Harden up Princess

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Monday 24th Oct

Since when did I become a fragile specimen??? What with the chest infection before I left home, and now into my third week with a tummy bug, I’ve also come down with a head cold that I must have picked up from my junior students that spent last coughing, sneezing and sniffling all around me..........my “woe is me” meter is registering in the red !!! I rarely get sick when I travel, so felt it was a bit of over-kill when I picked up the antibiotics my doctor told me to bring, but I’ve been on them now for two weeks. The tummy bug is determined to win this battle though, and is doing just that at the moment and bringing my immune system down with it. I’m on vitamin C and zinc, but they’re doing nothing it seems.....I’m also eating what could be considered a really healthy diet (high in vegies, small quantities of meat etc), but thanks to my intolerance to salycilates, which are found in fruit and vegies, I’m having problems with asthma....So feeling rather washed-out and frustrated that I’m not firing on all cylinders.

Ok, this princess will jump off her pedestal, suck it up and maybe go grab some cement and harden up!!! I know that this will all pass, and none of these issues are really keeping me down for too long, they’re just draining me of some energy that I’d much rather put to good use elsewhere.

On to more important matters...........for example, the reaction of the kids and teachers to the work we did over the weekend. I arrived at school this morning as the kids were going through their morning ritual of exercise, and songs in the courtyard......when I walked in, there wasn’t the usual polite “hello teacher”, there were squeals of delight and kids rushing at me to “high-five” me and to say thank you. I quickly got them back under control, but there were so many smiles during the rest of the parade, you just knew that they were over the moon with the make-over. I mentioned in my blog last week that the nun has banned the kids from hugging me etc (Buddhist rule apparently, but I don’t understand it), so the kids did lots of squeezing of my hands etc to start with.............and the moment she left the school, there were SO many hugs – even from some of the big kids that don’t normally hug. We all promised to keep the hugs as our secret – silly rule !!! One of the teachers joked that she thought she’d arrived at the wrong school because it looked so new......they were all so happy. The teachers and I decided to take the opportunity to rearrange the furniture in the downstairs classroom, and while we were doing so, some of the kids grabbed all of the old, already dusty (not because of our sanding) stuffed toys, and gave them a good wash in soap and water, so everything now is clean or new, and it feels fantastic. Yea !!!

When we finally got back into school mode after lunch, I taught my senior kids the art of reading maps. Not easy when the maps you’re using are of Phnom Penh, where there is no apparent reasoning to their street numbers and sequence. One of the other volunteers had done this recently, and after I had a tuk tuk driver get lost twice the other week on the way to Tim’s (even after showing him the map and him saying he knew where to go), I decided it was a skill that I should teach these kids early. It was a bit of a challenge for them at first, but once they got the hang of it, we had lots of fun and they loved the lesson. I also taught them about the sun rising in the east and setting in the west, because apparently they’d never been taught about such things. I love this “job”, I love helping them to grow and learn new things.

Have I ever mentioned all of the gifts the kids give me? It started in my second week when one of the girls gave me a hairclip, which I proudly wear every day when my hair is in a ponytail. Then I was given another, and another, and pretty bobby-pins – I now have 5 hairclips, and 2 pink bobby-pins.... I tend to alternate wearing them, so as not to offend anyone. I’m so glad that I took up a decent supply of the same sort of things, as I always return the gesture, and the girls wear them with pride. I also have a growing supply of small stuffed toys that are attached to my day-pack and school bag – along with the kangaroo that I already had, I now have one dog, one alien, one “I have no real idea what it is” – I’m just like the Cambodians now with lots of kitsch things dangling off my bags. I also have the moving cut out thingys I mentioned last week, and on Friday one of the girls gave me a patch that she’d made with my name embroidered on it, and another girl recently gave me a doll. I never expected gifts, and I know most of them don’t really have the means to be giving me things, but I would never offend them and refuse their gifts.......the gifts are so special to me, as is the kindness shown by all of the kids. Hmmm, I wonder how many I will be able to fit in my suitcase when I leave ..........the kids I mean, not the stuffed toys – teehee.

I’ve mentioned a few times about the weird and whacky things you see up here, and I rarely have my camera handy when I do..........like today. I was heading to school, and across the road from me was a lady on her scooter, along with her clothes airer between the seat and the handle bars (sans clothes surprisingly), with her dog standing on it’s hind legs at her feet, with it’s front paws on the handle bars also !!! Only in Cambodia.... I also saw another little girl, maybe 3 or 4yo, sitting on the seat in front of her dad, as he drove the moto......nothing unusual about that over here, but she had her arms crossed over the handle bars, with her head on her arms, and she was fast asleep !! I just love it, but the safety person tucked away inside of me, hates it at the same time. Often times when we’re sitting in traffic, either in a tuk tuk or on a moto, families will pull up beside us and the kids will start talking to us........or sometimes the parents will try to get them to say hello and they get really shy when all these odd looking white people start grinning stupid grins at them. So many of the kids are SO gorgeous though, that you can’t help but smile at them and say hello.

I mentioned on facebook on Friday that I went to a staff meeting for the organising that runs the school......I also said that despite only understanding about 30 words as it was in Khmer, that it was probably the best staff meeting I’ve ever been to. I’ll explain why shortly, but one thing that surprised me the most, was that the behaviour of the attendees was exactly as I’ve experienced at home at so many meetings over the years. There were the people taking notes; the people that looked bored and drawing pictures over their notebooks; the people that kept receiving and sending text messages; the people that struggled to stay awake; the people that always had a comment to make; and the people that were only there for the food. It was so amusing – oh, and everyone had their mobile phones on the table in front of them, even the monks. The head monk sat beside me and explained a lot of what was being said, but he speaks so quietly, and the speakers were using a mic, and I had a fan blasting in my ear, so most of the time I just nodded politely, and had no idea what was going on.

