Would you believe it! Another mouse in the trap and that's number five this week.
It was an interesting morning on the radio, listening to Canada's own Lise Doucet, speaking to various international female members of her BBC staff on women's issues around the world. Did you know that the first time an Iranian students hears anything about sex education is at university? The student is 22 years old and he or she is allowed to see a condom from a distance of 3 metres. It's mind blowing how the world treats women and their issues. I was fascinated by the 600+ kilometre line of women stretching through Kerala State in support of women who want to go to a Hindu temple. They can't go because they are female and they may be menstruating, which would upset the deity who decided he was going to remain a bachelor. What's amazing is that the women want to worship in his temple; I'd say, "To hell with him!" On the other hand, it's not the god who's causing the problem, it's the men who are the 'protectors' of this bachelor chap. I don't think any of them bothered asking for his opinion.
I was having people over for dinner in the evening and I had to think of what to do. I've only got one tiny hotplate so there was no way I could cook a meal for 7 people so I decided to think of somewhere where I could order the food and take out. I decided to go to the Oyster House which is a seafood restaurant I've been to many times with Cina, Vuth and their staff. Vuth just sits back and has a drink while Cina does all the ordering. It's always done in Khmer so I had no idea what she was saying; all I kept hearing was "Moi Kilo" which means "One Kilo". The food's always good so I asked Samnang, the 14 year old son of Cina and Vuth to come with me to help me with the ordering. He's the one who comes over to cook for me. He chatted in Khmer and passed on the order. I nearly had a heart attack when I was told it would cost $55. It turned out he'd ordered a kilo of crab, a kilo of shrimp, two large bbq'd fish with vegetables and a large plate of fried rice with vegetables and seafood. He also told me he'd asked for it to be super spicy. I crawled up one side of him and down the other and then he started laughing - he hadn't.
It was a challenge as I don't have much in the way of furniture and kitchen supplies. My kitchen table went into the living room and joined up with my desk to make a long table. I put onto the table all the plates, bowls and cutlery I possessed and hoped for the best. Bea and Luc came early and we kept getting reports from Sokha that he was getting closer. It took him 2 1/2 hours to come from the outskirts of Phnom Penh to the centre, where I live. He came with his wife, two daughters and his dad. All Cambodians love seafood and they attacked everything with relish. I can take it or leave it, especially when there are shells involved - I just don't have the patience to deal with food that's smothered in spicy sauce and has a shell to remove. Luckily the crab shells are soft enough I just chomp on everything. There was food left over so Sokha was happy to take it home.
I took them downstairs to the back door at 9.00pm and then I returned to bring down the mouse. Again, it took quite a bit of bashing around to get rid of the thing. At 9.30pm I put some more food in the trap and by 10pm there was another mouse jumping around inside. I couldn't believe it. They must be enjoying my peanut butter. It's going to have to wait until tomorrow night to be released. I've decided I'm going shopping to see if I can find something to deal with this crisis.
