Anna-Marie adds some Back Story

I read Carl’s first blog entry before we left Canada and thought he did a great job of explaining everything except what we’re doing here. I’m teaching yoga in a studio – Nataraj – that will also be our home for the next four months. In addition, I’m going to do some volunteer work for the Cambodian Acid Survivors Charity. Carl’s plans are more open and involve some well-deserved rest after a hectic year of teaching at the university and helping a friend with some home renovations. But we both look forward (perhaps perversely!) to the discomforts of adapting to a new culture and climate. Our experience of international travel in the past ten years has primarily been frequent trips to Cuba for both work and pleasure, and Asia is a new adventure. The few hours that we have been here invite comparisons between the two countries – smells are similar, there’s always a dog barking somewhere, and there are some, um, “irrationalities” (I’m trying for tact) about traffic. I want to ask someone why I see women on the street in daytime wearing elbow length gloves, why the expats I’ve already seen make no eye contact or show any interest in us while the Cambodians have smiles galore, and – please – could someone explain how I can cross the road without loss of life or limb?

We both feel surprisingly free of jet lag and I suspect that if we get some solid hours of sleep this evening we’ll be fine. I woke early and hungry but couldn’t find anyone to open the gate to let us out until Cat, the yoga teacher visiting from Bali, appeared after 8. She gave us our first piece of practical advice – how to use the Hindi shrine in the garden as a foothold if you need to get over the wall. Jeez, I love it when there’s a practical aspect to religion!

And, closing by returning for a moment to the dog, I read a news story while at breakfast that reported officials are calling on dog owners to be extra vigilant about their pooches. It seems recent inflation is responsible for a 4-fold increase in the cost of meat and the rate of dog-napping has risen along with it as Cambodians search for affordable alternatives. For sure, Chai wears a fine and tempting set of rump roasts on her back end.