Part 1
I have noticed that even though I write about the happenings in Cambodia, I have not given a lot of basic info about life here. So now I will try and fill in the blanks.
Bathrooms
There are 3 options of bathrooms 1) the full western toilet 2) A Cambodian-western toilet 3) the squatty.
A full western is a toilet just like in good ol’America. You have the porcelain thrown that flushes and you can use toilet paper. The toilet paper here is pink, because Cambodia has not yet gotten the memo that colored tp gives you UTI’s. Also, these fancy toilets (yes, fancy! They are usually only found in hotels) have a thing I lovingly call the Butt Blaster. The Butt Blaster is a hose located next to the toilet, and you use it to rinse off your booty and your pocket book after you use the bathroom.
The second option is the western toilet seat, which is what I have at my house. It still looks like a toilet in America, but it requires a little more effort because these toilets do not flush. To flush you must pour a bucket of water into the toilet. They also do not accommodate tp, so you have to do a splash and rinse with a bucket of water. When the situation requires more than a splash and rinse, you add soap to the equation. For this you have one had that is your soapy/washing hand and the other is your clean splashing/rinsing hand. After this is done, extreme hand washing is a must.
This same cleaning process is used for the final option, the Squatty. The squatty is basically a porcelain hole in the ground. There are two grippers for your feet/shoes and then a hole in the middle. The squatting position took sometime to adjust to, but if your hips can handle it, it is not that bad. Squatting is also the go to position when any Cambodian does not want to stand.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Saturday, December 4, 2010
A day with Ming Own…
I have been a traveling fool lately, so this was the first weekend I had spent at my site in a few weeks and I was looking forward to it. Preparation for my Saturday started Friday night when I went to bed. I had the forethought to put my earplugs in the mosquito net with me so that I could block out the 5am chicken wake-up call. So at 5am this morning when the hens/cows/dogs all started waking up I popped in my earplugs (same ones I used in nursing school during my tests, I am convinced they have magical powers!) and managed to sleep until 8! To prove the magical powers of the ear plugs at around 7am Niza and Bpo opened my window and yelled “Bong Taylor! Bong Taylor!” for about 5 minutes, and the earplugs let me keep sleeping.
When I finally got out of bed I did my normal routine of bathroom and shower, brush teeth/floss/Listerine (little did I know that moving to Cambodia would give me the time I need to have great dental practices!) get dressed, and then sweep the house. Then I made oatmeal (on the weekends I cook myself breakfast) with crunchy peanut butter and ate it while watching Friends (The episode with Unagi). Niza and Bpo sat with me, so I shared my oatmeal with them.
Then Ming Own (Bpo’s mother, and my host aunt/neighbor) came in and asked if I wanted to go to the market. So I went to the market with her and she got meat and vegetables, while I got laundry detergent, fabric softener (first time I have used it and it was awesome, my clothes smell super good and are kinda soft too!), and a new dress. Since I did not have rice for breakfast Ming Own was convinced that I was still hungry so she got me dessert. It was this banana dessert that is one of my top 5 favorite Khmer desserts.
Then I came back to the house and was able to skype with my family. However I was somewhat distracted by a muddy Jack chasing a chicken into the house and leaving a combination of muddy puppy and chicken prints everywhere. Niza also got to say hi and impress my family with how many chocolate rolls she ate (half a pack). After saying bye to my family I did my weeks worth of laundry I had been avoiding, and used my new fabric softener. Then I mopped my house to remove the mud.
By then it was lunchtime. After lunch I repeated my morning routine of shower, brush teeth/floss/Listerine, get dressed, and then sweep the house. Then Ming Own came to my house with bon chio. Which is very tasty, and kind of looks like Cambodian omelet (but with no egg and made from rice). So we sat outside and hoovered bon chio. Then she said something I didn’t understand and all I got out of it was “go with her”. So I went with her. She ended up taking me to a rice field to show me her portion. It was beautiful. There were rice fields for miles and in the distance you could see mountains. Sometimes I get these “holy crap you are in Cambodia” moments, and seeing that view definitely induced a holy crap moment. It is the beginning of harvest season so the rice fields are still green and full. There was even a few people harvesting rice while we visited.
After that we went to pick up Bpo and Niza from school, and went to visit my host sisters family. I spoke with her dad (who has great English) about Cambodian healthcare (he is a doctor in Phnom Penh). He asked me if I would be interested in working with him on educating health center staff on infection control, and I couldn’t say yes fast enough. After talking for awhile I noticed it was beginning to rain so I went back to my house because my laundry was still outside. After bringing in my clothes I showered and got dressed in my dinner clothes (for dinner I wear long sleeve shirt and pants because the bugs are intense!). Now off to dinner!
