Kohei's Blog

2010-12-25T14:14:00.000-08:00

Ukiah - Part 1.

Matsutake - the world's most expensive mushrooms
They are horded in Japan, savored for their leathery, earthly, almost sexual aroma and thick meatlike texture. However its impossible to farm these little bastards. They form a symbiotic relationship to certain roots of certain types of trees, and you have to know the ins and outs of the forests of the Pacific Northwest in order to know the hot spots.

Mendocino County and Ukiah are rich with matsutakes. However, no one will ever let you know about their secret spot. Some collect these as a hobby and past-time, and others are in it for the cash. Just a 30 minute trip above Ukiah there is a small town called Willits, where collectors trade in their matsutakes... for some reason, at make-shift shops in motel rooms. It always feels like you're purchasing drugs.

You have to locate a small sign next to the motels.
like this

or this.

Here's the store! A chinese woman has somehow mastered the trade. She buys them from local gathers and then sells them to larger companies.

They divide them into three categories - grade 1, 2, and 3. The best - grade 1 - are younger and their bell has not yet blossomed. Each grade 1 mushroom is worth between $40-120 in Japan.

Grade 1

Grade 2

Grade 3

Super Duper Grade 1 Matsutake
These, she says are each worth $100 in the Tokyo markets. "Silly Japanese! Hahaha."

One day I will become a Professional Matsutake Mushroom Collector. Here's a video of some guys finding them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKmvgZDXrEM

New Eats

2009-12-03T18:24:00.000-08:00

Tarantulas

crickets

frogs

and video of me trying to feed them to the Returnees!

Advice to Deportees

2009-11-29T20:35:00.000-08:00

Advice to Deportees (Khmer Americans living in the U.S. on Supervised Release)

Here is a video of Cambodian American Returnees living in Cambodia. Some of them are homeless, most of them are unemployed, and all face the stigma and discrimination of being Returnees in Cambodia. Some work on rice fields and earn $8 a day, some of them are living among monks at a monastery, one of the only places that can provide shelter. Some are addicted to drugs and drinking, and find it hard to kick an old habit; others are doing well, and working at NGOs helping Cambodian youth.

Back in the United States, over 2,000 Cambodian Americans await their deportation. They are on "supervised release." These people have to check in with an immigration official every so often (either once a month, every two months, three months, six months, or once a year).

Some individuals have been on supervised release for 6 years... and some of them think they will never get deported. However, you can never predict when you will actually get deported. They might throw handcuffs on you at one of your check-ins... they might storm your house with a warrant.

Please send this video to any Cambodian American whom you know who is on Supervised Release or who is at-risk of Deportation.

ADVICE TO DEPORTEES LIVING IN THE UNITED STATES
1. Know that you can be deported at anytime at any moment, without any notice. Stop denying it, stop thinking it will never happen, stop procrastinating! Preparing for your deportation should be # 1 on your list of priorities, even if you think you are not getting deported for a very long time.

2. Prepare by saving as much money as possible.

3. Start thinking NOW about your future employment in Cambodia - there are things you can do NOW in the U.S.A. to make your survival a bit easier (if you think you can make it in the tech field, get certified in computer skills, and make sure you have a computer you can bring with you to Cambodia)

4. Enjoy and embrace every last moment that you have with loved ones and family.

5. Call or E-mail RISC (Returnee Integration Support Center) today!
www.risccambodia.org or call (855) 11-736-123 or email info@risccambodia.org

Now, watch the video and see for yourself!

Produced by RISC, PrYSM, and Deported Diaspora

Filmed by Kohei Ishihara on November 30, 2009.

Fishing

2009-11-29T05:10:00.000-08:00

Fishing in Srok Khmer.

Where are the fishing hotspots? Well, they're anywhere that you can find water. Fish are all over the place!! Went to a small rice paddy irrigation stream, and there were dozens of people catching fish, and the stream is so small and only 2-3 feet deep... I wondered how come there was an endless supply. Apparently, they come there everyday... and the fish never dissappear. The guy who took me said that the Tonle Sap lake used to be so abundant with fish, that when you drove a motorboat, hundreds of little fish would jump out of the water and into the boat!

So yeah, it was difficult to learn how to fish with a net, but I sort of got the hang of it. The crazy thing is that every fish we caught, I've already seen before - but in the U.S. at a pet store. I couldnt believe we were gonna eat these small beautiful fish that are usually in an Aquarium.

Hey, but it was fun... check out my video at the end!

