joke. What "writing at home" really means is: trip to the coffee shop, food shopping, walk with the dogs, cutting my toe nails, cleaning the mold from around the sink faucet and washing dirty dish towels. All this and it is only noon. Tommorrow, I am going back to my office. I will never get anything accomplished if I work from home!

Two more years!

Tai Shan is going to stay until 2009! That is the best news in the world. I am going to spend plenty of quality time catching up with him in May. I have the biggest smile on my face...HURRAY for the National Zoo!!!

He is now 1.5 years old and 125 lb. They just inseminated his mom, Mei, so perhaps a sibling is on the way! I will have to move back to DC if that is the case:)

Recent happenings in Bris-Vegas

My friend Stephen "Gidget" came to visit from Melbourne. I met him in '98 at James Cook University in Townsville. By the way mom, are you jealous of Todd's t-shirt?














Todd, Greter, and Katia at a b-day party at the Story Bridge Hotel. CHOICE view!















"Moooommmmmm....dad is hurting me with clean water and soap!!!!"

Another sad week

Violence in this world is never ending. Now a tragedy that struck close to home. We all know what I am talking about. I was reading through the names and info about the victims and they all grew up next to me. Many of them went to my high school and lived down the road. So very very very sad. My heart goes out to all of the students and parents.

Go Hokies!!!!

curious photos

I am holding a contest! $5 USD to the person who can tell me what is going on in these two photos.

Photo 1. Cambodia: I took this picture of the car next to me. I am looking down at the driver. What is so fucked up about this picture?
















Photo 2. A night out on the town in Cambodia. What is that white stuff on my dress? Before you say cocaine...draw a line on a map from Colombia to Cambodia and ask yourself how likely that is.

...and I am home again

No place like home! Strangely enough I miss PP, I really do. I stopped by Singapore on my way home for some retail therapy and numerous espressos at Starbucks. Yes, we do have Starbucks in Australia but not Cambodia. Plus Singapore has EVERY major clothing store from America. So I shopped at The Gap, Vic's Secret, BCBG, etc. We don't have those stores in Australia. So it was like a little piece of America excpet that gum is illegal and it was much cleaner:)

I am home for the month and then off again May 23rd for Melbourne and the US. It is never ending and I have meetings already booked for September! I will take a long nap after this PhD circus is over!

Weekend in Sihanoukville

Here are some pics of my weekend down south in Sihanoukville. I had a lovely time in my little bungalow perched above the sea. I filled my day by starting out with a breakfast by the sea, followed by a snorkel, a nap, then a swim, then another nap. Finally I had a nice seafood dinner every night and fell asleep to the sounds of the sea under my protective mosquito net. It was heavenly and so much better than PP.

The pictures are of the beach, my bungalow, and moi:)

A trip to the post office

Among my other observations is that PO boxes don't have locks on them. More like "cubby holes" where someone "drops" your mail. No security, no nothing. Just your mail sitting out in the open for anyone to take. I was standing in line watching some bored man look through the boxes and reading mail. Nice right?

Anyway, I wanted to send a postcard back home. I arrived at the post office with my 2 postcards. It is supposed to be a 1900 riel stamp. They inform me that they are out but can give me a 3000 r stamp. I am not in the mood to be ripped off anymore so I rebel. I can clearly see that she has numerous 1000 r, 500 r and 100 r stamps. I tell her in my broken Khmer, "Why don't you just give me 1 1000 r stamp + 1 500 r stamp + 4 100 r stamps. She quickly says "no"! I am curious why and she informs me that there is only 1 stamp box on my postcard (you know the little square in the top right hand corner on a postcard). I am so utterly confused for the longest time and then it finally clicks what her problem is. I tell her that it doesn't matter how many boxes there are as long as I have the correct postage. She won't relent, so I leave. I am determined to win this battle! I go home and draw more boxes on my postcards. When I return to the post office, she seems to think that this is satisfactory and sells me my postage stamps.

This reminds me of a saying I once heard: "Simple minds require simple solutions" This is by no means limited to Cambodia, no sirree bob, it just seems more obvious here.

Week 3-Discovering logic

I was told at the start of my research that I would learn the most just from observing. I was skeptical at first but not I am a believer. My observation notes far surpass any notes from my interviews. I find Cambodian "logic" very...interesting. The old me would say "illogical" but I am developing my inner anthropologist and that is not the correct thing to say. I am merely a stranger in a strange land observing how people think and construct their own reality.

1. No one walks anywhere. I am constantly hounded by moto-dops to take me 50m down the road. I have learned that walking is a sign of poverty and I walk everywhere. This confuses most locals b/c they see Americans as rich and therefore willing to pay to have someone take you across the road.

2.Porn is King! All the men watch it like they are watching the news. Case in point: I am at the Internet cafe last night and the web was slower than usual (i.e. 8 min to load up hotmail vs the regular 5 min). I ask the guy what is going on. He says "it is video time" I am like, "do you realize that streaming video slows down the web" he looks at me like I have 2 heads and replies "I will tell them to watch their videos on the small screen" Sure enough 15 guys minimize their streaming porn from full screen to half screen, like this is going to speed things up. It seems that between the hours of 8-9pm it is prime Internet porn watching.

