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!

A Note On Birthdays...

Hi everyone! Happy Birthday!

Hmm? It's not your birthday? Well, that's ok. You can still party and eat cake. This post is about birthdays in Cambodia anyway. :)

Presentses! Can you guess which ones were from Aidan?

What brought this idea to mind? Well, today we celebrated Theavy's birthday! That's right, you remember Theavy - she was the one I did a post about being kidnapped, and then recovered. You can already guess one reason we are thankful we can celebrate with her.

This of course brought to mind that birthdays are a subject I haven't covered yet. Awesome!

Theavy is a real treasure, as many of you expressed when you read her story.

So how do we celebrate birthdays here? Ready for a shock?

We don't.

Hurray, end of post! What? I can't leave you hanging like that? Well, ok, I'll fill you in a bit more.

In Cambodia, tradition holds nothing as far as celebrating birthdays. You get married? Great, let's have a wedding! You die? Not so great! Let's hold 4 funerals (more on this in a later post, I promise).

...but celebrate your birth? Nada. Zip. Nuthin.

That's why In His Steps International, and the church here are so interested in birthdays. You see, in America, we throw parties, give gifts, and try to show people that they are appreciated.

At the church, everyone comes forward, even the little ones! That's Elizabeth - she loves geckos, and Aidan ('Dan! 'Dan!').

In Cambodia, people will look at you funny if you ask them what day they were born. Frankly, they don't know, and age of years is often based on the Khmer New Year itself. They might be able to tell you the season, and likely they know what year, but everything else is a blur.

The Khmer Rouge, in their efforts to control everything, destroyed a lot of documents. This includes birth certificates, among other things.

'Ok', you ask, 'why don't they just pick a day and celebrate it?'

Great question! My personal theory? This isn't a culture that celebrates life - at least not how you and I would. Parents aren't usually appreciated or respected until they die. Some people are made outcasts just because everyone else thinks that they did something bad in a former life. No, this culture is more about the spirit life. They worship spirits, pray to them or try to appease them, and base assumptions about a person's character or injuries/sicknesses on their past life behavior. This sort of attitude doesn't exactly scream 'Hey, I'm glad you were born!'. This culture also celebrates money making opportunities, but again, that will have to wait till I do a piece on funerals and weddings.

Ginny's birthday party.

So what do we do about it? Well, we celebrate the person, and affirm them. There's no big cake or presents at the church, though we may have a party for the person later. Instead, we bring them to the front, and have everyone come and sit or kneel with the person and tell them how much they appreciate them. It's not mandatory or anything - it's for friends and family, or those who consider them a spiritual brother or sister.

The purpose is to show the Khmer people that there is something to be enjoyed about living, and that they have value.

We did our best to pack the house when it was Ginny's B-Day. She's appreciated too, and it's good for us to show her that.

I mean, that's what it's all about, isn't it? Showing these people, who suffered through torture and tyranny, that they have immense value? What greater present could you give someone on their birthday?

I can't think of one. Well, except for maybe a free ride in a cow-drawn cart!

Moooove outta the way!

So on your next birthday, or that of one of your friends, remember to show them you appreciate them. Let them know you were happy they were born. Who knows? Maybe they'll do the same to you. :)

Creepy Crawlies and their friends.

Hi everyone! Happy 2 month anniversary!

What? No, that's how long I've been living in Cambodia. Crazy, yeah? How many of you were betting I'd still be here?

Oh, c'mon... at least a couple of you should have expected me to stay. Have you read these posts?!? It's awesome here! In fact, at least one or two of you have expressed interest in coming to visit. That's even more awesome, I say.

Hmm? Am I doing another post about what to expect when you come? Well, yes and no. I thought I might show you a little more about what to expect to encounter. That's right! This one's about some of the wildlife...

Praying Mantis - found him at church. No, I'm not kidding, so stop rolling your eyes!

Obviously, being a country with a fair amount of jungle-like forest, there are many creatures lurking about. Obviously, being averse to jungles, I did not go wandering into one just to give you guys a few choice photos. :) I did, however, run into a few of the more common things you'll see running around.

Don't hug the lizard, folks.

First off, you've already been introduced to our friend, the mighty Tokay Gecko. He used to guard the blog before Aidan joined his fan club. Now, he just skulks around, trying to run over my foot whenever I step outside to go downstairs.

