Last Thursday, I stumbled across a birthday party, quite by mistake. I went out to eat with some friends, and we realized the restaurant was quite crowded. After some time, they asked us to come inside to sing "Happy Birthday" with them. What do you do when asked such a thing? If your answer was anything less than enthusiastic, we need to talk about your sense of adventure.
So in we went. There were about forty of us, and almost everyone had sparklers. I never figured out whose birthday it was, mostly because at the end of the song the Khmer enjoy silly string. A lot. Sometimes in your face. Fun fact: you know when a can of silly string is almost dead and is half liquid, half sputtering bits? If that hits you square in the eye, it doesn't really hurt. Also, if you go to the store after, the security guard will remind you of the silly string you've left in your hair.
If I'd had my camera, I'd post pictures. These things never happen when you bring your camera. Or maybe they would, if I ever brought mine out. If I had, I'd also have bat picture. There were dozens in the intersection in front of that store. I'll go back this week and snap a few.
Aside from that, I'm just getting ready for the Buddhist New Year. Payday is tomorrow, and then I'll decide where I'll be running off to. Thailand for the water festival? Could be a plan. I'll keep you posted!
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Early rains
It's been raining a little here. By a little, I mean for short intervals, but sometimes with great intensity. For the first hard rain, two nights ago, I was finishing a homemade curry. Emily and Erica, my Canadian friends, went to a cooking class with me a few weeks back. It was lackluster, but then I discovered that I have at my disposal a pestle and mortar. So, armed with said class in our distant memories, we descended upon my kitchen. Mostly the girls, as I was almost an hour late. (I was on the other side of the Mekong from the truck that was taking me home. It happens.) It was a huge hit, and the roommates and other friends said it was good and that I made it too spicy. It was a really great night Sunday night.
Monday was the rain I mentioned. I was finishing of the curry, and ate it on the balcony in our hammock, watching the storm. It was a peaceful way to get ready for bed. Today, however, was a different story. The rain hit in the afternoon, fairly hard, as I was biking to work. Have you ever taught a class with wet socks? It leads to a short class.
Then, later tonight, we went out for Erica's birthday. The rain on the way there was light, but I was on the back of a motodup, with a driver who was not happy with me. But the hard rain fell during the dinner (fresh quail and quail eggs). I have a short video where you can hopefully see the wind and how rainy it was.
I'll try to get some more pictures up soon.
Also, I'll try to post more. I've started doing a quiz night (we took first my first week, and last this week). I met an "African Chief" on St. Patrick's Day, and drank a wonderful green mint-lime smoothie. I'm finishing my public speaking class, and starting a culture class (I'm not sure what qualifies me for either, but I've never let a lack of credentials stop me before). I'm sure I'm forgetting some wonderful stuff, but the point is that I'm having an absolute blast. In other words, I'm in the right place for me right now.
Monday was the rain I mentioned. I was finishing of the curry, and ate it on the balcony in our hammock, watching the storm. It was a peaceful way to get ready for bed. Today, however, was a different story. The rain hit in the afternoon, fairly hard, as I was biking to work. Have you ever taught a class with wet socks? It leads to a short class.
Then, later tonight, we went out for Erica's birthday. The rain on the way there was light, but I was on the back of a motodup, with a driver who was not happy with me. But the hard rain fell during the dinner (fresh quail and quail eggs). I have a short video where you can hopefully see the wind and how rainy it was.
I'll try to get some more pictures up soon.
Also, I'll try to post more. I've started doing a quiz night (we took first my first week, and last this week). I met an "African Chief" on St. Patrick's Day, and drank a wonderful green mint-lime smoothie. I'm finishing my public speaking class, and starting a culture class (I'm not sure what qualifies me for either, but I've never let a lack of credentials stop me before). I'm sure I'm forgetting some wonderful stuff, but the point is that I'm having an absolute blast. In other words, I'm in the right place for me right now.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Settled In
I've been teaching for two weeks now. It's a lot less exciting than it was two weeks ago, but I am glad to be working again. Also, the money will be nice. I'm teaching 15 hours now, including 6 on Tuesday and 6 on Thursday. I have a thirty minute break. It's quite a day, but it's the same class four times. I'll have the two new classes caught up in a week or two, and then it'll be the same lesson plan.
