How to Survive "High Holiday Season"

In another 10 days, it will be Puch'm Ben. This means productivity-wise, everything is downhill till International New Year. I like to call this period "high holiday season" to distinguish it from "low holiday season" in April/May. I realize this makes no sense. Forgive me.

Cambodia is already notorious for their 31 public holidays. I like to classify them in five categories:

• Cultural Holidays. Puch'm Ben, Khmer New Year, and Water Festival.
• Buddhist Holidays. These exist, but no one in the international community knows them.
• Political Holidays. Birthdays of multiple members of the royal family, independence days, etc.
• Rights-Based Holidays. Labor Day, Women's Day, Children's Day, and Human Right's Day.
• Imported Holidays. International New Year and Christmas, the later being extremely unpopular. 

Schools and government ministries take all 31 holidays. Even if it falls on a weekend, a day is still taken off in lieu. The private sector picks a selection. My organization (and many others) takes 17. I also work with two different Cambodian partners who both also take 17 holidays. While we take all the "cultural holidays" and "international holidays," we vary on the political and rights-based ones. On my calendar, in three separate colors, I record which partner takes which day off. This varies from year to year, and organizations often holidays based on the day they fall (Friday trumps Tuesday, etc). Officially, I'm only allowed to take the holidays which my sending organization approves. Unofficially, if a partner is closed, I usually don't have much to do...which means going to my sending organization's office and writing blog posts.

The main holidays in "high holiday season" include the following:

• Constitution Day (24 Sep). Holiday for Partner1.
• Puch'm Ben (three days in Sept or Oct). Holiday for my organization, Partner1, and Partner2.
• Coronation Day (29 Oct). Holiday for my org, and Partner1. 
• King Father's Birthday (31 Oct, aka, Halloween). Holiday for my org and Partner2.
• 1st Independence Day (9 Nov). Holiday for all three.
• Water Festival (three days sometime in Nov). Holiday for all three.
• Human Right's Day (10 Dec). Holiday for my org and Partner1.
• Christmas Day (25 Dec). Holiday for all three.
• International New Year (1 Jan). Holiday for all three.
• 2nd Independence Day (9 Jan). Holiday for all three.

This is the next three months for me. I was recently working on my department's quarterly report for October, November, December and realized that between holidays, training's, my vacation, staff paternity leave, and retreats, we only have three full weeks of work between now and 2013. As I go into my third "high holiday season," I've realized that it's a battle at work to keep things moving during this period. Life is slow. You can only accept it, plan major activities for January  and enjoy the time off. Very few countries have this many holidays so enjoy it while it lasts.

How to take a break from overseas

It's been a while since I reflected on life overseas. A much needed sabbatical from life overseas was needed. I came to a place where I desperately needed to see beautiful things. I needed to see trees, parks, flowers, and grass. I needed to see tall pine trees. I needed to see hills. I needed to stand in the middle of a large open space and know that no one else was there, except me. In short, I'm told there is beauty in Cambodia, but I can't see it.

I also needed to see people, mainly family and friends. There was a perfect way to remedy this...return to my country of origin for three weeks.

I planned this trip for almost seven months. I wondered quite seriously what would be the most surprising or startling after being away for almost two years. I spent a lot of time wondering if I would feel strange, or if I would want to go back to Cambodia. I wondered how relationships would have changed.

What was most surprising was the feeling that I'd never left. It wasn't strange to be on paved roads. My clothes were still in my closet in my parents house. People still knew who I was...or who I'm related/connected to. It was almost a whole different world, yet also a world in which I also belonged. It is as if there are two worlds, parallel universes coexisting independently, where I fit quite well yet separated by days of travel. It's the strangest feeling! I don't know if I'll ever understand that oddity.

There were several things which are most memorable about my much-needed North American break.

English: I really like speaking English. I love when my humor is understood! I love when I can make small talk with people outside changing rooms or with the check-out clerk. I love the feeling of forming a small bond with someone through our mutual language.

Bike Rides: I knew going into my trip that there would be bikes involved. I also knew I was out of shape (Cambodia discourages all exercise). Thankfully though, I did manage to surpass my expectations of physical limitations and completely enjoyed myself. My beloved Fuji road bike and I were reunited and we still fit together perfectly. It was a delight to experience one of my favorite cities, Washington DC, once again on their wonderful trails, on a bike.

Trees/Sidewalks: Americans are right to reserve sidewalks for walking, and not for moto parking lots. It's also really nice to line them with trees. It's nice that people plant flowers outside their homes for pedestrians like me to enjoy. It's nice that they go past parks with playgrounds. Sidewalks are so amazing.

