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

Tarantulas


crickets


frogs

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

Advice to Deportees

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

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

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!!!

No Turkeys Here!





Instead of Turkey, I had this....

Deportee/ Returnee Profiles

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