A Day in the Life

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Drivin' Thru Phnom Penh

First of all, this blog is really bothering me. In order to publish your entry, you first have to select which Continent you are on. This opens up a box so that you can select which Country you are in. Then they make you pick your Region, your City, and potentially one more category (I'm not sure what it is). They force you to do this. Normally I would not complain, but each category box only displays five locations, and you have to scroll down to see more options. When you're working from a laptop approximately the size of your forearm, with a touchpad the size of your thumbnail, this certainly presents logistical difficulties and frustrations. (I also have no control over the photos in my blog, which is why they make no sense till you read the whole thing. At least I've found out how to get them on.)

But I'm a big girl. I don't need to tell you about all my difficulties; I can be discrete and keep the conversation positive. And so let me tell you about stuff here instead.

I've been going to teacher school for the last 3 days, and each time it has managed to swallow 10 of my waking hours. You'd think there'd be kind of a lot to report; and there is, but at the same time there's not really that much to say about it.

Every morning I wake up fairly early. I don't know how much longer I can stick to this, but it seems to be the Khmer way to start life at 6 or 7 am. I don't wake up because of the alarm. I wake up because of the dogs and kids and traffic and construction. If you want to get to market, this is the time to do it; because if you wait till school lets out at 5:30, it may well be closed.

Much to my consternation, Pannasasstra University is located on the other side of town from our villa, so every day at 8:30, Dara picks us up and drives us there by tuk-tuk. If you want to imagine the traffic patterns in Phnom Penh, a good idea is to think of the patterns of people walking inside the mall on a busy Saturday. Just put everyone on motorbikes instead, and maybe add a few SUVs. Most of us, though, don't have the luxury of sitting inside an SUV, so we just choke on the fumes and emissions for 20 minutes till we reach said destination.

Also to my consternation, there are about 12 of us in my TESOL class, most of which are male. The girls are, well, me and Susie (who is from the Philippenes). Does the ratio raise red flags for you? It did for me. And sure enough, one of us is already a confirmed pedophile, another is seeking an Asian wife, and a third just goes out drinking and whoring all night...we think...

Hello, meet my flatmates! and I love them despite their imperfections, I really do. The others I have not yet found out about. Everyone has a solid alibi, and that's all I will say about it. (The only question left is, why do girls like me go to Asia? Well, not for the sex tourism--nobody wants a horsey, craigy western woman--come on. No, I'm here because I'm off my rocker.)

No matter. We, as a class, sit through 4 hands-on lectures, which isn't always easy, and then we are released back into Phnom Penh for the next 14 hours. I generally just go back to the villa, take a shower, kill mosquitos, and see who I can correspond with. I try to find food inside the villa (tonight it was a fish that tasted like the bottom of the Mekong River). Then I go to sleep so that I can wake up tomorrow and do the same thing as today.

Life is good: the sky is blue, the temples are golden, and the plants are just sooo green. I cannot complain.

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Photos

Pannasasstra University
Shiny Blue Windows Make Everything Better.

Sky Is Blue, Temple is Golden
Life is good.

Green Plants!
Life is REAL good!

Comments

[Danna]

Hello!
Hey there Leeza(?)! Sorry I didn't get to give you a proper farewell but it seems you are faring well nonetheless! Glad you arrived safely and I got a card from your mom about the teff and xantham gum! Thanks! We hope to pick it up today if we can just get a hold of your mom. Each time I call the 561 # it just keeps ringing and no one answers. Hope you are mastering the language and adapting well to your new surroundings/culture. I am very happy for you and excited about following your blogs. You are such a great writer. It always brings me joy and laughter to read your blogs. Love, Danna

[Global Drifter]

Thank you Danna. I am very glad to hear from you. I am sorry we didn't meet before I took off, but no worries. We'll meet again. Love, Leeza