Wow.. an intense few days here in Phnom Phen. First our day at the killing feilds and the S-21 genocide museum. An emotionally harrowing experience to say the least. You come away from it, along with many other things, with a sense that the grief of the people is not just for the deaths of their families, not just for the dehumanization and horror, but for the loss of their culture- the khmer culture which they say strecthed back to the beginings of civilization here and once had it's epoch in the contruction of the ankor wat temple- one of the wonders of the world. The khmer rouge tried to destroy it, destroy the pride of cambodia, they burnt the markets, temples, schools, they spat on heritage and despised the love that keeps a people together. People admit quite frankly that this process sent them back to the stone age and they are just begining to recover now.
It was a soothing experience to that night have dinner at "Friends" restuarant and see that recovery in operation. "Friends" is one part of a school which teaches reformed street kids to speak english and work the service industry. Yes, this kind of training is just another facet of globalization, but honestly, the way things are going i think it's the best bet for these kids. The wonderful thing about this organization is the irreverant, leftist tone the managment seems to take. The restaurant is plastered with anti-bush sentiment, anti-imperialist cartoons and awareness information about the horrors of the child sex industry, the folly of handouts to beggars and street kids, and the inextricable link between cooruption high up and poverty on the street. This atmosphere is wonderful, plus the kids who run the restaurant are great and the food (western and asian tapas) is a great break from the norm.
That night, as we sat at on the terrace of a french restaurant drinking wine, harranged constantly by beggars and street kids, i started to feel a harsh sore throat and runny nose come on. Maybe, i thought, brought on by the dust and pollution in the city.
By the next morning the top of my throat was totally inflamed. We went and had breakfast and i started to feel really awful. Genevieve convinced me to go get a massage, which was nice, but i felt like i might have to dash out to the bathroom at any second. Back at the hotel i just collapsed and felt very ill. My temperature soared and i couldnt keep anything in my body. It was another case of "What is it?" Food poisoning? Dengue? the plague? chronic boboe? Genevieve, as whenever im sick went into full-on nurse/mommy mode, which helped but i was still miserable for the next twenty hours. G went out looking for tylenol and finally came back after trying three places with some prescription fever reducer. By the time she got back I was giddy and kind of spun from the fever. I took the pills and she read to me from Henry Miller. I slept through the night and when i woke up my fever was gone. It took another day in bed to get my strength back but today i feel just about fine.
We're walking around today, heading for the national palace, and tommorow were going to take the bus to Seam Reap, to ankor wat. More pictures when we can find a scanner.
Id also like to give a special shout out to the Mass Detpartment of transitional assistance, who's lack of internal coordination and non-reciprication with the federal government made this all possible. Gentlemen, to evil!