Food, the good and bad

In general, I like the food in Cambodia. On the left is a picture of some roadside food that I bought for maybe $1.50 near my house. The good. As for the bad (from my perspective), there are some things that Cambodians eat that I don't, such as a variety of fried insects, coagulated blood chunks, chicken embryos, river snails, and a snake-on-a-stick snack that I saw for the first time last night at a big gathering. Prahok, a fermented fish paste which is widely used here, is probably my biggest omission.  Cambodians know that foreigners can't stomach it and I am often asked if I have tried it, though no one has offered it to me yet. When I was younger, I might have been more interested in trying some of these foods, but I think years of reality tv shows featuring disgusting food eating competitions such as Survivor, Fear Factor, and The Amazing Race, have removed the charm for me.

As I mentioned in a prior post, I do try a lot of products that are imported from other Southeast Asian countries available in the Western-style import stores. Products which resemble something I am familiar with, but with a twist.  So, in the spirit of barely-adventurous eating, today I tried aloe vera yogurt imported from Viet Nam:

 An aloe chunk close-up:

I thought it might be gross, and it was. Maybe if I didn't associate the taste and smell with sunburn medicine, it would have been okay.

Knitting for cats

I finished knitting a hat for myself and decided the cats needed one too. They were not nearly as amused as I was.

The finished hat for the cats

Gizmo tried it on first.  He won most photogenic.

Rufus was not pleased.  

 ShyShy wasn't having any of it.  Only one picture before he zipped away with his ears back. I'm wearing the hat I made for me to set a good example.

A few of my favorite things

A big part of me wants to be like Henry David Thoreau and live a minimalist existence in natural surroundings.  There are so many material items that I enjoy that I could do without.  Maybe one day I'll get there, but for now here is a random list of some of my favorite stuff in no particular order:

1)  Our hammocks.  We bought a pair of Eno DoubleNests a couple of summers ago, and Matthew had some straps made so that stringing them up between trees is a cinch. We always take them backpacking and sometimes on vacation.  We have even slept in them a couple of times.  They are lightweight and pack into an attached compression sack nice and tidy.  When we are in Utah, we store them in the trunk of the car in case we need to do some spontaneous hammocking at any time. I heart hammocks.

2)  My Immersion Blender, the Cuisinart SmartStick, which I have had for a few years now.  I love how you can just stick it in a pot on the stove and puree without having to transfer to a different container, or make a smoothie in the cup you will drink it from.  And so easy to clean, just a quick rinse in the sink.  I hardly brought anything with me to Cambodia, but I did bring this with me.  These days I've been using it to make mango smoothies (can't wait for the return of mango season) and to make refried beans, which have become one of our staple protein sources in our Cambodia diet.

3)  My chemical peel solution.  I use the 25% TCA from Skin Obsession.  First of all, it is so inexpensive.  $30 dollars for a bottle that will last for several applications, compared to hundreds of dollars to have a professional apply it for you.  I love do-it-yourself stuff for cheap as well as anything resembling a medical procedure, so this is extra fun for me.  It is so satisfying to have a whole layer of skin peel off and have fresh skin underneath.  I researched home chemical peels when I was figuring out how to improve my scars after my accident a couple of years ago.  I read several articles from medical journals and also online forums of people who do chemical peels themselves at home. But the plastic surgeon ended up doing such a good job in fixing my scars that I've mainly had fun using it to remove little areas of discoloration from the sun, stave off tiny wrinkles, and improve my skin texture.  Just a warning to anyone who might be thinking of trying at-home peels--this strength of peel can seriously burn you if you don't know what you are doing, and it takes some grit to get through the stinging sensation when you apply it.    I started by experimenting with weaker peels that only make skin flake a bit to get my feet under me, and worked my way up to a stronger peel when I felt more comfortable.  In the picture my skin is starting to peel probably 4 days after applying the solution.  So much fun.

