Lost in translation...

My three Push Pull co-workers (Leigh & Kongkea) and I were discussing our expenses at our village office today. Since we just opened this office there are things we need to buy so that the weavers can work. Kongkea, who is Khmer, was running down the list of needs. His english is pretty good, but...

He says to Leigh and me, "I need money for a ho."
Leighs responds, "A what?"
Kongkea, "A ho."
Leigh and I give him a weird look.
Kongkea, "You know, a ho to bring the water from the well."
Leigh, "A ho-SE Kongkea. Ho is a bad word."

Cambodia I’m here to stay (for a year)

I left the good ole’ USA on December 31, 2009, set on exploring Southeast Asia and hoping to make a difference by volunteering in Cambodia. Who would have thought(well, some of my friends actually predicted), that my gig volunteering for the Ikat weaving project would turn into a full-time, paid job, that requires me to LIVE in Cambodia! (Yes folks, my 4 month trip has now turned into over a year-long stay.)

My work on the Ikat project involved developing the brand strategy, marketing plans for selling the product into the US, creating website plans, and helping a bit on product development and sample making. When the donor (my new boss), Dan, came to town the end of March I was able to present my plans to him. We also were discussing how we could launch the product in the US Market by May 2011 amidst production issues—weavers in Takeo (hub of weaving in Cambodia) are having some troubles transitioning to weaving in cotton versus their normal silk.

Through all of these conversations Dan said he liked my work and what Leigh (the current AMAZING project manager) and I had done to push the project forward. He then made me an offer to join the team (and be paid).

At hearing his offer I was extremely excited at the opportunity to contribute my skills for longer than 3- months and gain more experience—I mean, one of the sole reasons I set off on my volunteer expedition was to do some soul searching to discover if working in a developing country was something I could really do long term.

On the other side however, I was scared out of my wits! An opportunity was thrown my way that I would dream about, but now that it was reality I was stressed to the max because I wasn’t sure if I could handle living in Cambodia for a year.

So being who I am, I had to toil for days in making a decision. My tics went haywire—they had pretty much been dormant, sleepless nights, a dozen pro and con lists, and numerous conversations with family and friends. My brother reminded me that it would be like investing in a master’s degree without the $100K debt. My sister Jodi said of course you should go for it; it’s an amazing opportunity (all the while saying of course she would REALLY miss me!). My parents were sending me lots of prayers and support. And my friend Elizabeth reminded me during one of our ritual Sunday poolside conversations at the Golden Banana, that my favorite social philanthropist and hero, Greg Mortensen (Author of Three Cups of Tea), would just jump in and do what needed to get done because in the end it was a for the purpose of helping others who really need it.

So for one more sleepless night, a conversation with my parents and sister, I decided that OF COURSE I would take the job. I’d been fantasizing about creating businesses for women in developing countries forever. And now, here was the chance!
Now I’m jumping in, not just feet first, but with my whole body and mind. It will be a crazy, amazing, frustrating, exhilarating, tiresome year, but the pay-off is worth it!

I am now an official employee of Push Pull Cambodia. My mission: To launch a social enterprise in Cambodia providing long-term, stable employment to weavers in Takeo Province and seamstresses in Siem Reap.

Ready, set, GO!

Here's my new home/office.

22 Kids and Me

Besides volunteering my time at CFI, I spend a few days a week at the Missionaries of Charities Orphanage. It’s a fabulous, lovingly run orphanage by the Sisters of the MOC order (the same order as sainted Mother Teresa).

The children range in age from 6 months to 6 years old, with one 12 year old as the exception. Most of the kids are 1 to 3 years old. There are 22 kids, of which two have cerebral palsy. They bring a special brightness to the orphanage. Sokha is a 12 year old girl with a big heart who LOVES to take walks with me and wear my flip-flops; Samna is a 6-year old boy with a severe case of CP. He cannot walk and talk, but his eyes light up with love and recognition.

