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May 31, 2006
Swimming in Cambodia
Now that the rainy season has started here, each afternoon (roughly sometime between 3 and 5) is interrupted by a torrential downpour. I'm not talking about the rain that we get during bad storms in America. This is like a wall of water that falls down in sheets so rapidly that the streets flood within minutes. And the thunder is like nothing I've ever heard before. It's so loud that it hurts my ears and vibrates like bass in my throat.
The scene in Phnom Penh is memorable. Instead of shutting down and closing up, the city adapts to the extreme weather with a sense of humor. Young schoolgirls pile onto bicycles and splash through the flooded streets. Teenage boys, barefoot and bare-chested, play a game of water soccer in less flooded areas. Moto drivers zip by wearing long, colorful, plastic ponchos, trailing behind them in the wind. Old men push food carts through the water, looking for refuge.
Unfortunately for me, I've gotten stuck outside in the rain for the past two days, trying to run errands. Yesterday was the worst. Our tuk-tuk got stuck in two feet deep water and we barely made it to our destination. Then, as I was trying to cross the street, I misjudged the depth of a puddle and ended up jumping into thigh-deep water! As I type right now, I'm taking refuge from another crazy storm.
As for our work, Emma and I have spent this week compiling and transcribing interviews. We were also able to interview a man named Sophat who was seven at the time that Khmer Rouge took over. He spoke in English, and he told us his incredible (and horrific) story of survival for an hour and a half. He lost his father, mother, and all his sisters and brothers, not to mention his uncles and a lot of cousins. Emma and I have decided to edit and use his story as the narration to a picture slideshow, as part of our exhibit in the fall.
This weekend we're taking a much-needed break to go to the coastline of Cambodia, namely Sihanoukville, Kampot, and Kep. We're excited to relax!
Posted by laraf at May 31, 2006 05:28 AM