After my first day back in the NY office, I left work early to see South Pacific on Broadway (at Lincoln Center). It's one of my favorite shows, with short catchy songs and a smart fixation on interracial dynamics in the 1940's.
The show deals with many "ex-pat" questions that westerners living in Cambodia deal with:
Could move here permanently? How invested am I in my sense of home as the familiar place of upbringing? If I get involved with a local or foreigner, can I really see myself building a life with them? What's at stake for getting involved romantically for a local versus for an expat?
The male lead who played Emil de Beck, a french planter, had a deep, rich, voice. I cried when he sang "this nearly was mine. "
During the intermission, I ran into a guy I went to summer camp with, who I hadn't seen in at least ten years.
A strange juxtaposition: missing the foreign and enjoying the long-lost familiar.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Monday, December 22, 2008
A lotta countries: my first conversation back
Touched down tonight in Newark at roughly 7:30pm, was out of customs by 7:45 after a very brief interrogation by middle-aged blond passport officer.
her (reading my entry card): UK, Sweden, Cam-what?, that's a lotta countries, whaddya do that you're traveling so much?
Me: I'm an NGO-er.
her: huh?
me: ya know, non-governmental organization, non-profit... we use computers to help break the cycle of poverty in Southeast Asia.
her: oh, sure. Why not break the cycle of poverty here?
me: Yeah, that's on our list of things to do. We figure start with the poorest people first, $50 a month makes a very big deal in these people's lives.
her: Okay, keep it up. Welcome back.
At customs, they asked me if I was bringing back any meat and then scanned only one of my bags (of four). It's the first time i've seen the US government do post-arrival luggage scanning.
her (reading my entry card): UK, Sweden, Cam-what?, that's a lotta countries, whaddya do that you're traveling so much?
Me: I'm an NGO-er.
her: huh?
me: ya know, non-governmental organization, non-profit... we use computers to help break the cycle of poverty in Southeast Asia.
her: oh, sure. Why not break the cycle of poverty here?
me: Yeah, that's on our list of things to do. We figure start with the poorest people first, $50 a month makes a very big deal in these people's lives.
her: Okay, keep it up. Welcome back.
At customs, they asked me if I was bringing back any meat and then scanned only one of my bags (of four). It's the first time i've seen the US government do post-arrival luggage scanning.
Three Days Later
A brief look on my itinerary of the past three days:
Saturday Morning: Breakfast in Yangon. Flight from Yangon to Bangkok.
Saturday Afternoon: Seven-hour lay-over in the Bangkok Airport. Flight from Bangkok to Phnom Penh.
Saturday Evening: Arrival in Phnom Penh at 8pm, at a party on the riverside by 10, a concert by 11:30, and post-concert drinks from 1-4ish.
Sunday Morning: Packing from 4-8am. Flight from Phnom Penh to Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), transit into city, checked into a dive hotel in near "Sentral Stration," long dinner from 7-11:30pm with Mr. A-Z, a clever and deeply analytical Malaysian telecom executive (we got to be friends in early 2008 in Phnom Penh). Asleep around midnight.
Monday Morning: Wake-up at 5am, transit to KL airport. "All I ask of you" from Phantom of the Opera is playing on the airtrain, which I find deeply moving, bringing tears.
Flight from KL to Stockholm, 9:15am. 11 hour flight, the plane is almost half empty and I stretch out over a whole row. I watch Ghost Town (of interest), Wall E (wonderful, a good re-watch), Hellboy 2 (poor writing, great imagery). We arrive at Arlanda at 2:30pm. The sun is setting, and it is dark by 3pm. I make the mistake of not spending the remaining 300 kronor from November's stop here.
Flight from Stockholm to Newark, 8 hours. I watch Fred Claus and eat 3 Swedish shrimp salad sandwiches, and get another row to myself.
Three days, three cities, six airports.
Saturday Morning: Breakfast in Yangon. Flight from Yangon to Bangkok.
Saturday Afternoon: Seven-hour lay-over in the Bangkok Airport. Flight from Bangkok to Phnom Penh.
Saturday Evening: Arrival in Phnom Penh at 8pm, at a party on the riverside by 10, a concert by 11:30, and post-concert drinks from 1-4ish.
Sunday Morning: Packing from 4-8am. Flight from Phnom Penh to Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), transit into city, checked into a dive hotel in near "Sentral Stration," long dinner from 7-11:30pm with Mr. A-Z, a clever and deeply analytical Malaysian telecom executive (we got to be friends in early 2008 in Phnom Penh). Asleep around midnight.
Monday Morning: Wake-up at 5am, transit to KL airport. "All I ask of you" from Phantom of the Opera is playing on the airtrain, which I find deeply moving, bringing tears.
Flight from KL to Stockholm, 9:15am. 11 hour flight, the plane is almost half empty and I stretch out over a whole row. I watch Ghost Town (of interest), Wall E (wonderful, a good re-watch), Hellboy 2 (poor writing, great imagery). We arrive at Arlanda at 2:30pm. The sun is setting, and it is dark by 3pm. I make the mistake of not spending the remaining 300 kronor from November's stop here.
Flight from Stockholm to Newark, 8 hours. I watch Fred Claus and eat 3 Swedish shrimp salad sandwiches, and get another row to myself.
Three days, three cities, six airports.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Ghosts in Bangkok
I'm in the Bangkok airport waiting for my flight to Yangon. The airport is a ghost town, operating at half of usual capacity. The staff are tense, and nervous, completely on edge. The atmosphere is post-traumatic: as if at any point they expect another demonstration from the PAD with violence and trouble. My flight from Phnom Penh was delayed three hours, which suited me fine: they paid for lunch and I ended up hanging out with a world banker who is part of a new governance project in Cambodia. Smart British engineer, has been around the block in Asia for 30+ years.
After an easy flight, I got here and spent the next hour complaining about awful service and asking for a voucher or upgrade. They told me that they are consider upgrading my next flight (to Burma). Unsatisfied, and then I sucessfully argued my way into an hour using the internet in the business lounge, after a long empassioned speech about service levels and customer satisfaction.
I am tempted to raid the buffet, but I sense that they might arrest me.
After an easy flight, I got here and spent the next hour complaining about awful service and asking for a voucher or upgrade. They told me that they are consider upgrading my next flight (to Burma). Unsatisfied, and then I sucessfully argued my way into an hour using the internet in the business lounge, after a long empassioned speech about service levels and customer satisfaction.
I am tempted to raid the buffet, but I sense that they might arrest me.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Off to Myanmar....
I'm off.
I returned to Phnom Penh on friday morning on a quick and painless Vietnam Airlines flight, sitting next to a Laotian/Khmer-American couple from Seattle. I spent the afternoon at the office tying up loose ends.
I'll fly out of Phnom Penh this morning, stop in Bangkok (what does one do in the Bangkok Airport for 6 hours?), and arrive in Yangon (formerly Rangoon) in the early evening.
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