Schooled by Pushpa

January 18-21: On Jan 18th we all pakced up and took a bus to Bangkok International Airport to catch our flight to Cambodia. It was a bit of a hassle in the beginning but we all managed to get through and make our way to the plane. It was such a short ride and it was a little less than an hour that we were on the plane. Flying into Siem Reap was interesting because from the air, I could already see how different Cambodia was from Thailand. I didn't see any big buildings or busy streets, but hundreds of farm houses and feilds of rice.

Getting through customs was a bit more difficult because we all had to get our visas and wait for them to be inspected and then stamped again and then finally go through customs and then we finally met our guides!

The hotel was beautiful! It was pretty big and was all wood, like little cabins in the jungle. We had a little down time but soon we were off to visit a temple to see the sun set. We hiked up a hill and made our way to the temple. There were so many people there, it was amazing! We climbed the steep stairs all the way to the top and could look out for miles around us and see fields and the jungle! As soon as the sun began to set, it was truly an amazing sight. Sunsets in Asia are really beautiful and the sky was so full of color! On our way down, we heard this loud ringing and it sounded like people were doing construction, but it was actually these insects that live in the trees, it was weird.

On our way down, we passed this women who was begging for money and holding her sick child. It is really hard to not see something like that in Cambodia. I had only seen that a few times in Thailand but now I see it every where here, it makes me really sad and I also get this feeling of guilt. I feel like the United States has been able to hide these types of things from me. I knew I would see poverty and things like women begging but I didn't know it would be so intense. I am glad that I have seen it, and I am greatful for the live that I have been given in the U.S. I really don't know what I would do if I were in their shoes.

So later on in the night we all went out to dinner for traditional Khmer food. It was really good and we were able to choose what we wanted and put it in the middle to be boiled and then make a soup with it. Everything was going great until Professor Pushpa told us that we would be meeting later on in the night to discuss some serious problems. I asked her what they were and she looked me dead in the eye and told me that it was about me getting yelled at by the ploice in the temple for climbing around on the temple. My hear dropped and all I could do was just stare at her. She said it was serious and that she would have to talk to me about what I had done. The only thing I could think of and say at the time was that they told me it was ok but not to do it again. We kept our eyes on each other but then all of a sudden she starts laughing~! She told me she was joking but I really had thought that I was going to get into serious trouble. My friends, Ashley and Steph have been trying to get me with a joke the whole time on this trip. I am just really surprised that Pushpa was the one who got me and not them.

The next day we went to all of the other temples. The one that I had the most fun in was the one where the movie Tomb Raider was filmed. Huge trees were growing out of the top of the temples and Ashley and I were pretending to raid the tomb. It was awesome and amazing to see all of these temples at Angkor Wat. However, there were also so many children there trying to see little things for a dollar. They didn't stop until you finally walked into a car, an area they could not go, or purchased something. Most of the time I felt so bad for these kids I would buy something from them. The younger ones seem to be the ones who get most of the tourist to buy things because they are so cute. However, most of the kids selling things are girls, not boys and the boys are more likely to go to school then the girls. It was just really sad so see children playing and being innocent for several minutes, then see them trying to make a sale so their family could eat. It was really difficult for me to see.

I asked a few of the guys who were selling books their ages and the 4 or 5 that I spoke with were between 23 and 25. A few of them were going to night school at the University to study tourism so they could be a tour guide. Most of them were really excited about it and liked to talk to the tourist to work on their English. When I asked them about the history of their country, all they could tell me about was the Angkor Empire which is very special and important to the Khmer people. I asked them about Cambodia in the 70s and 80s and they couldn't tell me anything that had happened. I thought was strange but to be expected since Cambodian schools don't even go over the genocide in their classes.

That was our last day in Siem Reap and after a night out with some of the people from my group, we packed up and made our way on a bus toBattambang. I can't tell you about the ride there because I was asleep the whole time but it was different from Siem Reap. Not as developed and there was more poverty here. Tomorrow we are going t an HIV/AIDS clinic and school and that is going to be so hard. Most of the people there are children and no one ever likes to see kids suffer or be sad. We are going to start serious interviews tomorrow, and I am looking forward to that. The trip will definitley be more emotional for the next week.

Fish, Parrots and James Bond the Monk

Well we just finished our first evening in Battambang after what was quite a long, *bumpy* van ride! Dinner was great, though I must say I was rather intimidated by this "fish" thing everyone was eating... first of all, it had a head, tail, bones... waaaayyy too much fun for me. But more importantly, I cannot figure out what this so-called "fish" is that seems to be on the menu everywhere... for all I know, it could be piranha. Hence I'm on a strictly rice and noodle regimen.

