Old post(s) moved to a new home
So I wrote this blog post on my wordpress, and I've decided to hijack it and make it my polyvore/image blog instead of a travel blog. Makes sense as I mostly use here to talk about what's going on anyway. Anyway so as not to lose it, it's going here:
Reasons to like Phnom Penh 29/4/12
That bright sense of possibility, of anything goes.
I think you feel that you could do anything here. Not so much in terms of being able to ride motorbikes without helmets (sort of) and pack cars with 6 people (instead of five, and nobody really wearing a seatbelt except maybe the driver and then only because he'll be fined), although this can be a little bit freeing (also stupid I know). But the city is growing so rapidly, and it's that big fish in a small pond feeling.
For example, there's one salsa school, two yoga schools (although I think some gyms have yoga too), nowhere for me to zouk (but I may have found a zouk partner). Apparently the graffiti/street artist scene is tiny (maybe just two people). Five years ago, no art classes for children (my art teacher changed that when she arrived).
OK yes, restaurants aplenty and a really great delivery service for food (only in Asia where labour is cheap...).
If you had a great idea, you could go ahead and try it. I feel like it's almost a training ground. It's cheap and (relatively) easy to just start something, so why not just do that?
***
Only just over a month ago but oh how my mood has changed. I guess that stuff is still true, but my feelings about that are more complicated now.
You can do just about anything. But it's that big fish in a small pond kind of thing. Or only fish in a pretty empty pond maybe? So you don't even have to be all that GOOD.
I've turned what once was positive into a negative. Possibly severe Cambodia burn out!
***
And then I realised there was another post that I never published this wordpress blog post, but I started writing it so figured it could go here too:
Cambodia: initial thouhts on orphanages (somewhere in April 2012)
My first post on this blog will not be a light hearted romp, telling of what I've been doing here and the people that I've met. There's something about this place that has inspired me to think more than I have in a long time. Around me, everywhere, there are big issues. Not to say that there aren't problems in Canberra, in Australia, there are. But when, every day, you see or hear about the problems that people face here, it is harder to ignore.
Since being in Cambodia, several issues have gone on rotation in my brain. The first one (and the topic for today's post) is orphanage tourism (where volunteers from other countries come and help out for free at an orphanage). I'm still sitting on the fence on this one, a little confused and trying to understand. What strikes me most about this one is that so many people I've met who are against it just say "oh it's bad because you know, children have a right to privacy and shouldn't just have strange adults traipsing in and out of their lives." I understand the arguments about not using children as tourist attractions, institutions taking children who are not orphans and trying to make them into singing, dancing, performing monkeys. I also don't approve of monkeys being used as tourist attractions (to take photos in little costumes to make the owner a few dollars).
But what about the real orphanages? There must be a few here as there are everywhere.
***
I didn't get further than that because my mind got too muddled. I never came to a conclusion on this one. What can you say really?
This is one reason why I've found this country exhausting. How does this happen? Does this happen anywhere else in the world?
At home I've always felt, well it's better to try to do something than not at all. But here? No. In helping, you're often propping up the institutions that are doing the most harm. This is not to say everywhere is like this, or that there are no good orphanages. But it's so hard to tell. It's exhausting...
Reasons to like Phnom Penh 29/4/12
That bright sense of possibility, of anything goes.
I think you feel that you could do anything here. Not so much in terms of being able to ride motorbikes without helmets (sort of) and pack cars with 6 people (instead of five, and nobody really wearing a seatbelt except maybe the driver and then only because he'll be fined), although this can be a little bit freeing (also stupid I know). But the city is growing so rapidly, and it's that big fish in a small pond feeling.
For example, there's one salsa school, two yoga schools (although I think some gyms have yoga too), nowhere for me to zouk (but I may have found a zouk partner). Apparently the graffiti/street artist scene is tiny (maybe just two people). Five years ago, no art classes for children (my art teacher changed that when she arrived).
OK yes, restaurants aplenty and a really great delivery service for food (only in Asia where labour is cheap...).
If you had a great idea, you could go ahead and try it. I feel like it's almost a training ground. It's cheap and (relatively) easy to just start something, so why not just do that?
***
Only just over a month ago but oh how my mood has changed. I guess that stuff is still true, but my feelings about that are more complicated now.
You can do just about anything. But it's that big fish in a small pond kind of thing. Or only fish in a pretty empty pond maybe? So you don't even have to be all that GOOD.
I've turned what once was positive into a negative. Possibly severe Cambodia burn out!
***
And then I realised there was another post that I never published this wordpress blog post, but I started writing it so figured it could go here too:
Cambodia: initial thouhts on orphanages (somewhere in April 2012)
My first post on this blog will not be a light hearted romp, telling of what I've been doing here and the people that I've met. There's something about this place that has inspired me to think more than I have in a long time. Around me, everywhere, there are big issues. Not to say that there aren't problems in Canberra, in Australia, there are. But when, every day, you see or hear about the problems that people face here, it is harder to ignore.
Since being in Cambodia, several issues have gone on rotation in my brain. The first one (and the topic for today's post) is orphanage tourism (where volunteers from other countries come and help out for free at an orphanage). I'm still sitting on the fence on this one, a little confused and trying to understand. What strikes me most about this one is that so many people I've met who are against it just say "oh it's bad because you know, children have a right to privacy and shouldn't just have strange adults traipsing in and out of their lives." I understand the arguments about not using children as tourist attractions, institutions taking children who are not orphans and trying to make them into singing, dancing, performing monkeys. I also don't approve of monkeys being used as tourist attractions (to take photos in little costumes to make the owner a few dollars).
But what about the real orphanages? There must be a few here as there are everywhere.
***
I didn't get further than that because my mind got too muddled. I never came to a conclusion on this one. What can you say really?
This is one reason why I've found this country exhausting. How does this happen? Does this happen anywhere else in the world?
At home I've always felt, well it's better to try to do something than not at all. But here? No. In helping, you're often propping up the institutions that are doing the most harm. This is not to say everywhere is like this, or that there are no good orphanages. But it's so hard to tell. It's exhausting...