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Published: June 13th 2011
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A snippet from my thoughts on arriving in Cambodia last night:
So, here I am in Cambodia, my home for the next two months. The ride from the airport to the house felt familiar, having at least been here once before helps I think. Makes it feel slightly less daunting maybe. It's difficult to describe exactly how it feels. Scary is one word that springs to mind though! It's all a bit overwhelming actually. I'm ashamed that I feel a bit like I want to go home already! Everything seems really hard (will I really ride a bike in that traffic? How exactly will I teach the team here? Am I really going to be useful? I don't know anybody here, I'm going to be so lonely! Two months is such a long time!...) A good night's sleep, some time to reflect, and some feline company makes all the difference though. By morning, I'm still nervous about some of the practicalities but I'm definitely feeling a lot better about it all. I know I'm here for a reason and I don't want to let my fears distract me from that. I also know there are also lots of
Room for the first night
Very comfortable, and even with my own en-suite! exciting things to look forward to as well, and that I will have all the support I need. I'm sure there is lots for me to learn over the next couple of months...
The rest of my first day is spent covering off some of the essentials with one of the team leaders here, including a walking tour orientation of the local area; booking in for language classes (very exciting!), sorting out a mobile phone; seeing the room that I've rented for the next 2 months and purchasing a helmet for use when travelling by motorbike taxi (aka motodop).
I couldn't help but be amused by the irony of the fact not so long ago I was adamant that it wasn't really safe to use a particular motorbike visor because it didn't meet Australian standards, and now I was going to place my trust in a helmet that cost a total of $12 and probably doesn't meet any kind of standards at all. It's red though. So at least that means it will go fast.
The other interesting purchase was a towel. Not so interesting in itself perhaps just a normal bath towel - but even with
a guide who could speak reasonable Khmer (Cambodian), without knowing the exact word for 'towel' it was difficult to explain exactly what I wanted. I had visions of drying myself on one of the many thousands of silk scarves for sale at the Russian Market. My plans of buying a pilates mat are beginning to look a little more challenging.
In the evening it's time to move into my new place - which leads to my next post,
home sweet home, and some unexpected house guests. More photos below - keep scrolling down!
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Craig
non-member comment
Bout time! The world has been calling out for another blog by you. Good to hear that more will be coming shortly.