:: Current Location : Breckenridge, Colorado :.I want to wish you all a Happy Chinese New Year (Gong Xi Fa Cai). As you may remember, I am not Chinese, but while I'm here, I feel I should join along with the festivities. It's the #2 new year, with one more to go in April. I get three new years for the hangover price of 10. There are pictures included in the text below, if you want to follow along just click on the highlighted text.
My bicycle was stolen last friday, so I have been walking to school. It's nicer, because it's dark and cool. I pass a pagoda, and have been meeting lots of the monks that do their morning exercises. I'm looking for a new one, but since they only cost at most $20, I'm not in any rush.
I was supposed to teach class on Wednesday, but all the students took an unofficial holiday, which would be Chinese new year's eve. Some students gave me (Ta eiell) or Red Pockets. Tradition is that you put a small amount of money in and give to friends and family.
So, I went with Tin, my moto friend to the countryside. It was good to get out of the city, because I live next to a chinese school, and all the kids were beating on drums and dancing and generally making as much noise as they could. Lots of firecrackers as well.
Tin's village is in the Preahsan province, and his wife's village is on the border for Kondal and Kompong Cham provinces. They are separated by a branch of the Mekong River, and most of the prosperous villages are along this side river. Tin's village is not on the river, and much poorer. All the roads are very bad and were not easy to navigate
I first was introduced to his uncle who runs a lumber business. Tin has more relatives than I could keep track of. In the morning on new years eve, food and fake money is offered as a sacrifice in a temporary alter for all family members that have died. They showed me the ritual, and I followed suit. It was very peaceful, and a nice gesture.
After that, it was a non-stop drinking marathon.... Rice wine as well. I was the only foreigner within 40 miles, so I was the novelty celebrity for the weekend. Drinking with Khmers is full-on, as they drink in a circle, and if you break the circle or refuse a drink, they are very offended and will forcefully make you drink. So, after hours of trying not to drink, I finally gave in and got very drunk. Tin was my interpreter the whole time, so I didn't speak much Khmer. After it got dark, it turned into Halloween. We went around from house to house(all the ones Tin knew) and went inside, said hello, took a shot of rice wine, and then accepted bananas, mangos, and rice wrapped in banana leaf. We had so much booty, we had to go home twice and start over again. It was like being a kid again, just no candy.
Chinese New Year was spend recovering and travelling to Tin's village. His mother and cousin were very poor, so could not celebrate or offer food. Instead, we went to Tin's brother's place, and organized a shared party with a group of houses. I paid the huge sum of $10 for food and drink. It's amazing that that was all that was needed. A duck was slaughtered in my honor, and I helped prepare it for cooking. Everything was festive until the conversation moved to Pol Pot. Both men had their fathers murdered by them, and they asked my opinion. I tried to console them, but nothing Tin translated seemed to make sense to them, and things got a little tense. His cousin had water dumped on him to sober him up. Tin understood and we left for a little while, some kids followed me and walked in his pagoda where he had been a monk. There was a mural that was dedicated to Tin(for a small fee) along with other murals from the villagers
The monks were flying a kite that made music by vibrating a string on the kite. The pagoda was very peaceful and it was a nice change to stop drinking. However, Tin came back and said that I was invited to the big dance in the center of town. News had spread quickly about my arrival.
We entered a square with a stage and HUGE speakers. For such a poor village, they didn't skimp on the sound system. I was forced onstage and had to give a short speech. Tin translated for me, but everyone just stared and gawked at me. A few people, mostly kids, came up and wanted to dance with me. This all went of for what seemed hours. Tin's brother was having a party, and we were supposed to drive to another village to meet his party.
However, Tin's moped does not have a working headlight(like most of the bikes around). So, there was no electricity or moon, so there was no way that I could see. Tin said he could do it, but we didn't make it more than 100 meters out of the city before he crashed. This sobered him up a little, and we headed back to his mom's.
The next day was spend coming back to his wife's village, and wandering around the rice fields, lake, and river. I was shown how to fish for clams. Basically, I just wade in the shallow end and dig into the dirt and grab the clams. The lake had bigger clams, but were harder to find. The river had more, and we must have collected 10kg. There were some fishermen nearby, and they showed me all the different kinds of fish they caught. Most were catfish or silverfish, but they got a few crabs and one Blowfish.
