Some days are diamonds...some you have to look for the silver lining

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I’ve been looking for inspiration and enthusiasm to write a blog update for days, but they’ve proven elusive....I’m not sure if I’m in great form yet, but I’ll make a good attempt to update you on the last week or so....some days have been like diamonds, and some days I’ve had to look for the silver lining..



One of the great highlights of my last week at school was the Happy Happy Program (HHP) on Tuesday....quirky name for sure, but very indicative of the afternoon that we had. The head monk visited school on Monday and invited me along to the HHP....he explained that it would be an afternoon of traditional Khmer song and dance, and was in honour of a lady that had committed to financially assist the organisation/schools over the next two years....she would be visiting all 3 provinces and schools that “we’re” involved in.



In recent weeks I’d been teaching the kids conversational English. I decided on Tuesday that it would be good to review these lessons so that everything was fresh in their mind in case they were involved in a conversation with the visitors. I also taught them that day, to say “I’m happy to meet you”; just in case they needed to use it.



The lady arrived with the monk and director and spent some time in both classrooms – it was great to meet her and for her to see the kids in action etc. Then we all went into the courtyard and the HHP commenced.....the students sang a couple of songs that other volunteers had taught them, and then the Khmer dancing started. Now, anyone that knows me that I simply don’t dance....I’m SO not coordinated and I’m sure that I look like someone on rollerblades that’s slipped on oil when I attempt to dance....so I generally avoid it at all costs. When the monk tried to encourage me to join in on the dancing I suggested to him that when he got up to dance, that I’d follow (knowing full well that I was safe, as there was no chance on the planet that he’d dance as monks are not even allowed to exercise, apart from walking, so no chance he was about to get up). I managed to play spectator for awhile, but sadly/happily the kids wouldn’t take no for an answer and they dragged me up and showed me how to do it. Believe it or not, I had fun....probably still looked like I was made of jelly, but the kids loved that I was up, and the monk gave me the “thumbs up”...



Just prior to the group leaving, the monk spoke to the students and explained about the financial support, and then the lady (sorry I can’t recall her name to make this more personal) spoke to the children and said how much she appreciated the singing and the dancing etc and thanked the students for their friendliness..........and my students/my gorgeous kids responded with “thank you, we’re happy to meet you”. I nearly cried ........I’d only taught them this phrase an hour before and they remembered it perfectly and said it at the right time. The monk turned to me and said “you taught them that, thank you so much” – he was beaming with pride – we both were - the children were awesome.... After group left, we had a party with lots of music and food....it was great fun and the kids had good fun. It was certainly a Happy Happy afternoon and I’m really grateful that I was able to be there and join in.



It Wedding Season in Cambodia – I don’t know for sure, but I’m guessing it’s because it’s the end of the wet season and (supposedly) cooler at this time of year. In my last week in PP, our street was taken over by a huge, pink and cream marquee for a wedding. They started erecting it on Tuesday, as people continued to drive up and down the street......it was a bit like an American covered bridge..and very amusing watching cars, tuk tuks and motos drive through the lolly pink enclosure. On Wednesday, tables and chairs were set up in the front courtyard of one of the houses and also under the marquee and the partying started (which meant only motos could squeeze down the side and everything else was diverted down other streets).....it appeared that there were guests there at all times, all eating, but there was no sign of the bride and groom. A few of us went for a walk in the afternoon to check things out and got talking to the florist. He told us that the actual wedding would take place on Thursday.....and it did....and it started at 6.00am !! Music blasted out from the moment it started and went all day, along with the drinking and eating – they sure know how to party. Sadly though, as I went past on my moto on the way to school that morning, the whole marquee was shut up and I couldn’t get photos etc... Interestingly, there was another wedding at the other end of our street on the same days, but it was smaller and didn’t take up the full width of the street like the one near us.



I’m now in Siem Reap and there’s a wedding just near the guesthouse today....again the music started at 6am and is blasting out through the neighbourhood. I’ve been told that one of the reasons they start so early, is so that they can finish before dark and therefore not have to use power (expensive here) for lighting at night. I’m a morning person, but there is no way I’d agree to get married at 6am....I can’t help but wonder what time they have to get up in the morning to get ready !!!