4) My foot heater.  One of my friends at work had one, and I stole it from her so much that I knew I needed to get one for myself.  It is perfect if your coworkers like more AC than you do. It heats up your whole body. What I like about it compared to a space heater is that it isn't nearly powerful, so it isn't a fire risk or burn risk and it doesn't consume much electricity.  In the winter, sometimes I put it under my blankets for a few minutes to warm things up before I go to sleep. Nothing feels better than putting my feet on this and feeling the warm air blow up when I'm cold.  It's reminiscent of snuggling up by the heat vent on the floor with a blanket.  So good.  But definitely not needed in Cambodia.

5) Earplugs.  Such a simple little item that makes life so much more comfortable to me. I always take a pair with me when I travel anywhere.  Any noisy, obnoxious environment can be blocked out. Especially handy when staying over at a friends or relatives house and sleeping on their couch or floor.  When the rest of the house gets up and starts roaming around, I can just plug out the noise and go back to sleep.  If I ever make it to my own Walden pond, I might feel justified in bringing a pair.                        

6) Electric Fans.  I have loved fans since I was a little kid.  I love the sound of wind they make, I love feeling the breeze.  My favorite thing is to have a fan blowing on me at night.  The sound soothes me to sleep and blocks out ambient noise around me.  Unlike my foot heater, these come in handy in Cambodia.

7) Cable ties. Readily available in Cambodia. Lately, I have developed a love for these. When something needs to be rigged up, these ties never fail to come in handy. Check out all the things you can do with cable ties.  Maybe these could come to Walden...

8) Decongestant nasal spray.  When I was a kid, I had one cold after another.  The most tortuous thing was trying to sleep with my nasal passages plugged.  I hated it.  It wasn't until pharmacy school when we had a lecture on certain over-the-counter products that I decided it was time for me to give the nasal spray a try.  The next time I had a cold, I squirted the stuff up my nose and I could breath again. Having cold is no longer such an ordeal.  As a pharmacist, definitely my favorite OTC product.  Just don't use it for more than 3 days (you could get rebound congestion) and you're set.

9) My Bicycle. When I was grade-school age, I was a bike-riding fiend.  Every day I was roaming around the neighborhood and I loved it.  Since I don't have a car in Cambodia, Matt suggested I get a bike to get around.  I was a bit nervous at first riding my bike around in the crazy Phnom Penh traffic, but now I wouldn't want to be without it.  I much prefer riding my bike when possible to having a tuk tuk take me somewhere.  I feel so free and independent again. I had forgotten how much I love bike riding. I usually take my backpack with me and come home loaded with groceries in my pack and in the basket.  Matt got a bike also.  Sometimes he bikes to work, and also goes on biking treks for exercise.  He has taken me on some really fun biking excursions through Phnom Penh.  I am visiting Utah right now and find myself missing my bike.  I've had the urge to hop on and go for a ride multiple times.  In the first picture, a man I had purchased grass from was loading it onto my bike for me (I buy grass from a roadside vendor to make hay for my bunny).  Cambodians can tie anything to a bike.  They are really really good at that.

10) Motorcycles.  I love motorcycles.  But I'm also terrified of them.  At one point a few years ago, due to a tragedy in our family, Matt and I swore off them forever.  That didn't last though.  I have fought the idea of getting one of my own, but it is hard to resist in Cambodia.  Everybody has a motorcycle.  A few times since moving to Cambodia we have rented motorcycles to get around when we were out of town and needed transportation.  I fall in love more every time.  We've ridden along countryside dirt roads, and through a national forest.  Once, when we were in the town of Kampot, I rented a motorcycle and rode it to a zoo, about a half an hour away.  Once there, I actually rode the motorcycle around the zoo to see the different animals.  Matt rented a motorcycle also and joined me later in the day.  I had the time of my life. Matt is an old pro.  He's owned a motorcycle before.  And it is certainly no big deal to Cambodians.  But to me it is so exciting.  I've pretty much decided not to get one for traveling around Phnom Penh, though it is tempting.  Riding a bike in the Phnom Penh traffic isn't danger free, but adding the speed of a motorcycle is one level of danger too much for me in a country where I've been in a serious traffic accident already.  I'll still be able to rent them when out in the countryside where I feel a little safer.  And just maybe I'll get a dirt bike to ride along mountain trails one day when we come back to the US.

