Surgery

Yesterday I went to the hospital to make an appointment for Gabe, who has a plantars wart. While I was there, I asked the Dr. to take a look at the cysts on my head, which have gotten bigger. I've had these cysts before and they are completely benign, but as they get bigger, the skin gets more and more irritated. The Dr. asked me to consult his friend, who was a surgeon. He said that he was right downstairs and could take a look at me. As I laid down on the surgeon's examination table, I was preparing for an exam and possibly scheduling at time for removal of the cysts. I felt a nurse doing something with my hair. She said she was cutting my hair. I thought she was cutting a few strands to make it easier for the Dr. to see, but when she showed me a large hunk of my hair, I realized she was shaving my head to prep me for surgery. I was quite upset as I wasn't prepared to have surgery that day, nor had I consented to the procedure. However, I was not able to escape and the Dr. went ahead with removing the cysts. I was pretty upset and even more so when I saw the bill. All in all, it was not such a good day, but as many people have pointed out, it is one of those things that happens when you live in a foreign country and don't always know what's going on. I have bought a few hairbands to cover the bald spot underneath the bandages you see. It's either hairbands or a big comb-over.

Cambodia

I have just returned from my trip and wanted to post a few pics. Unfortunately, the trip was mostly business, so I went to very few picture worthy places and most of my pics were taken in the car as we drove from place to place. Cambodia is a lot like Thailand in many ways. Going to Cambodia is for us what going to Canada is like for many Americans. Sure, they have a different currency and they have Tim Horton's instead of Dunkin' Donuts, but it's not really that different. However, there were differences. Cambodia was a French colony and still bears the marks of colonialization. Architecture, food, education are just a few areas that still show French influence. The English is very good in Cambodia compared to Thailand. Thailand, never having been a colony, has a low standard of English despite being more advanced than Cambodia in many ways. Cambodia is a bit of a wild west as well. I don't want to say anything negative here, but you've probably heard stories before. One obvious sign of this was the black-market goods so readily available. The gas in Cambodia is heavily taxed and is about $4/gallon. As a result, lots of people sell smuggled gas by the roadside. I wonder how long before this starts happening in America. You can see that they're selling the gas right out of the drums. I saw hundreds of such vendors. Crime is a bit higher and cars often get stolen. People either park their cars behind strong bars and barbed wires or park their cars right in their living room. Most houses are all French doors in the front, so this is easy to do. It was strange to look in houses and see people watching TV next to their car.

In spite of these downsides, Phnom Penh is rapidly improving. They are working on paving all the roads in the city and major roads outside the city. It's not nearly so crowded or crazy with traffic as Bangkok. The riverfront is lovely and well-plannned. We ate at a riverfront cafe that was right across from the unfinished structure that is supposed to be the courthouse for the Khmer Rouge trials. Apparently some foreigners had donated the money and been the driving force behind the trials but the Cambodians don't want it so no progress has been made on it for years. It's a bit eerie to look at.

Going Away

Just to let you all know, I'm going to Cambodia for the rest of the week. Pray for Eric & Gabe at home and me on the road.
I'll put up some pics when I return.