How to Think

One of the strangest things about my job is precisely how I'm valued. I'm here because of how I think. I'm valued for how I think.

Cambodians are intelligent people. Everyone is inherently intelligent. It would be both egocentric and ethnocentric to suggest otherwise.

But in the globalized industrialized world of 2012, where economics rule, power is purchased and a hybrid American/European culture is the standard for modernity, we have to think like Westerners. We have to think in logical sequence, start with a pros/cons list, identify risks, manage risks, always stick to the plan. We criticize anything with inconsistencies. Truth must be sought and provided scientifically, and hold up in separate instances. We look for successful yet innovative patterns to replicate. We respect no one, unless they've demonstrated themselves as worthy. 

I think like this. This was how I was educated. Now somehow I'm in this odd situation where I'm inadvertently instructed to teach others to think like this. It's a very strange demand, quite "modernizationist." The pressure can sometimes be enormous because rewiring how people think is quite impossible. Who's to say how I think I better? I have questions about how I think. I was educated to think like a Westerner while simultaneously educated to criticizes that very quality.

I've not been in Cambodia long enough to make wide sweeping judgements about how everyone thinks. I can say that it's more cyclical. Liner logical thinking is a challenge for many Cambodians. There is an acceptance of the status quo. There is a concentration on short term outputs. There's a tendency to do the same thing over and over again, without modifications. Direct confrontation is avoided, in all situations. Yet also, there is a loyalty to family, the ability to accept life as is, and a deep respect for authority. 

For the purposes of project planning and in order to secure Western funding, Cambodian leaders are demanded to think like Westerners; to fill out logical frameworks and develop a long-term sustainability strategies. For now, this is how it is, and someone has to explain these foreign Western expectations. Sometimes with my partners, that person is me. And if I'm going to be stuck in that situation, the least I can do--or anyone else--is be gracious, patient, and respectful. It's not a one-way street. I want to learn how to think like an Easterner, or a Cambodians. There is value and beauty in taking the best of both. The Cambodians I work with are sharp, intelligent, even creative people. They just don't think like Westerners.

How My Street Developed

My Street: Toul Tom Pong
(Clockwise from top left, street, street, Neighbor Two, Neighbor  One, Neighbor Three)

Phnom Penh is developing.

When I arrived Halloween 2010, Phnom Penh was...a city...I guess... The vast majority of buildings averaged three or four stories. Everything worth getting to is within a five mile radius. There was only one completed "skyscraper" and two half-finished "skyscrapers." It all felt very backwater capital.

One day I woke up and noticed the cityscape from my third floor apartment balcony was different. Numerous aspiring 10 and 15 story building ascended into the muggy sky. The stalled skyscraper restarted construction, along with several other tall buildings. Everyone I know has a construction site on their street.

Including my street. I moved into my apartment February 2011. On my right, an apartment building was under construction, and at the time was three floors tall. As the months of sawing metal and banging concrete passed, the massive building tapered off at a mere six stories (the tallest on my street by far). The neighbor diagonally across the street noticed. Around August 2011, he tore down his shabby estate and decided he needed a villa (at least it looks like a villa, we're only on the third floor at the moment). This put a neighbor two doors down to shame, and in December 2011, this neighbor tore down his two floor home crammed between several similar buildings. For a window of time between January and February, all three neighbors polluted my beloved street with noise so deafening, so obnoxious, so utterly early in the morning...I considered moving.

Thankfully, neighbor-number-one's six story building is done and people moved in over the last week. Neighbor-Number-Two's villa continues, and Neighbor-Number-Three's future residence hasn't taken shape.

Development is a good thing. Hygiene, access to education, and reduced extreme poverty are unquestionably good things. But thanks to development, Phnom Penh's wooden houses, so full of character and history are torn own in favor of concrete blocks. It's the age of concrete, monstrous buildings on tiny lots, and air conditioners.

How to Attend a Khmer Wedding [Take Two]

Amara and Marti's wedding in Kratie

It took effort in my December 2011 post to conceal my disappointment with Khmer weddings. I was under-whelmed with the whiskey and Angkor, the fake eye-lashes, and the inability to speak to other people at one's table thanks to the incredibly loud music. My second attempt was far more enjoyable. This was due to one factor alone. I went with people I knew, and I knew the bride more closely, Amara.

One should never attend weddings alone which is probably a universal truth. Never has this been more true then when in a foreign context (which is where I have a majority of my wedding attendance experience). While I completely support self-sufficiency and independence, weddings alone are awkward.

My second wedding was in Kratie (Kratie is explore in another post). There were several other variables which made this attempt significantly better then the first.