While there, I try to spend one-on-one time with Samna, doing exercises to stretch his tense muscles and feed him his lunch or dinner. One of the most wonderful things about Samna is his smile. He lights up when other kids come and touch him or say his name. His smile is enough to brighten anyone’s day!

One thing I learned working at the MOC with Samna and Sokha is that there is a high rate of cerebral palsy in Cambodia. During child birth many women in remote villages do not get to the hospital and there are complications at birth that cause CP. Samna has a twin brother that was not affected during child birth and now lives with an adoptive mother in Bali. My friend Hassan, who volunteers at the orphanage too, told me of a family that has 4 kids with CP! Since this is a developing country there aren’t programs or even hospitals that have extensive knowledge about CP. Luckily there is an American woman with a big heart who is working on starting a center for kids with CP. It’s in its infancy so more to come…

On the flip-side of the calmness of Samna is the craziness of an orphanage that is 75% babies/toddlers. New York City rush hour has nothing on these kids! The sisters and the caretakers are so wonderful and full of love and patience. However, the kids are still craving attention. Many volunteers come and the kids flock to them to be hung on to and hugged. There is always madness in the playroom! You try to teach the kids to share (which is hard when you don’t speak their language), but toy “stealing” inevitably occurs and outbreaks of tears start everywhere. As a volunteer and westerner you have to learn to be patient. It’s key to remember that these kids have it VERY different… they don’t have their own toys as we did growing up. So when they are using a toy at that moment it is THEIRS.

I will admit that I started some madness on my own… Chaos ensued today when I brought fun coloring sheets (that my dad drew for the kids) and crayons. What I thought would be a fun afternoon of coloring quickly turned into crayon havoc! You can definitely tell that I am a “girl from an office” who didn’t even think of what would happen when you give toddlers crayons. Let’s just say that they started off coloring (aka scribbling) on the drawings. Soon there was crayon hording, while others decided to show their artistic capabilities on the floor and wall. Some crayons were even mistaken as “candy”. By the end, of the 48 crayons I brought, about 5 were usable in the future. The kids had a BLAST and I learned a lesson: color time with toddlers’ means sitting at a table in an organized fashion, not randomly in playroom. Taking responsibility for my actions though, I dutifully got the mop and bucket and cleaned the floor and walls until they sparkled like new again!

Want to know how you can help?
The orphanage is always in need of donations of money or supplies (kid’s clothes, toys for toddlers, medicines, etc.). If you would like to help them out just let me know.

Sorry no pics… they don’t like photos taken at orphanage. It only exploits the kids.

Weaving in Takeo

As part of my volunteering with CFI, I took a trip to the Takeo Province in southeast Cambodia to visit the weavers who make all of the fabric. Takeo is a poor province south of Phnom Penh. It’s a flat, tan countryside, with strokes of green from rice paddies and coconut trees. Driving along the bumpy, dirt roads you are welcomed by Cambodians waving hello from under their bamboo stilted homes. As you look closer at each home you’ll notice that there is at least one loom, many times two or three.

Takeons are famous for their Ikat weaving. Every little girl and sometimes the boys know how to weave. While I was there I went from house to house to visit many of the weavers and dyers who make the fabric for our project. They are truly artists! They don’t use electrical machines at all—everything is done by wooden looms, the old fashioned way.

The process of making Ikat is very labor intensive. It’s not until you actually see it being made that you truly appreciate the skill and love that goes into each piece of fabric. You quickly realize too that these women are undercutting their profits in the market! They put many days and hours into the fabric and barely sell their work for anything. That’s where CFI comes in.

CFI is working with the weavers in Takeo to create cotton Ikat fabric (versus silk that they usually make) to be sold into the western fashion and home décor market. The goal is to sell modern, quality fabric, where the profits are fed back into the community—the weavers themselves will make a fair profit that actually accounts for all the hours they put into their work, as well, monies will be used for community projects around the village. We also want to train them in simple business practices that will allow them to understand how to account for their expenses and make a profit from what they sell. These are skills that many did not learn as they stopped going to school around age 13.

