Author: Charles Dittmeier

All is not what it seems….

Cambodia has made some real improvements in its drive to move from a least-developed country to a medium-developed country. Not all improvements have been substantive and enduring, though. Take electrification. Just five or six years ago only 27% of the country had electricity. Today many more people have power–most of the time.

Sunday night some time after midnight I woke up and realized the power had just gone off. My fan was off and the white noise machine was silent. I figured there was nothing I could do about it and went back to sleep. Then the power coming back on 3 1/2 hours later woke me again because it made my electric alarm clock play a jingle.

Then in the Khmer Times newspaper we got this little article where the electricity company apologized for some error that knocked out the lights for all of Phnom Penh (1+ million people) and the surrounding counties and even Siem Reap 200 miles away.

When I got up I took a shower but then the water went off. It turns out the loss of electricity knocked out the water system, too!

Trees: Struggling to live…

The trees of Phnom Penh have been tortured and disfigured over the last century–and many of them did not survive–but some are still making a strong effort to keep going with new shoots and branches. It says something about the in-built striving for life that is part of creation.

Time for a break….

It’s 7:30 AM and this woman–with her three children–is taking a break after collecting the cart full of recyclable trash at the curb. How long did it take her to collect such a mound of discards? What time did she go out on the street with her kids? In the dark? Will she sell this load and go back out on the street today or is it quitting time for this day? Did they have anything to eat? Will the kids be able to go to school? Will she ever be able to not collect trash?

Farewell

Judy Santmire has been a regular member of the small group of people who join the Maryknoll Cambodia community for the mass and dinner each Wednesday after our Maryknoll meeting. Today was the last day Judy will be with us and so we presented her with one of our Maryknoll T-shirts we give to our special guests.

A Home-cooked Meal!

The lady who cleans the Maryknoll office and does some cooking has been in the hospital for more than a week so tonight the Maryknoll sisters had mercy on Fr. Kevin Conroy and me and invited us for dinner. It was a special treat to have a baked potato and meat loaf, good ol’ American staples I haven’t had for years. Thank you! [L-R: Kevin, Sr. Mary Little, Charlie, Sr. Regina Pellicore, Sr. Ann Sherman]

Sweeping: A Must

If you judge by their driving habits, Cambodians are an undisciplined group. With many coming from remote areas with dirt roads where cars can’t even go, the idea of following driving laws is novel and not easily accepted. There are many other areas of life, too, where modern practices–and requirements–of city life don’t resonate with people who grew up in a small bamboo house next to a rice paddy.

One exception to the lack of discipline, though, is sweeping–sweeping your street, your property, your house, your school, whatever you have. Sweeping is a MUST. Basically every business and household has someone sweeping in front of their building every morning. It’s just something Cambodians do….

Sweeping at home. Notice the car in the living room.
Sweeping at home gives you a chance to chat with the lady collecting recyclables.
Then you sweep the street out front.
And then you sweep the floor of your advertising business.