Landscape: Though I rarely claim to be a New Yorker, I've recently reconsidered that perhaps I actually am. I love the hills and the dense pockets of pine trees. I love places like the Adirondacks, and all the little lakes. It's all so beautiful and living without it does suddenly feel far less attractive. Similarly, there's hardly any trash in the rural American landscapes. This is extremely and supremely important to me. This is why I can't ever love Asia.

Climate: Even though it was hot at times, my hair looks good at the end of the day, I don't need to take three showers everyday, and people run AC when it's unnecessary!

Food: I'm not a fan of food in the United States. Everything is just too sweet! But I enjoyed bagels, flavored ice cream, breakfast cereal, and tasty coffee. Even if you only have these things once every two years.

Relationships with people have shifted. Some are unaltered, but most have shifted, growing closer with some and farther away from others. I found myself strengthened by many people who I value and this was also much needed. I also found that returning to the States as an adult international aid worker instead of as the child of an aid worker is slightly different. Now, I have to explain my work myself, I must make intelligent insightful conversation regarding my life overseas, I plan my days/travels myself, and I've lost the ability to "borrow" my brother's suitcase space. Most memorable, I felt like I had something to return to, my job and my friends, a foreign location that I choose myself and me only.

It was hard returning. I love my little life in Cambodia. I have a million things I'm thankful for. I have a wonderful set of friends and colleagues and all the delicious food I could hope for. Yet Cambodia is so very far away from the States. I rarely see family or dear people or hiking trails free from litter. Somehow you learn to push the sadness aside and live your richly blessed life, your other parallel universe where you also fit nicely. Some things in life will never be easy.

For now, my soul absorbed beauty and I will live off the emotional high of bike rides, bagels and paved roads.

How to move your office overseas

I have moved a whole lot in my time and lived out of many suitcases. However, I have never moved an office. I hope I never move another office. For some reason, some tragically inexplicable reason, I was one of a few people still in the office during the process which was quite unfortunate. I should explain the full story. 

1 April we were evicted. Our landlady had mental issues and thought we were out to get her. She refused to take the rent money because of his paranoia. Her son wanted to collect on it. There was also a daughter that wanted it. The son and the daughter had a feud between them. We decided to get out of the family drama.

April and May we went house hunting. We’d been in our old office for over four years in a fabulous neighborhood. However, we soon learned that within those four years, our neighborhood had been "Khmer gentrified" and we were now priced out. There were also almost no options. Three different real estate agents took us to the same properties. Our boss visited twice, and we took him to the same properties. They weren't even good properties.

Early May we found a good spot in a bad location. Late May, we found the perfect spot but the landlord double-crossed us for someone who offered him more. Early June, we found the office. It wasn’t perfect. The location was passable, but all other options had dissipated and so we settled...like a tired shopper at Best Buy.

The last two weeks of June, we had to clean out old office. There was junk coming out of every cranny and corner. Every departing expat had left old furniture, kitchen wear, and chaos in piles. Filing cabinets hadn’t been cleaned out…ever…and we pulled out telegrams from 1984. We sorted through hundreds of books and DVDs, built piles of broken computer hardware to dump, and furniture that rats had eaten away. Part of this is organizational culture…never get rid of something because you may want/need it later. Part of it is an archaic emphasis on thriftiness; the ability to reuse anything for eternity. A final contributing factor was that our previous year without leadership had literally allowed things to pile up. For days, we continued to pile up trash and junk. We gave away unwanted junk to the national staff who wanted it, which turned out to be quite complicated, as we learned later.

Originally, I estimated that moving would take two days. It took a week. It didn't help that the people hired to wire internet and power took three times as long as expected, slowing everything down by multiple days while they drilled holes in the wall. We moved smaller pieces in a pick-up truck for three days ourselves, loading and unloading. On the fourth day, we hired a huge truck and several moto-taxi drivers to move the larger heavier pieces. They made three trips, and unloaded everything haphazardly into the yard of the new office. They moved the piles of junk I had designated as throw-away, and didn’t move other things I wanted moved. It was a disaster. We let them go by lunch time. However, going back to the old office, we realized they left they had left the 50+ potted plants on the third-floor veranda in the old office. This was the only point when I became angry. However, several of us went back and moved the plants by hand, down three flights of stairs and into the pick-up. No one was happy. 

