Prey Veng… Monkey Island

Me sitting with my hipster Khmer shirt. The front says "SAME SAME" and the back "BUT DIFFERENT." It's what the cool kids where so I pretty much wear it by default.

It’s been a little while since my last update but do not fear my dear blog followers, for I have plenty to write about today. Last weekend the three other SALTers and I took a trip east to the city of Prey Veng (to be later thought of as the land of adventure and home to the monkeys).

This is where we stayed.

After work on Friday the gang took a 3-hour bus ride with fellow MCCers Ryan and Daphne Fowler to Prey Veng (where the Fowlers work.). Not knowing what to expect and planning on under-packing, I threw two t-shirts and some shorts into a backpack and said, “I’m ready.” PV (short for Prey Veng) is a small city full of life and surrounded by rice paddies. It was exactly what I had been looking for: a chance to breathe some open air, see some greenery, and find some adventure.

After the bus ride, we hiked on down to Ryan and Daphne’s house where we would be settlin’ down for the next few days. The house had a large living room, both a front yard AND backyard (unheard of in Phnom Penh), acoustic guitar, and a hammock – at this point I was thinking, “the only thing missing here is an island full of monkeys (as I often do).” But Ryan reassured me that Prey Veng had that too, so I was happy. The rest of the even was spent biking throughout the town and peering across the beautiful riverside – also known as a bunch of flooded rice paddies.

Look kids! A white person parade!

The next morning we got up bright and early and toured the countryside on our motos. Riding over bumpy bridges and through muddy dirt roads was a lot of fun, I even think I got some pretty good air and often thought about poppin’ sweet wheelies, but decided not too since I don’t know how and motos are pretty heavy. After a great day of exploration and a visit to the local market we all sat down back at the Fowler’s crib and ate tacos – pure delight for me since I haven’t had anything remotely close to a taco since landing in Cambodia. Will someone please mail me a Cheesy Double Beef from Taco Bell? That’d be nice.

Rice Paddies glow a green you wouldn't believe

The next morning was upon my lovely face and I was so ready for the road ahead – the road to MONKEY ISLAND!!! But first thing’s first! Remember those tacos last night? I put the butt hose to good use once again! Ok so after we attended yet another church service in which I had no idea what was being said – the pastor could have been talking about SpaghettiO’s for all I know – it was Lewis and Clark time (safely assuming the Lewis and Clark expedition was created to search for primates).

The "road" to Monkey Island

After biking a ways out of the city we soon realized the rest of the journey was going to have to be on foot due to a flooded road. 1 minute into the walk we decided it would be more of a “swim” since the water was already above our waist – it was fun. With a hand full of bananas, the time was finally here. All kinds of monkeys came out of who-knows-where and had their fill. I still don’t understand why it’s so much fun to watch a monkey eat a banana but it just is. I could have stayed their all day; however I had no more bananas and the monkeys started looking at us in a way that said, “You look like a banana.” After some locals laughed at us for swimming to the island instead of taking the boat, we swam back to our bicycles and went back home.

Wake up you monkeys!

I managed to join a game of soccer before the day ended and found myself realizing that cleats might not be a bad investment. I spent about as much time on my ass as on my feet, the field was full of mud patches and I’m glad to have been able to entertain the local kids by showing them how to properly fall into a pile of mud every 23 seconds. Anyways, It was great to get some exercise again and play with Cambodians. At the end of the day I wasn’t quite ready to go back to Phnom Penh, but I’ll have another chance to visit Prey Veng again and soak in all its beauty.

That sums up the trip pretty well even though more can be said. Other than that things have been going great. My host family is going very well and I’m starting to find my mold in the city. Hope all is going well back home. God bless you all.

Peace yo,

Michael

The Host Fam

Well hello there reader!

On the last episode of me being in Slambodia I talked about getting adjusted to the city and life at the MCC office. In this weeks episode I’ve added an audience-grabbing twist where I move in with a host family, if you want to hear what happens next, don’t touch that dial because I’ll tell you now.

