Monday, September 24, 2012

En Memorius Reptus

This is somewhat of a sadder post. I'm sorry if it's a bit somber. We lost a good friend of ours recently. Remember Batgecko? He died today.

Typical pose, sitting in the middle of the floor waiting to startle someone - usually me.

Batgecko was a Tokay Gecko, a little small for the breed, but large enough to give you the creeps if he popped out of nowhere and surprised you - which he did to me often.

Our family is saddened, as we considered him a very quirky pet and really, a member of the family. A day didn't go by that we didn't look for him, or ask each other if we'd seen him.

He changed color too.

I will always remember fondly the adventures we had. Me going to use the bathroom and him popping his head up from behind the toilet...

'Allo!


Having to chase him out of my room when he wouldn't stop trying to watch TV with Jess...

I got him out of the room, but he stayed right here in protest.

He was friendly, and very loyal - coming upstairs and hanging out in our curtains whenever he got too lonely.

Sneaky little thing.
We are going to miss you a lot, little lizard. Thanks for making our family brighter.

See the baby? Lower left by the latch.
Our beloved gecko left us a little present though. See the baby in the photo? I saw him wandering around the other day, just like his pop (mom?). He seems to be just as quirky as Tokay was, and likes people too. I'm hoping he'll grow to be huge and cause just as much trouble as his parent.

His favorite spot.
Goodbye little friend. We'll miss you.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

An intern's perspective.

Ok, so you've seen her in photos occasionally. You may even remember far back enough (or scrolled far enough) to remember her. Today's mini-post is about Rhiannon.

Rhiannon with one of her good friends, Aly... and something small and squiggly. Not sure who.

Rhiannon is our intern. What? There were two interns?

That's a story for a different post. You'll hear about Gabby's adventure next time. :)

Helping, getting baby powder everywhere - these are the days of our intern.

You may also recall I posted how to become an intern at IHSI. Look back a few posts if you are interested. In the mean time, I wanted to let you learn more about our current one. She hails from Canada (Stop imitating Canadian accents. You know you tried it...) and has fallen in love with this place and these people.

She's also been very good to Aidan, and Jess really likes her too. Bonus!

Lovingly smashing-in faces.

Please take a moment and read who she is from her own perspective:

http://stepsincambodia.wordpress.com/

Happy reading!

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Sak Saum Family Reunion

At Sak Saum's facility in Saang.
So, during one of my last posts, I mentioned I had been working more with Sak Saum. I thought I might give you a little more insight into the people there. Why? Because I enjoy them, and I think you would too. :)

As you by now know, I got to work on their Fall Catalog (awesome). What I did not tell you, is that I have also been teaching an English class there (also awesome). 2 days a week, I get to go and spend time with some very special people and help them learn a language that will help them grow.

Today, though, I got to help with a different project - a party! Jess and Theavy came up with an idea to have a party out in Saang to bring together the different Sak Saum guys and gals from Phnom Penh and Saang. Unity is good.

That pot is rice... and so is the one behind it... and the one to the left...
So what's in a Cambodian shin-dig? Well, for starters, rice... lots, and lots, of rice! We served a huge meal. We had Green Curry, rice, fried chicken (I got to hand that out), rice, and some sort of soup with lots of green leafy things in it.

...and rice.

Afterwards, once everyone had eaten so much that they were beginning to slip into rice-comas, we played games!

Explanations take a little while... translation and all that.
We started with Pictionary. Jess made a bunch of index cards with Theavy that had words in English and Khmai, and the players had to draw them while others guessed.

In and of itself, that sounds normal, but when you get a bunch of game-loving Cambodians in the mix, it goes to a whole new level. They all laughed and teased, and occasionally heckled the other team. I was surprised and delighted by how lively they were when it came to playing games.

Preparing for a game. That's baby powder.

It was also fun watching some of the preparations that went into these games. For instance, one game involved the use of balloons filled with baby powder. Watching them try to achieve this goal taught me something. There is a rule that is universal. It transcends boundaries and crosses even the thickest walls. That rule is 'When people are given balloons and baby powder to play with, they will inevitably begin coating each other with said baby powder.'

It's true! Ask anyone...

See?
After Pictionary was over, we all stood and prepared for the next game - three legged balloon races!

Don't worry - they didn't have far to go.

What's a three-legged balloon race? Well, remember the balloons I mentioned? We tie two people together at the leg, and send them running with a balloon balanced between the backs of their hands.


The object is to put the balloon in a trash bag, and come bag and tag the next person.


The reality, of course, is that everyone has a blast laughing at each other and having the balloons explode while trying to stuff them into the bag.


Oh, and someone got the powder balloons mixed up in there. Awesome! :)




We also tied their arms. More fun that way.

This is as hard as it looks.






By this point, the guys and girls were having so much fun, they didn't want to stop.





This worked out well, being that we had one more thing we could do with those strips of cloth.








What? Hey, I had nothing to do with all this. Just because I find it amusing to watch people stagger around with little powdery explosions going off, does not mean I planned any of this. All credit goes to Theavy and Jessica.

Classic. :)
What else can we do with strips of cloth? Blindfolds!!!