We are very lucky to be working with the AMAZING and INSPIRING Elizabeth Keister, owner and fashion designer for Wanderlust. She designs her apparel and has it all made here in Cambodia by various NGOs. She is the creative director for our project, helping CFI to create the fresh, bold designs. (Read more about her inspirational story…)

Here’s a little about the process, but it doesn’t BEGIN to capture the full scope.
- Buy cotton
- Dye cotton with natural or chemical free dye

- Weavers tie the cotton with the Ikat design (think tie-dying)

- Dye cotton again
- Sometimes the cotton goes back for another round of tying and then back for dying
- Set up the warp on the loom (about 3 days)


- Spin cotton


- Begin weaving on the loom—depending on the design and length it can take anywhere from 1 day to weeks/months to finish a piece of fabric.

VW Mania in Laos

Spotted in Vientienne... Vintage Bugs and other snazzy VW's.

Ancient wisdom discovered thru Tug-of-War

Kids on a field trip at the Temple of Literature in Hanoi. Ancient wisdom says that Tug-of-War is essential in learning the ancient Chinese script.

Hanoi Frogger

I had heard about the infamous Hanoi traffic even before arriving on the bus. The words of advice bestowed on me were, “Never look back, only move forward, then they won’t hit you.” When I first saw the millions of motorbikes, all whizzing by our bus, beep, beep, beeping their horns I thought, there is no way I’m NOT going to get hit here. It was chaos like I’d never seen before. Traffic lights meant nothing as moving objects moved at free will and drove on either side of the road. Pedestrian crossings were rare—all were advised to cross the street at their own risk.

I realized when I got off the bus that I was going to have to brave this traffic as a biped. So I held my breath, looked forward, and took my first step into oncoming motorbikes… Moto bike 1 passed , phew, pause, EEKS!, almost hit, keep MOVING, phew , OH NO, bike coming from other way, hurry forward, deep breath, only 5 more bikes to clear, the sidewalk is in view… REJOICE! I made it across! The feeling was exhilarating. I conquered Hanoi traffic—I was a real-life “Frogger”.

After my virgin street crossing I felt confident. I had an instant high, knowing that I could defeat any traffic coming my way!

What double-white lines?

The adventure began after we passed through no man’s land, paid our $1 border entry fee (a.k.a. bribe), and headed down the Ho Chi Minh Trail. We were now in Vietnam, a mysterious and unexplored place to me. The bus wound down the lush green mountain road. All was normal until we hit flat land…

In one turn of a switch the ever present beep-beep of the car, truck, and motorbike horns began. It was used as the constant reminder to their fellow drivers that I am passing you from behind or driving head on to you in your lane of traffic. I quickly realized traffic laws were non-existent.

Motorbikes whizzed by the bus, weaving in and out of cars and fellow moto riders. Buses and cars would pass the motorbikes, other cars, buses and trucks even with oncoming cars within 3 cars lengths, never minding the double-white lines. As a driver I thought these lines universally meant “do not pass”. Obviously, I was wrong… it means pass whenever you feel into oncoming traffic, with a bus-load of passengers.

The bus ride adventure lasted 13 hours as we drove to Hanoi. Eventually I had to succumb to the craziness of the ride—I had a false sense of security, I thought I was safe and invincible from all other cars. (this is the same feeling I had when I started to think New York cab rides were “safe”.) I was briefly jostled from this “safe haven” when our driver took a wrong detour in a construction zone, and literally was driving down the wrong side of the road. He realized 30 seconds in and then proceeded to stop, put the bus in reverse, and navigate backwards to the other side of the road. All I could do is cover my eyes and look out the side window.

We finally made it safely to Hanoi. I quickly realized though, my overland bus trip was only the beginning…

Last night in Laos

Lovely Laos. Everything about it is amazing--the people are warm and friendly, the landscape is breathtaking, and of course, the food is scrumptious! My last night in Laos turned out to be one of my favorite experiences...