• Provincial. In Phnom Penh, there are two options for weddings. First, set up a tent on the street in front of your house and block traffic. Second, rent a wedding hall. There are an abundance of wedding halls. Typically one hall can host/cater several weddings at once, with partitions between the weddings and the guests entering through doors A, B, or C, respectively. One delightful element of Amara's wedding was that it was at her childhood home, and the tent was at her family's property. This added a personal touch. 
• Colorful Outfits. We counted eight outfit changes for Amara. A full wedding goes all day; the fruit parade to the bride's house, the hair cutting ceremony, (a few more other ceremonies I don't know about) and then the evening party. The bride and groom as expected to change somewhere between six and 12 times over the day, each time a colorful outfit perfectly coordinated from the earrings down to the shoes, matching their new spouse.
• Tasty Food: I've only heard terrible things about wedding food. I was completely surprised to leave completely full; banah leaf salad, BBQ beef (with actual meat on the bones), and a lovely roasted fish were among the most memorable. Our "desert" was mint chewing gum. (That might also just be a province thing.)
• Finished Early. Another benefit of a provincial wedding is that by 9:30pm, it's about over! The dancing had finished, the guests were trickling out, and we eventually left and had our own after-party.
• Friends. As mentioned early, don't go to a wedding alone. Because sitting a table with people you know, and dancing to Khmer music with people you know, and watching the sparkly outfits with people you know, is just so much better.

I will allow myself one criticism on Khmer weddings. They are nearly all exactly the same. The same rituals are conducted, the same color scheme is used for every tent, the same fancy outfits are worn, the same "wedding food" is served, and the same 300-400 people party. There is no variation, no room for creativity, no option to have less then 300/400 people. Perhaps it's very Western of me, suggesting that the exercise of individuality risk breaking social norms, but part of my motivation for questioning this norm is the vicious wedding financial cycle. People often lay out way over $10,000 per wedding which might not sound like much, but the per capita income in Cambodia is $615. Financing these weddings is a massive financial stress. Often, people don't get married because their families cannot finance the wedding. People hope they make back that amount when each guest brings the socially mandated $20, but it's a huge gamble. If it rains and people don't come, you'll never crawl out of that financial hole.

But this is how it is. This is what's expected of you. In some strange way, the security of a predetermined script allows you to save face. You don't have to be unique. It's all be decided for you. No one will think less on you or your family if you do it the right way. You just have to figure out how to pay for it. 

How to see freshwater dolphins [Kratie]

Kratie is known for the endangered Irrawaddy fresh water dolphins. They are found in the tiny bit of water on the Mekong Delta, quite far indeed from the Irrawaddy River in what is now called Myanmar. This is the first mystery of dolphins. The other mystery is what exactly they look like.

I was in Kratie just after the New Year for the wedding of a colleague. It was a classic overnight trip; leave Friday morning, drive five hours, arrive at noon, have lunch, take a nap, attend wedding, wake up, see dolphins, lunch, back in the van, sleep all day Sunday. 

This wedding was convenient. Kratie is quite far West. I needed an excuse to go for the dolphins. Kratie is a charming little town. My colleagues and I voted it one of the nicer provincial capitals, as well as counting at least four restaurants catering to Westerners, solidly pleasant while not overwhelming. Kratie is off the beaten trail for backpackers, but it's still makes the cut for enough, based on our observations.

The dolphins are located at least 14 kilometers away from Kratie town. It's a quick 20 minute tuk tuk ride through villages which all looks very typical rural Cambodia. Then you pay a fee covering the cost of a renting a boat for one hour to cruise around the one specific river area where there are dolphins. I was with a group of around seven coworkers and we were determined to not only see these dolphins, but photograph them.

I gave up on photographing the dolphins around five minutes into it. I just barely got one, and this was sufficient. They reveal their backs and tails, the boat charts a course towards them, they resurface if they will, but typically they do not. You cruise around on the boat which thankfully has an awning, and enjoy the cool breezes on the water.

The best part of the dolphin adventure was paying just a little extra and cruising north towards the river sandbars. There we climbed out and saw the rapids, crawled through the sand, and had the time of our lives in this beautiful nature. This was the best, undoubtedly. Then again, how often does one see freshwater dolphins?

How to go to Court

The Extraordinary Chambers of the Courts of Cambodia (also known as the ECCC or the Khmer Rouge Tribunal) is the legislative answer to a major problem facing many post-conflict situations; "what should we do with the bad guys?" The ECCC follows behind examples such as the International Criminal Court in The Hague, the Rwanda Tribunal, or former Yugoslavia trials. It's an honorable intention. One could scarcely contest; prosecuting those responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, destruction of historical/cultural property, or grave breeches of the 1949 Geneva Conventions. Conceptually, we all believe in the ECCC.

After years of complicated negotiations, the ECCC was operational in 2007. Cambodia disproved of the idea of using an international court system so together with the UN, a “hybrid court” was agreed upon consisting of international and Khmer judges which would apply both international humanitarian law and Khmer law. The intention was to focus on “key leaders” committing crimes from 1975 through 1979. However, thus far there has only been one case. Three more trials are underway. After these three, the court will be disbanded, a direct order form the Cambodian government. So $149.9 million USD, one conviction, and possibly three more, is it pointless?

The ECCC was born into a dysfunctional family. It’s largest hindrance is that so many individuals with Khmer Rouge connections are still in the Cambodian political system. Uprooting information on any one KR leader could potentially uproot the entire system. It’s a dangerous game for the ruling party and the prime minister who have been in power since 1990, and have questionable connections prior to that year.