3. Women are the cooks in a Khmer family yet I have not met one woman chef at a hotel or restaurant.

4. Children are free to leave the classroom whenever they want. When I ask about this people say "they must be bored and want to watch t.v." This does not seem to bother anyone. The school yard is often full of kids doing nothing while the teacher is inside teaching.

5. The Pill makes you gain weight? Many women in Cambodia fear taking the pill b/c it makes them lose weight. My question is "what birth control pill are you taking, b/c I want some of that" Being skinny is also a sign of poverty and nobody wants to do anything that might make them lose weight. This is totally unfounded but a much believed urban legend. Better to be fat and pregnant, than to be skinny and childless.

Week 2 in the Penh

So week one was uneventful and week two is shaping up to be the same. Not that this is a bad thing. I have interviews everyday + meetings + yoga + eating good food. My days are packed.

On Monday I visited an orphanage for HIV positive children that one of my friends directs. It was a great experience and lots of fun. The kids just love any attention that comes their way. I had a nice day and it was nice to be loved on by strangers!

So not much else is going on, just a lot of talking and writing. I promise that if anything cool happens I will let everyone know!

Living in Cambodia

Ok I have been wayyyyy slack on the posts but the speed of the Internet leaves a lot to be desired. Not to mention that it is 98 outside and 101 in the Internet cafes. It drops down to a cool 81 each night but by that time I am clean and tired, going outside to the cafe to send e-mails has little appeal.

Everything is good in PP. Better than last time. I feel like a local now. I know my way around, I speak ok Khmer, I know where to eat, where to do laundry, where to send e-mails, even where to grocery shop. It is alllll goooood. I could live here...seriously. Once you get in the groove, it is like living anywhere else. Except here it is BITCH ass hot and dusty. Hmmm, kind of like DC in August.

I have learned a few tricks since being in PP and I would like to share them with the world.

1. Underwear not needed. Yep that is right. Stupid to wear it cause you will change it AT LEAST twice a day. Ladies it is a must to change it 2 times a day but if you don't wear it than there is nothing to change. It is too hot to wear it and it gives your butt a rash. Yes, even cotton underwear will do that.

2. Babies don''t wear diapers and it is not because people can't afford them. I was amazed last time I came how many Khmer children don't wear diapers. I just chalked it up to poverty. Nooooo not true. Now that I hang out with expats, I see that none of their children wear them either. It is SO FUCKING hot and humid that the diaper rash is rampant and painful. Solution: get wood floors or tile and remove the diaper. Babies don't have that much volume of waste and I am told it is much easier to clean up after a 1 year old than treat diaper rash all the time. Very jealous that I can't run around naked like that. Well I could but...So Cambodia is full of nude babies, brown and white, and it has nothing to do with poverty.

3. Best way to wash clothes is to wear them in the shower. That's right. I put my underwear on my head and lather my scalp at the same time (on the odd occasion I do where it) and I put my socks on my hands a scrub my body. I put my shirt and skirt under my feet and let the suds soak them. Then I SMASH them down like grapes. Saves water and a trip to the laundry lady. I am starting to think like an expat and I was appalled that the price of a basket of laundry went from $0.60 to $0.80. I am boycotting.

4. Magic word: CIPRO. Cures everything from anthrax to extreme diarrhea. I am more concerned about the latter. You don't need a prescription for anything is this country. Just walk up to the pharmacist and put in your order. Amazing they even have doctors anymore! There is nothing worse than being in a developing country and having the runs. Trust me on this. I will worry about my year long yeast infection when I get home. It is unavoidable...6 weeks of 1000 mg a day will surely do me in. Small price to pay for not having to sit on the toilet. Which leads me to...

5. Squatting toilets are really the best. I used to avoid them because they were just weird. Now I am sold. One word: Gravity! Since I don't have the runs it always helps to have a little gravity on your side. Did I mention that women in SE Asia don't suffer from incontinence the way Western women do?

More tips from Martha Stewart's Cambodia living next week!

Creation

A good friend of mine just lost his 13 year old dog to cancer. I remembered this poem that someone had given me at one time. Although, I do not believe in God nor the 7 days of Creation...it makes me want to. But I still don't:)

Creation
When God had made the earth and sky,
the flowers and the trees,
He then made all the animals
the fish, the birds and bees
And when at last He'd finished
not one was quite the same.
He said I'll walk this world of mine
and give each one a name.
And so He travelled far and wide
and everywhere He went,
a little creature followed Him
until its strength was spent.
When all were named upon the earth
and in the Sky and Sea,
the little creature said "Dear Lord,
there's no name left for me."
Kindly the Father said to him
"I've left you to the end.
I've turned my own name back to front
And called you DOG, my friend".

Author Unknown

Casey's First Birthday

Happy Birthday my big boy!














Video from Casey's Birthday! (there is sound!)

Birthday Success

I had an excellent birthday in Port Douglas! Here are a few snipets.

Mossoman Gorge

















Trampy person




















Sunset and dinner on the inlet


















Our pool
















No swimming outside the nets. The ocean is for viewing purposes only!



















View flying into Cairns