I've also been battling my computer quite a bit. A shop reinstalled Windows for me for $15, and saved all my files (yay for not losing my pictures!). A few days later a friend installed Linux for me. It was a bad plan, but I'm getting better at it. Don't worry, in a week or two I'll just throw the thing into the open sewer. I apologize in advance for what this will do to my contact with you. Anyway, knock on wood, it seems to be working more smoothly. I'll tell you if I ever get Skype running.
Life is becoming normal. I don't worry about dying on my bike constantly. I'm learning (slowly) who to buy from at the market for the best prices. I'm finding good restaurants, and I got that bank account I mentioned. I still don't speak Khmer, but I'm starting to pick up a few words in French. I've accepted that I'll speak better French than Khmer when I leave here. So maybe I'll move to Morocco. They speak French there, when they're not speaking Arabic. Party in Tangier, anyone? (It's that or Istanbul, I think.)
Speaking of Africa, I do want to mention how excited I am about what's going on in the Arab world right now. I'm a fan of reform, and I hope that the region is a better place when the dust settles.
Okay, I'm going to go experiment with the idea of left-over dumplings. Cross your fingers and hope they're not too soggy!
I've also been battling my computer quite a bit. A shop reinstalled Windows for me for $15, and saved all my files (yay for not losing my pictures!). A few days later a friend installed Linux for me. It was a bad plan, but I'm getting better at it. Don't worry, in a week or two I'll just throw the thing into the open sewer. I apologize in advance for what this will do to my contact with you. Anyway, knock on wood, it seems to be working more smoothly. I'll tell you if I ever get Skype running.
Life is becoming normal. I don't worry about dying on my bike constantly. I'm learning (slowly) who to buy from at the market for the best prices. I'm finding good restaurants, and I got that bank account I mentioned. I still don't speak Khmer, but I'm starting to pick up a few words in French. I've accepted that I'll speak better French than Khmer when I leave here. So maybe I'll move to Morocco. They speak French there, when they're not speaking Arabic. Party in Tangier, anyone? (It's that or Istanbul, I think.)
Speaking of Africa, I do want to mention how excited I am about what's going on in the Arab world right now. I'm a fan of reform, and I hope that the region is a better place when the dust settles.
Okay, I'm going to go experiment with the idea of left-over dumplings. Cross your fingers and hope they're not too soggy!
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Part-time Phnom Penh Professional
Yes, it's true! I have a job! It's six whole hours a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:30 to 8:30. We can call this part-time job #1, and the job hunt will continue (at an equally leisurely pace) until I have a full-time schedule (and yes, "full-time" is a relative term).
Aside from that, there's nothing much going on. I'm extending my visa today, which means I've almost been her a month. I'm also picking up my ID badge from the university (Pannasastra), and probably opening a bank account. It's giving me that wonderful feeling of residing here, getting settled. I've also been riding a bicycle around. So, in summation, the things that make me feel like I live here and I'm not still traveling: apartment, job, renewed visa, transportation, job, local phone number, friends. Also, the parking guy at Top Banana recognizes me. It's important to have a bar you go to too often, right?
Also, I've discovered hashing. http://www.p2h3.com/ It's basically jogging, with the added bonus of false trails and no shade. Also, after you're supposed to drink beer for various reasons. If you explain that you can't drink beer ("on medication"), they make you chug a strawberry Fanta. It's probably worse. The course was about 10 kilometers (6 miles), but when you factor in getting lost it's about 1-2 km longer. If you're not sleeping well, that should help. Also, you get to ride to the course (usually just outside of town) on the back of a flatbed truck with 20-30 other hashers, Cambodian style. I highly recommend it as part of the Cambodian experience.
Okay, I'm off to run errands, like an adult! Bye!
