where cider meets condensed milk: Over the river and through the woods...

where cider meets condensed milk

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Over the river and through the woods...

Is there anything cuter than a beautiful Cambodian baby in sequins and a Texas do-rag? No. This is as kawaii as it gets. TEXAS!!

The highlight of the vacation week for me was the same highlight I have during my workweek: being at primary school! Our project was with RDIC (Resource Development International- Cambodia) which works on water and health initiatives in communities near Phnom Penh. Often, they build tanks at primary schools because they are central to a community and easily accessible. We set out in tuk-tuks from the heart of Phnom Penh to the rural outskirts, checked into Club Evergreen (our hotel, more commonly referred to 'The Club'), and got back into a truck to a ferry dock. We waited in the sun for a bit before hopping on for a long ride down the river, with people, cars, motorcycles, monks, and drunk pigs for company. Animals have to be alive to be sold at the market, so these piggies are fed sour mash, covered in mud, and strapped on to a moto. Chickens can just be stuffed into a carrier bag.

This is our adopted school for three too-short days! These are our kids! The school has 430 kids enrolled, but not nearly that many actually come to school. Especially in rural areas, most kids never make it past grade 3, but having their names registered ensures a meagre per-head allowance from the government. They can only go to school 3 hours a day, and it's a bit hit-or-miss about how often the teachers will be there. The principal was talking to our guides, and he wanted to know all about daily school life in Japan. (When I got back to Japan, all my kids were grilling me on daily school life in Cambodia. Let's exchanging!) The kids were really shy, as this may have been their first significant contact with foreigners. Especially loud ones who wanted to sing songs and play with concrete. They taught us some fun group games, and otherwise we joked around and sang songs. Most of the girls wouldn't get near me, but there was a herd of boys who were obsessive about hand-clapping games and songs. I may never want to sing C.C. Oh Playmate or Seven Steps again...

posted by Raychaa @ 12:23 AM

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