It seems like the last week or two were mainly about farewells. Firstly, Sara (Belgian) left us after her volunteering stint – we’ve become close friends, and I will miss her company. Then on Thursday we had Emilie’s (a really sweet young Aussie) farewell – after her farewell dinner, we went to a new frozen yoghurt place and it was really delicious. Friday night was my farewell and 10 of us headed out to a great Khmer/Thai restaurant.....we all thought it was a great idea to sit on the floor, instead of the tables and chairs, but sadly the novelty wore off after about 20 minutes when our knees and legs stiffened up... The food was great though, and we finished with a trip to Blue Pumpkin for a final ice-cream together.....I rarely eat it at home, but up here, I’ve been eating it every second week (most of the others seem to eat it a few times a week, probably due to the heat). Then Tuesday this week, it was time for the lovely Laura and Anne to say their farewells, and pretty soon the delightful Suzanne (Danish) will be heading off..... In a month or so, we will be unknown as there will be a whole new set of volunteers....life over the last 9 weeks was sometimes tough, but I wouldn’t trade my time there for anything. It was an incredible experience; I had many, many awesome moments; I met amazing people; I learnt a lot about myself and my abilities; and I’ve grown as a consequence ...oh, and it was fantastic to live in Phnom Penh for a couple of months and to get to know the place.



My last day at school was very happy, tinged with sadness........the good thing is though, that my flight to Europe departs from PP, so I’ve booked my return flight there on Monday 19^th and I have two more nights there, as I don’t depart Cambodia til lunch time on Wednesday 21^st. I’ve told the teachers and students that I will return for a visit on Tuesday 20^th December, so we’re all happy and excited about that........and it made Friday somewhat easier. In reality our farewells started on Wednesday night when I took the 3 teachers out to dinner to say thanks – they’ve always been so supportive and welcoming and I really enjoy their company. Then on Thursday, they returned the compliment and took myself and Tabea (a German volunteer with their organisation, that will take over from me 1 day a week) out to lunch. Kahna doesn’t work Fridays, so she was the first to make me cry when she said goodbye and gave me a gift on Thursday. The tears continued on Friday when Lida left early (she was going away for the weekend) and gave me a gift and a beautiful card saying how much she loved me and thought of me as her sister etc.... Then after lunch, the students and Lalin sat me down and gave me a number of gifts..I was so overwhelmed by their kindness. Throughout the week, many students had given me pictures and trinkets and lots of hugs...someone was always writing on the board “teacher, no go home to Australia, stay”... We took LOTS of photos that day, so I have lots of gorgeous memories....I will miss them so much.



Sadly, Saturday morning it was time to drag my bags down the stairs, into the taxi, and cross my fingers that the guys at the airport would accept my overweight luggage.......my main bag was only 5kg over.... though I didn’t give over my hand luggage for weighing, because they would have kicked me off the plane for sure. Ok, to justify the weight of my luggage, I have summer clothes and winter clothes in my bag, and truly, not many of either, and the usual toiletries, so not sure why it weighs so much........in my hand luggage I have my cameras, laptop, and also school supplies and the remaining spectacles for donation. When I leave in month, the school supplies, spectacles, and many summer clothes will be donated to charity etc, so my luggage will be considerably lighter....hmm, well that’s the plan.



So, here I am in Siem Reap. It certainly looks worse for wear after the floods in recent months, and I was surprised to see that so much of the countryside is still flooded (view from the air as my plane was approaching). The streets around my guest house are really damaged and full of potholes, and there is so much dust and the area looks pretty crappy as a consequence. Thankfully Alan’s guest house is a haven from everything going on out there. Speaking of Alan, I was pleased to be able to see a familiar face when I arrived, as I was still sad about leaving PP, and I had a day to catch up with him before he headed to Oz for a wedding. I’m helping out by over-seeing things here while he’s away, but he has a great assistant manager and she has a great handle on things, so that’s great.



I was really fortunate that Sara’s travels brought her to SR for a few days before she headed to the west of Cambodia, so it was great to have more social time with her – lunches, dinners, shopping, massages and pedicures......who will be my pedicure buddy now??



