I'm more than two months into my second trip to Cambodia, and I keep meaning to post to my blog again - so here goes! Some factoids about my current life (both boring and silly):
1. I'm two-thirds finished with my last of two research sites. This one is located 30 km southwest of a town called Battambang. Battambang is located around 300 km northwest (towards Thailand) from Phnom Penh, the capital where I spent the first half of the project. The commute to my current research site involves a ride on a motorbike past picturesque rice paddies and a beautiful temple built on a craggy rock, not to mention the wind in my hair. (Don't worry, Ma, I wear a helmet and I'm not driving!) The research itself involves discussion groups with adolescent girls; in the picture above, tenth grade girls are discussing ways to improve the school environment for girls if they were given a million dollars.
2. The research site includes a vocational training center, whose name translates to "Forest for Baby Tigers Vocational Training Center." At the entrance gate, there are two roaring tiger statues. Some days it takes everything in me not to pose for a picture doing my best Tony the Tiger roar.
3. I spent last Saturday night hunting and killing a baby cockroach that appeared behind my hotel bed. After forcing it from behind the headboard with a folder, I committed animal-cide with an air conditioner remote. I turned away for a few minutes, then looked back at my kill. It was moving, despite being completely flat. Don't worry, I crushed his squirmy little body into pieces.
