I had a feeling I would be a bit slow to begin posting to this blog and, alas, I have confirmed that suspicion by posting a week after being in the country! I arrived on November 2nd after 27 hours of travel (with no delays, thankfully) and watching approximately 5 movies. I arrived late at night and by a small miracle and multiple phone calls between my Cambodian host and the driver, I made it to my host's apartment. Deborah Hanus, an MIT grad with a masters in computer science, also a Fulbright grantee, invited me to stay with her and the six Cambodian women who she is currently living with. Deborah will be investigating education and employment in Cambodia, specifically whether experienced based classrooms translate into increased employment. The six Cambodian women are either working in the city (one is an electrical engineer) or attending school (several to work in the health profession).
As this is my first time in any Asian country, my first week has been a bit of a barrage on the senses and in general difficult to describe, but I’ll just share a little of what I’ve experienced so far.
I woke up on Sunday morning to the roosters living close by (somehow managing to impressively sound like an entire zoo) and was eager to see the city in the daytime. The most immediate notable difference when I stepped outside was the traffic. I had been told it was unruly; people driving the wrong way on a street, disobeying light signals, and just generally chaotic. I had been in New York City a couple weeks prior and its traffic was nothing to what I’ve experienced so far in Phnom Penh. This picture does not do it justice, but you get the idea.
http://blogs.usembassy.gov/todd/2013/01/30/phnom-penh-traffic/
To get around the city there are two options: tuk-tuks or motodrops. Tuk-tuks are “carriages” attached to a moto and cost a bit more while a motodrop simply involves hopping on the back of a moto and riding to your destination. I've been amazed to see entire families (4-5 people) all balancing on one moto. The security briefing at the U.S. Embassy also warned us there are many deaths due to moto accidents, thus despite procuring a stylish mushroom shaped helmet, I have stuck to taking tuk-tuks thus far.
Tuk-tuk
Moto
I quickly realized the tuk-tuk drivers outside our apartment do not speak English and Deborah kindly lent me a map of Phnom Penh which I have used religiously each day. Although I haven’t done many tourist activities I walked along the riverside (where the Tonlé Sap drains into the Mekong River) and viewed the outside of the Royal Palace which I plan to tour at some point.
Meeting of the Tonle Sap and Mekong River
The Royal Palace
Deborah and I also ventured to the Russian Market which is only several blocks wide, but managed to get ourselves promptly turned around. Walking in you are immediately surrounded by shoes, clothes, bags, and jewelry from floor to ceiling. We walked a little further and encountered the food area with live fish flopping about, raw meat hanging from various stalls, vendors displaying fruits I’ve never seen, and people bustling around doing their daily shopping. Once I’m a little bit braver I’ll explore the market more and worry less about getting completely lost.
WWF Phnom Penh Office
On Tuesday I met with the staff at the WWF office in Phnom Penh. After planning this trip for roughly the last year it was exciting to finally arrive and put faces with the names of those I had been emailing. The Conservation Programme Manager, Thibault Ledeq, explained the organization of the WWF Cambodia office and also the various regions and initiatives it focuses on. After a welcoming dinner the next night with the team I’ll be working with in Kratie, I felt like my work here was slowly starting to begin.
The last highlight from this week has been meeting the Cambodian women in the apartment I’m staying at. Each night Deborah has an English “lesson” with all of them. This lesson essentially consists of chatting about various topics and Deborah occasionally correcting their grammar or pronunciation. Last night involved talking about music and somehow we wound up introducing them to Backstreet Boys and NSync. Although I won’t be able to continue in this tradition (the lessons, not introducing them to bad pop music) as I’m leaving for Kratie, I think it is a great way for these girls to practice their English, and also for us to learn more Khmer (Cambodian language) and about Cambodian culture in general.
From the left - Chipon, Ratanak, Deborah, Lamphou, Chiva
Tomorrow (11/9) I will be traveling to Kratie where I will be based for the foreseeable future. Then November 12-21st we will be going on a survey trip which involves traveling up the Mekong River by boat all the way to Laos border and back. We will photograph the dolphin population as we go and add the photos to WWF’s current ID catalog. I’m unsure of the internet access I’ll have on the survey trip, but in the future I hope to post to the blog more frequently. Here’s to a good first week!