Last training week.

Our last week of training was very hectic. I had an upset tummy and David had to go to the village for homestay on his own. We were prepared for the worst-sleeping above the cows, sharing a bed and potty with the family, indescribable food. All of which were stories we heard from other volunteers. In the end it was not that bad and he had a bed to himself although the father slept on the floor in the same room. There were two children one of which was 17 and could speak English and the little girl(8) wanted to hold his hand all the time……….Something even I cannot do here as Cambodians do not like shows of physical contact at all. He said it was a lonely 24 hours though.

Then it was straight into the moto training which lasted a day and was tough going with a “gippy” tummy.

Rules of the road I am trying to come to terms with –

• Concentrate only on what is in front of you.

• You can use any part of the road even going on the wrong side.

• Give way to traffic coming on the roundabout.

• Any vehicle bigger than you has right of way.

• It is illegal to drive with lights during the day.

• It is not illegal to drive at night without lights.

• Use your horn a lot, once to warn and continuous to keep going.

• Drive on the right. Or on the left or in the middle.

• When you want to turn onto another road go across the road when you see a space and drive on the wrong side of the road until you turn.

• Always beware of cows and dogs who wander in the road at any time.

Then we were packed up and on the bus to Phnom Penh where I had 3 hectic days of meetings and a visit to the doctor for some anti-biotics. The up side of this is I am losing weight fast. David had to visit the dentist which he also said was really good. He also had to shop and haggle in the market for sheets, towels, pillows, kitchenware and a few luxuries such as a toaster, 3 cans of baked beans and some pasta.

On Saturday we were collected from the guesthouse at 5.30am. We went by mini-bus and had many stops, breakfast and lunch where therebwere toilets. A puncture stop ( see picture below) and once for nearly an hour to load an indigenous family of 14 plus all their belongings including a puppy in a sack tied with string. As tere were only 6 seats id did not matter they just piled in and it took the time to string all their stuff outside. We arrived in Ban Lung at 5pm. Hot, tired and the last stretch of dirt road is quite slow and tough going.

Our new home.

We were dropped off at our new home only to find the landlord was still working in the bathroom fixing the shower in and there was no electricity! To make matters worse the son-in-law wanted to talk to us and practice his English………… we were so tired that night but the next day was much better. We went on the moto to the market and bought cleaning products and some food. After siesta we went for a ride on the moto round the lake and to watch the sun set and were just about to cook a meal when we got a call and were invited out for sunset snacks. It turns out to be the home of another VSO volunteer who works with the ethnic miniority on trying to keep their beautiful volcanic crater lake sustainable. She comes from East Bergholt and is a keen mountain biker! She was thrilled to hear Dave could mend bikes and we have her bike in the spare room at the moment as he is fixing the gears.

Week 3 of language training

No more learning words this week it's sentences and long ones! It's tough going but in a strange way we quite enjoy it.We had an amazing time on Friday when we went to the local Temple (Wat) for the PBen Chum festival which is the time to respect your ancestors and bring gifts of food and drink to the  temple. We went with our language teacher and were asked by the monks to stay and eat as their guests.

The chief monk served us himself and made sure we had water. it was all rather difficult for us as the food had been given by the people and after us the poor and then the beggars were allowed to eat. However we were assured that the Wat was honoured that us "Barangs" had chosen to visit them on such an auspicious day. Some of the food was good - as you can imagine I was very selective!


Sitting on the roof of the boat.

 On Saturday we organized a river trip ( against the VSO risk assessment policy) for the day to explore part of the Mekong river. We left at 8am and travelled slowly upstream in this "tub" for about an hour to visit an island village.


Village from the shore

We had been told to bring sweets and balloons for the children as they have so little. Actually they have nothing! Dave was brilliant with the children and played games about giving the balloons out.

 The children then showed us round the village and the Chief Elder came to talk to us. It is a very low-lying island and if the water rises too high in the wet season the government will move them to higher ground but this year there has not been enough rain.