Overall a good Saturday thanks to my unpredictable neighbor/aunt Ming Own.
When I finally got out of bed I did my normal routine of bathroom and shower, brush teeth/floss/Listerine (little did I know that moving to Cambodia would give me the time I need to have great dental practices!) get dressed, and then sweep the house. Then I made oatmeal (on the weekends I cook myself breakfast) with crunchy peanut butter and ate it while watching Friends (The episode with Unagi). Niza and Bpo sat with me, so I shared my oatmeal with them.
Then Ming Own (Bpo’s mother, and my host aunt/neighbor) came in and asked if I wanted to go to the market. So I went to the market with her and she got meat and vegetables, while I got laundry detergent, fabric softener (first time I have used it and it was awesome, my clothes smell super good and are kinda soft too!), and a new dress. Since I did not have rice for breakfast Ming Own was convinced that I was still hungry so she got me dessert. It was this banana dessert that is one of my top 5 favorite Khmer desserts.
Then I came back to the house and was able to skype with my family. However I was somewhat distracted by a muddy Jack chasing a chicken into the house and leaving a combination of muddy puppy and chicken prints everywhere. Niza also got to say hi and impress my family with how many chocolate rolls she ate (half a pack). After saying bye to my family I did my weeks worth of laundry I had been avoiding, and used my new fabric softener. Then I mopped my house to remove the mud.
By then it was lunchtime. After lunch I repeated my morning routine of shower, brush teeth/floss/Listerine, get dressed, and then sweep the house. Then Ming Own came to my house with bon chio. Which is very tasty, and kind of looks like Cambodian omelet (but with no egg and made from rice). So we sat outside and hoovered bon chio. Then she said something I didn’t understand and all I got out of it was “go with her”. So I went with her. She ended up taking me to a rice field to show me her portion. It was beautiful. There were rice fields for miles and in the distance you could see mountains. Sometimes I get these “holy crap you are in Cambodia” moments, and seeing that view definitely induced a holy crap moment. It is the beginning of harvest season so the rice fields are still green and full. There was even a few people harvesting rice while we visited.
After that we went to pick up Bpo and Niza from school, and went to visit my host sisters family. I spoke with her dad (who has great English) about Cambodian healthcare (he is a doctor in Phnom Penh). He asked me if I would be interested in working with him on educating health center staff on infection control, and I couldn’t say yes fast enough. After talking for awhile I noticed it was beginning to rain so I went back to my house because my laundry was still outside. After bringing in my clothes I showered and got dressed in my dinner clothes (for dinner I wear long sleeve shirt and pants because the bugs are intense!). Now off to dinner!
Overall a good Saturday thanks to my unpredictable neighbor/aunt Ming Own.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Thanksgiving in Cambodia
For Thanksgiving all of the volunteers that live in Kampot got together for a Thanksgiving feast. The turkey came from my front yard, but I was lucky enough not to have anything to do with the killing process. We had mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, turkey, salad, bread, and apple crumple for dessert. It was delicious!
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
The Water Festival
From what I hear, Cambodia made the world news today. So I thought I would write and say that I am ok. I was not in Phnom Penh for Water Festival. Neither myself or any other Peace Corps volunteer or staff was harmed at the festival.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/23/world/asia/23cambodia.html
Water Festival is a big deal here. I have heard that over 3 million people travel to Phnom Penh to celebrate. Which is a crazy amount of people. The festival includes a lot of parties, concerts, and boat races. The story that I have heard about the event (which may or may not be true, but is what I have been told) is that there was a concert on Diamond island, that a lot of people attended. At some point a few people passed out, and people started to panic and run towards the bridge. The bridge is very small and could not accommodate the crowd so police used water hoses to push the people back. However there were exposed electrical wires because of the concert. Because of the water people starting getting electrocuted. And it is rumored that some people were afraid the bridge was falling because there were so many people. The panic got worse and people began jumping into the water, however most Khmer people can not swim.
It was a horrible accident, and we are all very sad to hear that it happened. It seems to be affecting people all over Cambodia. My host brother was unable to contact his cousin who attended water festival, so he traveled to Phnom Penh today to find him. Which he did, and he is fine. This seems to be a common problem right now. Many people are concerned about extended family, and everyone is contacting everyone else to check on them.
