Arbitrary Time

Today, it is April 20th. Tonight, we cross the international date line. Tomorrow will be April 20th. We also had Leap Day this year, a February 29th. This year, I will have lived 367 days. SO COOL. I couldn't imagine going westward around the world, crossing the IDL and losing a full day. I'll take the 3 extra.

More to come soon- classes kicking my butt.

Where in the world am I?

Just a quick excerpt from our Dean's Memo about yesterday... enjoy. Trying to hold on long enough to finish up my blog posts and school work!!

EXERPTS FROM THE NOON BRIDGE REPORT (AS OF APRIL 16)

Latitude: 34˚ 15" N

Longitude: 147˚ 58" E

Sea Conditions: 5.5 meters or 18 feet, rough

Distance to go: 2982 nautical miles

Cambodia

Before I can even begin to describe my time in Cambodia, I need to give everyone a background of the conflict and crimes against humanity. Had I not read a book when I was younger (First They Killed My Father), I don't know if I ever really would have learned about this. It's a shame that this type of cleansing can still happen (and is still happening today in places like Darfur, DRC, Uganda, Rwanda...) and no one learns about it. Quick tidbit: although Invisible Children is a highly contested organization, please watch the #STOPKONY video. Make it stop. Protect the children and their innocence; no one should be conscripted for a war of religious ideologies by fanatics who believe they have been touched by God.

Cambodia in a nutshell, SUPER DUPER BRIEF (this is my outline for a group project... enjoy.) But seriously, look into this more, it's actually fascinating. 

1.     Independence --> over throw of government

I.               In 1863, King Norodom signed an agreement with the French to establish a protectorate over his kingdom; eventual colonialism

II.             On 9 March 1945, during the Japanese occupation of Cambodia, King Norodom Sihanouk proclaimed an independent Kingdom of Kampuchea but Japan maintained a Consulate in Phnom Penh

III.           After Allied military units entered Cambodia, the Japanese military forces present in the country were disarmed and repatriated. The French were able to re-impose the colonial administration in Phnom Penh in October the same year.

IV.            A partial independence agreement was struck in October 1953. Sihanouk then declared that independence had been achieved and returned in triumph to Phnom Penh.

V.              Cambodia remained neutral throughout the 1950s and 1960s, letting North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong utilize its land for bases.

VI.            In 1969, the US began a 14 month long bombing plan to destabalzie. These raids took place about 20 miles within the Cambodian borders in an area that had already been evacuated by the NVA

VII.          Prince Sihanouk did not want the US to utilize its air bases and air space due to his attempt to keep Cambodia neutral as the Khmer Rouge began to gain power.

VIII.        General Lon Nol, and a right government, won the 1966 elections which lasted until 1967 and again in 1969.

IX.            Prince Sihanouk went abroad for medical reasons in January 1970.

 

2.     History of the Khmer Rouge Policies

I.               Khmer Rouge was the name for the group given to the Communist Party of Kampuchea

II.             The Khmer Rouge tried to institute social reforms that aimed to create a purely uneducated and agrarian-based society

III.           Khmer Rouge policies firmly against capitalism àCommunist influence from immigrants from China

IV.            Hostility towards religion and education

V.              Forced Labor

 

3.     1979-Present

I.               In response to the KR beginning to push into Vietnam, Vietnam overthrew the KR

II.             The People's Republic of Kampuchea was established however it was a coalition of 3 groups (ex prince, ex prime minister, and the KR) that was still recognized internationally as the legitimate state party regardless of Vietnam's intervention and the clear evidence of genocide (the Coalition Government of the Democratic Kamp)

III.           1980s à civil war

IV.            89 & 91 à 2 international peace conferences in Paris… which were accompanied by a UN peace keeping mission

V.              in 1993 prince was reestablished as the king of Cambodia

VI.            Coup in 1997 led by communist leader Hun Sen

VII.          Sen is opposed to trials of former KR and this is probably due to the fact that many of them hold high ranking positions in his government