This whole time, Tin's uncle had sold a house....Start Working Finish Now not in the ordinary manner you would think. He built a prototype house across from his house. Another village had come and wanted to buy it. So instead of selling them the lumber, they wanted the prototype house. They dismantled it, dragged the lumber to a boat and floated it off. They did all this in about a day. Seems strange to built a house twice...
I was supposed to come back Saturday, but on our way home, we had to cross a ferry. At the ferry was the home of the district police chief. He saw me and invited us up to his party. Impossible to say no... Tin new him and it was like we had to pay homage to him. Corruption was very obvious, as his was the nicest house around and all he was was a police chief. Then came in the military man... Pah Ti(which translates into Father). If there ever was a Khmer version of the Godfather, this guy was it. He was fat, missing an eye, and has that cocky walk about him. The entire house bent over backwards to serve him beer, food, or make me answer the questions he asked of me. It was getting dark and the ferry was about to close but the Godfather wanted me to stay... so I stayed.
So, we ended up having to drive back(in the dark again) very slowly. This time I had my little headlamp, which did very little for the potholes, but at least I could see where the road went.
The next day, we loaded up our clams, went a different way home so as to miss Pah Ti, and fried up the clams back at Tins house in Phnom Penn. The drum trucks were still going around and making the general noise that they had been before.
.: Ben Hansen :: 11:23 PM [+] 0 comments
It seems there is a wedding here everyday outside my apt. The running joke is that there is some guy out there selling weddings by the bulk, if you buy more than 3, you get a discount on the 4th. Weddings in Cambodia are a quick affair. A tent is thrown up in the street(blocking the whole street so no cars can pass). This is done at 5 or 6am, a monk comes to say the blessings, food is served, and by noon, the tents are being brought down. After, all the guest go to a restaurant and get really drunk and sing keraoke.
This usually goes on on weekends and holidays. Last Wednesday I was invited to goto one. However, this was not a Khmer wedding, but rather a marriage between an american man and chinese woman, performed by an english priest, and the reception was at a French resort outside of Phnom Penn. The reception was nice, and after the food and drink, the bride and groom jumped in the pool and the guests followed. I like the idea of a pool party after your wedding.
I've been working like crazy teaching. I'm up to 40 hours a week. The money is great, but I thought the whole idea of getting out here was to be able to not need to work so hard. But, I can't complain about the money coming in, so I will slowly drop the hours, as long as I can keep awake from 6am until 8pm(my hours at school, including breaks).
.: Ben Hansen :: 2:49 AM [+] 0 comments
I've been to the World Trade Center in NYC for the millennium new year's party, and I have to say, that New Years in Cambodia topped anything I've ever done before.
I asked for time off from work, so I would have time to get down to the party from Phnom Penn. Asking for time off is pretty easy, no questions asked, just make sure you do it a week in advance.
Bokor National park is about 100km south of Phnom Penn. It's highest peak is Bokor mountain at around 1170m. There is an old french casino there that is in disrepair since the 1950's. The Khmer rouge used the compound to shoot mortars down at the ships that passes in the sea below. If anyone has seen the movie The Shining
A flyer for the party can be found here:
Bokor New Year's Eve
So, 3 other friends rented a taxi and we made it to Kampot, where we changed taxi's and picked up 2 more people. I must describe our taxi driver, although we never got his real name, but we yelled, "slow down" quite a lot. It is 7km on paved road to the national park entrance, and 37 up a road that used to be paved, but now also has fallen into disrepair. It normally takes 2-3 hours to get up, but our taxi guy made it up in 1.45 hours. We were passing(on a single track road) SUV's and 4-wheel drive vehicles in our toyota camery.
We made it to the casino just before sunset, and we went to the roof to look below and see the boat trollers going out to sea. There were about 200 people there when we arrived and probably double that came later. Mostly westerners, but the Khmers were there as well.
The music started at 7pm, and didn't stop until 9:30am. There were 4 dj's and people were dancing all night. There was a chill out room in the basement where some people slept if they didn't have tents to camp outside. I ended up on the roof most of the night, watching the stars, and feel the entire building vibrate beneath my feet from the music. A few people went to check out the Khmer rouge gun turret that was still standing, but I waited until daylight to go check it out. There was also a church, and a place called the black palace, that were just extra buildings in ruin on the top of the mountain.
