Tales of blood donation; water fights; & farewells

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Right now it’s raining SO hard that I can hardly think.....I’m pretty sure we’ve got a tiled roof, but it sounds like hailstones on a tin roof...... Glad I’m inside and not out, as I’m sure by now the streets will be flooded and I’d be paddling around in almost knee-deep water in places..... The litter on the streets is the main contributor to the flooding.....it’s the way it is ... what a shame.

Ahhhh....this is my last night in my beloved Cambodia. I’ll state the obvious and say that the time has gone way too fast, and I will miss my friends and students for sure, however I’m looking forward to my own bed as I’m not a fan of long stays in hotel. It was ideal last time, living in an apartment.

School wise, yesterday was a great day. I continued working with the 3 youngest students, and teaching them their ABCs (well A – G actually). For days I thought I was making progress and that they could recognise A, B, C etc, but in reality they were forgotten rather quickly. So, I brought out the “big guns”.........Gold Stars!!! They work EVERY time, and if you have red, blue, green, yellow stars and stickers with pretty pictures, well there’s no telling just how much can be achieved (I’m not afraid to bribe and coerce them into learning). By the end of the lesson, and 6 stickers each later, they could point out A – G, write them almost perfectly, AND pronounce them (ok, not F so much, but we’re working on that). I had 3 little girls with the happiest faces because they were succeeding, and one very happy “teacher Robyn”....

At lunch time, I headed back over to the Projects Abroad apartments to meet Danei (cook extraordinaire, apartment 3), and we then went to her place for lunch (apartment 3 is being painted, so she has no one to cook for). She and Sophorn live not far from the PA apartments, in a rather small flat.....with about 5 cats that the previous tenants left behind. They were so cute, and Danei looks after them (she has a kind heart, and generous spirit), though Sophorn is not totally in favour of the money that is spent on them.... Danei has a really bubbly, caring nature, and all the vols loved her, and I’m happy she has found love and happiness......I just hope that her desire to become a mum is realised..

It’s still bucketing down here and has been doing so for about an hour & a half – monsoon season in full swing.

........and now to my last day here.....

More stickers, more goals, and in fact today, the girls could point independently to letters in my school book and tell me what they were........and 2 of them could say “F” – woohoo. One of the two, was actually coaching #3 in how to shape her mouth and say the letter F.....I’m sure between them, they’ll get there.

I make a point of always donating blood when I’m here as I understand that the Khmer people have a fear of giving blood (don’t know on what grounds, maybe just the pain etc), so stocks are low. I’m B+ which is about 70% of the population here (about 8% in Australia), and they can really do with the donations. My previous 2 times were in Siem Reap, and up there they give you a t-shirt, a can of drink and some vitamin tablets – but I don’t do it for the freebies. Today, they made me take a seat afterwards and then proceeded to overload me with thank you gifts (everyone gets them, so they should spread the word as people would be queuing up). They gave me a bottle of water, a can of soft drink and a t-shirt.....then brought out a tray with a box with 2 or 3 muffins in it, a boiled egg, and 2 bananas....by which time I was mightily embarrassed .........And.....(yes, And)......then they gave me a bag with about 5 packets of 2-minute noodles and some other things which I didn’t recognise. I was TOTALLY overwhelmed...I only gave them 350mls ....I didn’t need it, I was happy to give it away. I asked a young guy to translate and told him I appreciated the honour but that I didn’t all of the food and he said it was “the rule” and I had to take it. I gave it all to Chann and he thought his Christmas’ had all come at once!!! He read the sign outside the clinic and told me I was a “hero”...

After lunch it was back to school and the teachers decided lessons were out, and games were in....it was time to have fun and celebrate my time here. First we played a game where we had inflated balloons attached to our ankles and our opponents had to step on & burst the balloons...it was great fun. Then a game where inflated balloons were positioned between the backs of two players, and they had to squeeze together to break them – hilarious to watch. Then, my turn.......I’d taken up a number of packets of water balloons/bombs.......so we filled dozens and it was boys against the girls....I really pity the neighbours ...there was SO much laughter, squealing and screaming as balloons exploded and everyone was drenched to the bone – we all had a ball, teachers and students together just having good, simple fun..........I love it.

All too soon, it was time to leave.....my gorgeous students surrounded me and a few of the older ones said speeches in English about their happiness that I’d come back to school and for my support...and most importantly, that I have to come back in two years to eat our mangoes. Then there were hugs, and more hugs and shaking hands with the boys, and lots of happiness – tears were banned, but I let a few slip out.....it’s who I am......then I was off......I’m very, very grateful that I have the opportunity to spend time with these kids – I love them to bits.

I met Lida, Kahna and Lalin (teachers) for an early dinner after school – their treat – and it was special just to spend time with them. I seriously need to learn Khmer though as they slip into and forget that I don’t understand.....I’ve heard there’s a Cambodian church in Brisbane and that the minister also teaches Khmer, so will search him out. Then, yet another farewell – they don’t get any easier...

Quick visit home, and a chat to the fellow Aussies at the hotel, then a final visit to Seang’s. Jackson was sound asleep during my visit, so I’ve missed out on my much-anticipated hugs, which means I simply have to come back again in the next year or two – I can handle that. I was doing ok when we said our farewells, until she kept giving me hug after hug and then got teary, and, you all know me well enough to know how that went...

My bag is now packed... tomorrow I’ll be on the plane heading home, and Cambodia has once again taken hold of another portion of my heart......I will miss you Cambodia & I will be back xxxxx

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