Now Featuring Sound

Oh, hello blog. I had big plans to post lots of video recaps once I got home, but a bunch of my stuff is on CDs in Atlanta, and I'm not there, and blah blah blah...

Harpswell Singing from anna rogers on Vimeo.

Anyway, I do have this clip to share. On my last night in Cambodia, we had a wonderful party at the dorm, and my awesome students/sisters made me feel very special. We were having such a grand 'ol time that they decided to sing a few Khmer songs. I can't tell you what this song is called, so perhaps I'd better ask and find out. In any case, this gives you a sense of the joy that surrounded me for two lovely months.

As you see, lots of my sisters were singing. But FYI, the ones in the middle are Limheang (blue t-shirt) and Savry (orange).

Top 100

From Top 100

This update does not involve new photos, and technically it isn't about travel. I'm totally cheating. But I've got over 2,000 photos on Picasa right now. I thought it would be helpful for both me and casual viewers if I chose my Top 100 favorites.

From Top 100

Some look awesome like these two, and others just have sentimental value. It wasn't easy for me to narrow down my choices, and I'll probably fiddle with it often. Forcing myself to really think about it and choose is a useful exercise. They are not in any particular order, because then I'd really drive myself insane. Even though the captions carry over, the photos don't link to the album they came from. However, you can tell where each was taken by looking at the map next to the photo.

The top photo was taken at the Batu Caves just north of Kuala Lumpur. The one below it was taken at the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh. And that photo of me in a wig was taken in Jesse's bathroom. Hope you enjoy.

One Last Stop

The Tokyo I'll be dreaming about doesn't start and end with anime and neon. Beautiful leaves, amazing fish. The cozy, clean smells of tatami and nori. The way that my neighborhood or any given park could be so quiet.

From Tokyo

I spent six days here, a laughable amount of time when compared against the rest of my trip. It's not a part of Southeast Asia and it wasn't a part of my initial plan. Japan could easily be it's own separate trip. But I was lucky enough to get a Tokyo-to-Atlanta buddy pass, so why not check out the city while I'm there? The timing was perfect: there was autumn weather, it's a large city, things cost money... It was a wonderful environment to be in on my way home.

From Tokyo

It definitely whet my appetite to see more of the country, and I certainly will someday. Until then, here are a few photos.

From Tokyo

JAMP and The Flying Carpet

It has such a ring to it, doesn't it? I need to tell you more about Thailand, but I've finally uploaded my photos... So I don't want to delay actually sharing them with you.

From Thailand

In spite of having very few obligations these days, it's taken me some time to get these up. I don't do well sitting and staring at Picasa. I get restless and I feel the urge to make something happen, even if that just means putting a box in the attic or kneading some bread dough.

For any traveler, the process of coming back home is tough business. For the record, I deeply love my extended family and I refuse to ever give them up. So I have been looking for ways to stay (funky) fresh in Atlanta, and I hope to post good news here very soon. In the meantime, here's a trip down Travel Lane that ROCKED. Thailand was a very different experience from Cambodia. I found myself living a tourist's life, reuniting with dear friends, and seeing things that are just too beautiful to ever really comprehend.

From Thailand

Tokyo is coming. As are videos and stitch-assisted panoramas. I am determined to move forward... and to savor every bit of nostalgia that I've got. Enjoy.

No, I'm not dead yet. I'm actually back in America, driving (driving a car...) to Publix every other day and preparing for our big family Christmas at my grandparents' house. It's crazy. I can't believe it either. Thankfully, my family is awesome and actually interested in what I've been up to this year. In fact, I'm pretty confident that 90% of you readers are related to me.

Anyway, in the midst of the madness, here's notice that my photos of Angkor Wat are up.

From Angkor Wat

With my limited skill set, I'd need a real-real-wide-angle lens to even attempt to show you one of these temples. And I visited twelve of them. It's clichéd-but-true that very often, it's the little moments that capture your attention. One unfortunate character in a cast of millions:

From Angkor Wat

Or walking alone down enormous corridors, and suddenly seeing a guard in his own quiet moment:

From Angkor Wat

(And by moment, I mean day.) I had no problem finding little things to educate and captivate me, all day long for three days. I have to be honest with you though, and admit that this album is basically 92 photos of rocks. But they were really, really well-made, astonishing rocks. So there you go.