Angkor Wat

2009-11-28T05:47:00.000-08:00

Bantay Srey

Angkor Thom

Angkor Wat

Ahhhh.... what I was waiting for... I mean, I've had to have seen this image a million times over the past 9 years of working in the Cambodian community. Here's a video of me as I first walk past the gates and actually see it!

No Turkey or Mash Potatos here! Happy Thanksgiving!!!

2009-11-26T05:27:00.000-08:00

No Turkeys Here!

Instead of Turkey, I had this....

Deportee/ Returnee Profiles

2009-11-25T23:57:00.000-08:00

I finished filming with RISC and the returnees. I got a lot of great footage that PrYSM and Deported Diaspora, in coordination with RISC, will use to advocate for increased funding for RISC as well as for the on-going struggle for immigrant, refugee, and human rights. Most of these guys were around my age. Though we joked around and walked the streets together here in Phnom Penh, we couldn't be further apart. A tourist with purchasing power, excited to see all that is Cambodia; and a returnee, sentenced to a life and culture he never knew. Most came to the U.S. as refugees when they were toddlers or teens, and in a sense they are now refugees all over again.

Will have a lot to show you. But for now, here are the men who've shared their stories with me.

Name: Phon Phann, aka Touch (pronounced "tuy", means "small" in Khmer)
Age: 32
Hometown: Providence, Rhode Island
Deported: 6 years ago

Name: Steve
Age: 35
Hometown: Long Beach, CA
Deported: 4 years ago

Name: Sam Phroeun
Age: 25
Hometown: Lowell, MA
Deported: 3 weeks ago

Name: Smiley
Age: 32
Hometown: Fresno, CA
Deported: 6 years ago

Name: Song Im
Age: 45
Hometown: Providence, RI
Deported: 7 years ago

Name: Sokhat Long, aka Bonx
Age: 29
Hometown: Southern CA
Deported: 1 year ago

Name: Kim Ho Ma
Age: 32
Hometown: Seattle, WA
Deported: 7 years ago

Name: Johnny Boy
Age: 33
Hometown: Dallas, Texas
Deported: 7 years ago

Transgendered, Pol Pot, and Human Rights

2009-11-25T06:01:00.001-08:00

At the meeting for Phnom Penh Pride, I interviewed a number of older LGBTQ Khmer folks. I didn't mean for this to happen, but each them had a sob story and cried. It was a sharp contrast to the glamorous scenes at the gay club where young middle class Khmer gaysians enjoy the nightlife and their relative sense of freedom.

But beyond the stories of families disowning them, loosing loved ones, and facing discrimination on a day to day basis, I walked away with a sense of awe. First of all, I've never really met an LGBTQ Khmer person above the age of 30. In fact, I'd like to say that Sarath Suong is the old living gay Khmer in America (LOL, sorry Sarath). One struggle we face in seaQuel is that we don't have role models. We don't have our elders to learn from.

This experience was incredible.

Sam Sila, age 41, Hospital Assistant for the Women's Network for Unity
Sila was incarcerated at age 12 by the Pol Pot regime. As a trans woman, they made her shave off her long hair and gave her extra humiliating punishments, such as making her stand in the sun all day or making her sit on an ant's nest. She has had a hard life, facing discrimination from her own family, and was never able to find a job. In the 1980s she joined the government army to fight off the remaining Khmer Rouge strongholds, but was later kicked out of the army because of her gender identity.

But she's fierce. She has turned her life of hardship into strength. She's attempted to take her life three times, and after all three times failed, she figured that God had a purpose for her. She's a former kick boxer, and now works as an assistant at a hospital. Today, she is an advocate for LGBTQ (especially T) rights!

Sou Sotheary, age 69, Executive Director for the Cambodian Women and Men Network Development

Sotheary is also a survivor of Pol Pot, and at age 69, she is a grandmother of the LGBTQ human rights movement in Cambodia. She has organized numerous events for the Trans community, which are often disbanded by the Khmer police. Sotheary made it very clear... she's not fighting for her rights. She's not fighting to correct the past. She is very clear that her life is over. She made the point over and over again, that she is doing this for the future generations, she's doing this so no one else has to suffer the way she has had to. You should hear her talk... she speaks with an insurmountable innate strength. And, she is the first and the only Transgendered person to submit her story to the Khmer Rouge tribunals.

Drag Show

2009-11-20T19:57:00.000-08:00

I went to a Drag Show on Friday night at the Blue Chilli. There were five acts - one Chinese song, one Indian song, and three American songs.

Afterwards I went to the Heart of Darkness, which is a mixed gay and straight crowd. Wow, a few Khmer women were not shy coming up to me, telling me I looked hot, and straight up asking for a number... LOL.

