Rethink Tapioca

When you think of tapioca, do you think of this?

I always felt like it was balls of snot suspended in bad vanilla pudding. There was nothing appetizing about it. Frankly I couldn't understand why anyone would ever eat it.

Today, my world changed when I saw how the entire root can be cooked. This is now what I will think of when I have tapioca.

Four presentations were skillfully crafted by Ko Sol. Starting on the far left and working clockwise, we have pan fried tapioca with a palm sugar reduction. Next is tapioca grilled over a charcoal flame. Then, steamed tapioca roots. Finally, tapioca pieces sauted in a coconut creme sauce.

Imagine something like a slightly sweet regular potato (not a yam, more like a potato). Everything was amazing, and the palm sugar reduction was thicker than molasses. 

I'll never look at those balls of snot the same way again. That doesn't mean I'm going to start eating them. I'm just going to have respect for what they could have been.

A Generous Donation

A couple days ahead of my trip, I received a very generous donation from the Hutto United Methodist Church. They gave it with no strings attached and entrusted me with making the right decision. I felt honored that they would support me that way!

After eyeing up the church at Khnar Tmei and working with the pastor and my colleagues, we have made a list of things to do with the fantastic donation:

• Set up garbage and recycle bins along with a "cleanup day" to get rid of trash that has accumulated. This is an ongoing issue since people come and go and it's a heavily used space. That's a good thing, but a messy thing.
• Install new lighting in the sanctuary and the schoolroom
• Install new fans in the schoolroom
• Purchase a second water filtration jug so kids can easily get drinking water
• Repair the pews which are just about ready to crash

These are all great small projects that are sorely needed, but we are also able to do a pretty big one: Get desks and benches for the education building.

About 15-35 kids will show up for a variety of classes in the "schoolhouse" next to the church. Today everyone sits on the floor. It's uncomfortable. It's distracting. There are bugs. Frankly, I wouldn't have learned a thing if I was a kid there.

We placed the order today for the custom built desks and benches. They'll arrive next week. Yet again I kick off a project and can't be there for the results, but that's ok. It's just another reason to come back next year.

Eerily Quiet on Election Day

The streets of Siem Reap are unusually quiet today. There are a lot of families who left town to go vote in their home village. Many shops are closed, some restaurants are obviously disrupted with less staff, and people continue to talk about the elections. The vast majority of people I talk to support the opposition party. They believe it might be possible to reduce the influence of the ruling party, but probably not push them into the minority. A few things I've noted:

• Several people have not made it home to vote because they had to work
• One person was denied access to voter registration because authorities said "come back tomorrow" a few times and then the deadline passed
• Finding out where to vote was difficult since you had to go online or have it pre-printed on your voter card
• There seems to be a strong anti-Vietnamese sentiment and concern that people who should not be voting are

One of our students took it upon himself to print out the online voter locations and post them at the church. They made no effort to campaign for one party or another, just encouragement for people to vote. I feel a strong sense of pride at this civic engagement and moral high ground. I hope the results end up reflecting the will of the people.

Let the Administration Begin!

With the elections coming tomorrow, many of the local people are disrupted from their normal routines. One of our drivers just left for his hometown of Battambang so he could vote tomorrow. Some shops have altered hours or are going to be closed. Schools are already closed so they can be set up as polling places and the teachers trained to run the voting process.

I've heard anectodally that the results will come in very fast even with a paper ballot. Apparently they count the results as they come in with observers from each of the 9 parties watching the process. However, I've also read that the number of registered voters in each district is typically over 100%, so there is widespread concern of ballot stuffing that might occur. Even with all this the daily parades for the major parties were jovial. Only a few traffic jams. Today it should be quiet since no campaigning is allowed.

This is a disruption to our teaching schedules, but it also offers the opportunity for us to do some work on our 501(c)(3) forms and other administrative tasks. You have to make the best of what you get and plan well to maximize your time.

Shipping Update - Those Taxes Were Not Quite Right

Last November I had 750 mosquito nets shipped in from India to Cambodia. Long story short: I paid a lot of money in taxes and fees that I felt were not appropriate. 

