Happy Christmas to me. I'm all alone at the house (others on vacation in Bangkok), but all the better to enjoy today's beautiful crisp fall-feeling, low 60's weather. It's interesting how on my day's off I want time to myself to sit and think and write and do nothing. Yet, I have all the thinking time I need in the forest but get bored because I am forced into the inactivity -- there is no choice/freedom involved. Here, today, at any time I can up and do something else. It makes a difference. Wichian and Lek both stopped by this morning to wish me a Merry X-mas and Kreua (our cleaning lady) wished me Happy New Year (well she was close! It's the thought that counts).
Ahhh, I am covered on my back and chest and waist by tiny tick bites. Some scabbed in the center and oozing -- or perhaps the tiny ticks are still embedded. I itch.
28 Dec 03
Held an hour-long English class this evening. It was a good class due to a fewer number of students and a fun activity. I had flashcards of verbs and everyone stood up and guessed/practiced the action. My initial idea was to play "Simon Says..." with them but the directions proved too complicated. Plus, they are just beginning to learn words like "sit, walk, stomp, jump, snap..." A handful of students brought their new pencils and pencil cases to class (my Christmas gift to them); they seem to appreciate the gifts. I don't know where I find the energy to be enthusiastic and engage the kids after a day of work, but I do. My over-exaggerated facial expressions must be a hoot! I really have tons of fun with them. It is good for me.
As expected I smiled and laughed (and tried not to gag) my way through dinner during a small party at Wichian's tonight. A special meal of minced duck complete with pools of blood and a side dish of small raw clams. I did good though, and had a bit of everything, but mostly kept my mouth full of sticky rice. As guys dipped their fingers into communal dishes, the conversation centered on my leaving in a month. It seems everyone knows my departure date now. One guy joked he would steal my passport so I couldn't leave and that I might as well just stay on and be the English teacher. It feels good to know that I am now accepted as part of their community. That means so much more than any classroom study-abroad experience on "cultural understanding."
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" Passion has little to do with euphoria and everything to do with patience. It is not about feeling good. It is about endurance."
- from House of Leaves by Mark .Z. Danielewski
Angkor Wat
"Warning: Do not attempt to play Indiana Jones. The risks are real." Despite this warning on the first page of my travel guide Amy and I had a terrific time in Cambodia. We visited "Angkor" which consists of monuments located near the town of Siem Reap. The warning comes because only a few years ago several sites were unsafe because of mines. Even today around the complex toilets cost 500 Riel (about 4000 Riel to the dollar) -- it being unsafe to wander off trail into the bush because of the possibility of land mines.
Angkor Wat is the largest Hindu temple in the world. The temples were erected between the 8th and 13th centuries A.D. by the kings of the Khmer empire. Almost all temples include elements from both Hinduism and Buddhism. Towers and gateways are carved with representations of demons and gods. On walls you find interesting bas-relief of scenes of daily life. Looting has taken its toll though, and throughout the temples you can see marks where statues, especially heads, have been hacked off and taken for sale. We hired motorbike drivers for the three days and I am convinced balancing on the back of a motorbike, covered with red dusty grime, the wind in your hair, is the best way to explore the area. On the way to sites outside of the main temple circuits we drove past local villages (wooden thatched huts raised on stilts, front yard family rice paddies, and stands selling chunks of palm sugar wrapped intricately in leaves). Also caught a glimpse of small local markets and village women on wobbly bicycles riding to work while balancing huge stacks of firewood behind them.
Every day we tried to arrive before dawn and the crowd of tour buses. Unfortunately, this also meant we were the only targets for the vendors. During the day we purchased food and drinks from vendors that line every temple entrance. At first I was outraged at the cost, but I grew to embrace a different perspective very quickly. It is a tourist area, perhaps becoming the single most visited spot in SE Asia. So, it becomes very expensive very quickly, comparable to buying a meal in Disneyland. At least here it does help support local families.
The children were relentless though, shoving bracelets onto my wrists, wanting me to promise to have coffee at their stand ("or I will cry madam"), breakfast at another stand, to buy a shirt form this girl, and cloth from another one. I found myself repeating, "sorry sorry I cannot buy from everyone" and I got the line back, "sorry doesn't get you anything, you're just a cheap fly!" Had to laugh at that one. They are excellent mimics -- speaking Japanese, English, German, French, Thai, and whatever else they need to make a sale.
Two full days were adequate, with my favorite temple being not Angkor Wat, but Ta Prohm -- swallowed by trees. The visual information was plenty for me to absorb, I can't imagine having to keep up with the pace and running commentary of a bus-package tour guide. No, the motorbike was definitely the way to go to discover Angkor on our own. I only regret that I did not have time to explore real Cambodia.
