I think I left off from Koh Pahngam. It was really tough leaving the island because it was honestly like a tropical paradise. On Monday, Elena and I (the British girl I travelled with) took a ferry and bus to Phuket, the second biggest city in Thailand. Things were much much different in Phuket as it catered to more tourists. We immediatly met up with two guys with Bracelona and travelled to our guesthouse in Patong beach. Patong is the most populated beach in the area, loaded with tourists from everywhere. Ironically enough, our hostel is located in the Israeli sector, so it was pretty cool seeing Hebrew everywhere (which I fortunatly still understand).
Patong is loaded with busy streets, crazy bars, and discoteques. We had dinner at one of the many street side cafes where I got a full meal for about $2. We later ventuered around and ended up chilling at a few local bars off of the beaten path. Little did we know that were only about 2 blocks away from all of the action. When I first got to Southeast Asia, I thought that Cambodia had a real serious prositution issue. Then I came to Thailand. In Cambodia, prostitutes are inconspicuously shaded behind dilapidated massage parlors. In Thailand, and especially Puket, they are in your face everywhere. After hanging out at the beach all day Tuesday, we went to the infamous Soi Chang for some late night fun. This street is closed off at night because of the volumes of people walking through. There are clubs and bars filling every possible space on the street, loaded with tourists, hookers, more ladyboys (joy), and unfortunately sex tourists. Sex tourism is huge in Thailand, and it really is disturbing to see older Western men hanging aorund younger Thai women. Regardless, myself, Chavy, and Andres (Elena stayed in) partook in the late night festivities bar hopping and fighting off touchy ladyboys. Interstingly, hookers are amazing at connect four (yes, the game). They are specially trained to embaress cocky Westerners, so much so that they would even give Rainman a run for his money. Between the three of us, we probably lost 20 games in a row.
Elena and I caught an early flight (so early that I didn't even sleep that night) to Bangkok, and we parted ways. She is heading towards Malaysia then India, and I continued back to Cambodia. After a one night stay in Phnom Penh, I took an early 6-hour bus ride to Siem Reap to visit the Angkor temples. Susan unfortunatly was not able to make the trip because of work. I just got in and will tour everything tomorrow. For now I plan on resting because all of this travelling is exhausting.
Anyway, thats all for now. I will be coming home in about 10 days which I have mixed feelings about. I don't want to leave here, but at the same time I can't wait to see family and friends. Sprots wise Atlanta teams are playing well. I can't believe how red hot the Braves are and the Falcons look great.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Thailand
So I wrote an entire entry yesterday, but the power shut off and I lost it. Anyway, I am reporting from Koh Phangam, a small island off the southern coast. I flew into Bangkok on Monday. I instantly realized that Thailand is much much different from Cambodia. Bangkok is an enormous super metropolis with skyscapers everywhere, hoards of people, and lots and lots of hookers. I stayed a a guest house on Soi 1, a couple of blocks away from Sukhumvit Rd. Sukhumvit is one of the major streets in the city with hotels, Mcdonalds, and thousands of prositutes inundating the sidewalk. I have never seen anything like it before. On my first day in town, I met a girl from London and she and I did the typical toursity things. We took every type of transportation imaginable (taxi, boat, metro, walking) and visited some major temples, China town , the Indian sector, the Western sector, and the unbelievable shopping mall with about 7 stories and a neverending food court.
Nightlife in Bangkok is outrageous. 10 of us went out early to see an x-rated show (in fact, so x-rated that I can't even write about it). At about 2:00 am, we went to a local club. The ladyboy culture here is scary, because half of the "women" in the club were in fact men. It is also a huge brain tease because many of these lady men are hot. Once again, I stayed clear of any suspicious looking characters, but it was still fun trying to decipher who in fact was a man or a woman.
I soon realized that I had not planned my vacation for long enough. I decided to extend my stay for an extra 4 days to beach bounce along the southern coast. I am travelling with the beforementioned British girl and we started our trip with an overnight train and ferry to Koh Phangam (where I am now). This island is like a paradise. We got a really inexpensive bungalow right on the beach, the food is really cheap, and it is nice to stay clear of the hustle and bustle of Bangkok. Last night we went to an infamous Black Moon party of the beach, which is essentially an all night techno rave. I don't think I went to bed until 6:30 or 7 am. Tomorrow we leave for a beach called Phuket, then back to Cambodia on Wednesday.
