news of the day-the cambodian king is gay

i have decided that a travel blog is pretty necessary for me right now. while this southeast asia excursion is probably my last big vacation for a while, it's pretty intense and there is so much to talk about, but no one to talk about it all with. this really is my personal experience in every way as only certain moments are shared with the random people i come across. also, a place to exhibit all of the photos of the beaver has been necessary for quite some time now.

in case you're unfamiliar with the beaver, it's a somewhat realistic beaver puppet that was given to my friend takuji for his birthday. somehow, he ended up going to concerts with us and then to india with me last summer for my himalaya trek and delhi belly experience. i won't be able to post pictures of his previous and current adventures for about a month, but be sure that they will not disappoint.

phnom penh has been realllyyyy weirdly interesting so far. the first few days i was constipated and just as i thought it was time to let it all out, i had to get up, turn around and let it out my entry only hole, my mouth. oh come on, you know you're used to my inappropriate oversharing by now and don't worry, everything has evened itself out. when i signed up for this portion of my trip, i thought i would only be doing about 2 days of bullshit volunteering, but it turns out i volunteered myself for 5 days of teaching english to children. at first i sort of had an issue with this as i've never been a fan of the white man spreading his ways and more pertient to myself, stealing art from other nations and selling it in fancy galleries for ridiculous amounts of money. right so galleries have nothing to do with teaching, but all in all, the white man usually does shitty things like bring syphillis to america. although, if you're jeffrey amherst bringing the syph to mass. you get one of the best colleges in the nation named after you. oh my digressions...the other issue was that i really and truly dislike children. what i do appreciate about them is seeing how their minds work creatively, their interpretations and views of art and life, and seeing how their minds can be shaped in so many different ways. thinking about that, i decided this could actually turn out to be an enjoyable experience as i could impart my senses on to them through drawing, etc. and see what they come up with. also, i came to realize that unfortunately, learning english is a truly valuable skill for them as it will allow them to get better jobs when they get older and hopefully help their families move away from the shacks they share with numerous other families. my previous volunteer experience has always been with the environment and animals as i feel that without either of those, there will be no children to help out.

on my way to the school the first day, i noticed that the living conditions seemed pretty terrible, but then i bothered to look inside a couple living quarters and noticed giant tvs, fancy stereo systems, and most importantly, happy and appreciative people. i'm running out of time, so without too much detail, working with these kids has been a great experience (despite the fact some kid took a dump on the floor 2 days in a row) and it's bittersweet that today is the last day. since memory is the main theme in my creative endeavours, all i can think about is the fact that these children, the drawings they made for me, and the experience i shared with them will stay with me for a lifetime, but in a couple weeks they will most likely forget all about me and be enthralled by their new teacher. i still have trouble addressing children, acknowledging the fact they're human beings, and usually end up using words such as 'it' and 'this one' to refer to them, but i can now appreciate and understand why they can be little assholes sometimes and not get so frustrated.

moving away from that experience, i have to brag about the fact that i ate tarantula last night. i was expecting crispy bits that did not necessarily resemble a spider, but was handed a plate with three giant tarantulas that looked as though they could get up and scurry away. taking a closer look, i noticed little hairs and fangs. to prepare them, the live spiders are simply thrown in a frier and served with some lemon juice with salt and pepper on the side. after the beaver took a bite, i decided it was my turn. picking it up had to have been the worst part, but since i had been so bold and announced to everyone the first day that i would eat tarantula, i had to eat it. after some breathing and a couple sips of my mangosteen daquiri, it was time to experience the delicacy. anyway, i 'eight' a tarantula, got the second and biggest bite on a film that is sure to be my 'leg'acy and i will put it on the 'web' later.

well, it's time to ride my bike to my last day at the school. lucky for me, i have the perfect soundtrack, brian wilson's original recordings for smile, making its way through my brain thanks to a friend.