I'm a sleepy person in that I need my 8 hours of sleep. Before having kids that was one of my worries about the prospect of having kids - how would I cope with the sleep deprivation?! Usually if you cut my beauty sleep, you'll face a cranky me. Now when I have kids and am sleep deprived by more than my son's age of 3.5 years... well, sure, I might be cranky (I don't know, ask my husband!!). But I feel I've managed much better than expected. Despite continually interrupted nights, I feel pretty much normal. And for further background info, my 8 month old son still wants feeding every 3 hours or so. So I haven't slept a full night in I have no idea how long. I think it's better not to head down that road and count... might lead to crankiness finally!! And there he is again, getting up to cry out for momma. So to cut this short, I think I have an extra dose of those newborn-mothering hormones that help. Or something.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Puzzle Bits
One of the few life advices I've received from my dad is: 'usually issues fall into place' ('yleensä asiat loksahtavat paikalleen'). Pretty much meaning that usually things end up working out all right. I tend to worry quite a bit, especially before anything actually happens. So my version of this above idea would be that 'often things work out, until they don't.' ;)
Anyway, I'm sure there's a whole lot of wisdom in these words but I haven't quite internalized this wisdom yet. However, there are times when it does feel like things come together in a surprising way, even in mundane spheres of life.
E.g. Two days ago I picked up a novel my mom gave me TWO years ago. At the time we were on holiday together but my son fell ill with a nasty ear infection so I didn't get a chance to start reading then. And somehow reading it got postponed, a lot (this tends to happen with me). Anyway, I picked it up 2 days ago and started reading and all of a sudden it feels like I'm supposed to read this book and I'm supposed to be reading it now. It's no master piece of world literature, just a simple diary-based book written by the wife of a contemporary Finnish author. But I'm really enjoying it! And I don't think I would have necessarily enjoyed it until now. Hm.
Second example. Today I finally talked with a woman I've seen frequently over the past year but for some reason we've never really interacted. It hasn't been a question of avoidance, at least from my part!, but somehow our schedules have been off so that we've merely crossed paths in acknowledgement of each other but in nearly mute acknowledgement. Well, today our paths crossed in a way that couldn't have been stylishly avoided (;) so we actually started to talk a bit. I knew her son's name, I knew her husband's name, but I had to admit to her I didn't remember hers. Half an hour later, though, we were talking like old(-ish) friends! She seems awesome! Yes, what a pity I 'interview' her already a year ago. But, again, I felt that this was the exact right time to have this talk with her. Today was the day we were supposed to talk. Hmm.
Go figure!
Anyway, I'm sure there's a whole lot of wisdom in these words but I haven't quite internalized this wisdom yet. However, there are times when it does feel like things come together in a surprising way, even in mundane spheres of life.
E.g. Two days ago I picked up a novel my mom gave me TWO years ago. At the time we were on holiday together but my son fell ill with a nasty ear infection so I didn't get a chance to start reading then. And somehow reading it got postponed, a lot (this tends to happen with me). Anyway, I picked it up 2 days ago and started reading and all of a sudden it feels like I'm supposed to read this book and I'm supposed to be reading it now. It's no master piece of world literature, just a simple diary-based book written by the wife of a contemporary Finnish author. But I'm really enjoying it! And I don't think I would have necessarily enjoyed it until now. Hm.
Second example. Today I finally talked with a woman I've seen frequently over the past year but for some reason we've never really interacted. It hasn't been a question of avoidance, at least from my part!, but somehow our schedules have been off so that we've merely crossed paths in acknowledgement of each other but in nearly mute acknowledgement. Well, today our paths crossed in a way that couldn't have been stylishly avoided (;) so we actually started to talk a bit. I knew her son's name, I knew her husband's name, but I had to admit to her I didn't remember hers. Half an hour later, though, we were talking like old(-ish) friends! She seems awesome! Yes, what a pity I 'interview' her already a year ago. But, again, I felt that this was the exact right time to have this talk with her. Today was the day we were supposed to talk. Hmm.
Go figure!
You Know You're Living in a Developing Country When...
...it's midnight and you notice a mosquito inside your mosquito net. You get up, turn the lights on, risk waking the kids up, and frantically attempt to squeeze the living daylights out of the puny insect. After squishing it with a sense of triumph you examine it to see whether it has striped legs or not (dengue fever spreading 'Tiger' or Aedes mosquito, or not) and whether it's stuffed with blood. Then you go back to sleep.
...you've been dealing with cool/cold showers and dishwater for a year only to hear from your next door neighbors that we actually should get hot water straight from the tap. Can it be true we get hot water? It can't be true... It IS true!! Turns out the faucet wasn't properly open. And we're called 'technical advisors,' here working in development.Hm, who is teaching who, I wonder...
...you've been dealing with cool/cold showers and dishwater for a year only to hear from your next door neighbors that we actually should get hot water straight from the tap. Can it be true we get hot water? It can't be true... It IS true!! Turns out the faucet wasn't properly open. And we're called 'technical advisors,' here working in development.Hm, who is teaching who, I wonder...
Medical News
I read from today's Phnom Penh Post (online edition) that there's potentially workable vaccine now against dengue fever. Exciting news though it will probably come way too late for this year, again an exceptionally bad dengue year (last was in 2007).
PPP also reported on another medical update on the "mystery disease" of serious enterovirus 71, a virus that is now going around Cambodia and creating a bit of a panic here. Apparently the local children's hospital (Kantha Bopha) and the WHO are still arguing over the exact cause of this outbreak, proper treatment, and level of cause for concern. Go figure.