To any friends who have blogs, and also Matt, I'd love to see your list of favorites.

Groceries

We do a lot of our food shopping at the local markets, but we really appreciate the fact that Phnom Penh has a few Western style supermarkets, primarily stocked with goods imported from other countries. There are a lot of Thai products.

For example, this baby powder. I sweat like crazy when I'm outside.  Sometimes sweat is streaming off me when I don't even feel that hot, so I thought I'd experiment and see if dousing myself in baby powder would help. The closest supermarket had several varieties of baby powder, including a small bottle of an American brand for $5. But the clear choice was "Babi Mild." For $1.50 I got a huge bottle of powder fortified with "double milk protein plus" and "beautimin C from mixed berries." What girl couldn't use a dash of beautimin C?  

Here is another berry-themed Thai product that I enjoy, though Matt isn't a fan. Blueberry Ice cream Oreos. "Ice cream" because the filling contains menthol to make your mouth feel cold.  Pretty great if you ask me.

Landmines

Matt took this picture while we waited at a bus station in Phnom Penh.  This man was playing a traditional Cambodian musical instrument called a "troo" and collecting tips.  I don't know how they are usually made, but his was made with a tin can, a wooden neck, and two strings.  I asked if he would give me a short lesson if I paid him and he agreed.  I was horrible.  Since I used to play the violin and this was a bow and string instrument, I thought maybe I could make a nice sound come out, but I made a horrible screeching noise.  When he played, it was fantastic.  He was really talented.

All of the people I've seen so far playing this instrument on the streets for money have been physically disabled in some way.  This man was missing a limb.  Another man I met was blind and had suffered some sort of facial trauma.  A little boy was leading him around while he played.  His music was amazing also.

I've read that Cambodia has one of the highest amputee ratios in the world.  Around 50,000 people who have lost a limb due to landmines planted during the decades of war.  A third of landmine victims are children. There are still millions of unexploded landmines remaining in Cambodia.  They are so insidious because they harm innocent people for decades after fighting has stopped.  There is an international campaign to ban the use of landmines in war, and so far 160 countries have signed a land-mine treaty.  The United States is one of a few hold outs.  I really wish our country would participate. 

Apple underwear

One day on our recent vacation to the seaside town of Kep, Matt and I pulled off to the side of the road to check out a little eating establishment.  This guy was asleep in front of the little shop with his iPhone underwear on display just begging to be photographed.  I quietly approached with my camera and he never woke up.

When we returned from the trip, I showed our housekeeper the pictures I had taken. When we came to this picture, she thought I took it because of an aesthetic appreciate for young men.  I didn't have the right vocabulary to explain that this picture was taken because it struck a cord with my foreign sense of humor.

The same thing had happened before when I showed her the pictures from another trip I had taken to the charming town of Battambong to meet up with Matt who was there for work.

 

I thought this was a great shot of a young Cambodian man talking on his cell phone by the river front, but she thought I was into the guy in the picture.  Hopefully one day soon I'll have the language skills to explain myself better.  It's hard to be convincing when you can barely speak.

For the record, Matt is the only one that makes me swoon.  I'll end this post with a picture of him from our recent trip, taken after we came across some mannequins. When the housekeeper saw this, she laughed and laughed. "He's wearing hair!  He's wearing hair, ha ha ha ha!"

Phnom Tamau Wildlife Sanctuary

On Saturday Matthew and I went to the greatest zoo I have ever been too. I loved every minute of it. Touching and feeding many of the animals was completely fine. Warning signs--none.  It was the perfect day to be there. It was raining for part of the time, so we nearly had the place to ourselves.

The zoo consists of rescued animals that for whatever reason can not be released back into the wild. I was impressed with the quality of the animal enclosures. It seems like this place really does great things.

