Flaming June

Well, the flame trees here have been stunning this year, bright red and beautiful.

I hope very much my UK followers are also having a well-deserved flaming June. I apologise for not writing recently but work and play has overtaken my desire to write too much.

 

Have been off to the dentist a couple of times now - never expected better treatment here than at home!

Work.

I am now at the end of the first quarters work and am reviewing the progress made. The people I work with are very pleasing but are not sure what to do with me. They have never had an adviser before let alone a western volunteer and it is all a bit much for them. They answer my questions but rarely allow me insight into their work. Having to go through a translator means discussion is slow as you have to make sure he understands before he translates and puts the question to my colleagues. I have begun some training on analysis of school statistics and data management, I have forged relationships with other NGOs to form an education network in Kampot and the highlight of the work so far has been a day out with colleagues to a very far away district where we had to have breakfast and lunch out. How can they eat so much and be so thin?  6 or 7 giant spoons of rice at each meal is normal. When we arrived the school put on a performance of traditional dance to welcome us which was so graceful and perfect.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Scout Day was held on the hottest day of the year! All part of the education programme in Cambodia for high school students.

Social

We have finally found a few friends here who are volunteers like us,3 US Peace Corps, 3 Koreans, 3 from Japan, 1 Australian and 1 elderly women in her 70s from the UK. We meet every Tuesday for a beer and a catch up in one of the riverfront bars. We have taken the motos to the Sihanoukville for a long weekend twice (this is the local Blackpool and sadly filled with loads of old, geeky looking European men and young Khymei women partners. A shame, as the town and beaches are quite nice. Usually, at the weekend we go to the nearest beach for a swim, and we have had lots of visitors to stay which has been good. Not being so remote has many advantages. I had a really nice weekend a while ago in Phnom Penh with good friends, Ashley, Ali, Anna and Andy. To even things up a little Anna christened me Abby for the evening, actually I felt more like an Alice!

 

 

 

Workers in the salt fields of Kampot.

 

 

Home

Our house is more homely now and we have got used to living in the town. I can cycle to work in 3 minutes and 5 minutes to the riverfront. Dave is back to the UK at the beginning of July for 2 months. It will be interesting to see how I cope on my own. Hope I do not like it too much!

 

Mobile butcher arriving at the house next door- taken from the upstairs balcony.

New job, new province, new home (not yet). February 2013.

We had a super time in the UK staying with family and friends. But after six weeks it was time to return.
This time when we landed in Cambodia there were no friendly VSO faces to greet us,we were deemed old hands and could arrange our own working visas. Although I was anxious it did all workout and all our paperwork was accepted.
After 5 nights in Phnom Penh during which we had time to catch up with friends and I had meetings with UNICEF and VSO it was time to move on to a new province in the south.
We travelled from PP to Kampot with all our luggage plus my motorbike and a bicycle on a mini bus with 21 other people, 2 babies and a dog plus all their stuff!! Luckily this time our journey was much shorter, only 3 hours.
Arriving in fairly cool and wet conditions seemed rather strange at this time of the year, but was also very refreshing. We now have a week to find a home before I start work on the 4 March. It has not been easy. The first 2 days we looked at places far worse than our shed at home. Yesterday we saw a really nice place for the first time but it was 5 times more than the VSO housing allowance. We also saw a just OK place within the price range,  but with a very basic bathroom with no flush toilet or hand basin. It was big, we would be upstairs, and the whole of downstairs would be ours too and therefore empty. Bit scary coming home on my own in the dark, I think, but we may have to have it.
It is hotter here, more touristy, and all be more expensive to live. But we knew all that.

 

Water Buffalo having a snooze about 8k from Kampot town.

 

Sitting on the river front having a beer and watching the fishermen leave for the evening catch.

 

 

The salt fields just a few kiolometres away - working in 37C

 

Beautiful bird song all over Kampot. But just realised that the sound is on a looped recorder to entice the birds to nest at the top of many buildings here. Big business in Birds Nest Soup!!

 

 

And finally, the end of our non-productive house hunting days are always improved by watching the glorious sunsets over the river.

 

I will keep you posted as soon as I find a home and begin work, which should be March 4th 2013.