Speaking of dinner, the restaurant happened to have a very, very disturbingly caged green parrot planted right next to our table. Feeling bad for it, Faith and I decided to go play with it... and next thing we knew we were having a conversation with a Khmer-speaking parrot!! We couldn't understand most of what it said, but it kept saying "akun" (thank you) back to us when we said it, and when we laughed it actually said "ha ha ha" - very amusing! Still, we felt awful for the poor guy in his rickety little cage - not sure if parrots can literally "cry," but if so, that's definitely what it was doing when it wasn't speaking Khmer... :(

In other news, as I'm sure you'll read elsewhere, we visited the Angkor Wat temple complex yesterday and did some serious tomb raiding! We also visited a Buddhist pagoda with a monk who went by the name James Bond. Actually, quite a few mentioned being disturbed by his seeming lack of piety, but quite frankly I more or less expected that, as it seems to be quite a common cultural practice here to send sons off to be monks for some period of time, not to mention those who simply become monks for lack of better economic opportunities (which seems to have been the case with James Bond). Expecting them all to be terribly serious, pious individuals would be like expecting every American kid who gets confirmed to be saintly as well. And while I by no means support treating these sorts of monks as saints or sages, I honestly feel a certain appreciation for the way most of the Buddhist monks I've encountered (here with the Mahayana or otherwise) seem to interact so comfortably and amicably with us lay people, and to interact as human beings and equals rather than with that sort of holier-than-thou sense of separation that can be so apparent in many religious institutions. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure that sort of sense of separation happens to a certain extent in Buddhism as well (and depending on the school of course), and vice versa for other religious traditions, but on the whole I'm quite moved by Buddhism's active encouragement of "clergy-commoner" interactions.

...In any case, though, the inauguration is about to start, so I better run... more later!

Battambang

Just got out of the bus in Battambang and, wow, was that an experience in itself. I thought Michigan pot holes were bad...these roads barely have enough space to get two cars through, with construction dirt piled up on either side and rocks the size of softballs scattered about like an derranged obstacle course. Sometimes we had to cross over these mounds to make way for giant trucks and on several occasions I thought we for sure were going straight into the ditch. But on the way from Siem Reap, Adam and I managed to observe a lot about Cambodian country life. Sadly, most of these houses are in terrible condition and the size of most American bedrooms and propped up by stilts to avoid flood damage. I felt that I have more in my luggage than most had in their entire house and this is really when feelings of guilt started to play in. These people perform back-breaking labor daily, working from the break of dawn until sunset only for a few dollars a day if that. Most Americans, instead, have comfy cubicles and often check their email most of the day than doing the job but make much more money. It's hard when you're constantly surrounded by luxury to understand the almighty power of the US greenback, but when you travel to countries like Cambodia, things are blatently put into perspective. We also saw up to five people riding into town on the family moped, one having an IV attached while riding to the hospital...can you imagine? We are so lucky to have ambulances and hospitals within range unlike these people. I have so much respect for the Cambodian people and their resilance and kindness.

From Siem Reap, Cambodia

Sorry we haven't updated the blog in two days....we are in Siem Reap, Cambodia and have no internet connection in our hotel. Christine W, Adam and I are here at this internet cafe trying to get some work done. The computers are ancient and the connection is very slow so unfortunately this is going to be a short blog.

We have so many, many stories and I am sure you will hear a lot when everyone can get online (hopefully, when we get to Battambang tomorrow). We have been having over 12 hour days but they have been simply terrific. We have seen sunrise and sunset at the Angkor Wat - the temples are magnificent - truly one of the wonders of the world!

BTW, just to make all of you back home jealous - we just had an one hour foot massage session for 5 dollars!

We will update soon and have some great stories and pictures for you...

Recovering!

Well, I wish I could speak to some of the exciting things taking place in Bangkok you've read about here, but sadly I've been ill for the greater part of our time in the city! I can, however, say that I've seen a Thai hospital, which is an experience in and of itself. Actually, I'm guessing the hospital I was at wasn't exactly representative of all Thai hospitals (their slogan was "BNH Hospital - Experts in International Care" - so I think it was more or less a hospital designed for foreigners like me), but I was quite impressed nonetheless. For one, I've never gotten into *any* emergency room quite that fast (and I didn't look too bad at all by the time I got there)! The moment Dr. Iyer and I walked in a nurse approached me and demanded what was wrong with me -- next thing I knew, I was laying on a bed in a pristine care center. Shortly thereafter, they had me hooked up to an IV, and about 45 min later we were led to the pharmacy where I was given three separate medications in a dainty little gold and white shopping bag that looked as if I had just purchased jewelry at Bloomingdale's. All this, and the total price? About $100. Sure, $100 is a lot, but compared to US emergency room visits -- amazing! In fact, the actual doctor's visit was only $12, while the rest of the price was mostly comprised of the medications ($50 or so), IV fluid, medical supplies, etc. ...In case you're wondering, I probably just had a case of food poisoning, though the fever I had on Friday led Dr. Iyer and I to get it checked out here in Thailand before hitting rural Cambodia.

