im happy to report that im still living in this weird dimension where everything is falling into place in such a ridiculously smooth way.
i went to phnom penh the other weekend because i had to see a doctor. (yeah it would be nice to have a good doctor within three hours of where we live).
it just so happened that the same weekend i was in town the annual christmas fair was taking place at the intercontinental hotel. so along i went hoping to avoid as many expats with pearl nailpolish matching with their pearl handbags. i barely didnt make it into the front gate with these massive four wheel drives overpowering my humble little tuktuk. but yes..i finally made it in and got to sit on very comfortable couches and pretend i was rich until they opened the door for festivites to begin. i was pretty pleased to realise that practically all the little silk NGO's that i had planned on visiting had a stall so i was able to chat to the owners as well as compare the quality of the different silks. it saved me days and days of work. it was good to see a lot of fantastic stuff..in amongst lots and lots of crap (its christmas after all).
speaking of christmas....ive had some thoughts on the topic. im very aware that the western world is gearing up for the big event...facebook statuses and internet ads highlight the fact that we are as greedy as ever and christmas 2009 proves to be just that little bit worse than christmas 2008. now its not like i have 'arrived' and reached some guru status...but being away from it all...and surrounded by people living in absolute poverty has made a few things really stand out that i would like to mention. first of all...when did christmas become a 'get-fest' for the rich? how has the meaning of christmas been warped into us trying to figure out what to buy for someone who already has it all? $20 doesnt go very far back home. a couple of christmas drinks. a few christmas cards. some wrapping paper and ribbon. over here...$20 can do this (off the top of my head..)
- 4 sets of blocks or 6 wooden puzzles for a preschool that has ZERO supplies. (imagine sending your kid to a preschool with NO books, toys, paper or furniture).
- a bicycle for a kid to get to school or a woman to ride to the market and sell some vegetables.
- a few sets of school uniforms for kids who cant afford them and instead miss out on schooling.
- two water filters which means two families wont need to get sick from drinking contaminated water.
and so on and so on. (these are things that have come up in conversation in just the last week...there are a gazillion other options as well.)
while im here on my soap box i want to share some other thoughts on christmas as well. some of you will have heard about sending a shoe box full of little gifts to third world countries. often churches or schools get involved and send off a whole heap of them. i really believe the intention is good..and its something that i have wanted to support while living in oz. since being here though ive started to look at it differently. in the sense that it brings awareness of those that have less than us the idea is great. its also great to get an organisation on board when it comes to giving to others. thing is...and again...these are just my humble thoughts... is it really beneficial? the boxes are normally filled with little gifts and its encouraged to put in some practical things like toothbrushes. i dont know how much money people would spend on their boxes but i would guess about $20. now to begin with...a box full of trinkets is not really going to benefit anyone. its a very western mentality to give gifts just for the sake of giving something. nothing really useful...just 'feel good' trinkets. its all part of the clutter mentality we have back home. useful things like toothbrushes and stationary can be bought here at a FRACTION of the cost. a toothbrush can be bought for 20c. pens and pencils cost even less. so technically...if the items were bought here so many more people could benefit from having practical items that would actually be useful. then...the rest of the money that would normally go towards trinkets (by trinkets i actually mean useless crap) can be pooled together and something substantial could be bought that would really be used and enjoyed here...like a volleyball net...a ping pong table..a basketball hoop....OR..if something more 'hardcore' is desired..then a small healthclinic could be set up, or a youth center or a playground for a orphanage that has nothing for the children to play with. in other words...something that lots of people would either enjoy and benefit from...as well as build community. instead of individual gifts that dont really benefit anyone. if you are keen to look into doing something like that i would suggest you have a look athttp://www.usefulgifts.org/.
i will now get off my soap box.
the sewing business (here and there) is coming along really really well. i was just about to write that i have four ladies working for me now...but thats now outdated since about an hour ago when another lady came on board. this one im really excited about since she is actually the mother of neshica's friend srei-net. quite possibly the poorest woman i have ever personally known. i have mentioned them before...living in a tiny hut made from scrap metal and palm branches. ive wanted to ask the mother to come and work here for a while now and finally realised that asking her to do ironing would be an ideal job since she wont need to have any previous skills as such...and she wont be shocked into full time work. she has been giving me these massive smiles and she is wearing her prettiest pyjamas so i get the feeling she is pretty pleased. so she is now ironing away about three meters from me...using her first electric gadget...and keeps looking (with her one good eye) over at me with the laptop probably totally confused about what im tapping away on.
at the same time i have two women sewing at their machines..and the other two on the floor cutting fabric. they are happily chatting and giggling while making the skirts. i really enjoy the friendships that are taking place...my favorite being that Any seems to love having all these women to hang out with. thankfully they all get along really well and so far there seems to be no signs of a pecking order which i was warned about. id be lost without Any. not speaking the language what so ever makes it impossible to do what i do without Any helping out. its not that she is that good at english..but we seem to make a good pair and so far we havent had any dramas.