It is hard to believe that I am coming home in 2 weeks, but it is even harder to believe that the Braves are still in the playoff picture. Anyway, thats all I got, so i'm off to the beach.
Nightlife in Bangkok is outrageous. 10 of us went out early to see an x-rated show (in fact, so x-rated that I can't even write about it). At about 2:00 am, we went to a local club. The ladyboy culture here is scary, because half of the "women" in the club were in fact men. It is also a huge brain tease because many of these lady men are hot. Once again, I stayed clear of any suspicious looking characters, but it was still fun trying to decipher who in fact was a man or a woman.
I soon realized that I had not planned my vacation for long enough. I decided to extend my stay for an extra 4 days to beach bounce along the southern coast. I am travelling with the beforementioned British girl and we started our trip with an overnight train and ferry to Koh Phangam (where I am now). This island is like a paradise. We got a really inexpensive bungalow right on the beach, the food is really cheap, and it is nice to stay clear of the hustle and bustle of Bangkok. Last night we went to an infamous Black Moon party of the beach, which is essentially an all night techno rave. I don't think I went to bed until 6:30 or 7 am. Tomorrow we leave for a beach called Phuket, then back to Cambodia on Wednesday.
It is hard to believe that I am coming home in 2 weeks, but it is even harder to believe that the Braves are still in the playoff picture. Anyway, thats all I got, so i'm off to the beach.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
My Last Stay at Wat Opot
Sorry for such a delay with blog entries. I never had a chance to make a post after my birthday (slash I was too hungover to do so, but pretend like you didn't read that). Anyway, my birthday was pretty amazing. Susan organized a small dinner for me with about 5 or 6 people that I have met throughout my stay. We ate at a nice Middle Eastern restaraunt which was great. After dinner, about 10 people from the guesthouse and myself went out to some of the local bars and clubs. At about 3 am, we capped the night off at a notorious club called Heart of Darkness. This place is known for its eccentric crowd consisting of westerners, locals, gang members, trannies, and gays. I immediatly made it clear that I refused to talk to any "girl"who approached me who was taller than me, or who even remotely resembled a man. Regardless of the ambiguously gendred people, we still had a blast.
I also caved in and got my much needed Cambodian haircut. I was putting this off for so long, but it was inevitable. I went to a local place that was surrounded by 5 or 6 female employees. After first assuming I was walking into a brothel, I was pleased to find out the the "saloon"was in fact a real barbershop. The man who eventually cut my hair, which by the way was only $3, took the time to meticulously cut each of my individual hairs (or so it seemed). After the 45 minute haircut, my hair looked perfectly normal. For another $2, one of the female workers gave me a 20 minute shampoo, which was essentially a 20 minute head message.
My last week at Wot Opot was probably my best stay. There was a slew of Japanese volunteers who came through, and they were pretty cool to work with. One night, a bunch of the girls were shrieking because an enourmous blue gecko had invaded their room. It took 3 of us to finally force the monster into a hole and seal it with duct tape. What goes around must come back around, because the following evening I woke up to the sounds of the very same gecko resting only 2 feet above my head.
It was pretty difficut saying goodbye to everyone in the community. The head monk who I had been working with, Poohr (sp?), inproved considreably with his English proficiency. Wanye approached me on the last day to tell me that the once very shy Poohr was openly speaking to Wayne in English, something he had never done before. It is very nice to see that my efforts have benefitted some. There is a small coffee shop along the edge of the community that some of us would frequently hang out at. Many of us have a running joke that I am in love with the woman who runs the stand. She is a 40 year old widow who does not speak a single word of English. On my last day in the village I gave her a passport photo of myself and told her to never forget my face. She happily put my picture on her wall.
Now that I am back in Phnom Penh, I am leaving for Tailand tomorrow. I met a couple of guys during my last stay here, and I plan on travelling with them while there. I have no idea where we are going or what we will be doing, but that is have the fun of travelling. I will be back in Phnom Penh with about 2 weeks before my final departure, yet I have no idea what I will be doing (except for a 4 day visit to Siem Reap). I might volunteer with a local organization here, or I might even go back to Wat Opot for a few days. Who knows.
Anyway, thats all for now and I will make another post whenever.
