OPERATIONAL DISTRICT: KAMPONG SPEU
HEALTH CENTERS: DAMNAK CHAN
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Wednesday is a resting day, with most of it spent on the road placing data collectors at different centers for the busy day tomorrow. As such, here are a few pictures from today from the car, and on the ground where permitted. I'll preface each photo with a small story to try to create a 'picture of Cambodia.'
The landscape here keeps on changing. I look down for a second to do data entry and then I look up again when I hear the carmates say oooh and ahh. Everytime this happens I take a break for what I'm doing and reach for my camera. Today, it is the sight of lotus flowers atop the flooded rice plains. The purple leaves contrast the green leaves from which they sprout, contrasted against the reflection of the gray sky on the water. We travel a little further and most of these lillies have disappeared, only to be replaced by palm trees in the distance. Their reflection is also captured by the stillness of the plains. The floodwater acts as a natural mirror.
In Chinese, the word used for commoners is θηΎε§, common hundred people. In Cambodia, this is the most colorful group of people. From women selling meat at stalls, to aunties walking around town, to the diverse color and backgrounds of the villagers wandering the streets. They make Cambodia special.
Khmer culture is not only historically rich but culinarily (is that a word?) so. Traditional Khmer noodles are hand made and wrapped into a stack of supple rice noodles that are then dipped in a curry sauce. The flavor is not too far from a sweeter red curry you would get in a Western Thai restaurant. The differences are that it comes with pork blood pictured here, and fresh vegetables. With this particular stall, even the flower was given as a vegetable to top off the savory dish. They are in yellow, and added an earthier, organic taste to the dish.
Farmers are another subset of the commoner I love to watch. There's an industrial quality to them, and they work the hardest for their food. As a result, they eat the best kind of food, and some of the best dishes I've had thus far here have been cooked by farming families. Their harvest is seasonal and dependent on climate, and their life is molded by seasonal dictation. So, they are in harmony both with what the earth provides them, and takes away from them.
Children are also lively and free out here. They don't stand on circumstance for you, and they are always curious, emobdying fully the unique qualities of youth. They often come up to me to see what I am doing and do not shy away from saying hello or sitting next to me. They whisper Khmer to me and I just smile most of the time - they must think I'm illiterate. Which, I am. They're like the cows here, free to roam around the premises and to play in the farms, the plains, the piles of dirt. They're also everywhere like cows, from the health center, to households, to restaurants. When they're present, there's always a lightness in the atmosphere.
The people on motorcycles still never cease to amaze me what they can carry on their carts, and extensions to their carts. I've seen mattresses, huge families, building materials, cows, brooms, cutlery, cooking utensils, and food carts to name a few. Before this trip, I only thought the possible thing to carry on a bike was one person.
D would say that there are so many different landscapes in Cambodia and he's right. We move from plains, to beaches, to mountains. Bokor National Park catches my eyes today. It's a cloudy day and the cloud have just flown in, grazing the zenith of this wonderful mountain. It reminds me now of Taiwan and of Western Malaysia, the green forest covering the smooth hills. So green because of the fertile land and seasonal rains. The classic Southeast Asia. Except here, there's more agricultural land and, of course, palm trees.
"A" has been more than helpful driving his own car to shuttle us around. D trusts him completely and I often see the two sitting at the front chatting about some topic. When they chat, it often becomes animated and loud. Other times, it quiets down and becomes an intimate conversation. A will sometimes ask about me in Khmer to D and he will translate for me. Same with T. I feel incredibly thankful to him for taking his long hours to drive us around across the provinces. He works the hardest of us all and has the least comfort. We sleep when he drives and his eyes are fixated on the road all day. From 7 am to 10 pm sometimes. But he's always the one who wants to chat. He's always looking for company to qualify the long hours and nights. I'm glad the team converses regularly with him. I think he's just as important as all of us. I'm reminded of his scar on his right shoulder, a remnant of the War. From the tone of his voice and his animated demeanor, I can see he is a happy man. Here is his car. It's been through mud roads and endless Khmer chatter.
I have tremendous reverence for the health centers. They not only serve as a contact point for the community, but they're also nice enough to provide us with a comfortable space when working. Also, they're nice enough to provide us with accommodation. Today, W slept in the health center since he had to do data collection there. Koh Toch Health Centre did not hesitate at all. We felt like we'd just dropped a patient off!
As the clouds descend further down the mountain, it produces a different scene. Everyone makes their commute back before the rains hit. There are carts attached to motorbikes that shuttle some dozen of people back into the countryside. It reminds me of the migrant labor carts you see in Singapore but in true Cambodian style, it's even more open air. They are hoards of women on these carts, no men.
D said upon our first few days here that the palm tree is the all-providing tree. I now see it everywhere. The locals have made use of every part of it and have not put any to waste. There are also many different species of them. Tonight, I have one with very sweet water but a bland flesh. T buys one that contains about a gallon of juice that is not so sweet, but has a great flesh for eating. It's not the soft flesh you scrape off coconuts usually, this one is the actual meat of the coconut and it's hard and crunchy. The seller urges him to finish the water so that we can eat the flesh, otherwise the coconut goes to waste. D buys a coconut jelly, in which the seller has made jelly using the coconut water. Even with the fruit itself, they've managed to have three different varieties of eating it. I watch the woman take in one hand the cconut and the other a butcher knife, and she carves around the fruit with a deft hand. Six cuts and the coconut is ready for consumption. Art in motion before my eyes.
Remember from yesterday's post about the popup parties along the side of the road in the country? Tonight, we went to a more upscale one. It was Christmas themed. Many high school Cambodians were walking around and just hanging out. Strong Thai-disco music, pretty much a 4/4 beat slapped on to heavy bass, played throughout the night. That feeling of isolation out in the country, mixed with the presence of community tonight was incredible. A massive rain system had just cleared and so many people were coming out from under the tarp tent covers. There was a great vibe to it. It made me want to party, so I ordered a beer.
The rains picked up again on our way out. And this time, lightning accompanied it. I hadn't seen a thunderstorm thus far but tonight broke that streak. What a treat. The sound echoed for miles.