PPP also reported on another medical update on the "mystery disease" of serious enterovirus 71, a virus that is now going around Cambodia and creating a bit of a panic here. Apparently the local children's hospital (Kantha Bopha) and the WHO are still arguing over the exact cause of this outbreak, proper treatment, and level of cause for concern. Go figure.
Monday, July 23, 2012
Politics of Gender
"Cultural stereotyping hinders women's involvement in politics," says Pich Srey Pho, a woman and a representative of the Cambodian People's Party in Cambodia's Pursat region.
In a recent Phnom Penh Post article (July 12), several politically active women shared about their experiences in the "unwomanly" world of politics.
Although the Cambodian Millennium Development goals state that by 2015 25% of commune seats should be attained by women, only 18% of seats are assigned to women this year.
One of the interviewed women became politically active after witnessing the land grabbing that plagues Cambodia today. Another woman says her husband asked her to stay at home but she went ahead and got involved with a party nonetheless. Her marriage soon ended.
Balancing political aspirations and domestic expectations is clearly challenging, with culture also weighing on the scale.
In a recent Phnom Penh Post article (July 12), several politically active women shared about their experiences in the "unwomanly" world of politics.
Although the Cambodian Millennium Development goals state that by 2015 25% of commune seats should be attained by women, only 18% of seats are assigned to women this year.
One of the interviewed women became politically active after witnessing the land grabbing that plagues Cambodia today. Another woman says her husband asked her to stay at home but she went ahead and got involved with a party nonetheless. Her marriage soon ended.
Balancing political aspirations and domestic expectations is clearly challenging, with culture also weighing on the scale.
Friday, July 20, 2012
Great News for Cambodian Women
Amidst all the negative and worrying news these days (European financial crisis, enterovirus 71 epidemics here in the Mekong region, mass shooting in Colorado killing 12 and wounding even a 3-month old baby...), a gem of a story.
The WHO recently reported that maternal mortality has dropped by two thirds in c. 20 years. Pieter Van Maaren, WHO Representative to Cambodia, says that “Cambodia deserves enormous credit for its tremendous reduction of the number of women who die in or soon after childbirth.”
Today in Cambodia:
- 60% of families have TVs
- 60% of all Cambodians have mobile phones
- more than 50% of families own motorbikes
Hence better access to health education and services.
In 2000 only 39% of pregnant women had antenatal check-ups with a health-care provider. Now about 90% do. Now c. 70% of deliveries are assisted by a trained midwife. Nearly 60% of babies are born in a health facility.
Whereas before nurses could choose to specialize in midwifery, this year marked the first graduation of a three-year midwifery program. The Cambodian Ministry of Health has even set up an ingenious system of financial incentives for every live birth at a health center, with the birth attendant receiving a USD 10-15 bonus.
Unfortunately for many families these medical advances come too late. It saddens me to share that only weeks ago the wife of one of our local colleagues died after giving birth to their first child. She died at a health center, albeit in one of Cambodia's remotest towns. Sometimes tragedy strikes, changing the course of even the youngest of lives. But, if it's any consolation to the grieving family, fewer fathers and newborns, grandparents and loved ones, have to go through the same in Cambodia today.
The WHO recently reported that maternal mortality has dropped by two thirds in c. 20 years. Pieter Van Maaren, WHO Representative to Cambodia, says that “Cambodia deserves enormous credit for its tremendous reduction of the number of women who die in or soon after childbirth.”
Today in Cambodia:
- 60% of families have TVs
- 60% of all Cambodians have mobile phones
- more than 50% of families own motorbikes
Hence better access to health education and services.
In 2000 only 39% of pregnant women had antenatal check-ups with a health-care provider. Now about 90% do. Now c. 70% of deliveries are assisted by a trained midwife. Nearly 60% of babies are born in a health facility.
Whereas before nurses could choose to specialize in midwifery, this year marked the first graduation of a three-year midwifery program. The Cambodian Ministry of Health has even set up an ingenious system of financial incentives for every live birth at a health center, with the birth attendant receiving a USD 10-15 bonus.
Unfortunately for many families these medical advances come too late. It saddens me to share that only weeks ago the wife of one of our local colleagues died after giving birth to their first child. She died at a health center, albeit in one of Cambodia's remotest towns. Sometimes tragedy strikes, changing the course of even the youngest of lives. But, if it's any consolation to the grieving family, fewer fathers and newborns, grandparents and loved ones, have to go through the same in Cambodia today.
Monday, July 16, 2012
"Write Everyday..."
"even if it is just a paragraph." Advise given by one of my favorite authors, Michael Connelly. Hence it's time to break my 2 month (!!) long silence here and try to do just that, write at least one paragraph.
What's kept me busy these 8 or so weeks? Two transcontinental flights with two little guys, getting settled into and out of a variety of places and time zones. In this time period, my hubby's had a knee operation, my baby's learned to pull himself forward at a daily increasing speed (including off the bed), my first-born has started piano lessons, our dog's had mites, and, among a long list of big and small turns of events, I've suffered two migraines (maybe due to all of the above!).
Srill waiting for a greater verbal inspiration to hit. But paragraph, done.
Ps. Read Connelly! Bosch rules.
What's kept me busy these 8 or so weeks? Two transcontinental flights with two little guys, getting settled into and out of a variety of places and time zones. In this time period, my hubby's had a knee operation, my baby's learned to pull himself forward at a daily increasing speed (including off the bed), my first-born has started piano lessons, our dog's had mites, and, among a long list of big and small turns of events, I've suffered two migraines (maybe due to all of the above!).
Srill waiting for a greater verbal inspiration to hit. But paragraph, done.
Ps. Read Connelly! Bosch rules.
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