I also caved in and got my much needed Cambodian haircut. I was putting this off for so long, but it was inevitable. I went to a local place that was surrounded by 5 or 6 female employees. After first assuming I was walking into a brothel, I was pleased to find out the the "saloon"was in fact a real barbershop. The man who eventually cut my hair, which by the way was only $3, took the time to meticulously cut each of my individual hairs (or so it seemed). After the 45 minute haircut, my hair looked perfectly normal. For another $2, one of the female workers gave me a 20 minute shampoo, which was essentially a 20 minute head message.
My last week at Wot Opot was probably my best stay. There was a slew of Japanese volunteers who came through, and they were pretty cool to work with. One night, a bunch of the girls were shrieking because an enourmous blue gecko had invaded their room. It took 3 of us to finally force the monster into a hole and seal it with duct tape. What goes around must come back around, because the following evening I woke up to the sounds of the very same gecko resting only 2 feet above my head.
It was pretty difficut saying goodbye to everyone in the community. The head monk who I had been working with, Poohr (sp?), inproved considreably with his English proficiency. Wanye approached me on the last day to tell me that the once very shy Poohr was openly speaking to Wayne in English, something he had never done before. It is very nice to see that my efforts have benefitted some. There is a small coffee shop along the edge of the community that some of us would frequently hang out at. Many of us have a running joke that I am in love with the woman who runs the stand. She is a 40 year old widow who does not speak a single word of English. On my last day in the village I gave her a passport photo of myself and told her to never forget my face. She happily put my picture on her wall.
Now that I am back in Phnom Penh, I am leaving for Tailand tomorrow. I met a couple of guys during my last stay here, and I plan on travelling with them while there. I have no idea where we are going or what we will be doing, but that is have the fun of travelling. I will be back in Phnom Penh with about 2 weeks before my final departure, yet I have no idea what I will be doing (except for a 4 day visit to Siem Reap). I might volunteer with a local organization here, or I might even go back to Wat Opot for a few days. Who knows.
Anyway, thats all for now and I will make another post whenever.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Back in the City Again
So I am once again in Phnom Penh. Life at Wat Opot has been pretty standard. Like always, I continue to teach and spend time with the kids. Volunteers have come and gone throughout my stay, which has been really nice. There have been groups from Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, the US, and Germany, just to name a few. The past week an Australian man named Steve stopped by for a few days. He has been visiting Wat Opot for several years now, currently lives in Vietnam with his girlfriend. Steve is very friendly and gets along with everyone. Steve, Wayne, and myself enjoyed staying up late, sipping on Johnny Walker, and listening to music. If I plan on travelling to Vietnam before I leave, it is nice to know that I have a friend to visit.
By now, almost everyone has gotten used to me. It is fun to joke around with people, because you know that all the while they are talking about you without you understanding what they are saying. It situations like these, I simply nod my head and smile. Ignorance truly is bliss. The older kids enjoy watching WWF Smackdown on tv. They know that I wrestled in high school, so they always try messing around with me. They have big mouths, but when it comes time to "smackdown", they scream like little girls.
The weather has been pretty gross over the past couple of days. On Tuesday, it honestly rained for 8 hours straight. An interesting phenomenon takes place during heavy rainfalls. There are about 8 small ponds throughout the community, holding enormous walking catfish. During heavy rains, the fish liteally walk, using their extraodinarily strong fins, towards ponds with deeeper water levels. It is very bizarre to see these huge fish flopping around on land, knowing that they will eventually reach water. I will try to get some pictures next time it rains.
So yesterday I once again took a van to Phnom Penh. Everything was the same as the first trip, except this time the chickens in the back seat were death and defeathered. Susan and I had originally planned on going to Siem Reap this weekend, but she got tied up at work. I will now take this oppurtunity to celebrate my birthday in Phnom Penh, and we will go to Siem Reap within the next few weeks. As opposed to staying in an air conditioned hotel, this time around I decided to stay at a backingpacking guest house. This place is awesome. For 6 dollars a night, I get a room with a fan. There is also a full restraunt and bar here too. The people staying here are great. Almost everyone is a Westerner, and everyone wants to hang out. There is an enormous congregation area on the top level of the hostel where everyone hangs out. There are a few Americans staying here too, which is nice because I havent seen many of my native people since I have ben here.
