tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48768467039386526232024-03-05T00:03:14.644-08:00Janet and David's AdventureJanet and David Catchpole are leaving sleepy Suffolk and starting a new adventure in Cambodia as volunteers with VSO on a two year placement. Janet is going to be a leadership and management advisor in Ratanakiri province.janetincambodiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13675555111588990137noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4876846703938652623.post-33740881818345253272013-06-06T01:01:00.001-07:002013-06-06T01:01:39.747-07:00
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<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;">Flaming June</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Well, the flame trees here have been stunning this year,
bright red and beautiful.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Have been off to the dentist a couple of times now - never expected better treatment here than at home! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">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?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>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.</span></div>
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The Scout Day was held on the hottest day of the year! All part of the education programme in Cambodia for high school students.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Social<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6FAOwBlsvwaSNsExcS7Hwt1l-9dh_1H4CCMyEbIsGR8xQVEmixqRZc-6zdwbdw4FCddp1j_EGWArQXmEMxRj75abJ9vzU7rDpnpoNpic-1Mmd7N7srUOEDCQKc4ZWBKiDOpcqqULyg6Qh/s1600/P1030624.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6FAOwBlsvwaSNsExcS7Hwt1l-9dh_1H4CCMyEbIsGR8xQVEmixqRZc-6zdwbdw4FCddp1j_EGWArQXmEMxRj75abJ9vzU7rDpnpoNpic-1Mmd7N7srUOEDCQKc4ZWBKiDOpcqqULyg6Qh/s320/P1030624.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">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!</span></div>
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Workers in the salt fields of Kampot.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">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!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Mobile butcher arriving at the house next door- taken from the upstairs balcony.</span></div>
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janetincambodiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13675555111588990137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4876846703938652623.post-48068375546282153972013-02-27T07:07:00.003-08:002013-02-27T07:07:58.309-08:00New 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.<br />
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.<br />
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.<br />
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.<br />
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.<br />
It is hotter here, more touristy, and all be more expensive to live. But we knew all that.<br />
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Water Buffalo having a snooze about 8k from Kampot town.</div>
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Sitting on the river front having a beer and watching the fishermen leave for the evening catch.</div>
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The salt fields just a few kiolometres away - working in 37C</div>
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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!!</div>
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And finally, the end of our non-productive house hunting days are always improved by watching the glorious sunsets over the river.</div>
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I will keep you posted as soon as I find a home and begin work, which should be March 4th 2013.</div>
<br />janetincambodiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13675555111588990137noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4876846703938652623.post-28575444998158476732012-10-26T00:47:00.002-07:002012-10-26T00:47:40.782-07:00Final months are creeping up!<br />
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<u><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Travels and
Tribulations.<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Finally we are at the end
of the placement and although we knew it was coming it seems to have not crept
up but stamped up far too fast.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Although there are so many
problems with this country and trying to build capacity is an uphill struggle
all the time we have grown to love the pace of life, the endless sunshine, the
cash only way of life and the happy people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">The last three months have
gone far too fast and the last two will no doubt seem like next week before too
long. Because I seem to have been rather lax about writing this blog recently I
think the best thing to do is to regale you with the highlights and low lights
of the last three months.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-size: 12pt;">August<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">My education skills were
put to rest this month as I became a contractor and spent my time hiring
builders and carpenters to construct toilets for girls in my target schools. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Narin my translator was
off sick for over two weeks which was quite challenging with so much to do. I
also spent one day training teachers in a very remote indigenous school about
interactive methodology for grades 1,2 and 3 which was good fun. David came too
and did a couple of sports session and Anna my VSO colleague who luckily is a
maths whizz.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">However, the highlight of
august was our trip to Battambang with other good friends from VSO to sample
the tourist life: we made a vow to stick to Western food for our 3 days and it
was so good. The bamboo train was great fun but my highlight was seeing the
14million (who counted)? bats stream out of the cave by the temple at
dusk. It was such a good weekend being all together.</span><br />
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<u><span style="font-size: 12pt;">September<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">This month I completed
school development planning workshops in target schools and also training for
46 grade 4 teachers in introductory English. As many of our teachers do not
have Khymei as their first language and now introducing a third was very
difficult for them. Not sure if Ratankiri is ready for this yet? Work has been
very busy as I also supported school enrolment campaigns this month which I
wrote about last year so enough of that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Highlight this month was
back to Kampong Cham with all the volunteers left for the final few months for
a good memories weekend. It was a very special time which included buying a
bottle of gin and having a great reminisce over the good and bad times in the
past two years in Kath’s bedroom (she was the only one of us with a/c).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><u>October<o:p></o:p></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">The new school year began
with a flourish of very long and very boring school opening ceremonies which
were not very child friendly. 2/3 hours of speeches in the hot sun and children
from 3 to 17+ standing in lines!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">16 days of the Pchum Benh
festival was a great trial to us as the monks begin chanting at 4am every
morning and go on all day finishing with “speed praying” at high volume at
10pm.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Although the Wat is quite
a distance from us the sound travels so much and is so loud. We missed the last
few days which is also public holiday time by finally making it to Angkor Wat.
8 days of holiday and 4 travelling but it was worth everything. The temples are
on a very grand scale and magnificent. We got up at 4.30 am so we could see the
sun rise over Angkor Wat and visited so many until we were templed out by 5pm.
Our journey back to the hotel was hampered by the sad news of the Kings father
dying in China where he had gone for treatment. Many people were travelling to
the temples that afternoon in tribute to the King.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">So now we are back home in
Banlung but still hearing the temple music and the monks praying and respecting
the dead King. National mourning is 7 days, the King will lie in state for 3
months and the next ceremonies will be in January and we will be gone from
here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">I am very excited as Dave,
Anna and I are off on Saturday to Laos and a motorbike trip around the Bolaven
Plateau. That will be the essence of my next entry for you all.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">PS. I have just spent 4 hours trying to upload more photos and just cannot do it as the internet is so slow. Sorry folks. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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janetincambodiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13675555111588990137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4876846703938652623.post-69395802484499655892012-08-02T01:39:00.000-07:002012-08-02T01:39:50.235-07:00Education progress is slow but nevertheless it is progress.This month has been very busy with work projects. With my colleagues from 6 other provinces I have been to Phnom Penh to be trained how to teach English to grade 4 pupils. VSO will now deliver the training to 40 grade 4 teachers in Ratanakiri and they teach their students. It is a very simple but well written course devised by a VSO volunteer (from the UK) working in Phnom Penh at the Department of Curriculum Development. Of course delivering the training is easy for an old hand like me. Follow up in the schools is going to be the complicated issue plus the little detail that no teachers here can speak any English! I will keep you posted on the progress.<br />
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I am also working with another NGO CARE to help them deliver training on managing libraries in the communities.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8k3N2nflT9QrksOhE37mhGQatdYNmMjKuyYE6wBH4fJURhQWpFdjGhtxe9Aef3QOcn1abaHULuZT1Slxx6YCV8a3zDHxlZMlFXIIr4ACnK8WSrAQP51uWHOK3a8u1vQph7CIauqvoCWPg/s1600/P1020081.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8k3N2nflT9QrksOhE37mhGQatdYNmMjKuyYE6wBH4fJURhQWpFdjGhtxe9Aef3QOcn1abaHULuZT1Slxx6YCV8a3zDHxlZMlFXIIr4ACnK8WSrAQP51uWHOK3a8u1vQph7CIauqvoCWPg/s320/P1020081.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Krola Village in O Chum District-the newly built Library. <br />
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</tbody></table>Yesterday, when I went to visit the village I was expecting the library to be finished and ready for the fixtures and fittings. There is still work to be done on the floor and to make it rodent and bird safe.<br />
At first I was concerned about the training but after meeting the community and seeing the library I realise very basic management techniques are required and most people from the developed world could do this.<br />
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We have had a problem in Cambodia with Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease in many provinces and the government took action and closed all the schools two weeks early, this was against WHO advice. So many of my activities which needed to end the school year are not completed. This means extra work in September and October before I can begin the new year activities. There are many rumours going around the communities embellishing the problems of HFMD and many people are very, very worried. As there are no newspapers reaching Ratanakiri, and many people are illiterate people rely heavily on the television and the radio for news. Many of the communities do not have good access to electricity or to television and rumour is spread very quickly. The majority of the communites will have one television set which is usually in the Chief's house and this is run by a generator which of course costs money they do not have. So maybe an hour a night the television is on and all the families will gather in the one house to watch. Here it is also very easy to hire a camera man to film your occasion and have it on TV the next night for a grand sum of $25. I have used this many times for campaigns such as gender equality, school enrolment, etc. It is very strange to see yourself and others after the event.janetincambodiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13675555111588990137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4876846703938652623.post-64245584406103719312012-06-08T02:32:00.000-07:002012-06-08T02:32:54.342-07:00June 2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I find photographs very hard to upload as the Internet here is so slow, so this week I have persevered to give you a few from the last month or so.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK2E-qOP33v1H6jsQS-VW4CZu2LBYsWVd_R6hxyGxuX40X9Z9LfdO26dIY-TuNSDMBdWEqnji9Gxdky7j050sQM31x_XXdo3BUKxnmmv6DkLq_XT5-zkTjLmJsaLSTtcj6IC0a9xRep3RK/s1600/P1010763.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" fba="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK2E-qOP33v1H6jsQS-VW4CZu2LBYsWVd_R6hxyGxuX40X9Z9LfdO26dIY-TuNSDMBdWEqnji9Gxdky7j050sQM31x_XXdo3BUKxnmmv6DkLq_XT5-zkTjLmJsaLSTtcj6IC0a9xRep3RK/s320/P1010763.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Everything possible and impossible is transported by motorbike and taken to all the outlying villages for sale. here as you can see is "Basket Man".</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdFkeDK4ihwcn07ulOJzzaBWyNRlplDPLiqpA2JVigemCN2cLE1VavVmOL0wkW_6N1G_UHK9yBII135fpqp4_7Qsng7Hx16DttIvN7BCGZ7af1I-3ME1Ik5gMlg6sHuGTmtjIZ3CaYylOa/s1600/P1010768.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" fba="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdFkeDK4ihwcn07ulOJzzaBWyNRlplDPLiqpA2JVigemCN2cLE1VavVmOL0wkW_6N1G_UHK9yBII135fpqp4_7Qsng7Hx16DttIvN7BCGZ7af1I-3ME1Ik5gMlg6sHuGTmtjIZ3CaYylOa/s320/P1010768.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Last week my good friend left BanLung to return to her homeland Holland. Here we are having a last day out together on our motos and a picnic organised by Narin - we had beer and jackfruit jellies! Note the rubbish behind us was not ours.