Dentist Vs. Shrimp

Aidan's view from the window.

Hello I am going to take over my daddy's blog.   

I got my teeth done last week.

They were nice at the dentist.

Proud smile.

They gave me a free t-shirt.

The shirt makes him strong... like bull!

The dentist had mentos, but my favorite part was looking out the window.

Boat o' mentos... green apple, pineapple, orange, and watermelon! Oh, and "burn your nose off" Air Mint flavor.

My friend sokun gave me a rope shrimp!

I liked it.

It looked like a duck billed dinosaur at first.

Sokun is awesomely sticking out his tongue.

Sokun is awesome.

I liked the shrimp better than the dentist.

The tooth, the whole tooth, and nothing but...

Hello again!

What? You don't remember me? Aw, c'mon! It's only been 4 days or so since my last post. Besides I put a lot of research into the last post! I deserved a vacation.

I was not being lazy! :p

Anyway, today's post falls into the medical-type category - specifically, dental!

Dental clinics are everywhere, much like pharmacies.

Now, many of you had an image pop into your head when I said 'dental'. For some of you, that image involves unpleasant thoughts of drills and cranky dentists. Others of you remembered where I am, and are wondering just how good (or bad) the dental system is here.

...and at least 1 of you thinks the dentist office here probably looks like the inside of a tribal person's grass hut.

Tell me something... do you feel lucky? Well do ya'?

To be honest, some of them do. The one near our house (pictured) is basically a little stone hut. I haven't been in there, but it's recommended not to use a dentist like this unless it's a real emergency.

Why? Well, your two greatest problems will come in the form of communication and sterilization. They may not be very clean, as most Cambodians don't know about germs. Shoot, for that matter, many don't even know the world is round. Communication could be hard too, as they probably don't speak English and could... ok, would... wind up 'fixing' the wrong tooth. Good luck with that.

So far, my favorite one of these little dentists is called Hourt Chou dental clinic...and beauty salon. Yes, it's pronounced 'Hurt Choo', and yes, that's why I like it so much. :)

What? No, I didn't go to one of these places. I went...

...here!

Yes, like so many other situations, Eric and Ginny made inroads long ago to find the best possible places for things like this. I am blessed... well, really, my whole family is blessed by their expertise and the hard work they've put into Cambodia over the years.

Reception in the lobby.

Roomchang dental hospital is a cut above all the other Dentist offices here. Ok, it's actually a cut about EVERY dentist office I've ever seen.



Inside, you ride a glass elevator to whichever floor your dental appointment is on. Yes, they have multiple floors for the whole office.

You are supposed to wear the shoes, but not the bamboo...

Once inside, you are required to change out of your dirty outdoor shoes (yes, we have indoor shoes here. I haven't mentioned it yet but they are definitely needed.) and change into these nice, pristine white crocs.




This is a smart idea, as the entire furniture decor is also white, and dirty shoes or bare feet tend to leave marks. Big ones.

It was like a spa inside.

We had a nice view from the 8th floor too. Really, the whole place was like a spa.

View of the King's palace.

After checking in, they have you sit on one of the couches and offer you juice, water, coffe, and other things. After wandering around a bit, I settled near a window to take photos from up high. Aidan, of course, didn't want to sit still. What was his favorite thing about the waiting area?

Decorative boats filled with Mentos. Yes, that's pineapple and watermelon flavors you see. I don't think they are available in the States.

Our names were called, and we were led into spacious little rooms with state of the art equipment, and nurses trained in the highest forms of sterilization. They were quite friendly, and chatted with me about my opinion on Cambodia, and how long my family had been here.

Very, very clean.

After that, I got to meet the dentist and talk about the usual... flossing, why you shouldn't use toothpicks, and how bad the previous 3 (!) dentists I had were and why their work now caused me to have more work done. :) I escaped with only needing 2 fillings (ugh), and an appointment this coming Monday to get them done.

A proud set of chompers there.

What did Aidan escape with?

A clean bill of health, and a bag full of free t-shirts! Yes, they give free t-shirts to their clients. :) He also got a big toothy grin because he had so much fun.

