Friday, August 27, 2010
Sunday, August 22, 2010
For your viewing pleasure
Well, I'm on my way to Edmonton for Reuben's wedding...so while I am sitting in the Vancouver airport with spectacularly fast internet at my disposal, I will share some of the events that transpired over the last month. It was a very busy, and highly amusing, month...so summarizing it will be no easy task. I think I will do this in pictoral form with captions. Enjoy!
Photo 1: While Lydia was still here, we decided to see what we would look like in traditional Khmer costumes. Here's the result...and yes, that is really me under all of those layers of sequins and makeup. It was also an excellent test of my Khmer skills, as I have not yet had reason to learn phrases such as "close your lips" or "remove your shirt." The staff at the photo studio were remarkably patient.
Photo 2: In Lvea Em, our latrine program was launched in a new village with a big health promotion. Here, 24 family representatives proudly show off their new swag. They were given the tools and training to construct the pit and base of their latrine, and are responsible for doing all of the construction and finding their own materials for the superstructure (bamboo, metal, wood, etc.). The project is a big success, and it has been a lot of fun to visit communities where villagers proudly show us their unique latrine designs.
Photo 3: my parents came to visit for a weekend, on their way between conferences in southeast Asia! We (Jeff, Andrea, and I) took them to the coast for a few days. It was rainy, but a lot of fun. Jeff was quite taken by their awesomeness, so you can read a more eloquent description of my parents and our trip on his blog. But here's proof that I saw them: a creepy stalker-style picture!
Photo 4: We've been visiting a lot of biosand filters, some of which are being faithfully used and some of which are not. After a disheartening day of visiting homes that are not using it properly (we targeted these homes so that we could try to solve the problems as soon as possible), it was so refreshing to come across a BSF being used and cleaned regularly, and with a gorgeous paint job and an ingenious mesh covering to keep out bugs and debris from the dirty water. Cute, eh?
Photo 5: Here's my bike, sadly pondering the condition of our street. I should probably stop posting about the weather, but it continues to amaze me. After only half an hour of rain, the house I'm staying in was an island. My bathroom was shin-deep in greenish-brown water. Biking to work after a flood is a very strange sensation because with both feet under water, it feels sort of like treading water in swimming lessons. As I pedal, I have taken to singing this little poem: "Hookworm, I do not like you; if you don't enter me, I won't enter you!" I think it may have worked so far, but only time will tell. Sometimes I regret taking microbiology in university.
Photo 6: We visited a national park last weekend. This is getting long, so I'll just say it involved a lot of confusion, a monkey on a chain, consuming a whole chicken, and Jeff half-naked. Weird.
Photo 7: I took a trip to the northern province of Stung Treng with AOC staff and a prayer team from Hong Kong. It was an amusing trip, with the goal of investigating an area we may work in next year. I got to ride on the worst road yet (that is saying a lot), passing a car that was literally buried in the road with no evident hope of extraction. It was a wonderful chance to get to know some of the staff better, and I thoroughly enjoyed the death-defying moto ride as well. Here are the commune leaders showing us their water resources.
To conclude...Photo 8: Look who I met in my bathroom yesterday! So cool. It's bigger than my fist.
Photo 1: While Lydia was still here, we decided to see what we would look like in traditional Khmer costumes. Here's the result...and yes, that is really me under all of those layers of sequins and makeup. It was also an excellent test of my Khmer skills, as I have not yet had reason to learn phrases such as "close your lips" or "remove your shirt." The staff at the photo studio were remarkably patient.
Photo 2: In Lvea Em, our latrine program was launched in a new village with a big health promotion. Here, 24 family representatives proudly show off their new swag. They were given the tools and training to construct the pit and base of their latrine, and are responsible for doing all of the construction and finding their own materials for the superstructure (bamboo, metal, wood, etc.). The project is a big success, and it has been a lot of fun to visit communities where villagers proudly show us their unique latrine designs.
Photo 3: my parents came to visit for a weekend, on their way between conferences in southeast Asia! We (Jeff, Andrea, and I) took them to the coast for a few days. It was rainy, but a lot of fun. Jeff was quite taken by their awesomeness, so you can read a more eloquent description of my parents and our trip on his blog. But here's proof that I saw them: a creepy stalker-style picture!
