In my last blog I forgot to mention that we would be painting the school, which is interesting because its what took up almost all of our time. Let me fill you in...
OKay so, I was elected the head director of the painting project, by which I mean I pretended to know how to paint stuff, and Hatch and Nibbs pretended to listen. Anyway, my nickname for the week was 'Painter's Son' and let me just say this, I represented Broadbent Painting hardcore... BY which I mean I was a perfectionist, and often had to remind myself that having walls with drips on them is not the end of the world...
But this experience was not so much about self-discovery. Rather, I gained a lot of insight into my father. Now, we all love Dave. He is a silly man, and his sense of humor is unlike anyone I know. But after painting for 4 hours straight, in an enclosed room, with no mask, I began to understand the secret to his goofiness. Paint fumes! Nibbs sang, Hatch danced, and I managed to dance, sing, and have an ongoing monologue... It was incredible.
Painting does not seem like a very exhausting activity. You move a roller, or pull a paintbrush along a board, and the paint sticks. And a few days later you've got a house with a fresh coat of paint on it... But it is not that easy... There are corners, and crannies, nooks and nodules, highs and lows, and it is all far from easy.
Painting is also very, very messy. At the end of everyday we would all be covered with splotches of paint. Sometimes they would appear in places that seemed impossible: in an armpit, in the middle of your back, on the inside of my hat. And how do you clean paint off your body when in Cambodia? Why Gasoline of course. And it works, incredibly well, though the gasoline fumes mixed with paint fumes is... Well, it was pretty bad.
Here are two pieces of advice if you ever decide to paint something:
1. Get different rollers for the different colors of paint. We neglected to do this, and as a result, the inside rooms (which were supposed to be white) ended up having a cloud-like appearance to them. It turned out well, and the patterns are actually kind of cool, but... we got lucky.
2. Make sure you buy the same color paint if you run out. Luckily, we finished the first coat of one room, before we had to buy our second bucket. The second room turned out to be an eggshell white, which also turned out to be kind of cool. But still, I wóuld recommend making sure you buy the same color.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Backpack!!!
I would like to take a second to imbue onto you a very important lesson I learned this past week: When in Cambodia you should make sure you do two things if you don't want to lose anything. First, you must always remember to keep an eye on your belongings, and never let someone else take care of it, even if you know them well. Second, make sure it is always in a safe place, (the roof of a car is not a safe place.)
I failed to do both of these things and as a result some lucky Cambodian person has a brand new back pack, equipped with a roll of duct tape, an infrequently used retainer, two pens (one of which is broken), two bracelets (óne with Ellie, the other with Harry embroidered in it), a bottle of Ibuprofen, a chinese cell phone with a cambodian SIM card, and a Camera chock full of pictures of someones trip to CHina...
Oh yes, I lost my backpack. And oh yes, my camera was in it... And why of course, it was put on the top of the car, and later fell off on to the road... And no, I did not find it... But gosh darn it! I was doing so well this trip...
I failed to do both of these things and as a result some lucky Cambodian person has a brand new back pack, equipped with a roll of duct tape, an infrequently used retainer, two pens (one of which is broken), two bracelets (óne with Ellie, the other with Harry embroidered in it), a bottle of Ibuprofen, a chinese cell phone with a cambodian SIM card, and a Camera chock full of pictures of someones trip to CHina...
Oh yes, I lost my backpack. And oh yes, my camera was in it... And why of course, it was put on the top of the car, and later fell off on to the road... And no, I did not find it... But gosh darn it! I was doing so well this trip...
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
The next period of no-blogging
Tomorrow we are headed back to the plantation to finish the project. And once again I will be in the middle of the Cambodian Jungle with no way of updating you guys on my trip. So, let me leave yuo with a few thoughts and an outlne of what we have left to do.
The walls will be tackled simoultaneously as the windows and doors. It will probably take us two days.
After the walls are up, and we can official say that the school is done we will begin the process of clearing the area around it, and marking it with a fence. The fence will be comprised of meter high cement pillars, spaced thirty meters apart. Its function is not so much to keep people out, but to mark the schools land so that people don't try to sell it. It has happened before.