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizxUgbU5-QWB8-Xns51_FOz__AzDadwZLpx5cW4evygY8XGJ4-JbPQN6AcVGTcLT9P4O1rbGaMNYVm4BrkDQXLQyFMGBBTQ5KzHtKFerOU39IACNztyPi9pvAahWsh_b0cRoaJVm5TFYmm/s1600/P1010791.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" fba="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizxUgbU5-QWB8-Xns51_FOz__AzDadwZLpx5cW4evygY8XGJ4-JbPQN6AcVGTcLT9P4O1rbGaMNYVm4BrkDQXLQyFMGBBTQ5KzHtKFerOU39IACNztyPi9pvAahWsh_b0cRoaJVm5TFYmm/s320/P1010791.JPG" width="320" /></a><span id="goog_230274923"></span><span id="goog_230274924"></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Well, Narin and Maroesjka travelled by Moto, I decided to take the safer vehicle. Here we have yet another plantation of young rubber trees in the background. So much land has been taken over the past year and put to rubber, very little of it legally I imagine.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdt_J4y1E1YnH9idQDAa015qL3aljbGaMKngFkz3nLc24hWEaQkcZgWbGWCaWz3Q873cGHYr5OCw03Q3TllU-U4DiorPr315pN9YCK65mRILe2bXhafZXbNFjJ4lQtcOfhyphenhyphenQpH1oKx7nta/s1600/P1010740.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" fba="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdt_J4y1E1YnH9idQDAa015qL3aljbGaMKngFkz3nLc24hWEaQkcZgWbGWCaWz3Q873cGHYr5OCw03Q3TllU-U4DiorPr315pN9YCK65mRILe2bXhafZXbNFjJ4lQtcOfhyphenhyphenQpH1oKx7nta/s320/P1010740.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">In May we went to the beach at Sihanoukville for 4 nights courtesy of public holidays due to the Kings Birthday. It was cloudy but very warm. we really like just being by the sea. Here we are sampling the delights of draught beer at 50 cents each and waiting for our food. BBQ is served on the beach every evening for $3 and its really good. </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPT4HTl_lLoXnzzBmvVnd3PD99vnprq6VHE8t-pS7QhRE8bfy7wUyt-UIXkjNrSTFzMWTYCsAbKbaMuNA9zGNuQVnMj30vaYcBswltbEIGnYwnOP7NKkYhfvVyO_Ekek68En_HMyrCDG6V/s1600/P1010725.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" fba="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPT4HTl_lLoXnzzBmvVnd3PD99vnprq6VHE8t-pS7QhRE8bfy7wUyt-UIXkjNrSTFzMWTYCsAbKbaMuNA9zGNuQVnMj30vaYcBswltbEIGnYwnOP7NKkYhfvVyO_Ekek68En_HMyrCDG6V/s320/P1010725.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"> We are of course having a real adventure but also working hard too. Dave has been very busy this month running sports days. In the heat and with the children having to come to the location by motorbike (3 on a bike) as the mini buses cannot get to remote villages. Its has been a logistical nightmare, breakfast and lunch also has to be provided as well as snacks and water. </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">My work has been severely hampered by the national Commune Council elections which has meant the schools have been shut for 2 weeks. Not sure why except that many teachers were hired to help run the elections. Today, I have completed a school inspection. The school was at least fairly clean but the grade 1 teaching was abysmal. Rote learning and no resources. No wonder only 26 of the 65 students on roll were present. I have had to cancel many of my planned activities this month and hope to catch up in July. But I expect that many schools will not get back to full capacity before the holidays begin at the end of July. At present I find it hard to grumble too much about their lack of motivation as I am told teachers have not been paid for 3 months!</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">We leave for the UK to visit the Lake District to be at my nephews wedding, we can't wait to catch up with many of the family again. Richard and Hayley definitely deserve a great day with those family and friends who will be present.</div>janetincambodiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13675555111588990137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4876846703938652623.post-68606883630284563692012-05-07T20:49:00.001-07:002012-05-07T20:49:10.630-07:00Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr. One weekend in May = heat, little work and lots of noise.<br />
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Well, much as I love it here this weekend the heat and the noise have really irritated me. Coupled with the fact that the schools are still not fully functioning after their two week break which finished on April 20th! So work has been frustratingly slow and very hard to see people and make plans about our new activities and budgets for the next 12 months.<br />
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Friday had been very hot at work – it’s not always the temperature but the high levels of humidity which is so incredibly sweat inducing. We went home at 5pm to find our neighbours had erected a huge speaker on their house but directed straight at ours. For a family ceremony which involved monks chanting and distorted music at a rate of at least 70 decibels! So we had a quick shower and change and go out to meet the other ex-pats at 6pm at the local KFC. Khymer fried chicken and rice for less than $2. The best chicken in town because you get a really crispy coating and a tiny piece of white meat. There was a good crowd and we had a good time for a couple of hours until the wind got up and the most tremendous thunder and lightning and severe rainstorm stopped the electricity and us getting home. At 8.30pm we had had enough, had moved away from the table, sitting in a huddle getting closer and closer trying to escape the showers through the tarpaulin roof and sides of our eaterie. It was getting cooler and the rain had eased so we decided to make our exit plans, some walking, some cycling and we on our moto. Luckily we only had 2k to travel as the flooded roads and the storm meant we should not have been on the road. But we arrived home drenched but safe. Only to find the speakers were still on through the rain and the loud roar of old, poorly maintained generators was coming from all directions. So bed at 9pm in the dark with heavy rain pouring through some of the windows and ear plugs in!<br />
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We woke at 5.30 am because of the loud noises coming from the speakers fired by the generator and sore ears from the plugs. Which do not drown out all the noise. Still no elec, so went to the market and made a salad and went to the lake to meet friends and go swimming. Stayed out till 6pm when the light was failing-still no elec. So cooked a meal by candlelight, had a bucket wash and went to bed with the roar of generators again.<br />
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Sunday and still no elec. all day, so back to the lake which is so beautiful and cool when you are in the water and spent the afternoon playing board games and talking with another English girl from Sunderland. I cooked in the dark again using up as much of food in the fridge as possible and more bucket showers being careful with the water as we need elec. to pump the water from the well.<br />
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Another early night with my ear plugs but sometime in the night the elec. came on. However, as soon as everyone was getting up and about it went off again. There is never an explanation. My theory is there is just not enough to go round so when it is hot we are rationed.<br />
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Off to work at 7.30on Monday to find no-one else at work and no elec. here either. No elec. means no fan to make work a little more bearable. Is it a public holiday? On Saturday it was Visakha Bucha day which is a Buddhist special day – that must mean all the people I work with have taken Monday off, but the schools seem to be open? Who knows here? We do have Wednesday off for Royal Ploughing Day and 3 days next week for the Kings Birthday. David and I are off 800k south from here to Sihanoukville to the seaside for 4 nights. We think we can do this in one day going but estimate it will take 17 hours by bus. Coming back it has to be 2 days with a stopover in Phnom Penh.<br />
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<br />janetincambodiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13675555111588990137noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4876846703938652623.post-2243125357241963802012-03-21T01:38:00.002-07:002012-03-21T01:38:26.079-07:00The road to civilsation.March 17th 2012<br />
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The journey to the next town -Stung Treng is 120k from BanLung and here you can join National Route 7 the paved road to Phnom Penh which is still 500k south. When we arrived 18 months ago this last dirt road part of the journey was the killer. Horrendously bumpy and so dusty that it prevented many people from travelling to this beautiful province in the north east of Cambodia.<br />
Last year work began on improving the road and access over the Sre Pok river (famous for the river scenes filming in Apocalypse Now). The road was widened, many bridges have been built by the Chinese who have an agreement with the Government here and in one section a new road was built.<br />
Little by little sections have been opened cutting the time from over 4 hours to 3.Having a flat tarmac surface is so good.<br />
Last weekend we travelled to Stung Treng on our motorbikes to spend the last weekend with our Dutch friends who have completed their placement and return to Holland on April 1st. <br />
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We packed a few clothes and Dave tied them behind his seat to save them getting too dusty and I just had a few tools to carry. We left at 7.30am on the Saturday and hoped we had missed all the mini buses hurtling to PP at high speed creating vast plumes of dust.<br />
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The first part of the journey leads out of town and past the Pagoda and the houses where the monks live, then past the new bus station which is not quite finished and then through hectares of rubber trees and past 2 schools which I work in, Both open which was good. Then maybe 40 k to the first stop. Both sides of the road are complete but for an unfathomable reason only one side is open! We travel through the district of Koun Mon and its getting very rural. Ox carts and water buffalo as well as untethered cows to look out for and children playing chicken when you least expect it. <br />
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We have a quick stop to stretch my fingers, for some reason I get terrible "pins and needles" on bumpy roads. We turn onto the very new stretch of road and its all finished. Hooray, so an easy ride through the teak trees and the now open countryside where the trees have all been logged and ready for more rubber trees to be planted. After 12k we stop again to look at the river from the top of the new bridge then on again. This time only one side of the road is complete so we travel as far as we can with all traffic using just one side of the road. remember the rule of the road is the larger the vehicle the more right to the road you have so we are always forced to the side when traffic is coming from either way.Then we eventually have to get on the dirt side. Only its very worn and big stones appear to trip you up or with heavy traffic use the surface in some places becomes corrugated and it shakes you to pieces. Eventually we come to one side which has been complete but traffic not allowd yet and prevented by places large tree branches from one side to the other. We find a way to get on and then spend an hour doing a slalem course to get round the trees. (I knew there must be a reason for the slalem on motorbike training in the UK). We alternate between good road but slalem and dirt bumpy, dusty roads until like a mirage we eventually see the advertising boards which mean we have reached O Pong Mon. Its like a motorway stop but of shacks and plastic chairs and poor food in the middle of a road triangle where three roads join.We stop for a very wecome iced coffee at $0.5 each and buy a pineapple for our hosts. <br />
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The final part 12k is easey peasey. We only have to dodge the 1 metre rows of drying cassava on both edges of the road and passing the lorries loaded up so much they can only go at 25k per hour. Finally, 3 hours later we get to Stung Treng- just for a second I do not look at the road, was going too fast, hit a large pot hole and the pineapple and the tool bag flew out and landed in the midst of on coming traffic.<br />
Luckily no damage and the pineapple was very sweet!!janetincambodiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13675555111588990137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4876846703938652623.post-60573235790810121862012-01-31T21:23:00.000-08:002012-01-31T21:23:53.460-08:00Whizzing through Vietnam……………..<br />
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Hoi An -A beautiful old town which is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site. We only had 3 nights here and were hoping to arrive at 9pm. However, we set off at 8am on the first mini bus to get to the border. Then, changed to get on a local mini bus to the nearest big city Pleiku and changed again, then again after being literally chucked off at some unknown road junction. We had to pay more and then a final mini- bus (which broke down) then a big bus for the last 60 k and finally a taxi to the hotel. This is a nutshell version, it was one big adventure and included having to pimp out our daughter – not really!! We finally arrived at 12.40am the next day.<br />
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We spent the first day exploring the old town and had a river cruise and the final day we hired cycles and toured the magnificent beaches and the paddy fields. We ate a glorious meal at a restaurant called Miss Ly and explored the old town lit at night by lanterns.<br />
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Hanoi – Again only 3 nights here and our flight arrived late on the first night so straight to bed. Up early the next day for a really boring 4 hour trip to Halong Bay. Its so cold here. I did not realise how cold and that we had no suitable clothes or shoes.Once on the boat and away from the harbour it was stunning. We slept well on the boat but the food although plentiful left a lot to be desired. The next day the sun shone and we had a great day before transfer back to Hanoi. This night we went to a traditional water puppet performance and ate some better quality food. On the final morning we walked through the Old Quarter ( the traffic here is so bad) to Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum and the Flag Tower before the final flight. <br />