its pretty crazy really how its all turned out. arriving in august seems like a lifetime ago now. i remember having my head spinning at all the needs around me..the heat, the crazy language, the smitten husband... i remember thinking that as long as i made it till christmas i would be able to return to australia and feel that we had been away for a substantial enough time to not look too much like idiots.
now i honestly cant imagine ever living in australia again. most mornings i wake up early...get on my bike...and ride as the sun rises over the rice paddies. its a massive orange ball in the sky that highlights the palms swaying in the breeze. i ride along our bumpy rode, passing the occasional prehistoric woman walking to the rice field with a big knife in her hand. a krama wrapped around her head, sarong around her legs and wearing a silk blouse. the obvious outfit for a day in the rice paddy. i ride through a tiny muslim village that are starting their day eating noodles in the many breakfast shacks...i then turn and get onto another bumpy road..this time making sure i avoid the cows, the hens with their chicks, the dogs, the potholes, the monks, the toddlers, the dogs, the ducks, the roosters, the dogs and the occasional 15 year old kid on a moto racing past. (yes, they exist here in cambodia as well). i then turn onto the highway that goes to Phnom Penh..only i join the slowmotion 'tour de france' crowd heading towards kampot. cycling alongside the masses heading to work. mainly bikes with someone sitting on the back. holding bags with their breakfast noodles. the women sitting side saddle and not holding on. often peeling a fruit with a small knife. four or five young men on one moto. the occasional family - with numerous children and babies on board. i try to avoid eye contact the trucks coming past with huge amounts of men squeezed onto the back. animals wouldnt be allowed to travel like that in australia. but there they are...some wearing hard hats, others ladies hats (think horse races) and the younger ones wearing baseball caps with gold sequins. i cross a wobbly bridge trying to time it to avoid sharing it with a truck..then arrive into kampot. turn into the market street which at this time is buzzing with life. bicycles with 100 chickens hanging from a pole on the back. still alive. wagons full of watermelons. pigs tied with rope hanging upside down from a moto. everything you look needs a second look but before you do something else catches your eye. its almost impossible to stay on the bike at this stage since there is so many vehicles and animals going in every direction. some mornings i stop at this stage and go into the market and sit at a rickety stall and eat some noodles. the lady mixes the fried noodles with grated cucumber and mint. dried shrimp. and then i squeeze lime over it and throw some chilies on top. YUM. i also buy a fresh coconut to drink that they chop open infront of me and so far no one has lost any fingers. the full breakfast costs me 75c. (dont tell steve, he'd say thats expensive.) i then hop back on the bike and ride to the end of the market road..turn right at the new bridge and get back on uterus road and im home in less than ten minutes. so all in all the ride takes about 40min not including the breakfast stop.
i then get home to steve and levi having their khmer lesson. they start at 6:30 these days. (impressive). Time is usually already on her bike..visiting the different neighbours...ocea already grubby...and neshica trying to get some more minutes in bed. at 8 the ladies arrive on their bikes and another day begins.
its amazing how quickly its become normal. how my cars with no break dreams have been replaced with bikes with no break dreams. how fish, rice and greens are a staple lunch. that steve cooks more meals than i do. that i can survive in a humid country. that my kids have endless friends to play and no need to call around to organise a time first.
i really couldnt have asked for things to turn out any better. we now have christmas to look forward to. a non hyped christmas. its going to be a low key event. tonight a new friend called leah is coming over and we will make gingerbread..i will light some candles, play some christmas music (yes i will steve) and hopefully it will feel just a little bit cosy. then tomorrow is christmas eve. the morning will be spent picking up rubbish at a school (just funny timing..not a christmas event as such) - then at night ive told the kids a christmas angel is arriving with a gift. (they are more excited about figuring out who the christmas angel is than the gift). what they dont know is that they are about to get two little kittens...something they have wanted for sooo long now. and yes..its the ultimate sacrifice on my part. as some of you know im not the animal loving sort of person. then christmas day we will head over to our friends house. have a lunch with a few different people. and hopefully arrange a marriage in the midst of that. (ive found a husband for Any....) then inviting people back here for a relaxed afternoon...swim in the river, ping pong and possibly some christmas noodles for dinner.
so yes...AGAIN a super long update...and still so many things left out. i mean...i havent even mentioned our coconut oil plans.
if you have a spare moment check out my very new blog that ive started for 'here and there'. its got a few photos of things that are happening..and im adding to it as things unfold.www.hereandtherecambodia.blogspot.com
again...reminding you that our home is open for visitors and we would love to share our little adventure with you.
