Horse back riding Januaury 30.

Jon Mieko and Rikki enjoying a movie in my apartment
A bucolic scene in the rice paddies taken on the back of a horse

Mounted up and raring to go.
I met Andrea at Journeys Within at 8 a.m to go horseback riding, Cambodian style, which turned out to be fun. We road with Western saddles with rope reins and trotted and cantered on surprisingly well mannered horses. The ranch is called Happy Ranch and is run by an American Cambodian from San Jose California. We went through rice fields and saw ducks being herded and visited a wat and a temple. And the next day I can report I was not sore!

After that I went to visit with Vathana to help her with her application to be a delegate to a Youth Congress in Turkey. She is a 22 year old student who is in her last year of High School and we think is likely to be one of our characters in our next film. So I sat with her in her room that she shares with 5-6 girls ( she sleeps in a bed with 2 other girls which is just a mat no mattress) and we literally sweated over correcting her English and getting the application in shape to be noticed. The paper was wet when I finished!! Vathana has extricated herself from no opportunity village life to having been chosen to participate in there travels, to East Timor and Japan for a week or so; and for three months to Australia. Her story does represent the future of Cambodia because she is interested in the community and changing that and in equal opportunities for woman.

On the way home I stopped at "craft show" in front of the National museum. It was interesting in that the craft show was not individual crafts people demonstrating their techniques and or wares like in the US, but tent booths of satellite stores selling an array of clothes, silks and spices.
I bought a palm leaf wall hanging and mat to brighten up my apartment and maybe find a way to take home.

Then I met Jon and Mieko Morgan and watched her play soccer. It was a team comprised of her international school kids and the French school. Later we had drinks on my roof deck and watched the sun set and their daughter Rikki took a swim in the pool and later a hot shower, all of which was a great treat. Rikki was a baby abandoned at the Ankor Hospital for Children 8 years ago, and was premature and weighed about 2 pounds. She is a miracle baby as there were no incubators there. She remains a miracle child speaking American English and Khmer fluently and also speaks Japanese. She has a way to go however in her soccer to try and keep pace with the French kids.

I got invited to a Khmer wedding by Sam my guide friend, who put in most of our initial wells. I took a rain check as I could not imagine a night of drinking and dancing and getting up early the next morning to go to our Village where the money won at LA film fest is going to build 12 wells and to educate the Village on health and hygiene.

Dinner was a ham and cheese sandwich and to bed.

January 29th

The plan was to start work early at 8:30 a.m to fix the leaking ones. But Vanghn did not show up until after 10 so I instead worked in the garden mixing in the bio char and nutrients. It was 8:30 in the morning and I am working shirtless and after a half hour my shorts are soaked and I am lightheaded and it feels like I have already done about an hour of a Baptiste Yoga session. The heat and humidity is crazy and it is still January and we are suppose to be shooting a film in March.!!!

Bio char is a charcoal product produced by the oxygen deprived gasificaition of rice husks at the rice mill where the rice is polished ( husked). The gasification produces gases that reduce by 80% the amount of fuel needed to run the rice mill; and now the byproduct, the bio char is being used experimentally to hold water and nutrients in the garden. A biologist from the University of Edinburough is studying the garden and we shall be planting peas soon.

Had lunch at home after a shower to get the concrete and dirt off. In the afternoon met with Michael at ConCERT and gave him a copy of ADITB to view over the weekend. I will pick it up on Monday morning. His business is to act as a clearing house for 25 NGOs for tourists and volunteers to come to one place and check out all of the NGO's that he sponsors. He is a charming Brit and we shall need to have dinner and share pholosophGot a good swim in at the spa pool, 2o laps before a massage.

Friday night took a moto taxi ( in other words sat on the back of a motor skooter) to attend a wine tasting with the Old Bastards wine club. The wines were poor but the company was fun. All were westerners ( barangs) and we had fun. Chris Coats made bean and ham soup with corn bread and home by midnight as I had a horseback riding session planed with Andrea for 8 in the morning.

January 28th and 29thy

Vaughn and I working on repairing concrete filters by scoring the concrete with a power saw and then chipping at it. It saves alot of time but the Khmer employee our friend PHala is disdainful as he would rather just sit there and chip away. I went with my friend Steve PsarKrum market to buy a bigger chisel and hammer and there I got my bicycle repaired. The repairman told me that my bike was not quality as it was made in China so I replaced the light for $2 with one made in Cambodia.
I met Steve and Vaughn for lunch down on Pub Street at a mexican joint called Viva that Chris had done some paintings for and that Scott had made a green geiko out of paper maiche. Then I bought a dish rack of sorts and then visited Se's boss Billy at This Life Cambodia. He is an Australian and more meek looking than I imagined but thinks the world of our Se and thinks he someday could be Prime Minister. Took a swim and a massage and then met an American at the spa at the Hotel Sokha Angkor where I work out. He is this tall good looking guy who helped me with to learn some neck exercises. He shocked me when he told me is 52 as he looks 30. He is here teaching dance meditation and yoga and hangs out at what is now called the Peace Cafe formerly the Singing Tree Cafe. We had dinner and he told me that he was here recovering from a very bad dump by a girlfriend that dumped him because he had a medical problem that made him seem very depressed but has turned out to be a hormonal issue. I empathized with him and moved on. I did meet Kevin ( the biologist) and his wife Beth who were in Town working with Mieko and who were looking for an apartment in Siem Reap., who came in to the restaurant for dinner while we were sitting there.

