Another day in the life of a barang….

Today I gave Oscar a bath.

Mar was thinking maybe it would cause him to hate me.   I didn’t care one way or the other.   Plus he is kitten, he will get over it, right???

Now, he won’t leave my side, apparently it had the opposite effect…  still not sure if that is good or bad.

Onto a more daily occurrence.

Do your neighbors ever come over (for one reason or another) and start cleaning your house?

Now trust me, it is not a messy house (that is not the issue). 

Whether stopping in to say hello, picking up one of the multitudes visiting children, dropping off a pot of soup or a bag of fruit… it is completely normal to go into the fridge and grab a drink or into the bathroom and grab the mop and then mop the whole house.

I just laugh.  There is no sense privacy, no personal space.  It is interesting and refreshing.

And I am the one that is choosing to live here, so it is up to me to adapt!  

P.S.  This reminds of “There should be less talk; a preaching point is not a meeting point.  What do you do then? Take a broom and clean someone's house.  That says enough.”  (another beautiful thought from Mother Teresa)

It doesn’t matter how long I have been here, I still find new things to shrug and laugh about every day. 

Calling someone (including your wife) fat is not at all rude or offensive.

The flow of traffic…even after observing traffic here for over year there is always so much more to learn. 

FRUSTRATING = people who start to go or cross a street and then change their mind and stop in the middle – never do that.  Just go forward…slowly or you disrupt the entire flow.   Haha  Hesitation – NO GOOD!  Make a decision and stick with it. 

And that is 'the rest of the story.'

Take a moment

“May today there be peace within. May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith in yourself and others. May you use the gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content with yourself just the way you are. Let this knowledge settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of us." ...” 
― Mother Teresa

I am a spoiled little boy named Oscar.

Soon to be EXTERMINATOR EXTRAORDINAIRE

Added to the bucket list...
In the not so far off future.

http://awe.sm/5gP6j

God gave me two kidneys for a reason  :)

U.S. Chief executives earn $275 for every $1 earned by the average worker.
WAIT
Let me guess - you work 275 times as hard???

P.S.  Watch Inside Job

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1645089/

ants and mice and kittens, oh my

Every day I learn something new, hear something that makes me smile, see another thing that breaks my heart, and feel so amazed to live in such a wonderful place.

But I’m not gonna lie…then there are the other days.

And lately they have just been piling up.

It’s my own fault that I am attempting to attend school full time and choose to live in a country with incredibly sketchy internet service.  Some days it’s fine.  Lately I have been struggling with it for about two weeks.  Remember those days of dial up and super large, super slow computers.  Think of that.  Then times that by ten.   That is how slow it is.  But the thing is, once you have experienced the better, quicker, and much more ‘efficient and modern’ hi speed wifi, that slow, slow internet just feels like swimming against the tide while carrying Chris Farley on your back.  That has been going on for a couple weeks now, watching my online lectures or basically any photos or videos are nearly impossible.   Somebody is forcing upon me an extra large dose of PATIENCE.  I don’t really asking for it, but I’m thankful all the same. 

So no, you haven’t seen me on skype.  I am trying to find time to keep up on emails but since I am a bit of a perfectionist that typically comes after school and scouring the house to try to get rid of ants. 

Oh and that brings me to the next fun thing!!! 

Ants are not enough anymore.  Now there are mice.  Ok, A mouse.  But after spending about ten hours trying to catch the little jerk and being OUTSMARTED multiple times (somebody’s brain is a bit evolved I’m thinking) I considered it to be an army of mice.  I am not cool with sleeping with a mouse crawling around my head.  Not cool at all.  I am already an extremely light sleeper and if you have ever been in Cambodia, you know some of the joys that come with living here.   NO QUIET.  EVER.   PERIOD.  So sleep is already a constant challenge Haha.  {People talk loud, laugh loud (you see a child fall down, it’s mother picks it up and appears to “yell.”  This is not a mean mother.  This is NOT terrible parenting.  This is how she is soothing her child.  This is how she talks!  Heard of karaoke?  Well you have NOT experienced it until Cambodia.  Do not plan on having a conversation while ‘karaoking’ by the way, the louder the better.  Oh and any celebration is surrounded with noise.  Loud music and loud singing and loud chanting, no conversation necessary.  Phnom Penh is very multi-cultural, so every holiday you celebrate in the U.S. and Europe… yup celebrated here to some extent.  Every holiday celebrated in China…celebrated here.  And I could go on.  Not to mention weddings, funerals, and ghosts birthdays (the anniversary of a funeral).}  But enough about the noise.

