We finished our final unit for the Mediation Across Cultures course yesterday, which was a nice ending for me, wrapping up my orientation time here in Cambodia.

I start a Peace Research Methodology course (as a student), though, next week at the Alliance for Conflict Transformation. We'll have a two week intensive before beginning our supervised research projects. I'm really looking forward to it.

That said, I won't be around the computer much for the next couple of weeks. But I'm sure you'll find something more worthwhile to read. :)

A man walks into the psychiatrist’s office with a zucchini up his nose, a cucumber in his left ear, and a breadstick in his right ear. He says, “What is wrong with me?
The psychiatrist replies, “You are not eating properly.”

That made me chuckle, but eating properly in Cambodia is no joke.

Last month the cost of food in Cambodia rose 24%. At this rate, the cost of food will almost double every four months. Yet pay is not rising at all: especially among the poor.

Cambodia's rural poor, who make up over 80 percent of the population, are particularly at risk from inflation. (Click here for the article)

These days, in Phnom Penh, you better keep a close eye on your dog.... and that's not really a joke. It's not desperate yet, but people are hungry. There's food available, of course, but not the money to buy it.

With that said, and for those with the money, there are some other challenges. Sanitation is maybe one of the big ones, and Holly wrote recently on buying vegetables in our neighborhood -

The city has several western-style grocery stores that we frequent to purchase hard-to-find foods such as cereal, butter, and spices we like to use (like cinnamon), but for many daily use items, we purchase them from people who live near us (across the street there are two different home-shops that sell things like oil, eggs, sugar, salt, detergent, etc). For this email I just want to tell about what happened this morning when I walked two streets over to buy vegetables.

The "shops" are set up on carts/platforms on the sidewalk in front of the seller's home. There is no refrigeration, and hygiene is a bit different than the US. At the shop I went to this morning, the table was spread with various vegetables, pineapple, raw meat and raw fish. There were quite a few flies buzzing around and landing on everything, especially the meat. The man in front of me was trying to purchase some slab of meat, and discussion was underway about how it should be cut or something. Since I was ready to purchase my two onions, two carrots, and one green pepper, the seller took the other man's slab of meat off the weighing tray and handed it to me to put my vegetables on. I did so, she set it on the scale, and then proceeded to weigh each type of vegetable separately. The ones that were waiting to be weighed were set aside right on top of the pile of slabs of raw beef. After all was weighed and I paid my 2600 reil (about 65 cents) for the vegetables, she tied them up in a plastic sack and gave them to me. I walked home and promptly washed the vegetables with soapy water and threw away the bag. So that is what it is like to buy vegetables here - not exactly sanitary, but easy enough and cheap.

I know some people recommend washing fruits and vegetables with soapy water anyway, to remove pesticides from the skin. Perhaps by the time we return from Cambodia, washing foods that way will have become an ingrained habit for me and we may be the healthier for it. For now, though, it remains a more basic survival strategy as I attempt to help my family avoid illness in a place where heat and sanitation make it more likely than I like.

But on the whole, I like eating in Cambodia. Pass the chili peppers, and I am pretty happy. Lots of Khmer food is really tasty and there's plenty of restaurants that cater to western tastes if you're willing to pay the cash.

Here are links to some of my favorite Khmer recipes so far (leaving out popular favorites like amok and luklak)-

Fried stuffed tomato

Ginger Chicken

Chicken and Lotus Soup

Beef Curry with Mango

Spicy Beef Soup

Plus, spring rolls and vegetarian pancakes.

And who can resist a custard filled pumpkin? Yum.

I mentioned that April included the Khmer New Year's break and I really should mention something about it. Our moto had a flat tire and all the nearby repair shops were closed, so we stayed close to home. We cooked The Cow Climbed the Mountain (a sort of Khmer hot pot meal) with friends at the home of our language tutor, worked on our rooftop garden, visited our team leaders' home for chocolate chip pancakes, and lounged around in front of the fans. It was nice.

It was really nice to see the city so sleepy and calm - very unusual and a big contrast to when it came back alive again. Plus, the broken moto gave me a great incentive to ride the bike to work again and that has been a nice change of pace. I'll have to discipline myself to do it even when the moto is available.

At any rate, the break is over and we are busy again. we have been busy and will soon be busy again - off to Laos on 29 for Regional Meetings (and a few days of rest). So it will be even slower on the blogging side for the next few weeks....

