“Luv(sic) pt.2” by Nujabes with Shing02 // {Cambodia version}

Love the opening. Beautiful new video, shot in Cambodia :D:

Once again, now where do I start, dear love
Dumb struck with the pure luck to find you here
Every morn’ I awake from a cavernous night,
Sometimes still pondering the previous plight,
Seems life done changed long time no speak,
Nowadays I often forget the day of the week
Taking it by stride if you know what I mean,
No harm done, no offense taken by me
So let’s rap, we’ll catch up to par, what’s the haps?

It’s so neat to have lived there. I miss my Cambodian friends! I definitely knew some people who suffered from landmines and/or working at Handicap International Cambodia as national staff—some of the kindest people in my village.

C’est la vie, as they say L.O.V.E evidently, see every song has a sequel
Never same, everything but the name, all fresh just like back then, how we do everyday
C’est la vie, as they say L.O.V.E eloquently, see dream has a part two
Never same, you got to keep it tight, all fresh just like back then, now hear me out…

The original, shot in Japan:

🙂 Rest in peace, Nujabes. Love his music – first heard it walking in a shop in Sawtelle (little Tokyo, Los Angeles). Really love that the producer of the video, Sou Otsuki, brought his music to my Peace Corps country. 🙂

Explore the nature of happiness, smile, enjoy what you have, we’re on earth for such a short time.

Let me mention what I’ve been thinking
How to save the children, when the ship is sinking
So I’m singing, no lip syncing to slogans,
Political hooligans with tanks, missiles and guns!
Everything is relative when it’s all in the family of man,
Understand the time has finally come to realize the great power of 1,
All formulas equalize under the Sun, Amen!

The rhymes will heal ’cause I believe in music,
In times of need I won’t be leaving you sick
The beat plus the melody’s the recipe,
Your vibe surely brings out the best in me!
The rhymes will heal ’cause I believe in music,
In times of need I won’t be leaving you sick
The beat plus the melody’s the recipe,
All good souls lost may they rest in peace!
(repeat)
Hiphop worldwide we got to live in peace, like that!

New Category: Reminisce

Adding a new category! I had my Close of Service: August 20, 2010. I’m officially a RPCV (Returned Peace Corps Volunteer) now and occasionally I remember things I want to share, but didn’t blog about in particular during my service.

Hope you enjoy the short stories. Some of these entries will be written in Cambodia, and some in the US, or wherever I am in the world. The Peace Corps experience will always be a part of me.

New Library Facility!

The old books and a many dog-earred textbooks will live in the old library attached to classrooms. This new building, donated by a local family in the village, will be a library and main office. The library is upstairs.

More updates to come on the new library! The high school and community is very blessed to have such a luxury in Cambodia, but now the important part is how to use it efficiently and keep it in good condition for future generations.

It’s currently under construction until late October 2010… it might be on the news 🙂

A tree was chopped down so its visibility from the road is clear. I thought it a shame to see more shade go… it was a mango tree, I believe. But if you were on a bus passing by, you’d see the orange building immediately. Kids are stoked about reading! It’s the advent of a great, passionate reading culture.

Visiting First Host Family

This past summer, I went on an adventure to the wild west to visit my first host family. I missed them.

These are my two little sisters! The one I’m sitting near by, and then the second photo, the adorable Ting.

But before visiting them, I visited a fellow Peace Corps volunteer for the last time, a sort of farewell to everyone! Sadness, but we had a yummy lunch that was special in Cambodia: vegetarian.

Battambang Province has a vegetarian restaurant very close to Capitol Bus Station. Very delicious! I forget it’s name but it’s one of Cambodia’s hidden secrets~ It’s run by a Chinese family, so the menu might have awkward translations and mysteriously fun menu items like a snow dessert called Valentine’s Day or something like that. Names you are curious to try out! ANNNNNND the place had bubble tea! Sugoi! Best bubble tea in Cambodia, but makes me awful homesick.

Normal noodles, on my way to my training village. This restaurant is kind of famous too in Battambang. It’s called Tin Tin or something like that. Forgive my foggy memory. But just down the street south of the bus station area street.

Walking around Battambang city, a friend and I had found some hard rice snacks in the making. Very popular. Everyone loves the overcooked and hard rice left at the bottom of the pot. Might be called a poor person’s food, but it is very delicious. Texture.

Posing in front of a moto wasn’t exactly what I had in mind for a photo, but just wanted to share with the world what the most popular moto in Cambodia is. Honda Dream moto bike. Sometimes I don’t know how people can afford $1000 motos, it seems they’re really ubiqitious however.

Here is the front gate of the village I learned language, culture, and how to live in Cambodia—visiting my first host family.

Encountering my first loves in Cambodia: Jing Jing. She was a baby when I met her, and now I met her again still very chubby and adorable. Except her bike broke in half somehow and there is now a pole that helps drive the bike around. Kind of ingenious how rice and a would be a long-gone bike in America still be used happily.

