Saturday - Tuesday, Days 8 - 11: Weekend In Siem Reap

We've finally met all of the faculty (minus 1?!) After their monthly meeting today. We'll have them all together again this week when we UW students lead the first of 2 of their faculty retrats. #1: team building, #2: strategic planning. I'm excited!

Then, off to Siem Reap with Borpha, Shelby, Saveun (UW classmate who is faculty here in Cambodia) and 13 of the country's first domestically trained social workers. They are all very sweet, quite smart, and energetic - I somehow forgot that the would mostly be 21 or so years of age... Despite the age and language differences we are still getting along famously. This van of kids is Super hyper right now! It feels like being a youth leader back home: they have their own interests, their own social cliques, their own language... Literally! (Although my Khmer is improving and my pronunciation wins me compliments).


Road to Siem Reap:

This weekend ended up being maybe one of the best of my life :) the "kidlettes" (as Tracy calls them) are super high energy but they are also very sweet and quite smart too - many of them I believe will be better social workers than some of my classmates back home! We've been pretty non-stop but it has also felt like the first time since I've been in Cambodia that I was really "traveling." Part of it is the excitement of seeing a new city with the students, many of whom have only ever seen their home towns and Phnom Penh (PP - don't have to look up spelling now). It's such a big trip for most of them - they keep getting dressed up for dinners and taking zillions of pictures and buying souvenirs. Sometimes I think they look like the locals but act more like the tourists :) but, it's contagious and I have had more "oh my god, this is so amazing, I am so blessed" moments in the past few days than the previous week.

So, what have we done? Day 1 was the long van ride. Then quick check-in to our guest house before dinner. Borpha's (pronouced Bo-pa... Sothida is pronounces So-tea-da) auntie owns the guest house so we sort of got the royal treatment while we were there - very sweet. Dinner was open market - nothing amazing (except the coconut smoothie!) And then off to the night market for some shopping. I got a Calvin klein watch and some RayBan glasses for super cheap! You want? Put in your shopping list now, Mike!!! Santa's coming in September! After night market... They wanted to go clubbing... Yup... I drank and danced with the kidlettes until after 1am (so much for sleep schedule...) And won some affection from the gang for my moves. Pisey (pee-say) said she wanted dance lessons from me - I told her there were only 3 rules for dancing: #1 - find the beat; #2 - don't give a s!*# what people think about you, and; #3 - have fun! And fun we did have! Nida (knee-da) said it was her first time dancing and her first time staying out after 10! They were a kick and a half. 

(Sidebar - we just pulled over to buy bamboo that has been fire roasted to cook a mixture of sticky rice, red beans, and coconut inside - you peel back the bamboo like a banana and eat the filling... So good, Mike!)

Dinner at outdoor cafe, night #1

Day 2: we got up early (so tired) for breakfast and then headed into the National Park, up a mountain to start at the temples. One part of the temples is a giant reclining Buddha (largest in Cambodia) carved from the peak of a giant boulder that you climb many flights of stairs to see. The view of the canopy and valley was amazing! 

On the way down we saw the 1000 linga (penises - yes, penises... Phallic statues in the river) on our way to... The waterfall!!! We had lunch first (smoked fish, soup, rice, roasted chicken) and then headed down the very precarious steps to the falls... And then it started a Downpour!!! (Rainy season, for sure!) It was one of those rains where you are just soaking wet in 5 seconds... Like you jumped in a lake. I had my camera in my pocket and got worried about it so I hid in a little cave for a bit and watched the rain come down while people scrambled up the trail. It was a sweet space to enjoy for a bit. Then, swimming - I wasn't sure if I was going to swim but, like I said, I was already soaked so whatev's! there was a great sitting rock in the middle of the pools where we sat and sang between dips, and there were some perfect rocks for laying Right under the falling water! Like a waterfall massage! There was also a jumping rock (maybe 4 meters) - good for cannon balls! There was a moment in the pool, spray and sun on my face (I am wearing sunscreen every day, btw), looking up at the dense forrest... It was magical - corny as that sounds it really was. After leaving the falls we visited our first trmple ruins (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banteay_Srei) - amazing to see the detailed carvings (more temple stories below) and got caught in the rain again so we sat and drank fresh coconut milk and iced coffees in a vendor hut until it slowed enough to run to the car. Lesson of the day: my day bag is Not water resistant! Time to go shopping!!! This trip is a Great practice for next year and helping refine my packing list. But I digress... 

I don't know how I'm going to leave this food - every meal is so flavourful!!! Even the crickets and water spiders I was eating for a snack today... Tastes like Khmer sauce - spicy! :) add to this a new trend in my diet... Iced coffee with sweetened condensed milk. How I'm not shaking out of my boots, I have no idea... But it's tasty and refreshing and I'm not anticipating this as a continuing practice back home. I haven't learned enough cooking yet but I think we will need a lot of fish to make soups. The hot pot seems the easiest to replicate back home - a lot like fondu (not just cheese). I don't see myself getting tired of the food anytime soon but I have been peppering my diet with home comforts like salad (don't tell Renee...) from the more Westernized cafes in our neighborhood. Shelby even got french fries last night... I had a few. But I am still not going to the Italian joint down the street... I do think I will be ready for more variety back home though... I guess I'll keep you update on my cravings... there is a Western style grocery a few blocks away too... oh, living in a city - at some point we'll loose all of our cultural differences to box stores... again, I digress.