With the help of some caffeine drinks, I was able to stay up the entire night. Our lovable taxi driver, who we had paid to wait for us, had decided to take some other people down to earn some extra money. So, we were screwed out of a ride down. However, there were loads of people going down, and we quickly found a few seats in the back of a minivan. There was a produce truck carrying almost 50 people, for free, unfortunately was going the other direction. It took almost 3 hours to get down, as the minivan driver was not as harsh on his vehicle.
I spent New Years day travelling to Sihanookvile, where a nice cozy beach was waiting. After 30 hours of being awake, I slept very soundly, when I could have been laying on the beach.
Also, my visa had to be changed(a long story, very frustrating), so I had to take a ferry to the Thai border. This cost a bit more, as the local bus mafia had doubled the bus prices so it was just as cheap to take the ferry. I'm glad I did, because it was quicker, cheaper, and more scenic. I now have a visa that can be extended indefinitely, so I can stay in cambodia as long as I have money to pay for the visa.
Pics of Bokor will be up soon... Now that I am teaching, I am usually too tired to do anything after work other than eat and goto sleep. Plus, finding an internet cafe that has all the software tools in once place has proven harder to find than expected.... but it will get done eventually...
.: Ben Hansen :: 4:08 AM [+] 0 comments
:: Current Location : Breckenridge, Colorado :..AFOOT.and.light-hearted,.I.take.to.the.open.road,.Healthy,.free,.the.world.before.me,.The.long.brown.path.before.me,.le ading.wherever.I.choose....Henceforth.I.ask.not.good-fortune-I.myself.am.good.fortune;.Henceforth.I.whimper.no.more,.pos tpone.no.more,.need.nothing,..........Strong.and.content,.I.travel.the.open.road....The.earth-that.is.sufficient;.I.do.n ot.want.the.constellations.any.nearer;.I.know.they.are.very.well.where.they.are;.I.know.they.suffice.for.those.who.belon g.to.them.......Still.here.I.carry.my.old.delicious.burdens;.I.carry.them,.men.and.women-I.carry.them.with.me.wherever.I .go;.I.swear.it.is.impossible.for.me.to.get.rid.of.them;.I.am.fill'd.with.them,.and.I.will.fill.them.in.return.)....You. road.I.enter.upon.and.look.around!.I.believe.you.are.not.all.that.is.here;....I.believe.that.much.unseen.is.also.here... .Here.the.profound.lesson.of.reception,.neither.preference.or.denial;.The.black.with.his.woolly.head,.the.felon,.the.dis eas'd,.the.illiterate.person,.are.not.denied;.The.birth,.the.hasting.after.the.physician,.the.beggar's.tramp,.the.drunka rd's.stagger,.the.laughing.party.of.mechanics,.The.escaped.youth,.the.rich.person's.carriage,.the.fop,.the.eloping.coupl e,....The.early.market-man,.the.hearse,.the.moving.of.furniture.into.the.town,.the.return.back.from.the.town,.They.pass- I.also.pass-anything.passes-none.can.be.interdicted;.None.but.are.accepted-none.but.are.dear.to.me..You.air.that.serves. me.with.breath.to.speak!.You.objects.that.call.from.diffusion.my.meanings,.and.give.them.shape!....You.light.that.wraps. me.and.all.things.in.delicate.equable.showers!.You.paths.worn.in.the.irregular.hollows.by.the.roadsides!.I.think.you.are .latent.with.unseen.existences-you.are.so.dear.to.me....You.flagg'd.walks.of.the.cities!.you.strong.curbs.at.the.edges!. You.ferries!.you.planks.and.posts.of.wharves!.you.timber-lined.sides!.you.distant.ships!....You.rows.of.houses!.you.wind ow-pierc'd.façades!.you.roofs!.You.porches.and.entrances!.you.copings.and.iron.guards!.You.windows.whose.transparent.she lls.might.expose.so.much!.You.doors.and.ascending.steps!.you.arches!.You.gray.stones.of.interminable.pavements!.you.trod