So about 4 days ago I met my host brother Sitha Long, he is the one responsible for setting me up with his family so I’m most thankful for his willingness to open his home to me. After grabbing my all my luggage and hopping on the back of his moto (yes, imagine seeing a white guy – called a “baraang” - in Phnom Penh on the back of a scooter carrying two backpacks and a large suitcase down the main road) we quickly got to my new house. Lucky for me I live incredibly close to the MCC office, it’s about a 5 minute walk. Anyway, to my excitement I found my new living situation tucked back into a small alleyway surrounded by what appears to be all my close relatives. In my house I have one brother (Sitha) 30 yrs old, three sisters from 26 to mid 30’s, and a ma and pa – I’m guessing they’re in their 60’s. To be very honest, it is quite hard to guess a Cambodian’s age. Most of the people I’ve met look younger than me but are usually 4 or more years older. I’ve also met a variety of around 8 others living around me (relatives I think). It will also probably take the whole year for me to remember anyone’s name – Sopheat, Sitha, Punboen? Amaripon? and maybe a Jackie Chan from what I can remember. One guy told me his name was George Washington but I’m skeptical. People don’t have too much trouble saying my name although my Khmer teacher usually refers to me as Michelle and most people who meet me for the first time like to call me Michael Jackson.

(Disclaimer: when I refer to my ‘brother, sister, mom, etc’ I’m referring to my host family)

So anyways, from the experience I’ve had so far I absolutely love my host family. My brother and one of my sisters both speak pretty good English, other than that I’m a bit on my own. My brother just left for Singapore for 2 weeks and the sister isn’t around much so these next 10 days will be interesting. I was actually officially made an English teacher yesterday when all the children who live around me came over to my house with a white board. I was just sitting there reading a book, but after about 5 minutes I picked up on the hint and started writing some words down. I now have a class of about 6 ranging from 6-15yrs old (again I don’t really know) and they really like to learn. At least teaching English helps me learn my basic Khmer because the learning level is about the same for both of us. The kids are pretty adorable as well so I won’t be saying ‘no’ to them anytime soon.

(Michael now realizes this post is getting long)

What else you ask? Well I’ll tell you. I originally had low expectations for the food as any SALTer really should, but I will tell you crackas that my mom and sister are too legit to quit. I usually have rice and a soup-type-dish everyday, but at the same time they have been making meat dishes as well [Side story!] My sister has a small BBQ store at the end of the alley and makes what my brother calls “Village Chicken/Pork/Beef” [Side story over!] I might have learned a few things about Cambodia since my stay here, but the thing I’ve learned the most is that I could eat this stuff all day and all night for the rest of my life. They marinate this meat in something sinfully good and I plan on learning the recipe before I leave. I’m quite a lucky little boy because my mom in the states is a great cook and my family in Cambodia is awesome as well – I think it’s called Karma.

(Michael realizes this is now longer than most people care for)

To wrap things up, I will say that I’m very happy with my situation. My family is very kind and patient with me and my brother is easy to get along with and has taken me around the city in our free time; which has been awesome. This upcoming week I will start doing some actual work. Oh and before I leave: I learned how to ride the moto (it’s like a moped) and realized I’m not qualified to teach others how to ride the moto… I also haven’t used toilet paper since I’ve been in my host house – dare to ask how? Fine, I’ll tell you. Well I don’t know the proper term for it but we have a butt-hose. The End.

Som Lia Haey,

Michael

See all my photos here.

The Office

Now that I've been fully moved into the MCC office I thought I'd give you all a quick tour.

Moto parking. I got to ride one today!

This is my desk.

In front of the office.

Liz and Nicole in the lounge.

The roof, perfect for watching the downpours.

My temporary room, complete with mosquito net.

That's the office in a nutshell. Now I'm off to my host family, who I will post pictures of soon.