Aside from that, there's nothing much going on. I'm extending my visa today, which means I've almost been her a month. I'm also picking up my ID badge from the university (Pannasastra), and probably opening a bank account. It's giving me that wonderful feeling of residing here, getting settled. I've also been riding a bicycle around. So, in summation, the things that make me feel like I live here and I'm not still traveling: apartment, job, renewed visa, transportation, job, local phone number, friends. Also, the parking guy at Top Banana recognizes me. It's important to have a bar you go to too often, right?
Also, I've discovered hashing. http://www.p2h3.com/ It's basically jogging, with the added bonus of false trails and no shade. Also, after you're supposed to drink beer for various reasons. If you explain that you can't drink beer ("on medication"), they make you chug a strawberry Fanta. It's probably worse. The course was about 10 kilometers (6 miles), but when you factor in getting lost it's about 1-2 km longer. If you're not sleeping well, that should help. Also, you get to ride to the course (usually just outside of town) on the back of a flatbed truck with 20-30 other hashers, Cambodian style. I highly recommend it as part of the Cambodian experience.
Okay, I'm off to run errands, like an adult! Bye!
Saturday, February 19, 2011
I just had a peanut butter banana sandwich. Jealous? You should be.
So, I have an apartment now. It's three bedrooms, a dining room, a kitchen, 4 baths (although one has a washing machine in it), and a huge living room which has been divided into two bedrooms. Guess where I sleep? In the living room, in a king size bed, on the other side of the curtain from Ranie. She's French, as are Sophie and Mathilde. Christian has the third bedroom, and he's Haitian and speaks the best English of the four. They're studying here through a French university, and they each have an internship/job working with a local business. They also all speak some Khmer, which is nice. I'll be speaking French and Khmer in no time. Okay, probably not French. Even if I study French for the six months that I live here, their English will still be better. But with a little luck, I'll pick up something, because isn't it great to have an extra language bouncing around in your head?
So, as my roommates have been at school and work, I've been (slowly) searching for a job myself. I'm getting more serious. I own a necktie now. I promise I'll take some pics and put them up soon, because I wouldn't believe it either if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. I even remember how to tie it. I should have something concrete on that front in the next week. Hopefully not so soon.
This may beg the question of how long I'll be here in Phnom Penh. Good question. I've promised the roommates six months, barring an inexplicable inability to land a teaching job. Even then, I could probably find something with an NGO. That puts me here through July. After then, I have no idea. I may stay through the end of the year, and I may head west. How far west, you may ask? Man, you ask a lot of difficult questions. No further west than the Gambia, where I plan to spend some time with Casey around next January. So what's in between here and the Gam? Turkey, Morocco, southeastern Europe (Romania maybe?), and India, to name a few. And Egypt, if no one in Iran is hiring. (insert rim shot here.) In other words, don't worry about getting me a birthday present, because I can't tell you what country I'll be in, but it won't be the States. Plans after the trip to the Gambia? I was lectured at length this morning about how "plan" is a four-letter word.
Now that we know each other a little better, I should mention that I miss you. I really do. I'm not avoiding you because I don't like you. There are things that I am avoiding (e.g. everything involved in the popularity of Sarah Palin), but you're not one of them. But that's not my real motivation. And it's not about pure travel and passport stamps and photos of famous places. It's not about the fact that they pay crazy money here for English teachers (by local standards of course). I've been sitting here for half an hour trying to put my finger on it, and I can't. I just know that I have to spend some time abroad now. So we should skype!
Okay, it's dinner time. The food here is great, but I question the cleanliness sometimes. Mostly because I keep eating street food. I still haven't tried any insects, but like chicken feet, it's only a matter of time. And when I do, I'm sure I'll come bragging. With a little luck, I'll get to the point where it's something that I'm not even disgusted by anymore. Like congealed blood: I never order it, but when it came in the soup yesterday I enjoyed it. Times change, I guess.