While we are doing the fence, some of our helpers from the village will also be building an outside play area for the kids. It will be a pretty simple structure with a roof, and no walls. It will allow the kids to play in the shade.
In finale we will build two more things. A small Buddhist Shrine, which teh cheif of the village sees as a necessity, and a sign.
A couple thoughts:
- 2 more weeks! I will be home in just 2 weeks. I know it has been hard, but the three month Ben Broadbent drout is about to end! I can't wait!!!
- I am feeling better, much better. Of course I do have a feeling that my sickness is on a 36 hour cycle. Hopefully not...
Stay Golden, Ponyboy.
The walls will be tackled simoultaneously as the windows and doors. It will probably take us two days.
After the walls are up, and we can official say that the school is done we will begin the process of clearing the area around it, and marking it with a fence. The fence will be comprised of meter high cement pillars, spaced thirty meters apart. Its function is not so much to keep people out, but to mark the schools land so that people don't try to sell it. It has happened before.
While we are doing the fence, some of our helpers from the village will also be building an outside play area for the kids. It will be a pretty simple structure with a roof, and no walls. It will allow the kids to play in the shade.
In finale we will build two more things. A small Buddhist Shrine, which teh cheif of the village sees as a necessity, and a sign.
A couple thoughts:
- 2 more weeks! I will be home in just 2 weeks. I know it has been hard, but the three month Ben Broadbent drout is about to end! I can't wait!!!
- I am feeling better, much better. Of course I do have a feeling that my sickness is on a 36 hour cycle. Hopefully not...
Stay Golden, Ponyboy.
The Haircut
So this morning, after the haze of the new haircut feeling I have noticed a couple things about my hair:
1. DO you remember Eddy from 'Step by Step'? He was the goofy next door neighbor... Well, with my new cut, I could totally have stood in as his double.
2. My Chops. I respect sideburns, and I envy those that can pull them off. But I can't. Mostly because I still can't grow a legit beard. And anyone who has grown a beard remembers the days when they had those random bald spots, under their chin, beneath their jaw, etc. Well, one of my bald spots is right in the place where my right side burn is supposed to start. It looks pretty silly. UNfortunately I had to shave them off... Super bummer.
1. DO you remember Eddy from 'Step by Step'? He was the goofy next door neighbor... Well, with my new cut, I could totally have stood in as his double.
2. My Chops. I respect sideburns, and I envy those that can pull them off. But I can't. Mostly because I still can't grow a legit beard. And anyone who has grown a beard remembers the days when they had those random bald spots, under their chin, beneath their jaw, etc. Well, one of my bald spots is right in the place where my right side burn is supposed to start. It looks pretty silly. UNfortunately I had to shave them off... Super bummer.
My Cambodian Thanksgiving
Well, it wasn't as bad as I had feared. It was actually pretty good. And that is all because of a Cambodia cooking angel.
Patrick, Nibbs, and The Hatch ran into her when they were in Phnom Penh for an NGO conference (Pippo and I stayed back at the PLantation to hold down the fort- or rather, build it up). Anyway this woman is married to na Frenchman, and is an incredible cook.
Breakfast:
Banana Pancakes and Cereal! Booyah. Wheaties has nothing on that.
Lunch:
Standard Noodles. But they were extra delicious.
Dinner:
Fried Chicken. Like KFC style. MM MM gooood. Mashed Potatoes (aka Mashed deliciousness) and CEREAL!!! BOooyaaahh.
At dinner we sat around and said what we were thankful for. We were all thankful for the experience, and for sharing it with good people. I was also thankful for the ability to drink legally! Booyaaaah!!!
Patrick, Nibbs, and The Hatch ran into her when they were in Phnom Penh for an NGO conference (Pippo and I stayed back at the PLantation to hold down the fort- or rather, build it up). Anyway this woman is married to na Frenchman, and is an incredible cook.
Breakfast:
Banana Pancakes and Cereal! Booyah. Wheaties has nothing on that.
Lunch:
Standard Noodles. But they were extra delicious.
Dinner:
Fried Chicken. Like KFC style. MM MM gooood. Mashed Potatoes (aka Mashed deliciousness) and CEREAL!!! BOooyaaahh.