Photo 4: We've been visiting a lot of biosand filters, some of which are being faithfully used and some of which are not. After a disheartening day of visiting homes that are not using it properly (we targeted these homes so that we could try to solve the problems as soon as possible), it was so refreshing to come across a BSF being used and cleaned regularly, and with a gorgeous paint job and an ingenious mesh covering to keep out bugs and debris from the dirty water. Cute, eh?
Photo 5: Here's my bike, sadly pondering the condition of our street. I should probably stop posting about the weather, but it continues to amaze me. After only half an hour of rain, the house I'm staying in was an island. My bathroom was shin-deep in greenish-brown water. Biking to work after a flood is a very strange sensation because with both feet under water, it feels sort of like treading water in swimming lessons. As I pedal, I have taken to singing this little poem: "Hookworm, I do not like you; if you don't enter me, I won't enter you!" I think it may have worked so far, but only time will tell. Sometimes I regret taking microbiology in university.
Photo 6: We visited a national park last weekend. This is getting long, so I'll just say it involved a lot of confusion, a monkey on a chain, consuming a whole chicken, and Jeff half-naked. Weird.
Photo 7: I took a trip to the northern province of Stung Treng with AOC staff and a prayer team from Hong Kong. It was an amusing trip, with the goal of investigating an area we may work in next year. I got to ride on the worst road yet (that is saying a lot), passing a car that was literally buried in the road with no evident hope of extraction. It was a wonderful chance to get to know some of the staff better, and I thoroughly enjoyed the death-defying moto ride as well. Here are the commune leaders showing us their water resources.
To conclude...Photo 8: Look who I met in my bathroom yesterday! So cool. It's bigger than my fist.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Ok, fine.
I've been pestered for a new blog post for a while now, so I'm going to try. The problem is that the longer I wait, the more there is to write about! But some of you are very persistent, so I'll give you a brief summary of the events that transpired since my last post.
Two weekends ago, we (Andrea, Jeff, Jen, and I) went to Phnom Tamao Wildlife Sanctuary. This is the most bizarre zoo I've ever been to, for several reasons.
1. 18-year-old boys with coconuts strapped to their bikes follow you around. Every time they throw a coconut to an animal (ie. a bear), you have to pay for it after watching the animal consume the fruit.
2. Some of the wildlife (namely about a million monkeys) are not caged.
3. Those animals that are caged seem a little bit too close for comfort.
4. There is no female leopard yet, so the male leopards are a little bit too intimate. The management is looking for a female, so maybe there's hope.
5. When you get hungry and stop for lunch, the only option is a whole chicken (fried, grilled, or roasted--your choice). It was tasty, but a bit difficult to eat.
As strange as the zoo was, it seemed to be well-managed, and probably a better alternative than the animals' previous lives. Most of them have been rescued from poachers. One of the monkeys apparently used to smoke.
Then there was work. Last week, among other things, we held a meeting with the Village Development Committee members, a group of village volunteers responsible for overseeing the construction, installation, and monitoring of BSF filters. They shared how they monitor, the problems they encounter, and the requests they had for AOC.
The interns from the Philippines came to visit (well, for work...but we got to see them!). We took Lydia and Danielle out for some tarantulas. They seemed to enjoy them, as the picture below illustrates. We discovered that they faithfully follow our blogs (perhaps excessively), so I feel obliged to include them here. I imagine they will make excited hang-waving gestures and squeal while reading their names. Yes girls, you are famous! Come again soon!
Last weekend, Lydia, Andrea, Nicolette, and I headed to Battambang (a northern province) for 24 hours of fun. Said fun involved a ride on the bamboo train--an illegal, but very exciting, platform that races along the track until it meets another one coming the opposite direction. The platform with the least people gets taken off the track, and then put back on when the other platform has passed. Here's ours (minus the driver). We shared our platform with a Dutch guy, and his accent made me think fondly of home and biochem class.
Two weekends ago, we (Andrea, Jeff, Jen, and I) went to Phnom Tamao Wildlife Sanctuary. This is the most bizarre zoo I've ever been to, for several reasons.
1. 18-year-old boys with coconuts strapped to their bikes follow you around. Every time they throw a coconut to an animal (ie. a bear), you have to pay for it after watching the animal consume the fruit.
2. Some of the wildlife (namely about a million monkeys) are not caged.
3. Those animals that are caged seem a little bit too close for comfort.
4. There is no female leopard yet, so the male leopards are a little bit too intimate. The management is looking for a female, so maybe there's hope.
