Crossing Cultures: Learning Khmer: Part One

Because MacArthur Park is a very diverse neighborhood, I wanted to share with everyone something they may not, but probably should know. One of the great things about Youtube is its educational value. You sit in entire courses from some of the most prestigious universities in the world. You can also learn just about any language you would care to learn. Watching Youtube, you can find playlists on learning just about any language you want, including Khmer. Here's one of the simpler play lists I found for beginners, which starts with the Khmer alphabet itself.

Lesson One: Background Information

Lesson Two: Vowels

Lesson Three: Consonants

To view the entire playlist:  

Visit this link

Cambodia Town Night Market and Community Garden Update

There was a Town Hall meeting at Mark Twain Library this evening. The subject was the Night Market which is slated to start Sundays at MacArthur Park from 4pm to 9pm on August 2nd. The goal of the Night Market, which evolved from the suggestion of a Farmer's Market at the Anaheim Corridor re-visioning meetings was meant to promote affordable, family friendly and fresh produce. There would likely be native Cambodian foods as well as food trucks. This would be the first Farmer's Market in the 6th District and the only one taking place at night. Anyone who would like to be involved can email LBNightMarket@gmail.com or call the organizers at (562) 388-4978. You can also like their Facebook Page to stay informed.

The community garden is planned for the vacant lot at Peterson and Anaheim. The tentative name is the healing fields. The group creating the garden already has a community garden at Dawson and Anaheim [I will show you pictures when I find it]. They plan to remove the cement from the lot, install new fences and add in gas and water meters. The garden will be multicultural with several volunteers working different plots on the garden. The group creating the garden, SCIC, is creating an advisory group to start that organization of volunteers. The location of the garden  is controversial because it was formerly used at the Cambodian Genocide Memorial every April 17th, the date the slaughter of 2 million Cambodians began. And those who held the memorial on that plot expressed strong disappointment that the plot isn't being set aside for that memorial anymore.

15th Street: Cherry to Junipero is Clean

15th Street from Junipero to Cherry is clean. This is the first time we cleaned 15th street east of Cherry. We will be getting Stanley and Sherman soon. Stanley and Sherman may take a little longer as they are both somewhat wider than the average residential street in the MacArthur Park neighborhood.

Remember the second, re-visioning meeting for Cambodia Town is today at 12pm at Mark Twain Library.

Quick Safety Update: Tagging on Gaviota by Chittick Field

Three incidents of vandalism were reported yesterday at 7:24am on Gaviota just north of PCH. Please keep an eye open around Chittick Field, as well as the other three neighborhood parks: MacArthur and Rosa Parks, for tagging and or destruction of property. Other than the continued tagging at 1732 15th street, this week has been quiet so far.

Update: 05/13/2015: Additional tagging on 15th and Walnut last night, buildings and alleys. Note most of the tagging is taking place on streets like Walnut or 15th, and that is a very predictable and reliable prevention pattern to be on the look out for.

The Cambodian New Year's Celebration Is Tommorrow

In the coming few months, many MacArthur Park residents will be coming together to make Cambodia Town more inviting and walkable. Tomorrow, LA Sparks will be joining us this year for the Cambodia Town Culture Festival at MacArthur Park, right after the Cambodian New Year Parade! Make sure you make your way over this Sunday, April 12th, 2015 to MacArthur Park. In the meantime, you can also show your support by liking Cambodia Town's Facebook Page.