There's still about six weeks of traveling I've yet to review. JAMP and The Flying Carpet coming soon. I'm feeling fat and cranky in Florida, but I'm so very pleased to be spending Christmas with people I love. I hope that whatever your December plans, wherever you are, that you're able spend time with people you care about. In the end, life's not worth much without them.

Three Things

1. It was brought to my attention that the comment link for this blog was broken. I fixed it. So, if you wanna, you know, comment on something... that would be cool...

2. I won a contest! A very cool contest. Malcolm Fontier designs really well-made bags, wallets, toiletry cases, etc. I have taken a look through their studio back in Atlanta, and they donated a wallet to our silent auction when Jesse and I were fundraising for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. They hold a "Going and Need Gear" contest on facebook, where for every 100 fans added, they give away gear to someone going on a trip. I wrote a short explanation of what I was doing back in June, and a few weeks ago they hit the 200 fan mark and chose me as their second winner! I got a messenger bag, wallet and toiletry case of my choice (Director, Mojito, Bahia). I was absolutely thrilled and have been taking photos of my spoils in Thailand already. (You'll see those at some point.) I have to say... if you're in the market for some really nice accessories, do check them out. I can also assure you that the people running the company are worthwhile people to do business with.

3. Harpswell photos are up! You can take a closer look at all the women who inspired me and motivated me to do my best every day for the last two months. Because I just can't bear to put a post up without a photo, here you go. These three ladies were my roommates for the large majority of my time at the dorm. You can click on the link to the bottom-right of this photo to access the album.

From Harpswell

p.s. Iffy, you'll note that this post includes a photo of my face. See, I respond to your comments, people.

Leaving Cambodia

My final days in Phnom Penh were really...really... fun. My good friend Jeanette signed us up for a Fun Rally on Sunday, where you travel all around the city by tuk-tuk hunting for the answers to scavenger hunt clues. Here are my teammates with Joe, our tuk-tuk driver:

From Cambodia

Then on Tuesday night, my students threw me an awesome going-away party. Living with such warm ladies and staying in Phnom Penh for nearly three months, it was really starting to feel like a home.

From Harpswell

Before the party preparations. Limheang, along with her assistants Channy and Leaphea, did my hurr up very pretty and fancy-like.

Here is one of many photos from the party itself. There are plenty more to come.

From Harpswell

But then on Wednesday morning, I actually had to pack and leave. I didn't emotionally prepare myself at all for leaving my girls. I didn't want to waste precious time thinking about it. I didn't get any photos of Jeanette and Martin together or print out the ones that I wanted to give her, with all the hubbub and activity. And I got some troubling news just as I left. My fellow teacher and friend Yuta has a badly mangled knee, and when the doctor changed his bandage on Wednesday, his knee was worse instead of better. Add to this the 3 hours of sleep that I gave myself and you can imagine why I wasn't in the greatest mood.

For the first time in my life, I was unenthusiastic about getting on an airplane. I didn't even think to check out my new passport stamp until several hours later. But I was in Bangkok all the same. It was something else coming here from Cambodia-- underpasses and overpasses and skyscrapers (oh my). I realized that the familiar has now become unfamiliar.

As in other times in my life, good food was the way forward. I had some beef noodle soup with fresh basil and perfect chili sauce. It healed my jangled insides. By the light of day, after some good rest, I realized I needed a whole new perspective. So I'm not at home anymore. I can keep in touch with people the same way I've been doing since June. I'm a tourist/traveler on the move all over again. After a cup of strong coffee and a croissant with butter and honey, I set out on foot to see the city. Wandering around and exploring a new place is one of my Top 5 favorite pastimes. There's an academic vocab word for this mode that is snooty and New-York-Timesy, but it fits. I really enjoy becoming a flâneur. (Thank you, Dr. Rothman.) Bangkok is a great city for it. Only this time, I'm not really just wandering. I'm scouting the place out for what Margaret has aptly named The JAMP Tour 2009 -- Babes in Thailand.* I know that Bangkok is going to transform for me again once some of the women I love most are in it.




