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. :)

The Search for Origami Yoda!

Based on the title, you're probably all wondering what in the world is an Origami Yoda? Those of you with children of a certain reading level might already know, but for the rest of you, here's some background...

Hard to find, books can be, hmm?

Before we moved, I bought Aidan a copy of this book, mainly because he really wanted it. Did he read it?

No. What did you expect? He hadn't exactly hit his reading stride yet. Besides, he was so saturated with video games that he never really sat down to read anything... except cereal boxes and comic books, but those don't count.

What? Am I dissing video games? Did I just use the word 'dissing' in a sentence? Well, no, I'm not coming down on games - they did strengthen his vocabulary and math skills (I only let him play games that he had to read, for the most part... Plants vs. Zombies being the exception). They also gave him an appetite for a good, continual story.

On the down side, interactive stories are more funner than non-interactive ones, so reading a book was more of a chore for him.

Yes, I said funner. 

Darth paper strikes back. One read and he was hooked.

So the end to this mini-flashback? I kinda... sold... or donated... all of his books before we left. Mom bought him Darth Paper Strikes Back before we left, so he had the sequel, but...

Hey! I'm not a bad father! I just didn't have a whole lot of space. You try shoving your house into 6 duffel bags that have to weigh less than 50 pounds. :)

That leads us to the present. I now wish to make amends for the lack of foresight. You see, once we moved here and we cut off some of his video game supply, his active mind craved stimulation. Other than blog stealing, there's not much for a 7 year old to do during the day when school is over. Thus, he started reading... and wouldn't stop. Now he's read most of his books, all decent chapter books, at least twice.

It was time to go book hunting.

See? Time? Book hunting? Get it...? Oh, stop groaning.

So we went in search of Origami Yoda. The first place we tried was a used book store.

Now, this ain't your normal book store. Well, ok, it almost is... except it's Cambodia. Finding a bookstore to begin with is a challenge (remember, Khmer Rouge, all those poor people who wore glasses... you get the idea). A friend told me this was a good place to find English books, so after some back and forth with Sareun (pronounced Sau-run) our tuctuc driver, off we went.

Quaint, this place is. Focus, you must. What? Why? Really dim lighting. :)

Boston books is the name of the place. It's located near the street called Norodom, which appears to be one of the few divided roads here. You in America are familiar with these - it's those roads that have big concrete islands in the middle you can't drive across. What do people do here? Well, they take a side road to near where they want to go, and then go the wrong way on a one way street.

Have I mentioned how fun it is to live here? :)

 Anyway, this was nice, but I couldn't see why it was supposed to be a great bookstore. It had maybe one shelf for young readers. Later, I came to find out that the place used to be several rooms large and is currently being taken over by a steakhouse of all things.


A word on that - I don't eat cow here. Why? Well, they feed the cows differently in America. Meat back home is nice and red. Here, it's almost black, and looks like the meat back home that gets left in the freezer WAY too long.

I did eat a burger at lucky burger once, but it wasn't very impressive. Awesome nuggets and sweet chili sauce though.

Now I'm hungry.

There's children's books where Aidan is standing. The ones on top were fashion books. No idea why.

We tried IBC (not PBC - we didn't find any books there, remember?) and failed. We found books, but mostly in Khmai or for toddlers. Aidan picked up a toy, but we were still without Yoda.

Then, there's the other book store... Monument Books.

End, all journeys must... hey, my Yoda voice isn't that bad!

This place was a veritable goldmine! It looks like a typical American Barnes and Nobles... without the help desk full of fluent English speakers. Still, I can speak a smattering of Khmai, and having a phone to pull up a copy of the book helped alot.


So there we were... me, Aidan, and a wookie... what? Oh yeah, sorry. No wookies or durian are allowed inside bookstores here. It was just me and Aidan. Aidan helped me search by...

Well, at least he's enjoying himself. :)

Sitting on a beanbag and doing nothing. Well, I take that back - he read books while I searched. The bookstore is small enough so that I could keep my eye on him at all times though, so no worries.

Did we find the book?

...

Well, no. We didn't. What? You were expecting some triumphant grand finale? Hey, he still went home with like 10 new books, a toy, and a scoop of mint ice cream and some KFC in his belly.

I'm hungry again. Thanks for that. ;)

Aidan eating said ice cream. It was green - like Yoda - so it will do, for now.

Join us next time, as we head off in search of some other hard-to-find item or wander through some unusual-looking area. Until then, we will continue to keep our eyes open for Origami Yoda! (add echo effect here)

Back Home...

So, as I sat and pondered what I might write about next, it occurred to me that most of my friends and family have a lot more on their minds than watching me post about sneaky 7 year olds, giant geckos, and how odd it sounds when the Khmer redo a popular song. Don't believe me? They have Bruno Mars, the Khmer version, available for listening online.

Anyway, I thought I would simply dedicate this post to the people back home. You, my readers, are my support system over here. You give me a creative outlet, and occasionally someone to talk to in something other than my limited Khmai skills.

Colorado, as it was meant to look.

So, home. Granted, Cambodia is really my home now, but I leave a piece of myself in two other areas as well. As you know from reading, I am originally from Florida. I also lived many good years in Colorado.

Florida, as I like to think about it.

The reason for this post is really just to let everyone know I'm thinking about them, and praying. I'd like to ask you, the readers, to do the same.

You see, for those only paying attention to their current location, both Florida and Colorado are experiencing some pretty bad disasters. Florida is drowning, and Colorado is burning.

Enough to bring tears, and not just from smoke. Courtesy local news/Facebook.

Having declared a state of emergency, both places are not having a good time of things. The fires in Colorado Springs are forcing many from homes, and destroying anything in their path. People are displaced, possibly homeless now, and in distress.

For those of you in Colorado, please stay safe. Any other readers interested in helping those in need should head to http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_20935254 and read the article.

The water eats away roads too. Courtesy again Facebook and local news.

The floods in Florida are doing pretty much the same. Homes are destroyed, people evacuated... you get the idea. For those in Florida, just get the essentials and get out if you are in danger of flood waters. Head for higher ground, and avoid driving on roads if you can't see below the surface of the water.

As before, if you aren't in Florida and want to help, the Red Cross is setting up shelters. http://www.redcross.org/

This post will be short and sweet today. Cambodia is relatively calm today. No fires (aside from the people cooking or the guy that has a wood stove attached to his bike), and no flooding (yet). Thanks to everyone who's supported me on this trip.

Oh, and before I go, one last thing...

Yes, that's a jackalope with a lightsaber. I didn't want you to accuse me of being too serious!

Don't forget to smile and laugh, especially if you are in a hard hit area.

Why? Because, as my Mother-in-law likes to say, if you don't laugh, you'll cry.

Please stay safe everyone. I'll get back to our normal funny-but-true posts tomorrow, ok?