There are other issues with the ECCC. Allegations exist that only individuals connected with the ruling political party are employed there. The judges both international and Khmer are frequently cycled out, or denied appointments. Many international members of the court have resigned, most of whom are to gracious to share their grievances with the public. Those who have, are angry. Public support has always been incredibly low for the ECCC. Most people appear unaware it’s even happening, or incredibly skeptical if they do know anything. The court system in Cambodia is fundamentally flawed. Even this internationally sanctioned court half filled with international judges isn’t enough to persuade the public of its value. If all of this wasn’t enough, while it’s rarely expressed openly, people would rather sweep this nasty KR business under the rug and move on. It’s too much to look at that disaster in the face.

I didn’t realize any of this was happening until I went to a part of the trial on Tuesday. It’s a surreal experience, watching the proceedings behind glass with real-life translation over your headset. It all seems so professional, so 21^st century, exactly the way the world should be, where genocide is a serious offence that has serious consequences. But then you do your research, and you hear the rumors, and you realize everyone’s hands on all sides are tied by either formal legal proceedings or by shadows of the KR. It’s all so sad. The Khmer Rouge in many ways seems to live on. 

How to Move Forward

Moving into a new and hopefully better year, I've been thinking about how to move forward. There are certain points in life where one notes a dramatic move forward. These are graduations, marriages, children, location changes, and even shifts at one's job. Some of these are significant points and as society we place great emphasis on these moments, as well we should. They signal celebration, moving forward, a welcome change in the status quo. We honor this times, because these changes note that the person is taking a risk and investing in something new and exciting.


Yet honestly, I'm not graduating, or moving locations, or getting married or changing much about my job, and I'm so thankful  for no impending children. I'm still here, just here. It's hard as a nomad to stand still, even when you're only standing still for three years. Yet even though my life looks quite uninteresting and stationary, I wish there was some way to celebrate that I am moving forward. I'm facing my own petty fears. I am trying new research methodology. I am visiting new places and collecting new pictures of new adventures. I'm challenging my own ignorance and prejudice. I am moving forward. This is how any one of us nomads can move forward. There is no one date, or output or even outcome from these small forward movement. Still, I'm just a little excited for these small actions and little changes because it offers the opportunity to grow and reach out. And thank God no major upheaval will happen soon. I'm completely incapable of handling that.

How to Visit Timor Leste

Outside Dili

How many people know where East Timor or Timor Leste is located? I didn’t think so. Fear not, nine months ago, I didn’t either. I learn about places by moving to them…or when my family moves to them. Timor Leste was no exception. However, fortunate for me, this specific move on my family’s part was located conveniently enough to warrant a Christmas visit.

How does one get to Timor Leste? Few options exist…Darwin, Bali or Singapore. I choose Singapore, and after an overnight in the cleanest city in Asia, I found myself on a three hour flight to Dili, Timor Leste. That's how you get to Timor. But how do you visit?

There are several interesting features about Timor Leste that I will remember from my trip as either memorable or essential to my understanding of Timor:

A Little Snorkeling...

Indonesia: Timor Leste was a Portuguese colony. When the Portuguese left in 1974, Indonesia moved in, ushering in war and conflict which only ended in 2002. As a result, the UN is still in Timor, and Timor is still recovering.

Church: 98% of the one million population self-identify as Catholic; introduced by the Portuguese and solidified as representative of the resistance movement during Indonesian occupation.

Beaches and Mountains: Timor’s beautiful beaches provide spectacular views of the ocean and vis versa. This fits well with the next point.

Inside one of the nativities...

Tour de Timor: What better way to rehabilitate a post-conflict nation’s image then host a competitive bike race? 2011 was the third annual Tour de Timor, and it’s gathering quite a following in the region.

There are several events worth repeating should you ever venture to this beautiful island.

A Portuguese Christmas Eve: This was arguably one of the most memorable things about Timor! My family has some awesome Portuguese friends and they invited us over for a traditional “Christmas Day” (I call it Christmas Eve). I can now say cod fish and opening presents after midnight is my idea of an awesome “Christmas Day.”

Going out for a dive.

Snorkeling: Timor has plenty to offer in this area and it's not that difficult breathing through this pipe. It's quite pleasant compared with the next point (in terms of difficulty).

Diving: Timor might not be the most developed nation, but the underwater life continued regardless of Indonesian occupation. I’ve never been diving before, but whatever my 10 years old brother can do, I can do…even if my panic attack was more apparent than his. Once you overcome your nerves, it’s an experience like no other.

Kayaking!

Kayaks: I’m learning to love kayaks (in general). So kayaking on the calm of a small bay under a giant statue of Jesus known as “Cristo Ray” was quite memorable!

Mountains: Driving on the switchbacks on tiny one-lane (but really two lane!) roads through the mountains is really a once in a lifetime experience! We did not die and the views were amazing.

Nativities: In celebration of Christmas, every neighborhood had their own little version of the Holy Family, each set in a little open-air “shed” and complete with lights, tinsel, and garland. Some had wise men, or camels, or shepherds, or goats…and often Santa.

Arguably, the best part about Timor and my Christmas was the opportunity to visit family. But then, not everyone has family that lives in remote Pacific islands!