After spending a day, driving all over the city, trying to figure out how to take ocare of this, making homemade trips (nope, not for sale at your local ‘wal-mart’ haha), trying to borrow the neighbors dog, getting a kitten (not for the mouse but for ‘future security’).

Oh and that brings me to my next point. – the kitten. 

I have had two cats.  Both of which chose our family as adult felines.  I know what kittens and puppies are like don’t get me wrong.   But this cat has not stopped yowling since we got it.  It cries and cries and cries.  It has food, it has water, it even has a litter box.  That is a heck of a lot more than 98% of cats in this city!!!  It cries while being held, it cries constantly.  So, two nights now of a this cat.  I have no idea what to do with it.  I do know that I cannot handle many more nights of very little sleep.  If I wanted a child to keep me awake at night I would have one  J   I named him Oscar by the way, after my friend Austin’s fish.

No ending yet to this part of the story.

The army of mice, on the other hand, G O N E.

Triumph.

The moto is wonderful.  I love driving it, love the traffic here, love saving money on transportation.  Still working on a few glitches such as getting the sticker for the moto (annual payment for road upkeep).  The owner was supposed to give it to me but so far I have not been able to get it.  Gotten one fine so far – Two USD.  Because I turned right on a red light.  Ya, this isn’t the States baby.  Different rules.  Oh the irony of the things you get pulled over for and the things you don’t!!!  At least I have a Cambodian Driver’s License.

Sorry about the length. 

This is life, as of late!

More soon.

A visit to the doctor...

How ironic is it that so many of us from ‘developed’ countries consider ourselves to be more advanced, intelligent, or progressive than those citizens of ‘primitive’ societies.  Maybe we are the ones that are backwards…

Latest story to share…

I have been having some issues and needed to see a doctor but kept putting it off. 

Who likes to go to the doctor anyway…?  Not me, especially after spending thousands of dollars (and yes I had insurance) of my savings on endless tests  in the States in 2010 that really proved nothing.  But maybe I should not hold this against all medical practitioners everywhere.  At least that is what I realized yesterday.

On Thursday I went to see a doctor here in Phnom Penh.  The clinic employs a mixture of both foreign and Khmer doctors.    I walked in and immediately felt the ‘atmosphere’ of Cambodia everywhere, there was a small waiting room with a mix of Cambodians and foreigners.  I walked up to the desk and said I have an appointment with Dr. Galina.  The receptionist said ok follow me and we walked right into the doctors office.  I filled out my paperwork - one half of an 8X11 piece of paper.  I gave my name, birthdate, nationality, address, phone number, and insurance provider.

She then asked me a few questions, figured out what she needed to know and told me what to do next.  She said, tomorrow morning I want you to go (with a full bladder) to Aurora Clinic and ask for an abdominal echography.  So I did it, was a little worried about the cost but I figured hey, it’s a  Khmer clinic, I will figure it out.   Walked into the clinic, no appointment, told the receptionist what I needed, waited about 3 minutes and then followed her into a room.

In the room, I immediately laid on the bed and a doctor asked me how I was feeling, why I was there, and so on.  She took the photographs and showed me each one.  She talked to me the entire time and was very friendly, hiding nothing.  She said everything looks great, please wait for the results.  I waited about four minutes and then was given a nice folder with each of the pictures printed inside (great quality by the way), a detailed description of every organ, and the bill… here is the catch.  

$15

Total

For everything.

It wasn’t dirty.

It didn’t waste an entire morning or afternoon.

It wasn’t primitive.

I didn’t have to wait an hour in the waiting room and then an hour in the room to talk to the doctor and then another hour in the room waiting for the technician.

I didn’t have to fill out 10 pages of paperwork.

The doctor is the one that did everything  Oh and she actually had time J

Best of all – I didn’t have to write a check for a grand.

Went back to the doctor at Naga Clinic (without an appointment might I add), she looked at the results.  Gave me a diagnosis, a prescription and I paid a total of $30.  To see a doctor, TWICE.   Oh and by the way, the pharmacy is IN the clinic so there is no going to a pharmacy and waiting for them to fill the prescription. 

Just thought it would be a fun thing to share.