But since I am here, I'll mention a tiny bit about some of our work projects. Holly and I just completed a literature review for Peace Bridges about family violence in Cambodia. (A rough draft is available here.) PB provides training for community peacebuilders, and one of the most common requests is for more specific training with family conflict and violence. The next stage of the research will be a survey and assessment of Cambodian programs addressing domestic violence, but we are waiting to begin until staffing issues are sorted out. We hope to have a pilot program developed by next spring and a specialization course to train peacebuilders in related issues in a year. Because we offer training and services on the interpersonal side of the spectrum, PB complements a lot of the advocacy work being done in Cambodia, so we're excited about the possibilities ahead. For example, in response to some interviewing I did for the literature review, we partnered with LICADHO to offer an International Women's Day Event in Kandal Province. Nearly 2,000 people attended a public drama educating the general public and local authorities about domestic violence and the 2005 law on domestic violence. In addition, PB is partnering with a provincial NGO in a restorative justice project, teaching prison guards and inmates about nonviolence and communication skills. The recidivism rate after the training has dropped significantly.

Lots of good things are happening, and it's nice to be a part of it. A good way to start a new year!

PS I will link to Peace Bridges'new weblog, still under development, for all those who are curious. :)

Written last Friday.

Holly and I study language with a tutor at 6 am each morning. This morning, though, greeted me with the heavy whir of helicopters and the screams of sirens. By the time I went to work, traffic was backed up and I had to detour through the city.

But you couldn't help but see it all.

The black clouds of smoke billowed over the city. You could feel the heat pushing back against the morning breeze. My commute took me right to the edge of the fire, and people were streaming from the alleys, escaping with whatever belongings they could. The fire struck one of the crannies of the city, the places where the poor squeeze in while they eek out a living amidst the growing middle and upper class of Phnom Penh. They build shacks of wood scraps covered with thatch and tin. They fill up the spaces between the large concrete houses that rise above them. There was no room for a fire truck to get to the blaze. The most anyone could do was escape. In this case, over 200 houses were destroyed. Amazingly, no deaths have been yet reported.

Later, on my way to a meeting, the fire was finally contained. It looked like the area had been bombed, all that was left was charred remains and rubble.

This is the first article on the fire.

I will try to update as I find out more of the devastation and what is being done to help the victims. I would also like to reflect a little on some of the justice issues the fire brings to the foreground.

But now, it is time to mourn with all those who lost so much this morning in Phnom Penh....

There are lots of weddings these days in Cambodia, which are all day (or even multi-day) events. The actual ceremony is often small - it is the reception that is the big deal. (In fact, they are such big deals that many unfortunate couples go deep into debt to make them happen, which is not the perfect way to start a marriage).

Some people rent out a center or a hotel for the reception, others set up a tent on the street. In our neighborhood, we usually have a couple of receptions every week. There's a good reason - you probably won't get rained out in the hot season. I have only been an official guest at one of these receptions. You enter on a red carpet through a wreath of (usually fake) flowers. The bride and groom are waiting there, greeting each guest, and each guest is videotaped.

[A typical street celebration setup, before the crowd - this one for our neighbor's first year birthday party. A wedding would look similar.]

Inside, you are seated at a table and wait for the table to get full before food is served. Then you have a 10 course meal (everything from peanuts to fish heads to sticky rice custard molded into tasteless seashell shapes). A band plays really loud asian-style karaoke music, which hurts the ears but excuses one from conversation. When everyone finishes, you get up and leave at the same time. Then you stand in line and give an envelope of money to pay for the meal and benefit the couple. The envelope is opened and the amount of your gift is recorded, with your name, in a register. Meanwhile, your table as been cleared and more guests are being seated. It is a long and loud night. But you do get a chance to wear Khmer silk. :)

[And, just for kicks, here's a photo of Holly and I in our Khmer silk - complete with wind-blown hair on our rooftop.]

I went to an engagement ceremony last month, as well. It was in the province. We started several blocks away from the restaurant, at the groom's house, with a fruit processional. A big crowd of us walked the street, carrying silver platters laden with fruit, crackers, soda, etc. We paraded like this until we got to the restaurant, attracting the attention of the neighbors and collecting several excited children along the way. Then we sat and listened while pastors exhorted and the couple played an engagement version of the newly wed game (how many years have you dated? do you have other girlfriends? What's his favorite color? etc.). This went on for about an hour, and then we had a hurried meal (only another hour) and got on the road. I didn't dress up for this one, but the bride and groom were both wearing traditional Khmer clothing and it was very formal. From my understanding, an engagement is quite official and usually lasts a year.

The downside to all the weddings (and funerals) in our neighborhood is not just that it as loud as a heavy metal concert. It's also that we often don't have electricity, and the streets are the most comfortable place to go for a breeze. Oh well, gather the rosebuds while ye may.... :)