Quite a few fruits are in season now. Today I saw pineapples being sold on the streets. Vendors like these tend to stay on the outskirts of the city, probably because it’s closer to home in the rural areas and probably because the police hassle them less there for bribes.
World Refugee Day: A Wise President
“I esteem foreigners no better than other people–nor any worse. They are all of the great family of men, and if there is one shackle upon any of them it would be far better to lift the load from them than to pile additional loads upon them. And inasmuch as the continent of America is comparatively a new country, and the other countries of the world are old countries, there is more room here, comparatively speaking, than there is elsewhere; and if they can better their condition by leaving their old homes, there is nothing in my heart to forbid them coming, and I bid them all God speed.”
Abraham Lincoln 13 February 1861
World Refugee Day
The world has never before this present decade experienced the plight of so many millions of refugees on the move in so many different parts of the world, all at the same time.
“Refugees are not numbers. They are people who have faces, names, stories, and need to be treated as such.” ~ Pope Francis
The Maryknoll Office of Global Concerns has some excellent materials for this day. Click here to find interesting and informative resources about refugees.
Topics: Oranges 2
It’s not just the oranges that are in season now. Pomelos are also plentiful and they are one of my favorite fruits.
Topics: Oranges
I have mentioned before that one of the ways to tell the seasons here is to note which fruits are being offered on the street. That’s one of the only real indicators since it’s always hot and everything is always blooming. Now it’s the turn of the oranges to appear. Most of them are from Battambang, renowned for oranges, and they are all green in color, not orange. They are good, though, and once in season, many vendors are selling the oranges by the kilo (about $1.75) or as bottles of freshly squeezed orange juice.
Topics: Health #1
Medical practices vary tremendously around the world, depending on the education and literacy levels of a society, the resources available, the level of government attention, etc. Click here for a glimpse at one medical practice in Cambodia.
Going Fast
This is an old traditional wooden house a block from the Maryknoll office where I live. There aren’t many of these left in the city where they have been replaced by concrete dwellings or even by multi-story apartments and office buildings.
Choose by Size, Not by Style
When you buy your shoes on the street like this, you choose by size, not by style. For any given style, there may be only two or three sizes offered–maybe only one, so you try on the different styles that fit and then pick the pair that you like best. These places do a lot of business.
Topics: Wood #12
I did a series on the uses of luxury woods in Cambodia in February and then decided I had said enough about that for a while. But when on the priests retreat recently, I noticed how much luxury wood was used in the church in Sihanoukville. Click here to see some photos from the sanctuary. Scroll down to No. 12.
The Sky’s the Limit
Actually that headline’s not true–it’s not the sky that is the limit but the wires hanging low over Phnom Penh streets that puts a limit on the height of this load of snack foods like potato chips