keyboard anthropology

okay, so i will try my hand at a little keyboard anthropology.  in the old days they called it arm-rest anthropology, meaning that old white dudes wouldn't go study a culture, they would just comment based on bias mostly and reading a bit about others trips.  so i made up keyboard anthropology.  maybe i'm the first keyboard anthropologist!  hahaha.

so, what i've learned in cambodia, about the people, their culture, their thoughts on america, their government, their life, and then aspects i've noticed.  this by no means is a comprehensive study, i feel like i have to have a warning.  mostly my thoughts and then some condensed conversations from kim, savin, three dudes i met at dinner last night, chin, and others.

my thoughts on the garbage here.  i think it's dirtier than vietnam, although i'm not sure it's hard to remember.  but it's pretty polluted with debris, not smoggy like hanoi but garbage all over the place.  i've stopped at tiny roadside kiosks and seen the back of markets.  it's just literally tons of garbage, and they mostly burn it.  i've seen a couple of garbage trucks but not much.  the other night in skun, i saw a little girl starting a plastic garbage fire, it broke my heart, a new generation just burning plastic.  there is recycling, but it's mostly limited to bottles and cans.  not plastic bags, and they put drinks in plastic bags if you buy one at the market.  that way the store can keep and return the can/bottle for money.

i had conversations with savin and kim about the government.  it sounds fairly corrupt.  the president has been in power for the last twenty years and has said he WILL win the next election (side note: i don't know if cambodia is communist or democractic).  they did cancel the boat races for this years water festival to help the poor as many areas were damaged by the floods that hit here as well as thailand.  but the government is still selling rice to other countries, keeping it from people who need it here, as they want to portray a picture that even though they've had massive floods and damage; they can still afford to export rice.  savin was pretty upset with the government, the president, and the police.  the police, are corrupt.  i was stopped and asked to bribe the police in sihnoukville; i've been afraid it'll happen elsewhere too, but it hasn't.  savin said he had been stopped by police for nothing too, just the cops asking for money.  we've seen more police and ambulances here though than we ever did in vietnam.  kim had a place at a different beach in sihnoukville, before Dany's Place at Otres Beach.  it was shutdown and confiscated by the government.  no reason, just taken; and there's nothing she could do.  she is happy though, and savin is happy.  i'm sure they wish for a better government and more fair and equal rights for all; but they are still happy.  i find this true for most cambodians.

my first thoughts were that i had a love/hate relationship with cambodia.  i liked it but i fell for that gambling scam.  i had to let that go.  i can't let a bad experience settle what i think about the rest of the country and it's people.  plus, that was one hell of a scam, i mean really, so complicated.  but i've changed my mind, i love cambodia.  it's still raw, developing but upbeat and alive.  i had the best converstion with three lecturers last night (i called them professors but they just said lecturers).

we spoke about everything but the kitchen sink!  we spoke about america and our foreign policy and why countries do not like us and why they now seek help from china rather than us.  this lead to them telling me that they've met many americans that think the same way as me, that our foreign policy (imperialism) is ruining the true american way of life, and that we have the means to feed the starving and ease the suffering of the poor worldwide on nearly one tenth the budget we spend on trying to control the worlds' natural resources.  we spoke of love and why i am still single (one dude sweated me a bit about this; a lot of people in cambodia have commented on this, i think they marry fairly young compared to us, early twenties).  i spoke of learning all i can about myself and becoming confident in what i am doing and what i want out of life before i can fully commit myself to another person and start a family; which i emphasized that i would like to do.  we spoke of religion, and the religions i've studied.  they were impressed that i've studied so many, confucianism, islam, christianity, catholicism, buddhism (cambodia is mostly buddhist, and the buddha is said to have traveled here), taoism, judaism, and pagan or naturalist religions.  they wanted to know the difference between judaism and christianity and islam.  i summarized that the christians believe that jesus is the prophet, that islam believes muhammad is the prophet, and that judaism doesn't believe that the prophet has come yet.  we spoke of meditation and if i thought that meditation had been beneficial as a part of my life, i said yes it has.  we spoke of meditation as a means to being more conscience during life and how this can lead to a deeper appreciation of, well, everything life involves.  more focused on living than planning, and not getting caught up in the worries and banal complications of everyday life.  how being present is one of the keys to being happy; as well as compassion.  we spoke about cambodian life compared to american life.  i noted that despite hardships and pauperism, the people seem to be happy.  one of them replied yes, they are happy; but life here is hard.  we wake up at 5-5:30 and work til 6-7; just to survive and don't make a lot of money.  we spoke of how americans are always chasing the ball (his euphemism); and this is what leads to our general suffering, always wanting more, striving for more.  to appreciate being happy with what you've got and saying thanks to whomever/whatever you believe, whether that is yourself (godhead in buddhism), a certain god, or bountiful nature.  there is something to be said for this conversation.  i am still thinking about it a day later.  i complimented them on their english and fact that i thought their students were lucky to have such intelligent and thoughtful teachers.  we ate more delicious khmer food.

i'll reiterate, i would love to bring kim and her family back to the states to start a khmer restaurant.  i think it would do well and school people on this tasty food and the people of cambodia.

the people are fashionable.  they always look cool.  the men mostly wear jeans or slacks with a button up long sleeved shirt.  the women the same pretty much except when they go out at night, in which case they will dress up.

did i mention that the people are friendly?  they are.  everywhere i go i am invited to join their party.  last night i had dinner with the three professors.  the night before i hung out with white people in kratie (two czech women and a danish duder).  the night before in skun, with first some teenagers at a kiosk and then some older dudes.  at a rest stop i was invited to have a beer with some kids, mostly in their early twenties who worked at a casino in bavet.  we had beers and then they took me karaoke once again.  i sang and danced, with no cares in the world.  they asked if i wanted a girl, i said no thanks.  they said if i changed my mind let them know and i can have my pick.  this seems a pretty standard policy in much of cambodia, i saw in sihnoukville, phnom penh, that random rest stop, and siem reap.  it happens i guess, although, i would put it down as foreigners looking for sex that has led to such a prospering sex trade.  it looks as if age does not have such a settle limit, young ones.

the country is beautiful though, physically.  great geography, beautiful sunsets (i've only taken pictures of a few).  the hot cambodian sun. spralling rivers and flood lands.  cities half built with dirt roads and dust.

i guess that's it for now.  off to laos tomorrow.




pictures are finally all up:

https://plus.google.com/photos/100425108117169097988/albums/5682575081408852801