Malasian Adventure

Apparently, this will have to wait until I return to battambang (don't worry, I'm taking pictures and notes). I don't know what to say guys - I've been BUSY doing all sorts of fun little things, e.g. tomorrow we film a music video about late-night malaysian eateries (mamaks)! between things like that and this online course, my days have been full. I thought writing while travelling would be easy, but I had a stable internet connection in phnom penh, and a less socially demanding schedule. Either way, hope everyone's well!

love,

Ashraf.

p.s. spoiler pics on facebook.

Battambang and Beyond

I went up to BB on the 11th of March, arriving just in time to help set up the chairs, tables, etc. for the second birthday party (note: this was a joint birthday party with Prema, whose birthday landed on the 12th). I met one Ruhi Zandra just before boarding the bus to Battambang – story as follows:

The P-units drop me off at the bus and peace out. I’m standing around, looking at my bus, waiting for the guy to let me load my bags. I call Elyssa to let her know that I’m leaving. Seconds later, she calls me back, telling me to look out for this Ruhi woman. I asked for a description, and, each bit of information she passed on correlated to the body in front of me! So I just walked up to her and was like “Ruhi?” and she said yes, and how did I know, etc. We then got a chance to hop on the bus, and decided we’d continue our conversation at the next bus stop. It being the fast, we both slept through the whole 5 hour ride to Battambang, postponing our friendship-building until later.

Back to the party:
It was pretty sweet, set on the rooftop of Gems International School, with around 20 attendees. We ended up eating kind of late, but I broke the fast with a mouth-watering coconut, so I was in no rush anyway. Prema made some tasty chocolate fudge cake, and banana-chocolate cake. Sweetest birthday presents ever. We all played Mafia after dinner, with Sopheap (from CORDE) being the first victim of the mafia. Ryan “interlashional” lash turned out to be the mafia ringleader, and after he fell, the rest followed suit. Alas, I was the final victim of the Mafia. The next few days involved sleep, Settlers of Catan, and mango shakes – I like!

Trip to Bangkok

Saturday the 14th, Quddus and I hop in a taxi to Poipet (Cambodia-Thailand border town). The taxis in Cambodia insist on having a minimum of 6! Passengers for each trip. After the guy came to get us, he needed three more. So we roll up to this random part of BB, where taxi drivers and potential passengers congregate. It was hilarious to watch: as each passenger arrives (usually on a moto), all the taxi drivers walk over and try to win over their business. The tactics ranged from grabbing their luggage and walking towards their taxi, to paying for the moto, to insulting other taxi drivers, to what our guy did, which was point to the foreigners in his taxi. I felt like he should have given us a discount. Either way, we ended up leaving with a decent 5 passengers in a regular sized sedan: Quddus, a negligibly-sized Cambodian guy, and I sitting in the back, while two ladies shared the front seat. We all had to fork up an extra dollar so that the guy would drive, but it was worth it. I’ve learnt some Khmer by this point, so I could make out the conversation between the two ladies, talking about the “thom-thom’s” in the back seat. Thom, of course, meaning “large”. So I let them know that I knew by laughing when they said it, and once the ice was broken, we had some good times speaking back and forth in broken khmer.

Then we got to the border in Poipet.We waited in line to immigrate, hoping we wouldn't end up like this:

We made it through with plenty of time to organize a ride to the International Ariport. After shopping around for options, we settled on a little minivan for 300 baht (originigally 350). Making sure that we were guaranteed a ride straight to the airport. Of course, once we were near the airport, the guy feigned ignorance, and insisted that he was only going to Suvarnhabumi town, not to the airport with the same name. *sigh* After leting him know that we wouldn't be paying an extra 100 baht each, and Quddus insisting that we get a chance to speak to his managers, he shook his head, waved his hands, and gave up his quest for extra cash. We met a cool Cambodian guy who was on his way to visit a friend in Bangkok. His name was Paul - which I didn't believe at first, and demanded he give me his real khmer name. As it turns out, Paul is a khmer name as well (it was like wei-paul or something).

The Bangkok airport is actually a cool spot to hang out for a while (lucky for us). In our hurry to reach the airport, we'd provided ourselves 5 hours before our flight, and 2 hours before we could even check in!(which we discovered after waiting in line at 3pm). I burned up time by reading another chapter out of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. The chapter I read was titled "The Complete Annihilation of the Western Empire" - so good.

Then we went back into the lineup (where the air asia ladies asked Quddus to pose for a photo with them, sexy time!):

After getting through passport control, we hunted for a place to break the fast (this airport is horrible to be fasting in, the smells of delicious food are everywhere). Food was tasty (but soo pricy!), we also had a tasty dipped cone from DQ.