After showers it was dinner and then... Oh yes, karaoke!!! OMG I love a culture where everyone sings!!! I got two English songs in (Let It Be and Lean On Me) but mostly listened to sappy Khmer traditional and pop songs. (Nida's first time singing!!!) We danced too and at one point we were just playing music videos, no singing, just dance party! Oh, did I mention that we had a private room?! Oh, Mike, it was cra cra! The place looked like a discotech and our room had couches, a giant projected screen on the wall, a disco ball, laser lights, and 3 women who stayed with us the whole time to enter our songs, pour beer, and dance with us - they even drank with us! It was weird but great! At one point I was sitting back while they all danced and sang and thought to myself, "this is my life - so lucky; so happy (I miss my Bunny)." We walked home and stopped for street food - one student (I can't remember his name - I keep calling him Oan (pronounced "own" - means younger brother, a common way to refer to people younger than you: Bong is ref to someone older) anyway, he walked all the way home with his arm around me and part of the way arm and arm with the two other boys. It is interesting for me to get comfortable with the open male affection - I know it's probably surprising to hear Me say that but reminds me that I too have some internalized stuff around being gay and being affectionate in spaces where I am less able to define my sense of safety. That said, it was very sweet moments.

Wow... Ok, Day 3: breakfast, then to Angkor Thom (don"t pronounce H's here) - beautiful temple with giant carved faces that feel very alive. Best part: sign before climbing to the top that shows - no smoking, no loud talking, no children under 12, no pregnant women..." Joke from the trip: "Borpha, Stop!... No pregnancy!!!" then, lunch... And, Mike, I am now IN LOVE with stuffed frog!!! It was filled with a mixture of peanuts, chilies, and spices and then fire roasted! SO GOOD! The chicken necks and fish eggs were great too :) ha, and lychee Fanta?! What?! 


After luch we went to Angkor Wat - a wold heritage site and the oldest, largest ruin temple in asia - a feat of ancient engineering - incredible! It has a giant most with a long stone bridge and these amazing carved corridors, and massive spires in the central temple to climb. At oe point our group found ourselves alone in the courtyard on the ground level, taking pictures... Before a flash rain storm! Everyone ran up the stairs to the temple entrance... Except Borpha and I... We stood on the steps, arms to the sky, and accepted the cool, refreshing water. The students laughed at us and took pictures and B and I decided to run back down to the courtyard to do cartwheels in the rain (Sierra would be so proud!). Soaking wet, we climbed to the top of the central tower and left incense for the Buddha before making our way out again. 


(Photos to come...)


Post-temple, the students sloaded in the van to head back to PP leaving us to hang for a night on our own... Until the van driver decided he was tired and turned around 30 minutes later and brought everyone back for an extra night!!! Borpha, Shelby, and I had dinner the 3 of us (curry soup, tofu amok, and for me, roast ginger with tofu) before heading back to night market to meet the crew. A number of students wanted to get foot massages... So I bargained us a good price at a place and paid for the group! (Nida's first massage!) 8x, 30 minute foot and leg massages = $12... I love this. We learned that the therapists only make $30 a month, so I left a good tip. Students went home, Borpha followed... Shelby and I went to grab a drink on Pub Street. We sat in a second story bar window that looked out onto the nightlife and talked about life, love, work,  and society.

I am feeling more stuff come up from this past year and also getting in touch with my feelings in a new way. I am realizing how much I have let go of in the past year - relationships, activities, sense of place, "emotional baggage," other anxieties - and how much letting go lies in my near future - possessions, relationships, comforts, home, family, country - in order to move in very big, new directions in my life. I think I'm a bit surprised how relaxed I feel about it - not as sad or anxious as I imagine I would, especially not having any clear idea what happens next (your lil organizer feeling pretty comfortable without a plan in a spreadsheet - the Gemini in me that really can do both :) ). So, lacking the expected emotions around all of this upheaval has left me feeling strange, like I'm not sure what it means that I feel so unaffected lately.

Quick notes: I haven't joined the gym (yet) but a cursory look in the directories is proving difficult to find another close by. I might start checking hotels with equipment and pools - they often have cheap rates for use of facilities. And NO running through the streets... It's not even safe to walk!!! :)

Also... I am thinking about opening a restaurant/bar... I want to open a place called Night Market witht he appropriate decor, Cambodian food/beverages, foot massages (maybe the fish pedicures), and occasional karaoke, of course. I think it will be a hit! And, I'll run it as a not for profit with proceeds going to support RUPP and other Cambodian NGO capacity-building projects. As ED, it will provide me an excuse to travel and provide oversight for grants administration while providing technical support for organizational/project development and management. We employ people from the local Cambodian community and support local organizing efforts as well. We will host cultural exchanges to make money and host cultural events as well including cooking classes. Then, we expand the model to open other restaurants/bars supporting projects in other countries. Best part: you get to have a restaurant with free and delicious food! And karaoke!!! :) Mike.... you know you love this plan - social welfare meets cuisine! :) life partner, business partner, dining partner.