Hmmm, and then we come to the really disappointing part of my week.......my second volunteering placement. It held so much promise and I heard so many good things about the NGO, but sadly my experience has been the polar opposite of what I’d heard. I have such a negative impression of them, and so won’t name them....perhaps mine is a one-off bad experience. They told me they would pick me up at the airport and drop me at my guest house....when we arrived, I was told to pay the tuk tuk driver....hmm, a good indication of my final impression that they are out to grab every dollar they can from as many people as possible. I arrived at the school on Monday morning, and was ignored by the staff for about 10 minutes; thankfully two ladies from Australia showed me consideration – one had been there before and also recently for two & a half weeks, the other was her friend that was also having her first day. Finally the teaching co-ordinator introduced himself and took us to his office to fill out some forms. One of the forms was about how much money we would be donating, and what goods etc....the other was agreeing to a stack of rules. Then we were lead outside and told he’ take us to our classes after the morning parade was finished. I was taken to a class where the promised Khmer teacher was nowhere to be found, but there was a very unfriendly American volunteer, that showed no interesting in welcoming me. Hmm, starting to dislike this place. I introduced myself, and said that considering she’d been there a few weeks, that I would happily be guided by her. She ignored me for the rest of the class, so I busied myself with sharpening pencils – phew boy, aren’t I glad that I travelled all this distance to sharpen pencils and be ignored !!! I was also ignored by all the other volunteers at the complex and all staff – I can’t fathom this sort of behaviour.



Then during the morning tea break, one of the staff took us on a bit of an orientation – it’s a large complex that houses 700+ students over three shifts in the day, plus a medical centre. Again, I got the feeling that the information I was being given was purely about extracting money from my purse. Maybe I was just developing a negative impression. After our tour, I was left alone to go back to my classroom, where I discovered that the students had been moved into another class to watch cartoons.......I went to that room and was again ignored by the teacher and the US volunteer. I was so pleased to get out at lunch time and go home (I’d only committed to half days). Before I left, I advised the teacher co-ord that I would prefer to work with older students, as the class I’d been allocated was basically a kindergarten class. They showed no respect for the teacher, they played up the whole time and were so noisy, wouldn’t participate in the lesson, and when one girl complained to me that one of the boys had scribbled over her paper, I tried to swap his for hers and he started hitting me......I felt like I was just there as a babysitter, and I couldn’t see myself doing that for a month.



I decided to give it another try dragged myself back on Tuesday. I was again ignored by the other volunteers, apart from Christine. I was finally shown to my new class and introduced to the teacher, who proceeded to ignore me during the class, as did the volunteer working in his classroom. I stood against the wall for half an hour while they conducted the lesson, and involved myself with the kids at the first opportunity. At morning tea, the teacher and volunteer walked out of the room, with no indication that they were interested in welcoming the newcomer, and when I left at lunch time, they didn’t even bother saying goodbye......



I have never known such behaviour, and could not imagine making a newcomer feel so unwelcome. It was almost like I was an inconvenience, or that the volunteers were afraid of losing their positions etc. There was no way I was going back....it was costing me a considerable amount of money to travel there by tuk tuk, and I didn’t feel like I was adding any value. I emailed them in the afternoon to advise them of my decision, with examples of why I was not going back, and I received an email of excuses as to why they appeared so disorganised on the Monday etc....no apologies for the rudeness. I certainly never expected them to treat me as special in any way but I did expect to be treated with respect, so when a bus load of tourists turned up on Tuesday, and were welcomed like celebrities.....I got the very clear picture that this NGO is all about putting on a good front to get donations, and after that.....well, my experience is that they don’t care...



So, turning the negative into a positive, I contacted the school in SR that is run by the same organisation that runs the school I was at in PP, and they are desperate for me to go there and volunteer – ahh, my fragile ego is being repaired. I start tomorrow and I’m really looking forward to working with an organisation that genuinely cares about the kids and the people that look after them. Everyone is treated with consideration and respect. I called the Director today and he was very excited that I could go back, as was the Aussie volunteer that’s been there for eight months (she and her hubby are tired and looking forward to sharing the load). Yea, I’m excited...



I didn’t experiment enough in PP with my dining out – we ate at home a lot or in restaurants that were fairly Westernised......I think the only time I played “unsafe” was at the Russian market with Sara. So I decided that I’d be more adventurous here. One of the other house guests was telling me about a food vendor around the corner that made awesome baguettes with salad and meat etc.......I had one on Sunday night and it was really good. I didn’t get sick, so ate there for lunch on Monday also.....it was really cheap and tasty, so I figured “why not?”. Hmm, well the tummy bug that I’ve had for the last 2 days is a pretty good reason as to why not !! I ate dinner with Sara on Monday night and we shared some fresh spring rolls etc, and she didn’t get sick, so it had to be the pork on the baguette, or was it the fish sauce?? Oh well, spent the afternoon in bed, and feeling somewhat better this morning. What a shame, ‘cause they were tasty. Oh well, I think I’ve lost the kilo I put back on last week with all the farewell dinners and deserts....so bonus !!