I just met with the shipping company that handles the sea and overland freight logistics. They were extremely friendly and helpful, and now I know the keyword to use whenever getting something into the country: Preshipping.

It was also good to see the look of shock and horror when I explained that humanitarian supplies were subject to a very large amount of fees. They were quick to move on to "what is your next project?" since it was obvious they were at fault. I could try to recover some cash from that experience, but honestly it would not help in the long run. It's better to let them save some face by being a great partner in the future. If you think of it as an investment in the relationship it will be a great experience for the next time around.

Plus, I got all the answers I needed in a single 30 minute meeting after showing up unannounced. I have no idea what to do with the rest of the morning. I figured I would have to drive around town all day to get answers!

Travelling to Phnom Penh

Quick update: 

In about 30 minutes I head to the airport for one of the few domestic flights. We're going to Phnom Penh for meetings in a one-day adventure. I hope to learn more about the arrival of the mosquito nets last year and make a good connection with the local head of USAID.

Luxurious Working Conditions

Students arriving to class. It filled up.

Today was the first class at the Teacher's Training College. It's a massive campus by local standards with multiple buildings and lots of students. By "students", I mean both kids and prospective teachers. They get hands-on experience because it doubles as a primary school for local kids. 

The first day was all about discovery. I wasn't sure what level of experience I would be dealing with, nor did I know what subjects would be the most desired. It didn't take long to figure out most were basic computer users who had familiarity with getting around Windows and making a few documents in Word. That's a good base of learning, so we jumped right into Excel. That's really quite the complicated program if you have never used it, so we started simple.

This was also the first time I taught a class in an air conditioned room or with a projector. It was a great feeling to know that the lessons will ripple through to kids in the long run. Plus, it's great to see improving technical and living conditions.

Switching gears completely, we ate at an Austrian restaurant last night. The owner is from Vienna and extremely friendly. He had great suggestions and the food was incredible. In many regional restaurants you can tell there's a very Cambodian flair to the food. I think they often have to substitute some flavors when they don't have the right ingredients. I doubt they did that at Schnitzel Wirtin, since the flavors were spot on.

How Far Can You Go In 9 Years

Nine years ago I got a PC to take to Bos Kralein village on my first trip to Cambodia. They didn't have electricity, so we powered it using a gas generator. A couple years later we set up a solar power unit in Mr. Sok's house as an alternative and it worked pretty well. Amazingly enough, that same PC kept chugging along all these years. The village now has utility power and kids still come by to study.

Today I replaced the PC with a much newer one. I was thrilled to finally make a true "end of life" replacement and not because of hardware failure. Even better, we're trying out some wireless Internet access. For just a couple bucks you can get nearly unlimited Internet via the cell phone network. It wasn't working too well when we tried it out, but we all agreed it could be the phone carrier. We'll try some others and see how it goes.

I find it simply amazing that we went from no electricity to Internet in less than 10 years. The pace of growth and learning here is incredible, but there is so much more to be done. 

Another sign of growth: we booked tickets to go to Phnom Penh on Cambodian Angkor Air. I've flown them before, and it's the best way to get to the capital for a day trip. However, if we drove it would be about 5 or 6 hours on Highway 6. Nine years ago it would have taken twice that. Ah, how things are changing!

Bos Kralein village (bottom right) relative to Siem Reap

Mr Sok's son trying out the new computer

Busy Sunday

Today started with a bright and early 7:30am election parade for the CPP (the majority Cambodian People's Party). 

There were easily hundreds of people on motorbikes wearing matching outfits. For the most part, people had a bit of an indifferent look on their face like they were doing a chore. A smattering of folks waved and smiled but it was probably more to pass the time than real dedication to their cause. After all, tourists are obviously not voters.

