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