In any case, though, I felt a great deal better yesterday, so (as I'm sure you'll read elsewhere here!) quite a few of us hit up the Reclining Buddha yesterday morning. That sight was amazing if only for its sheer size -- it was *enormous*!! We also attempted to go to the Grand Palace, but all of us decided it was somewhat overpriced, so that was out. Next Stephanie, Faith and I hit up the Weekend Market, which is apparently the largest outdoor market in the world - and I wouldn't doubt it, as we were exhausted after a few hours of roaming and probably only covering a tiny fraction of the Market. By the way, as Stephanie pointed out, the "pets" area was seriously depressing -- thousands of animals, including hundreds of purebred puppies (pugs, chow chows, cocker spaniels, pomeranians...), crammed into these tiny, tiny cages and constantly surrounded by people. One of the more disturbing things we saw was this squirrel dressed up in a funny outfit, hat and everything, on top of a cage looking petrified. There was a sign right above him that said "no photo, no video," so I'm not sure if any of us got a shot of him, but I hope so. I really wondered who was breeding these animals, and perhaps more importantly, who was buying them... eek.

In any case, though, we finally sat down to eat, and for the first time in a couple days I managed to eat a decent amount - though I stuck to comfort food this time (lame American!), consisting of spaghetti and tomato basil sauce. Unfortunately, though, that left me feeling a bit off-kilter (I think all the action coupled with more food than I'd eaten in two days was a bit much), and once I got back to the hotel I wasn't exactly feeling up for much of anything. I ended up falling asleep at 7 -- lame! -- and missed out on the Red Light District excursion! That bothers me a lot, as (as I'm sure you've read here) that certainly sounded like an eye-opening experience. Oh well, at least a few others got photos/videos - can't wait to see them!

Anyway, I'll have to write more later, when hopefully I'll have been doing something more exciting than holing up in the hotel room!!

Bangkok Day 2

Alright, so just a quick reflection here...a few of us managed to visit Bangkok's weekend market, which in itself is quite an experience and here are a few of the things we observed:
- Do not donate money to the street children, no matter how hard it is to walk by...sometimes the whole thing is a bit overwhelming (this one in particular was a burn victim and scarred for life) and all you want to do is give the poor child something, but while watching from a far we saw an adult quickly swoop in and exchange anything he collected for an apple to pacify the child for a few more hours while he roasts in the sun. Sadly, these donations are what kept him there and promotes the whole begging culture.
-Do not buy any animals from the market. This was perhaps the most depressing section in the weekend market, because there were hundreds of puppies, kittens, bunnies, squirrels, etc. all stuffed in small cages without access to water most of the time and being man-handeled by dozens of people- some of which I am sure will use the pets for dog-fighting, food or breeding.
-Also, never pay full price. Some of my friends felt guilty haggling for an already cheap item, which is understandable, but they will never sell you anything without making a profit and actually enjoy the sport of haggeling.
-On a side note, some other markets were located in the red light district...most of these women who prostitute themselves are teenagers, some extremely young virgins, who have no other source of income other than sleeping with foreign businessmen, tourists, or locals for money. Societal stigmas often blame and dehumanize these women, thinking they have a choice, but clearly in this situation they do not. Sometimes their own parents are actually the ones who put them up to the job. The whole experience makes you sick to your stomach watching some greased-up, mid-life crisis, 40-something year old taking these girls away for who knows what. There were also the advertisements for "ping-pong, animal or banana" shows, which I will not elaborate on but hopefully you get the drift. It was disgusting. The industry thrives in Bangkok, and sadly, when you help reduce the supply of prostitutes the demand simply moves elsewhere. Anyways, I will post more later on once we reach Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Ashley, Steph and I went to Thailand early and we all went to a small island in the southern part of Thailand. We went to Raliey Beach and stayed in the jungle and went rock climbing, snokeling, swimming, hiking and kayaking all over the island. It was amazing. We went snokeling at night and swam with the photoplankton.

On the 15th, we made our way back to Bangkok and met up with everyone in our group. A few things about that small trip have really stuck out in my mind. First of all, even though many of the Thai's don't speak English, the little English they know is about peace, no war and the hope of a bright future with Obama.

After our short trip to the islands, we made our way back to Bangkok. Our first day in Bangkok was spent with the Asia Foundation and CPRC. Learning about the boarder conflict between Cambodia and Thailand was very interesting because I didn't know it was such a big issue between the two countries. I related the Thai/Cambodia boarder conflict to the Germany/France conflict decades ago. It is really difficult to understand why they can't work closer to try and come to some kind of agreement but I also understand that giving up land for Thailand is admitting they were wrong.

The child protection agency was really wonderful. Joe explained everything in such great detail and really helped us understand trafficking of children, women and men. I had not known that men were trafficked as much as women in Thailand and that Thailand changed its trafficking law to include men in the law. I really appreciated the information that I was given and it has really helped me understand the culture and conflicts in Thailand and Asia much better! Later on I'll post more about the Weekend Market and the leaning Buddha!