So, I have an apartment now. It's three bedrooms, a dining room, a kitchen, 4 baths (although one has a washing machine in it), and a huge living room which has been divided into two bedrooms. Guess where I sleep? In the living room, in a king size bed, on the other side of the curtain from Ranie. She's French, as are Sophie and Mathilde. Christian has the third bedroom, and he's Haitian and speaks the best English of the four. They're studying here through a French university, and they each have an internship/job working with a local business. They also all speak some Khmer, which is nice. I'll be speaking French and Khmer in no time. Okay, probably not French. Even if I study French for the six months that I live here, their English will still be better. But with a little luck, I'll pick up something, because isn't it great to have an extra language bouncing around in your head?
So, as my roommates have been at school and work, I've been (slowly) searching for a job myself. I'm getting more serious. I own a necktie now. I promise I'll take some pics and put them up soon, because I wouldn't believe it either if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. I even remember how to tie it. I should have something concrete on that front in the next week. Hopefully not so soon.
This may beg the question of how long I'll be here in Phnom Penh. Good question. I've promised the roommates six months, barring an inexplicable inability to land a teaching job. Even then, I could probably find something with an NGO. That puts me here through July. After then, I have no idea. I may stay through the end of the year, and I may head west. How far west, you may ask? Man, you ask a lot of difficult questions. No further west than the Gambia, where I plan to spend some time with Casey around next January. So what's in between here and the Gam? Turkey, Morocco, southeastern Europe (Romania maybe?), and India, to name a few. And Egypt, if no one in Iran is hiring. (insert rim shot here.) In other words, don't worry about getting me a birthday present, because I can't tell you what country I'll be in, but it won't be the States. Plans after the trip to the Gambia? I was lectured at length this morning about how "plan" is a four-letter word.
Now that we know each other a little better, I should mention that I miss you. I really do. I'm not avoiding you because I don't like you. There are things that I am avoiding (e.g. everything involved in the popularity of Sarah Palin), but you're not one of them. But that's not my real motivation. And it's not about pure travel and passport stamps and photos of famous places. It's not about the fact that they pay crazy money here for English teachers (by local standards of course). I've been sitting here for half an hour trying to put my finger on it, and I can't. I just know that I have to spend some time abroad now. So we should skype!
Okay, it's dinner time. The food here is great, but I question the cleanliness sometimes. Mostly because I keep eating street food. I still haven't tried any insects, but like chicken feet, it's only a matter of time. And when I do, I'm sure I'll come bragging. With a little luck, I'll get to the point where it's something that I'm not even disgusted by anymore. Like congealed blood: I never order it, but when it came in the soup yesterday I enjoyed it. Times change, I guess.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Back to the grind
Okay, so I did some research, and there are no waves in Cambodia. Windsurfing was a possibility, but I opted for hiking around Rabbit Island instead. It was a good call, except for the mild blister and sunburn. That being said, if you're going to be mildly uncomfortable like that, you should do so in a thatched hut on the beach. Pictures sooner or later.
Kep Beach wasn't bad either. The weather was perfect. You should try it sometime.
So now I'm back in Phnom Penh looking for work and lodging. Finding an apartment is easier, I think, mostly because I don't need a tie for it. Why does the real world require closed toed shoes? Also, business cards are a bad idea. I had 50 of the ugliest, least professional business cards printed up yesterday. Hopefully it'll be enough to land the first job. We'll see. Everyone says it's pretty easy to find teaching jobs here.
Cambodia's quickly becoming one of my favorite places in the world. Transportation is easy if you don't mind hoping on the back of someone's moto for a dollar. I am considering buying a helmet for this, even though I don't have a bike or moto of my own. I paid a dollar for ginger chicken at a street vendor last night. The people are friendly, and the weather is perfect (for now at least). We'll see how I feel in a few weeks, right?
I'll leave you with this picture of Rabbit Island, as a promise of more to come.
Kep Beach wasn't bad either. The weather was perfect. You should try it sometime.
