It’s that time of year again, when you sit back and think to yourself ‘I’ve changed directions, I’ve moved back home, maybe I should let my friends know what I’m up to?’. Well that time of year was back in January, and I am finally getting around to actually writing to you.
I finished my contract in Cambodia at the end of December 2004. There were options to extend that for another year but after much unconsidered career crystal ball gazing I decided I would return to New Zealand to study. You can blame that idea on the crystal ball, it was pretty foggy.
As the semester didn’t start until March I had two months to make use of being in SE Asia to travel. My Mother and sister also wanted to make use of that fact and so came over for a 3 week trip. Together with Nhung, my girlfriend from Vietnam, we travelled to Siem Reap to visit the famous Angkor temples, myself for the fourth time. Following this we flew to Laung Prabang, Laos and I carried on by myself to China, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Australia. I will probably post something in due course about these destinations on the blog.
Since being back in NZ, other than studying what have I been up to? One occasion that struggled to occur, given that my best friends have been the university librarians, was a trip to Omaha. The highly select guest list of any random stranger I could find included Steve S, Babu (the fashion bohemian also known as Desh), and a French traveller we picked up on Queen St (well okay he wasn’t a complete random stanger, he knew Babu). Unfortunately none of my librarian friends could make it. Having been instilled during my school years that competition is a Good Thing, I was eager to participate in the challenges of luck and physical dexterity that we set for each other that fateful weekend. The first challenge was the ever cerebral paper, scissors, and rock championship. Babu lost and had to get his face painted as Spiderman, which seemed to bring out his inner Spiderman. We proceeded to take photos whilst he hung on to the Matakana WWI monument, one of the world’s lesser known greatest statues of all time. I lost the game of mini golf and my punishment was to ask every stranger ‘Don’t I know you from somewhere?’ Steve proved unable to hack the intense pressure of the Jenga battle and had to clean the BBQ. Weekend topics of conversation included ‘Is business all about relationships?’, ‘Will Steve be the next CEO of Coca-cola?’, and ‘Babu you still haven’t convinced me your clothes are cool.’ Being cool is another important virtue I learnt at school. Huh? What’d you mean you can’t tell?
The 17th of April was Khmer New Year. Invited by Srey and fiancée Brett, I partook in the Auckland Cambodian Community’s celebration at the Cambodian Wat (temple) in Takanini. In attendance were enough Cambodians, including monks, to start giving me flashbacks of my time in the ‘Bodia. It felt like Cambodia because of the talcum powder and water balloon fights, the huge meal prepared and eaten communally, the Buddhist ceremonials, and the stall vendors selling their wares. I learnt an important think that day: you can take the Cambodian out of Cambodia, but you can’t stop their desire to try and set you up with their sisters or daughters. Who needs internet dating when you’ve got Khmer New Year?
Also in April was the Auckland International Cultural Festival. It was held in Potters Park and consisted of a large range of New Zealand ethnic groups, running the gamut from Eastern Europeans nationalities to obscure South East Asian countries that only people putting off the real world or hoping to make a career as a corrupt government official would want to work in. No, I wasn’t an English teacher, and yes, I’ve given up that line of work. There were performances by some of the groups, including Cambodian dancers, stalls selling cultural artefacts, and food carts selling exotic dishes. All and all a pleasant event where one can experience a little of the world without leaving home.
Steve & Julien on Omaha beach
Cambodian dancers at the Auckland International Cultural Festival, Potters Park, Balmoral, March 2005
Khmer (Cambodian) New Years April 2005 at the Cambodian community Wat (temple) in Takanini, Auckland, New Zealand