So, whenever you come visit, if you need dental work, go here. They did such a good job, they were able to do a filling on Jess' tooth without Novocaine. Awesome... and not something I'm likely to try.

Well, that's all I've got for you on the dental system. Until next time, don't brush aside your dentist's warnings, and keep chomping away at what life gives you.

Not even the paintings like my puns... :)

What do they believe?

What do you believe?

Why do I ask? Well, this post is all about belief. Specifically, it's about what people believe over here. Yes, I could bore you with a lecture about what Buddhism is, or how Hinduism works, but you know me... you know how I roll. I like to get you the real story. I want you to see the truth behind the lie. Yes, people believe in worshiping Buddha, Vishnu, and a whole host of other so-called 'gods' here, but what does that mean? Why is it important?

Let me show you.

Welcome to Cambodia! Land of ancient stone dudes that smile at you in vaguely threatening ways. :)

For starters, let me say that the majority of the non-Christian religions here tend to blend together. Hinduism, Buddhism, Animism and Ancestor Worship all get mashed together in strange combinations, leading to a very diverse system of beliefs for each individual. Yes, we have Islam here too, which also gets muddled in at times.

Temple number 273.5 out of like 3 million. Otherwise known as a 'Wat'. There's a lot of these here, if I was being too subtle. ;)

As I have mentioned before, certain aspects of these beliefs are prevalent in the Khmer people's everyday lives. Even if the individual doesn't necessarily believe in going to temple or bowing before a statue, they may still hold to tenants long passed down through their families.

This is a small spirit house. You see these literally everywhere.

You remember once I told you that the people tend to have a high awareness of the spirit world? Well, the photo above is a good example. This is a 'spirit house'. People build these and sell them at the little roadside stands you've seen in my photos. The purpose of these things it to appease spirits.

This one goes inside the house or business. Same purpose.

The people believe that there are spirits everywhere.. house spirits, spirits of their ancestors hanging about... and so on. In fact, you remember how I mentioned people tend to disregard their parents until they are dead, and then they honor them? Well, this is partly what I meant. The children will sacrifice to the spirits of their departed parent or parents by placing food, or incense in these little spirit houses. They believe that the spirits of their parents, or really any of the spirits, are angry with them and will come beat them up if they don't do this. They also believe that the sacrifice is accepted since the food disappears mysteriously (It's amazing how well-fed all the birds look...).

Vishnu. You can see the little offerings left by people at the base of the statue.

Why is this a problem? Well, let me pose to you a scenario:

You come home after a long week at work. All 5 of your family members work - wife, 16 year old daughter, and 2 boys 13, and 12. You all together make approximately 10$, lets say, in a month. Sounds bad already, yeah?

Now imagine you serve a spirit who will beat you up if you don't sacrifice to him, or you have to earn merit so you can reincarnate as something other than a cockroach or spider (Eww!).Take half your income, and burn it up in a fire as an offering to one or both of these.

Now you can go get food for your family and pay your bills and get gas for a moto.

See my point?

I found this on the street. How do I know it's counterfeit? Franklin's name is in Korean. :)

A great example of throwing money away comes in the form of something I found walking back from Aidan's favorite little green-mart. This 100$ bill is not a copy. It's actually a professional-esque counterfeit bill, and would get you arrested in the States. People buy stacks of these to burn and send to their ancestors in the afterlife. I got rid of it after snapping the photo because I didn't feel comfortable even having it in the house. Also, the eyes are very creepy looking.

The snake is Naga, spirit of destruction. The people here made a pact with it to keep the events of the Khmer Rouge from happening again. Now really, how many movies have you seen where making a deal with the big evil multi-headed snake actually turned out to be a good idea? Yeah, me either.

What else? Well, another aspect that's become ingrained in the culture is a lower regard for life. Specifically, people who have diseases or limbs missing. Because of the ingrained belief that these people must have been bad in a former life, they are treated as something to look down on. As you get further out from the Capital, the villages go so far as to treat them as non-humans, and therefore devoid of rights. Imagine being tied to a tree and beaten repeatedly, or killed, just because you don't speak well. Not cool.