My family in Cambodia, part of a huge circle, that I hope to keep in touch with long after service. They really took care of me like a daughter.

Summer Session, Awesome 9th Graders

I taught 9th grade at a scholarship over summer. It was a pleasure to work with students from the Siem Reap based Jay Pritzker Academy. Creative bunch that I miss a lot.

With me, they had their first introduction to social studies so we dove into history of the Middle Ages.

We had a first easy day with introductions and arts: rose windows of cathedrals. Our class became a little cathedral, with students knowledeable about the purpose of art back in the day where books were too expensive for most people, and books were printed with gold.

Today in Cambodia, it is common to have some gold worn as a daily accessory.

Aren’t they gorgeous?

We had each other tell stories of their rose windows, because back in the day pictures told stories and principles and many people couldn’t read.

We also created some coat of arms and students learned some French family mottos.

At JPA, there was a field day and one of the MOST popular games was a water balloon toss.

Students in pairs held on to create a makeshift catapult and they pass along a water balloon without moving their feet. First row of scarf-wielding kids to get their lone water balloon in the white box wins!

At the end of summer, kids were practicing for their play, performed for the whole school.

There was Cleo.

There was the Inquisition.

There was Joan of Arc.

There was a time machine!!!

About a few times during summer session, we had exciting science classes hosted by 2 high school students in America who fundraised for telescopes for these very kids to use and explore different microscopic things of all sorts. Even tomatoes was checked out. We also had the opportunity to watch a soda can crunch itself up!!!

Work that Map! Word!

Help, that’s his name translated from Khmer, drew and painted the Angkor Wat flag on the left, and began painting the Peace Corps logo on the right. He’s a bit quiet, but very enthusiastic about working on the highest drawing/painting work in the project.

His detailing on the logo and flag is excellent. Many students congratulated him on his super work. He seems to have a unique name, so from across campus, people would yell, “HELP!” and I would think something was wrong by the words, but by the emotions in the voice, I can hear they’re rooting on their friend. Some people made it a point to help hold the ladder!

The next day…

was when we started labeling the map in permanent marker.

Kids wrote in the name of the country/territory in pencil and then wrote over in marker. Lots of girls came out as it didn’t involve paint and getting their clothes dirty. It was nice to see them again, because lately only the boys were showing up to paint the northern hemisphere and climbing latters and tables for paint work.

In 2 hours, half the world was labeled.

I especially love how kids pass by and realize then and there where their country is in the world. Many stopped to tell me, “Wow. America is VERY far away.” Many took pride it was larger than many islands in the Pacific. Many would ask “What is that big, yellow country?” being Russia, and I was glad students were very curious. So far the vote was labeling in English, and since oceans had a lot of room, they would get translated into Khmer, too.

Until another day, perhaps when exams are over for the upper secondary students, we will label the northern half of the world.

Speed Bumps: People Don’t Get It

Long ago, I dreamed of a speed bump on the road. It’s like, “hey, people here drive by too fast and even at the turn-around will zoom by without thinking to look at both corners.”

And then my prayers were answered. Even a yellow sign is posted to warn drivers, “Hey, Driver, a speed bump awaits you.”

Near the turn-around and after it, there are two large speed bumps. And then a bicycle lane that is flat with the rest of the road. However, to my dismay, taxis, motorbikes, and cars honk at bicyclists to get out of their way, as they squish their vehicles into the bicycle lane, avoiding the speed bump as if it were life-death. The point of a speed bump is to slow those vehicles down, but they rather keep their high speed (in a crowded area, in front of the market and a high school, and passing elementary students) and shirk the speed bump. Once I was trying to take up the middle of the bike lane because it was empty, and a car almost swiped me, after freaking me out with some fancy honk on his broken down Camry. He has a whole car lane and just needs to slow down a little to drive over the speed bump, but no, he wants to assume I’ll survive in my bike lane and that his car is larger, so he can do whatever he wants. Obnoxious drivers these days with the newly installed speed bump.

All kinds of people do not use the speed bump. There doesn’t seem to be a law that cars must use their designated lane. Maybe until it kills someone, or a great many pedestrians, bicyclists, motorcyclists who are entitled to use those bike lanes. Dear God, I hope not. It’s grossly ironic that someone motivated by safety to install these speed bumps had success and later, it’s backfired on so many levels. No one far and near the community uses it. Cars should stick to their lanes!

So pretty much I think the 50 meters near the turnaround, cars and massive trucks never use.

Why were trees chopped down (causing more heat) and roads consequently expanded in Cambodia?

So drivers can stubbornly hog the bicycle lane. Awful reality!

It’s not safe, and it’s just over their terms that they need to keep up their high speeds, that countless lives are at risk on a daily basis. The speed bump is as high as 5 inches or so, and they should slow down for it. I can see it’s a new idea, from Siem Reap City, it’s the first of its kind, and it’s placed near the border of Siem Reap province, about an hour out of Siem Reap City. I understand it can seem like a nuisance and a rare one, that can dissipate in a local’s care for attention, but more education or enforcement needs to be brought. I spoke to Handicap International about the dangers of people avoiding the speed bump, and I wonder what’ll happen next.