Village school aka cartshed

A typical village home

This is the village school and school is supposed to have started already so I get the feeling that thesechildren do not have school at all. There were about 20 children on the island of school age.

After the island it was back on the boat for another 2 hours to lunch-stop. it was described as a resort it turned out to be a temple complex with very old stupas (graves) and some petrified monks.

Lunch was funny as the locals could not get close enough to us in order to see what we were eating and thought it was very funny that we were making sandwiches from bread, bananas, crisps and cucumbers. The Dutch had even managed to bring some cheese.

Aside. Not as funny though as when I went to the market on Saturday to buy some new sandals- the women just laughed when I asked for size 38!

After lunch we had a wonder round and I steeled myself to walk down the 201 steep steps I struggled up only to find the younger ones had gone off to take a short cut down and Kath ( a midwife from Yorkshire) and I had to find our own way out!! What gentlemen we had with us!

Back on the boat and I sat on the edge and paddled my hot feet in the Mekong whilst others slept!

 

Photo's from placement week in BanLung - our new home



The large living space leading to the verandah

We have the entire upstairs of this house.



This is the eco-lodge we stayed in- open to the elements and wildlife!



View from verandah over the garden

Placement visit week.

We were told the mini bus would pick us up at the hotel at 9.30am. At 8.15 the bus turned up!The only time I have known Cambodians to be early. We travelled very fast and soon left the traffic behind as we went north. The only obstacles being cows which wander freely and dogs. After several bush stops it was soon noon and we stopped at a local transport stop before meeting the dirt track.
The first stage of the track was good and after that........... say no more.

We arrived in Ban Lung about 3.30 and first impressions were good. We were dropped off at the eco lodge we were staying at and at 5 the local western NGOs working there came to meet us and have dinner which was good and they all seemed very friendly.
The eco lodge was interesting - very dark and full of wildlife which I did not want to think about. We could have moved but the food was good and the people running it were lovely. There was also a lot of people on the back-packing route which were interesting to meet in the evenings. One of the best things about this place is the tepm drops in the evenings by at least 5 or more degrees.
We were to visit a local primary school on Monday and were ready to be collected at 7.30am. What we didn't realise that we had to take water, fruit, biscuits, books and pens for 40 people as well as 4 people on 2 motos! It was just as well I didn't know. I managed to ride pillion with the books stuffed between me and the driver and we had a huge tin of biscuits on the floor between the drivers legs and water in the front. After about 2 kms we were on dirt tracks........phew!!

After that nothing was as bad until Friday when I attended school enrollment day at the local high school - nothing child friendly about that. Children sat in the sun, we were under shade at least but we were there for the start at 7.15am and we left at 11am after listening to non-stop speeches and no involvement from the children. The Provincial Governors speech lasted over 1 1/2 hours non-stop. Remember the temps are over 30C.

I have a large office to work in and a brilliant translator called Narin who I share with another volunteer - a Dutchman called Myrko. We work from the Ministry of Education who were not there as there is a big festival on the 6,7 and 8 October so they had not gone into work. Apparently it wasn't worth it for 2 days as school should begin on 1 Oct. It seems extra holidays in this province so remote from the capital are quite normal. school holidays in the summer are July and August- but they finished in June and not back yet. Part of this is because the area is so poor everyone has two jobs, most second jobs are in agriculture. Rubber and cashew nuts are the main crops.

We also spent ages house hunting which was really interesting. All the houses are large as all families live together. Eventually we settled for a house close to the office with a beautiful view towards Laos.
The house is owned by the Chief of Police and he lives below so we shall be safe. There is a beautiful garden and we have the top floor which has 3 bedrooms, a huge sitting/dining area, basic bathroom and even more basic kitchen but a huge verandah with dining table which clinched the deal.

We are now back to Kampong Cham for 2 more weeks language training and we need to buy bedding for the house and a few other things which we can get on the bus.

End of first language session




Janet cycling along the Mekong on the way to school

Well, two weeks of language training have come to an end and I have enjoyed it in a strange way. We have learnt over 200 words and can put them into basic sentences. I can order and buy items in shops and am surprised how much I have learnt!