Hmm? Yes, they are very cute. However, some things you need to know:

-Don't try to touch them. They don't like being cornered, and once they bite, it takes them up to an hour or more to let go.

-They are very social creatures, except to each other. They love humans, and like to watch us from high vantage points, but they are fiercely territorial when it comes to their own kind. If you have 2 in your home, like we did, it's because it's mating season. Now, we have many small geckos. :)

Super tiny - he's a different kind. This species is fond of watching people wash dishes, for some reason.

Geckos are awesome. They eat things like bugs... and, well, bugs. Interestingly, there's a legend about the Tokay and a snake. People here think that the snake and the gecko have a symbiotic relationship. They believe the gecko will stop making calls because its liver has swollen. Once this happens, the gecko will open its mouth, and the liver snake will enter the mouth, and take a bite of the liver.

Liver snake. A.K.A. Golden Tree Snake, courtesy Wikimedia.

Ahh, I so love the looks you give me. If I had a nickel for every look I got... I'd have a ton of worthless nickels, but they don't take coins here, remember? ;)

These accounts are all first or second hand, mind you. There's no friend of a friend stuff. Even foreigners have seen it. What's the truth? According to Thailand, the tree snake actually preys on the gecko, squeezing it with its tail and eating the leftover bits of food right out of its mouth. Here's the reference, if you're interested: http://www.zoothailand.org. Just search through until you find the snake.

...yes, that was gross, but hey, at least you can count on me to give you the real skinny on things.

Like I'd do a post without a cow... moo!

Another creature you will see is the cow. This animal wanders aimlessly, often along roads and without any sort of human escort. They are known to be deadly, vicious creatures when confronted by their arch enemy, the moto.

As a result, moto drivers have learned to give a wide berth to them, as the cow always wins in a battle of moto vs. bovine.

Aside from this, they are used as pack and plow animals, and a source of food. Though, to be honest, I wouldn't eat one. People in this country have no concept of germs, and buying cow meat from a roadside stand is dicey. Did I mention there's not much refrigeration either?


Moving right along, we come to the common monkey (pronounced "Sw'aa" in Khmai).

Wikimedia. I saw one of these, but wasn't quick enough for a picture.

Monkeys are plentiful here. You'll find them mostly in the forest, or in Phnom Penh near garbage areas. They have no fear of humans, and will likely expect you to give them food. What should you know about these guys?

-Don't feed the monkeys. Ever. You like having monkeys around? That's great. You just don't want these ones around. Why not?

-They sniff glue. Yes. Glue sniffin' monkeys. They saw school children do it, and the children dropped the glue. Monkey see, monkey do. Now a good amount of them are really messed up in the head, and will attack you if you are silly enough to get close to one.

...yes, I am aware that 'Glue Sniffin' Monkeys' would make a great band name. Feel free to use it and cut me a royalty check! :)

If it crawls, and has a bright color, take a photo and then leave it alone. :)

We have your usual insects, like the centipede (millipede?) over to my right. This little guy nearly crawled right up onto Aidan's foot today to have a nice vacation.

Aidan wasn't as eager about the prospect, so he ran away... bravely, mind you.




...and of course, we have spiders!

I put the shoe in the picture for perspective. I did not stay to see what the owner thought of this.

The one you see here appears to be a huntsman spider. A small one. Eric and Ginny once encountered one of these spiders that was probably close to 3x this size... okay, maybe 4x. They get very large, and like to roam without a web - thus the huntsman part. They are also very quick. How did I get this photo? I caught the spider after it took a tumble from the upper room... about a good story and a half drop from where it was.

Cambodians typically use these as a food source. Yes, eww. Still, Aidan says the crickets taste like chicken, so... :)

Courtesy National Geographic. Like I'd go after one of these without help...

The Mekong Catfish is another famous resident. They can grow to 10.5 feet or possibly longer, and are known to wander around the Mekong river, eating pretty much whatever they like.

Here's your river monster folks. There's legends in the outlands of these things catching children and possibly adults by surprise and eating them. How do you avoid getting eaten by a catfish?

Don't swim in the river. Right, like the fish would be your biggest problem if you took a dip in that river. :)

...!!!

There are many more creatures to see here, both by touring the local zoo or forest, and by walking around your home... or standing still while they run over you. Whichever.

Oh, and we do get the occasional rhinoceros...

Look at the size of the horn on that one!

Till next time. :)