That brings me to today, and finally I’m up to date on my blog..... I had a bit of a slow start this morning due to lack of sleep – thanks to fellow houseguests getting home after a boozy night, then throwing up complete with loud groaning & moaning, then departing early for buses etc and slamming doors about a thousand times......followed by the wedding party that started at 6am... I was also still a bit sore from tummy bug but was determined that I was going to get out and about and explore ....I remember parts of SR from the last time I was here, but there are still so many things to see and do, and I don’t have long to do it in.... So I jumped on one of the bicycles and bravely set out on the roads.....all the time watching for potholes, making sure I was riding on the right side of the road, and keeping an eye out for the people coming towards me on the wrong side of the road, or from side streets – basically the first rule of traffic in Cambodia is that there are no rules.....and the second rule is that you give way to anything bigger than you...even if it’s a car driving out of a private driveway, or turning from a smaller street onto yours etc....if you hit something bigger than you, no matter what the circumstances are, you are held accountable – no ifs or buts...



I headed to the edge of town to the Royal Gardens and took some time to chill out on the beautiful green grass – such a nice change from all the dust. There are signs everywhere outside saying no parking etc, so I was a bit confused when one of the security guards came up to tell me that I had to remove my bicycle as I couldn’t park my bike on the grass......I asked where to put the bike and he pointed me in the direction of the gates and the no parking signs....yes, I was a tad confused.



I then headed further out of town towards the temples (but not all the way), and went to the Angkor Museum. They have some pretty interesting artefacts with great explanations on the history of the area and also nice cold airconditioning, so I was very happy to stay for quite some time. After that I headed back to town – my tummy was still not too good, so being on a bike for about 10kms was enough for one day.. I’m pleased to say that my tummy is settled again now, so it was just a two day inconvenience...thankfully.



Siem Reap is quite different to PP. It’s more expensive as it’s more of a tourist town. Sara and I had a pedicure on Sunday and paid considerably more than the one we had a couple of weeks ago in PP. Food is generally more expensive in the restaurants, though if you eat in the restaurants beside the old market, it’s much cheaper and the food is good. The tuk tuk drivers here don’t try to rip you off as much as the ones in PP, which is quite surprising – perhaps because it’s a smaller town and they know they have to be competitive to get the work. On the roads ,there is not as much blasting of horns as there is in PP......it’s not an aggressive act, they do it more as a courtesy “hi, I’m here and about to overtake you so just letting you know etc”.



So that’s about it.........I’ve reached the second phase of my adventure......it’s arrived too quickly, or so it seems, but when I look back at the thousands of photos I’ve taken, and think about the experiences I’ve had, it seems like a lifetime ago that I left Brisbane. I see people mentioning Christmas on facebook, yet over here in a Buddhist country, there are few, if any, signs of Christmas, so I sometimes feel surprised by the comments. It’s hard to imagine that in 5 weeks I’ll been freezing my butt off in Europe........I will have a 30 – 40 degree drop in temperate from when I leave here, and when I arrive in Prague.......brrrr, I can’t imagine it, but I’m pretty sure I’ll get used to it pretty quickly once I get off the plane. I was trying to explain this to my students in PP the other week and told them that even if they stood in a fridge, it wouldn’t be as cold as some of the temperate that I’d experience in Europe – they thought I was nuts to be going there...



Ok, hugs from Siem Reap..... oh, and I guess I’m over my writer’s block !!

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Photos

local kids, PP
check out the "pimp" hat and toy gun...he's been too close to the local brothels for too long..

farewell lunch
Lida, me, Tabea, Lalin, Kahna

Signing my Angry Birds tshirt
The kids here LOVE Angry Birds, so I bought a tshirt....was really too small to wear, so they signed it and I'll frame it when I get home...good memories

Tutti Frutti frozen yoghurt
looks healthy, eh??

Comments

[Sylvi]

A great shame SR and the volunteering organisation you went to weren\'t the same pleasurable experience you had in PP, but good on you for doing something about the school. You think they\'d be falling over themselves to be nice to volunteers. Can\'t fathom it either. Hope your tummy bug doesn\'t hang around like last time. Not very nice for you especially if you\'re not having such a great time anyway. Sounds like you had a great send off in PP with friends and the students so that\'s happy memories to look back on. We\'re now back on the outskirts of London until we leave this coming Wednesday. Lots of talk about public servants striking here in the UK so hopefully it won\'t affect our flight. I\'ve kinda picked up a bug of my own and have a very sore throat which I hope won\'t develop into anything worse. I\'m taking some drugs so hope that does the trick. Must away. Take care, stay safe and hope you enjoy the new school. Sylvi xo