This was the move. For weeks, we looked like red-necked hicks with junk and  furniture strewn everywhere. We strung up a tarp to house old furnisher and “junk” that no one knew what to do with (infuriating to me). It took weeks to organize the new place and we continued to throw things away.

I learned several key things in the move.

1.    I’m not in charge

2.    No one else is in charge.

3.    It’s futile to have a plan.

4.    It’s futile to explain the plan to anyone else

5.    Unless you are a tall male, you’re ignored

6.    Unless you speak Khmer, you’re ignored

7.    It’s almost impossible to get rid of junk.

8.    Cambodia is where all order comes to die.

Don’t ever move an office overseas. If you do, spend the weeks leading up to it developing your male-ness and your local language skills. Once you’ve done this, then wait for everything to fall apart. Something about living overseas mandates nothing go according to plan.

How to Visit Busara Falls

Level 1: Crowded yet lovely

When you watch Khmer music videos, Cambodia's finest glories are commonly and glorious featured. This includes shots to seafood, the the largest bridges in the country (albeit financed by China), a strange "modern" place known as "Diamond Island," rice fields, and often Cambodia's largest waterfall. (Apparently there is also a folk song about Cambodia's largest waterfall, but I don't speak Khmer so how would I know.)

Busara Falls (this is how I decide to spell it) is located in Mondlekiri Province. Mondlekiri is home to many waterfalls and not many people. It's also quite popular with Khmer tourists who are anxious to enjoy arguably Cambodia's most beautiful province. Mondlekiri and Busara are not common destinations for Western tourists given it's very remote location.

Level 1: Features swimming options

Busara Falls is about 43 kilometers from the capital town Sen Monorom. You can either rent a car or rent a moto to get out. A trip by moto is impossible during the rainy season, because there are two long stretches of dirt road. If you go in mid-May as I did this time around, a moto trip is a beautiful excursion and takes about an hour.

There are two levels of falls. The first is approximately 15 meters long and 20 meters high. This is easily accessible and extremely popular with Khmer tourists. Busara is located in a tight ravine, so the concentration of people in a small area feels suffocating. One should never go over a national holiday. I went over the King's Birthday and there were buses in the parking lot with hundreds of visitors.

Level 2: The Best One

Given that there are few safety regulations in this part of the world, you can also swim directing in the huge waterfall, which many people do! People enjoy swimming in the falls, BBQing and picnicking next to the falls, and dressing up in the traditional clothing of ethnic minorities and posing by the falls (ie. imagine paying to dress as a Native American and standing in front of Mount Rushmore, you get the picture). Cambodians in general truly love taking pictures and Busara is a prime destination for posing and flashing the bunny-ears fingers. Overall, it is a pleasure to see people taking joy in the beauty their country offers.

The ladder down to the second level

The second level is further down the river and hardly accessible. You have to drive over the top of the falls, trek through a "path" in the woods, climb several hundred feet down a ladder, and viola, you have found arguably one of the most perfectly beautiful spots in all of Cambodia. Few people make it this far, because it's truly nearly impossible. It's by far more beautiful than the first level, and is around 24 meters across and 20 meters high. This is a highly enjoyable experience as most people don't realize accessibility is an option, and even fewer would make the trip even if they did. It's a perfect place for a picnic and a lay in the sun.

While it's far away and in a remote corner of Cambodia, Busara certainly warrants a visit. However, please don't dress up as an ethnic minority. Just think of the humiliation if you ever ran for public office and those pictures surfaced.

How to Ride an Elephant

Join the Adventure!

I have never had much desire to ride an elephant, or a camel, or a even a horse. But siting on my patio one evening, I conducted a more thorough mental examination of the issue. If I don't ride an elephant now, I may not have the opportunity to do it again. I should be able to say I've ridden an elephant, because that seems really cool, which seems like a good enough reason. This was, I confess, my shameful motivation.

Yet how does one ride an elephant? They are such very large animals, presumably wise yet consistently obsessed with their primal need to consume 300 kgs of food daily.

First, one goes to Mondlekiri Province. This is one of the few places where one can ride elephants in Cambodia. In this region, there are many options for those seeking the elephant riding experience. We [myself and our three "interns" who journeyed out for the long weekend over King Sihamoni's birthday] arranged the adventure through our guesthouse who packed us out with six other Western tourists to a small minority village. A total group of 10 went out, on five elephants, with perhaps 10 Khmer guides and random observers.

