Khmer Lessons

I had this entire entry written out MONTHS ago on my old computer extolling my linguistic genius, but alas.  I was forcibly divested of it before I had the chance to publish it.  So I'll just write an updated version now.

Basically, I've now been taking Khmer language lessons for about a year and a half.  I haven't been studying much--it's sort of my afternoon hobby; for $5 per hour, I take a class once a day.

I don't practice much outside of class, largely because people address me in English anyway and most of what I do has become habitual, routine, and non-interactive.  Note that I think this is kind of sad, but currently lack the inspiration to do otherwise.

I've still managed to develop basic communication skills that could probably save my life if I were stranded in the backwoods.  That's not saying a lot, mind you, but considering the (lack of) effort I put into it--and my inability to speak the Arabic I studied for 5 years in college--I consider this an achievement.

Actually, my capacities to speak far exceed my capacities to listen, meaning I start shooting off my mouth in order to cover my incompetence in registering what people say.  I'm currently to the point where I've got a basic system down (I know all the basic grammar), but my vocabulary is so stunted that it inhibits me from reaching the next level.  I'm also completely illiterate, which is finally starting to annoy me.

I'll use the rest of this space for some tips on speaking a foreign language.

- I like to repeat whatever someone says to me.  This appears to show a sincere interest in the other person, but actually it's a method of buying time to think and pretending like you understand when you don't.
- Whatever word you pick up on, respond to that one.  If you understand the nature of the interaction, you don't even have to understand the words at all, and you'll still be right.

Just wait till I tell you the one about dengue fever.

Droppin in on Sri Lanka

Well, sorry folks.

I had to drop back in on Sri Lanka for a week.  (Even I can afford to do this when I take Cathay Pacific's crap 2 am flight from Bangkok for 220 USD.  Despite the chauvinism expressed by their marketing department, I actually thought the service was quite OK.)

Why did I do that?  Well, I didn't say anything about it last time, but while I was in Sigiriya last time, I somehow became appended to a local family and I thought I'd drop in on them while I still had the chance.

It didn't work out, actually, but never mind.  Here are some quick photos I took while I was there.

The guesthouse where we stayed

Jungly things

I went back to Anaradhapura, where I got lost last time.  I wanted to see the world's oldest cared-for tree, which is said to have been a clipping of the boddhi tree under which the Buddha  received enlightenment.  How cool is that?  My sense of history was engaged; problem is, I didn't get to visit last time due to getting lost.  So I hopped the first bus to Anaradhapura and visited for the afternoon:

A dome

Lovelorn monkey

Here it is...the clipping of the tree under which the Buddha received enlightenment.

Another view

Another view.  No, I did not go inside.

I forget what this is

Damn green country

Dirty jungle river

I had about $125 that I lived off of the entire time I was there.  Then I took the bus home from Bangkok in a glorious display of 48-hour long endurance.

So, it is possible to travel if you're poor.  Just a word of affirmation for those who think they don't have the money to travel.

Bangcock.

Tonight I'm in Bangkok yet again.

Why, you ask?  Well, because I enjoy torturing myself  by putting myself through the hell that is the night bus to Poipet, the on-foot border crossing, and the navigation through the largest (and least friendly) city in a developing country.  That, and I'm headed back to Sri Lanka again.

Before you ask me why a second time, I'll just cut the conversation short.  Get to that part later.

You're probably worried about this situation because of all the stuff in the news about riots and uprisings and protests and stuff.  Fear not!  The fighting is not in my part of the city, though tourism is all but halted and the streets have been taken over by protesters blaring their stuff out for the cheering masses.  Normally buzzing after dark, a dark silence the curbside market places despite the blaring loudspeakers.

I went to Siam Square only to find the streets blocked off and filled with tents.  People are more or less not budging from this spot till their demands are served!  Major arteries are now protest sites.  I regret that I didn't bring a camera, but you can get a good look at it here:
http://www.travelfish.org/blogs/thailand/2014/01/15/whats-bangkok-really-like-during-the-shutdown/

Also, I bought this shirt:

Shut Down Bangkok!
That's what I say.
The protesters' goals are similar to mine.

It was pretty cool to wander the streets without masses of tourists for a change.  And interesting!  These are the forces that are shaping our world, folks.

There are also plenty of armed soldiers behind sandbags, but given the state that my hometown of Phnom Penh is in, I can't complain...or even summon the energy to feel awed, threatened, or mildly interested.

Actually, the only thing I can do is pray that Thailand gets what's coming to it.  If the entire country and all its people went down in flames, that would scarcely be comeuppance enough.  I bought a shitload of things (which I now have to drag through Sri Lanka with me) because I ponder the state of the city when I return in two weeks.