Introduction part I.

Today is Saturday and I am in the U.S. I leave for Cambodia on Wednesday. This is both a good and bad thing. It's good because I am totally excited to go. I've been itching to get overseas for a while and I'm returning to my place of main interest: Asia. I am excited to be doing work related to genocide, and to actually be doing "international law" (although, as Justice Scalia says, international law blows.)

This is bad because I'm nervous -- after all, going to Phnom Penh is not like going to Paris. It's going to be 95 and humid everyday (probably). I don't speak Khmer or whatever the language is called (shouldn't I know this by now?). I don't really like adventurous food. I'm going to miss people. I'm going to miss home.

And the Red Wings, Pistons and Tigers are looking absolutely amazing right now. What am I going to miss? This really isn't too important I suppose.

Anyway.

The name of the blog is inspired by the song of the same title recorded by the Dead Kennedys.



That picture's actually really awful if you know what's going on in it.

This is a map of Cambodia:



Major points of interest:

Phnom Penh: This is the capital, where I'll be living.

Siem Reap: Home of one of the wonders of the world, Angkor Wat, "the largest religious temple in the world" or something.

Sihanoukville: This is the beach where we pick up the babes.

I'll be living in Phnom Penh, the capital. Phnom Penh was once a popular vacation spot and/or colony (take your pick) for the French, so today it's pretty much a bunch of crumbling French colonial inspired architecture. A bit sad in a way... I suppose it sorta reminds of the architecture I saw in China, though with a much more noticable European influence, and with a lot less upkeep. Here's a shot of what Phnom Penh looks like, according to Google images:



Have no fear I'll take some of my own pictures.

I'm going to try to break all this up into smaller posts so that it doesn't become unmanageable. This, of course, presupposes that people will take the time to read this blog. If not, the blog will be for my own benefit. Hopefully I will be able to update it. I'll have internet at work and there are internet cafes everywhere (supposedly). Hope it's not dial-up.

That is all for now, more later.

- m