That morning we left Vientane (the capital of Laos) for the 6 hour bus ride to the border town of Lak Xao (Vietnam was our next destination). Lak Xao is supposed to be the "quintessential" Laos city. A.k.a... A model communist city where everything is in order and propaganda is played out in reality.

I wasn't feeling well that day, but once we arrived I pulled myself together and pushed through. After all it was my only night here! The first stop was the market. Every city in Southeast Asia has a market. Depending on where you are they can be tourist centric or more geared towards the locals. The "local" markets are of course the most interesting. Entering the market all you see is a sea of people under mutli colored tents. Stall owners (mainly women) are busy serving their customers and exchanging money. When the "visitors" come by they are quick to say "sa-by-dea ka" (hello) and offer you their merchandise at the lucky day price. As you wander through the market you get a glimpse at the neccessities of a Laos person's life: fruits, veggies, fish, rice, socks, hats galore. That day I was walking down a narrow aisle and I was stunned to see dead rats lying on the table. No these weren't rats caught foraging for food, rather they were there to purchase. Yes, to eat. You could get skin yourelf rats or skinned rats that were grilled. I was shocked, disgusted, but fascinated at the same time! Being a New Yorker, rats are only to be seen on the subway and never in a restaurant. I was disgusted at the site, yet I wanted to stare at them -- I think it was my disbelief!

After the excitement of the rats in the market, we headed to more tame environs... A local English school where we spent time with the students to help them practice their English. I was introduced to 3 teenage boys who were all eager to practice what they had learned in class. After we introduced ourselves and found out each other's ages--they were very sweet when they feigned being shock at learning my age of 35, they thought I was much younger--we got into real conversation. Their first question to me was typical of many Southeast Asians... "Are you married?" , me "No", "Do you have a boyfriend?", me "No." Usually it was women who asked this so it was a new experience to be asked this by teenage boys. Again their expression was shock, but in a nice, sweet way:) We used broken English and a little writing on paper but we found out a lot about each other. The boys all had mopeds, liked to play soccer. One was a guitar player in his spare time and wanted to be policeman. Another hoped to be a pilot someday. None of them had girlfriends...yet!

We only stayed a half hour at the school. It certainly was not long enough. It was very inspiring to see kids trying very hard to learn my language because they know it will only help them more in their future.

The midnight train to Georgia (oops, I mean Chiang Mai)

Somewhere between Bangkok & Chiang Mai, January 4/5, 2010
We all loaded up our packs (somehow, mine seems heavier than when I left and I haven't purchsed a thing!) and headed to the train station. We boarded the train and I found my compartment--#23 the top bunk. Yes, a bunk bed. Think cabin camping but on a train. Before I climbed up to bed for the night I had to still do my nightly ritual... brush teeth, wash face, and go to the bathroom. I was NOT expecting this... When I opened the bathroom door, there on the floor was a hole in the ground. Hmmm, this was going to be interesting! So, the good sport that I am and of course wanting to have the "true" Thai experience, I pulled down my pants and "squatted"! On a side note, I must say I was pleasantly surprised at how clean this bathroom stays. Amtrak should be ashamed!

So I slept through the night waking up sharply at 7 am. Yes, I'm jumping out of bed at 7 am every am. I think it's actually Bizarro joellen here in Thailand! There was a little snafu during the night with the train. The diesel engine broke down so they had to bring in a replacement engine. So now, instead of a 13 hour ride getting in at 7 am it was going to be 15 hours. Nok had forewarned us that the train could be 1-2 hours late getting in -- it's the Thai way. 5 hours is a bit more, but hey, it's all part of the experience. Right?

Being late allowed me to take in the beautiful Thai countryside. Mountains in the background, a blue sky hovering farm fields with grazing cows and small little towns with people milling about, even a little girl about 3 or 4 waving and blowing kisses to all of us on the train. Breathtaking!