Monks. Sorry, these guys don't fly around doing karate, or any of the other stuff you see on TV. They also don't hold to the 'all-life-is-sacred' Zen-ness you see either, as evidenced by the sacrificed animals and fish. They also trick-or-treat for money! :)

I'm not coming down on any specific religion - don't get me wrong. Seriously though, how do you feel when someone tells you that you are worthless, and your only hope is to give everything you have in hopes that your next life will be marginally better?

See the problem?

Supposedly, Buddha's teeth are buried here...

Well, enough soapboxing for today. I was asked to do a post on what people believe, but I've barely scratched the surface. We'll do some more lighthearted posts before I revisit the topic.

Until then, please don't take any phony bills, wooden nickels, or make the well-fed birds angry.

You wouldn't like them when they're angry. ;)

How would you define 'normal' anyway?

Well, time to answer another question from you good folks. This time around, it's a question about Aidan. Actually, most of the questions I get or have gotten before are about him. This time, it's a question of life. Specifically, 'how normal is Aidan's life in a third world country?' Well, let me show you...

It's good to have friends... especially ones that will stare at a phone camera in abject fascination!

We've been over this before, but it can't be said enough - Aidan has made some great friends. As you can see above, they love to play with iPhones.

Aaron

You remember Aaron? Well, Aidan gets to have this guy over to watch movies and play together. He didn't really have any friends like that in Florida.



On Saturdays, we ride out to children's service in Sa'ang with Jacob and Aaron, and he gets to run and scream and jump and wind up playing in the dirt or poking bugs with sticks.


Poking bugs with sticks is awesome! ...except bees. Trust me, don't do that.

Sokun

Then, of course, there's Sokun. You got to see him on my blog recently when we all went to the amusement park.



Aidan and Sokun have gotten to hang out at various locales, most of which you've seen already. What's more though, Sokun actually spent the night a couple of times! Yes, I know this seems mundane to you other-parents-of-first-grade-children, but for him, it's new and exciting.



For Sokun's part, I catch him smiling more with Aidan around too. :)

Remember her?

Remember Srey Ohn, the village outcast? Well, she's taken a friendly liking to Mr. Aidan, and hangs out with him as much as possible on Sundays. She attends church, and comes over to play with him or crack his knuckles (She really likes to do that! She does it to Jess and I too.). As you can see in the photo, Aidan's been good for her too. She laughs and smiles a little more, and is less shy around our family. Win-win!

Ok, so he has friends. What else? Well, you've seen him go to a water park, and to an amusement park, but I bet you didn't know he goes to...

Aidan, now appearing in 3D! To see this image in 3D, you have to cross your eyes slowly while backing away from the computer.

...the movies! Yes, we have a movie theatre! It's strange to think about, isn't it? Third world country, movies in 3D (How many of you tried what I wrote in the caption? Be honest now... ), and movie snacks! There are some differences though. For starters, when it first opened, they had to post signs telling everyone to be quiet during the movie... and keep their shoes on. Yeah, movie etiquette was something that took a little time here.

To see this image in 3D... you have to come visit! What? I only trick people once every couple of posts. :)

Be that as it may, I recently went with Jacob to see the new Spiderman movie. I thought it would be a huge treat to bring Aidan, and I was right. He was absolutely thrilled to see movie posters, popcorn (3 flavors - salty, sweet, and caramel. No butter though.), and of course, ice cold Sprite.

Facing out from the theater. They have a food court! Squid anyone?

Since they do assigned seating, we also wandered into City Mall, which really is a little mini-mall attached to the theater. We didn't buy much, but we did stop by the DVD store, where for the low price of 1$, you could take home a copy of... Spiderman! Well that,  and Brave, Ice Age 4, and a few other movies that haven't even made it into theaters here yet. Yes, they are illegal in the States, but you still get a chuckle out of seeing it in an established business.

So what did I miss? Movies, pool, friends... oh yeah!

Just try not to put your eye out with the sticks!

Cotton Candy! His grandmother spoiled him with this one. She found some and had Saraun buy it for him (would've been 2x as expensive if Ginny bought it herself). He was a sticky mess after, but really happy.

