I’ve been spending lots of time over at Sovanna Phum, a home for traditional arts in Phnom Penh. I like the community; it’s like a doorway to another world behind the scenes. Sovanna Phum’s website had been out of date since November, 2009, because nobody knew how to update it. I was able to figure it out and help in that way. It was a small thing for me, but I think it’s really helped their attendance and finances. I’ve also been helping with a grant they had in process, and I’ve started working on an in depth photo story that I hope to complete over the course of the next six months.

This website is changing, by the way.  Soon (maybe by the time you read this), the front page will show photo stories and series that I’m working on. Plus, I’ll update my portfolio pages, downplay the blog (on the front page) and offer some prints for sale.

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I was walking through a slum to visit the family of a young Cambodian man for a story I’m working on. Then out of the corner of my eye I saw a heart-rending scene: two girls playing with dolls. One had two dolls carefully laid out on a wooden bed, covered in a blanket, beautiful (especially through her eyes). Another had a doll or two and a few odds and ends of tiny clothing laid out. I know the scene well. I’ve seen my daughter’s play it out the same way. I know the gleam in her eyes that says she can still dream and believe.

A few doors down, in the house where I was headed lives a girl who rocks her real baby in a hammock and the whole house sways in time. She got married two years ago, at the age of 14.

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Prahok is the soul food of Cambodia. It’s fermented fish (some would say rotted). Eat it straight, add a dab for seasoning, or put some in a bag and let the flavor leach out into whatever you’re cooking. Japanese have fermented soybeans (natto), Koreans have fermented cabbage (kimchi), but Cambodian are the only ones who dare to keep fish for three months outside a refrigerator and then eat it. You gotta love that.

I just read an article about prahok by author Karen Coates on Faster Times.  She laments that some Cambodians who have made it (money) are giving up prahok, as if it’s beneath their rising status. The smell reminds them of worse times. Prahok wreaks, famously so, but that’s no reason to give up a good thing. I can vouch that my neighbors are keeping the faith, and in style. They gather annually to make a year’s supply of prahok, and have a great time. These photos, from earlier this week, will take you through step one: cleaning the fish to prepare it for salting and aging.

It all begins here

Followed by lots of mashing and rinsing

Dress appropriately and enjoy the process

You can’t rinse, or mash, too much

The finished product!

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I’m working on a photo story of Sovanna Phum (www.shadow-puppets.org), a venue for performing arts in Phnom Penh. Sovanna Phum is the best place in the city to see classical Cambodian dancing (like Apsara) and other traditional arts (drums, singing, shadow puppets, and circus elements). It’s not far from where I live, so I started dropping by at odd times. It’s been a pleasure gradually inserting myself into the community there.  Here are a few photos from a performance last Friday night, just to give a taste of what they do.

Dancers prepare backstage as the show begins

Waiting to go onstage

A dramatic moment in the story unfolds with acrobatic artistry and a touch of magic

An audience enjoys the show

Audiences have been small for the past year because the venue changed to a new location, but the change wasn’t communicated well. The website was out of date from November 2009 until this month, because nobody knew how to update it. Now you’ll find current information and a map (www.shadow-puppets.org).

A dancer holds candles backstage

Every weekend the show changes. Last Friday (when there pictures were taken) they performed Roussey Dek (Iron Bamboo), an artistic blend of dance, music, shadow puppets, and circus reminiscent of Cirque Du Soleil.

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Scroll down for the pictures. Last Christmas friends and kind strangers donated enough money to take the kids and staff from Wat Opot on a special trip to Kirirum, a hilly hideaway two hours outside Phnom Penh. This year our friends in Japan raised just over $400. With that money, plus some more donated by friends of Wat Opot in Cambodia, there was enough to take 49 kids and 14 adults (plus our family) on a day trip to Rabbit Island, off the coast by the town of Kep. Once again the children were so excited. They went to bed all cleaned up and already wearing their beach clothes; then they woke up at 3:30 am. Finally the bus departed at 6 am. The group reached the island about 9 am, and the fun began: playing in the ocean, floating on inner tubes, relaxing on the sand, eating fried chicken, and soaking up the new experience. Many of the kids had never seen the sea before. They wouldn’t hesitate to jump head first into a muddy pond, but several had to overcome fears in order to swim in the vastness and coolness of the sea. We were so fortunate and grateful to join their adventure. It’s been a long time since I saw the ocean for the first time, but I got to experience it again through their eyes. I was also glad to see our girls play with their friends, discovering starfish and crabs together and sharing the moment. Some of the boys were teasing Reia, which she reported happily. After returning from the island, we hung out and ate at a local market. The kids got some spending money; we gave equal amounts to our girls (about 50 cents, which they spent on little bags of spicy dried squid). We ate at sunset. Vandy sketched the scene, and Jani stared out to sea thinking her private thoughts. These kids love life, but they have already lost more than most, starting with parents and homes. As dusk fell, they piled into the bus and departed with smiles and glowing memories, and very tired.

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