Susan organized a nice dinner for my birthday tomorrow night (September 4th, for those of you who were wondering), then I will probably go out with a bunch of people in the hostel. I'm pretty stoked about everything. I plan on going back to the village on Sunday, but until then im just going to relax. It is nice to see that the Braves are still hanging around the playoff picture, and thank god college football starts this weekend. UGA plays Oklahoma state, which should be intersting. It looks like Georgia is going to start the season with a loosing record. Anyway, thats all for now, but I will try to get another post up before the weekend is over.
By now, almost everyone has gotten used to me. It is fun to joke around with people, because you know that all the while they are talking about you without you understanding what they are saying. It situations like these, I simply nod my head and smile. Ignorance truly is bliss. The older kids enjoy watching WWF Smackdown on tv. They know that I wrestled in high school, so they always try messing around with me. They have big mouths, but when it comes time to "smackdown", they scream like little girls.
The weather has been pretty gross over the past couple of days. On Tuesday, it honestly rained for 8 hours straight. An interesting phenomenon takes place during heavy rainfalls. There are about 8 small ponds throughout the community, holding enormous walking catfish. During heavy rains, the fish liteally walk, using their extraodinarily strong fins, towards ponds with deeeper water levels. It is very bizarre to see these huge fish flopping around on land, knowing that they will eventually reach water. I will try to get some pictures next time it rains.
So yesterday I once again took a van to Phnom Penh. Everything was the same as the first trip, except this time the chickens in the back seat were death and defeathered. Susan and I had originally planned on going to Siem Reap this weekend, but she got tied up at work. I will now take this oppurtunity to celebrate my birthday in Phnom Penh, and we will go to Siem Reap within the next few weeks. As opposed to staying in an air conditioned hotel, this time around I decided to stay at a backingpacking guest house. This place is awesome. For 6 dollars a night, I get a room with a fan. There is also a full restraunt and bar here too. The people staying here are great. Almost everyone is a Westerner, and everyone wants to hang out. There is an enormous congregation area on the top level of the hostel where everyone hangs out. There are a few Americans staying here too, which is nice because I havent seen many of my native people since I have ben here.
Susan organized a nice dinner for my birthday tomorrow night (September 4th, for those of you who were wondering), then I will probably go out with a bunch of people in the hostel. I'm pretty stoked about everything. I plan on going back to the village on Sunday, but until then im just going to relax. It is nice to see that the Braves are still hanging around the playoff picture, and thank god college football starts this weekend. UGA plays Oklahoma state, which should be intersting. It looks like Georgia is going to start the season with a loosing record. Anyway, thats all for now, but I will try to get another post up before the weekend is over.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Weekly Update
So I finally got access to the internet, so I figured I would go ahead a crunch out a quick entry. Life here is the same as usual. I am still teaching a good bit of English, hanging out with all of the kids here, and I went out with home care last week as they made rounds throughout the community. In addition to checking up on ill patients, I managed to see a 150 pound pig mounting another pig, 3 little girls peeing along the side of the road, and the village cross dresser. I continue to say that nothing in Cambodia surprises me anymore. The food here is still really good, and it is nice because I have seen a lot of meat options recently. In fact, we had an interesting meal the day I returned. Earlier that morning, one of the communal goats got a bucket stuck on its head, fell in a nearby pond, and drowned. Humorous as it sounds,I bet you can guess what we had for dinner that night...(and lunch the next day).
I have never really gotten to talk about the wildlife here (aside from the kids, of course). On a typical day, I come across several goats, cows, chickens, squirrels, and lots and lots of insects. Bugs have recently been going to town on my left leg, and I have the battle scars to prove it. Unlike my bug bites in the US, my bites here are pretty gnarly. They get really swollen the pus for days. I am constantly having to medicate the bites while avoiding additional ones. I have also seen several enormous geckos (probably a foot and a half long), frogs, and of course the massive catfish we fish out in the nearby ponds.
The weather here is still paralyzingly hot, but at this point I have gotten used to it. My Khmer has gotten a lot better too, even much so that I often surprise myself with my conversational skills. This being said, everyone still laughs when I open my mouth.
