froginmythroat (FIMT)

April 13-15 is Khmer New Year, the most celebrated annual event in Cambodia. With only a week to go employee attendance has started to drop off and the noise level at night increase. Khmers like to make a lot of noise. As I type this, two neighbours are fighting a loudspeaker war. The battle will probably last all day and night, with the causalities being those of use who will get a bad night’s sleep. One is making noise for a funeral, the other possibly a wedding. The New Year festival has rolled into the small town of Ban Lung with dodgem cars, merry-go-rounds, beat-the-odds games, roller skating, live music and drama. It’s fun for the whole family, batteries not included.

The temperature has hit 40 degrees C lately, and Khmer New Year brings with it socially sanctioned water fights. Getting wet and throwing water balloons is all part of the fun. But you won’t catch me walking around in a raincoat on these hot sunny days trying to avoid getting wet. With the recent arrest of a dozen or so international offenders, it’s fair to say the paedophile look is moving to the back of the closet in Cambodia. And a good thing too.

Apart from that, life has been action packed and full to the brim. Well okay, maybe not. There are still the odd suprises, the other day it was a group of people sitting in the grass on the roadside watching Terminator 2. They had wired the TV directly to the electricity grid and the local cable TV feed. Reminds me of some young teenagers I used to know in NZ who would make free calls doing the same thing with the telephone line

Another surprise I am still trying to get my head around is people in the government who have more than one name. To get a government job is usually difficult and requires education. But there is a back door. To get yourself on the payroll you can buy some else’s name and position. When you deal with the person at work you use the name they have assumed. Outside of work, family and friends would call them by their birth name. It can get confusing when talking about that person, sometimes two different people end up really being the same person.

In late January I finally went into the national park that I am supposed to be working for. I spent 3 days in the bush with the rangers. There was no track and our guide had no map or navigation aids. Thankfully he knew were he was going because I was completely lost. The rangers recreated for me that seminal event eons ago when man first made fire with sticks. I must say it was a pretty neat trick. At night we slept in hammocks. Meals were simple – rice, meat and MSG.

Work is challenging. It is very easy to get frustrated. To do my job effectively I am having to learn new skills. I have to work at developing a broader perspective and understanding of the context here. It’s a very different culture and environment and lots of things don’t work the way I would like them to. Complaining and assigning blame without any real analysis is easy, but not necessarily helpful. And one has to watch this type of thinking doesn’t become reinforced when mixing with the expat community.

Tomorrow I am off to Vietnam for one week since Khmer New Year is a public holiday. Actually, I’m going so I can say “When I was in Narm..” and really mean it. Saigon, the delta, tunnels, and maybe beaches.

Till I get back from duty station in Narm have a happy Khmer New Year, don’t wake up your neighbours with too much loud noise, dress like a paeodophile or eat too many pies (you know who you are). For those of you celebrating Easter, may it be a pleasant one.

Ta ta
Croaky