Hun Sen has declared today and tomorrow national days of mourning and has decided to give the families of the victims money to help them. Send good thoughts this way.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/23/world/asia/23cambodia.html
Water Festival is a big deal here. I have heard that over 3 million people travel to Phnom Penh to celebrate. Which is a crazy amount of people. The festival includes a lot of parties, concerts, and boat races. The story that I have heard about the event (which may or may not be true, but is what I have been told) is that there was a concert on Diamond island, that a lot of people attended. At some point a few people passed out, and people started to panic and run towards the bridge. The bridge is very small and could not accommodate the crowd so police used water hoses to push the people back. However there were exposed electrical wires because of the concert. Because of the water people starting getting electrocuted. And it is rumored that some people were afraid the bridge was falling because there were so many people. The panic got worse and people began jumping into the water, however most Khmer people can not swim.
It was a horrible accident, and we are all very sad to hear that it happened. It seems to be affecting people all over Cambodia. My host brother was unable to contact his cousin who attended water festival, so he traveled to Phnom Penh today to find him. Which he did, and he is fine. This seems to be a common problem right now. Many people are concerned about extended family, and everyone is contacting everyone else to check on them.
Hun Sen has declared today and tomorrow national days of mourning and has decided to give the families of the victims money to help them. Send good thoughts this way.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
3 months 3 weeks and 5 days
3 months 3 weeks and 5 days is how long I lasted in Cambodia without getting sick. Luckily I just had a solid case of food poisoning, which has a pretty short time line.
So this is how it went…. Last week I went to Phnom Penh (the capital of Cambodia and where Peace Corps office is) for a meeting. There were a lot of other volunteers there. It was great to see people that I had not seen for a month. We were able to relax, trade stories, and eat western food! Well it turns out that even in the big city you can still eat bad food. On Sunday I got on a van that was heading the direction of my village. The van ended up making me wait a long time for various reasons, but what was in reality a 2-hour ride took us 5 hours. By the time I got to my house my stomach was hurting bad.
I dropped off my stuff at the house, and went to my host family’s house for dinner. But my stomach was hurting so bad I was pacing around the house. The neighbor came over and asked how I was, and I said “oohh chhooe-poa” (ooohh stomachache). They responded with the amount of concern that I was hoping for. Then dinner was ready (at this point I thought maybe I was just really hungry and that’s why my stomach was hurting). I took one bite of rice and the situation went from bad to worse. I immediately had to run over to the mud, as my body said no to the rice.
After that, my host sister laid me down on a cot in their house and this was went the crowd started to grow. First of all, in Cambodia when someone is sick or having any kind of “episode” they do this pinching type thing to the sick persons body. It is kind of like a massage but a little more violent and all over your body. So while I was wishing for death, I had 3 women massaging me, 1 woman on each arm, and 1 rubbing my legs. The crowd of on lookers included (but not limited to…) both host siblings, their child, my host sisters parents, the neighbor and her husband, the other neighbor and her husband and parents, another neighbor, and a few other small children.
My host siblings are both in the medical field, and my host sister’s dad is a doctor. They immediately called him to come to the house because the American is dying. So in between my exorcist-like vomiting episodes, I had people checking my blood pressure, pulse, and temperature. And when I was actively getting sick I had (again) one woman holding each arm, another holding the bucket, and another woman handing me water to rinse with. It was a family event.
When I was able to get myself off of the cot and back to my house all the adults came with me. After the worst of the food poisoning storm was over, it was decided that I should be “coined’. This is when a person has Tiger Balm (similar to Vicks Vapor Rub) rubbed on them and then a hard object (in my case the lid to the tiger balm) is rubbed over the skin in lines. In Cambodia it is thought that this can cure many different ailments. When in my opinion it just is just rubbing Vicks all over and busting capillaries. It leaves you looking pretty tigery. But by this point in the evening, they could have told me they were going to shave my head, and I wouldn’t have had the energy to put up a fight… so I was coined for the first time.
That night my host siblings and their daughter slept outside my bedroom, and Jack slept on the rug outside my door. And with their help I survived the night.
The next day I felt much better, but I spent the rest of the week sleeping and trying to regain an appetite. My sickness was talk of the town for the week, and many people came up to me and told me what symptoms I had. And if you were wondering, it is not fun to have people come up and remind you of the hours you spent in the fetal position. But now things are getting back to normal and I am back to eating full meals!
So this is how it went…. Last week I went to Phnom Penh (the capital of Cambodia and where Peace Corps office is) for a meeting. There were a lot of other volunteers there. It was great to see people that I had not seen for a month. We were able to relax, trade stories, and eat western food! Well it turns out that even in the big city you can still eat bad food. On Sunday I got on a van that was heading the direction of my village. The van ended up making me wait a long time for various reasons, but what was in reality a 2-hour ride took us 5 hours. By the time I got to my house my stomach was hurting bad.