Angkor Wat is the largest Hindu temple in the world. The temples were erected between the 8th and 13th centuries A.D. by the kings of the Khmer empire. Almost all temples include elements from both Hinduism and Buddhism. Towers and gateways are carved with representations of demons and gods. On walls you find interesting bas-relief of scenes of daily life. Looting has taken its toll though, and throughout the temples you can see marks where statues, especially heads, have been hacked off and taken for sale. We hired motorbike drivers for the three days and I am convinced balancing on the back of a motorbike, covered with red dusty grime, the wind in your hair, is the best way to explore the area. On the way to sites outside of the main temple circuits we drove past local villages (wooden thatched huts raised on stilts, front yard family rice paddies, and stands selling chunks of palm sugar wrapped intricately in leaves). Also caught a glimpse of small local markets and village women on wobbly bicycles riding to work while balancing huge stacks of firewood behind them.
Every day we tried to arrive before dawn and the crowd of tour buses. Unfortunately, this also meant we were the only targets for the vendors. During the day we purchased food and drinks from vendors that line every temple entrance. At first I was outraged at the cost, but I grew to embrace a different perspective very quickly. It is a tourist area, perhaps becoming the single most visited spot in SE Asia. So, it becomes very expensive very quickly, comparable to buying a meal in Disneyland. At least here it does help support local families.
The children were relentless though, shoving bracelets onto my wrists, wanting me to promise to have coffee at their stand ("or I will cry madam"), breakfast at another stand, to buy a shirt form this girl, and cloth from another one. I found myself repeating, "sorry sorry I cannot buy from everyone" and I got the line back, "sorry doesn't get you anything, you're just a cheap fly!" Had to laugh at that one. They are excellent mimics -- speaking Japanese, English, German, French, Thai, and whatever else they need to make a sale.
Two full days were adequate, with my favorite temple being not Angkor Wat, but Ta Prohm -- swallowed by trees. The visual information was plenty for me to absorb, I can't imagine having to keep up with the pace and running commentary of a bus-package tour guide. No, the motorbike was definitely the way to go to discover Angkor on our own. I only regret that I did not have time to explore real Cambodia.
It's a Girl (we think)!
Big news for the day, langur group PS has a new member, 1.2. That is female S1 has a new infant (her second, her first is 1.1). At Amy's announcement we were happy and giddy. There was a bit of disappointment that Amy got the first look at the orange fuzzy addition, but the other field assistants and I weren't working PS today. When I followed PS with Amy two days ago we did not see S1 with the group, so we are guessing she may have retreated to give birth on 4 December. This is such an event that Emily may visit PS tomorrow on her day off to try to photograph the new baby. Exciting because PS is the group Guillaume and I habituated starting last March. We know individual personalities and it will be interesting to observe group dynamics in the upcoming days.
Next Stop: Front Royal, VA
It seems very likely that I will have a job when I get back to the states at the Smithsonian Conservation and Research Center in Front Royal, VA! The main responsibilities of the internship focus on Geographic Information Systems (GIS) analysis. Melissa, the person from the Spatial Analysis Lab who originally contacted me, is involved in researching the decline of dry tropical forests in Southeast Asia. Her work plan objectives are currently to analyze the amount and distribution of the remaining dry forest in SE Asia through existing data sets from literature, collect mammal biodiversity and habitat data from the field, and develop a method with the potential for monitoring land cover change over time. My responsibilities will include some involvement in the GIS analysis (probably starting with data analysis), helping with GIS training courses, and miscellaneous "grunt" work.
So, basically I'll be doing data entry, making copies, and whatever else needs to be done to keep things running. But, it will be beneficial to work around people who are involved in current projects that apply GIS. GIS has popped up again and again in my reading and seems to have multiple applications and implications for biodiversity monitoring. I would like to learn first-hand how organizations use geographical applications to conduct conservation assessments. I'm looking for an introduction to GIS jargon and an overall feel for whether or not this is something I want to pursue in graduate school. Specific skills I hope to gain include data input into GIS programs, introduction to spatial analysis techniques, and habitat mapping (that could extend to habitat selection, the spread of invasive species, or the impact of land cover change). I am extremely eager to learn these skills and feel I can do this better through hands-on experience on a project rather than case studies in a classroom course.
Who knows? Maybe this is the "jumping off point" I've been waiting for. On the flip side, I was looking forward to spending time at home. Now, I may have only two weeks after I come home from Thailand before I fly off for three months in Virginia of all places. But, isn't that what I wanted, to explore GIS to nudge along my grad. school decision?
So, basically I'll be doing data entry, making copies, and whatever else needs to be done to keep things running. But, it will be beneficial to work around people who are involved in current projects that apply GIS. GIS has popped up again and again in my reading and seems to have multiple applications and implications for biodiversity monitoring. I would like to learn first-hand how organizations use geographical applications to conduct conservation assessments. I'm looking for an introduction to GIS jargon and an overall feel for whether or not this is something I want to pursue in graduate school. Specific skills I hope to gain include data input into GIS programs, introduction to spatial analysis techniques, and habitat mapping (that could extend to habitat selection, the spread of invasive species, or the impact of land cover change). I am extremely eager to learn these skills and feel I can do this better through hands-on experience on a project rather than case studies in a classroom course.
Who knows? Maybe this is the "jumping off point" I've been waiting for. On the flip side, I was looking forward to spending time at home. Now, I may have only two weeks after I come home from Thailand before I fly off for three months in Virginia of all places. But, isn't that what I wanted, to explore GIS to nudge along my grad. school decision?