Australia Day

I made snacks at lunchtime yesterday for my dorm-mates. They sampled vegemite sandwiches, iced coffee & Tim Tams. Surprisingly, many of them seemed to quite like their first try of vegemite (maybe serving it on fresh baguettes with cucumber but no butter helped?). The Tim Tam suck, however, was the experience of the day!

Older Sister

Before I moved into the student dorm I met with the young people a couple of times. Initially the girls wanted to show their respect by using the title "teacher" before my name. I told them that they could call me by my name or use the title "older sister" if they wished.

While it doesn't sound like a big deal either way, I'm so glad that I insisted on "big sister" over "teacher". My role in being at the dorm is much more relational than instructional. Just in this past week a number of the students have chosen to share something of their stories and struggles with me. I don't always know how to respond- but I can listen and pray. And I figure that that is what big sisters are for.

Psalm 111

Praise the LORD!
I will thank the LORD with all my heart
as I meet with his godly people.

How amazing are the deeds of the LORD!
All who delight in him should ponder them.

Everything he does reveals his glory and majesty.
His righteousness never fails.

Who can forget the wonders he performs?
How gracious and merciful is our LORD!

He gives food to those who trust him;
he always remembers his covenant.

He has shown his great power to his people
by giving them the lands of other nations.

All he does is just and good,
and all his commandments are trustworthy.
They are forever true,to be obeyed faithfully and with integrity.

He has paid a full ransom for his people.
He has guaranteed his covenant with them forever.

What a holy, awe-inspiring name he has!
Reverence for the LORD is the foundation of true wisdom.

The rewards of wisdom come to all who obey him.
Praise his name forever!

In Local News

Military Crackdown

This week The Cambodia Daily reported on a new order from top military officials to "ban all students from highlighting their hair." One can understand that such acts of defiance pose an immediate and grave threat to National Security. The report claimed that on-the-spot fines have been issued to teenaged rebels who refuse to conform to the black-haired norm.

A 19-year-old student said on Wednesday that he was stopped by three military police officers last week and briefly detained for having highlighted hair. He said he was only released after he called his father, who paid them a small amount of money.

An 18-year-old student at Wat Koh High School said military police fined her $2.50 last week for having highlights and blonde hair.

Muoy Ly, who owns a hairdresser's salon, said she experienced a surge of customers last week who wanted their hair dyed back to black because they were afraid of being arrested.

While I'm not 100% convinced that fines are the best deterrents (perhaps some time behind bars would be more appropriate?) I must congratulate the military police for concentrating their efforts on matters of such crucial importance.

Honesty

I was talking to a Khmer friend yesterday and I have no idea how it came up but in the middle of the conversation my friend blurted out, "I think you would look beautiful if you used some make-up, styled your hair and wore nice clothing." In Australia I'd take this as a back-handed compliment and reply with something like, "And you would possibly be a good friend if you had any idea when to shut your freakn mouth." But in Asia, it seems, there are fewer questions or comments that are out of bounds. There is a strange combination of curiosity, honesty and a willingness to give casual acquaintances advise. There is a different line between what I once thought of as public and private information.

Early this month I was shopping at the Russian Markets. These are the markets frequented by tourists and I go there to get clothing because it is not all between size 4 and 8... I walked into a stall where I had happened to buy the pants I was wearing at the time. The saleswoman noticed before I did and commented. I confirmed that yes, I had indeed bought these pants at her store and added that they were very comfortable. She asked what size they were. I wasn't sure and so told her I couldn't remember. The saleswoman casually reached over, rolled back the top of my pants, called out the number on the tag, returned the pants to their right position and gave me a friendly tap on the butt. It seemed so normal that it wasn't until I was walking out of the store a few minutes later that I thought, "Far out! That lady just looked down my pants! She practically shouted my size in this public place! She just slapped my butt!"

Another topic that often draws out honest conversation is why a 28 year old woman would be single. People I've met for a whole five minutes freely ask all kinds of "personal"questions. Someone asked a few weeks back if I was "seeking/ looking for a husband." She used the same work you'd use for seeking work or looking for an apartment. I can't remember how I replied but the form of the question must have interested me and lodged somewhere in my brain. I was talking to a stranger a week or so ago when I found myself using the exact same phrase. "Are you looking for a hubbie?"

Am I out of my mind? Am I just trying to see if I can pull off what in my home country would be a terribly rude question to ask someone on the street? Am I becoming too familiar with the curiosity and blurred line that separates what I used to think of a distinctly public and private?

Honesty is a good thing...but where are its limits?

