Indelible Roots

This morning started off pretty slowly. I got out of bed at 6:45am and was on the road flagging down a moto taxi from their usual spot a hundred yards away by 7:15. It wasn’t anywhere near as cold as it was yesterday, but I’m looking at hot, running water with renewed interest. [read on]

It’s been an interesting few days here. I’ve been sleeping nine hours a night and eating ravenously. Samath is off to translate for an American military surgery team as they head into the countryside with some of our staff. At work yesterday my outpatient Colles wrist fracture patient shows up with a bag or oranges for me. I then proceed to make him wince as his wrist flexion is still limited and his grip strength is only about half of the unaffected hand. He’s several months out of surgery and seems pretty compliant, but is able to show up only sporadically as he’s out of town working often. He tells me he does his home program when home, but not on the road. [read on]

The next morning, the 25^th of November, I sit outside of my guest house waiting for Samrith and Sopheap to pick me up to go to breakfast as we had agreed the night before and confirmed at 7:25am that morning. ... [Continue reading this entry]

The next day, November 24^th, we head to the Tonle Sap with the new couple and their friends. The Tonle Sap is a significant source of food for the country and is by far its largest lake. We pack eight ... [Continue reading this entry]

The following day we all pack up into the bus and head to Phnom Kulane, a sacred site to the Khmer people. It is said that here, on this mountain the Khmer empire was first established, breaking away from Indonesian ... [Continue reading this entry]

One of the ceremonies is a very old tradition called hand tying where close relatives offer sums of money to the couple by placing it in their hands together and then tie red yarn onto each of their hands. This ... [Continue reading this entry]

It’s been an eventful and tiring week with a wedding that stretched over two days, being asked to take pictures of everyone at every site and event, being drawn from one thing to another by relatives who want to see ... [Continue reading this entry]

11/19/2007

This morning we headed to the dock and boarded a couple of boats to take us across the Tonle Sap. The trip down current was smooth and calm on the gentle olive drab waters. I didn’t ask how ... [Continue reading this entry]

11/18/2007

Sopheap is leading a tour group from France for the next few days and invited me to come along. This afternoon he picked me up in the small tour bus full of tourists. I walked in to a ... [Continue reading this entry]

11/16/2007

The morning of the 15^th started like any other. I got to CSC at about 7:15, had a noodle breakfast for $0.50, and changed into scrubs. I met Sorab as he was carrying out some sterilized equipment to ... [Continue reading this entry]