Well wishes

So many thoughts and so many impressions, particularly as I walk down the street or do something a little differently from what I did a few hours ago. I find myself comparing my experiences to arriving in the Philippines five years ago. At that time I was much more intimidated by a new culture and by people whom I knew to be friendly but were so clearly different from me and what I had known that I was not sure how I would survive let alone succeed. One major difference between then and now was that the Peace Corps was nursing me along as slowly as possible and giving me plenty of time to make little mistakes and learn from them. The VSO on the other hand has dropped me into the stew and I think I am supposed to know the culture, the politics, the yin and yang of survival in a foreign land. Hmmm? I don’t. Simple to say, but in reality I bless the two years I had in the Philippines because that introduced me to Asia which is a major part of what I am experiencing at the moment. I am still surprised by the traffic and the incredibly sanguine reactions from everyone concerned. I still feel a little paranoid about people staring at me, but in this response I am probably reality based. People do stare in Asia, at objects and people who are unusual. I am an old white guy who still likes to walk in a world where only poor people walk. I still am a little surprised when I turn abruptly and some little kid is just standing there staring at me with a puzzled look on his face. I check my fly and my nose for any boogers, but no, it is me he or she is looking at. It was the same in the Philippines.I moved into my new apartment today. Once again a major difference from five years ago when the Peace Corps had lined me up with a host family, and I began my training immediately in language and culture. Here I was responsible for finding my own flat, negotiating most of the terms, and then going to the markets to furnish what didn’t come with the flat like dishes, pots and pans, some sheets and other linens, groceries, some lamps to light up the dark areas of the flat. At the time of this writing I have purchased some of those things but not all. Tomorrow and Saturday will be the major excursions into the market place.

In these little notes from the front I am not sure if I should tell you more about public life or history or just some more of my daily screw ups. I have plenty of the latter but one of the beauties of being in my age group is that I am often forgiven most anything. The fact that I am still sitting up and drawing breath is a marvel unto itself. But to be fair, I am constantly aware of those of you out there who do truly have longevity at bay and are enjoying life so well. Henrietta and Aunt Ann jump to my mind. Or, I will continue to just throw in whatever I happen to be thinking about at the moment and like the Chinese meals that are in such abundance here because of their low cost, you will get a lot of flavors and tastes. Use your chopsticks to stir it around and pull out what looks or feels good. Throw the rest on the floor like the Cambodian airborne guys I see in the restaurants here. I am sure that the one main necessary in a life full of poverty and hardship is having a military that one can be proud of. Or even having one you’re not very proud of.

Well, that is it for the time being. I am going to make my bed and read a little before I retire in my brand new flat. Life is very good for your little wandering pilgrim as I hope very earnestly it is for you.

City scenes

I have promised no more downers in my reports so while various interpretations may relegate some of my news to such, I assure you it is not intentional. Life is very good and I am very positive about what I see. I realize I am in Asia and as such must try to interpret events and behaviors in a context that is not judgmental not critical nor impatient. I confess that this is a foreign process to me and to some of you out there (you know who you are) a practice of such monumental proportion akin to Sisyphus rolling the rock up the hill.Today I visited a school that only works with the handicapped. The Marist brothers run it. I had always considered them an Irish Christian sort probably because so many of the South Side Irish either went to Marist High School or Brother Rice who definitely was an Irish Saint. My apologies to all of the Barrett youngsters who matriculated in fine form from MHS and I was corrected. Brother Terry is the head of the school and he has done a fine job. Under his tutelage land was purchased, grants obtained, recognition of the school obtained (with no money allowed by the government for incidentals) and a kind of training of teachers conducted. They are doing great work and one of his protégés has gone on (down the road, literally) to begin and develop a vocational school to accept and further train the graduates of Bro. Terry’s institution.

One of this protégé’s projects is named Villa Maria because a Catholic benefactor from Italy had given them a grant. The degree of physical handicaps is awesome and range from lost limbs from land mine explosions to leprosy to tuberculosis of the bone to an infinite assortment of other ailments. The wheelchairs and other prosthetic devices range from the homemade (a plastic chair bolted to a frame on wheels) to some rather sophisticated stuff. They certainly could use a guy like Jack Dauber over here, (can you share this with him, Tony?).

Anyway progress is being made in this land for the handicapped. It was not too many years ago that handicapped teachers were not allowed to be hired. No one could believe that they could teach and even if they could why should anyone want to look at them. This practice is supposed to have been overturned by a government “black paper” and sent to the provinces, but some provincial offices of education have claimed to have never received it or – having received it continue to do what has been traditional. In some areas this practice is being overturned and in a country where they cannot get teachers, handicapped teachers are being utilized. Like I say, progress.