VIII.        But in 1998 held elections, which were followed by greater stability and less KR

IX.            It took the country a long time to begin to recover bc they killed off all the doctors, educated people, etc

 

4.     Centers/Torture/Life Today

I.               Life in Cambodia today

A.              Cambodia still facing very evident impacts from the Khmer Rouge's 4-yr reign till this day

II.             biggest issue in Cambodia today is the psychological impact caused under Pol Pot's reign

III.           Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum - also know as S-21 in Phnom Penh

A.              Bussed there, forced to "confess" to crimes not actually committed

IV.            Documentation Center of Cambodia 

V.              Virtual Tribunal Project at University of California-Berkeley

VI.            National Archives of Cambodia and the Legal Document's Center

5.     Introduction to the ECCC:

I.               Cambodian government request, UN backed, hybrid court

II.             Established in 2001, lack of funds, support from international community

6.     Structure of the court:

I.               Three chambers, 30 Cambodian and International judges

II.             Co-investigating judges and co-prosecutors

7.     History of ECCC

I.               Overview of progress

II.             Challenges facing the court, health and age of perpetrators

III.           Updates on cases 001-004

 

8.     Cases 001 / 002

I.               001:

A.              Kaing Guek Eav alias Duch, the former Chairman of the Khmer Rouge S-21 Security Center in Phnom Penh

1.     Sentenced to 35 years

2.     Appealed

3.     Resentenced to life

4.     Charges

5.     Charges

II.             002

A.              Nuon Chea, aged 84, former Deputy Secretary of the Communist Party of Kampuchea; 

B.              Ieng Sary, aged 85, former Deputy Prime Minister for Foreign Affairs; 

C.              Khieu Samphan, aged 79, former Head of State

D.             Ieng Thirith, aged 78, former Minister of Social Affairs

E.      Problems: incontinence, age, dementia

     1.   Can you try them? valid witnesses? 

     2.   Does their age justify leaving the court  

III.           003 / 004

A.              Not being prosecuted, dropped

IV.            Current probs

A.              Money

B.              Government

C.              Illness

D.             UN doing anything?

E.              Kofi and Moon? Passive.

F.              Two months between

G.              Corrupt judges

H.             Fixing the problems now!!

 

Kung Fu Pandas

(April 1-7, 2012)

Ni hao! China was AWESOME. I think it might have been one of my favorite ports, definitely. We docked in Hong Kong on the first day and I was really sick, I was unable to get off the ship that morning which was really upsetting. But in the afternoon I got off with a few girls and walked around and went to "afternoon tea" in the Ritz Carlton and had gorgeous views of the city and then made our way back out to the ship to meet up for dinner and the night, but inevitably with a stop at H & M for cold weather clothing because it would be FREEZING in Beijing. J, J, L, R, C, and I went out to meet up with another SASer's friend from Maymester but we couldn't find him in his hotel and we wound up going to a local Chinese restaurant. The food was delicious; I ordered pan fried noodles that were actually fried fried, like eating uncooked ramen. Everything else was good though, JH and I shared the ramen and fried rice. As a table, we wanted to try the local Chinese wine but it was a bad idea. It was served hot, like sake, and had a dark brown, syrupy color to it. And it tasted even worse. It was like a hot soy sauce with a little bit of rubbing alcohol into it. Seriously, it was disgusting. We went out to meet up with some of our friends and JH and I had to go home to pack because we were leaving decently early in the morning for our trip to Beijing!