* Jesse, Anna, Margaret and Patti

I ♥ PP

I think sometimes you fall in love with a city in the same way you'd fall in love with a person. That definitely happened for me with Phnom Penh. You just have this instant chemistry. Everything good about them is amazing, and everything bad is so interesting that you have to know more. I started proclaiming my love for Phnom Penh on the very first day. After about another two, I realized that I had to spend some more time in Cambodia. So, as I ask my students in writing class, How and Why did I develop this crush? Crap, good question. I'm working on the answer.

My #1 favorite thing in Cambodia is definitely my students, which is why I mentioned them below. But before I knew them, I got a small sense of Cambodian (or Khmer) people in general. Men can be skeevy, women can be conniving, and children can be so desperate that they'll rob you blind. But for the most part, Cambodian people are incredibly warm, resilient, and somehow or another always interesting. And while my tourist budget is definitely in demand, you can't just relate my experiences here to the dollars in my bag. My experiences with Khmer people are distinct from my interactions with locals anywhere else, rich and poor.

By far the best ambassadors for any country are its children. They are quick to yell "Hello!" and are not too polite to laugh at you when you do something dumb. Adults may eye you quietly, but not kids. This was taken in Kampot, on the southeast coast of Cambodia. It's not a prize winner in terms of composition, but this kid leaned out in front of the lens just as I took the photo, and I like looking at that moment.

From Cambodia

I sit in on another English class at the dorm, and the teacher was recently explaining the idiom "A picture is worth a thousand words." My gals taught us an old Khmer saying, which roughly translates as this: If you read about something 100 times, it is not equal to seeing it once. If you see something 100 times, it is not equal to doing it once. I can't really make you understand why I love Cambodia. Just trust that I do.

This is Just to Say

No updates for two months makes me a pretty crap blogger. Forgive me-- that should come as no surprise to anyone who knows me!

For anybody who doesn't already know, I developed a huge crush on Cambodia as soon as I arrived in Phnom Penh. I decided to stick around for awhile and applied to be a Leadership Resident here: The Harpswell Foundation Dormitory and Leadership Center for Women

Lucky for me, the directors were convinced that I could do a good job and I was accepted! I initially signed on for a one-month residency, but thankfully I've been able to extend my visa and I'll be teaching here until October 20th. The students who live at this dorm are really incredible young women. They were warm and welcoming to me from the first day. They are all very intelligent, quick to make me laugh, and very committed to their education. Everything that I do centers around strengthening their English language skills, whether I'm helping with homework, teaching classes, or just engaging students in conversation. I'm teaching a creative writing class and tutoring students for the IELTS (International English Language Testing System), a test that some of my students will take in a just a few weeks. I'm also organizing a few cultural events and showing a movie once a week. I'm not a particularly religious person, but I honestly feel blessed to be here.

Now that I'm settled in, I am starting to go through my Cambodia photos. My students had a holiday last week, so I traveled out of the city and stayed with a couple of my students' families. Pictured here is Leaphea Yang (or as Cambodians would put it, Yang Leaphea). Her family is of Chinese descent, so their cooking style mixes Khmer (Cambodian) and Chinese traditions. This lunch was absolutely amazing and hands-down one of the best meals I've had on my trip.

From Harpswell

Sweet and sour pork, mashed pumpkin mixed with green onion and pork, and vegetable soup. As you can see, Cambodians usually place a mat down in the room for everyone to eat on. Each person gets their own bowl of rice, and you take a spoonful of this, a spoonful of that at a time until you are full. Parents here are like many others around the world-- they will offer guests far more food than one can possibly eat. Much was leftover after I was happily stuffed.

P.S.

Malaysia is now up too!

From Malaysia

I'm headed to Cambodia tomorrow, where the internet is apparently painfully slow. I'm really looking forward to being there, despite this fact.