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Ho Chi Minh City- 8 million people and 5 million motorbikes in a big city! Wow! Crossing the road is a nightmare situation. We explored the Saigon River front then the War Remnants Museum which was rather grim. But we found a great place to eat called Barbecue Garden where you do cook your own food and can order a selection of skewers, etc. We all loved the garlic fried rice so much we went back on the last night.<br />
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The last day we took the hydro foil to the nearest coast at Vung Tau 125k away and only 80 minutes. We hired motorcycles and explored the beaches and then sat down for a long earned rest and to soak up the sun. Dave, not being able to sit for long went for a walk and got stung by a jelly fish.<br />
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The last morning we said an early farewell to Lucy who was flying back to London that evening. We took the local bus to Phnom Penh – 6 hours. Stayed overnight and got the bus home. 15 hours later we arrived after breaking down and having a 3 hour wait on the side of the road.<br />
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<br />janetincambodiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13675555111588990137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4876846703938652623.post-71760243020738275282011-12-27T00:40:00.000-08:002011-12-27T02:16:20.489-08:00<span style="color: red;">3 Days of Christmas - Ratanakiri style.</span><br />
<span style="color: red;">Christmas Eve.</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">Managed a lie-in till 7am which was great. We decided to hit the market for shopping before breakfast as it was still cool. We needed the essential Christmas food items such as papaya, pomelo, healthy chef cooking oil and eggs!</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">After a late breakfast we did some cleaning and washing the red dust layer off everything again, then friends arrived for an afternoon of making our own decorations and then the best bit...</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">we took them to the local bar to put up. This was extremely thirsty work so we all had a few drinks.</span><br />
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<span style="color: red;">Christmas Day.</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">Maroesjka and Tania arrived at 8.30 am for a super breakfast, which consisted of apple muesli, scrambled eggs, baked beans, tomatoes and bacon which Dave managed to buy from a local restaurant, pomelo and orange juice, tea and coffee and gorgeous Dutch bread and ginger biscuits from Maroesjka. this was the most food I have eaten since being here and my tummy hurt all day.</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">At noon we packed some food and went to Yak Loam for a shared picnic and a swim in the lake. Our group consisted of 3 Aussies, 2 Koreans, 1 Filipino, 3 Brits and 1 Dutch and 1 Cambodian.</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">Back home for a shower and change then off at 6pm for the party with buffet in the local bar. A great evening with good food and great friends.</span><br />
<span style="color: red;">Boxing Day</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">Back to normal with a big bump. No such thing as Christmas here of course so was back at my desk at 7.30am.</span>janetincambodiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13675555111588990137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4876846703938652623.post-12073280817524721272011-11-21T01:08:00.000-08:002011-11-21T01:55:36.876-08:00November blogOne week in November<br />
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Sunday 6 Nov<br />
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Up early as David had promised to take Sothia on a farewell outing to the border with Vietnam. Sothia is a nurse from Korea who is working as a school nurse in one of the schools David works in. She is leaving after a two year stay but is being replaced by an equally nice girl called Sun-ne. After a damp, drizzly start the weather improved and we had a good motorbike run there and back. We finished the day with a Korean meal at Sothias house that she had prepared as authentically as possible. It was good, lots of vegetables but very spicy hot, also dried seaweed and two different varieties of pickled cabbage.<br />
Monday7 Nov<br />
A videographer and a journalist are with us at work today from VSO Canada. They are trying to recruit more donors and more volunteers and are preparing stories and film from volunteers already here. It was a busy day and strange being in the classroom delivering a lesson on gender equality through an interpreter as well as having these two guys either scribbling away in the corner or shooting film close up! The teacher and the kids all 51of them loved it. We finished the day by taking them to the bar we have just found with a great view and cheap jugs of beer. Yes, after all those years of not liking beer I am now drinking Angkor with lots of ice just like all the locals do.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Y3XszwAjc1woQfMVyJLbBJbwGiAUDCc_Tsnl23AvaRtnkGAHWxigDbBre3OE6xmqjn5shttriqAV72xQWXI6jD9wpebiUujxo1robFek4bQZwYiPCzj2BKavvE7w6UYVu-KXd9yWOc6l/s320/P1000637.JPG" width="320" /></div>Tuesday 8 Nov<br />
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We have a very important 3 day holiday starting tomorrow so it was hectic trying to get all my VSO accounts in order ready to send with another volunteer to PP. Remember , no postal system here! Everything I need I have to request the cash, then spend and then do monthly accounts. Every time we do any training or hold a workshop we have to pay travel, lunch as well as buy all the resources needed, so it’s a lot of dollars to account for. Finally, I finished and rushed off to meet Sam and Gilly - two really lovely VSO volunteers working in Kratie (home of the fast disappearing Irrawaddy dolphins) who are visiting Ratanakiri for the water festival with Gilly’s parents from the UK. We ended up having dinner with them and catching up with all the latest VSO news and stories.<br />
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Wednesday 8 Nov<br />
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The big water festival celebrations in PP have been cancelled this year due to the heavy monsoon rains and flood damage to the farming communities. Over 270people have lost their lives too – we all hope the money reserved for the celebrations will be diverted to help those in need as the PM has promised.<br />
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I had a lovely, lazy morning at home and then went to another volunteers house for an afternoon of tea and chat. In the evening we went with Sam and Gilly on our motos to one of the local Tampoun villages where one of the elders is also called Sam. Elder Sam was so excited to meet someone with the same name ( very unusual in Tampoun culture) he wanted to adopt him into his family.We had a really fascinating time as this was the only house in the village with a small generator which they started when we arrived. About 35 village children all arrived to watch TV whilst we ate rice and the sacrificed chicken with a very hot aubergine dish. Then we had to make special prayers to the spirits and finally drink the rice wine which is in a clay jar with one plastic pipe to suck up – all shared around of course! We also received a thread bracelet each from the Elders wife. It was a very special event and we were very pleased to be included. Especially as, luckily, we suffered no dire effects the next day. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Kqdl6nsdyVxOXqOxK77yzsv-u8KhG_rbd7_TVly2svk2xqy4xcetj8HXJSbTd74nK3GLn6qBq0abA8WdCEkqzks5uix1_g3j9xhGkI-2fCQ6XFXJmPmHOEy20WfQH2g21Y5GECCIDQ/s1600/aSAM_0287a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" closure_uid_hefafn="23" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Kqdl6nsdyVxOXqOxK77yzsv-u8KhG_rbd7_TVly2svk2xqy4xcetj8HXJSbTd74nK3GLn6qBq0abA8WdCEkqzks5uix1_g3j9xhGkI-2fCQ6XFXJmPmHOEy20WfQH2g21Y5GECCIDQ/s320/aSAM_0287a.JPG" width="212" /></a><br />
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Thursday 9 Nov<br />
No swimming at the lake this week. For the first time in living memory the lake is covered in algae and declared not fit for swimming. The Tampoun people have prayed to the spirits and sacrificed a pig so it should be ok in another week we are told. So I had to pay to use the only swimming pool in town at the swanky hotel “Terra Rouge”. Still, it was very nice and I spent all morning in the water and came out prune like at 1pm. Sam and Gilly came to say farewell for 4pm tea and Sothia came for a farewell meal. We finished off the busy day by taking out homemade boat with its offerings of fruit, money, a lit candle and cake down to the lake in the town to send it on its way to the spirits in the lake with our wishes. It was pretty hectic there with everyone and his wife out, eating, drinking, watching, throwing fireworks into the crowd. No regard to H and S here at all –even young teenagers selling the fireworks.<br />
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Friday Nov 10<br />
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Up early and ready for a long motorbike trip with two other volunteers. We were off to Lumphat. This is one of the remote districts in Ratanakiri and used to be the capital town of the province until the Khymer Rouge moved it in 1975. Now there is little to see but a few B52 bomb craters if you hunt in the scrub. However, the river (Tonle Srepok) is the one used in the filming of Apocalyse Now and we took a picnic to have on the banks of the river. The journey was demanding in places as they were filling in giant potholes after the rainy season – no signs warning you of roadworks, you just have to find a way round the heavy machinery. On the way home trying to find a shortcut I fell off for the first time trying to balance the bike going uphill on a track no wider than the tyre width between 2 large ruts on either side. Luckily I was going very slow and just fell over on my left side. Needless to say we abandoned the short cut and went home via the road works.<br />
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Saturday Nov 11<br />
Lazy morning at home cleaning and cooking – trying to make spring rolls from scratch! Taste ok but don’t look too neat.<br />
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At 4pm we went to another volunteers house where a few of us had made a selection of dips and then were going to have a drink, a few dips and a beer and watch the sunset. They were so delicious we sat at the table inside and we all scoffed the lot! We had 3 varieties of salsa, tzakkihi, spring rolls, hummous, aubergine with chilli, garlic mayonnaise, toasted bread, oil and vinegar dip, carrot and cucumber sticks. We missed the sunset but there was a glorious night sky with beautiful moonlight reflecting on the lake as we drove home.<br />
Finally, it seems at long last that the rainy season is over. Its bright blue sky and sun again but with a breeze. We must be getting used to it as its now 29 C indoors and it is feeling just like a nice warm day.janetincambodiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13675555111588990137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4876846703938652623.post-47754582083975909002011-10-10T03:24:00.000-07:002011-10-10T03:33:35.153-07:00September - work and fun<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Work and play has been very busy this month as we have been short staffed at work and no supply teachers here either! School officially begins on the 3 October but we went to many last week and no teachers so maybe this week! <br />
I have organised and run 7 school enrolment campaigns and 3 workshops which has been very hectic as well as having a week off for a big Budddhist holiday called Chum Ben. This has meant for 15 days the monks have woken us with thir chanting and drums fom 3am to midnight!! Since it has stopped we are now woken by rats which are coming in the houses to escape the rain. Although noisy they do at least stay in the space between the two wooden walls.</div>So here are a few snapshots of us over the past month -<br />
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This is the office where I work and this is one of the workshops in full swing. 20 teachers and school directors all making primary literacy resources. Never thought I knew enough about primary, thank goodness for all those lesson observations I did at Finborough. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzlWM0302fomgAHHxZAsCaexeoSNSdoltIP4JETXX2Sw6rK6J3P-RiJakCK4dWdYzKPCQEeN73lw1vI_s_GYfU6zw51XbyNKGKomqlqqZjFA3BjxqPhYySyJ_Ya0pQGtOd8brXjAN5hkse/s1600/P1000210.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzlWM0302fomgAHHxZAsCaexeoSNSdoltIP4JETXX2Sw6rK6J3P-RiJakCK4dWdYzKPCQEeN73lw1vI_s_GYfU6zw51XbyNKGKomqlqqZjFA3BjxqPhYySyJ_Ya0pQGtOd8brXjAN5hkse/s200/P1000210.JPG" width="200" /></a>This was the playground of the first enrolment campaign and things didn't get better.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjayvdJO4kvcfudpZV6qKtBDmuvLmn_HaIxbGwNmiPBoMr7scJXA44BYOmKuJGTiWifHzmvfwcfcrLmHCODilf5m1mINolQ986PbGKaxkzQ8tkqTRZvPXDqj8qm7y71BnpaH_RXi7hNiXMh/s1600/P1000004+10-09-2011+08-31-10.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjayvdJO4kvcfudpZV6qKtBDmuvLmn_HaIxbGwNmiPBoMr7scJXA44BYOmKuJGTiWifHzmvfwcfcrLmHCODilf5m1mINolQ986PbGKaxkzQ8tkqTRZvPXDqj8qm7y71BnpaH_RXi7hNiXMh/s200/P1000004+10-09-2011+08-31-10.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Water buffalo- the size in the picture is deceiving-it's huge! </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJdh4Hy_SW2zTteciHxe_0QEZxJEXgvbBdq5NaYRSYMFqg1KoJsAzIamSsM8RIgTfS3WcWJ8wmABTrPX_I7ZntAUO6EWVf0wtX4xE3Gn8dmrDOrPSJLCkkyzoiZm9bv_6LN9V4Hu7lMisr/s1600/P1000004+10-09-2011+08-31-23.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJdh4Hy_SW2zTteciHxe_0QEZxJEXgvbBdq5NaYRSYMFqg1KoJsAzIamSsM8RIgTfS3WcWJ8wmABTrPX_I7ZntAUO6EWVf0wtX4xE3Gn8dmrDOrPSJLCkkyzoiZm9bv_6LN9V4Hu7lMisr/s200/P1000004+10-09-2011+08-31-23.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pigs in the playground -well at least they eat all the rubbish that gets throw away here.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCbRU3YzprSb4WsP62b11a_M_aU4BH17YUCW5nPY9PEOST4-MID8KkwA-U6AlR83LpZ3ZqgSkUycEIHMxd2naqBM_n4tZmJD-jBByhstmQwuWCkhtySPg5XdQwJwGKTKAe3af2aenT-Zk_/s1600/P1000254.