On a final note, one of the women in the gave birth to a baby boy last night. At about 1 am, kids came screaming, waking Wayne and myself up, letting us know that the baby was on the way. The pregnant woman hopped on board a moto, travelled 45 minutes to the Tako provioncial hospital, and gave birth shortly after. Interestligly, both the mother and father are HIV positive. Without approrpiate medication, a baby has a 1/3 chance of being HIV positive to an infected mother. However, if given ARVs within 24 hours of birth, the baby should be safe. Im assuming that the baby boy was born negative, but I don't know for sure. Also, the last woman to give birth here did so in the back of a car on the way to the hospital...a monk was driving.
Thats all for now, and I probably won't post again for another week or so when in Phnom Pehn
I have never really gotten to talk about the wildlife here (aside from the kids, of course). On a typical day, I come across several goats, cows, chickens, squirrels, and lots and lots of insects. Bugs have recently been going to town on my left leg, and I have the battle scars to prove it. Unlike my bug bites in the US, my bites here are pretty gnarly. They get really swollen the pus for days. I am constantly having to medicate the bites while avoiding additional ones. I have also seen several enormous geckos (probably a foot and a half long), frogs, and of course the massive catfish we fish out in the nearby ponds.
The weather here is still paralyzingly hot, but at this point I have gotten used to it. My Khmer has gotten a lot better too, even much so that I often surprise myself with my conversational skills. This being said, everyone still laughs when I open my mouth.
On a final note, one of the women in the gave birth to a baby boy last night. At about 1 am, kids came screaming, waking Wayne and myself up, letting us know that the baby was on the way. The pregnant woman hopped on board a moto, travelled 45 minutes to the Tako provioncial hospital, and gave birth shortly after. Interestligly, both the mother and father are HIV positive. Without approrpiate medication, a baby has a 1/3 chance of being HIV positive to an infected mother. However, if given ARVs within 24 hours of birth, the baby should be safe. Im assuming that the baby boy was born negative, but I don't know for sure. Also, the last woman to give birth here did so in the back of a car on the way to the hospital...a monk was driving.
Thats all for now, and I probably won't post again for another week or so when in Phnom Pehn
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Heading Back to the Village
I have about an hour to kill before I head back, so I figured I would go ahead and post a quick blog entry. I have basically spent the last couple of days relaxing, eating, and walking around town. I am going to catch a tuk tuk back to Wat Opot and stay there for about 2 weeks. From there, I am coming back to Phnom Penh, only to leave again heading north towards Siep Reap to visit the ancient Anghor Temples. While I was here, I managed to renew my visa for an additional month, and I went ahead a planned a 6-day trip to Bangkok for mid September. When I tried to book on my own through Orbitz, the cheapest flight available was around $350. Susan then suggested that I try booking through a travel agent here in town. Fortunately, they managed to find me a flight for only $90. Because I was able to save so much money on the flight to Tailand, I am thinking about planning another, shorter, trip Vietnam towards the end of my stay. I can take a 6 hour bus ride to Ho Chi Minh City for only $12 each way.
There are a few cultural things that I want to touch on. The teenage boys in Wat Opot, like the teenagers in Phnom Penh, still style their hair rediculously. The music that they listen to is bizarre as well. In addition to the traditional Khmer music heard everywhere, I have heard a lot of random 80s music and lots and lots of Michael Bolton. Most of all, kids enjoy listening to hip hop. However, Cambodian hip hop is simply taking an American song from 3 years ago and rewriting it with Khmer lyrics. Artists can afford to do this because copyright laws here are essentially obsolete.
Anyway, thats all for now, but I will try to make a post while in the village...no promises though.
There are a few cultural things that I want to touch on. The teenage boys in Wat Opot, like the teenagers in Phnom Penh, still style their hair rediculously. The music that they listen to is bizarre as well. In addition to the traditional Khmer music heard everywhere, I have heard a lot of random 80s music and lots and lots of Michael Bolton. Most of all, kids enjoy listening to hip hop. However, Cambodian hip hop is simply taking an American song from 3 years ago and rewriting it with Khmer lyrics. Artists can afford to do this because copyright laws here are essentially obsolete.