Phnom Penh's Waste

2009-11-20T07:10:00.000-08:00

On Friday, I was invited to go to the city's only dump site, a collection of Phnom Penh's waste. Mind you, this is a big city - imagine the whole population of RI, multiply that by 2, and then cram everyone in one city - 2 million people.

A village of scavengers has developed in the dump site, as the empty bottles and plastics provide a source of income for the very poor. There are 540 families living there, and over 1,000 kids.

We delivered food - bananas, apples, pinneapples, and bread - to all the kids.

They were short handed, so I had to volunteer with the medical team. All of these kids, from 8 months to 7 years old, had all of these medical needs especially infections. Lots of them had scabies on their feet. Others had open wounds that had become infected. A little baby has a dislocated arm. A mother had a piercing ear ache. I had to sanitize and clean off their wounds. Held back the tears. It was hard. Here's a video.

Don't Judge a Fruit by its Skin

2009-11-18T00:48:00.000-08:00

I said I would discover and eat 5 new fruits while here in Cambodia. On my second day, Chath took me to the Psa-Kandal market in the middle of Phnom Penh. We picked Mangosteen, Dragon Fruit, and then three others I don't know what they're called.

Watch us eat them one by one... having fun pretending to be on the Food Network!

Then we met some different kind of market fruits - meet Mee and June. They own a DVD booth. Chath (my fearless tour guide) spotted them and we sat down for a conversation.

They were very open to talking about their experiences being Trans Vietnamese immigrants living in Cambodia. Here's a short clip from the conversation... funny at the end. LOL

Arrival!

2009-11-17T16:32:00.000-08:00

The plane ride wasn't bad at all! And then, finally, in just 30 minutes before landing, the clouds cleared, and I was over either Cambodia or Southern Vietnam, watching the rice fields and the Mekong River.

Chath (leader in Phnom Penh Pride) met up with me at the airport. After checking in at the hotel, I jumped on the back of his motorcycle, introduced me to a guy who knows all of the deportees/returnees. I ended up on the back his motorcycle, and visited two organizations that work with returnees.

So much done in the first 6 hours of being here. Wish I could share more, but these videos take forever to upload.

an old Ishihara and a new one!

2009-11-12T01:37:00.000-08:00

Before I leave, I stop in Palo Alto to meet my new nephew!!
Jayden Daniel Ishihara. Jayden is now 1.5 years old. First grew up communicating in sign langauge, and has now recently added talking and body language to his sign language, and can pretty much express and demand anything at any time he wants. With such demands, and with such a cute factor, Jayden can pretty much get anything he wants.

This is the video of him meeting the puppy, Turtle.

And cute pictures!

And one of the oldest Ishiharas, Lyla.
Meet Lyla, now 13 years old, and nearning 90 in dog years. She dislocated her hips last year, and pulled muscles and couldn't walk for a while. Recently, she had tumor on her leg which had to be bandaged up. No matter what, Lyla will always be our puppy and baby.

Lyla passed away right after this video was taken, while I was in Cambodia, in mid- November, 2009. Being my mom's best friend and life coach, my my kept onto Lyla's ashes. It was only today - April 20, 2010 - that we finally had a proper memorial service.

Ishihara Family Sends me off to Cambodia

2009-11-10T21:00:00.000-08:00

I'm @ my parents' house in Ukiah, CA. I'm visiting them and getting ready for my trip to Cambodia. My mom and dad look good; actively working through their own health issues, and they're always positive. Here you will see my Dad, Mom, and my sister, Emiko.

My sister, Emiko, has a new puppy, named Turtle. Turtle is a 13-week old jack russel. He's so cute, check him out.

I'm still working on my itinerary in Cambodia, and still doing research. I have 5 days left to figure it all out. But so far on my list of things to do:

- interviewing/chilling with the American returnees/deportees
- interviewing/chilling with the LGBTQ community
- definitely want to see my Brao people and hill tribes in Rattanakari
- go to the beach in Sihaunokville
- rent and ride a motorcycle all across Cambodia
- cross over the border into Thailand and Laos
- discover and eat 5 new tropical fruits
- eat my way through a market (or float my way through a floating market)
- meet Sarath's relatives
- buy gifts for the PrYSM kids
- go fishing with the local fishermen
- visit the holocoust museum
- walk through the jungle and meet SEA reptilians (and some mammals)

Make sure to tune back in to http://cambodia4kohei.blogspot.com for crazy and fun pictures, video, and vlogs.