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCbRU3YzprSb4WsP62b11a_M_aU4BH17YUCW5nPY9PEOST4-MID8KkwA-U6AlR83LpZ3ZqgSkUycEIHMxd2naqBM_n4tZmJD-jBByhstmQwuWCkhtySPg5XdQwJwGKTKAe3af2aenT-Zk_/s200/P1000254.JPG" width="200" /></a>Here you can see we were trying to keep out of the mud, but it is so slippery. Well, I was walking around the Tampoun (an indigenous group) village and it was campaign no 6 and I was doing well. S'reyden the girl in blue gave me a fruit to try and the next thing I am on my bum in the mud! Luckily, nothing was too injured but I was very sore for a week.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB4GOvZr8NG5NOwtdVtkvjFmBGGoqCwBWx0t-jiUWJ9umc6UGVt_XavDZmFU-3zlJpqdprYThGFL5emk2oLMn6gHTMiCqB5d_u4uFc0GjQro7t7cpCYflpIliBuvRlXwKceG-q7uEhjgQ8/s1600/P1000217.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB4GOvZr8NG5NOwtdVtkvjFmBGGoqCwBWx0t-jiUWJ9umc6UGVt_XavDZmFU-3zlJpqdprYThGFL5emk2oLMn6gHTMiCqB5d_u4uFc0GjQro7t7cpCYflpIliBuvRlXwKceG-q7uEhjgQ8/s200/P1000217.JPG" width="200" /></a>Every campaign starts with grouping in the playground, then a march around the village telling everyone through loudspeakers to enrol. It ends back at school and we provide snacks and water for all. My favourite moment was when a mum with a child of about 8/9 arrived to enrol and the School Director told her he was to busy to enrol her as he was busy holding the campaign. I hope she came back!</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Holiday time - </div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Laos was really good, we went with Lucita(Phillipines) and her husband Yasir(Pakistan). We packed a rucksack each and travelled by local bus which was quite an experience. We travelled from our town to near the border on one bus and then got this sleeping bus to the capital city Vientiane. It didn't quite work out and we had to spend one night in the bus station guesthouse - not one to go in Lonely Planet.</div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMRmY0_yk4thvuvJfUBfdmh2sscqNYyVdJpNqbMsdyDaRFe5yJaj9glepS8JpTldva7tR4RSYCgqEB7NWcNuQOvbvRIt_fLwWdtT6QM8acXZzamYRGxEiA_ZfIHjR5qQXm_lpIs79vSdoM/s1600/P1000355.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMRmY0_yk4thvuvJfUBfdmh2sscqNYyVdJpNqbMsdyDaRFe5yJaj9glepS8JpTldva7tR4RSYCgqEB7NWcNuQOvbvRIt_fLwWdtT6QM8acXZzamYRGxEiA_ZfIHjR5qQXm_lpIs79vSdoM/s320/P1000355.JPG" width="320" /></a>We had the top bunk.It was a great experience - just ruined by the horrid toilet, which they then locked so no-one could use!</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw0fv2CCGqtS2cGhJk_ZDHtLbQukWXVYNQK6mH_7hUp-ZWMF2WOPBIYvJEu4mO9EShbH8PCjyn6MGwCUNeOSoFVrhMUT9OlF4lVNxxMBaQcAROy8gw26yfGR9ZxLYPyUrLSAgRfTQ7zZAW/s1600/P1000366.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw0fv2CCGqtS2cGhJk_ZDHtLbQukWXVYNQK6mH_7hUp-ZWMF2WOPBIYvJEu4mO9EShbH8PCjyn6MGwCUNeOSoFVrhMUT9OlF4lVNxxMBaQcAROy8gw26yfGR9ZxLYPyUrLSAgRfTQ7zZAW/s200/P1000366.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Vientiane was lovely, but very hot and humid - thought I was used to it by now. This gate was built by the French <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB4GOvZr8NG5NOwtdVtkvjFmBGGoqCwBWx0t-jiUWJ9umc6UGVt_XavDZmFU-3zlJpqdprYThGFL5emk2oLMn6gHTMiCqB5d_u4uFc0GjQro7t7cpCYflpIliBuvRlXwKceG-q7uEhjgQ8/s1600/P1000217.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>and we climbed the 200 steps to the top to see the views over the city and the Mekong. </div> <br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwU-6XLar130evGFGJfMVTuL1V2cednPChKh-9rLI5jYUThsw4olVb_7QIP3Ny7sLAMntVqnpZYPJEvWb0qJ3FMH_bLJlObmULG4Aebfhw_l3PAUp72e_rrliBm30X3KsVhJUNqgWaDOPp/s1600/P1000454.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwU-6XLar130evGFGJfMVTuL1V2cednPChKh-9rLI5jYUThsw4olVb_7QIP3Ny7sLAMntVqnpZYPJEvWb0qJ3FMH_bLJlObmULG4Aebfhw_l3PAUp72e_rrliBm30X3KsVhJUNqgWaDOPp/s200/P1000454.JPG" width="200" /></a></div> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_55Nz_Bk1ha3auSO9T6JBLQBBH02iUJejW-DCVQ3rBb1lBrX2rU9IwsvblJSXosuhyWCAPp7gNEIMljQI4nv83vWFOFvxGAQsSKr1CwYkt0A0VzRVcsrt3Q_GvUN4vdMpQPLNz2Q9J1hf/s1600/P1000354.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_55Nz_Bk1ha3auSO9T6JBLQBBH02iUJejW-DCVQ3rBb1lBrX2rU9IwsvblJSXosuhyWCAPp7gNEIMljQI4nv83vWFOFvxGAQsSKr1CwYkt0A0VzRVcsrt3Q_GvUN4vdMpQPLNz2Q9J1hf/s200/P1000354.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Local transport</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">So finally, back to Ban Lung and home again, which was nice - we really have a lovely home.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div>janetincambodiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13675555111588990137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4876846703938652623.post-84784709857930413552011-07-24T18:57:00.000-07:002011-07-24T18:57:30.042-07:00Rainy season in full swing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgATPkdDoyfvE_LF-TG7rKxbqSdVol0zjdnGDFar-_mRcn_OHhRMzcJ7BiK83tucpI2y5J9MNsrU8oFHXGG3v0IBgJlQKZGBTN83R3FBj6jK-P5IaybdQZXC08YPCr6sFJdorWCFWh1gP4Q/s1600/CIMG7982.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" m$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgATPkdDoyfvE_LF-TG7rKxbqSdVol0zjdnGDFar-_mRcn_OHhRMzcJ7BiK83tucpI2y5J9MNsrU8oFHXGG3v0IBgJlQKZGBTN83R3FBj6jK-P5IaybdQZXC08YPCr6sFJdorWCFWh1gP4Q/s320/CIMG7982.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Imma, Maroesja, Erin and Janet</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">This month started with a super party for Imma (Spanish) who is leaving for another posting. She has been working here for 3 years with a Spanish NGO who are trying to work with issues such as gender equality and domestic violence. Erin and Maroesja decided to wear traditional Khymer tops but I could not cope with all that bling!! I will miss Imma but she has left me a great stock of lentils. </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUbCNKvyKXZm_-9FHCdPmZ2Sd5mq97rRfapjdusfjho8bxBsg3kkq3bURbyeP-6eHeFVOYQnX87H3lBZBNZh58xPaPFXGFsk8K5__UpXLSxjFXjroyH4IhU3PTZCPI3je4pjryC3XrJPuY/s1600/CIMG8057.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" m$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUbCNKvyKXZm_-9FHCdPmZ2Sd5mq97rRfapjdusfjho8bxBsg3kkq3bURbyeP-6eHeFVOYQnX87H3lBZBNZh58xPaPFXGFsk8K5__UpXLSxjFXjroyH4IhU3PTZCPI3je4pjryC3XrJPuY/s320/CIMG8057.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is my moto parked at work.</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">The rainy season got off to a slow start which gave me time to practice my skills at riding in red mud!</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">It is so slippery and there is a big big puddle at the end of the road- too deep for motos so we have to go down and up through a ditch! This is not too scary if you attack at the right angle, but this week a big scary dog has decided to attack me at the same time as I attempt the ditch. So far, it has only grabbed my clothes! But this week the rain has really begun and it is quite dangerous driving at times.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLfyc2hYdNFCb2d0sL2xwzxRRIEvLv4sDB-335dQs-NXLChFPFIadoFqeP_D2v3CxvQYRUzs19BBZ7QcXikEv5A6ejZSdqyA_9CkE9EfpVD_uk88jcy3UQkOXZvrzKBHNdFXUlcS4tpHMR/s1600/CIMG8073.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" m$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLfyc2hYdNFCb2d0sL2xwzxRRIEvLv4sDB-335dQs-NXLChFPFIadoFqeP_D2v3CxvQYRUzs19BBZ7QcXikEv5A6ejZSdqyA_9CkE9EfpVD_uk88jcy3UQkOXZvrzKBHNdFXUlcS4tpHMR/s320/CIMG8073.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rainy weather gear (note the rolled up trousers).</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOyq_Hfwyv7xhhaSGCYxr8KaKbGF92xigVGwolTR6IQoCHsnOWrdttQBkt3lxtwYd-0DIbYmb5pPtirC8H-t1byF5qfnQHdJ6djZnzTWAHEitNLPS6P-yuIcIcMrvl9DqD9I9sCy-JE5qi/s1600/CIMG8075.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" m$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOyq_Hfwyv7xhhaSGCYxr8KaKbGF92xigVGwolTR6IQoCHsnOWrdttQBkt3lxtwYd-0DIbYmb5pPtirC8H-t1byF5qfnQHdJ6djZnzTWAHEitNLPS6P-yuIcIcMrvl9DqD9I9sCy-JE5qi/s320/CIMG8075.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Local Ladies outside our house this morning.<br />
I am not sure what they are picking. the rain and the warm weather makes sure everything grows so fast. This was bare scorched earth just a few weeks ago. Now it is like a jungle.<br />
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This is my last posting until I return from annual leave in August. So I hope to see many of you soon.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"></div>janetincambodiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13675555111588990137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4876846703938652623.post-3002196689054196452011-07-14T02:12:00.000-07:002011-07-14T02:15:29.612-07:00http://www.ourvso.com/<a href="http://www.ourvso.com/">http://www.ourvso.com/</a>janetincambodiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13675555111588990137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4876846703938652623.post-24307476929143139842011-06-29T01:53:00.000-07:002011-06-29T01:53:26.846-07:00June 2011<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8zJwJ-Z0j9j_PrLsIoyNOeuChyphenhypheng3dHodMYHBckJ_6lH0uychSrUmVb06TtRVfmIsnFuQgXPruU-ouxQF3aJDHjI8lEHqbd8TJCOIJrJPtyYTgnut5C3lCOUP0OmM4KVGzr8aondvE_4OO/s1600/CIMG7852.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8zJwJ-Z0j9j_PrLsIoyNOeuChyphenhypheng3dHodMYHBckJ_6lH0uychSrUmVb06TtRVfmIsnFuQgXPruU-ouxQF3aJDHjI8lEHqbd8TJCOIJrJPtyYTgnut5C3lCOUP0OmM4KVGzr8aondvE_4OO/s200/CIMG7852.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beside the sea on a windy day at Kep</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhMYjTZKY-SS50Hn-fmt0xNrr0x2FPeb9UWwOZhKFfABnVJ-pTSqJxHDynaz4f-GSczqrEF7mpR28CXVU_oUIKI6qHoq-GpRAg4LyjY3Mmu-7hbzDUo-f6EHG45OdROMKqJ3II1kQRizOG/s1600/CIMG7855.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; height: 149px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; width: 202px;"><img border="0" height="150" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhMYjTZKY-SS50Hn-fmt0xNrr0x2FPeb9UWwOZhKFfABnVJ-pTSqJxHDynaz4f-GSczqrEF7mpR28CXVU_oUIKI6qHoq-GpRAg4LyjY3Mmu-7hbzDUo-f6EHG45OdROMKqJ3II1kQRizOG/s200/CIMG7855.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Deserted properties left from the KR days</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiviXVD07dTO7pJ7_y1oEjyMixdCADErJQu6_6lSKzql6znhkU3X_NraozwGIaTseRD7QqohTXAB479UMuOBXEaT7wObO37QGPAfdfXbq0tRW58vYq3XEYa_6BhJ29CB9Fvy_uy1KD0gcam/s1600/CIMG7854.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiviXVD07dTO7pJ7_y1oEjyMixdCADErJQu6_6lSKzql6znhkU3X_NraozwGIaTseRD7QqohTXAB479UMuOBXEaT7wObO37QGPAfdfXbq0tRW58vYq3XEYa_6BhJ29CB9Fvy_uy1KD0gcam/s200/CIMG7854.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kep crab market</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_4gFo-fe1kUh2KhTtcefpcZ7sdmkj3IBTzEMTqjl5J8P4XYMaKWG8j1mCbGYH7VL1Vc165Eurskm7PPXgeMr4K964xc8P_3UprKii4MvpyfJEtwWi4LcfmTrWm_nse93I54Dzqg7Fh62Q/s1600/CIMG7850.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_4gFo-fe1kUh2KhTtcefpcZ7sdmkj3IBTzEMTqjl5J8P4XYMaKWG8j1mCbGYH7VL1Vc165Eurskm7PPXgeMr4K964xc8P_3UprKii4MvpyfJEtwWi4LcfmTrWm_nse93I54Dzqg7Fh62Q/s200/CIMG7850.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Most days we had the pool to ourselves</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghxcusGggRS-IBwQZC_GQ6fnCMi_EeGM2cvO1duYTnkMvLlHhbBvWbCcxVL3KxljyKNtXXI3M9U_irJC48gCWY0cS7BQOSvmVRuWqH8DKZfg2yQhOggf5O3xJluCOiT5CUGdX1A0GCfCN4/s1600/CIMG7856.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghxcusGggRS-IBwQZC_GQ6fnCMi_EeGM2cvO1duYTnkMvLlHhbBvWbCcxVL3KxljyKNtXXI3M9U_irJC48gCWY0cS7BQOSvmVRuWqH8DKZfg2yQhOggf5O3xJluCOiT5CUGdX1A0GCfCN4/s200/CIMG7856.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kep </td></tr>
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This month has just disappeared so fast. We eventually took a week off and travelled over 800k from the far north where we live to the south and the sea. First time we have seen the sea since last August Bank Holiday when our good friends Carol and Kenny took us out for the day as a farewell gift. It took us over 14 hours in 2 days with frantic mini bus drivers playing Khymer karoke music at full blast for hours on end. It was worth every hour of travel as Kep was cool and quiet and just what we needed to recharge the batteries. We also realised we should not have left it so long before taking a break. And the big bonus on the way home was that the new bridge is open which cuts 2 hours off our journey –but only for those drivers willing to pay the $5 corruption fee.<br />
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<br />
I thought I would just explain a day which is very typical. So this is yesterday Monday 27th June.<br />
<br />
Woke at 4.30am with the monks chanting – think it was part of a 3 day ceremony for someone who has died! Had a restless night as the wind got up and I had to shut the bedroom windows which means struggling with the mosquito screen first. Then the rats in the ceiling space were especially noisy. Up at 5.45am for a cup of tea on the balcony (yes that’s me drinking tea). Then bread lady arrived shouting “nom pain” and Dave trundles to the gate to buy 2 sugary loaves for 8p each. Really nice with a cup of coffee for breakfast. Whilst having coffee I realised that something was going on over the road – the children were not getting ready for the 7am school start but were playing in the yard. I realised that Mum was inside having her 4th baby.<br />
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Off to work at 7.20am and a short 5 minute ride on my moto trying to avoid the mad dog that chases my bike and going up and over the ditch to avoid the huge puddle at the end of the road. Arrive at work at the same time as Narin my VA and we plan our day. First off to the bookshop to get some printing done for my school inspection on Weds. Back to the office to find only 1 of my 3 co –workers are working here today ,then a colleague from the inspection dept arrives to tell me the inspection is off as Unicef arrive tomorrow for a big 5day training session and all school directors will be there!! Why such short notice – it still really annoys me that anything I plan can be cancelled at short notice as there seems to be no communication or planning in advance. So spend the rest of the morning re-packing and sellotaping together the 28 boxes a of Literacy <br />
<br />
reading scheme for ages 5-8 which is put on hold whilst we introduce the numeracy scheme first. Of which only 3 boxes arrive. These boxes have travelled in an open truck for 560k and arrive broken and wet. Spend the next hour making frantic e-mails to secure donor funding so we can put on some training for schools as we plan in July. Will we get the funding or will I be sitting and making 100 number cards or flashcards with Khymer numerals?<br />