 

The trip to Beijing was amazing. The people on my trip were so cool and everything we did was so interesting. I've realized that I use a lot of the same words in these posts a lot but there's only so much I can do… oh well. We took a 3-hour plane flight to Beijing and the Hong Kong airport was massive. I'm convinced it was like the size of Connecticut. When we touched down in Beijing, we headed to our hotel and out to dinner. On our walk to find dinner, we ran into a weird line-dancing convention thing in front of a church plaza. We all joined in and a cute little Chinese woman taught us the dance. When we stumbled upon the restaurant, they put us in our own separate room. We ordered 9 different dishes and ate way too much; the food was delicious. We stumbled across a little hole in the wall bar where there was a band playing American oldies with a Chinese accent and some songs in Chinese. The boys decided to take the Jenga blocks and make Rube Goldberg devices using the blocks as dominos. The videos might be the funniest thing I've ever seen, each loop and obstacle was named something different.

 

The next day, the group left for the wall and, keep in mind I was sick a few days ago. I felt motion-sick in the bus, which NEVER happens, and had to brave the 1.,480 odd stairs UP to the Great Wall. That doesn't even include how far I walked on the wall. It was about 2 miles up and a 4 mile hike down the wall. I felt so ill that I almost turned around but I figured I couldn't do that, especially without actually stepping foot on the wall. Some little Chinese woman held my hand the whole way up to make sure I made it, that was only semi-embarrassing. She continued through the portion of the old wall and then I felt obligated to buy souvenirs from her. But afterwards, I kept going and made it the full four miles without being sick :) The view was unbelievable and we climbed over it onto a hilltop and watched the sun set and took some unbelievable photos. We hiked down and it and had some dinner, where it was FREEZING. The dinner was delicious, glad to know I still like Chinese food as much as I do in the states  :) But then we all hung out, chilled for a while, and went to sleep in our tents. It was so cold, I was in 3 pairs of socks, leggings, sweatpants, a scarf, a long sleeve shirt, a sweatshirt, a North Face where the fleece and rain jacket are separate but you can wear them together, a panda hat, and a beanie. I was sleeping at the bottom of my sleeping back with a good foot on top of me so I was actually pretty warm... The next morning we got up and hiked up for sunrise, another mile+. Rough life, so cold. Here's a picture to show how good I look bundled up... glad I go to a warm weather school. This will also be the one and only time I EVER wear navy/black together. I was disgusted with myself...

The rest of the day was spent sight-seeing at Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. It was really cool, somehow my group lagged behind and I think I would have liked it a whole lot more if I had been able to take my time and do it as I wanted to. There was a line that must have been the longest wait ever to see Mao's mausoleum. After the city, we went for Peking Duck, DELICIOUS! It was kinda weird watching them carve it but I just pretended it was like Thanksgiving. For the remainder of the day, we hiked a drum tower and saw a performance (seriously, what is up with China and their stairs?!) and visited a traditional house. The drum thing was pretty cool but the house was a little boring. The transportation to and from was a rickshaw so that was interesting, JH kept getting hit by the driver behind us, hahahahaha. Afterwards, we went out and hung out with other SAS kids in their hotel that night and the next day, we took a 5 and a half hour bullet train back to Shanghai! 

on the drum tower with a shot of Beijing in the back

group in the Forbidden City holding up the "Victory" sign, NOT PEACE! Found that out...

Once back to Shanghai, we had to go through the process of reboarding the ship and going through customs. We were unsure if we were going to be able to get off that night but we were able to , thank goodness, and JH and I went out to meet M&M for dinner at a delicious little Italian place. I'd go back just for that food... Then we went out to a club that was the weirdest, most disgusting place I've been and thank goodness I never have to go back. K, JH and I went shopping the next day and went to a pearl market, I've never had so much fun buying stuff in my entire life. We had dim sum for lunch and it was delicious, so good I had it the next day at the same restaurant! That night was a little more fun, we went to dinner and a whole group of us showed up and we took over and sang Karaoke and did whatever songs we wanted :) A tasting: American Pie, Waka Waka, I'm on a Boat, Wagon Wheel, Barefoot Blue Jean Night, etc. The last day in Shanghai was spent doing some more shopping (I love fakes.) and sum more dim sum. So delicious, so much fun. I honestly loved China. I definitely would go back and spend some more time in each city. I think the people I was with made it so much more fun, I travelled with people I normally don't and I think I made better friends because of it :) 