5. When you get hungry and stop for lunch, the only option is a whole chicken (fried, grilled, or roasted--your choice). It was tasty, but a bit difficult to eat.
As strange as the zoo was, it seemed to be well-managed, and probably a better alternative than the animals' previous lives. Most of them have been rescued from poachers. One of the monkeys apparently used to smoke.
Then there was work. Last week, among other things, we held a meeting with the Village Development Committee members, a group of village volunteers responsible for overseeing the construction, installation, and monitoring of BSF filters. They shared how they monitor, the problems they encounter, and the requests they had for AOC.
Last weekend, Lydia, Andrea, Nicolette, and I headed to Battambang (a northern province) for 24 hours of fun. Said fun involved a ride on the bamboo train--an illegal, but very exciting, platform that races along the track until it meets another one coming the opposite direction. The platform with the least people gets taken off the track, and then put back on when the other platform has passed. Here's ours (minus the driver). We shared our platform with a Dutch guy, and his accent made me think fondly of home and biochem class.
Our time in Battambang also included aerobics with hundreds of Khmer people along the river, a trip to a temple with a beautiful view, some awesome fruit bats, and the killing caves. A pretty good weekend! The bats were a highlight for me--I've never seen bats that big, and they were just hanging out on the trees!
And work this week was busy, with a big health promotion meeting that I taught part of (with translation), and some home visits. Here's one boy showing me how he uses the BSF to get clean water:
...And a shot from our health promotion:
A-howie! (That's all)...for now.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
From Victorious Christian Living to a Spider on my Boob
As the title of this post suggests, I’ve had an interesting week! Last Friday, I got to teach the final lesson in a training series for a group of church leaders from villages in Lvae Em district. After I got over the rather pompous-sounding topic title (“Victorious Christian Living!”) and some of the hilarious analogies suggested in the curriculum, it was a fun challenge. It was my first attempt to speak with a translator for a long chunk of time, and it was a great learning experience. Here we are playing a quick ice-breaker game before I began the lesson:
After the lesson was over, I hopped on my bike to pick up my bag before heading out for the weekend. But my commute took a bit longer than expected because I ran into this on the way home:
Ah, Cambodia! Gotta love wading through thigh-high, debris-filled, murky water! Trying to decide whether biking or walking through it was a better alternative, I hiked up my 40 cent raincoat, and balked (that’s bike + walk + a synonym for cringing—clever, eh?) my way through.
Once I had gotten my bag, I met up with Andrea, Jeff, and Jenn (a Samaritan’s Purse visitor from Niger), and we headed down to Kampot for the weekend. On Saturday, we took a tour up Bokor Mountain. This consisted of bouncing along in the back of a pickup truck, then getting out and hiking the rest of the way through the forest—a really fun hike. A guy with a gun led the way in case we ran into any loggers or tigers. Both sounded rather fearsome, but all we encountered were butterflies.
The top of Bokor was really cool—literally! There was a rolling, foggy mist that made the climate bearable and made the abandoned casino and church appear very mysterious.
We stopped in the coastal town of Kep on Sunday morning to eat some delectable crab on our way back to Phnom Penh.
I left at 4 am the next morning for the northern province of Steung Treng with a group from AOC. We went to meet with NGOs and government officials there to discuss options for a new water and sanitation project. I learned a lot on the trip, and enjoyed seeing more of Cambodia on the 7 hour drive there. On the way back, we stopped to see one of the most endangered species in the world: a dolphin that inhabits a small stretch of the Mekong. At a pit-stop later in the day, I was accosted by a bunch of women trying to sell me food at exorbitant prices. After one of them put some spectacular spiders on me, I gave in and bought bananas.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
As promised...
Picture Time!
Villagers attending a health promotion meeting.
Hanging out in the back of a pickup truck speeding over a bumpy road.
Aw...sa-at!
It's been pretty muddy in Lvay Em. Enough said. Mom and dad, thanks for the sandals. They work remarkably better than the flip flops most people wear here.
The roads are a bit dicey, to say the least. Especially this week, when it rained a lot. Channeth and I have only fallen off our moto twice so far! Here she is (left) making her way across a particularly tricky spot. I opted to walk to give her a bit more stability.