<br />
Home for lunch at 11.30 but first I have to do the daily clothes washing which consists of washing with my feet the clothes I have soaked overnight in a bucket. Then hanging them up outside one of the bedroom windows and hoping they dry at this time of the year.<br />
<br />
Lunch consists of bread today, a cheese slice each (great luxury item here) and some chopped avocado with tomato and onion. Followed, by a beautiful, large, fresh, locally grown pineapple and some rambutans. After a 30 minute read of an old Guardian Weekly dated March 17th from another volunteer it was 2pm and back to work. Everybody here this afternoon for a big team meeting as we have to put on a 2-day workshop on gender equality and advocacy(for over 120 delegates) in 2 weeks’ time. Lots of heated discussion as you will expect from 4 different nationalities, ages and experience. Then just as we were about to go home at 5pm there was a huge thunderstorm and I expected my washing to have blown away. I just had to wait and sit it out. “Oh no”. I have left my plastic yellow, disposable raincoat under the motos seat so I get wet just putting it on.<br />
<br />
Luckily all was ok apart from being extra wet again. The family downstairs tell me that the woman across the road had another baby boy at 6am. Two families with 5 children between them live in this one room shack. She had her baby with no ante natal care, no hospital to turn to, no pain relief and just a traditional birth attendant from the village present as well as the all the families and children who never moved out. Are you reading this Emily!! I will never again complain about the care we get in the UK<br />
<br />
Finally, after a shandy on the balcony with Dave I begin to cook dinner. Stir –fry vegetables with rice. Make the stir-fry and begin to cook the rice –what are all those black bits? Weevils again! So throw it out and end up with stir fry veg and spaghetti from my limited supply of goodies. It is not a nice combination. But washed down with my extra strong de-worming pills and a glass of water it is time for bed and at last the plumber has mended our pump for the shower and I have my first shower for nearly two weeks. Bliss.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcFR335zC3Rdqa2N1IRYzQOeGoSGZDlPoaomH1CZXnS7DNOkn-dFdkdsdCGBrkc-ew3Srk0Z0QGl-yJ50XNOPT1E5CVzP-EMB-hpqfOZgmqhHeuNwKu6dPRMJu76qyncp8rIaiVZPoBeyJ/s1600/Bread+lady+31-05-2011+21-22-57.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcFR335zC3Rdqa2N1IRYzQOeGoSGZDlPoaomH1CZXnS7DNOkn-dFdkdsdCGBrkc-ew3Srk0Z0QGl-yJ50XNOPT1E5CVzP-EMB-hpqfOZgmqhHeuNwKu6dPRMJu76qyncp8rIaiVZPoBeyJ/s320/Bread+lady+31-05-2011+21-22-57.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>6.30am and bread lady arrives in her pyjamas - normal working wear for women here.janetincambodiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13675555111588990137noreply@blogger.com0Cambodia13.891801021341418 106.9685020624999711.135711521341419 104.32142956249996 16.647890521341417 109.61557456249997tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4876846703938652623.post-25802501838900136612011-05-09T20:13:00.000-07:002011-05-09T20:18:46.623-07:00April 2011This month has been dominated by noise, funerals and lack of electricity. This of course is all happening in the hottest months of the year.<br />
Noise- why, oh why is this such a NOISEY country!! I wake up to wedding or funeral music at 4.30 most days and go to bed with the sound of Karaoke noise or wedding music which carries on past midnight. The music to announce weddings or funerals is on tape and goes on for at least 3 days and is blasted from the home of the event.Now we have so little electricity the noise of the generators trying to pump water from the wells is adding to my list of noise problems.<br />
Funerals - last week a chap from the Office of Education died (he had been ill a long time and I never met him). I was invited to go and pay my respects to the family on the same day and went with my VA. I was ushered upstairs and onto the balcony where a man was reading prayers into the loud speakers - of course! I thought I was going to meet the family instead as I went into the room I realised he was laid out on the floor and only covered with a thin cloth like net curtaining. My VA told me to kneel at his feet and light 3 incence sticks and say a prayer! It was quite a surprise and probably better I was not warned in advance. After that I had to light some paper money and throw it it a pot close by to burn then it was downstairs to eat biscuits and drink water by the loudspeakers for a while.<br />
On Friday I had to attend a 100 day ceremony since the last funeral I attended when another of my colleagues got run over by a car which crashed into the party tent on the road outside his house. The ironic thing was the funeral tent was erected in the same place he died and we sat under the tent in same place on the road! Funeral food is always the same too- water or fizzy green fanta to drink, rice porridge with pork and beansprouts and finaaly the biscuits which taste like iced gems without the icing. And, just like weddings you are expected to pay for this privlige. However, as there is no pension scheme the money goes to support the family. <br />
On Sunday I then had to attend the funeral of the man who died last week. Such a busy social scene her!!<br />
This meant going to the home, standing in the full sun in line for 30 mins facing the coffin whilst prayers and speeches were read out. Then the coffin was cumbersomely loaded onto the monkmobile and we processe3d behind on our motobikes at a slow pace. There were at least 150 bikes all going at less than 10k an hour so I am glad that my skills are good enough to do this now as it was quite mayhem at times. We arrived at the Wat and the ceremony was quite brief at the graveside - we did not enter the Wat the hardest thing for me is that we had to squat for the prayers and this is so tough on my knees.<br />
Finally, yesterday after work I attended the 7 day ceremony and a repeat of the fanta and rice porridge. Hooray as my ears are so sore from the horrendous chanting and piped funeral music.<br />
Electricity - or lack of! Ratanakiri cannot produce enough of its own and during the dry season the hydro electric power is not strong enough. They have spent the winter months putting new lines in from Vietnam and the switch over was meant to be from the middle of April. Something has seriously gone wrong and we have had very sporadic electricity since then. Yesterday it was off from 7am and has not been switched back on in our home area. There are 7 different areas in this small town so only a few places have elec. on at any one time. No one has any information and everyone except us Westerners seem to accept this. This is of course in the hottest months with temperatures in the mid 30s and very humid. So no fans, no pumping water from the wells to have in the house and no way to keep food for more than a few hours. Shopping in the covered market in these temperatures is no fun either. David has been very good at this but his enthusiasm is defiantly wavering.<br />
The best part of April was when I travelled half way to Phnom Penh to meet my niece Sarah who was travelling for a short time and was passing through on her way to Thailand. We had a very busy couple of days and I tried to show her a piece of the real Cambodia as well as catchong up with all the news. It was so good to see her but made me a little sad as it was just like being with Lucy and Emily again.<br />
However, we still enjoy life here and this is just part of being in a different world but work is good, very busy for both of us at the moment and we also have a really good social life and we are never lonely. There is no time we have wished we were not in Cambodia.<br />
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.janetincambodiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13675555111588990137noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4876846703938652623.post-51139100096949206462011-04-07T01:44:00.000-07:002011-04-07T02:18:41.410-07:00March 2011 <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFEXmLkEW4VVwWelSwaoa5-7PHcn83bHyipk8pUb6Xq3OoN57WRnDqmD08N_Ah7DxMxakusQ94jPM-gz350BSvXMkNb31Ug3iQ46M-1jCecnLhmBKbDZTqDuUyCNjnz_bBcNLuzxFLqdwA/s1600/IMGP3539.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFEXmLkEW4VVwWelSwaoa5-7PHcn83bHyipk8pUb6Xq3OoN57WRnDqmD08N_Ah7DxMxakusQ94jPM-gz350BSvXMkNb31Ug3iQ46M-1jCecnLhmBKbDZTqDuUyCNjnz_bBcNLuzxFLqdwA/s320/IMGP3539.JPG" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another good use for rice sacks.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;">Sports Day.2011. Borkeo District</td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The first time 3-legged races were held in this province as far as we know</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR0tC-pIL1XRjBIOkCi8VQQEKi7Sz94PQ7HREfw-aO1oAG25fs7xYyhFhd5kRzFM1iKgSEcNvkI52Pm1LWM3WgLIHqvN8ROkKwVNJgp6g3chdH1l8R5tjsj9-vdElSkM932zZOPwTwR5To/s1600/IMGP3481.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR0tC-pIL1XRjBIOkCi8VQQEKi7Sz94PQ7HREfw-aO1oAG25fs7xYyhFhd5kRzFM1iKgSEcNvkI52Pm1LWM3WgLIHqvN8ROkKwVNJgp6g3chdH1l8R5tjsj9-vdElSkM932zZOPwTwR5To/s320/IMGP3481.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the school in the background - its a Lower Secondary School for grades 7-9</td></tr>
</tbody></table> Here are the pictures from Sports Day that I was unable to publish last month.<br />
A big thank you to Clare? London VSO who has read this blog and sent David some sports equipment. Hope I am being a good girl with the accounts of life here in Cambodia and writing my monthly reports to everyone back home! <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jumping - it was too dangerous to attempt high or long jump - have you seen the ground and footwear worn?<br />
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March has been very eventful and sadly we missed the wedding of Anna, daughter of some very good friends Carol and Kenny. I have seen a few pictures and it seems they had a fabulous day.<br />
Good luck and happiness in your new life Anna and Chris.<br />
<br />
I have been to Phnom Penh for almost 2 weeks in March - firstly to an education meeting for all VSO volunteers and then for another 6 days of extensive language training which was very hard for me - some of our group were very good and to me they sound pretty fluent. I am still on 2/3/4 words in a sentence! I was brave enough this time to borrow a bicycle to get around so that I could shop, meet friends and sight see. The traffic is awful as I have remarked before there are no rules except for size, and a cycle comes last. <br />
We were a brilliant group that arrived together in Sept and it was so good to catch up with all the news. We come from very different backgrounds, careers and ages but had great fun together.I am sure VSO realise that some life long friends will be made with this experience of in-country training for 7 weeks at the start of placements. <br />
Our group all stayed in the accommodation above the programme office and it was decided that we would hold our own "Come Dine With Me" competition over 4 nights. We set a few rules such as $2 per person and cooking in pairs. The whole 4 nights of cooking and eating and scoring were filmed and Ingran a very talented film director is at this moment editing hours of film to produce a version we can show to all. So watch this space. Ingran by the way has a day job of being a paediatrician in Stung Treng Province. I won't tell you any more except to say my good friend from Yorkshire Kath, who is working with the Cambodian Midwives Ass. and I won on the final evening with our "dress up and eat posh food" do. Some complained we could not have made a 4 course meal for $2 per person but as we all know experience wins through!<br />
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Our other good news is that VSO and CARE have got together and found a brilliant job for Dave. He is now a proper recognised volunteer with an allowance. he works 3 days a week for CARE and 1 day a week in a school as an unpaid volunteer. Thank you VSO and CARE.<br />
His project is to promote sport and in particular girls leadership through sport in 6 remote schools within the indigenous population. Some days he works in the CARE office and we go off in the mornings together on our motos with laptops in bags across our shoulders. What a difference a year can make to our lives.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWKCCY8S2mc3UyOdHcf1VfG58KC7nABdkrG-D4d16YjgU_A1_6_X0pg4Ha7LwhCUBv4T5EpsdBdX-uiCcwMtwAlvo-uOQxjvAUiKgnxZipSwPq31Ivk8T1NAPMjRRAPM3HJRlXgurjBh0f/s1600/CIMG7604.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWKCCY8S2mc3UyOdHcf1VfG58KC7nABdkrG-D4d16YjgU_A1_6_X0pg4Ha7LwhCUBv4T5EpsdBdX-uiCcwMtwAlvo-uOQxjvAUiKgnxZipSwPq31Ivk8T1NAPMjRRAPM3HJRlXgurjBh0f/s320/CIMG7604.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>At the end of March I held a 3 day workshop for 30 contract teachers - these are teachers who have completed only 3 years of school themselves!! Can you believe it? But there is such a shortage of teachers in this province and these are better than no teachers, actually they seem fairly dedicated compared with some of the qualified teachers I have met. This is hot, sweaty me presenting one of the teachers with a chalk board to use in the classroom. they were so pleased. There are 116 contract teachers in this province. They only get paid after one year and recieve may be $100.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHeedNQxlVwEvAmEE6mi6MeKifPJ1bTOcNyti_6qIimuZb-CQSmRIWPAKBC8Oqjj45sy6B7xR8xzDrgxMpHw94yBovD0oE43nt4-pH-5bZJtn54OYhb5YYNHcq-Nzn_n9cAdfIRILEW6U4/s1600/CIMG7643.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHeedNQxlVwEvAmEE6mi6MeKifPJ1bTOcNyti_6qIimuZb-CQSmRIWPAKBC8Oqjj45sy6B7xR8xzDrgxMpHw94yBovD0oE43nt4-pH-5bZJtn54OYhb5YYNHcq-Nzn_n9cAdfIRILEW6U4/s320/CIMG7643.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the view from our balcony - each morning the monk and his caller come to ask for alms .About 7.30am.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpNKzV4yE28-ytq2Xxk2tnDI6P9I8NoSPZVRDyS8-U_nC0wLdRxAjnl6ek-SYqfC3vU62iorL6DORwfVy9GfzgjdTEYOdaREznuTUmfwFU2NwATzYdRVPqm-KyikJYTF3PV7aI1TdUXkVi/s1600/CIMG7622.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpNKzV4yE28-ytq2Xxk2tnDI6P9I8NoSPZVRDyS8-U_nC0wLdRxAjnl6ek-SYqfC3vU62iorL6DORwfVy9GfzgjdTEYOdaREznuTUmfwFU2NwATzYdRVPqm-KyikJYTF3PV7aI1TdUXkVi/s320/CIMG7622.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Whilst I was in PP David attended the wedding of Paul from Australia to a Khymer girl. This picture is of April May a girl from the Phillipines who is working for Health Unlimited here in Ban Lung.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixzSznG_LqVuocyIQwXRxZ0y8RQVy2yBxlChMAqnlXkmqzKDTrjhwsXV3JrnQ0_RoleXet-5F64XscdZ_RHXyWAruhDmlwRuGql1nFGU8bCfDHFv9pjDIDakJECBrKSVnnBZhdBXeGWwTJ/s1600/CIMG7390_0084.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixzSznG_LqVuocyIQwXRxZ0y8RQVy2yBxlChMAqnlXkmqzKDTrjhwsXV3JrnQ0_RoleXet-5F64XscdZ_RHXyWAruhDmlwRuGql1nFGU8bCfDHFv9pjDIDakJECBrKSVnnBZhdBXeGWwTJ/s320/CIMG7390_0084.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is Narin my translator. He is building his own house and Dave has been helping him - last week they were concreting the base, all mixed by hand of course and no tools. We needed you Kenny!<br />
