Photos & Words

How it is to go to Cambodia with Olga, one month old child? Of course not for traveling. Holidays with one month old child are not exactly the thing that every parent wishes for. There is enough new world to get used to inside the walls of home, going to other side of the world is not really necessary at this stage.

But now that our life and home happens to be here, on the other side of the world, it is also the home for Olga and here is where she will have the walls of her first home, inside which to learn the wonders of the life. Of course first she has to face the change of temperature, light and noises. It is quite different world here compared to Finland even if you keep your eyes closed. Temperature during the midday is from 30-34 degrees (30 is still very fine, but over 33 starts to be difficult….). It comes pitch dark at 18.30, (this is the time when house is full of shadows and contrast of dark and light is threatening for her little mind), and that is a bit different from the early summer nights in Finland that are full of light. When there are no glasses in the windows it is like being outside whole day, and although our road is only quiet village street it is hundred times more full of life and noises than village road in Finland. There is man selling ice cream with loud music from the portable stereo, there are pigs screaming, party announcements from loudspeakers in the passing van, trucks and ox-carts. There are some things for a little girl to get used to.

Now we have been much inside the walls of this house. I myself do not remember spending so much time at home since the first weeks we came here. I still have two weeks of my very short maternity leave left, then the real reality starts. And even now my life seems full enough! Although I do not need to cook, wash laundry, clean house…which of course I would have to do if we would be in Finland. Yes I feel now it would be OK to start working few hours a day, but eight hours a day, where that time will come from? I’ve been drawing timetables already “the day of Olga and day of Mum”, with feeding, sleeping and working, but somehow these tables still keep on changing every day…and in two weeks, Olga will have to face a new change in her little life. First the environment and then even the presence of mother…Of course there are again things that I probably could not do while working in Finland. Like coming home every 2-3 hours to feed her. And not going at all to the office if there is a bad day…I will have as good opportunity as possible to work full time and be with my baby. Of course less field work, but I do not think there is problem for Cambodians to accept that.

And how is she coping then? First week was actually quite exhausting, not that I was really tired though, Olga slept well the dark and cool nights (in the evenings we were watching with Arnaldo movies after the demanding day). During the day Olga did not sleep and then this means that she was also crying a lot…” But she is crying a lot.” was one of the first comments of Chan who will then take care of her when I have to work.

But then there is time to adjust and it seems that with little kids it does not take that long in the end. Almost every day has been better after our first weekend in Kampong Thom. Now we have already reduced the horrible crisis cry for once or not at all per day. More sleeping during the day and little less in the night, but much more smiles and playing, much more time that she is also happy by herself, not only on the mother’s or farther’s shoulder walking around under the ventilator. We were very afraid about the hundreds of visitors that will come to see her as soon as we arrive here and start to shout and carry her all around…but there has not been that many, last weekend we were also completely alone, our little family. I am very grateful for all our Cambodian friends for that. I know they are very curious, but they have been very kind not to disturb us much now that Olga first have to get used to this place. And she will make this place her home too, actually we have not given her many alternatives.

Katja, Kampong Thom August 2004

It may be true: life becomes more serious the more we grow older. Work commitments make us have more responsibilities and have less time to enjoy time for ourselves or with our friends. Moreover distance may come in between and we live more apart from friend and family. I myself live far away from family and friends and though I have made new friends living far away, I miss the friends back home and the relaxed feeling of being around a table in a countryside restaurant where we are linked by the memories of the past and the friendship we have now.
Then one evening we had friends over for dinner. He is German and she is from Philippines and they told us the story of Paking. Paking is an old man today, he is a carpenter who lives in the same islands in Southern Philippines where the two friends have their house. Actually is Paking himself who built the house. He is a very thou rough worker, they said, maybe a bit slow and taking breaks now and then disappearing for some days , but when he is back one can be sure that he will do a good job, paying attention to details and quality of the work.
Paking comes from a family of carpenters. Originally from the North of Philippines, his family moved to Manila where his father could find job as carpenter. The family was poor and Paking had to learn the job quite young in the beginning helping his father and learning the right skills. This was during the 1960s and at that time there was enough work in Manila. Then came the 1970s and the oil shocks, the situation was no more good, people started to look for jobs abroad. Paking did as well and went to Saudi Arabia getting a loan form a local money lender to pay for the flight.
So Paking went off. He got a first job in Saudi Arabia, probably Riad and then another one. Starting from simple carpenter he got more responsibilities and became the supervisor of several workers at the same time. He did not find too difficult to find jobs as one building after another was then build in Saudi Arabia. So time went fast and year after year he collected nine years in Saudi Arabia earning a good salary, repaying his debt, sending something home and saving for the day he was going back. Finally that day arrived and he was in the plane that brought him back to Manila. He was probably looking at the sea down under from the little windows of the plane, then the thin line of the coast and the slow decent towards the airport that make the tiny details of the land, his land, growing more familiar. He landed and finally could breathe the air of home. He was again in Manila, time to meet the friends again. He phoned around and collected some people and gave them appointment to a famous pub in town: Ekuna. He went there met the friends and family friends and offered to drink paying with the savings he was still carrying with him. Then he offered another round and another one. Another one. Things got a out of hand and he decided to rent the all pub for the whole night, everybody could be his guest. The pub got full very fast and the rumours spread around fast about a party going on there. The Paking decided to rent the pub for the whole week. Everybody his guest, he got also some girls and dancers to come to the pub, then more girls and the pub rented for second week. Follow of people kept coming for days and nights, girls, young men, old men, friends of Paking and many unknown people. Music was playing loud, the air heavy of alcohol and smoke. But Paking did not gave up and rented the pub for a third week. And then the third week ended and Paking, like awakening from a sweet dream, realised that he had finished all the money he had saved in the years he worked in abroad. He was broke.
He went back to his island down in the south and started again with small carpenter jobs as people remembered well about his skills and had also heard about the great three weeks in Manila. Today one can hear Paking still telling this story, without regret. He is doing nicely, working for himself and slowly bringing up houses and buildings. Our friends told us that he sometime still feels the flame of the youth and goes for swimming. For swimming, I asked? Doing some sport in the nearby beach? No, swimming means, they said by moving the two harms in front of the like swimming, to play majung a Chinese gambling game made with stones like domino that have to be mixed on the top of a table moving the two harms like swimming. He goes there, makes some debt and come back to work the money he needs to repay them. His wife in the beginning was upset, then decided to follow him to one of the swimming session and now is more addicted than him. It is easy to spot them around the swimming table, in that island in the south of Philippines.