When we arrived, some girls sold us pieces of sugar cane, a bag of potatoes, and a bunch of bananas to feed the animals. One of those girls followed us around and offered to carry the bags of food for me. She was trying to give away our food as quickly as possible to any animal she could find so that we would buy more from her, so I had to take the bags back.  So cheeky!  Most of the bananas were stolen by a lone monkey who snatched the bunch from Matt's hand. I chased that monkey but he made it up a tree and probably spent the day eating bananas by himself. Everybody was laughing. It's funny when it is stolen bananas. If it is your camera that gets snatched by the monkey, not as funny.

Our little friend who was trying to help us get rid of the food we bought from her

We saw a few wild boars roaming around loose. When one came toodling over near us and a group of Cambodians, we were all a little nervous.  Our friend who was following us started feeding it, and before long we were all touching it.

Matt with a wild boar 

Another highlight was five adorable river otters. As soon as those otters saw us coming, they dropped what they were doing and started begging at the fence.  They wanted us to buy some fish to feed them.  We pretended that we were walking away to see what they would do, and they scampered away to play again.  When we came back, they came right back to the fence.  We bought a plate of fish to feed them for a dollar.  Otters are one of my favorites.

Hungry little face poking through the fence

Beg, plead, beg!

Hope, wait, plead!

Fish from Matt!

The otters patiently waiting:

One of my other favorite things was the monkeys.  There were monkeys running wild around the zoo, and a variety of rescued monkeys in enclosures.  It was fun feeding the little monkeys that were running around, but our favorite was an old mama gibbon.  She had a huge cataract in one eye and part of one of her hands was damaged.  I offered her some sugarcane and to our surprise she rejected the treat and instead grabbed my hand and placed it on her head to get scratched!  Then she wanted a leg massage.  It was so fun.  I held her little hands and stroked them and looked at her fingers.  She was so sweet.  I could have stayed there with her all day.

Our favorite gibbon

Here's the footage:

This sanctuary is making a big effort to save sunbears, an endangered species in Cambodia.  They have been hunted to the brink of extinction because bear paw soup is a delicacy in China.  It's really sad how many of Cambodia's resources are permanently destroyed in various ways for short-term supplies of cash.  I guess that is a problem everywhere in the world though.

Endangered sunbear

Elephants in Cambodia have also been nearly killed off for their ivory.  This guy is one of the few left in Cambodia.  We saw him roaming around so we drove up to check him out.  He came over to our car and we rolled down the window.  He stuck his trunk in and I gave him a treat and a pat on the trunk.  It was so great!

 Elephant at the window

We also saw tigers, cheetah, and a variety of other mammals and birds.

Coin rubbing

The apartment we are renting provides daily maid service to the tenants. Every day I try to talk to the maid a little bit, just about daily things, to practice speaking. It usually doesn't result in much actual information being communicated since my Khmer skills are so poor, but the maid seems to enjoy trying with me, which I appreciate. She is a really sweet woman. I thinks she has the impression that I understand more of what she is saying than what I really do. When I say "I don't understand" in response to something she says to me (which is true for just about everything she says) she seems disappointed, so I don't have the heart to tell her that I have no idea what she is saying very often.

Yesterday I asked her if she had children and she told me she had 5, 3 girls and two boys. Finally, a conversation that was resulting in actual information being exchanged! She said she also had a husband. Then, continuing with the small talk, I heard her say the word for "hurt" or "sick". She pulled up her sleeves and her arms had huge bruises on them. She pulled down the front of her shirt a bit, and her chest had huge streaks of bruising as well. I immediately became very concerned. Since she had just mentioned having a husband, I asked if it was her husband who caused this. She said no, and kept making rubbing motions back and forth over her bruises.

Then I remembered something Matt had told me about treating illness in Cambodia and I immediately felt relieved. Cambodians and other southeast asians often treat illness by having someone rub their skin with a coin until welts form. Enough force is applied that it causes bruising. By showing me her bruises, she was letting me know that she was sick and had been treated. She said the illness was in her neck, and I heard her coughing a couple of days earlier, so I'm guessing it was a cold.

