Another Reason to be Angry at the Floods...

Location: Bangkok, Thailand

Adventure of the Day: 5 minutes of excitement over a film festival!

So, another (much less serious) reason to be angry at the Thailand floods — the postponement of the Bangkok  World Film Festival!

I spent way too much time in fake Photoshop making this.

A little background: Last week, sitting around the hostel, my teaching situation still in limbo, my eyes happened upon a copy of the Lonely Planet Bangkok guide. So I said to myself, I said, "Self —" (Sorry, only my UA friends will get that Dempsey reference) I figured I would pick up the book and get some ideas of what to see in Bangkok.

Well, right in the front of the book is a list of events/festivals/etc. by month. I check out January, February, and March, skip April through September (I most likely will already have departed dear Thailand), and land back at October, November, and December. October has the Vegetarian Festival, which I already experienced in Pattaya (though I didn't find that much great vegetarian food). When, to what to my wondering eyes should appear in November but the World Film Festival! In Bangkok! Away to the internet I flew like a flash, tore up the keyboard and opened the website*. The site's banner lists the Festival as being from the 4th to the 13th of November — this upcoming week! And right down the road from where I'm staying/working! And I don't have a teaching job yet, so I can go see a bunch of them! You can imagine my excitement. I mean, look at all the exclamation points I'm using!

But alas, all my hopes and dreams of approximately 4 minutes were dashed by scrolling down the page. You see, with the impending floods the Festival has been postponed. Not a week, or a month, but until January 2012. At least I will still be here, though not (likely) within walking distance. Sigh.

In any case, the program sounds pretty great. Obviously there's a lot of independent films from all over the world. Some I'm particularly excited about are Kids with Cameras (USA), Lung Neaw Visits His Neighbors (Mexico, Thailand), and Cave of Forgotten Dreams, Werner Herzog's lauded film using 3D technology to capture the 30,000 year old paintings in France's Chauvet Pont d'Arc cave. Check out the trailer.

Maybe Hopefully Certainly the floods will have dissipated by January, and I'll report back then with reviews of the films I've gotten to see. Until then!


* I have no idea what prompted the use of lines from Twas the Night Before Christmas. But I figured if I used one line, why not use multiple lines? My brain is random like that and/or I'm already getting in the Christmas spirit!

A Great Hobbit Day

Location: Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Adventure of the Day: It's so hard to say goodbye

I hope everyone had as great a Hobbit/Lost Day* as I did. Though it's real bittersweet being my last full day in Phnom Penh and having to say goodbye to Sara and Tabatha who are staying in Cambodia and Vietnam bound Mike, Allegra, Jay, Zoey, Ed, and David, it was also a pretty great day. Last classes of the session. I got to explore the amazing Russian market, had some speedy tuk-tuk rides, enjoy a fabulous and all too short river cruise, and finished off the day with a group karaoke dinner party. And tomorrow those of us going to Thailand will be out the door by 7 A.M.

It's difficult to fathom how much has happened since I got here 12 days ago. It's difficult to believe I only arrived 12 days ago. The time has flown by and yet I feel like I've been in Cambodia and Phnom Penh for ages. It's such a completely different environment and the people, streets, and experiences have affected me forever.

When I first arrived Dara, a Khmer employee of Language Corps and the hotel, gave me a city map. Just a simple double-sided paper one. It lists tons of restaurants and bars, as well as the major sites. I've gotten to or seen: the Central Market, the Russian Market, the Cambodian-Vietnamese Friendship Monument, the Independence Monument, Wat Phnom, The Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda, the Riverside, Tol Sleng Prison, the Killing Fields, Siem Reap, and the multiple temples at Angkor Wat Park. And all week I was in classes 9-5:30 learning about warmers and modeling, minimal competencies and phonemes. I've been so busy blogging has been a struggle, but all these experiences will be addressed.

I'm beyond excited to get to Thailand, find a job, an apartment, and begin a real life here. But Phnom Penh has been a great city. The food has been stellar and the people kind. Despite my reservations about coming to Cambodia, I've fallen into a great affection for this city and country. But how sad can I be to leave when I'm going to the island paradise that is Ko Chang, Thailand? And how can I really say goodbye when I know I'll be back?

Now off to bed, falling asleep to LOTR. Because it's Hobbit Day, and I'm in the middle of my very own journey. 



* September 22 is the birthday of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings and was the premiere date of Lost. Thus my obsession.