I dropped off my stuff at the house, and went to my host family’s house for dinner. But my stomach was hurting so bad I was pacing around the house. The neighbor came over and asked how I was, and I said “oohh chhooe-poa” (ooohh stomachache). They responded with the amount of concern that I was hoping for. Then dinner was ready (at this point I thought maybe I was just really hungry and that’s why my stomach was hurting). I took one bite of rice and the situation went from bad to worse. I immediately had to run over to the mud, as my body said no to the rice.
After that, my host sister laid me down on a cot in their house and this was went the crowd started to grow. First of all, in Cambodia when someone is sick or having any kind of “episode” they do this pinching type thing to the sick persons body. It is kind of like a massage but a little more violent and all over your body. So while I was wishing for death, I had 3 women massaging me, 1 woman on each arm, and 1 rubbing my legs. The crowd of on lookers included (but not limited to…) both host siblings, their child, my host sisters parents, the neighbor and her husband, the other neighbor and her husband and parents, another neighbor, and a few other small children.
My host siblings are both in the medical field, and my host sister’s dad is a doctor. They immediately called him to come to the house because the American is dying. So in between my exorcist-like vomiting episodes, I had people checking my blood pressure, pulse, and temperature. And when I was actively getting sick I had (again) one woman holding each arm, another holding the bucket, and another woman handing me water to rinse with. It was a family event.
When I was able to get myself off of the cot and back to my house all the adults came with me. After the worst of the food poisoning storm was over, it was decided that I should be “coined’. This is when a person has Tiger Balm (similar to Vicks Vapor Rub) rubbed on them and then a hard object (in my case the lid to the tiger balm) is rubbed over the skin in lines. In Cambodia it is thought that this can cure many different ailments. When in my opinion it just is just rubbing Vicks all over and busting capillaries. It leaves you looking pretty tigery. But by this point in the evening, they could have told me they were going to shave my head, and I wouldn’t have had the energy to put up a fight… so I was coined for the first time.
That night my host siblings and their daughter slept outside my bedroom, and Jack slept on the rug outside my door. And with their help I survived the night.
The next day I felt much better, but I spent the rest of the week sleeping and trying to regain an appetite. My sickness was talk of the town for the week, and many people came up to me and told me what symptoms I had. And if you were wondering, it is not fun to have people come up and remind you of the hours you spent in the fetal position. But now things are getting back to normal and I am back to eating full meals!
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
The great cooking adventures of a Peace Corps Volunteer... Part 2
While I was in Kampot provincial town this past weekend, I bought the fixings for an American meal. My host family had asked me a few times if I could cook them American food, so I decided to give it a try! I bought spaghetti, tomato sauce, peas, and bread.
Liz, a fellow PCV (Peace Corps Volunteer) who lives about 10k away, came into town to use my bank and decided to stay for the dinner festivities. It ended up pouring rain, and my host family still cooked rice and pumpkin (which is my favorite dish right now… its pumpkin and pork, and very delicious!), but we still had an American meal.
When first arriving in Cambodia, I quickly learned the saying “ah-che” which translates to “I don’t know how to eat this,” a phrase that every volunteer frequently uses in the first month of Cambodian food. Well upon seeing the pasta my host family looked at me and said “ah-che”. Liz and I got a kick out of it to say the least!
The spaghetti was somewhat well received. Everyone tried it, even the neighbors. There were many questioning looks, confused faces, and laughter.
...My host families faces when we explained what everything was
...First bite
We even gave some to Jack to see if he liked it, and he did!
Liz, a fellow PCV (Peace Corps Volunteer) who lives about 10k away, came into town to use my bank and decided to stay for the dinner festivities. It ended up pouring rain, and my host family still cooked rice and pumpkin (which is my favorite dish right now… its pumpkin and pork, and very delicious!), but we still had an American meal.
When first arriving in Cambodia, I quickly learned the saying “ah-che” which translates to “I don’t know how to eat this,” a phrase that every volunteer frequently uses in the first month of Cambodian food. Well upon seeing the pasta my host family looked at me and said “ah-che”. Liz and I got a kick out of it to say the least!
The spaghetti was somewhat well received. Everyone tried it, even the neighbors. There were many questioning looks, confused faces, and laughter.
...My host families faces when we explained what everything was
...First bite
We even gave some to Jack to see if he liked it, and he did!
Jack!
There is a new character in my Cambodian adventure… a puppy! His name is Jack and he is a Cambodian puppy (i.e. a mix of other mixed dogs). He is about 5 pounds of fumbling cuteness. My host family (having noticed how excited I get whenever puppies are around) brought him home one day.
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