Traffic! I thought I had seen everything in the Philippines but Phnom Penh beats everything I have ever witnessed. I remember describing traffic in Manila as comic or cartoonish. Traffic that had little or no regard for others and seemingly hell-bent on achieving a goal or place regardless of any consequences. I also found a grudging admiration for a system that seemed to work despite all of the evidence to the contrary. At that time I was not completely aware of the serious and deadly accidents that occurred so often particularly in Manila. That brings me to Cambodia. This country is riddled with mines and they cause incredible harm and damage. America dropped more bomb tonnage on this country than they did in all of WWII.

But, the leading cause of death not counting malnutrition or other virulent diseases like Dengue fever is traffic. It is literally mind-boggling what the traffic is like. They go in all directions, on both sides of the street, at cross-purposes to any rational sense of order and discipline. They never get mad (the Cambodians) and the Europeans get crazed and no one pays them any mind. It is not as though they are unaware; true, no eye contact gets made, but they weave in and out and swerve and dance around like a choreographed ballet.

And, there are accidents. Lots of accidents. In one day’s time I saw a motorcycle crushed under the front of a super sized SUV. I saw a guy on a bicycle bumped by a motorcycle and he just simply jumped off and then picked up his bike, looked it over and carried on. I was riding on the back of motorcycle and my driver bumped another vespa-like bike and I jumped off and no harm. All of this within hours. I had originally considered taking one of the bikes that VSO offers free to everyone, and biking around the town, but not now. I am literally totally intimidated by the traffic. The streets are beautiful and wide and built like Paris with big roundabouts. I won’t even begin to try to describe the chaos that is routine at one of these roundabouts. I am impressed that everyday the population is not reduced significantly.

The other side of the pendulum is the food. It is magnificent. Every culture is represented. Khmer food itself is very good with mild spices and lots of vegetables. Often Chinese influences seem to be blended in. One restaurant is predominantly Pakistani and another is English/Irish. Every beer is represented including Guinness, but I haven’t found Smithwick’s yet. I look forward every day to breakfast, which is restricted at the moment to one of two places only because I haven’t explored more. One, “THE SHOP” has great omelets or poached eggs with the usual sides. The toast that comes with these main features is wonderful. There are also many other offerings but I generally am unimaginative and stick with my two poached eggs and toast. And of course, the coffee. I think Cambodia must do very well in coffee making. Or maybe it is Laos. But wherever the coffee comes from, it is glorious. Strong and black as night, and with condensed milk; a desert that would delight the Gods.

The other breakfast nook I like (love?) is the Freebird. This is a bar/restaurant that never seems to close. Its menu is similar and the coffee comes in larger cups and is also very good. What makes it unique is that it is wireless and I can bring my own computer and catch up on my overdue emails and correspondence. I can also find out that the White Sox continue to rank only above the lowly Kansas City Chiefs. I don’t have to use my flash card and depend on the Internet shops. I don’t save much money but any is a plus and I love the environment.

Additional comments:
Because of my inability to get to an Internet or to use the wonderful place I have just described, I find myself adding on to my general report. Evidently the Freebird Boar and Restaurant is a sometimes thing. I went there last night without my computer but one of my mates did. He couldn’t get his computer to connect with the Internet and like me he is very impatient so he stopped trying rather quickly. I figured it was because he was just impatient and it seemed to me that I had had a rather trying time to connect but I did and it all worked out. Tonight I went back and tried. Sure enough I tried and tried and even tried the direct dial connection which was supposed to be the end all of connections. Nothing! So, I guess it works sometimes and sometimes it doesn’t. There was another guy on the Internet so I knew it was working but maybe it can only handle one or two at a time. I will try again on Sunday and see what happens.

On the same note as frustrating events, the apartment I had hoped to get with the monstrous balcony is not going to happen. When my administrative assistant went to check on it, the price had gone up. I don’t think I would have minded the increase but since it was a little far from work and it felt like I was being scammed, I decided to just start over. Today I went to look at a few more and there are two I am definitely interested in. One is a three bedroom and is big and clean. It faces a canal, which gives me a little pause but what the hell; typhoid is no longer a serious ailment, right? It is near Mao Tse Tung Boulevard and is not too far from work. The other is a two-bedroom and looks as though it might be perfect. Nice and high, not too near any large bodies of non-flowing water, all tile. They didn’t have a key today but I will return tomorrow and take a look. If it matches my expectations they will have a renter. I also think I can move in now which pleases me no end. (ps: went back – loved it and signed a lease. Will move in on the25th)

Enough for now. I need to read some more of my socialist bible in the guise of a novel. It is called the Ragged Trousered Philanthropists. It is by a guy named Robert Tressell and was printed in 1904 or thereabouts. For decades it was considered the socialists best-written story. I am thoroughly enjoying it and for its age it still captures the ideas of today and why the world is still screwed up.