So now I'm back in Phnom Penh looking for work and lodging. Finding an apartment is easier, I think, mostly because I don't need a tie for it. Why does the real world require closed toed shoes? Also, business cards are a bad idea. I had 50 of the ugliest, least professional business cards printed up yesterday. Hopefully it'll be enough to land the first job. We'll see. Everyone says it's pretty easy to find teaching jobs here.
Cambodia's quickly becoming one of my favorite places in the world. Transportation is easy if you don't mind hoping on the back of someone's moto for a dollar. I am considering buying a helmet for this, even though I don't have a bike or moto of my own. I paid a dollar for ginger chicken at a street vendor last night. The people are friendly, and the weather is perfect (for now at least). We'll see how I feel in a few weeks, right?
I'll leave you with this picture of Rabbit Island, as a promise of more to come.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
The Bod
I've decided to call Cambodia "The Bod" from now on.
I'm writing this from a hostel in Phnom Penh. How did I get here, you may ask? I've been asking myself the same thing.
I finally quit the job in Nanjing. This was really no surprise to anyone, from what I can tell. I won't go into the gory details, but it was time to move on. So I packed up and started moving by backpacking through China. I guess it's not really backpacking if you've got a huge duffel bag full of things you wouldn't really travel with, but whatever. Morgan and Greg are the coolest people ever, and they put up with my (literal) baggage.
The first stop was Shanghai. We thought that going south would lead to warmer climates. While this was technically true, there was still snow on the ground when we arrived. This was a pain, because it had snowed on us in Nanjing for three days. However, our friends Jay and Lindsey were amazing hosts. Also, Jay may have the coolest parents in China. It was nothing less than an epic party.
After Shanghai, we went to Xiamen, which is on the southeast coast. It was less cold, but still demanded a jacket. We stayed in a Hakka Tulou, which was the best sleep I'd had in decades. Wikitravel can tell you the details. http://wikitravel.org/en/Yongding_County After the night in the Tulou, we returned to the Xiamen hostel, with the most useless staff ever. They didn't actually know where the rooms were, which is a pain when you're carrying a stupid 40 lb duffel back. Other highlights included Nanputuo Temple, with some great hiking on the mountain behind it, and Gulangyu Island, where there were no cars (but a single garbage truck). Also on the island was Gary, a huge and adorable golden lab who lived at our hostel.
Finally, we found the airport ("Which airport?" asked the receptionist, despite the fact that there's only one in town) and flew to Hanoi. We arrived after 11, and didn't clear customs until past midnight. The streets were almost deserted, but the most helpful hostel staff ever were waiting up for us. We slept in proper beds, and when we awoke the city had transformed. It looked roughly the same, but there was an endless supply of motorcycles, scooters, mopeds, and bikes (with the occasional car) filling the streets and spilling over to the sidewalks. To cross the street, one must slowly and conspicuously walk into traffic. Said traffic then will see you and pick a side, flying past inches in front or behind you as they see fit. This is also how they drive through an intersection. You'd be amazed at how quickly you adjust to the constant threat of a horrible death by moto.
We spend two nights in Hanoi, meeting the infamous Jeff. Then there was a trade-off, and Morgan and Greg chose to go to Ha Long Bay with Jeff instead of booking it south with me. I don't blame them. Jeff has less (literal) baggage. So, traveling by myself, I flew to Ho Chi Minh City, then caught the bus the next morning to Phnom Penh. This is my first morning here, and I can see myself settling down here for a few months. The traffic isn't as crazy, everything is cheap, and the currency is familiar- dollars are accepted everywhere, and the conversion to riel isn't bad. I'll look around more today and update soon. Almost nothing is blocked on the interwebs here.
A quick update on the food situation: bar-b-qued squid is quite good, but I will never understand why anyone would voluntarily eat chicken feet. There is no meat, and I don't want to chew up whatever that hard part in the middle is (cartilage?) Congealed blood is still an acceptable dish, and just because the waiter in Xiamen said "niu rou" (Chinese for "beef") doesn't necessarily mean it's beef (maybe it was frog? too small to be chicken).
