And so are the days of my life

Settling in a new place is not always as exotic as you imagined.  Meeting eccentric people and studying a foreign language..yes.  Discovering where to buy soap and negotiating over bananas and sweatshop Gap t-shirts in the market through gestures, not so much.

My first trip to the market resulted in the purchase of a $20 night gown for expecting mothers.  I embarrassingly discovered this the next day at work from a colleague.   I had searched the narrow, cramped rows of the market for hours.  Sweat had soaked though my clothes.  Finally, I found something that wasn’t itsy-bitsy.  I was willing to buy this ‘dress’ at any price and get the hell out of there.  The next weekend armed with my notes which would deliver the massage  “don’t cheat me”, I returned to the market.   This time the objective was to buy fruits and vegetables.  At first the bustle of the market was quite enjoyable.  I picked up fresh cut flowers, drank a coconut, bought some herbs.  As I roamed along, I came upon “the meat section” and oh my goodness!

There were pig heads swarming with flies, mounds and mounds of dry fish, raw beef  so fresh the fur was piled neatly to the side and blood dripped from the table unto the ground.  My stomach turned.  The next stall displayed  duck and chicken embryos..that was it…surely I would vomit then and there.   I covered my nose and mouth with my hand and rushed out to the open air.  As soon as the sun hit my face I was swarmed by moto drivers.  “Madam, tuk tuk?  moto? Moto?  I ran the other direction, my stomach still turning at the thought of all the blood and flies. I caught my breath as I walked along the market’s perimeter searching for the “safe vegetarian section”.  By this time I was a frazzled, sweaty mess.  The market in PNG was one of my favorite places to explore foods I have never seen or tasted.

Taking out my notes I asked “Thlai pun man? (how much is this?) Immediately I realized, shit I didn’t study numbers!!  From stall to stall I pointed at what I wanted and fanned out my money to allow the sellers to pick the 500, 1,000, 2,000 Riel notes from my hands.   (4,000 Riel = $1)

So basically, I felt like an infant.

After a month of hotel life, I moved into my house.  A beautiful villa with plenty of rooms for visitors (hint hint) and a fabulous veranda.  The owners of my house who live in the back randomly pop in and out of my house and kitchen. When I am in the kitchen, which is a separate building, I am not usually bothered.  Anything dealing with food elicits a good mood (well, other than the scary meat section of the market!!).  It is usually the daughter of the owner that comes into the kitchen.  She is my age, works as a secretary for a de-mining company, and can speak bits of English.  Her visits are good practice for my Khmer “Khjnom ot chol chet yuam saach” ( I dont like to eat meat) And she doesn’t like to eat pasta!    She comes in her pajamas, as most other Khmer women she wears these cotton two-piece matching sets usually adorned with Mickey Mouse or Looney Tunes characters.  Most times she brings her 8 month old daughter over.  At first the little girl was scared of me, but now she jumps into my arms when I reach for her..and of course I love that!  One night the baby was covered in a white cream and when I asked, her mother responded “make skin beauty, same you.”   Skin whitening cream?

Handicap International’s expatriate package is a far cry from my Peace Corps and VSO days.  I have a cleaner and cook who do all my shopping, so I will no longer be handing out free Riel in the market!  I also have a guard and a gardener.  I know, I know.  You must be thinking, hard life eh?  Well, actually, I work from 8:00-5:30 then have language class from 6-7:30 three nights a week.  The German couple who rented before me left behind 2 cats, 2 ducks, and 2 tropical birds..oh and a lovely heart shaped fish pond!   So I don’t have much time to manage the house and the zoo too.  Okay, so maybe I am justifying it, who cares.  It is nice and I am supporting the local community..right?

Language class is tough but I have met some great people.  There are 4 of us.  A British girl (mid 20s) who is studying for her Ph.D. on Angkor Wat but who is here now (travels in and out frequently) working in fund raising for a ngo circus group, an American girl ( mid 20s)  working with an ngo in education targeting environmental issues, and a Belgian man (late 40s, early 50s) who has lived here 10 years and has a Khmer wife and 2 daughters..and is just now formally studying the language.  Khmer is quite difficult to learn, especially for visual learners who cannot read sanscript.   I often forget which sounds are ‘with or without air’.