Especially because I and almost everyone in my family has recently experienced the American medical system in all of it’s FULL and splendid GLORY!!!

And for me it’s that system that is backwards.  Not this one.

Maybe living with parasites in your system is 'normal.'

Maybe taking the time to greet and smile at almost everyone you pass is 'normal.'

Maybe seeing cows roasting on spits all over the city is 'normal.'

I don't really have a 'normal' anymore.

Bad News...

Mary now has to sit outside (in the sunny 90's) when it is below 27 degrees indoors.

For my fellow Americans...that is 80F!!!  

She is going to FREEEEEEZE in the States!!!

That is just my amusing tidbit for the day...

We are what we repeatedly do; excellence, then, is not an act but a habit. —Aristotle

You would want to practice too...

'96 Suzuki Viva :)

The facts:

I try my best to 'fit in' here.

I attempt to NOT look like a tourist or like a foreigner who feels ‘their way’ is the ‘best’ or the ‘only’ way to speak, to behave, and to live. 

This is done through careful attention to mannerism, speech, dress, eye contact, familiarity depending on age, etc. etc.

Constantly I am considering the differences in our societies and in social norms: 

Considering the fact that what I live on would be beneath poverty level in the U.S. but here is living quite well. 

Considering how people in all societies have different expectations for the different genders and their ‘roles.’

Considering how to better fit into society and be thought of as equal, as a member, not an outsider.

The story:

I am going to share an experience I had last night.  The previous day I had purchased a moto so that I could travel around Phnom Penh without paying a Moto taxi every time I needed to go somewhere.  It is difficult to walk everywhere here as the roads are crazy, there are no sidewalks, and pollution is extreme.  I decided it would be a great investment while living in Cambodia.  It is not a good idea to begin driving a new (to you) or different vehicle in a place with completely different traffic rules, or should I say lack thereof, and laws than what you are used to.  My friend came to my apartment and we took the new moto to a less busy part of the city to practice my driving ‘skills.’ 

As I am already an extreme minority in this city (which by the way I think everyone should experience at one time or another!), I attempt to learn and practice as many of the cultural norms as possible.  There is an immediate impression formed in this society because of my race and gender.  But I don’t want to just be another ‘barang.’  There can be a stigma attached to a foreigner here as many come to this developing country solely to benefit themselves at the detriment of others.  I dress as the average citizen dresses, not as a tourist.  I speak in the native language (a tiny bit) to each person I meet to gain a bit of acceptance.  I believe this is part of impression management, specifically physical appearance and verbal expression, as I seek to fit in and be looked upon as an equal by my friends and neighbors.  There is an automatic assumption that because of the color of my skin I am wealthy.  In my own society I would not be considered wealthy.  Here, on the other hand, the fact that I pay $200/month rent, own a computer, and now own a moto, along with the color of my skin means that I am, in this society, considered ‘wealthy.’  So I make every attempt possible to fit in with my friends and neighbors.

I think on some level I wanted to prove that I could figure all of this out on my own, even though everything is in another language and I know NOTHING about motor bikes.  I wanted to purchase the bike, figure out the tax stickers, the vehicle  license as well as my driver’s license and insurance, and lastly learn how to drive the moto quite well as it has been awhile since I have driven anything other than a car.   This will also further establish my membership into the group as the average Cambodian learns how to drive the family motor bike at a very young age.

I really enjoyed driving the moto, it was simple and fun and I couldn’t wait to get home and park it so I could go upstairs to my apartment and study.  As soon as we set off to head for home….the motor wouldn’t start.  It had gas, it had oil, it just wouldn’t start.  Not even the manual starter would start it…  So, guess what…. Well if you have never been to a developing country, there are no tow trucks and no AAA. There is the option of paying for a tuk tuk to haul it home for me or pushing it!  So my friend and I pushed the motor bike all the way home, and it was a ways.

I held my head high as I walked the many kilometers home pushing my motor bike in 96 degree weather.  I pretended to laugh it off when in reality I felt like a complete fool.  I felt that I had made a mistake in the purchase of the moto.  I felt that I did not know enough mechanically, even though this feeling of insecurity is a result of my own society and not the one I am currently in.   It is completely abnormal for a woman to know anything about a moto here, to go and look at one herself or to purchase one herself.  So people were probably not looking at me like I was an idiot, but that is how I felt.  I kept my head held high and a smile on my face (while the perspiration ran down my forehead), seeking to preserve any remaining dignity.