Cambodian People

I won't lie... the food here takes a little getting used to, and I love foreign foods. No, what Cambodia really has going for it is it's people. I was talking with a bloke from Ausy in a hotel pool who has been traveling around the world for the past year, and he appropriately observed that the Cambodians are some of the kindest people in the world. By their very nature they avoid confrontation, they are always polite.

For the most part, Cambodian children are playful, healthy, obedient to their parents, and polite to strangers. They learn to play with practically nothing, and have the biggest smiles across their faces. They lack the unattractive commercialism and sense of entitlement that many western kids have. Many of them start working around the age of 6 to help support their families.








The land here is lush, hot, humid and currently rainy. Much of the forest was removed during the Khmer Rouge to develop rice fields. Hungry and tired people rarely have time to think of opposition, only starvation and fatigue. Small pockets of jungle remain.

As usual, I have made a favorite friend while abroad. The name brown was already taken, and I though this dog looks a little like a Chiwawa, so I just call her my little friend. She joins our table every day in hopes of getting leftovers. Funny, just like my golden retriever at home. 

I'm noticing a funny trend across developing countries. As a generalization, and certainly not a rule, many doctors and nurses already know everything. I'm quite amazed, because despite my western education and recognition of the vast and endless sea of medical information that I will never fully understand, somehow they are able to master it all. As a result, there is a hesitancy to be open to learning. Now of course I'm being a little sarcastic, but I'm finding out from local doctors that on paper people will be really open in order to receive the funding, equipment and affiliation. But if given the change, the cold shoulder is often given when it comes down to bedside teaching and didactic lectures. This is not specific to any country. I wonder how I would feel if someone from... say France... came to my hospital, followed me around for a month, and pointed out all my inadequacies. I'm sure I'd be less than excited too.

The hardest thing is culture change. Because emergency medicine is very new in many countries, we are trying very hard to prevent bad habits from forming from the beginning. We are often greeted with, "Well in my country, emergency medicine is like this." The irony is that we are in the process of bringing emergency medicine to the country and it doesn't exist yet. True, however, that each country and province has unique needs. Local motivators, however, are rarely best patient care practices and usually more along the lines of power, money and influence.

If at first you don't succeed, just give up. This shoe was found stuck in a crack on a walk way... somewhere there is a very lazy one shoe man.

Although most people live in absolute poverty, religious and cultural monuments are spectacular. This collection of Apsaras ornaments a roundabout just outside my hotel. I often see small children running around them, pretending to be dancing with them. People will sometimes give them food, as though they were real people.

Foreign Aid Worker's Prayer

[Borrowed from Molly (who blogs at Molly In Monrovia) and Alex]

Dear Lord,
Today, aid me in my otherwise mundane tasks, that they shall not
result in gangrene or identity theft.
By Your grace, cancel the flight of our donor, so that I might have 24
more hours to shiny up our anecdotal success stories with pictures of
children
May the M&E consultant be amenable to case studies, or at least
receptive to my sexual advances
May the Internet, like Your mercy, flow abundantly, so that I might
watch that new Rihanna video on Youtube.
Please Lord, give me the serenity to accept the dangers of salads
the courage to eat the unidentifiable bits of meat
and the wisdom to know the difference between the proper course of
self-medication for the results of each
Fill me with Your glorious knowledge of the nationality of the person
that I am greeting, and how many cheek kisses are required; because
otherwise, Lord, it is always kind of awkward.
Grant me the patience to sit through yet another tale of Central Asia
in the early ‘90s, that lo this elderly consultant may one day, acting
in Your name, offer me a job, for only You know when the funding for my
current position may dry up
Lord, may the DJ always play Toto, for I am drunk, and THAT IS MY JAM
Forgive me for saying I was “working from home” the morning after karaoke,
as I forgive the still unsubmitted financial reports of our local partners.
And in Thy wisdom, let today be a public holiday in honor of a former
dictator’s birthday
But failing that, may I not receive too many marriage proposals on my
walk to work, for it shall make me indignant (…but just a couple would
not hurt).
And lead us not into open sewer pits, but deliver us to air
conditioned offices in white land rovers.
AMEN

Battambang

 Battambang is one of the larger cities in Cambodia, boasting the 4th most popular tourist city. It has a combination of temples, vistas and architecture that make it a "cant miss." There are several resident artist, including this modern art display over street 1 1/2 just off the riverside.

 As in most cities in Cambodia, each building has a small spirit house, a place to keep one's ancestors and good spirits. Incense help cover the ever-present smell of putrefaction in the streets. Its very similar to the French and body odor covered with perfume - eventually its normal.

 Speaking of the French, this is one of the last places in Cambodia where the residual French colonial architecture has been preserved. This bank building demonstrates what it must have looked like prior to the Khmer Rouge. Now only a few buildings remain, closed off to the public with metal fencing. The remainder of the architecture is in classic Cambodian (and most of Southeast Asian) style with concrete construction, tiled floors, and open fronts.

 Battambang provincial hospital is a sprawling campus with several open buildings. Each ward has its own purpose; ICU, medical, pediatrics, surgical and obstetrics, and tuberculosis. A separate building houses radiology and laboratory. They can perform basic x-ray, basic ultrasound, and basic labs including a CBC, creatinine, malaria smear, and at times chemistry (although not routinely). They can also do cultures and gram stains. 

 Battambang has a combination of both Buddhist and Hindu symbology. This intersection roundabout houses a classic Khmer-style roof with a series of dancing apsaras in the middle (not well seen). Apsaras are a mythical nymph that hangs around the temples, seen hundreds of times carved into the side of Angkor Wat. 

Durian fruit, when compared to vomit, stale eggs and milk, and old gym shoes with dog poo on it, takes first place. Despite this, Durian is a SE Asian delicacy often found on street carts. The fruit is so smelly, my hotel actually bans people from bringing it inside, and charging them a fine if they do. I have yet to try this rotting-flesh smelling fruit. I'll stick to mango and pineapple.

Back in Cambodia

Well, I'm back in Cambodia. This time the rice fields are lush and green, and the air humid. The rain brings down the temperature to a manageable degree. It was nice to overlap a day with my colleague Lusana to share notes before heading out on the 6 hour bus ride to Battambang today. 

Sorry I didn't post anything from our India trip. I posted things mainly on Facebook, but as I found out, it ends up being a lot of posts and filling people's inbox... so I'm back to the blog. Here is a map of our trip in Cambodia.

View Cambodia in a larger map

SRI LANKA 2009

LINK TO SRI LANKA 2009

LIBERIA 2011

LINK TO LIBERIA 2011