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Published: January 14th 2012
So cute!
Not our bikes, but it had chicks all over it, so cute! I AM SO SORRY FOR NOT BLOGGING SOONER! A lot has been going on, and time has been so scarce! I have no idea where to start, these last few days have been absolutely crazy. We bought brand new bikes ($50!!) which have baskets and lights for our ride to the village. I am absolutely in love with them, they look like they belong in a French romance movie! Our schedule for weekdays is as follows:
6am - Wake up, have breakfast and get changed into work gear (long pants, heavy duty boots, tshirts, caps and sunglasses)
7am - Start the 7.5 km ride to the school, passing lots of Cambodians who yell out "helloooooo whatisyourname?" (Exactly like I've written it!)
8am - Arrive at school. Park our bikes and start the labour. At the moment we have finished the foundations for the fence (horrible, time consuming things!) and are now onto moving bricks by the wheelbarrow - it is back breaking yet somewhat satisfying!
11am - Go to our host family for lunch. Amy and I go to 'Omgoey's' House, for vegetarian food... though she always sneakily tries to hide a fish dish in there!
1pm - Go back to the work site and resume work. Have random water breaks and talk to the children (who are very entertained by our attempts at broken Khmer)
4:30-5pm - Wrap up work for the day, begin the 7.5 km ride home all gross and sweaty.
6pm - Get home and nearly pass out on bed because of exhaustion. Have a shower and get ready for dinner.
7pm - Either go out for dinner (so far we've had Khmer, Italian, Mexican, Thai, Western) or stay at Earthwalkers and eat.
8pm - Get home and eat snacks (peanut butter oreos YUM) and fall asleep!
So that is basically our schedule for week days, which is very tiring - though its all for a good cause which makes it worth it! Our 15km bike ride is scary at times though, as there are literally no road rules! There is only ever one lane for each side of traffic, and cars are scarce round here, though when they are on the road it is scary! No one sticks to the right side of the road, and although pedestrian corssings are painted on the road, they seem
invisible to the Cambodians!That is why "The Bell is your best friend", it is a lifeline!
Last night we went out to "Le Tigre De Papier", which we have already been to once, that serves delicious pizza - both in taste and price! Although last night I was very sick, with a severe headache and nausea, I was on the verge of tears! Though I woke up this morning feeling great, so all was not lost!
Today we got a sleep in (till 8:30!) which was great. We then rode on our gorgeous bikes to "Joe-to-go", a Khmer cafe that is renowned for its deliciously cheap coffee! After indulging in our breakfast, we rode to the Angkor Museum, which was just spectacular. I really learnt a lot about the temples, and Buddhism... it would have been very handy visiting this museum before our year 12 religion hsc exams... oh well! We then procceeded to the Blue Pumpkin, where we gobbled down some delicious vanilla and brownies ice cream! Then, Amy, Jess and I went to the markets and went a little bit crazy... four dresses and a supposed 'Louis Vuitton' bag later, I am a very satisfied customer!
Here is a little tale that was NOT funny for me, though amused everyone else! My head had been quite itchy for a little while, and after asking a few of the girls to inspect my head, nothing was found. A few hours later it was driving me crazy, so I asked Amy to check, and low and behold, I HAD NITS ARGH! Only in Cambodia can you catch nits within a week 😞.... After a painstakingly two hours of combing my hair (thanks to my lovely roomate Colleen) I am now nit free! It was horrible though, and I have no idea where I picked them up... very cautious now! I feel like Cambodia itself is challening me, throwing every sickness it can at me in this first week! Hopefully my immune system will toughen up, as well as my immunity to nits!
My legs and arms are COVERED in bruises and cuts from the worksite, as the wire we were working with was extremely sharp! Working on a building site like this really is a wake up call, on just how lucky we are in Australia. Over here in Cambodia, everything is done by hand. The foundations we made for the wall could not simply be pre-ordered (like home), but rather meticulously made! We had to bend 1500 pieces of steel into triangles, cut nearly 2000 metal rods, bend around 75 of them... the list could go on forever! Australia is so lucky that we have the technology and wealth to build such a simple thing like a fence in a matter of days. I think we will be lucky to finish our fence around the school in 5 weeks!
It has been exactly one week today, and I am already missing home! This will be the longest time I have ever been away from home, and its already taking its toll on me! Thank goodness for inventions like 'Facetime' on the iPhone, I think I'd go mental if I couldn't keep in touch with my family! Also, speaking to friends on Facebook, (like my beloved friends Mitch, Jamie and Kim!) is great, I love keeping in touch! Finally, thank you so much to all the other people that are giving me compliments on the blog! I really do love writing it, though finding time is really difficult at the moment! If anyone really wants to know anything about Cambodia in particular (e.g more on the food, transport, weather) just inbox me on facebook or email me - Ellieparker93@gmail.com, and I'll put it on the next one! Until next time! xxx
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Steve Parker
non-member comment
Sounds like hard work
Hi beautiful. Reading your blogs is an absolute joy. Don't worry (or apologise) if you can't write them as often as you'd like; we know how busy, and exhausted, you are with the heavy workload. Make sure you look after yourself. We love you and miss you, but are so proud of the work you are doing over there!