I was glad I knew about coin rubbing, otherwise I would have spent the whole day worrying that the maid had an abusive husband, a blood disease, or some other horrible thing. Phew!

The market

I have been here for just over a week now and I'm really loving it so far.  I met a girl from Ecuador at church who said the first month in Cambodia is the honeymoon period, then you become disillusioned for a while, and then you start adjusting and feeling okay about life again.  I'm definitely honeymooning right now.  We'll see how I feel in a few weeks I guess.  Matt has been here for over a month now and is doing really well also.

I love the apartment that Matt found for us.  It is really nice and comfortable and feels very homey.  I also like the neighborhood, Toul Kork.  It is relatively quiet yet it is so close to everything for me.  It is near the Royal University of Phnom Penh where I am going to start Khmer language classes in a week, the church we go to, a Western style supermarket with a lot of imported products, and also one of the best hospitals in Phnom Penh.  I am already familiar with that hospital because I went there to get my wounds cleaned once.  Best of all, the Toul Kork market is probably about a block away from our house

Matt picked a really great location for me because I can either walk or take tuk tuks for short distances to get  to the places I'll need to go to the most.  Matt is allowed to take home a Red Cross car to use on the evenings and weekends. He uses that to drive across town to and from work everyday.  That is so nice to have available, and I feel much safer riding in the car for longer trips.

I am usually such a picture fiend, but I haven't taken many pictures so far because I don't want to look like a tourist.  I really stand out in our neighborhood. People watch me when I walk down the street and they remember me.  I'm the only Caucasian besides Matt that I've seen walking around, and a vacationer taking pictures isn't the image I want to project.  Yesterday when Matt was with me at the market I decided to just grit my teeth and take my camera out, even though it pained me to do it.  I've also taken some pictures while in the car.

I go to the market almost every day and it's a great place for me to try speaking. Most of the time, I feel really optimistic about learning Khmer and love trying to speak using the very few things I know, but one day, after a particularly confusing time at the market, I was feeling discouraged and felt like progress was going to be impossibly slow and difficult.  I decided I couldn't go any longer without knowing the numbers and so that night Matt taught me the numbers from 1 to a million as well as money terminology.  Things went so much more smoothly at the market the next day.  I was so happy and excited.  I just have to add that I am so lucky to have Matt to help teach me.  He speaks flawless Khmer, he has an degree in linguistics, and he is an all around great teacher.  I may be biased, but I am totally convinced that I have the best Khmer teacher in the world.

One of the entrances to the market at the end of the street

 

At the market

The little kids there are so cute.  A majority of the vendors are women and they bring their kids with them.
 

 

Yesterday, Matt and I heard a sad little kitten crying somewhere in the market.  We zoned in on the sound and a nice man asked if I wanted him to catch it for me.  It was so alone and so sad.  There are tons of cats and dogs around, breeding like crazy.  Some of the dogs are kept as pets, but all of the cats are feral. The man told Matt that they don't keep cats as pets or even let their children play with cats because the cat fur will get in their nose and give them asthma.  Another man piped in and told Matt that cats with three colors and long tails are magical.  They can just look at a bird and it will fall down dead.  Interesting.  He didn't say whether the magical cats are an exception and can safely be kept as pets.  I'd like to know.  Anyway, I felt so bad for that kitten.  It was so scared of people and all alone.  I wanted to take it home with me.  Instead I let it go and it hid beneath something and started crying again.  

The saddest little kitten

 

I'll include one more picture at the market for this post.  The English words and phrases that get printed on things and the English names given to some businesses are an endless source of entertainment for Matt and me.  This t-shirt was cracking me up.  I might have to go back and buy it:

"Rain is liquid precipitation, as opposed to non-liquid kinds of precipitation, such as snow, hail, and HAPPY SMILE"

There are even lollipops and a cat wearing socks and on it.  Brilliant!