Anyway, thats all for now, but I will try to make a post while in the village...no promises though.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
I finally have internet access
So I finally have access to the internet after being internet free for over a week. I can't begin to explain the hassle with trying to get connected to the internet at Wat Opot. I gave up on getting connected a few days ago. After spending a about two weeks in the village, I decided to take a two day vacation back to Phnom Penh. Getting back to the city was easier than I thought. In traditional Cambodian fashion, I decided to take a fully occupied van to the hotel. While the fare was a meager 6000 riel ($1.50), there were 14 other passengers in the crowded vehicle, non of whom spoke a single word of English, and a half dozen live chickens resting in the rear. Mom and Dad don't worry, I obviously made it back in one piece. Once I got here, I did what any normal American guy would who had been living in a village for a couple of weeks...I gorged at the local fast food chain, Lucky Burger. While the food at Wat Opot is delicious, most meals lack meat, bread, cheese, and most importantly, chocolate. At the burger joint, I ordered a double Lucky Burger, large fries, large coke, large oreo ice cream cone, and then I went to the supermarket and bought a giant chocolate candy bar. I am currently drinking an iced chocolate drink as I type this blog entry (lunch was only an hour ago).
Life at Wat Opot has been unbelivable. I continue to tutor a few monks for an hour everyday (along with a couple of other local villagers). I can see improvements everyday, which is pretty cool. The temple in the town is beautiful. Every Saturday night, Wat Opot hosts a 45 minute Buddhist ceremnoy, which is one of the coolest ceremonies I have ever witnessed. All of the kids are in attendance and their chanting is amazing. It is hard to imagine 60 or so kids sitting still for over 30 minutes, but their patience is unreal. Embedded within the service is a 15 minute meditation period, and once again you don't hear a single peep from any of the kids. Meditation is a huge deal here, and Buddhists use it as a way of cleanising the mind. Srey Aun, the 25 year old volunteer I work with, told me about a 10 day meditation session she did where you don't say a single word the entire time. You honestly sit and meditate all day every day...I will not be taking part. Refardless, the Buddhist culture is so fascnating to me.
There are some really unique kids that I work with. All of the kids at Wat Opot have a story pertainting to HIV. Many kids are HIV positive themselves, while others are orphaned after their parents deceased from the virus. One of the kids here, Pesei, is now 18 years old and is a damn good artist. He grew up in a wealthy family until his father went away on business, slept with an HIV positive prostitute, and contracted it himself. He then gave the virus to his wife and passed a few months later. Unable to support her daughter and son, Pesei's mother sent him to the streets begging for money. Barely living on nothing, Pesei, his mother, and his sister, Srey Lak, moved to Wat Opot. His mother passed a couple of years ago, and Pesei's artwork reflects the relationhship he had with her. Another kid that I have been tutoring in English and computers, Chanadara, is an aspiring singer. Last week, he took me to an older woman's home so he can show me his singing skills. In her home was an old fashioned karaoke machine, microphone and all. I heard him sing about 8 songs at 200 riel a piece (a few cents). When riding him I joked that we were two celebrities, him for being a singer and me for being White. I think that I enjoy spending the most time with the little kids. There are a group of about 6 little girls who enjoy jumping all over me and have me spin them around in circles. They tire me out and are the reason why I sleep so well at night.
So for the most part, I have been teaching English and computer skills. I didn't venture out with the home care team last week. Their work has changed drastically over the last couple of years because fewer and fewer people are getting sick with the availability of ARVs. I started playing volleyball with some of the older kids, but it is just too hot outside. This past week was particularly unbearable. It was between 95-100 degrees for about 5 straight days....and no AC. It is imposisble to get anything done between the hours of 11-2 betweens it is simply too hot. I use that time to read. Miraculously, I am in the middle of reading my 7th book in two weeks. Sleeping has been pretty difficult too, but I have gotten used to it. Also, the water pump hasn't been functioning over the past few days, so I just took my first real shower in about 5 days 20 minutes ago (best shower ever).
Volunteers have come and gone since I have been here. Fiona and Merica, the two New Zealand ladies, left on Friday. It was nice having them around, and we even visited a nearby Wat on Mt. Chisor together. Every evening, we spend time at the local "coffee shop," where coffee is a quarter, and you can get a plate of fried potatoes and bananas with sugar for only 12 cents. It is a treat when some of the volunteers bring some novelty foods, such as bread or instant mocha latte. Regardless, the normal food is still delcious. I have eaten more rice the past 2 weeks than I have the previous 22 (almost 23...wink wink) years of my life.