Just wanted to let everyone know some news:

A Drop in the Bucket: Official Selection DC Independent Film Festival

Official Selection Women's Internatonal Film Festival, Miami

Here is a working synopsis of our new film project: Angkor's Children

Angkor’s Children, the descendants of a lost generation of Cambodians, reflects on its past and tells the story of resiliency, compassion, and hope.

Significance of Angkor’s Children: Cambodia is a country of youth living on the razor’s edge. Coping with the collective loss of teachers, mentors, and family, Angkor’s Children are developing the greater psyche of their nation through caring for their neighbor. This important drama of everyday struggles enlightens the viewer about the aftermath of horrific trauma and the human strength to move forward.

This post is from Lauren back in the arctic north.

Another Day at the Office January 27th

Yup, doing work on the computer late last night and this morning before heading out to volunteer with Vaughn working with me. Vaughn is the Brit whose Moto and shoulder Lauren held onto on our trip to Sras village. Today was sort of routine. It is now Sunday and the week has gone so fast that I am going to have to go back over my pictures to remind myself what I have been doing.
I had lunch with Chris and Scott at the Kool Korner and then went and swam and worked out.It was the first night that I had eaten in and had myself some bacon and eggs after shopping by bicycle. The bacon smelled awful and I froze it for Lauren who loves bacon.

Human Translation Reservoir Project visit Jan. 26th

This morning slept late until 8, after partying with Sam the night before. Then worked and found the perfect combination as I am a morning person and Lauren is a night person. So if we are in time zones that are 12 hours different as we are I can work in the morning and my dear can work at night and we email and talk to each other and get much done.
This afternoon I was taken by Awren driving her truck to the Human Translation project, where they restored and built a modern reservoir in a location that had been used by the Khmer Kingdom in the 11th century. Apparently the reservoir is fed by a stream from the Kulan mountains and this stream was a dividing line in the 1990's between the Khmer Rouge and the Cambodians. Now the new reservoir and the new canal system shall provide water for drinking irrigation and fish farms. This is what water being the source of life is all about. HT has installed 60 or so bio sand water filters and now is working on turning the management of the reservoir over to the Villagers, however that can not be done until the Villagers learn some basis adult literacy to be able to record readings of the water depths and flow and learn how to operate the reservoir on their own. The turn over to the Villagers is to occur sometime in March and may be an event to worthy of filming.
The reservoir is located on Aspara land as there is the Temple Choucray Vibol there. We visited there. It is next to a closed monastery.


I learned that this is a one shot project and has taken them 7 years to get to this Phase III. It is not HT's intention to do another one; but to encourage its indigenous NGO partner Cambodian Translation to utilize the know how to do another reservoir. One of the key persons in this organization is Chai and I am excited about Chai being one of our compelling characters in our film. Lauren and I met him briefly and I now have a dinner planned with him for this Thursday.

I do hope someone is reading this blog. I have no plans tonight except to watch this wonderful tennis match between Nadal and Murray.

Khmer birthday

In the morning I resumed volunteer work at Trailblazers. I somehow find sifting sand, as monotonous as it is to be very soothing. It does make one appreciate the taken for granted things in life or that which we in the USA have done for us by machine. I am sure that at home there would be a machine or some mechanized way for me to do this menial task repetitive task. I laugh at myself at age 65 doing this work for nothing and getting satisfaction doing it. It is a long way from being a lawyer and charging an hourly fee that people here are lucky to make for a months wages.
Getting better riding my bicycle. I even was able to put a person on the back of it and peddle . I got a bit tired but it is fun and a crazy. I will get a picture to post.
Last night I had dinner with Warren ( from the UK but lives in Costa de Sol Spain) Antoinette ( from the UK and lives in East Village NYC) and Claudia, ( from East Germany and lives in Bejing) all volunteers, to send Claudia on her way to Lao. Fascinating conversation on how they liked living in America has all of them had done so. In general they all liked America. the diversity, the enthusiasm and the vastness.
Then at around 9:30 I decided to honor an invitation from Sam my guide friend to attend his son's 18th birthday party, which I really did not want to do. But I took a tut tut and my usual gift for Sam a bottle of Johnny Walker Black and showed up. What a good move. As I came in he came into the garden with at least 200 people with a live band on the stage and lights and decorations he exclaimed to me " OH my God" and hugged me. This is not usual for Sam. The custom was that all of the men were at the center tables and the woman were at the side. I asked why and was told that when the men are drinking the women step aside. Needless to say these guys were well oiled; and they convinced me to dance with them and we drank danced and talked into the early hours.