observations Feb- March 07

Feb-March 07

Hi from Elmo,

Elmo loves telling tales on Joanna. She was away for 2 weeks in February mostly for work but Joanna was at times the cliché of remote-living-lass-gone-to-the-big smoke and there were too many nights when she did not get home until 2am. On a (supposedly) quiet night in the noisy backpackers hostel where Joanna stays, she met Greg ….. a classic drinking with strangers moment that only people who travel lots can know. And Elmo knows – comes from being friends with Joanna, not cos Elmo also makes friends with strangers ….

Ya just gotta, gotta, gotta check out Greg’s great blog. And especially see from another writer’s perspective what 24 hours is like in Cambodia. Well Elmo is exaggerating about 24 hours but Greg’s trip in Cambodia very different to Elmo’s. (psst Elmo didn’t meet Greg but Elmo thinks that Greg must be okay cos he gives some compliments to Joanna – Elmo is a bit biased. Joanna is calling out from the balcony here at home that actually Elmo’s talking about her habit of drinking with strangers is breaking some rule …. Elmo is ignoring her!)

#21 Holiday in Cambodia is a must read, but check out the other stories. Elmo’s fave is the Whiskey in a Jar title, from time in Laos
http://www.getjealous.com/lothar

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BBC covered a big story about a ‘jungle woman’ who came back to a village after some amazing number of years living in the jungle. Elmo wants to know was it covered in Aust? If yes, then that story is from the Ratanakiri province where we live.

It seems a very sad story and there is still no definitive true story. Either the woman really did live in the jungle and for some reason was running out of food and so she began to steal food and village people set up a watch so as to catch the thief or, likely but also not verified, is that she is mentally ill and was kept as a prisoner somewhere and for some reason was stealing food or accused of stealing food and so then in some bizarre journo twist has found herself in the middle of an international media circus.

Elmo wishes the woman well and hopes that there is peace in her future

…………….

Joanna commutes about 5-10 minutes to her current workplace on her little 100cc moto. She has taken recently, in the past few months, wearing more skirts and dresses instead of the practical cotton slacks. Elmo has discussed with Joanna that one day her skirt is going to blow up and its going to be like when in a cartoon, when the windscreen of a car comes undone and the driver is unable to see the road; except it will be Joanna showing way tooooo much to the locals and her fighting fabric and trying to see where she is going. They are long skirts almost to the ankle!!! And one even has frills in wonderful Asian style. Elmo also disapproves of Joanna’s habit of wearing long dangling earrings and then tucking them up under the helmet on the way to work.

Joanna ignores Elmo sometimes but Elmo is just trying to be helpful

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Joanna here to add, if I return to Australia will I get a motorbike license and progress to a 250cc bike or will I stick to a pushbike? Can’t imagine ever owning a car but I know weirder things happen.

Anyone offering to see if they can remind me what a motorbike clutch is …… ?? my little 100cc scooter is more like a bumblebee motor added to a bicycle! Has no brakes, useless lights, no fuel gauge, no speedo, has 4 gears and certainly no clutch

………..

Today at lunch there were 5 fave expats sharing gossip. Joanna got a toast for announcing her leaving her current organisation in 10 week’s time. Everyone was sickenly positive and no-one can imagine us being homeless.

But there was also a funny joke about how she will leave the volunteer budget lifestyle and go world-bank-employee-money-lifestyle and soon be turning up in a “road train of a 4WD” to use Ben’s excellent turn of phrase. So Elmo is here to say that while Joanna queries about getting her motorbike license in Australia local expats are already teasing that she will renounce motoscooters and will soon be into fuel guzzling, people mowing, huge 4WDs

Possibly since none of you have seen that the expats who drive such vehicles are mostly awful, yucky, pretentious people working for unethical world bank projects, so Elmo’s comments might not make sense?

Things I doubt/disbelieve

# I live in remote corner of Cambodia and yet now have internet at home. Am I really re-connected to virtual world on daily basis? A world of daily news, bad blogs, uni research, recipes such as pumpkin scones and trivia like what does/did the dodo look like?

# Did a quiet politician get sacked for a 20 min convo but are ministers in charge of United Nation’s biggest corruption fraud (Aust wheat) still in office?

# Will I ever find a way to describe how good Ratanakiri cashews are; which is the current cash crop bringing both positive and negative change to indigenous people?

# is there a cultural appropriate way to use locally woven fabric into outfits for myself?

# Can it be I’ve forgotten the awfulness of Australian drought? Here its only 2 months until wet season – its taken for granted rains will come after 6 month absence. I write this as there is thunder lightening and a hint of rain – only 8 more weeks until smell that smell. Australia’s heartbreak of drought not forgotten, not really

#10 mins later, as writing this, big rain drops falling. Smells so peculiar – lifts the dust and dust in my nose but also smells good and coolish

to think all of wet season just around the corner

Written Saturday 17^th March

Note:

Proving me wrong twice over!!

My phone bought with the GPRS feature that makes internet possible at home has died so I am back to limited internet connection in short periods at work

and

It rained so much last night that roads are slippery and muddy and it is hard to believe that we will go back to dry season dust. But colleagues are all guessing this unseasonal rain will be over soon and that we get the dusty red of dry season

Written Tuesday 20^th March (Katrina-Jae’s birthday)