Traffic Safety

Seeing Cambodians riding on top of a car or a pile of goods on a cargo truck always makes me want to take a picture. I guess because it would be such a daring thing to attempt in the United States (though I wouldn't be surprised if my friend Liesel has done it).

A van of people coming back to Phnom Penh after a long holiday weekend visiting family in the countryside 

The other day I watched a local Cambodian television show about traffic safety. A guy interviewed a policeman and then did man-on-the-street interviews with Phnom Penh drivers to ask their opinions about the causes of traffic accidents, a big cause of injury and death in Cambodia. The safety problems commonly identified were driving too fast, drunk driving, and running red lights (though traffic lights are relatively new to Phnom Penh). It was interesting to me that some things we talk about all the time in the United States weren't mentioned. Like texting while driving. Here, it's not just people driving cars, but also people driving motorcycles and riding bicycles in traffic with only one hand steering and eyes glued to the phone. Apparently, that issue hasn't hit the radar here yet. Also, not a single mention of seat belts. That didn't really surprise me though since seat belts are routinely removed from vehicles--they get in the way when trying to cram as many people in as humanly possible.  

I'm glad the van in the picture made it safely back to Phnom Penh. I have a lot of respect for how scrappy Cambodians can be. They do what it takes to get along often with very little money.

Dancing with Cambodians

One thing I'm going to really miss about Cambodians--they love to dance.  There is dancing at every party and every wedding.  It is good for my soul.  Last night I went to a work party with Matt and he took some video of it.  Probably the last dancing here for me before we move back.  Also, I'm starting to look more pregnant. The girl I'm dancing with in the video kept scolding me every time she thought I was dancing too rough for the little baby inside.  :)

http://youtu.be/5YL2-DrzsBs

Out for errands on Saturday

Little kids begging in traffic :(

Aaaaaaack!  Don't fall!

Morning exercise

I know taking clandestine videos of your neighbors is usually frowned upon, but his balcony is in street view, so I figured maybe it isn't so bad.  This guy exercises like this for about 30 minutes to an hour early each morning. It brings a smile to my face every time. (I'm sure he would find it twice as amusing if he saw me exercising.) And plus, I don't think he would mind this video if he knew how happy it made me...

Boy or girl?

The next ultrasound with my doctor to check on the baby is coming up in a week or so. I'm 5 months along, and it will be the ultrasound where we'll find out if it's a boy or a girl. Unfortunately, Matt won't be able to come with me to the appointment.

Matt is visiting America right now, but one Saturday before he left, we tried to find a doctor close by with an ultrasound machine to find out the sex so that Matt could be there too. The hospital I've been going to for this pregnancy is on the other side of Phnom Penh and we didn't want to drive out there. We tried a Chinese hospital down the street. They had the capability, but the doctor wouldn't do it for us. She said it is against Chinese medical ethics. In China, with the one child limit, illegal abortions are more likely to occur for girl babies, so apparently doctors aren't supposed to reveal the gender so early. It was nice to see someone stick to their ethics in favor of money, even though the doctor wasn't under Chinese law here. We were tired, so we didn't try any other places that day, and we didn't try again before he left for America and it was too late.

Today the weather here was cooler than usual, 86 degrees, so I decided it was a good time to go out and forage for some food. While walking in my neighborhood, I came across a Cambodian hospital I hadn't seen before. Why wait another week? I popped in and asked if they could check the sex of my baby. The building was very run down on the inside, but it was clean. I had three Vietnamese doctors fussing over me. They spoke Vietnamese with each other, but they could speak Khmer also. They were sending me in different directions without coordinating with each other. One had me come in to the room with the old ultrasound machine before another one wanted me in there, so I went back to the waiting room. A different one, who didn't know how far along I was yet, told me to drink water so my bladder would be full for the ultrasound, and then another one came along and told me that wasn't necessary.

Finally, my three doctors and I were in the room ready to go. They were being completely adorable, acting so excited, like they were finding out the gender of their own baby. All smiling big, and talking excitedly while examining the screen.

"IT'S A GIRL!!"

"Do you like girls?"  One of them asked.  "Yes, I do!"  I said.  They were all very pleased.  "Oh, it's a girl, and she like's girls!" One of them patted me on the leg. They melted my heart.

Such a contrast from my Russian doctor!  She seems very strict and isn't touchy feely.

Examples:

Doctor--"Pregnancy is not a disease"

Doctor--"You paid too much for IVF. In my country, only $500!"

Doctor--"Have you been exercising?"
Me--"um...No"
Doctor--"Why not?"
Me--"Because I've been constantly nauseated"
Doctor--silence

Doctor--"You plan to have c-section?"
Me--"No, the only thing is that I want an epidural."
Doctor--"Why you think you need epidural?"
Me--"Um, to avoid the worst pain known to mankind?"
Doctor--"You should come to my birth class"

She is growing on me though.  Every time I see her, I like her a little more.  And perhaps the language barrier makes her seem more serious than she really is.   Her English isn't that great, and she doesn't speak Khmer to help bridge the gap. I can understand what she says, but she has a hard time understanding me.

Anyway, back to my Vietnamese doctors.  Originally, I was quoted a price of $10 to check the sex. When the receptionist handed me the bill, it said $5.50.  One of the doctors, an older man, came over with a big smile and said "You are having a baby girl!  We are giving you a good price to help your baby" and gave me a pat on the shoulder.  If my heart wasn't a puddle of goo before, now it was dripping all over the waiting area.

We're not surprised to hear it is a girl.  Since Matt missed the previous ultrasound with my doctor also, we got another one for fun a couple of weeks later on a weekend with a random doctor so he could have a chance to see the baby too.  The doctor at that time guessed it was a girl, but said it was too early to really know.

So, for whatever a $5 ultrasound is worth, we're having a girl!  I think it is correct, though.  They got some really clear views from different angles, and it looked like a girl to me.

On a related note, has anybody ever watched the show "I didn't know I was pregnant"?  There are several episodes on YouTube and I've watched about 10 of them.  It's like the best practical joke in the world that never gets old to watch.  It is hard to understand how it can happen though.  At 5 months, I can feel this little baby squirming up a storm every day.

Neighborhood sounds

Last year, a blind man came through our neighborhood and walked right in front of our apartment, filling it with beautiful music for quite a while since he walks so slowly. I loved it so much I had to go outside and take a video of him.

The most common sound is from "eet caay" people who walk the streets towing carts looking for recyclable trash. They make squeaky little horns out of empty dishliquid bottles which they squeeze as they walk along to notify people to bring out their recyclables. Matt tells me they used to yell out "eet caay" all day as they walked along, and though I've heard that occasionally, these days the horns make it so yelling isn't necessary.  I can't imagine how hard it would be to tow that cart all day long in the heat. A lot of times a cute little kid is along for the day in the back of the cart with the trash. They are very poor people.

Another sound I hear quite often is the Cambodian equivalent of the ice cream truck--the ice cream motorcycle with an attached cooler.  As far as I can tell, all ice cream vendors in Phnom Penh play the same tune.

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!"