Anyway, im going to be in the city until Wednesday, so I will try to report with anything that I forgot tomorrow. It is also interesting because I havent kept up with the news over the past two weeks. Apparently there is a huge monsoon in Taiwan, Hussein Bolt broke the 100 meter dash record, Mike Vick is on the Eagles (wow), and Tiger just lost a a major championship after leading going into the final day. Crazy. Also, I feel like a moron because I left my camera in the village so I can't post pics yet. Sorry Shane.
Life at Wat Opot has been unbelivable. I continue to tutor a few monks for an hour everyday (along with a couple of other local villagers). I can see improvements everyday, which is pretty cool. The temple in the town is beautiful. Every Saturday night, Wat Opot hosts a 45 minute Buddhist ceremnoy, which is one of the coolest ceremonies I have ever witnessed. All of the kids are in attendance and their chanting is amazing. It is hard to imagine 60 or so kids sitting still for over 30 minutes, but their patience is unreal. Embedded within the service is a 15 minute meditation period, and once again you don't hear a single peep from any of the kids. Meditation is a huge deal here, and Buddhists use it as a way of cleanising the mind. Srey Aun, the 25 year old volunteer I work with, told me about a 10 day meditation session she did where you don't say a single word the entire time. You honestly sit and meditate all day every day...I will not be taking part. Refardless, the Buddhist culture is so fascnating to me.
There are some really unique kids that I work with. All of the kids at Wat Opot have a story pertainting to HIV. Many kids are HIV positive themselves, while others are orphaned after their parents deceased from the virus. One of the kids here, Pesei, is now 18 years old and is a damn good artist. He grew up in a wealthy family until his father went away on business, slept with an HIV positive prostitute, and contracted it himself. He then gave the virus to his wife and passed a few months later. Unable to support her daughter and son, Pesei's mother sent him to the streets begging for money. Barely living on nothing, Pesei, his mother, and his sister, Srey Lak, moved to Wat Opot. His mother passed a couple of years ago, and Pesei's artwork reflects the relationhship he had with her. Another kid that I have been tutoring in English and computers, Chanadara, is an aspiring singer. Last week, he took me to an older woman's home so he can show me his singing skills. In her home was an old fashioned karaoke machine, microphone and all. I heard him sing about 8 songs at 200 riel a piece (a few cents). When riding him I joked that we were two celebrities, him for being a singer and me for being White. I think that I enjoy spending the most time with the little kids. There are a group of about 6 little girls who enjoy jumping all over me and have me spin them around in circles. They tire me out and are the reason why I sleep so well at night.
So for the most part, I have been teaching English and computer skills. I didn't venture out with the home care team last week. Their work has changed drastically over the last couple of years because fewer and fewer people are getting sick with the availability of ARVs. I started playing volleyball with some of the older kids, but it is just too hot outside. This past week was particularly unbearable. It was between 95-100 degrees for about 5 straight days....and no AC. It is imposisble to get anything done between the hours of 11-2 betweens it is simply too hot. I use that time to read. Miraculously, I am in the middle of reading my 7th book in two weeks. Sleeping has been pretty difficult too, but I have gotten used to it. Also, the water pump hasn't been functioning over the past few days, so I just took my first real shower in about 5 days 20 minutes ago (best shower ever).
Volunteers have come and gone since I have been here. Fiona and Merica, the two New Zealand ladies, left on Friday. It was nice having them around, and we even visited a nearby Wat on Mt. Chisor together. Every evening, we spend time at the local "coffee shop," where coffee is a quarter, and you can get a plate of fried potatoes and bananas with sugar for only 12 cents. It is a treat when some of the volunteers bring some novelty foods, such as bread or instant mocha latte. Regardless, the normal food is still delcious. I have eaten more rice the past 2 weeks than I have the previous 22 (almost 23...wink wink) years of my life.
Anyway, im going to be in the city until Wednesday, so I will try to report with anything that I forgot tomorrow. It is also interesting because I havent kept up with the news over the past two weeks. Apparently there is a huge monsoon in Taiwan, Hussein Bolt broke the 100 meter dash record, Mike Vick is on the Eagles (wow), and Tiger just lost a a major championship after leading going into the final day. Crazy. Also, I feel like a moron because I left my camera in the village so I can't post pics yet. Sorry Shane.
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