den.crossings!....From.all.that.has.been.near.you,.I.believe.you.have.imparted.to.yourselves,.and.now.would.impart.the.s ame.secretly.to.me;From.the.living.and.the.dead.I.think.you.have.peopled.your.impassive.surfaces,.and.the.spirits.thereo f.would.be.evident.and.amicable.with.me.....The.earth.expanding.right.hand.and.left.hand,.The.picture.alive,.every.part. in.its.best.light,.The.music.falling.in.where.it.is.wanted,.and.stopping.where.it.is.not.wanted,....The.cheerful.voice.o f.the.public.road-the.gay.fresh.sentiment.of.the.road....O.highway.I.travel!.O.public.road!.do.you.say.to.me,.Do.not.lea ve.me?.Do.you.say,.Venture.not?.If.you.leave.me,.you.are.lostDo.you.say,.I.am.already.prepared-I.am.well-beaten.and.unde nied-adhere.to.me?.O.public.road!.I.say.back,.I.am.not.afraid.to.leave.you-yet.I.love.you;....You.express.me.better.than .I.can.express.myself;.You.shall.be.more.to.me.than.my.poem....I.think.heroic.deeds.were.all.conceiv'd.in.the.open.air,. and.all.great.poems.also;.I.think.I.could.stop.here.myself,.and.do.miracles;.My.judgments,.thoughts,.I.henceforth.try.by .the.open.air,.the.road;)....I.think.whatever.I.shall.meet.on.the.road.I.shall.like,.and.whoever.beholds.me.shall.like.m e;.I.think.whoever.I.see.must.be.happy.....From.this.hour,.freedom!.From.this.hour.I.ordain.myself.loos'd.of.limits.and. imaginary.lines,.Going.where.I.list,.my.own.master,.total.and.absolute,....Listening.to.others,.and.considering.well.wha t.they.say,.Pausing,.searching,.receiving,.contemplating,.Gently,.but.with.undeniable.will,.divesting.myself.of.the.hold s.that.would.hold.me....I.inhale.great.draughts.of.space;.The.east.and.the.west.are.mine,.and.the.north.and.the.south.ar e.mine.......I.am.larger,.better.than.I.thought;.I.did.not.know.I.held.so.much.goodness....All.seems.beautiful.to.me;.I. can.repeat.over.to.men.and.women,.You.have.done.such.good.to.me,.I.would.do.the.same.to.you....I.will.recruit.for.myself .and.you.as.I.go;....I.will.scatter.myself.among.men.and.women.as.I.go;.I.will.toss.the.new.gladness.and.roughness.among .them;.Whoever.denies.me,.it.shall.not.trouble.me;.Whoever.accepts.me,.he.or.she.shall.be.blessed,.and.shall.bless.me... ..Now.if.a.thousand.perfect.men.were.to.appear,.it.would.not.amaze.me;....Now.if.a.thousand.beautiful.forms.of.women.app ear'd,.it.would.not.astonish.me....Now.I.see.the.secret.of.the.making.of.the.best.persons,.It.is.to.grow.in.the.open.air ,.and.to.eat.and.sleep.with.the.earth....Here.a.great.personal.deed.has.room;.A.great.deed.seizes.upon.the.hearts.of.the .whole.race.of.men,....Its.effusion.of.strength.and.will.overwhelms.law,.and.mocks.all.authority.and.all.argument.agains t.it....Here.is.the.test.of.wisdom;.Wisdom.is.not.finally.tested.in.schools;.Wisdom.cannot.be.pass'd.from.one.having.it, .to.another.not.having.it;.Wisdom.is.of.the.Soul,.is.not.susceptible.of.proof,.is.its.own.proof,....Applies.to.all.stage s.and.objects.and.qualities,.and.is.content,.Is.the.certainty.of.the.reality.and.immortality.of.things,.and.the.excellen ce.of.things;.Something.there.is.in.the.float.of.the.sight.of.things.that.provokes.it.out.of.the.Soul...Now.I.reëxamine. philosophies.and.religions,They.may.prove.well.in.lecture-rooms,.yet.not.prove.at.all.under.the.spacious.clouds,.and.alo ng.the.landscape.and.flowing.currents.......Here.is.realization;.Here.is.a.man.tallied-he.realizes.here.what.he.has.in.h im;.The.past,.the.future,.majesty,.love-if.they.are.vacant.of.you,.you.are.vacant.of.them....Only.the.kernel.of.every.ob ject.nourishes;.Where.is.he.who.tears.off.the.husks.for.you.and.me?....Where.is.he.that.undoes.stratagems.and.envelopes. for.you.and.me?...Here.is.adhesiveness-it.is.not.previously.fashion'd-it.is.apropos;.Do.you.know.what.it.is,.as.you.pass ,.to.be.loved.by.strangers?.Do.you.know.the.talk.of.those.turning.eye-balls?....Here.is.the.efflux.of.the.Soul;....The.e fflux.of.the.Soul.comes.from.within,.through.embower'd.gates,.ever.provoking.questions:.These.yearnings,.why.are.they?.T hese.thoughts.in.the.darkness,.why.are.they?.Why.are.there.men.and.women.that.while.they.are.nigh.me,.the.sun-light.expa nds.my.blood?.Why,.when.they.leave.me,.do.my.pennants.of.joy.sink.flat.and.lank?.Why.are.there.trees.I.never.walk.under, .but.large.and.melodious.thoughts.descend.upon.me?....I.think.they.hang.there.winter.and.summer.on.those.trees,.and.alwa ys.drop.fruit.as.I.pass;).What.is.it.I.interchange.so.suddenly.with.strangers?.What.with.some.driver,.as.I.ride.on.the.s eat.by.his.side?.What.with.some.fisherman,.drawing.his.seine.by.the.shore,.as.I.walk.by,.and.pause?.What.gives.me.to.be. free.to.a.woman's.or.man's.good-will?.What.gives.them.to.be.free.to.mine?.......The.efflux.of.the.Soul.is.happiness-here .is.happiness;.I.think.it.pervades.the.open.air,.waiting.at.all.times;.Now.it.flows.unto.us-we.are.rightly.charged....He re.rises.the.fluid.and.attaching.character;.The.fluid.and.attaching.character.is.the.freshness.and.sweetness.of.man.and. woman;....The.herbs.of.the.morning.sprout.no.fresher.and.sweeter.every.day.out.of.the.roots.of.themselves,.than.it.sprou ts.fresh.and.sweet.continually.out.of.itself.)...Toward.the.fluid.and.attaching.character.exudes.the.sweat.of.the.love.o f.young.and.old;.From.it.falls.distill'd.the.charm.that.mocks.beauty.and.attainments;.Toward.it.heaves.the.shuddering.lo nging.ache.of.contact.....Allons!.whoever.you.are,.come.travel.with.me!....Traveling.with.me,.you.find.what.never.tires. ...The.earth.never.tires;.The.earth.is.rude,.silent,.incomprehensible.at.first-Nature.is.rude.and.incomprehensible.at.fi rst;.Be.not.discouraged-keep.on-there.are.divine.things,.well.envelop'd;.I.swear.to.you.there.are.divine.things.more.bea utiful.than.words.can.tell.......Allons!.we.must.not.stop.here!.However.sweet.these.laid-up.stores-however.convenient.th is.dwelling,.we.cannot.remain.here;.However.shelter'd.this.port,.and.however.calm.these.waters,.we.must.not.anchor.here; .However.welcome.the.hospitality.that.surrounds.us,.we.are.permitted.to.receive.it.but.a.little.while......Allons!.the.i nducements.shall.be.greater;....We.will.sail.pathless.and.wild.seas;.We.will.go.where.winds.blow,.waves.dash,.and.the.Ya nkee.clipper.speeds.by.under.full.sail....Allons!.with.power,.liberty,.the.earth,.the.elements!.Health,.defiance,.gayety ,.self-esteem,.curiosity;.Allons!.from.all.formules!....From.your.formules,.O.bat-eyed.and.materialistic.priests!...The. stale.cadaver.blocks.up.the.passage-the.burial.waits.no.longer....Allons!.yet.take.warning!.He.traveling.with.me.needs.t he.best.blood,.thews,.endurance;.None.may.come.to.the.trial,.till.he.or.she.bring.courage.and.health.......Come.not.here .if.you.have.already.spent.the.best.of.yourself;.Only.those.may.come,.who.come.in.sweet.and.determin'd.bodies;.No.diseas 'd.person-no.rum-drinker.or.venereal.taint.is.permitted.here....I.and.mine.do.not.convince.by.arguments,.similes,.rhymes ;.We.convince.by.our.presence.........Listen!.I.will.be.honest.with.you;.I.do.not.offer.the.old.smooth.prizes,.but.offer .rough.new.prizes;.These.are.the.days.that.must.happen.to.you:...You.shall.not.heap.up.what.is.call'd.riches,.You.shall. scatter.with.lavish.hand.all.that.you.earn.or.achieve,....You.but.arrive.at.the.city.to.which.you.were.destin'd-you.hard ly.settle.yourself.to.satisfaction,.before.you.are.call'd.by.an.irresistible.call.to.depart,.You.shall.be.treated.to.the
