Valentine's Day

Keeping busy: joining an international crazy running club, observing monkeys climbing electrical wiring, thinking of creative ways to say no to men offering Tuk-tuks and motorbikes to take us whenever and wherever ("Hey, Lady! You want Tuk-tuk?" to which the best response so far has been "Hey, Man! We walk, walk!"), taking in the national museum (cool), learning to run in the mornings through Phnom-Pehn traffic (a tiny bit crazy), eating taro buns, watching women fry tarantulas on the street, looking for temporary volunteer work, planning our next move to Sihanoukville, giving kids candy...

AND, due to a couple unfortunate rounds of intestinal virus and a migraine, we've definitely clocked our TV time at the guesthouse.

Our favorite is Asian MTV: We're learning Chinese by osmosis; it plays constantly whenever we're in. And when you're sick...that's a lot of MTV.

I am not sure exactly what's going on, as my understanding of Chinese is right up there with my proficiency in insider trading, but we have a really good time (well, as good of time as you can have with 7up, baguettes and the fan on the highest speed).

My favorite video lends itself to the story of the song, completely appreciated. As a young child, the singer has a best friend, a beautiful little girl who is one day suddenly pulled from her desk at school and he never sees her again (I don't know why she's left, but it's darn sad). He spends his days playing violin and singing about her. One day they are grown and he is playing on the street and he sees her! They embrace and walk through the lotus blossoms, and apparently, he confesses his love for her - but -

she's married. Uh oh.

He returns to the street, desolate. Oh, but wait! She's explaining something to her not-as-attractive-as-the-singer husband! What? Where is she going? She's running! Back to the street where her childhood love is Itzhak Perlmanning it up. As she crosses the street, he sees her. His eyes light up, but question...?

Then she gets hit by a truck and the video ends, on an unresolved chord.

Suck. And the tears flow, just as we've been crying at subtitled "Bridge to Terabithia", some movie where Kevin Bacon goes nuts and kills an entire street gang, and the gospel arrangement of "Let it Be" on a day-delayed broadcast of the Grammys.

Bed-ridden TV time lends itself to girl talk, which lends itself to boy thought.

So, in the spirit of Saint Valentine... (Which cannot be escaped - not even in Phnom Pehn! Today there are women who have set up shop on the street with card tables, selling roses, teddy bears - and even gift-wrapping them if you so desire. I bought Gina a chocolate: it was a giant red heart that had the Aids awareness ribbon on it and it said "Recover Well Soon". We laughed long, heartily, and quite inappropriately.) I bring you the dude's guide to a girl's heart. (Provided the girl you want is either JoAnne or Gina).

1. Girls just want someone cool to hang out with. This includes but is not limited to: mountain-climbing, silly-song singing, ping-pong playing, whole-wheat bread-baking, Buena Vista Social Club-listening and laughing. Laughing in spades.

2. Girls want someone who is going to think they are as awesome as they themselves are discovering they truly are during their southeast Asian trek. Someone who never wavers on this point. And obviously, someone equally as modest and humble.

3. Chicks dig it (or at least this is favored by the more literary-minded ones) when dudes save words; guys who calculate them and use them appropriately and creatively, because they matter to us most of all. And PS - we really DO want to trust you. Promise...it's just that...you can only hear so much recycled crap before you start to question it's authenticity. And you can only roll your eyes so many times before they stick there.

4. And this goes without saying, alas, most have experienced at least a little turbulence in this kind of thing, so I think women ought to START saying it: There will be no cheating. None.

5. And no getting hit by trucks, either.