I had, for some unkown reason, decided to pack my toiletries in my carry-on. I know, I haven't packed them in my carry on for ages! Ridiculous. Either way, I haggled with them to let me keep my aftershave (unmarked bottle!) and had to let go of some aveda haircream that I got in montreal. I tried to convince them to take the hair cream, but they weren't really interested. I think they genuinely felt bad about taking it away by the end of the conversation, but this didn't stop them from doing their job...too bad :( Quddus and I made jokes about the fast being a time of detachement anyway, so I little mourned the loss of some haircream.

We boarded the plane, took our seats, and had a sweet fligh out to malaysia. We were about to buy bus tickets from the air hostess, but the couple behind us gave us theirs becuase their friends were coming to pick them up. Sweet! Quddus and I had an "amazing race"-style landing. We quickly made our way to the front of the line of people walking to passport control, were the first to get our bags, and first to bust out of the airport! Where we found, to our surprise and excitment, our friends, waiting to pick us up! (here's us putting our "M's" down for Malaysia)



End Part One.

MALAYSIA!

I had many travels - to Battambang, to Poipet, to the Bangkok airport, and finally to Malaysia!

And since I've had a sketchy internet connection, I've been unable to post! Not to worry, I have pictures and some video, and will upload them in a few hours. For now, we have to go change money, buy local sim cards, do some work :( , and get to know the area!

ah, life. So cool.

quick additional note

Two good buddies came over wanting to say goodbye, and learn more about the faith (they'd ben asking, and I'd been promising some sort of mini fireside). So I gave about half of Ana's presentation to two guys named Eddie and Ana. Hah! Anna for Ana.

anananananana!

Bifday

This day,  an estimated 24 years ago, I was birthed into this tumultuous existence. Legend says I "rolled out", predating Ludacris'  hit song by a good 16 years. I was also a reportedly happy baby, enjoying moments of life, failing to balance myself as I explored the world, and generally being chubby and chill. Not too much has changed, but I am working on having greater balance in life, and Cambodia is taking care of my chubbiness, slowly but surely.

Either way, today, I continued my slave labour for AII, entering all the details for report cards, and ALMOST printing them, except the printers were occupied by others, so I got, how you say, the shaft. I will have to make a special trip in tomorrow, before I depart to Battambang, just to print the report cards, and get my last little bit of pay. Hopefully that all goes A-ok.

I had a svet little birthday party, with a few friends. The complete photos will be on facebookolet, but here are a few key photos:

breaking the fast

eating the dinner avec cat hats

Bringing the cake

blowing out the candales.

After this manner, I had a sweet little 24th birthday party. Tomorrow, we continue the festivities in Battambang, where Prema and I will celebrate a joint birthday on the night of the 11th (her bday is the 12th). I was promised large quantities of mango, and a rooftop party - so the future looks bright (and sweet, and orange). 

I got many sweet and thoughtful messages, which, to be honest, put my birthday-wishing to shame. Apparently, 24 is the year where people get professional with their birthday greetings, and really throw some effort into the well-wishing.

All, however, was not well in the party. It was bittersweet, since we celebrated my departure as well (note: for some, it is entirely possible that this is doubly sweet, who knows? ;) ) This threw the small wrench of awkwardness into the mix, but it was an joyous occasion nonetheless. I even read quotes from African wisdom in a Nigerian accent. Also, as far as food goes, Shaku made chicken curry and palak paneer(but it was with other cheeses), AND banana cake! Delicious!

Tomorrow, I quest out into the wide world of dust, travel, and tenuous internet connections.

These are some new birthday clothes from yesterday's Russian Market trip.

PEACE!

The Day Before the World Began

more like my world, but anyway.

Today I spent some time reading about unity as a necessary precursor for lasting peace, and had some interesting discussion with my fellow online-course mates. I also, as they say in India, "did the needful": I did my laundry, paid off some debts (this is a long story in itself), bought some new clothes, and made sure I invited a few friends for my birthday party. My p-units have decided to throw me a CLASSIC birthday party, with supper, cake,  hats, and noise-makers. So I could invite only a few people (much as I'd like to invite everyone I know out here in PP), but I still think it'll be a sweet time.

Also, sweet moment of the day: we broke the fast sitting on the balcony with some tea, dates, cookies, and prayers. It was great, but then it got better - as soon as the sun set, what should appear, but lightning! Y'all know how I love a good lightning storm, and this one delivered - a solid half-hour of non-stop lightning. Ah, I am so easily amused. Either way, I solidly enjoyed the evening.

I noticed today how quickly my departure has come - I've only just finished teaching, and now I head out for three weeks of gallivanting across the Malaysian peninsula! No time to spend bonding with the p-units...I guess I'll have to wait for Batambang in April to spend some nice family time. 

That's all for now!

(tomorrow is the birthday, so I will likely have much more to report) Although, I am already feeling older, but that's been accumulating over the last few months.

video notice.

you will find a new videpo on the right. This was taken on monday night at Neissan's place. The video describes the night so well, I felt no need to write about it.