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</tbody></table>janetincambodiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13675555111588990137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4876846703938652623.post-21904437367174581002011-03-05T05:05:00.000-08:002011-03-05T05:05:25.595-08:00Sports Day Press ReportThsi is the press release fron the sports day which has been sent to the donors of VSO and CARE. We have loads of pictures but for some reason I cannot upload them. I think it must be the dust which is getting into everything after 4 months of no rain. David had a really good day and I was sorry I was not able to be there as had to travel to Phnom Penh in a hurry with tooth ache. Its OK now! A big thanks to Erin (VSO Canada) for all her ideas and help too.<br />
<br />
February 21st 2011<br />
Borkeo Lower Secondary School Sports Day. Ratanakiri Province.<br />
<br />
120 pupils enjoyed their first ever sports event on this hot, windy Monday morning.<br />
10 volunteers from VSO and CARE arrived after a 30k motor-bike ride from the provincial capital of Ban Lung to help run the event and organise the races.<br />
The students were aged between 9 and 24 and were a combination of boys and girls, day and boarding pupils and Khymer and indigenous people.<br />
The sporting events began at 8am with the school dividing into 4 teams – blue, green, pink and yellow. The first event was 80m races quickly followed by a volleyball tournament. Other events included long jump, 3 legged race, sack race, throwing a boot the furthest. Plenty more running races were held throughout the morning.<br />
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The students had great fun and entered into the spirit of the occasion in a grand way. Yellow team were the overall winners and were presented with a identification ribbon for them to wear at school. However, all students who participated were given a small prize.<br />
Grateful thanks to VSO for the resources and CARE for the prizes.<br />
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It has been a very busy month and I feel this week that at last I am working appropriately. I worked on a literacy strategy for grade 3 pupils this week and also organised and ran the first inspection of a school with 430 pupils aged 5 -9. It was really interesting and so different to Ofsted!! I learnt that it is a very important regulation in schools that all maps must be displayed on a north facing wall and that every school should have a map of Cambodia even though they might not have anything else. I have also put in a bid for some funding to train teachers who are not qualified properly. Here, if you have your grade 3(age 7-8) certificate you can teach! I have just heard my proposal has been accepted as long as everything is completed in 2 weeks before the end of the financial year. So lots to do.<br />
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Well, its nearly 8pm here on a Saturday evening after a very busy week. I have just practised making pancakes with rice flour and dried milk (thanks Cynthia) as we are having a pancake party on Tuesday evening. Can you imagine standing in the tiniest kitchen with a 2-ring calor-gas hob cooking pancakes in temps of 30+C? We ate as usual on the balcony watching the world go by and sharing the space with a family of lizards and geckos who live on the ceiling and behind shady spots such as the fridge. I can hear the big one making the loud noise - it sounds like the word gecko repeated. This morning we went out for coffee at our favourite place in town. Coffee and cake for two and all for $1.25 (under a pound).<br />
This week we have said goodbye to Erin from Canada who has been a good friend to us. I have travelled to some remote schools which I love doing - but this time there was a problem with my motor bike and we had to return to have it mended. Something wrong with the oil pump, I think - it was .instantly mended and had an oil change and all for $19. janetincambodiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13675555111588990137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4876846703938652623.post-80474447935653913762011-01-28T01:38:00.000-08:002011-01-28T01:38:18.842-08:00A very big thanks you to those of you who have sent parcels – they have been very gratefully received. I know more are on the way so we shall be looking out for them. David has just about enough equipment now to manage 3 days a week. The little treats have been so nice - please keep them coming if at all possible.<br />
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I am also sorry that I have been so lax in writing my blog but January has been really busy and I have had so many experiences it is impossible to write about them all – here’s a few of the exciting moments –<br />
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Christmas in Stung Treng <br />
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Lucy visiting for New Year <br />
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Going to S'reydens engagement party ( which began at 7.30am)<br />
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3 day Study tour with Khymer teachers to Kampong Cham<br />
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David starting a Frisbee Club at the stadium here in Ban Lung<br />
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Going to Siem Reap for a workshop for 3 days and taking 4 days to get there and back! <br />
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Holding a training day for School Directors on how to improve their management skills.<br />
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And finally, succumbing at last to the inevitable “tummy upset” but better now.<br />
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So, I shall say a little about one or two of the above.<br />
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Christmas was really nice to stay with friends, but as Christmas itself it felt so different we did not miss anything other than family and friends. On Christmas Day we went for a bicycle ride and to visit a silk worm factory which made the most beautiful silk garments. We also had lunch there and Dave had fish and chips. Or as the menu suggested fish and ships.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjciTyEd6Z-6BQ7Arc9GTmyu_NA901Orrm6bvJL4BxAeo005O_abAwaH1pbo-4-0N95DifQh3KgIy0LJrV-tJyVw8pydWjD0y9modpclObsB0iTqOuzsZRDIjczp4HGCOycg-RFaateqGVx/s1600/Xmas+2010+040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjciTyEd6Z-6BQ7Arc9GTmyu_NA901Orrm6bvJL4BxAeo005O_abAwaH1pbo-4-0N95DifQh3KgIy0LJrV-tJyVw8pydWjD0y9modpclObsB0iTqOuzsZRDIjczp4HGCOycg-RFaateqGVx/s320/Xmas+2010+040.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">This is me on my way - 150k on dirt roads -we were filthy!</span> <br />
We had an amazing time with Lucy and Joe which went far too quickly. I learnt to carry her on the back of my motorbike . I never thought I would be taking my daughter out on a motorbike! However, after a few days she was on her own hired bike at the huge cost of $6 per day.<br />
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</div><span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">On the boat trip going to an indigenous village far away in the north of the province -a brilliant day.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #9fc5e8;">Lucy drinking the iced coffee at the village shop while we waited till Joe had his puncture fixed.</span> <br />
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I really want to tell you about my bus trip to Siem Reap. I went with my VA Narin and the journey was not too bad as he acted as a buffer really. We had to spend the night in a guesthouse halfway and arrived in SR at mid afternoon the next day. However, the journey back I had to make by myself as he wanted to spend the weekend in SR. So here goes, I was told to wait outside the guesthouse at 7am and a minibus would take me to the bus station on the outskirts of SR. At 7.15 I was getting anxious as the bus was meant to leave at 7.30, so in faltering Khymer and lots of looking at my watch and pointing I explain. The boy picks up my bag and I follow him 500m down the road to a pick up point for the bus service. 2 people checked my ticket and told me to sit down. At 7.30 a mini bus stops and I am told to get on. The last man on has no seat -after checking tickets again I am told to get off! After a telephone call from the man who told me to sit, a mini bus arrives, I get on -we drive 500m to the corner and am told to get on the big bus which is late as its waiting for me! I then demand to sit in the seat I booked -seat 1. No luck so I go to the back crestfallen as my language was not understood this time. We set off and 10 mins later arrive at the big bus station in SR and I have to find the right one for my journey. Luck is with me as someone realises it might be me holding up the 7.30 to Kampong Cham and I get on the right bus and my seat is vacant. We set off at 8.55am and the bus is full.<br />
The young man next to me is hot and sweaty and he sleeps on my shoulder all the way. the seat behind me is occupied by a grandmother, mother and her 3 children, in the seat opposite them is an older man who gives himself a manicure and pedicure with nail clippers and the nails clipped off are flying over us all. The man sitting across the aisle insists on trying to practice his faltering English/French whilst wearing a hat, sunglasses and a mask ( very common here to keep out the dust). After an hour or so the air-con packs up and we drive along with the bus door open, forgot to tell you about the 3 men sitting in the steps by the bus door. It was so hot and dusty. When we arrived in Kampong Cham I had a cold shower for ages and then fell asleep. So no chance of getting up to no good whilst on my own!<br />
The next day up again for the 7 hour mini-bus ride home, at least this was very uneventful.janetincambodiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13675555111588990137noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4876846703938652623.post-14145912363588856262010-12-23T00:43:00.000-08:002010-12-23T16:59:37.836-08:0012 Cambodian foods for Christmas12 - spit-grilled bananas - or frogs whatever you fancy! I went for bananas,4-6 on a stick.<br />
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11- cans of condensed milk - only good in iced coffee. I heard it described as "liquid crack".<br />
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10 - cans of Angkor beer -or Cheers - whatever you fancy as there is no other choice here<br />
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9 - foetus eggs - yes, you read that right, hatching out of the shell and onto your spoon as you eat, yum yum!<br />
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8 - kilos of rice - enough to feed 2 people per week. Dave and I haven't managed that in 8 weeks.<br />
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7 - Deer - I think that is all that is left here in this town -have the rest been eaten?<br />
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6 - o'clock in the evening- its dark and most people have eaten by now.<br />
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5 - my favourite fruits so far-mangosteen, rambutan, mango, longan and you are never more than 10m from a banana here.<br />
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4- the only places in town which serve "western food" in one way or another.<br />
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3 - SUPER markets in town - but not as we know them but one does have a chiller cabinet. <br />
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2 - hobs only on my gas cooker - boil rice and stir fry your veg.<br />
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1 - KFC in town!! Well, it serves sticky rice and fried chicken and its sooooooooooo good! And all for £1.janetincambodiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13675555111588990137noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4876846703938652623.post-63639327279843716862010-12-19T21:30:00.000-08:002010-12-19T21:30:37.088-08:00Where does the time go?December. <br />
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At last I begin to feel like I know what we are meant to be doing here. I have organised and run my first workshop. We have settled into our new home and made a wide variety of cosmopolitan friends and David has found work. Now I shall have to begin some housework as he has been brilliant until now and done it all. We have also had our first house guest- my sister Cynthia has been to stay for two weeks. So come on all friends, book those tickets and come and visit – its brilliant here!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS2c4XwcDypvrRmqpoL1YoiP73Tid22WgE8hKeyypL4PpBE8hOwb8XsSv3J2Wk12EphoTiPgKbgoTIDsWKpxa3kzBecAEp4F_r-Dt8-N6RMBGhflT834pwJkjMFPy5sUhyphenhyphenSK7qvkhkYWR1/s1600/Ban+Lung+with+Cyn+061.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS2c4XwcDypvrRmqpoL1YoiP73Tid22WgE8hKeyypL4PpBE8hOwb8XsSv3J2Wk12EphoTiPgKbgoTIDsWKpxa3kzBecAEp4F_r-Dt8-N6RMBGhflT834pwJkjMFPy5sUhyphenhyphenSK7qvkhkYWR1/s320/Ban+Lung+with+Cyn+061.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Standing on the newly built bammboo bridge</td></tr>
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We have begun to explore the area and there are some super waterfalls, Yak Loam(look up the lake on google) is wonderful and the swimming is just heavenly at lunchtime when the temp in the office gets to 32 +. David has borrowed a bicycle and been out far more than me at present.<br />
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Work for David began in earnest this week. He has 2 full days in Borkeo (about 35k on the road to Vietnam) teaching sport in a boarding school for indigenous children who have to live in school as they are bright but live too far away to walk every day. The dropout rate for these children is exceptionally high. The boarding house is funded by another NGO called CARE. He has a class of 30+ in the morning but 80+ in the afternoon.<br />