i went to phnom penh the other weekend because i had to see a doctor. (yeah it would be nice to have a good doctor within three hours of where we live).
it just so happened that the same weekend i was in town the annual christmas fair was taking place at the intercontinental hotel. so along i went hoping to avoid as many expats with pearl nailpolish matching with their pearl handbags. i barely didnt make it into the front gate with these massive four wheel drives overpowering my humble little tuktuk. but yes..i finally made it in and got to sit on very comfortable couches and pretend i was rich until they opened the door for festivites to begin. i was pretty pleased to realise that practically all the little silk NGO's that i had planned on visiting had a stall so i was able to chat to the owners as well as compare the quality of the different silks. it saved me days and days of work. it was good to see a lot of fantastic stuff..in amongst lots and lots of crap (its christmas after all).
speaking of christmas....ive had some thoughts on the topic. im very aware that the western world is gearing up for the big event...facebook statuses and internet ads highlight the fact that we are as greedy as ever and christmas 2009 proves to be just that little bit worse than christmas 2008. now its not like i have 'arrived' and reached some guru status...but being away from it all...and surrounded by people living in absolute poverty has made a few things really stand out that i would like to mention. first of all...when did christmas become a 'get-fest' for the rich? how has the meaning of christmas been warped into us trying to figure out what to buy for someone who already has it all? $20 doesnt go very far back home. a couple of christmas drinks. a few christmas cards. some wrapping paper and ribbon. over here...$20 can do this (off the top of my head..)
- 4 sets of blocks or 6 wooden puzzles for a preschool that has ZERO supplies. (imagine sending your kid to a preschool with NO books, toys, paper or furniture).
- a bicycle for a kid to get to school or a woman to ride to the market and sell some vegetables.
- a few sets of school uniforms for kids who cant afford them and instead miss out on schooling.
- two water filters which means two families wont need to get sick from drinking contaminated water.
and so on and so on. (these are things that have come up in conversation in just the last week...there are a gazillion other options as well.)
while im here on my soap box i want to share some other thoughts on christmas as well. some of you will have heard about sending a shoe box full of little gifts to third world countries. often churches or schools get involved and send off a whole heap of them. i really believe the intention is good..and its something that i have wanted to support while living in oz. since being here though ive started to look at it differently. in the sense that it brings awareness of those that have less than us the idea is great. its also great to get an organisation on board when it comes to giving to others. thing is...and again...these are just my humble thoughts... is it really beneficial? the boxes are normally filled with little gifts and its encouraged to put in some practical things like toothbrushes. i dont know how much money people would spend on their boxes but i would guess about $20. now to begin with...a box full of trinkets is not really going to benefit anyone. its a very western mentality to give gifts just for the sake of giving something. nothing really useful...just 'feel good' trinkets. its all part of the clutter mentality we have back home. useful things like toothbrushes and stationary can be bought here at a FRACTION of the cost. a toothbrush can be bought for 20c. pens and pencils cost even less. so technically...if the items were bought here so many more people could benefit from having practical items that would actually be useful. then...the rest of the money that would normally go towards trinkets (by trinkets i actually mean useless crap) can be pooled together and something substantial could be bought that would really be used and enjoyed here...like a volleyball net...a ping pong table..a basketball hoop....OR..if something more 'hardcore' is desired..then a small healthclinic could be set up, or a youth center or a playground for a orphanage that has nothing for the children to play with. in other words...something that lots of people would either enjoy and benefit from...as well as build community. instead of individual gifts that dont really benefit anyone. if you are keen to look into doing something like that i would suggest you have a look athttp://www.usefulgifts.org/.
i will now get off my soap box.
the sewing business (here and there) is coming along really really well. i was just about to write that i have four ladies working for me now...but thats now outdated since about an hour ago when another lady came on board. this one im really excited about since she is actually the mother of neshica's friend srei-net. quite possibly the poorest woman i have ever personally known. i have mentioned them before...living in a tiny hut made from scrap metal and palm branches. ive wanted to ask the mother to come and work here for a while now and finally realised that asking her to do ironing would be an ideal job since she wont need to have any previous skills as such...and she wont be shocked into full time work. she has been giving me these massive smiles and she is wearing her prettiest pyjamas so i get the feeling she is pretty pleased. so she is now ironing away about three meters from me...using her first electric gadget...and keeps looking (with her one good eye) over at me with the laptop probably totally confused about what im tapping away on.
at the same time i have two women sewing at their machines..and the other two on the floor cutting fabric. they are happily chatting and giggling while making the skirts. i really enjoy the friendships that are taking place...my favorite being that Any seems to love having all these women to hang out with. thankfully they all get along really well and so far there seems to be no signs of a pecking order which i was warned about. id be lost without Any. not speaking the language what so ever makes it impossible to do what i do without Any helping out. its not that she is that good at english..but we seem to make a good pair and so far we havent had any dramas.