Le Fin de Semain

Struggle as I might, my posts have fallen into a bi-weekly rhythm. The good thing is that I get more time to sleep at night. The bad thing is that I forget some great little stories. Luckily, (and with thanks to Munir and Adaeze) I bought a digital camera, and have a great memory-aid.

I delivered the final exams to my students, desperately tried to prevent them from cheating, and finally had a little party with each class on Thursday. The kids out here cheat SO MUCH! It's actually ridiculous. I was having to firmly remind students not to leave their sheets hanging off the ends of their tables - and every time I went to answer a questions, I got the sneaking suspicion they were strategic questions, posed to give their friends a chance to cheat. Either way, even if they cheated, it did them no good - as many of my students failed their exams (oddly [or not], the classes with the least cheating got the highest scores). I had a great time partying it up with the students, some of them even got me gifts (a Parker pen, and a silk wallet!). I later realized the gifts were likely bribes, as the students who delivered the gifts were definitely failing. :)

Oh, oh! I had a student FAINT during a final. She was seated right in front of my desk, near the front of the class. She had come in to the exam a little bit late, and was out of breath and fanning herself for a few minutes. She looked a little pale, and I thought nothing of it, but then she looked at me and said "teacher, I'm feeling dizzy". "Great" I thought, "at least she's got the grammar right on reporting medical conditions"...not realizing how serious she was, I opened a bottle of water that I had sitting on my desk (awaiting sunset), and offered her a drink. Just as I did, she dramatically collapsed out of her desk, arms flailing about, knocking the bottle from my grip, and generally causing a scene. The class quickly came to her aid, and we soon had her laid flat on the ground, with her head supported. Someone busted a strong perfume out of nowhere, and with its aid, she eventually came to. The chaos in the class allowed a few entrepreneurial spirits to take a gander at some of the abandoned final exams of their classmates, but most students were focused on their fallen comrade. Security was called, and manged to get her down to the office. I had to quickly reestablish order in the classroom to prevent further cheating, so I firmly maneuvered the kids back into their seats. Our victim was taken to a hospital to ensure that she didn't have a concussion, and thankfully, all is well.

Friday was filled up with school work, finalizing the marks and such. Marking went much faster this time - I felt an increased sense of efficiency and achievement. Unfortunately, I am still not finished with the administrative work (even though my contract is done, and I will receive no more pay!). Thus, in my updated C.V., I will likely list myself as having volunteered for AII as well.

Tonight was fun! The school booked out a little restaurant/cafe called "Gasolina". They served us all the food and drink that we could want, and gave us a good chance to get to know each other. Many people invited their families and significant others, but I brought along my p-units. They had a great time, meeting the president of the school, mingling with the teachers, and eating some free foods.

I ended up having the ever-famous "why don't you drink?" conversation with many of the staff...only to happen upon this: one of the teachers was like "oh yeah, I used to have a friend in uni that didn't drink as well - he was a cool guy...he was Persian though, not Egyptian." I thought to myself "well, there are a lot of Persian Baha'is in Australia." so I asked him "Was he a Baha'i" He goes "Yeah! That's the one - that's it! How did you know?" Lucky guess I guess :P

A handful of us continued the festivities at a place called Fly Lounge. It was pretty fly. They have a pool encased in plastic/glass that sits right beside the dance-floor. This way, some of the swimmers can see some of the dancers, and vice-versa. Interesting/funky idea. It was a strange club experience for a few reasons, but mostly because some families brought their kids along. I danced with some of my Nigerian brothers, and later walked home. good times.

The Fast

Is a beautiful time of the year.

from march 2nd, till march 21st, Baha'is around the world do the ludicrous - they don't eat or drink from sunrise till sunset. This is all in the hopes of achieving some spiritual growth, or at least doing some spiritual spring-cleaning. The idea, as far as I get it, of fasting is this: if you're not eating for God, you learn two things (at least): one is self-restraint, and the other is remembrance of God. The self restraint one is a simple 'technical' skill you learn from fasting - the repeated denial of a basic instinct allows one to control their desires. Of course, this doesn't always work out, sometimes you'll have a drink without realizing what you did till it's done - but even that can teach you to be more aware of what your regular routine is. The second is less technical, and more state-of-being-ish: fasting, for me, is more of a spiritual exercise...every time I feel my hunger or my thirst, I think of why I am hungry and thirsty, this leads me to think of God, and, in this way, I re-center my mind on God. It's surprisingly simple, and incredibly effective. I imagine, one could fast for any cause, and end up with similar results - you would center your mind around that which you fast for. For me, it's God - so the fast ends up being a spiritual reset-button - a kind of yearly battle against spiritual entropy. It's very nice, I like.

So that's the lowdown on my current mind-state. In the foreground, I'm still teaching the ESL, just closing up shop, marking finals (I became efficient!), having parties with the students in class (pics to come), and generally enjoying life. I've not had time to write my thoughts, feelings, or interesting stories up here for a few days now...and I've felt odd. I think blogging is becoming a part of my life routine -dangerous.

Thoughts on fasting?