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The school has never taught sport before and has no equipment at all. He has introduced extreme frisbee and badminton and football. But we only have the one frisbee we bought with us. So if anyone could possibly send him some equipment which is cheap to post –please do so. He needs some very light softballs, shuttlecocks, frisbeees, table tennis bats and balls and anything really…..<br />
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Our address is Janet /David Catchpole. VSO Programme Office. PO BOX 912<br />
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Phnom Penh Cambodia.<br />
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Once the post gets to PP a member of the VSO office collects it and puts it on a mini bus to here and the driver calls us to collect it to the VSO office here in Ban Lung. I have not heard of any going missing!!<br />
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This week he has also been in touch with a Korean nurse working in a school here in the town who would like to introduce sport – so 2 more afternoons are happening soon.<br />
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We were very excited to see my sister who arrive for 2 weeks at the end of November. We took her to visit the lake, of course, the lava field, the market is a tremendous experience and we have to go every day. She and David went off on cycle tours and she surprised me by hopping on the back of David’s moto very quickly. We left Ban Lung with her to go to Kampong Cham for 3 nights together and David was thrilled to realise the Bamboo Bridge was being built and was almost ready. This is apparently the last year as there will be a bridge built next year. When the water in the river is high locals rely on the ferry to cross to the islands in the Mekong. Now they have dropped and a bamboo bridge is built by hand every year. We were told cars can go across!! We left her there to visit PP for 2 nights and we came north again to home.<br />
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This week I held my first workshop for School Directors and 3 District Directors of Education. It was very daunting but I was prepared and they were all there at 7.30am. However, working through a translator is not that easy and they were so shy! Teachers in England never stop talking! Here, I could not get them to start, they were so anxious about saying the wrong answer; they would not answer at all. Eventually, I watered the programme down and we got through the day with some good results. I shall be very busy for the next 3 weeks as I promised to follow up with a visit to every school with a chat about their requirements for leadership and management skills. Not terribly high on their list as want they would really like is to be paid each month and on time.<br />
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This is Narin my VA-Volunteer assisstant. He is brilliant and literally a Mr Fixit. He has at least 4 different enterprises that I know as well as full time work with VSO. Dont be surprised by the females present. These are the only 2 School Directors I have met so far so I made sure they were both invited to attend.<br />
Everybody here has at least 2 jobs, the second is usually their home farm. This has to supplement their salary. Corruption levels are also very high here, not quite the stories to broadcast here on my blog but I heard that many teachers had not been paid because someone else had received the money and used it to speculate on the soya bean harvest.<br />
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I am also supposed to work with the inspection team here in the province. This has not been possible so far as since September they have not received any budget – therefore no school inspections!<br />
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We have made many new friends here – Lucy also VSO in Education from the Philippines and her husband Yasir from Pakistan, Erin:VSO Secure Livelihoods –from Canada, Christina from Canada Education -but another NGO and her husband Boris from Uzbekistan. Ema from Spain(with dreadlocks down to her waist) working in Secure Livelihoods and Tania from Suffolk ( on the border with Essex) would you believe! Another VSO girl who is working in secure livelihoods and trying to keep the lake in the hands of the Tampoun people. The indigenous tribe who own the sacred land. There are also 2 more really nice Phillipino girls called April and Ginny who work for an NGO called Health Unlimited. They are all of course much younger than us but they do not seem to mind –perhaps they see us as surrogate parents!<br />
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On Saturday we went to dinner at Lucy and Yasirs with Erin and her partner Jamie over from Australia but works in a gold mine in Eritrea. I had tried to make dessert for us all. I prepared some dragon fruit and made coconut ice-cream. However, it did not want to set and was sweet coconut sauce I think. There are no milk products here at all but all the locals eat a lot of condensed milk ( not sure what in except exceptionally sweet coffee). So I bought fresh coconut milk from the market and freshly grated coconut and mixed it with the sweet milk and put it in the ice box to freeze. 5 hours later and no change.<br />
Yesterday I organised a VSO+friends picnic and swim by the lake which was brilliant, except I chose the coldest day of the year and temp was only mid 20s!<br />
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Christmas here is non-existent but I came home last night after work to find David had erected a Christmas Tree with twinkly lights which we bought in PP in October and Cynthia had bought us some tinsel. The family below us were very amused! We have been invited for the weekend to Stung Treng a small town about 145k away on a dirt road which is busy as it leads to PP. However, I need to work on the 24th so we are planning to go on our motos after lunch on the 24th and return on the 26th. We shall stay with a Dutch couple Jan and Teah we met whilst doing our language training. It will be quite a challenge for me to drive that far in the red dirt and dust and to traverse the 36 bridges ( well, planks of wood). It has stopped raining only for a couple of weeks but already the dust swirls constantly and if there is a vehicle in front you cannot see for ages. We will be so dirty when we arrive.<br />
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Last night was very cold – the temperature dropped to below 20 for the first time and we were chilly in bed. Houses here are just made of wood planks with gaps, etc. so quite draughty. I wore pyjamas for the first time and felt like a local at last. Have I told you that many women wear pyjamas as day wear here. Here is a picture of a woman harvesting rice in her pyjamas.<br />
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Enough of us but before I sigh off if anyone is nice enough to send David some equipment please fill the gaps with some cotton wool balls, cheese sauce mix, ind cappuccino sachets or hot choc mixes and j cloths. I cannot find anything like j cloths to clean the house or wash dishes with. Anything easy to post would be a real treat.<br />
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Merry Christmas and Happy New Yearjanetincambodiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13675555111588990137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4876846703938652623.post-12966228041464435132010-12-02T01:12:00.000-08:002010-12-02T01:13:57.766-08:00Life settling into normalityWell, after 3 months we feel at last that we are settling down. I am getting to grips with the education system and have made my 3 month plan and am presently organising a workshop for Dec 16 for school leaders and Directors of Education in 3 provinces here. From the results I hope to be able to formulate my long term plan.<br />
I have also agreed to go on a study tour in January to Siem Reap (it is really a tough call- but someone has to go)! This is to meet an Australian NGO team to see if they are prepared to help with training teachers back here in Ratanakiri. It is 3 days but will take 2 days travel each way as there is limited roads east to west. I have to travel south until I can cross the Mekong river which is 350k almost to Phnom Penh, then go west.<br />
David is making inroads into working and is off again tomorrow to visit a boarding house for indigenous children who are bright but live too far from the high school to travel so one NGO is funding this project. He is planning to have at least 2 days work with teaching them sport and gardening. So fingers crossed it all goes to plan. Things just happen so slowly here.........<br />
At the moment we have my sister Cynthia staying, she managed 3 flights and an 11 hour trip north on the mini-bus. So all of you reading this start saving those pennies.<br />
There is NOTHING about Christmas here at all! Hurray! I am not missing all the hype and lead up to the big day, the only thing I shall miss of course is the excitement of seeing the family all together.janetincambodiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13675555111588990137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4876846703938652623.post-21057931702722432662010-11-17T20:14:00.000-08:002010-11-17T20:14:54.077-08:00WorkI have 3 objectives to meet -<br />
1. Provide training for child frriendly schools<br />
2. Work with the Inspection team here in the province and provide training<br />
3. Support the School directors with management training<br />
<br />
So after 3 weeks what have I managed?<br />
1.CFS training and such issues are unheard of here as you can see from this picture. This was a celebration for World Teacher Day. What a good idea-why does'nt the UK celebrate this?<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZoUZO2AcGTXHwbCJmQm-tgi8Vwn4UXqseHDr1PZejTynR18B5nx0JC4kJipDF6FfLt9Ea_cgdqTk-Zvr1aAwCH3q9PmOYmOu_fLB538O2kG1XCSNCmdk-Iqh-Cdv8Txa1fkkRXar_lw4M/s1600/CIMG7070.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZoUZO2AcGTXHwbCJmQm-tgi8Vwn4UXqseHDr1PZejTynR18B5nx0JC4kJipDF6FfLt9Ea_cgdqTk-Zvr1aAwCH3q9PmOYmOu_fLB538O2kG1XCSNCmdk-Iqh-Cdv8Txa1fkkRXar_lw4M/s320/CIMG7070.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>However, there was nothing friendly about the 3 1/2 hours these pupils stood in the sun and 30+ temps while the speeches were made.<br />
Yesterday I met a school director who told me that in Sept he had 80 grade 1 (aged 6 ) children start school with 1 teacher and 60% could not speak Khymer. There are 7 hill tribes here!<br />
<br />
2 .I have not yet managed to meet with the inspection department as their office in the Ministry where I work is always locked. I have been told that the yearly budget for inspections which began in Sept has already been spent so they cannot do any more! Everyone here is also very busy with the soya bean harvest, another reason to stay at home.<br />
<br />
3.There are 3 districts I shall be working in and it has taken me this long to meet the District Education Officers - many schools I visit are shut and the teachers have gone home. They get little pay and never on time and no-one keeps a check on absenteeism.<br />
I want to do a workshop with them to find out what they perceive as the problems - but they will not come without being paid. VSO believe in sharing skills not paying for staff to attend training - if anyone pays it should be the Ministry. So an interesting challenge in the next few months.Although we are trying to get some funding from an Italian NGO which may make my work a little easier.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiha8Mrr3yf0-bw4Wgi0jT2z6Y-Ti1kpiml-zAqZzbTO3rWi5cK9u2Vxa1ldZ5YoJSQbWGODnIUNqzQ2Xh4cVXtrCQfiUyNVhBqhs3Qa-LB7Ids7ioSZMCecEJVT0YOobxV1_xDiZAgGYr9/s1600/CIMG7179.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiha8Mrr3yf0-bw4Wgi0jT2z6Y-Ti1kpiml-zAqZzbTO3rWi5cK9u2Vxa1ldZ5YoJSQbWGODnIUNqzQ2Xh4cVXtrCQfiUyNVhBqhs3Qa-LB7Ids7ioSZMCecEJVT0YOobxV1_xDiZAgGYr9/s320/CIMG7179.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This is a school I visited at 10am in the morning, about 200 children from grade 1-4 and no teachers in sight. Lots of pigs, dogs, etc, and the children were very happy playing and chatting. Eventually, I found 2 teachers asleep (which people do a lot of here - a combination of the heat and mal-nutrition) on a row of desks each inside one of the classrooms. When they woke they were not at all embarrassed. Just seemed pleased to see visitors.</div>janetincambodiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13675555111588990137noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4876846703938652623.post-22141007391622084342010-11-17T18:21:00.000-08:002010-11-17T18:21:49.071-08:00Janet Catchpole is fundraising for Voluntary Service Overseas<a href="http://www.justgiving.com/janetanddavid">Janet Catchpole is fundraising for Voluntary Service Overseas</a>janetincambodiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13675555111588990137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4876846703938652623.post-466594888253668232010-11-16T19:37:00.000-08:002010-11-16T19:49:30.561-08:00First Khymer WeddingWell after only two weeks in Cambodia we were invited to our first wedding. We had been informed about the importance of weddings here and the etiquette so here goes.<br />
Firstly the wedding season runs from November to March- during the cooler months! Ha Ha<br />
Secondly, you cannot refuse - its very rude and you still have to pay!<br />
Thirdly, the women really go to town on the outfits and make up here.<br />
Fourthly, they start early from 4am with loudspeakers to announce and awful music.<br />
And they drink a lot of alcohol which you cannot refuse either!<br />
So this was our experience -<br />
the very flashy invitation in red and gold was from my boss, the Director of Education in Ratanakiri. We rarely see her so we knew how important it was when she came to deliver it personally. Quite a challenge for me with my limited skills. There is no need to reply as apart from illness everyone goes.<br />
Firstly I had to have a new outfit, the clothes I had bought from the UK were not flashy enough.<br />
So the wife of the Dutchman I work with and I met in the market to have outfits made. she went all out glittery but with true British reserve I went for the most simple and plain fabric I could find which was not easy. We were measured and discussed in full view of the market of course and agreed to go back in one week.I paid $10 deposit which was half the cost.<br />