After class, we usually grab dinner and drinks at local cafes, French restaurants or the river front stalls.  Of all the available comforts in Battambang, I am most thankful for Extra Strength Benadryl cream..the ants and mosquitoes are vicious! Also for the Chinese shop across from the main market which sells western goods such as cheese  ($5) and Gin ($13).  My most interesting purchase at the Chinese shop was when I bought an 8 roll pack of toilet paper and found a free fork and spoon in the bottom! Much more practical than a tattoo in the bottom of a cracker jack box!

Oh and I have never in my life been so glad for rain.  It’s the hot season now with temps averaging around 40C/104F.  I am in no way exaggerating.  I have lived in Africa and on a Pacific Island, but NEVER have I felt heat like this before.  One day…yes one day….it rained.  And it was the best day I have had in Cambodia!

 

The Luck of the Irish

Eva, a nurse/occupational therapist who is here in Battambang working with a German development organization, invited me out for a St. Patrick’s Day party at a local French restaurant.  (hmm, I never thought I would write such a sentence).

At this French restaurant, I met the Indian physiotherapist I bumped into today while visiting the prosthetic workshop at the International Red Cross rehabilitation center.  I met 2 Peace Corps volunteers and their friend from Hawaii who is currently studying Pacific History and who has a particular interest in Papua New Guinea (what are the chances, no one knows anything about PNG). We watched the Battambang circus act of performers who got their start in the Thai refugee camps.  A table full of European doctors from the Emergency clinic (always nice people to have on speed dial!) bought rounds of Angkor beers (we would have to visit Siem Reap for green Angkor beer).  The young French artists with the traveling performers invited me to dinner Saturday night and I  somehow left with an invitation for a house warming party for (well, I don’t know who, but I am sure it doesn’t really matter as long as I come with a bottle).

Got to love the luck of the Irish…bringing an international community together…and most importantly, dragging me out of this valley!

Now to get to bed for a big day facilitating a workshop on capacity development and linking activities, outcomes and indicators.

 

Just one of those faces

Does Mr. Horng look familiar to anyone else???? He must get that all the time!

 

Why did the chicken cross the road?

To get to the other side of course. Or to become one of the mystery meat bits in a bowl of Khmer noodle soup. Each day is like a game of chicken for me here in Cambodia, the country with the worst road safety conditions in South East Asia. I know that if I stop or even slow down to look at the oncoming traffic, I may become one of the mystery bits at the next roadside food stall. Going along with the flow I somehow manage to cross the road, always in wonderment of how I arrived at the other side.

 

Around the World in 60 Days

My journey from Madang, Papua New Guinea to Battambang, Cambodia.

Dec 7th 2009 Madang, PNG –Port Moresby, PNG –Hong Kong

Dec 10th Hong Kong — Tokyo –Detroit, MI –Nashville, TN

Dec 27th Nashville, TN –Louisville, KY –Charleston, SC

Jan 4th 2010 Charleston, SC –Nashville, TN

February 2nd Nashville, TN –Washington, DC –Germany –Lyon, France

February 6th and 7th) Lyon, France –Paris, France –Bangkok, Thailand –Phnom Penh, Cambodia

February 11th Phnom Penh, Cambodia — Battambang, Cambodia

 

A journey into and away from myself

Looking through another’s eyes  allows you to view the world from a perspective other than your own.  To see things through another cultural lens.

Looking through another’s eyes also allows you to see yourself, your culture, your interaction with others and the world around you from the perspective of others.

This experience has been a true journey into and away from myself.  Each day, whether consciously or unconsciously, I learned more about myself, who I am, who I want to become.

I have seen and experienced many beautiful, unique, heart breaking, and utterly  shocking things.  Things that no matter how out of this world amazing or how horrific they may be, I am always reminded that they are all part of the human experience.  The unique yet interrelated exchanges between one person and another, between mother nature and the human race, between the sun and the moon, the earth and the sea.

Thank you for reading and allowing me to share my life as a VSO volunteer in Papua New Guinea.  Although I will not be making any new posts, I will not stop looking through another’s eyes.