"So," you ask, "does Aidan ever encounter anything scary?"

Yes. In fact, I got a picture of it:

Even here, children are forced to learn algebra. 

Yes, that's algebra... in Khmai!

Be afraid... be very afraid. ;)

Row, row, row your boat...

Well, the spiky-haired one gave me back my blog. I hope you didn't miss me too much!

...what? Bring back Aidan?

I'd tell him you said that, but there's a chance I wouldn't get my blog back for awhile. :) For now, you'll just have to settle for me, or as I am known to many a Cambodian (and at least 1 American), "The tall goofy guy"... except for Mara. She knows me as 'Not Eric' (Ot Eric in Khmai!).

Anyway, moving on...

Cambodian Chess has very different rules than America.

As usual, every day around here is its own special adventure. Yesterday was no exception to this rule. We started our journey by heading to Sak Saum, where I planned to help Jess with some work there, and Aidan planned to get the iPad and watch cartoons.

To my surprise, Saurun, our tuctuc driver, asked if I would like to go for coffee!

Well, that's awesome! I immediately jumped on that offer, and Aidan and I were off!

...to a small, hole-in-the-wall little coffee shop up the street. :) Ginny gave us fair warning on what to expect if we drank anything there (see the post about visiting here and make note of the bit about having a list of western bathrooms), and where to sit (stay out of dark corners - mosquitoes tend to congregate there during the day). Ahh, but that's part of the charm, right? :)

Such a studious learner...

Saurun attempted to engage Aidan in a game of chess. Aidan, being unfamiliar with the game, was ready to learn, but Saurun decided he'd rather play someone who already knew the game.

Enter me, with my geeky skill set, and decent chess playing ability. After a brief lesson on the differences between American and Cambodian Chess (pieces move differently - mostly restricted. The queen can't do much of anything, and the bishops move like really slow monks, one step at a time), I took to the field of battle....

...and lost. What? You already know my style. How many of these posts have I written where I actually came out on top? It's ok though - I enjoyed myself, and more importantly so did Saurun. He said he'd play me again any day. Aidan, for his part, sat and drank a Samurai - which is basically a strawberry energy drink. Why Saurun ordered that for him, I don't know, but it led to our next awesome destination...

Doesn't this just look inviting?

...the Pool! That's right, we took some time to go swimming. This was perfect, considering how much energy little man had to burn off. Also, they have a little eatery here, which was great since the chess game lasted awhile and I was getting hungry.

Arr! There be a beastie in these here waters!

What? That's a lot of french fries? Why yes, yes it is. Now, ordering french fries is not an easy task here. First, you find a menu, then you point to the fries and say you want 3 large fries.

Yes, that's the easy part. Next, you sit quietly and smile while the nice cashier gives to 'the look' and then says '3? You want 3?!?'

"Yes, 3." I confirm.

"3? ...are you sure??" she asks again.

"Yes." I say.


...and then one more look. My response at that point was 'We have many people.' Finally she relented and let us order 3. Unfortunately, we did have many people, but 2 of us weren't hungry. Aidan and I had to take them all down ourselves. Oh darn. :) We also had a run in with a small, furry creature trying to get Aidan's fries, but it ran off when I got near.

Arr! There be the beast! After me fries, it was! Arr...

Once we got back from the pool, it rained! Yes, rain is an important event here. You see, when it rains hard, children play soccer, tuctucs park on the sidewalk, and Saurun has to go buy a disposable raincoat.

For the low price of .80 cents, you too can own one of these handy devices!

It also means the end of most forms of travel. We were going to have people over for fellowship and a special treat, but the roads weren't roads anymore...

Row, row, row your boat, gently down the street...

Rain rain, go away...:) Until next time, try to stay dry and don't let the Catbeast, or Aidan, eat all your fries!

Cheap soda and rock music!

Hi I am going to take over my daddy's blog.

I like to take over the blog.

It is fun.

I think it's nice.

Jammin!

I like the Legend of Zelda music. It is rock music!

It is fun. It is cool.

It is awesome.

'Green Mart' just opened. It's green!

I went to green mart.

It had sprite for 37 cents a can.