its pretty crazy really how its all turned out. arriving in august seems like a lifetime ago now. i remember having my head spinning at all the needs around me..the heat, the crazy language, the smitten husband... i remember thinking that as long as i made it till christmas i would be able to return to australia and feel that we had been away for a substantial enough time to not look too much like idiots.
now i honestly cant imagine ever living in australia again. most mornings i wake up early...get on my bike...and ride as the sun rises over the rice paddies. its a massive orange ball in the sky that highlights the palms swaying in the breeze. i ride along our bumpy rode, passing the occasional prehistoric woman walking to the rice field with a big knife in her hand. a krama wrapped around her head, sarong around her legs and wearing a silk blouse. the obvious outfit for a day in the rice paddy. i ride through a tiny muslim village that are starting their day eating noodles in the many breakfast shacks...i then turn and get onto another bumpy road..this time making sure i avoid the cows, the hens with their chicks, the dogs, the potholes, the monks, the toddlers, the dogs, the ducks, the roosters, the dogs and the occasional 15 year old kid on a moto racing past. (yes, they exist here in cambodia as well). i then turn onto the highway that goes to Phnom Penh..only i join the slowmotion 'tour de france' crowd heading towards kampot. cycling alongside the masses heading to work. mainly bikes with someone sitting on the back. holding bags with their breakfast noodles. the women sitting side saddle and not holding on. often peeling a fruit with a small knife. four or five young men on one moto. the occasional family - with numerous children and babies on board. i try to avoid eye contact the trucks coming past with huge amounts of men squeezed onto the back. animals wouldnt be allowed to travel like that in australia. but there they are...some wearing hard hats, others ladies hats (think horse races) and the younger ones wearing baseball caps with gold sequins. i cross a wobbly bridge trying to time it to avoid sharing it with a truck..then arrive into kampot. turn into the market street which at this time is buzzing with life. bicycles with 100 chickens hanging from a pole on the back. still alive. wagons full of watermelons. pigs tied with rope hanging upside down from a moto. everything you look needs a second look but before you do something else catches your eye. its almost impossible to stay on the bike at this stage since there is so many vehicles and animals going in every direction. some mornings i stop at this stage and go into the market and sit at a rickety stall and eat some noodles. the lady mixes the fried noodles with grated cucumber and mint. dried shrimp. and then i squeeze lime over it and throw some chilies on top. YUM. i also buy a fresh coconut to drink that they chop open infront of me and so far no one has lost any fingers. the full breakfast costs me 75c. (dont tell steve, he'd say thats expensive.) i then hop back on the bike and ride to the end of the market road..turn right at the new bridge and get back on uterus road and im home in less than ten minutes. so all in all the ride takes about 40min not including the breakfast stop.
i then get home to steve and levi having their khmer lesson. they start at 6:30 these days. (impressive). Time is usually already on her bike..visiting the different neighbours...ocea already grubby...and neshica trying to get some more minutes in bed. at 8 the ladies arrive on their bikes and another day begins.
its amazing how quickly its become normal. how my cars with no break dreams have been replaced with bikes with no break dreams. how fish, rice and greens are a staple lunch. that steve cooks more meals than i do. that i can survive in a humid country. that my kids have endless friends to play and no need to call around to organise a time first.
i really couldnt have asked for things to turn out any better. we now have christmas to look forward to. a non hyped christmas. its going to be a low key event. tonight a new friend called leah is coming over and we will make gingerbread..i will light some candles, play some christmas music (yes i will steve) and hopefully it will feel just a little bit cosy. then tomorrow is christmas eve. the morning will be spent picking up rubbish at a school (just funny timing..not a christmas event as such) - then at night ive told the kids a christmas angel is arriving with a gift. (they are more excited about figuring out who the christmas angel is than the gift). what they dont know is that they are about to get two little kittens...something they have wanted for sooo long now. and yes..its the ultimate sacrifice on my part. as some of you know im not the animal loving sort of person. then christmas day we will head over to our friends house. have a lunch with a few different people. and hopefully arrange a marriage in the midst of that. (ive found a husband for Any....) then inviting people back here for a relaxed afternoon...swim in the river, ping pong and possibly some christmas noodles for dinner.
so yes...AGAIN a super long update...and still so many things left out. i mean...i havent even mentioned our coconut oil plans.
if you have a spare moment check out my very new blog that ive started for 'here and there'. its got a few photos of things that are happening..and im adding to it as things unfold.www.hereandtherecambodia.blogspot.com
again...reminding you that our home is open for visitors and we would love to share our little adventure with you.
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