On the Saturday at 8.30am after an electricity cut for 2 days for final trying and paying. We communicated via a few words of Khymer from me and hand signals from her. I agreed I would press it at home when the elect. came back.<br />
That afternoon Dave and I went to the airfield here (still complete with windsock and terminal buildings and even a fire engine) sadly no planes for over one year. anyway we practised me riding side saddle for my entry to the wedding and then me driving and Dave as the passenger so he could drink more.<br />
The next day the three VSO females went with one of the female translators to the beauty parlour. This was Sunday afternoon at 3pm. The beauty parlour turned out to be a shack tacked on the end of the market. Why was I not surprised! There is only the market to go here. The place was really busy and I could write a book about my experience that afternoon. So here is the edited version, I had planned to have nails painted and possibly makeup. I was given small bowls to soak my toes and hands in. But they were soon forgotten and I was called to the makeup chair. I pleaded with Sereyden to have only natural makeup - but the next thing was the young girl got a razor blade and proceeded to eliminate my eyebrows and then my whole face was shaved!!!<br />
the next stage was thick makeup, false eyelashes, heavy painted eyebrows and the whole works. this happens in the open shop and everyone is watching the barang in the chair.<br />
So late home and dark with no helmet on my glittery hair I just have time to change and off we go.<br />
The wedding was different! You have to arrive late and you have to pay - $20 for us which is a lot here. You wait until a table of 10 is complete then you are seated and the food is served. We had 7 courses including BBQ duck which seemed raw, pickled vegetables, fish soup and stewed chicken plus lots of rice. There was lots of drinking and only whisky and beer to choose from. After the meal everyone has to either dance or drink toasts. We chose to dance but really only the men dance, the women seemed very unconcerned about dancing. You dance around a table covered in fruit and the moves look easy but of course are not!! When it got too complicated we stopped but then everyone wanted to drink with us so we had to start dancing again!!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXdgBid88IS2EAq1NrgEMXzNngxSP69ec5Xaq-IBpY2tvfCQOSD-rF5mY2Vu13ce3iGFxomFDzfKbTpfvlNMUaVYql9wrB8rS5kOAVt-KwmOrqfBTtwqA5N7e_-8SUgRj2xGM3Qjle_vd2/s1600/CIMG7150.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="237" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXdgBid88IS2EAq1NrgEMXzNngxSP69ec5Xaq-IBpY2tvfCQOSD-rF5mY2Vu13ce3iGFxomFDzfKbTpfvlNMUaVYql9wrB8rS5kOAVt-KwmOrqfBTtwqA5N7e_-8SUgRj2xGM3Qjle_vd2/s320/CIMG7150.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The VSO team</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMpP2EwgH70zCUfvneOvSRKpuiepul95F7l9sORSsuAnY6DD6zDePVEW0ga2fHBPjYAWN7IiBnt_v-dMgFT-w59IwCBlJfTcsLvtFjZjWX3s6brqBvrvo2OuW86nygHwzOjcZJ3xnfNVqc/s1600/CIMG7170.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMpP2EwgH70zCUfvneOvSRKpuiepul95F7l9sORSsuAnY6DD6zDePVEW0ga2fHBPjYAWN7IiBnt_v-dMgFT-w59IwCBlJfTcsLvtFjZjWX3s6brqBvrvo2OuW86nygHwzOjcZJ3xnfNVqc/s320/CIMG7170.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The heavy make-up</td></tr>
</tbody></table> We weaved our way home at 11pm watched by the police who are not at all bothered about drink driving just who was there - it was a very important wedding so almost 1000 people there and the police were all dressed in their best costumes.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_I2Q22xhglyBpwFxDQJWJMEAOS_gpt2sWKXm3W2zxtl_FycY6olsukiRgo6Ue_o48KmPZASUDxxEocSb20CLsLOujfSYlHJ6_rOjRJXI08pmDzCfODHQJmknue4idJtiEh9SqoLi3xym5/s1600/CIMG7148.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="149" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_I2Q22xhglyBpwFxDQJWJMEAOS_gpt2sWKXm3W2zxtl_FycY6olsukiRgo6Ue_o48KmPZASUDxxEocSb20CLsLOujfSYlHJ6_rOjRJXI08pmDzCfODHQJmknue4idJtiEh9SqoLi3xym5/s200/CIMG7148.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waiting for 10 people so we can go in</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOb4yZECFenbwYWl8INVY3rYAkG2s8rzAxvqOrM8WlAlKIIWRzMinz0ePGeBuBW5rTpgvDqyUIja2LOOfp5kCAl9FhyphenhyphenpQBuFQr3F5n7nwrqUg2Ij_xs-NCg56eYMYNjeM3JRs0tikNX402/s1600/CIMG7154.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOb4yZECFenbwYWl8INVY3rYAkG2s8rzAxvqOrM8WlAlKIIWRzMinz0ePGeBuBW5rTpgvDqyUIja2LOOfp5kCAl9FhyphenhyphenpQBuFQr3F5n7nwrqUg2Ij_xs-NCg56eYMYNjeM3JRs0tikNX402/s200/CIMG7154.JPG" width="148" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wedding outfits</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYyO6QiHWMg9WRBzEtfCIfrzwHYoGl33AC8sB5Qj6D9HtZb7ADR9cmrxNWhGdJWfCfIDsx0hb2qxD3c6R1lb0XZvqmgmoBFyZQ5vbAbNQDP55b8MTvB4qP-l0bQPGh8ZlDgUH2Uk3vvBTN/s1600/CIMG7164.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYyO6QiHWMg9WRBzEtfCIfrzwHYoGl33AC8sB5Qj6D9HtZb7ADR9cmrxNWhGdJWfCfIDsx0hb2qxD3c6R1lb0XZvqmgmoBFyZQ5vbAbNQDP55b8MTvB4qP-l0bQPGh8ZlDgUH2Uk3vvBTN/s320/CIMG7164.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The bride and groom plus myself, Lucy from the Phillipines and her husband Yasser from Pakistan</td></tr>
</tbody></table>janetincambodiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13675555111588990137noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4876846703938652623.post-62503649385616089912010-11-02T02:36:00.000-07:002010-11-02T02:36:54.673-07:00Week one - only103 to goOur first week in Ratanakiri (this means gem mountain in Khymer)<br />
<br />
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Our new home- well just the upstairs.<br />
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After an exhausting journey and stressful arrival we woke at 6am to find what I can only describe as a squatter hut attached to the fence one meter from our house and the family are cooking on charcoal pots outside and chattering loudly.<br />
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View from bedroom window<br />
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So up we get and after a minimal breakfast we go off to the market on the moto – more about that later too!<br />
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Trying to find cleaning materials was difficult but we managed and got fruit and bread.<br />
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Dave scrubbed the bathroom with bleach and I cleaned the kitchen, swept floors with a soft bristle broom; oh for a vacuum cleaner here as it’s so dusty. In the pm a couple of other NGOs arrived one with a huge bag of longans. I like them, Dave not too keen, he says he does not like smelly fruit.<br />
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In the afternoon we went for a ride on the moto around the lake in town and explored a little and then got a text inviting us to sunset snacks not far from us ( well nowhere is far from here the town is about twice the size of Framlingham.<br />
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My moto in the garden downstairs plus the awful no gears VSO bike!<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibiZ1ynBkfxlyvRbRfv1xasXIyD5rt4-i1-EbO5nWjgWgUcdVVCeoPxDd0bnKralSNlcO29wkLJJnSDds_O9QgCr77BuWETJ9AQY68owssNAnuiFhfpBOFHB6g7PQsf07SXP5n94DHn1Gr/s1600/CIMG7109+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibiZ1ynBkfxlyvRbRfv1xasXIyD5rt4-i1-EbO5nWjgWgUcdVVCeoPxDd0bnKralSNlcO29wkLJJnSDds_O9QgCr77BuWETJ9AQY68owssNAnuiFhfpBOFHB6g7PQsf07SXP5n94DHn1Gr/s320/CIMG7109+(2).JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
First day…<br />
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Up with the family and the cockerels at 5.45am so at least I could not oversleep for work today. Nervous about riding the moto to work on my own but I memorised the way and it was fine. I met Myrko the Dutchman and another VSO working in Education and Narin the translator that we share, then I hopped – well straggled my leg over to ride pillion with him to a school about 35k away towards Vietnam. A small school only 2 classrooms and teaches grade 1 – 4 however, the children are indigenous and do not speak Khymer and here if you do not pass each grade or start school late you stay down. So there were about 4 boys who looked about 13/14 still in with the grade 1 and this is not unusual and yet there is no curriculum suited to their needs so most drop out as soon as they can and rarely stay to go to the next school at grade 5 level. You can be a teacher at a school like this as long as you have a grade 9 certificate to say you passed that level.<br />
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I was asked if I wanted to make my own way back on the moto and being the only female I had to say yes. It was fine until 34.5k later and I could not find my way to the office whichever way I tried. Eventually I gave up and had to ring Narin. I was 300yards from the office, they were in the coffee shop ( I use this term loosely as it was a bamboo shack) and they had seen me driving round and thought I was doing more practising. On the way home I got stopped by the police. He made me stop my bike, get off and then told me to go another road as this was blocked. Then proceed to laugh with his mates about my inadequacies of handling a moto. All before lunch so luckily I had a quiet afternoon in the office.<br />
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Riding pillion.<br />
<br />
The women here all ride side-saddle and never hold on to anything.<br />
<br />
Cambodian men riding pillion can hold onto any part of their male drivers.<br />
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Women cannot touch any part of their male driver whilst riding pillion even if it is their husband.<br />
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Only the driver is supposed to wear a helmet – but only the westerners wear them really.<br />
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You can have at least 6/7 on a moto. As soon as children can sit up they are on motos.<br />
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Signalling left does not mean you are going left.<br />
<br />
Even though you are meant to drive on the right you can and do use any part of the road you want to.<br />
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So you can see that first thing on Monday morning riding that distance pillion with a male translator was an experience. However, the scenery was magnificent and this really is a beautiful place. <br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div>My work hours are 7.30-11.30am and 2-5pm. <br />
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Tuesday I spent getting to know my way round the hot, dusty, dirty office in the department for the Ministry of Education. When I am not quite so new it will get a tidy and a clean-up.<br />
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Wednesday was another school visit and I played hookey in the pm and went to the bank to get my ATM card –it took over an hour and a half. <br />
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Thursday back to the school we visited on Monday for a World Teacher Day ceremony which was very nice and simple and then we played a game with the children.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3f2iqDQdSLOSBeuMrxx5cHXNCOCjgbg7xDmqKVWNRq9YkEHdX2zgO0utbRHBAiSEWQNgYNzI3Zv1k6kKxnXalK5-SQKsezqtGrAbTAhsT86KOYWLnGNJUo5tHDxu1gWZXvH_LSIR_RwEm/s1600/CIMG7123.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3f2iqDQdSLOSBeuMrxx5cHXNCOCjgbg7xDmqKVWNRq9YkEHdX2zgO0utbRHBAiSEWQNgYNzI3Zv1k6kKxnXalK5-SQKsezqtGrAbTAhsT86KOYWLnGNJUo5tHDxu1gWZXvH_LSIR_RwEm/s320/CIMG7123.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Playng the circle game</td></tr>
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In the afternoon I had my first language lesson and I learnt that she had not prepared anything but wanted to know what I wanted to learn!! So I leant to ask the mother below us if I could use the washing machine – which worked! Also how to ask for things in the market – which was not so easy! I have problems understanding the cost of items as 100 is mapon and 1000 is maroy which in local dialect sounds the same to me.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKKB5-NrSZsEYxeq76PAIoGyLHhjq6aoujS5ACS49WbUOTD5tHJDywa4BNa-BKY0VaxHhdSJK5i_IWAIkQ1z4Q7qFC0GrOY_3f1k01zEAW6HIORm7vFP_MI8YT4DteoQhDJs82380sPe4L/s1600/CIMG7067.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKKB5-NrSZsEYxeq76PAIoGyLHhjq6aoujS5ACS49WbUOTD5tHJDywa4BNa-BKY0VaxHhdSJK5i_IWAIkQ1z4Q7qFC0GrOY_3f1k01zEAW6HIORm7vFP_MI8YT4DteoQhDJs82380sPe4L/s320/CIMG7067.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Being on the top table </td></tr>
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Friday was a holiday to celebrate Kings Coronation. We were invited by the family to have a picnic by the lake but we declined and went to the market to buy food and more storage containers as everything has to be kept sealed. We also need coat hangers and all sorts of necessary basic stuff.<br />
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In the evening which is after 5pm in Khymer time we went to one of the 3 relative western restaurants where all the NGOs meet up each week. There are about 15 in total of all nationalities but English is the language in use luckily. We ordered drinks, dave a beer and me a lime juice when an Aussie arrived and announced he had just got engaged to a local girl and without asking ordered a round of tequila shots with salt and lemon and that was it we had to drink up. Yuk!! Then get on the moto in the dark ( dark by 5.30pm here and weave our way home – late by standards here as it was 8pm. Then we ate on the balcony still but it was so cold, the temp dropped to below 25 for the first time and we shivered and had to put on warmer long sleeved clothes. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv0DbvB5kfWc6nBek322c6YaWu3um47YEy47OoS6Smm89Z6ZKifp2f2OEpWSiDvqc8fuo-U4vPFKsBJCd51-N7iVWbipDHATSB1bAUqpG19Sxf4kYyZ1pAIuhsR5jBr9ccqc_50R8sR0JK/s1600/CIMG7108.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv0DbvB5kfWc6nBek322c6YaWu3um47YEy47OoS6Smm89Z6ZKifp2f2OEpWSiDvqc8fuo-U4vPFKsBJCd51-N7iVWbipDHATSB1bAUqpG19Sxf4kYyZ1pAIuhsR5jBr9ccqc_50R8sR0JK/s320/CIMG7108.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dave reading on the balcony.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>janetincambodiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13675555111588990137noreply@blogger.com0