Arnaldo
7. February 2004
arnaldo.gtzkthom@online.com.kh

Anche qui da noi c’é aria di autunno. Siamo ai primi di dicembre, le pioggie che hanno accompagnato il monsone sono finite. Nei campi il riso puó essere raccolto. L’aria é secca e ventosa. Alcuni alberi hanno perso le foglie, mentre altri stranamente le mantengono scommettendo sulla breve durata dell’autunno. La temperature é sempre estiva, ma la luce é cambiata. Il sole sembra tramontare piú lentamente e si tuffa all’orrizzonte a sud ovest, nei campi di riso di Baray. Le lunghe ombre della sera sembrano volere rimanere piú a lungo, la luce é dorata, meno speldnete ma piú calda.

Oggi é domenica e sono andato per un giro in moto lungo la strada sterrata che costeggia il fiume che attraversa Kampong Thom, lo Stung Sen. La stradina parte dalla cittá, passa alcuni villaggi che ormai fanno parte di Kampong Thom, e poi si perde dopo diversi chilometri nelle campagne della provincial. I villaggi diventano piú distanti, le case piú sparse. Al ritorno verso Kampong Thom, avevo il sole alle spalle e sembrava che inseguissi la mia stess alunga ombra sulla superficie di terra rossa della strada. Il cielo terso e senza nuvole. Le case da un lato con i pescatori che preparavano le reti per la pesca che inizia presto al mattino. I bambini che giocano a calcio a piedi nudi nella polvere dei poveri giardini di fronte alle semplici case in legno. le donne che si attardano facendo la spesa prima di tornare a casa per preparare la cena.
Passando con la mia moto, tutta questa vita si svolge di fronte ai miei occhi come un film che si ripete ogni giorno da lungo tempo. Ho incrociato ragazzi che tornavano dai corsi pomeridiani di inglese, un carretto trainato da bufali che trasportava legna da vendere in un villaggio piú lontano. Alcune motociclette con due o tre ragazzi che se vanno in giro la domenica pomeriggio.
Ho pensato a come fare per trasmettere queste immagini, questi colori e questi suoni. Mi sentivo bene e mi é tornato alla mente il film di Lasse Halström che ho guardato ieri sera. È la storia di un bambino, Igemar, il quale non se la passa troppo bene. aL madre é malata e lui viene prima sballottato a casa di parenti che non lo vogliono tenere e alla fine viene accolto in casa di conoscenti in un paesino dello Småland. Vi arriva d’estate, l’estate Bianca del nord, le persone che incontra sono aperte e dirette. Inizia a giocare nella squadra di calcio locale, fa conoscenza con altri bambini, segue alla radio uno dei mondiali giocati negli anni sessanta. Alla fine dell’estate deve fare ritorno a Stoccolma, ma dopo qualche vicissitudine ritorna nello Småland in inverno ed inizia ad andare a scuola. Una sera, pensando a tutto quello che gli é capitato, giunge alla conclusione che quello che conta é to compare con le storie degli altri, prendere le distanze e ingrandire la prospettiva. Cosí facendo le cose, i fatti, ed anche le persone acquistano una importanza relative in funzione della prospettiva o al confronto.
I villaggi e le case che ho passato qeusto pomeriggio, mi hanno fatto pensare alla prospettiva e al valore relativo delle cose. Soprattutto or ache sono appena tornato da Cremona, dall’Europa. Il valore relative delle mie esperienze, di questo momento fondamentale che sto vivendo e che ho portato attraverso due mondi che non sembrano appartenere allo stesso pianeta: Cremona e Kampong Thom. Asia ed Europa. Una volta un collega che vive da molti anni in Oriente m li ha definiti cosí: Asia where nothing matters but everything is important, and the West where everything is important but nothing matter.
A presto,
P.

Kampong Thom, 7.12.2003

Hello this is my first message

(04-01-2004)