Paint Highlights!

This past week! Students are helping each other find countries on the grid and drawing it from the small country it was on the page to a 3 by 6 meters large map!

On a Sunday (the only day where school’s not in session) the math teacher, in green, Miss Ka Sy, came to help draw part of Australia and the other mysterious, hundreds of isles around the area.

On a different day–a school day–all grades came to help continue draw the countries on the grid and erase the grids as they were no longer needed. More oceans freed!

It’s great to see the older students come out to help, as it’s the end of the years and most are tremendously busy studying for exams! I commend them for taking some time to come help!

Above Mab, 11th grader, is writing the Khmer words for North Atlantic Ocean. He really took his time to make it beautiful; I saw him erasing his work over and over.

Some of the guy students were huddled together debating if other students had drawn the map incorrectly since a large country or body of water was drawn too high, misplacing countries on the grid. I reassured them it was fine, just that Spain southern tip had to be drawn longer to match the map.

The really brave student on the left is drawing the 2010 national flag, where Angkor Wat looks different from the old one–more modern or Chinese looking (in my eyes) but I have no idea why it’s changed. He was really intent on drawing it and made sure the school had the latest picture of the flag on the world map mural! He even stood on a 8 foot or so ladder drawing it with utter concentration. Brave!

It mostly made me smile, this photo! He drew a heart in America! Even when the layer of red was painted over the heart, one could still see it from far away!

My students smiling for their shot. They’re such comedians joking with each other was they paint:

“How about some highlights?”

And it was great to hear them saying congrats to each other:

“Good job! Very good job!”

Sometimes they’d ponder on a recent word they learned in English and yell it aloud out of no where, maybe just practicing:

“Fantastic!”

“Teacher! Not ‘cher!”

There were some other funny, random words, but I forget. Perhaps I’ll post it later.

For Cambodia, there is an arrow that points at the country and even “Kingdom of Wonder” — the advertising slogan — featured under the name of the country. TV ads have made their way to our high school world map mural, but it’s their map, and I’m glad they’re taking ownership of it. When asked, “is this yellow okay, cher?” I’d reply that it’s their map! If that’s the right yellow, it’s the right yellow. Speaking of yellow, the project commences on mornings because the afternoons are too hot. Hoping to finish soon, before it rains every day and makes it hard to paint.

More photos soon! Questing to and fro for some waterproof finish for the map. Is it true people use gasoline to mix into the paint so it looks more pretty? Teachers have been telling me so here! I can’t quite imagine, but if I try it, you’ll see the difference.

Grandpa’s Ceremony

Grandpa decides he’s going to have a ceremony. So all the old people visit his house, and upon meeting him again, give him some money. The eldest monk at the nearby pagoda is also coming to chant and pray for him. I made sense of this ceremony as a “getting old cermeony” or “retirement fund ceremony,” where he gets to gather everyone who’s close to him in the neighborhood, and far fromt he neighborhood, to visit and have Cambodian noodles, give him some money and accept his kind prayers too, and then hang out later for watermelon and lots of Coca Cola. I didn’t know I had to give him money when I came so I just sat down in the lake of grandmas in my white top and traditional, itchy, hot skirt, with legs folded and hands praying and listening to the chanting. I did politely bow to him when I greeted him though.

Later, he was doused in cold water, as well as his closest blood relatives! Pretty much hsi son and daughter, and his son’s family. It was interesting and awkward to take a shower photo. The family members had got some soap and washed him too before the monks came into the picture, and wishing him long life, etc, too. It was very different. I’m used to just seeing one individual get a shower from monks in a sarong, from feeling ill or unlucky lately, but this was a a flight of steps with a family, and more than 1 monk showering lots of water. Very different!

New Year Customs

Thsi post was supposed to be for April 2010, discussing New Year customs in my site.

I really like how sublime a pagoda looks with old archietcture. The suns make it feel welcoming and close to nature, as opposed to other places where the statues are tigers, apsara dancers, or even angels pulling on a naga, churning milk and honey, or what I associate with an ancient game of tug-a-war.

Here’s a visual of the pagoda my site was. It’s a very peaceful place and well-funded by the locals. I’ve been to a few 100 Days Ceremonies (100 days marking death of family member) and funeral processions here.

During the New Year, people place their candies, fruits, sodas, water, whatever they’d like to offer up to ancestors. Each house has a flag posted in front around the porch somewhere to mark the Cambodian holiday (one of so many holidays here)

I took a photo of my friend’s mother, who’s lighting candles for the evening and praying for luck and etc, just as all of us are getting ready to hang our mosquito nets and watch some late night singing from New Year live concerts on TV. No dancing in the pagoda that day; all of us were dog-tired from walking around.