Working out the kinks

Zut alor! I have been in Bangkok for 2 days and still no Thai massage? I quickly remedied that. For 260 Bhat (about $7.5) I got an hour and half Thai massage. HEAVEN!

From Bangkok with Love!

January 2... I arrive in Bangkok. Now my trip was truly beginning. In my cab ride
from the airport I was like a kid in the candy store taking in all of the sites but
not able to soak it all in. Mopeds were whizzing by with whole families on them(yes, 4 people... mom, dad, a kid in front and a kid in the middle), The King and Queen's photos posted on every block, teak houses next to tall apartment buildings, and Thai billboards promoting the latest phone with Facebook Twitter accessibility!

My cab driver was a nice man, but I think I dissappointed him just a bit because I couldn't speak a lick of Thai. He was a good sport and was trying to teach me some phrases, but mainly I just looked at him blankly. I'm chalking that up to the 1 hour time lag I was on... I fancy myself pretty astute at picking things up! Must start practicing.

My hotel was in the old city--a block away from Khao San road (the famous street with vendors galore selling to backpackers). Coming to that area on my first day was a bit disorienting and disappointing. It was like being in Time Square at rush hour and everyone was just like you. Was this what Bangkok was like? Maybe it was just my nerves and jet leg pushing me to the brink of frustration?

Luckily, I slept off my nervous energy and started Day 2 with some laps in the pool. I was now ready to set off and explore Bangkok by foot. As I began my walking tour a nice Thai man was gracious enough to point out all of the key sites I should see and pointed out that Wat Phra Krae and the Grand Palace weren't open til 2pm. But if I took a tut tut for 20BHT I could see many other sites before going there. Good thing a) I wanted to walk because that's the best way to explore and b) Being a New Yorker I'm a skeptic of people approaching me on the street. Turns out, he was a scam artist that tells tourists Wats aren't open and gets them to pay for a never ending tut tut ride. Phew!

Following my own path I found my Bangkok groove. For a good hour I was the only white girl on the street. I was in and out of stores and restaurants where the locals frequented. I began to fit right in when I started crossing the street like a Thai. Basically the walking signs never change in Bangkok, so you can be stuck at a light for 15 minutes if you are not assertive. I soon realized (well, 2 or 3 lights later) that I just have to take crossing the streets into my own hands. So I followed the lead of the men and women of Bangkok and crossed when there was a lull in traffic!

I finally I made it to the Wat Phra Kaew and Grand Palace. Sure enough it had been open all day! It was stunning and serene. It was a Sunday so all the Thai's were out showing their devotion to the Buddha making offerings of gold paper and coins.

Eventually I made my way to a market selling fruits, veggies, everyday wares and of course pad thai! I had my first street helping of pad thai and I didn't get sick! It was the best I ever had! I even had a star spotting at the market (well, a D list spotting). Rick Fox, former NBA player/Vanessa William's x hubby) was spotted video tapping the market on his iphone. Of course he wasn't hard to spot, seen as he was the only 6'5' man in all of Bangkok!

That evening I met my fellow Intrepid Travelers. I would be starting my 15 day tour through northern Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam with them. It's a great group of Aussies, a Kiwi, and a fellow American from LA. Our leader, Nok, is a very cool Thai woman. It's going to be a good trip!

On Monday AM we hopped on a long tail boat to tour the canals of Bangkok. Like everywhere in Bangkok safety comes first (adults are always wearing their helmets on their mopeds, helmet are only optional for small children) so we had to wear our life jackets on the boat (yes, really!). I was struck most by the juxtaposition of the homes along the canals. You would have large teak homes, some mansions, next to wooden shacks that looked like they would fall in the water at any moment. It was amazing that two different socio-economic worlds could be so close to each other. Not something you usually see at home.

Finally we made our way to Wat Pho. It contains the sleepping Budha. The largest Buddha in Bangkok. I was in awe! This towering golden Budha starring down at you was magical. It was the perfect way to end my time in Bangkok!