Secondly, one must climb up a ladder into a small basket. This might be the most terrifying part of the entire process. Once you reach the top of the ladder, you have to climb further into a small basket. You are climbing over a live animal and somehow he stands still as a puny human asserts her dominance and props herself in this small basket. At last you find yourself seated with your feet under your chin, crushed against a fellow passenger, and a small child sitting behind the elephant's ears with a stick to "drive" it. You are easily 10 foot on the ground, and you realize a kid is managing this large animal, and then you consider if perhaps there was something more sane you might have considered instead of elephant trekking.

Third, one must hold on and brace oneself. Elephants are heavy-footed animals and utterly incapably of anything other then violent jerking as they plod forward. You have to somehow anticipate their movement and sway with them, all the while unable to readjust in your basket. On the other-hand, they are very surefooted, and low and behold, can ford streams and rapids!

Finally, enjoy! It's a little challenging to enjoy swaying in a basket on top of the world's largest mammals. However, once you get the hang of the rhythmic jerking and overcome the five minutes of fear, it's a priceless experience. You ride through forests, through streams, past a field of marijuana, and think to yourself, I'm glad I'm actually giving this a shot. 

How to Celebrate Khmer New Year: 2nd Edition

For my second Khmer New Year (and my third New Year within 2012), a new adventure was required. This year is notably for me because it's "my year," the Year of the Dragon" on the Chinese calendar and they only come around once every 12 years.

This year I went to Koh Thmei. It's a very tiny unknown island in Kampong Som Province, 30 kilometers from Kampong Som town (otherwise known as Sihanoukville). While the island has been here for ages, we stayed at a nice new resort owned by a German couple. There was a sense of tension when seven loud an energetic girls showed up. But we calmed ourselves down considerably and allowed for plenty of island peace for the few other guests.

Gettings to Koh Thmei is a small adventure. It requires driving the five hours down towards Sihanoukville, but turning 30 kilometers north of the town and heading on a rural dirt road. Eventually, you arrive a tiny congested fishing village. From there, you hop on a small boat and ride out towards the island for yet another hour. It's an adventure for the faint-hearted and the brave...but still an adventure.

While it seems mandatory to write about my Khmer New Year: Dragon/12, the summation is actually underwhelming! I read two books, laid on the beach, ate lots of food, went for short walks and enjoyed the breeze, the bright sunshine, and both the sun and the rain.

My only complaint is regarding sand flees, which are nasty creatures leaving you itchy well over a week after the encounter. I've no doubt the year can only improve from here.

How to Commemorate Labor Day

In the US, we've lost all sight of Labor Day. It's that three-day weekend in September, the end of summer, the beginning of the academic season, and a nice weekend to travel. Does "labor day" assist us in appreciating how good we have it? Strangely, yet also unsurprisingly, it does not.

Yet for the rest of the world, Labor Day is 1 May and it really is about a celebration of the international labor movement. For Cambodian civil society members, human rights activists, and those employed in sectors most prone to abuses of labor laws, it's a day to restate global commitment to ensure that everyone has the right to a safe and decently compensated place of employment.

For this Labor Day, I joined with some colleagues and several thousand Cambodians (predominately women), in a march along the Phnom Penh riverside. Most of those in the march were young Cambodian women from the garment industry.

Cambodia has been both blessed and challenged in recent years as it's joined the up-and-coming nations involved in textile manufacturing. Nike, Gap, American Eagle, Adidas, Levi, A&F, among many others outsource garment production to Cambodia. The result has been an overwhelming number of young women from rural areas flooding into the Phnom Penh suburbs for employment, a new booming economy. However, these women, poor and uneducated, are often at risk of exploitation. They are paid $61 per month with no overtime and certainly no benefits. Even in Cambodia, $61 is far below a "living wage." For years, human rights activists have been pushing for the minimum wage to be increased and for factories conditions to be improved. Mass faintings are common in factories where there is no airflow and a high concentration of dust and chemicals.

Also represented in this year's Labor Day march were tuk tuk drivers and moto taxis, a sector completely unrepresented and unprotected in the Cambodian labor laws. As far as the government is concerned, these sectors don't exist.

For the march, we walked to the National Assembly and requested for a representative to come and take the petition jointly signed by members of the garment and transport sectors. Not surprisingly, no one came out.

Still, it was a remarkable event, the joining together of several thousand members of unrepresented sectors, surrendering their day off to signal support for justice and a fair wage. Large gatherings are largely discouraged in Cambodia, but on Labor Day, for once, a crowd marched through Phnom Penh. And just for today, remarkably, it was peaceful.