Singapore

I was quite pleasantly surprised by Singapore. I really loved it. The food, the architecture, and the large number of free entertainments. Photos are up on Picasa.

From Singapore

From Singapore

From Singapore

Adios, Indonesia

From Bali and Java

I've fleshed out my Bali and Java album, and i think I'm done with it for now. At 232 photos, let's hope it's complete.

From Bali and Java

Java didn't immediately charm me the way that Bali did, but over the course of a few days I grew to appreciate the Javanese people and the things that draw people to visit them. We saw Bromo volcano and Borobudur. We heard a great deal of live music. And by the end of it I was a little sad to leave Indonesia. However, landing in Singapore was a breath of fresh and clean air. I'm really having a ball being in a modern city with great museums, viewing decks on the 70th floor, and drinkable tap water. Robyn very astutely calls it a vacation from our vacation. Ms. Sarah Reed Neal arrives on the 8th. Life is good!

Bali

So-- I actually have a fair number of photos up on Picasa now. It's difficult for me to just throw things up there willynilly without editing, choosing my select group of favorites, etc. I'll just have to get over that, though, as uploading takes so very long to do on its own. Here's one of about 300 sunset photos I took in Lovina:

From Bali and Java

You can see the rest by clicking the album link at the bottom of the photo. I spent a full week in Lovina, and I really grew to love it. Just arrived in Candidasa in the east coast, and about to check out the white sand beach nearby. Bali has charmed me, for sure.

From the Other Side

Kuta Beach. Sunset a few hours after my plane got in. I was sure I'd be totally exhausted, but the excitement of being here prompted me to get out for a bit. While I was walking I asked a German couple to take my photo. Sabrina and Julian are very kind people and became my buddies very quickly. I had dinner with them on Saturday night.

I'm still trying to get Picasa to do what I want it to while I'm over here. For now I can get photobucket to post up pictures, but I can't do any of the cropping and such I'd like to in order to make a proper photo album. Anyway, there are many photos of Kuta Beach and Ulu Watu to come. Ulu Watu. There is a prime surfing spot there, for those with advanced skills, and Ulu Watu temple. Both were incredible. Here is the temple:



After Kuta I went north to Ubud. There is a sacred monkey forest there. I went twice. I have about 8 million photos of monkeys to sort through. Here's a teaser:



And that was June 4th through the 8th. There is much more to come. I'll get this down eventually.

Getting Ready

Bali, Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia and Thailand. 6 months(or so...). I have spent the last year plotting and saving for my trip, and it's practically here. Amongst my preparations—getting an appointment for a Typhoid shot, etc.-- I actually started a blog (gaah). I hope to post big, beautiful photos of the people and places I encounter, and not embarrass myself by writing too much. Stuff like this:

From Honduras

...That said, many people have asked me to elaborate on what I'm doing and why exactly I’m doing this. First off, I really don’t feel like I am courageous or mavericky in any way. This is the one big thing I have always wanted, and I’m being completely selfish by taking it and ignoring everything else. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very glad that I feel the way I do and I think it will be wonderful, but the decision to travel for months and months seems perfectly logical and reasonable in my own mind. So—why do I want to quit my job and leave home to travel? Well, I do think I was born with an innate urge to explore. Beyond that, I learn strictly through experience, and I believe that I need to actually live far from home, in a totally different culture to really learn about the rest of the world and the people in it. The prospect of tasting new foods and seeing new things excites me. I intend to visit temples, go to local festivals, and dive in some of the best sites in the world. However, I also have some goals beyond just seeing cool new crap.

I’ll be taking some photography classes, a Thai cooking class, and working on an organic farm for at least a month through one or both of these organizations:

http://www.wwoof.org/
http://www.punpunthailand.org/

Right now, my goal down the line is to work with international sustainable development NGOs and document the process with photographs. Everything (and everything) is of course subject to change. This trip isn’t just about all of the cool things I plan to do (and there are several). I believe that my experiences on this trip will show me where I should go, what I should do, and which things ought to hold my focus.