Yup!
Yes! We blindfolded them, and then gave balloons to pairs of two and sent them wandering around looking for a rubber-band clothesline to hang it on. What was the second person's job? To pop the balloon, of course! Don't you just love the smell of all that baby powder?

It's fun to stay at the YMC... oh, nevermind.
Finally, we ended with a 'lucky' raffle (remember, they love 'lucky' here, remember? lucky mart, lucky burger, lucky pho...). Several people won some cool gifts, and then we all chowed down on Cambodian snax and cookies. No, I didn't eat anything with 'Lobster' or 'Seaweed' on the front.

Yes, it was that much fun!

In the end, several things occurred. First, we all had a blast. Second, several people got smoother skin from all the powder. Third, and most important, everyone came together. Yes, these men and women, who equally share a number of tragedies and hardships in common, had the chance to fellowship and be with their 'family' from another area. It was heartwarming to see the bonds of brotherhood and sisterhood being renewed as they all laughed and played.

After all, we're stronger together than we are apart, even if all we're trying to lift is each other's spirits.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

(Re)birthing center

What is rebirth?

To the spiritual minded, it can mean many things. However, I'm speaking about physical rebirth... change, transformation - to be made new.

Let me introduce you to the Setbo Health Center.

Don't mind the rubble... just step over it.

This is a maternity center for a local village (relatively) close to the church. Yes, it's open, and yes, this is where the villagers go to have their children.

Welcoming, yeah? That's Mr. Vouen over there. He's awesome.
When I first visited this center, I thought to myself 'this is cool! I can't wait to wander around and get photos to write a story!'. That thought ended shortly thereafter, as it was immediately followed by a thought of 'wha...?!?'. Why?

Ceilings don't normally come in 'U' shapes.
Well, to give you some background, there are 2 places in this world that creep me out like no other. The first is an asylum. You know, the places people used to house the ah... mentally unhinged? Yeah, uber-creepy. The second? Hospitals. Abandoned, empty hospitals.

Why does this creep me out? No idea, but the birthing center fit the bill. It had the look of a building long, long left to the elements. Nature was creeping back in, forcefully in some areas.

Outdoor recoveries are all the rage.
Needless to say, for the first time since coming here, I just wanted to get back in the truck.

Can you count all 7 spiders? I could! :)
Have you made the connection yet? It's creepy, dirty, collapsing... and active! Like I said, people use this center for births and recoveries. That's scarier than the condition of the building. 'Hey,' you may be asking, 'how can anyone see this and not think something's wrong?'. That's a great question, and you're onto something. The village leaders did come out and see the premises. They did see a problem.

What did they decide to do about it?

Outside the birthing center.

...nothing! Instead, the village got together and collected money to revitalize the big spirit house in front of the clinic. Yes, you heard me right - they raised money, and spent it on the dead, while their children are being born in a place straight out of a bad horror flick. Remember the post I did on what people believe? Here's another good example of not valuing life. Sad.

Enter IHSI and the Mill team.

The photos of 'after' are from IHSI's blog. http://www.ihsionline.org/blog/

Yes, these are the guys and gals I went to the zoo with. One of their projects while they were in Cambodia was to help restore this building and make it somewhere that new mothers would find welcoming and safe.

Before

After







































Between the workers IHSI hired and the labor from the team, they turned the clinic inside out. There are new ceilings; the walls are painted and clean; the outside was restored to new condition; and the rooms are sterile, with custom artwork and medical charts hanging all around.


I haven't had a chance to head back this way and see the difference for myself, but you can see the evidence of the love and hard work that went into restoring the birthing center. Now, when new mothers or soon-to-be-moms go here, they don't have to worry or get creeped out...

...or attacked by monkeys. What? Ok, there weren't any monkeys here, but it wouldn't have surprised me if that was because they'd all been attacked by the massive amounts of arachnids.



The team, proud but tired.

At the end of the day, the team went home tired and worn out, but feeling good about the legacy they left behind.

Where else can you put in a day's work and touch the hearts of an entire village?

Just to review, we have gorgeous beaches, deserted islands, excellent food and friendly people, insane drivers, and an abundance of opportunity to go to sleep at night feeling good about yourself.

Why aren't you here yet?

Friday, September 14, 2012

An explanation for the pause.

Well, by now, you're probably all wondering where I am, and which side of the planet I dropped off of. I apologize for my absence from this blog. I got to help Sak Saum with their fall catalog.

Inside, you will find pages of beautifully crafted items that the guys and girls have made. The money from the sale of these items goes back to Sak Saum (see my previous post if you want more info on Sak Saum and what they do). I'll be getting back to my regularly scheduled posting shortly. For now, why don't you have a peek at the catalog, and the Sak Saum blog?

http://www.saksaum.com/design

By all means, download the catalog and tell me what you think. Incidentally, if you look closely at the Accessories page, you may see a familiar arm...

From the left, Eric, Saiyun, Aidan, and me if you go clockwise.
Isn't Aidan's arm cute? :)

What? Did you think I put the gecko in there? That's just silly.

Even the gecko gets a bracelet. ;) No, I'm not telling you how I got that on him...