This morning we woke to cloud and rain and although the temp was still in the 30s we decided to go for a bike ride to the local pagoda " Wat Nokor". Negotiating the traffic is still very hairy but am getting used to it - this morning we came across several motorbikes carrying loads of rattan furniture, 3 horse and carts in a row with bamboo stacked high and the usual bikes and cycles coming straight at you ready to turn at any minute. One of the women in our group has not been on a bike for 40 years and hates every minute.

Last night we all went out for a meal at a local restaurant which is run as a charity for children on the streets. It was quite expensive $10 for us both, but really good food. I had vegetarian Tom Yum Soup which comes with rice and fresh lime juice with soda to drink.

Tomorrow we are off on the mini bus on our long trek north to Rattanakiri 8-10 hours depending on the state of the road! Hope it hasn't rained too much up there. I have a time table for the week which includes several visits to schools which I am looking forward to. At least i can now introduce myself in Khmer. But best of all will be the house hunting as living out of a suitcase for the last month has not been easy. But most of all I would love a fridge as drinking water at 30C is not pleasant any more.



Party time





Wat Nokor







Dave taking a break from school





Cows with no one in charge going round the roundabout by school. An amusing distraction!







Kampong Cham

This is the third biggest town in Cambodia but we are surprised how small it really is and how sleepy. It used to be very busy but 10 years ago with the help of japanese money a huge bridge was built over the Mekong. this means that all the traffic which had to enter the town and wait for ferries now goes straight over the bridge.
Ferry across Mekong

 We have eaten in a\ different place every night and tonight felt brave enough to sample the strret food. Each day we get up about 7am and have a simple breakfast in a nearby cafe then go to the market or do some washing. At 9.30 we get together to do our language homework ( there are 8 of us ). We each do our own thing for lunch and today we had bread and bannanas by the river but had to retire inside as a monkey was threatening to grab our lunch!
Dave snacking after school
At 1pm we cycle slowly to school - yes, it really is a school! A very poor one too.tNot one item of work on the walls and no books or teaching aids at all. We have language school from 1-5pm and it is very tough going. By 5pm my brain is in pieces. On the way home we stop and watch the town coming to life as the temp. is cooling by a couple of degrees and peopleof all ages meet to exercise. The teenagers bring huge speakers and set up on the pavement by the river front joint exercise classes for all ages to join in when you fancy the music or the steps. Everthing stops at 9pm as the Cambodians go to bed from early and rise early. There are frequent power cuts and tonight we are watching the lightning from our bed as the whole town is in darkness, This is the rainy season but as yet we haven't seen too much or for too long.
The view from school

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Leaving PPenh

Well today is our last morning in PP and we are sitting in our favourite bar having breakfast. We have survived the big city and a week of induction training about being a volunteer. Yesterday we had a day off and took a tuk tuk to the Killing Fields outside the city. A very sombre experience but glad we took the time as the place is very quiet and peaceful now. However the journey was hair raising as the traffic is very heavy and no one obeys the rules of the road. The larger you are the more priority you have! And the Khymer -rich drive big 4x4 and have even more priority. Traffic lights exist but are not obeyed and if you want to turn across the traffic its OK to do this at any time when you spot a gap and go up  the wrong side until you turn.
Last night we went down to the waterfront for a meal and the whole city seemed to be out too. The place was packed and families were promanading or exercising or line dancing to music. It was so busy, people trying to sell you things or some begging or wanting to take you for a ride on a moto or tuk tuk. But we found a really nice bar with excellent vegetarian food. Dave decided he had gone off meat after seeing how it is sold in these temps!
This pm we travel by bus to Kompong Chan a small town about 120 miles north wheer no-one speaks English and we have to begin the process of living on our own. A half way step to placement. We are given bicycles (and a bucket to do our washing) and have to begin 4 hours of language training a day. However, the guest house is on the Mekong River and we are looking forward to not being in a city any more.
Lea haeay.