At dinner we sat around and said what we were thankful for. We were all thankful for the experience, and for sharing it with good people. I was also thankful for the ability to drink legally! Booyaaaah!!!
And I do apologize...
It has been more than a week since I last blogged, and much has happened. The school now has a cement floor raised 2 feet above the ground, a tin roof, and 20 desks to fill it. It may not sound like a lot, but let me tell you, it took a lot of work.
The floor
I don't know the perimeter of the school, but its pretty big, and it took a lot of sand to raise it 2 feet up. To get the sand we dug the ground up near the school. The holes are real big, and real deep. And when it rains, they will be ponds. And when the rain stops, they will be mosquito factories... We carried the sand in baskets from the holes to the school. The kids helped a lot with this. "Buon" they would scream as they hurled their baskets at my feet. I would give them three big scoops "Muy...Bee...Bi" and then a tiny fourth scoop "Buon!" They thought it was great.
It took us 5 days to get the level high enough with the sand. The next step was the cement. And since cement dries, we had to do the entire floor in one day... We started at 8 am as we always do, had lunch at noon, came back at one, and worked until 9pm... Yes, 9 pm. My job was to mix, and then shovel the concrete... I did that for 10 hours.... I still can't straighten my pinky... But we got the job done, and it was fun, because around 7 everyone came out to watch. It was like a party. A very tiring party... With lots of cement, sand, and gravel...
The roof-
The roof was done by the village cheif and a few other skilled workers. They were like monkeys, climbing, swinging, and laughing the whole time. It was pretty incredible to watch.
The Desks-
It took us 3 days for the desks. I had a lot of practice with sawing, and I can almost cut straight. Although, it is getting harder and harder to stand upright. Everything I do, (carrying sand, shoveling, sawing, eating, sitting)is done slouched over, and my lower back is getting P.Oed. But enough complaining. What was fun about sawing is that it provided ample time for christmas carol singing. Travis, who I call Hatch (because he is really good with a hatchet) doesn't like to sing, and Clarke, whom I call Nibbs, (She nibbles at her food) has to be in the christmas spirit, and so... It is mostly just me, singing away and loving every minute of it. Nibbs does like to sing Frosty the SNowman, but we can't remember all of the lyrics...
Here are some of my thoughts about the last week or so:
- There is no need for steel-toed boots, or hard hats while doing in construction in Cambodia. In fact, there is no need for pants either. We wear sandles to do the job, and on our heads we wear soft hats, for the son. I do wear pants, but many of the locals walk around with towels rapped around their waists. And there hasn't been a single injury yet. (Knock on wood)
- Cereal! We have cereal, and oh it is good. Smacks, Honey Bunches of Oats, Special K... There aren't words to describe how good it tastes.... But oh it is goood.
- Milk! Yes! And it is so good... Was so good. You see, instead of a fridge we have a big red cooler. To make it cold, you put in ice. Well, the water that makes the ice is not clean water, and the ice itself is dragged around some pretty nasty places. The ice melts and the cooler is filled with this gross water. In the cooler is our milk, and the cap is loose, and the water goes into it, and our milk is contaminated. And I pour the milk into my bowl of cereal, and I can tell that it has been contaminated, but I have to try it. I take one bite, ONE bit, and it is gross, but I swallow. What is one lowsy bite going to do. Hatch wanted me to eat the rest, Nibbs forced me to dump it... Well, one lowsy bite can do a lot. I have been sick now for two days. I woke up in the middle of the night after eating the contamined bite shivering uncontrollably. I couldn't fall asleep. When I did sleep it never lasted more than 10 minutes, and every time I woke up, my fever was worse, and my stomach was getting more and more ready to rid itself of the evil milk. I prayed that I would get better. This is not the way I want to go home. IN the morning I felt better, though really hung over. I took some advil, and rested during the morning shift, and by the afternoon I was back to sawing. And I thought I was good, better, but oh no, no sir. We came to Sihanoukville today so to use the internet etc. I was fine all morning, and then I got sick, and it wasn't any fun. Nibbs is sick too, sicker than I am. She stayed at the Bungalow. Í'm going to surprise her with the lyrics to Frosty the Snowman...