Holiday

I'm heading back to Phnom Penh today after a 12 day break in Thailand and Cambodia. Mum was telling me yesterday about her experiences of travelling in Cambodia. She effortlessly described what I believe to be the best definition of the word "holiday" I've ever heard:

"There was always something to do
without any strain at all in doing it."

Nice one mum! Glad you had a good time.

Weird Work- Part 2

Why Sok Thinks It Is Worth It:

Sok and his wife Charya are rice farmers in a village in Eastern Cambodia. Sok is 47 years old and Charya is 45. The couple have seven children. Their oldest daughter is married and lives in North Western Cambodia. She sends her parents US$5 to $7.50 every two to three months from her husband's wages.

Sok and Charya also have a single daughter, 21 year old Sophany. For the past three years, Sophany has been employed as a garment factory worker in Phnom Penh. This job required a US$40 entry fee which compelled Sok to borrow the amount from a moneylender at an interest rate of US$2.50 per month. Sok acknowleged with regret that he allowed his daughter to go to Phnom Penh because he, himself, could no longer sustain the livelihood of the household.

Every two to three months Sophany gives her parents US$30 to $40. They use the money to buy rice and fish paste. Sok admits that without his daughter's remittances the household would not have enough money to buy food.

Summarised from a case study in a report by the ADI (Analyzing Development Issues) "Impact of the Garment Industry on Rural Livelihoods" October 2005.

Weird Work - Part 1

I read on MSN this week about strange jobs that people had tried...I don't remember many on the list, but the person who worked as a "jam doughnut filler" caught my attention.

High on my list of weird work would be getting paid to visit an elderly man through a home care agency. All of his physical needs (cooking, cleaning, hygiene etc.) were provided for by other people. So his adult children were footing the bill for me to visit for six hours per week and do something fun. I could go whenever I was free. I could stop in several times during a week or plan a full day activity. Any costs incurred were fully imbursed. So, as an 18 year old woman I got paid to take a 80-something year old man:

for a ferry ride across the harbour on a sunny morning
to watch a movie and eat popcorn on a rainy afternoon
to go for a walk in the park
to play board games and drink beer
to take fold-up chairs to a National Park and sit for an hour reading the newspaper...

While I thought it was a pretty good deal I didn't exactly realise his version of what he thought was going. One day driving home, he turned to me and said gently, "I am grateful for your kind attentions but I feel I ought to make it clear that I have no intentions of proposing marriage!" Jolly good. Glad we made that clear...

I read a report this week about another kind of weird work right here in Phnom Penh. For those who are willing to put in 60-hour weeks they earn US$70 per month. (That's about 30 cents an hour.) Or, for those who prefer a more relaxed 8 hours a day, 6 days a week, they bring home $45 per month. (That is roughly 23 cents an hour.) Who are "they"? They are some 230 000 garment factory workers.

They are so keen for the work that many pay an entry fee to get the job. An October 2005 report surveyed 218 households that had members working in the garment industry. 44% had paid to get a job in their current workplace. The mean amount paid for this opportunity? US$51.98 (mean is right if you ask me...)

But the story continues...of those who paid fees 81% had to borrow money to do so. And 35% of those who borrowed money couldn't pay it back without selling assets- pigs, cows, land.

And yet there are almost a quarter of a million women in this little country who affirm that the privilege of this work has brought them more confidence, greater self-esteem, more respect from siblings and a greater place of importance in their family. For 23-30 cents an hour they reckon it is worth it. And this to me is stranger than a non-marriage proposal by an 80-something year old man whose family paid me to be kind.

Moving Out

I'm moving out. I'm saying goodbye to the family that has "adopted" me for the past 10 months. Where to next? I'm moving into a student dorm!

Another NGO has set up a dormitory (not far from the house I'm staying in now) to help university students from the provinces who want to study but cannot afford to rent in Phnom Penh. There are 17 students (10 males, 7 females). The curent dorm supervisor will be away for almost two months so I have offered to take his place. In terms of comfort and convenience, the dorm is a slight step down. However, I hope to be able to "do the job" needed of keeping an eye on the students as well as getting to know them, sharing something of who I am with them and having a few hundred conversations in Khmer.

So, as I prepare to leave, I say:

Goodbye sharing a room with one other person. Hello to sharing a room with three others.
Goodbye bed. Hello bunk.
Goodbye sharing a bathroom with a few other people. Hello queuing with eight.
Goodbye washing machine. Hello bucket.
Goodbye bar fridge. Hello ice.
Goodbye Khmer pop on TV. Hello attempts at Khmer conversation.
Goodbye to five familiar names, faces, people, family. Hello 17 new names, new stories, varied histories.