The church service at Khnar Tmei was entertaining as usual. What started as a small group grew steadily as slightly embarrassed folks ducked into the pews a few minutes late. No one seemed to mind and everyone has been there. Following the service we discussed a few project opportunities like improving their well, fixing the very rickety pews, and even getting some better garbage bins. We then learned that they were doing a rather successful microfinance program over the last couple years. One of our students studied finance and accounting, so they have meticulous record keeping and could rattle off statistics without referring to the documents. That might be a good thing to invest in.

After a lunch at the Mexican restaurant... Ok I'll stop there for a moment. Yes, we went to the one Mexican place called Viva. It's far from authentic but the flavors get incrementally better every year. It's as much for the novelty as the food.

Anyways, after lunch it was off to the shops. Pat and Deanna needed a very particular type of fabric. We searched in the regular markets and were unsuccessful (first photo below, our driver Mony in the foreground). Instead we visited a tailor and got what we needed (second photo, the tailor cutting the fabric and our driver Prem helping).

Tomorrow, picking up PCs, arranging classes at the teacher college, booking flights to Phnom Penh, and more!

Lost in Translation

I always find it entertaining when I see entertaining situations that cross cultural lines. Yesterday Pat was hosting one of her recurring sewing classes in BosKralein village. Apparently the class of local women from the village had homework from the previous day where they were tasked with writing a paragraph about themselves. The results were going to be written on a "Peace Purse" designed as an item to sell in shops. Pat's example showed her story of living in Wisconsin, grandkids, and working in Cambodia.

Our driver Mony was doing the translation to explain what they had written. Remember, education has been a major barrier in this country so not everyone has the best reading and writing skills. Even worse, I think the problem of poor handwriting is universal.

Mony: "Ok, so I will read the next one. 'My name is Sophea. I have 2 kids. My husband's name is...'"

At this point Mony gets a strange look on his face. It was a combination of surprise, disbelief, and a wry smile. He said something to her in Khmer and the group erupted in laughter. There was much conversation and soon he explained:

Mony: "I thought her husband's name was Deepfried Bullfrog. It is not, but the words were a little hard to read."

Ah yes, the joys of bad handwriting. But that would be an amazing nickname.

Uh Oh... It's Election Time

I thought my first day would be focused on planning the details of my time here in Cambodia. I was right, but there's a wrinkle... It's Election Time.

Every 5 years the people come out to vote for their favorite political party. However, there are some logistics of it that cause disruption:

• I can't teach classes at the school because they will close to be a polling place, and the teachers will be the administrators of the election. I hear they get a whopping 2 days notice before they have to show up at currently undetermined location for training.
• Several of my contacts need to travel back to their hometown to vote. That can be an 8 hour car ride each way for some folks
• The parades can be disruptive and close streets

There's no perfect time to do the work we do, but this is an extra thing to handle. I'm a bit concerned about my trip to Phnom Penh to have a meeting at the US Embassy, so planning that will be an urgent item.

As for my regular activities, here's what I've found so far:

• Kessararam Primary School: Computers work well, only minor issue with the printer likely due to using refilled toner instead of genuine new
• Khnar Tmei: Both PCs down again. I'm concerned about the conditions there. I know the kids maintain them well, but there could be a downstream electrical fault to contend with.
• Baskralein Village: I haven't been out there in a few years, but this Dell Optiplex (below) I installed in 2007 is still going! It wasn't new when we put it in, so I'm going to replace it because it has simply outlived it's useful life.
  

Departing Tomorrow

Starting tomorrow at 5:30am Central when the shuttle picks me up to go to the airport, I begin my journey to Cambodia for the 9th year in the row. I arrive about 30 hours later in Siem Reap to start working on this year's projects:

• Continued computer maintenance and education efforts. I might teach a class at a local university this time.
• Project review for the import and distribution of large mosquito nets. Is this a sustainable project that is needed in the area?
• Meeting with the head of USAID in Phnom Penh. This will be a great opportunity to validate our efforts, network, and identify future projects.
• Administrative needs are also important as we finally finish work to get our 501(c)(3).

I'll be in Cambodia for a full two weeks this year. It has been an amazing experience to meet the people and become part of the town. I don't live there, but I think of it as home.