Okay, I have errands to run. I need a phone, an apartment, and a job. In that order. I'm most worried about the apartment. Phones and jobs seem easy to come by here, or at least that's what I've been told. Teaser for next blog: how long will it be before I find a proper beach? It's finally warm enough, and I have a multi-entry visa for 'Nam. But will the fates take me to a beach in Cambodia first? With a little luck, both may happen. What's the Khmer word for "surf lessons"?
I'm writing this from a hostel in Phnom Penh. How did I get here, you may ask? I've been asking myself the same thing.
I finally quit the job in Nanjing. This was really no surprise to anyone, from what I can tell. I won't go into the gory details, but it was time to move on. So I packed up and started moving by backpacking through China. I guess it's not really backpacking if you've got a huge duffel bag full of things you wouldn't really travel with, but whatever. Morgan and Greg are the coolest people ever, and they put up with my (literal) baggage.
The first stop was Shanghai. We thought that going south would lead to warmer climates. While this was technically true, there was still snow on the ground when we arrived. This was a pain, because it had snowed on us in Nanjing for three days. However, our friends Jay and Lindsey were amazing hosts. Also, Jay may have the coolest parents in China. It was nothing less than an epic party.
After Shanghai, we went to Xiamen, which is on the southeast coast. It was less cold, but still demanded a jacket. We stayed in a Hakka Tulou, which was the best sleep I'd had in decades. Wikitravel can tell you the details. http://wikitravel.org/en/Yongding_County After the night in the Tulou, we returned to the Xiamen hostel, with the most useless staff ever. They didn't actually know where the rooms were, which is a pain when you're carrying a stupid 40 lb duffel back. Other highlights included Nanputuo Temple, with some great hiking on the mountain behind it, and Gulangyu Island, where there were no cars (but a single garbage truck). Also on the island was Gary, a huge and adorable golden lab who lived at our hostel.
Finally, we found the airport ("Which airport?" asked the receptionist, despite the fact that there's only one in town) and flew to Hanoi. We arrived after 11, and didn't clear customs until past midnight. The streets were almost deserted, but the most helpful hostel staff ever were waiting up for us. We slept in proper beds, and when we awoke the city had transformed. It looked roughly the same, but there was an endless supply of motorcycles, scooters, mopeds, and bikes (with the occasional car) filling the streets and spilling over to the sidewalks. To cross the street, one must slowly and conspicuously walk into traffic. Said traffic then will see you and pick a side, flying past inches in front or behind you as they see fit. This is also how they drive through an intersection. You'd be amazed at how quickly you adjust to the constant threat of a horrible death by moto.
We spend two nights in Hanoi, meeting the infamous Jeff. Then there was a trade-off, and Morgan and Greg chose to go to Ha Long Bay with Jeff instead of booking it south with me. I don't blame them. Jeff has less (literal) baggage. So, traveling by myself, I flew to Ho Chi Minh City, then caught the bus the next morning to Phnom Penh. This is my first morning here, and I can see myself settling down here for a few months. The traffic isn't as crazy, everything is cheap, and the currency is familiar- dollars are accepted everywhere, and the conversion to riel isn't bad. I'll look around more today and update soon. Almost nothing is blocked on the interwebs here.
A quick update on the food situation: bar-b-qued squid is quite good, but I will never understand why anyone would voluntarily eat chicken feet. There is no meat, and I don't want to chew up whatever that hard part in the middle is (cartilage?) Congealed blood is still an acceptable dish, and just because the waiter in Xiamen said "niu rou" (Chinese for "beef") doesn't necessarily mean it's beef (maybe it was frog? too small to be chicken).
Okay, I have errands to run. I need a phone, an apartment, and a job. In that order. I'm most worried about the apartment. Phones and jobs seem easy to come by here, or at least that's what I've been told. Teaser for next blog: how long will it be before I find a proper beach? It's finally warm enough, and I have a multi-entry visa for 'Nam. But will the fates take me to a beach in Cambodia first? With a little luck, both may happen. What's the Khmer word for "surf lessons"?
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)