My daddy bought me one.

Doing hair like this is easy. All you need is a fork, and a 220 volt outlet...

I got my hair done today.                

































                                                                                                                                                                                                          

An amusing evening...

Ok, remember the birthday post?

What you you mean you don't?!? It was the last post!!

Yeesh... you're still a tough crowd. ;)

No, we weren't reenacting the 'catch the fly' scene from Karate Kid. :) Wax on... Wax off...

This is Sokun. You may remember him from a previous post or two (or not, being that you even forgot the last post). He's one of Aidan's best friends. As for the birthday thing, well... it's Sokun's birthday! That means we got to go out and do fun cool stuff to celebrate.

A little bit of background - Sokun is Theavy's son. Yes, that's two birthdays very close to each other. Nice.

No octupi were harmed in the making of this soup... oh, who am I kidding?!?

We started our journey at a place called Lucky Pho (pronounced 'fuh'). They serve mostly pho soup, but also have french fries, and lovely, lovely banana shakes. Mmmm...

My wife had the Kraken special. This is where 'lucky' gets its name. The chef is lucky not to be snagged and dragged into the pot by all the tentacled creatures. Truly, it's a masterpiece of fishy wonder. After Jess finished her don't-eat-this-after-watching-Finding-Nemo surprise, we all piled into 2 tuctucs and headed for a place called Diamond Island.

Awesome.

Hmm? Are there diamonds? No, but it glitters!




No, seriously. The island is full of amusement-park-like attractions. There's games, bumper cars... the works.

A chance to intentionally hit things with a car... Aidan was in heaven.

That's right! I've shown you a water park, and now you can see an amusement park! There weren't any large mice in tuxedos or dresses running around (*cough* Disney *cough*), but there were some Angry Birds.

Like you expected anything else by now. ;)

Yes, even I got into the action. Yes, I woke up sore. ...and yes, I feel old.

We hit the bumper cars with a vengeance. Sokun rode with me, and Aidan hopped in with... Saraun, our tuctuc driver. What? Who better to play bumper cars than someone who actually drives in Cambodian traffic? Trust me, they are very similar. Hey, even I learned a thing or two! I was pulling hairpin turns and driving into oncoming traffic just like the Khmai!

Hands down, Sokun's favorite ride!

 

From there, it was onto the roller coaster. It wasn't very large, but it was fast. Aidan and Sokun could even ride without adults.




Yes, there actually are safety rules here, even if the guy enforcing them is asleep most of the time.





We looked at a couple of other rides - one where you got slung around in a giant ladle, and another where you stood up and held on for dear life as the machine attempted to EJECT YOU thirty feet into the air.

We skipped those ones. :)

Wheeeeee!

We hit the Angry Bird bumper cars next. Yeah, I know... but believe it or not, the bumper cars were the safest rides, barring the little kiddie ones.

Birds of Anger! Fear the fierce orange shirted one! His tuctuc hair only feeds the sheer awesomeness of his driving skill!

Of course, that didn't mean the kids were safe. Often, they tried holding onto each other's car, or hopping off and hoofing it. Equally as often they were hit by someone else. Might've been some kid in an orange shirt. Maybe.

Sokun had an absolute blast!

Ok, so "Ryan," you ask, "what does all this really mean? Deep down?"

Why, I'm glad you ask!

For Sokun, this night meant something truly special. He was blessed, and like many children, will go on to appreciate and look forward to his birthday every year (and will probably want to keep going back)

Ahh, but for Aidan... for him, it meant something else entirely. You see, he's been through quite a lot - bullies, broken limbs, children stabbing at him with forks (yeah, that sucked a bit), as well as several tragedies close to home. He's not been allowed to be just a kid, you know? He's like a little 7-year-old adult. At the amusement park? He laughed. He screamed. He ran over people.

Essentially, he was a kid. Just a plain ol', happy-go-lucky child. He got just a little bit of that great childhood he deserved back, and it was truly awesome.

As Aidan says, "They have AWW cola here! (A&W Root Beer)

How did we top things off? With root beer floats, and Aidan giving Sokun a present.

How's that for a happy birthday? See you next time!