And perhaps my favorite mode of transport so far is this little ferry, which we took to get from one village to another because the roads were too mucky.
So that's all for now. Congrats to Miriam on her grad--sorry I wasn't there, but check the messages on your machine!
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Month-in Musings
In honor of the one-month anniversary of my arrival in Cambodia, I thought I’d share a few of the things I’m beginning to get used to:
1. SWEAT. I have become much more accepting of sweat—both my own and others’. While it feels and smells kind of gross, it serves a practical purpose for which I’m very thankful. And mopping up buckets (literally) of sweat is a great reminder to drink more.
2. HEAT (closely related to number 1). Rather than seeking out air conditioning, I now tend to avoid it in favor of fans. The shock of foggy glasses and instant sweat as I walk out of an air-conditioned building is soooo not worth the brief reprise I enjoyed while inside.
3. HOURS. I am (slowly) beginning to get used to two-hour lunch breaks. Office hours are 8-5 with a two-hour break…which is more than enough time for staff to cook, eat, and nap together. I’ve also shifted my schedule forward a few hours—I’m really excited if I’m still awake at 10 pm, or if I manage to sleep past about 5:30 or 6:00. The roosters, cement workers, temples, babies, birds, and other beasts begin to stir as soon as there’s a hint of daylight. And it gets dark as soon as 7 pm, so in the village everyone goes to bed incredibly early.
4. LANGUAGE. Until I learn enough Khmer to respond and defend myself properly, people will talk about me while I am standing there. The language barrier is the most frustrating aspect of my time in Cambodia—whether buying food in the market, playing bowl with AOC staff, or attending a village meeting, I always feel a bit out of the loop. I can pick up enough words to know the general subject of a conversation, but I miss most of the details. But this provides fantastic motivation to learn fast!
5. NAMES. I am no longer Naomi. With Khmer people, it’s usually “OWE-me,” or “Naaah-OWE-me” if I’m really lucky. I’ve also acquired a plethora of nicknames from the wonderful family I’m staying with in Phnom Penh. Among these is “Ruby-booby,” which really seems to have stuck. Do I ever regret revealing the nickname I used to use to tease my brother!
6. BEAUTY. The people are beautiful. The lush green vegetation is beautiful. The fruit tastes heavenly. One of my favourite Khmer words is “sa-at.” Guess what it means!
7. CHANGING PLANS. Plans change on a regular basis, and are always affected by the weather—especially as the rainy season takes hold. I’m here to work on a bioSand water project, but just got to spend the last two days helping a dental outreach team in a nearby village. It was a great experience. I am now pretty skilled at hand-mixing tooth fillings, and I know all the Khmer words for "open big," "where does it hurt," "close," etc. One of my favorite memories so far was the ride back—hunched in the back of a pickup truck in crazy traffic and a spectacular downpour. I have never been so drenched in my life! When I got home, I thought I had acquired a wicked sandal tan...but it washed off in the shower.
8. RAIN. As I just alluded to, the rainy season has officially begun. I am already skilled in wading through knee-deep puddles, and have learned to keep my wallet and camera in a large ziploc even on the sunniest-looking day. Apparently the district we work in (which has awful roads) will gradually become more and more difficult to travel in. I already think they are border-line impossible, and I say a little prayer every time I hop on the back of a moto. By August or September, we will need small boats to visit some of our community leaders. No joke. I'm pretty excited for that!
Yep…Cambodia’s an awesome place! I have a few pictures I'd love to share, but I'm not willing to wait the several hours it would take to upload them. Expect a pictoral post next time I have fast internet!
1. SWEAT. I have become much more accepting of sweat—both my own and others’. While it feels and smells kind of gross, it serves a practical purpose for which I’m very thankful. And mopping up buckets (literally) of sweat is a great reminder to drink more.
2. HEAT (closely related to number 1). Rather than seeking out air conditioning, I now tend to avoid it in favor of fans. The shock of foggy glasses and instant sweat as I walk out of an air-conditioned building is soooo not worth the brief reprise I enjoyed while inside.
3. HOURS. I am (slowly) beginning to get used to two-hour lunch breaks. Office hours are 8-5 with a two-hour break…which is more than enough time for staff to cook, eat, and nap together. I’ve also shifted my schedule forward a few hours—I’m really excited if I’m still awake at 10 pm, or if I manage to sleep past about 5:30 or 6:00. The roosters, cement workers, temples, babies, birds, and other beasts begin to stir as soon as there’s a hint of daylight. And it gets dark as soon as 7 pm, so in the village everyone goes to bed incredibly early.