Waka Waka

(February 24-29, 2012)

I guess it's time I should write about South Africa. It. Was. Amazing. I don't know what other words to use to describe it other than amazing. I had finally made it and I felt so at home. The port was gorgeous and reminded me of something along the lines of the port of Miami. V&A waterfront had everything; the restaurants were amazing and there was a decent amount of nightlife. The first day was spent exploring the waterfront area a bit and taking pictures of EVERYTHING and then to an FDP. My FDP explored the Khayelitsha township, one of the fastest growing townships in Cape Town. We visited a woman who converted her house into a B&B (http://www.vickys-bed-and-breakfast.com/). It's an amazing program and she sponsors local kids to visit many of the major important areas in the area such as Robben Island and Table Mountain. She was booked solid during the World Cup, a huge feat for such a small B&B. We then went to the Ubuntu AIDS/HIV clinic where we had the opportunity to speak with people afflicted with the disease. Their stories were uplifting, as it proved to us that one can still have a life aside from the debilitating illnesses they posses.  On the second day, P and I did some sight-seeing together. We did table mountain and went to Old Biscuit Mill. OBM is a farmers market that occurs on Saturdays and has the most spectacular food. They had gyros, pizzas, sangria, bagels, cookies, kebabs, and honestly anything you can think of. It was amazinggggg. I had a bacon sandwich (because I ran out of money) and P had a gyro. It was so good, I really can't stress that enough. We went out to the Cape Town Ajax match that night where it was a draw but the stadium was AMAZING. The next morning we were leaving for our safari at 3:30 so I called it a night. 

We flew from Cape Town to Joburg and drove another 6 or 7 hours to our treehouse lodge in Kruger. We were a little late for our sunset safari but it was still a gorgeous sunset in the bush. We saw giraffes, jackals, and impalas the first day. We sat and bonded with our tour guide, Charles, and played South African card games. The next morning was an early one and we sat on the rover for awhile game searching. We saw so many animals but no big cats :( We saw an elephant bathing itself and a heard of mommies and babies! It was awesome.

 

GIRAFFE!!

casual bathtime..

obviously I don't understand the demure color for a safari rule.... at the Orpen Gate

The next day we had an early morning bush walk that my roommate, R, and I accidentally slept through.... and then another long ride back to Joburg for our flight! We got into Cape Town at night and went out and hung out with a bunch of people. The last day was awesome, where I went to Boulder's Beach! I swam with penguins! :) 

All in all, South Africa definitely lived up to my expectations. I know this was so brief but I need to get all these out before Japan starts! Will fill eeeeeevery one in on it when we all hang out after this! :)

Naaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnn!!!

(March 12-17, 2012)

When one thinks of India, you think of cows, kids, traffic, and monuments. Everything here is true but greater than you can ever imagine. It was so interesting though, It was everything I expected but nothing at the same time. My first day was spent in Kerala, where we docked, in the city of Kochi. I attended an FDP at Chendamengalam Village, a village where the women are in charge. I didn't get a whole lot more information other than that so there you go. We had a traditional meal of fish mappas (which I did not like... probably the only meal I DIDN'T enjoy) on banana leaves. We witnessed a traditional dance and took a walk around the compound. It was HOT out, I wanted nothing more than to go swimming in the backwaters. That night we went to a welcome reception where there was food, dancing, henna, and shopping. It was more of a mixer between our students and MBA students from the Kerala area. I had so much fun, the people I spoke to were so nice. I met a wonderful woman who was days away from graduation and had just been married! She was so sweet and I really enjoyed meeting her. 

The next day I left for my trip to Dehli, Agra, and Varanasi. This may have been one of my favorite SAS trips even though it was extremely structured. We took the first day flying and taking a quick driving tour around Nw Dehli and to see the India Gate. Of course, my camera had to die as soon as we made it there.... 

Happy Easter!!