- My first haircut by someone other than my mom! This is huge for me, and my mom. It was a pretty enjoyable experience. He gave me side burns. Yeah, I'm pretty fly now.
I have much more to tell you, but Hatch is getting impatient. So long for now!
The floor
I don't know the perimeter of the school, but its pretty big, and it took a lot of sand to raise it 2 feet up. To get the sand we dug the ground up near the school. The holes are real big, and real deep. And when it rains, they will be ponds. And when the rain stops, they will be mosquito factories... We carried the sand in baskets from the holes to the school. The kids helped a lot with this. "Buon" they would scream as they hurled their baskets at my feet. I would give them three big scoops "Muy...Bee...Bi" and then a tiny fourth scoop "Buon!" They thought it was great.
It took us 5 days to get the level high enough with the sand. The next step was the cement. And since cement dries, we had to do the entire floor in one day... We started at 8 am as we always do, had lunch at noon, came back at one, and worked until 9pm... Yes, 9 pm. My job was to mix, and then shovel the concrete... I did that for 10 hours.... I still can't straighten my pinky... But we got the job done, and it was fun, because around 7 everyone came out to watch. It was like a party. A very tiring party... With lots of cement, sand, and gravel...
The roof-
The roof was done by the village cheif and a few other skilled workers. They were like monkeys, climbing, swinging, and laughing the whole time. It was pretty incredible to watch.
The Desks-
It took us 3 days for the desks. I had a lot of practice with sawing, and I can almost cut straight. Although, it is getting harder and harder to stand upright. Everything I do, (carrying sand, shoveling, sawing, eating, sitting)is done slouched over, and my lower back is getting P.Oed. But enough complaining. What was fun about sawing is that it provided ample time for christmas carol singing. Travis, who I call Hatch (because he is really good with a hatchet) doesn't like to sing, and Clarke, whom I call Nibbs, (She nibbles at her food) has to be in the christmas spirit, and so... It is mostly just me, singing away and loving every minute of it. Nibbs does like to sing Frosty the SNowman, but we can't remember all of the lyrics...
Here are some of my thoughts about the last week or so:
- There is no need for steel-toed boots, or hard hats while doing in construction in Cambodia. In fact, there is no need for pants either. We wear sandles to do the job, and on our heads we wear soft hats, for the son. I do wear pants, but many of the locals walk around with towels rapped around their waists. And there hasn't been a single injury yet. (Knock on wood)
- Cereal! We have cereal, and oh it is good. Smacks, Honey Bunches of Oats, Special K... There aren't words to describe how good it tastes.... But oh it is goood.
- Milk! Yes! And it is so good... Was so good. You see, instead of a fridge we have a big red cooler. To make it cold, you put in ice. Well, the water that makes the ice is not clean water, and the ice itself is dragged around some pretty nasty places. The ice melts and the cooler is filled with this gross water. In the cooler is our milk, and the cap is loose, and the water goes into it, and our milk is contaminated. And I pour the milk into my bowl of cereal, and I can tell that it has been contaminated, but I have to try it. I take one bite, ONE bit, and it is gross, but I swallow. What is one lowsy bite going to do. Hatch wanted me to eat the rest, Nibbs forced me to dump it... Well, one lowsy bite can do a lot. I have been sick now for two days. I woke up in the middle of the night after eating the contamined bite shivering uncontrollably. I couldn't fall asleep. When I did sleep it never lasted more than 10 minutes, and every time I woke up, my fever was worse, and my stomach was getting more and more ready to rid itself of the evil milk. I prayed that I would get better. This is not the way I want to go home. IN the morning I felt better, though really hung over. I took some advil, and rested during the morning shift, and by the afternoon I was back to sawing. And I thought I was good, better, but oh no, no sir. We came to Sihanoukville today so to use the internet etc. I was fine all morning, and then I got sick, and it wasn't any fun. Nibbs is sick too, sicker than I am. She stayed at the Bungalow. Í'm going to surprise her with the lyrics to Frosty the Snowman...
- My first haircut by someone other than my mom! This is huge for me, and my mom. It was a pretty enjoyable experience. He gave me side burns. Yeah, I'm pretty fly now.
I have much more to tell you, but Hatch is getting impatient. So long for now!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