4. LANGUAGE. Until I learn enough Khmer to respond and defend myself properly, people will talk about me while I am standing there. The language barrier is the most frustrating aspect of my time in Cambodia—whether buying food in the market, playing bowl with AOC staff, or attending a village meeting, I always feel a bit out of the loop. I can pick up enough words to know the general subject of a conversation, but I miss most of the details. But this provides fantastic motivation to learn fast!
5. NAMES. I am no longer Naomi. With Khmer people, it’s usually “OWE-me,” or “Naaah-OWE-me” if I’m really lucky. I’ve also acquired a plethora of nicknames from the wonderful family I’m staying with in Phnom Penh. Among these is “Ruby-booby,” which really seems to have stuck. Do I ever regret revealing the nickname I used to use to tease my brother!
6. BEAUTY. The people are beautiful. The lush green vegetation is beautiful. The fruit tastes heavenly. One of my favourite Khmer words is “sa-at.” Guess what it means!
7. CHANGING PLANS. Plans change on a regular basis, and are always affected by the weather—especially as the rainy season takes hold. I’m here to work on a bioSand water project, but just got to spend the last two days helping a dental outreach team in a nearby village. It was a great experience. I am now pretty skilled at hand-mixing tooth fillings, and I know all the Khmer words for "open big," "where does it hurt," "close," etc. One of my favorite memories so far was the ride back—hunched in the back of a pickup truck in crazy traffic and a spectacular downpour. I have never been so drenched in my life! When I got home, I thought I had acquired a wicked sandal tan...but it washed off in the shower.
8. RAIN. As I just alluded to, the rainy season has officially begun. I am already skilled in wading through knee-deep puddles, and have learned to keep my wallet and camera in a large ziploc even on the sunniest-looking day. Apparently the district we work in (which has awful roads) will gradually become more and more difficult to travel in. I already think they are border-line impossible, and I say a little prayer every time I hop on the back of a moto. By August or September, we will need small boats to visit some of our community leaders. No joke. I'm pretty excited for that!
Yep…Cambodia’s an awesome place! I have a few pictures I'd love to share, but I'm not willing to wait the several hours it would take to upload them. Expect a pictoral post next time I have fast internet!
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Three Cambodias
Over the last three weeks, I have experienced what seemed to be three completely different Cambodias.
The first Cambodia: Phnom Penh. This crazy city I am calling home is a bustling centre of jarring juxtapositions: orange-clad monks skirting speeding scooters; gated buildings looming over open street vendors; scents of Kentucky-Fried Chicken blasting out of air-conditioned buildings to mingle with the fish oil, deep-fried bananas, dust, and sweat in the humid homes next door.
The second Cambodia: the urban slum. Just over a week ago, I had the opportunity to visit one of Samaritan’s Purse Cambodia’s project sites in a community on the fringe of Phnom Penh. This area was settled several years ago by people displaced from their urban homes due to the lack of effective land rights legislation. I was shocked by the amount of litter strewn between houses—and my visit followed an extensive clean-up effort in the community!
This community has received so many hand-outs from so many NGOs since its inception that there is very little sense of community ownership or responsibility; the people expect solutions to be given to them. However, there are some who really do want to change their community for the better. Some of these were parents of children in a childhood nutrition program run by SP, which we got a chance to observe. This involves not simply handing out food, but teaching about proper nutrition and how to obtain the nutrients needed for healthy childhood development once NGOs pull out of the community. Here is one little boy getting measured to determine whether the nutrition program is helping him to grow.
The third Cambodia: the rural village. This week I was able to spend my first two days in the district where AOC works. I will spend 2-3 days there each week, traveling to and from Phnom Penh on the back of a motorcycle—which should get increasingly interesting as the rainy season progresses.
Crossing the Mekong to reach Lvae Em
Compared to the urban slum, this district is remarkably clean; it is obviously a poor area, but is well cared for and has many leaders who are eager to make a difference. AOC works to train local community leaders, who then organize the bioSand water filter construction and monitoring, small home churches, and other initiatives.
Playing a game of bowl behind the AOC staff house on one of our many breaks
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