Friday, September 16, 2011
Finally - an update
Happy travels!
cheers,
Amy
Friday, May 28, 2010
Green Gecko Project, Siem Reap, Cambodia
We visited a project called Green Gecko http://www.greengeckoproject.org in Siem Reap.
- The children are organized into groups identified by an animal, e.g., with names like the bumble bees, frogs, tigers, monkeys, snakes, elephants... The children in each group range in ages from young to late teens. Each group has their own area for eating lunch, etc. and they each have a permanent "mother" and a "father", and "uncle" and "aunty". These adults have a corresponding role in the children's lives while the children are in the community. Remember, these are street kids, who most likely come from non-existent or dysfunctional families and communities. So Green Gecko gives the kids a functional family and community with corresponding responsibilities.
- The green gecko project runs out of a base where the children do everything except formal education (they attend school). So they eat, sleep, play, clean, do activities like games, reading, drawing, watching movies, etc. on the base. They do everything in their groups, which emulate families living in communities. They do things like growing their own food in a garden, playing soccer and once a week they watch English movies so they get exposed to English...
- Some of the "children" were older than 18. The Green Gecko Project lets children stay until they graduate from high school, and some of them got a later start on school than others.
- The Green Gecko project is based a few kms from Siem Reap, so volunteers can stay in Siem Reap and cycle to The Green Gecko Project everyday.
Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Another reason why the photos don't do the experience justice is that a good part of the experience is not visual. One small part of Angkor Wat that I really loved was an echo chamber, which looks like a large stone chimney. You stand in it with your back against the wall and thump your chest, and the echo reverberates through your body. You do this 7 times for good luck. What an amazing feeling.
We were there during the dry season, and it was very hot and sunny. The temples in the trees (e.g., Bayon) were much cooler in the shade.
Looking out from the 3rd level of Angkor Wat.
One of the pools on the 3rd level, Angkor Wat.
Seven-headed statue in Angkor Wat.
Statue of a woman with red face.
Looking towards the main entrance, from inside Angkor Wat.
Here are some interesting professional photos of Angkor and environs, FYI. I'm sure there are many more on-line.
http://www.ourplaceworldheritage.com/custom.cfm?action=WHsite&whsiteid=668#
This site shows a beautiful photo of the Bayon temple:
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/668
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Phonsavanh, Laos and the Plain of Jars (dry season)
We went to the Plain of Jars. I can certainly see why the French liked to picnic at the second site of the Jars - the countryside looks like it could be England or France (except for the rice paddies, of course). We tried to take photos but they just don't capture the beautiful panoramic views. Nor do photos capture the other sensations above and beyond the sights: the bumpy, dusty, red dirt roads, the hot dry sun, the much cooler air under the huge pine trees, the smell of the pines around the jars (just like home).
Apart from the obvious attractions of the scenery and the awesomeness of the Jars themselves, the highlight of our trip was meeting a local named Manophet, who works for the UXO as an interpreter in the field during the day, then teaches English before and after work - to 240 students! He didn't intend to have so many students, but they keep arriving and insisting on staying so he can't say no. They see how good he is and that their future is brighter if they learn from him. He has a website http://www.laos-edc.
- Photos -
Bizarre tractor-type vehicle, which seemed to be the norm around Phonsavanh.
Jars at the first Plain of Jars site. Easy to believe they were carved from rocks!
Bomb crater at the first Plain of Jars site, from the Vietnam war. Note that Phonsavanh is in Laos, but this area is still riddled with unexploded ordinances (UXOs) today.
MAG marker. Indicates that one side is deemed to be safe from UXOs. The other side - not. The path is lined by these markers. Deviate from the marked and worn paths at your own risk!
A tree growing out of a jar the the second Plain of Jars site.
Ponies in a field near the second Plain of Jars site.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Headhunter's (Bamboo) Dance
Friday, May 7, 2010
Scuba diving at Sipadan Island
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Ron and I had 3 AMAZING dives yesterday at Sipadan Island, a reef off the continental shelf (600 m drop) on the
southeast of Sabah (Borneo), Malaysia. We saw white-tipped sharks, huge turtles, a huge school of barracudas, a devil ray, two octopuses, and just many, many fish of all types off this impressive wall. We are due to go again on Sunday.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Lingering effects of Luang Prabang
I guess when you live somewhere for 3 months it's bound to have some influence on you (or maybe I should say that hopefully it will). Here are some of the habits or quirks I've picked up since living in Luang Prabang:
(1) I follow the lunar cycle. The buddhist celebrations follow the lunar cycle and I loved the 4 PM drumming at the 3 wats closest to our guesthouse (Wat Aphay, Wat Aham, Wat Visoun). So I kept track of the lunar cycle so I'd know when to go. I find myself still checking the lunar cycles when I check the wunderground weather where ever I am. Full moon tonight!
(2) I cover up in the sun. The locals seem to do that everywhere we've been in southeast Asia. I could not understand the long-sleeves in the HEAT when I first arrived in Luang Prabang (which was actually cool weather, I now know), but now I find myself only wearing my long-sleeved shirts, despite that fact that the temperature is over 30 degrees C and feels a lot hotter with the heat index.
(3) I really appreciate the elegant design of the cheap (~$7CDN) sandals I bought in Luang Prabang. They had a back strap (over the heel) that held the sandal on for walking, but that could be moved up over the instep for short distances when you need to slip in and out of your sandals often (e.g., for entering buildings - you remove your shoes when entering private homes and some public places in Laos). I can't even find this style of sandal in Malaysia, although I think I probably could with extensive searching. But I know I won't find them in Canada. Sigh. Ron has a pair; mine broke. I will post a photo. Funny how something so simple and taken for granted in Luang Prabang is just not even thought of in other parts of the world. It's a simple design that meets a real requirement in Laos, but the requirement doesn't exist in Canada. So the elegant design would not be appreciated. But now that I know about the requirement, I really appreciate the design. I once saw a novice entering a building right in front of me. He removed his sandals mid-stride, so seamlessly I couldn't tell he had removed them, except that I knew that he had and I could see them on the floor. The grace that comes from a long-repeated, common-place action...
(4) I walk slower. Not all of the time, but a lot of the time, and when I walk fast I notice it. This is significant for me. The Laos "please don't rush" approach to life has rubbed off on me. This is good. I needed to slow down - in life.
(5) I'm much more aware of the community that lies beneath the surface of everyone's day-to-day life, if only we choose to nourish it. In Laos, the families really LIVE together - the kids and extended family members and animals are in each others' lives for most of the hours of a day. For many people (there are, of course, exceptions), this is also shared with the neighborhood (the houses are literally open to the street). So people walking by look into homes. Everything is done in the open, from working to cooking, to watching TV, to shaving and even bathing, washing clothes, washing hair... It made me realize that at home we really shut ourselves off from the rest of the world, and this means our communities have atrophied. I think maybe we've lost something special. Ron has long been talking about creating a front yard that we can sit in and be part of the neighbourhood, and I think he's on to something. But we'll have to start with rocking chairs and hammocks to ease our neighbours into it. They might get upset if I started to wash the dishes and my hair in the front yard. ;-) Mind you, I'd probably bring people together if I did baking out there... mmmmm oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.