 

The Network

Papua New Guinea’s National Disability Magazine

Edition 20 Millennium Development Goals: Is PNG Meeting Them? I have co-authored an article  (pg. 12) about Goal 2: Achieving Universal Primary Education.

The Network is an awareness activity of the National Disability and Advocacy Center (NDRAC) based at Divine Word University in Madang.  NDRAC recently became its own ngo and is currently staffed by 2 dedicated persons.  The Network is distributed within PNG and internationally.  Contact NDRAC (thenetwork@dwu.ac.pg) if you are interested in joining the mailing list or contributing to its content.

 

10th List of 10: Reasons why you should read my new blog I will be writing from Cambodia

1. It’s as easy as clicking here!

2. Reading about someone adapting to a new culture, language, job and foods can be quite funny!

3. I will continue to write about disability, education, development issues and on occasion about PNG.

4. How else can you keep in touch with me and all my new experiences?!

5. I cannot think of any better site you could be surfing while sitting behind your computer “pretending” to be working

6. The new blog will be a permanent fixture and will stay with me as I travel with and after this job.

7. I will move my PNG blog and my Zambia blog in their entirety to the new site for your archiving pleasures

8. It makes me happy when the stat meter tells me people have visited and even happier when I receive comments!

9. I plan to write about my traveling through Southeast Asia during holidays and long weekends and through Europe during my annual debriefings in France.

10.  The new blog is named “Letting the World Change Me” however, there is a chance that you also could be changed by allowing me to share my experiences with you.

 

9th List of 10: Facts about disability, poverty and education in developing countries

1. Ninety-eight percent of children with disabilities in developing countries do not have access to education, 98%!! (UNESCO)

2. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which was adopted in 2006 after four years of negotiations, is the first human rights Convention of the 21st century, and addresses civil, political, social economic and cultural rights. So far, it is ratified by 25 countries (UNCRPD)

3. 50% of children who are deaf and 60% of those with an intellectual impairment are sexually abused (Save the Children Alliance as quoted on CRIN.org)

4.  Hunger is the most extreme form of poverty; 1.02 billion people across the world are hungry; everyday almost 16,000 children die from hunger-related causes–one child every five seconds (bread.org)

5. Poor nutrition and calorie deficiencies cause nearly one in three people to die prematurely or have disabilities (WHO)

6. Every year, more than 20 million low-birth weight babies are born in developing countries. These babies risk dying in infancy, while those who survive often suffer lifelong physical and cognitive disabilities. (WHO)

7. In 1998 the US spent over $8 Billion in cosmetics, Europe spent $50 Billion in cigarettes.  Compare that to what was estimated as additional costs to achieve universal access to basic social services in all developing countries: to basic education $8 Billion, to basic health and nutrition $11 Billion (Globalissues.org)

8. In Africa, only 62% of pupils complete primary education and are therefore ready to pursue their studies, compared to an average completion rate of 94% in North America and 88% in Asia . ( UNESCO Institute for Statistics)

9. The average primary school class in low income countries has a 60-to-1 student-teacher ratio (World Bank)

10. 80% of persons with disabilities live in developing countries (UNDP)

 

8th List of 10: Things I need to do before leaving for Cambodia

“The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.” – Buddha

Keeping in mind the combination of the end of service procedures for VSO and the pre-departure checklists from Handicap International, a more appropriate title for this blog entry would have been the 8th list of 210 things I need to do before leaving for Cambodia!

Making a conscious effort to live in the moment and eager to begin blogging about life in Battambang, I will speed through this list.

1. Research and read as much as I can about Cambodia, Buddhism, Battambang, the Khmer Rouge, and disability issues

2. Apply for an international drivers license

3. Get medical clearance including blood tests, HepB booster, lung xray

4. Write Chimate Village in Zambia and call my homestay family in Lusaka

5. Visit my grandmother as much as possible

6. Get my brother on skype so I can see my new little nephew as much as possible

7. Sign over power of attorney to my parents

8. Stock up on books, music and movies

9. Renew School Psychology License

10. Visit friends and family across Tennessee, Kentucky and South Carolina