Please, Please, Can We Keep It?...

Yesterday, when I began my work at Honour Village, I was startled to discover a little kitten asleep under one of the desks I was varnishing, so I carried it over to show the other volunteers.  I learned it had wandered onto Honour Village property the evening before, and had apparently decided to stay put.

 It's an adorable little thing, same stubby tail as we see on most cats here, but with one remarkable difference.  With it's pale blue eyes and distinct cream and tan markings, it's likely derived some of its lineage from a Siamese cat. 

Who can resist such a cute kitten?

Chhunly is a big 'softie', and the next thing we knew, he'd given the OK for this kitten to join the big Honour Village family.  In keeping with the tradition of naming the Honour Village cats, she (we think it's a she) has been named O.B. Lucky.  She's lucky to have arrived at a place where she will be well fed, and well-loved. 

Welcome home, O.B. Lucky!  Good luck!  Somnang l'or!

O.B. Lucky

Thai gives O.B. Lucky a squeeze

Chea (L) and Narong (R) petting the new kitten

All tuckered out

O.B. Lucky may soon be getting lessons from OB Happy
on how to sneak some rice & fish from the little ones.

Surprise, surprise!

If you're thinking of visiting Cambodia, and in any way squeamish, get ready for an attitude adjustment.  Any of you who know me, will know that I'm not a big fan of bugs or creepy crawly things, and I've encountered some things here that have tested my mettle.  Considering I used to run like a scared rabbit when I saw a mouse, I've come a long way.  I've had to.

I've blogged here about eating rat near Battambang, though I wouldn't try the fried crickets.  And I've blogged about being served quail's heads and chicken heads.  (I'll admit I left the quail's heads on my plate, but I did gnaw on the necks, which were pretty tasty.)  And I know now that I must have eaten half a chicken's head at Prom's wedding before I figured that the curvy 'bone' I pulled out of my mouth was, in actual fact, a beak. (Surprise!)  Considering I wouldn't eat the quail's heads, I felt pretty proud of being able to eat that chicken's head, but when I looked at the other half, I just couldn't do it, so I fed it to Gordon.
 
A few days ago, I was eating some soup.  It had a lot of green vegetables in it, and a bit of meat.  It also had some (cooked) white things in it that I swear were white grubs.  (Surprise!)  Those I politely left on my plate. 

There are all kinds of bugs here.  Everything from head lice (VERY common here) to huge cockroaches the size of quarters.  I've just come to expect them now.  I've also resigned myself to the fact that I could well be needing a treatment for my own head lice before I leave.  (Surprise!)

Yesterday, I went to lean against the door jamb, and  (Surprise!) I almost squashed a praying mantis...at least I think that's what it was.  I didn't jump, only because it didn't jump at me....but I treated it with great respect, and gave it wide berth just in case it decided to leap.



It was about 4 inches long.

OB Joyful (the cat) has gotten pretty good at hunting.  So far I've seen her with a mouse and a small snake in her mouth.  Just so long as she doesn't decide to present me with her latest quarry, I can deal with it. 

Occasionally I'll see a kid playing with bugs.  To them it's normal.  They carry them around and occasionally pull their legs off.  And I suppose that's OK, just so long as they don't expect me to join in the fun.

I arrived one morning to find Riem playing with these guys....
They're about an inch long....(Surprise!)

Last year, the guesthouse we were in sprayed for bugs occasionally.  We were never really bothered by any, except for one big hairy spider I found in a corner that I had to call the cleaning staff to remove for me.  The cobwebs would accumulate in our room as quickly as the cleaners would take them down, so in the back of my mind, I had visions of spiders lurking in dark corners or creeping across my bed as I slept.  This year our guesthouse room is spotless.  I know they spray regularly, because after the room has been cleaned, I can smell the 'lemon' scent that masks the Raid.  No creepy crawly's this year, not unless you count the little lizard who visited us one evening in the early weeks of our stay.  Oh, these little lizards are all about in the hallways.  They lurk near the light fixtures at night waiting to capture tasty bugs that are attracted to the light, and in the daytime, they hide behind the picture just outside our guestroom door.  But they don't bother me... not as long as they keep their distance.

Sue (the founder of Honour Village) had asked us to design a shopping bag.  She'd purchased a huge roll of fabric for the purpose, and we finally got around to that task yesterday.  And as I rolled out the fabric..... A tiny snake fell out from the folds.  I stood back, breathless.  It didn't move.  It was dead.  Surprise! 

So far, I've been pretty good at handling these 'surprises'... but with almost three weeks left to go, there's bound to be at least one more.  I'm hoping it won't be a big one and if it is, I hope I don't make a complete fool of myself. 

Life in Cambodia- Part 3- Cats & Dogs

Many of you are pet owners, and I thought it might be interesting to report on my observations about pets (cats & dogs) on the other side of the world. 

Dogs

Last year a British volunteer for the Ponheary Ly Foundation made the following blanket statement:  “All Cambodian dogs look alike.”  Take a look at the following pics, and you decide. 

We nicknamed him 'Earmuffs'

I will grant you her one thing….all Cambodian dogs act alike.  Almost anywhere you go, chances are you’ll see one sleeping - dog-tired and lazy from the heat.  I’ve even seen one sleeping in the middle of a main road at 3 am.  They invariably find a place in the shade or a cool pile of sand, or under a table… and they snooze.   

Cambodian dogs are either too tired (or indifferent) to raise their heads or move aside.  Occasionally, I’ve encountered a sleeping dog in the middle my path, and had to step over it…. and it neither blinked nor moved a whisker.  I still carry the caution of my youth about strange dogs, so if I see one with food, I give it a wide berth.  Still, in the entire time we’ve been here, I’ve yet to be challenged by any dog defending its territory or young.

Interestingly enough, all the female dogs we see have long teats, so they've obviously whelped several litters, but until a few weeks ago, we’d never seen puppies - never.  The puppies we’ve seen recently are either a special (pure?) breed, or found out in the countryside…. which leads me to wonder what happens to all the puppies?  Just saying…..

Cats

Even rarer than puppies are cats.  I don’t know if they’re just all out somewhere catching mice (or whatever vermin happens to be available), but I doesn’t seem to me that cats are generally kept as house pets here like dogs.  The first time I saw a Cambodian cat, I thought its tail had been slammed in a door, because it was short and all bent out of shape.   When most of the cats I saw after that had the same tails, I realized it must be some strange dominant gene.  They do look SO funny.  Occasionally I’ll see a long-tailed cat, but up till now, I’ve never seen a long-haired cat.  Maybe long hair just doesn’t cut it in this heat. 

OB Joyful - notice the crooked, cropped tail

Longer crooked tail

Normal tail 

The two orphanage cats at Honour Village are very different, and very special.  OB Happy(male) and OB Joyful (female) are still in the late kitten (or early teenage) stage.  They are house pets, in the same sense as we in North America have them, except they are so used to being constantly held and carried by children and staff alike, they have become totally spoiled.  OB Happy especially has to be part of the action, and insists on being cradled like a baby.

Khanit with OB Happy

I find it amusing to see cat and dog products (food, treats, shampoo, toys, etc) in all the stores.  These are obviously aimed at ex-pats, sinc there’s no way the average Cambodian could ever afford such lavish extravagance on a pet.  (Keep in mind the average Cambodian makes about $1/day, which often has to support an entire family.)  

Price = $6.00

Anyways, it is refreshing to see that OB Happy and OB Joyful are surviving well on the same thing we eat… rice, fish and vegetables.   Yum, yum!