After the meeting we stayed on for lunch, and while it was being prepared I had a good chat to the Director of the organisation. It turns out that he started it 17 years ago, and it now operates in Siem Reap, Battambang and Phnom Penh, and has 74 staff – I had no idea it was so big, and it turns out it’s not a Buddhist organisation, but non-denominational....which was not my initial understanding. Typically, the girls were in the kitchen preparing the food, and the guys were in the courtyard cooking on the barbecue – so it’s the same all over the world, eh. There is a German volunteer (Tabea) that works with the organisation, and she and I had met on Wednesday as she will take over some of my teaching when I leave. She also came to school on Thursday to observe my senior class, and help with the junior class. Anyway, it was great to have her company at the meeting, and that of two of my teachers, Lalin and Lisa. It was a shame (well, mostly) that I had plans for the afternoon, as Tabea and the Director (can’t recall his name) told me that there would be a party for one of the guys that was leaving, and that I was most welcome to stay on and join in.......more of that later.

Anyway, the food was prepared, the room cleared of furniture, swept, mopped, and we all sat on the floor to eat the lunch that was laid out...........hmmm, would love to tell you what it was, but I mostly have no idea. There was a chicken dish – you could tell that by the chicken feet sticking out of what looked like swamp-weed – the mixture was a cross between green and grey. There was some beef, I think. There were green bananas sliced, with skin on, and served with the chicken and swamp-weed, with a sauce that tasted something like peanuts soaked with sweaty socks....Ok, so you’re getting the picture that it was pretty genuine Khmer food, and not something you’d see on a Western menu... I limited myself to a small helping of rice with the green banana (you eat the skin and it was not to my liking), the swampy chicken with smelly-socks sauce, and that was it for me – I was SO glad that I’d accepted the beer that one of the guys gave me, as it was great for washing things down. My tastebuds didn’t enjoy the food, but what a great experience to dine with 24 other people, on the floor, in true Khmer style.....that part I truly loved.

After lunch, the usually quiet teachers and other female staff that had told me that they don’t drink.......got into a session of “spin the bottle” drinking games with the majority of the guys (even the Director)!!! What the.....!!?? The guy that was leaving, had given a parting gift of a quantity of red wine coolers (half red wine, half very sweet syrup apparently – I didn’t try it)....and so whoever the neck of the bottle landed on, had to scull half a glass of this stuff. They went wild, and it was hilarious to watch the antics, and I ended up videoing my ever-so-sweet and demure teachers, as they got very tipsy !!! It was so funny to watch everyone cut loose, especially after having sat in a meeting with them for 3 hours, when they all appeared to be very well behaved.........but once the monks left, they were in for fun. Having said that though, apart from not drinking, the head monk has a good sense of humour, and the other two younger ones are great fun, and one in particular is very cheeky....you just know he lived life to the full before he became a monk – he has a wicked grin and very cheeky glint in his eye.

So, as I said, it was probably the best staff meeting I’ve been to, and I had things to do afterwards which is good and bad – I certainly didn’t want to get involved in the drinking games, but it would have been fun to stay and watch them play...I met some fantastic locals, with great hearts and I won’t forget the day for a long time.

One more bit of info about PP - I think it’s the Lexus capital of the world. Man oh man, there are hundreds, no thousands, of Lexus 4WDs everywhere......that and Toyota Camrys. I understand that due to the financial crisis in the US, that they’re offloading the Lexus, and so you can buy them here at a relatively low cost. So on the road, you have motos (some that look like should be sent to the scrap heap), some cyclos, tuk tuks, etc and thousands of these expensive 4WDs everywhere – they’re now considered middle-class, and the people with money that originally started buying them, have now upgraded to Range Rovers in order to show they’re upper class!!!

Oh, just remembere.... I was at one of the markets on Sunday afternoon, getting my nails painted (as you do !!) and a guy arrived at the “salon” to get his son’s hair cut. While he was waiting, he stated chatting to Annelin (Dutch volunteer) and I ...he asked what we were doing in Cambodia etc. He then told us about his life and his son, and how he wanted his son to get the best education he could etc, and then went on to tell us about how much damage the Khmer Rouge did to the people and the education system etc. It was a really interesting conversation. He told us that he was a young child when the K.R. took control and he and his family were forced to live in the country and work on the farms etc (similar story to that of the girl in the book ‘First They Killed My Father’). He made a cup with his hand and told us that was the amount of rice they were given per person to eat over a FOUR day period. It was less than a cup of rice... They were doing manual labour all day, every day !!! I spoke to Seang about it yesterday and she was saying that members of her family also died during the K.R. rule, but were not murdered, but died of illness and starvation. The K.R. were a sick bunch of people.

Ok, that’s enough from me..........I know I often write lots, but that’s because it’s all so interesting over here, every day is different and presents something to entertain or challenge me....I think at home I’d struggle to write one page a week.
Hugs to you all....Rob, xx

Tues 25th Oct
PS. Ended up taking today off school as am feeling pretty ordinary....so just went to the pharmacy and picked up some stronger antibiotics. Was talking to one of the volunteers that is a nurse, and she suggested another antibiotic – the pharmacist agreed that the one I’ve been taking is useless up here and has given me the other one. Up here you don’t need a script for medication, you can get everything over the counter...

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Comments

[Sylvi]

Finally caught up
Great to hear all your socializing and trying different food but really hope these new antibiotics do the trick for you. It can't be pleasant for you feeling yuk more often then not. Still, you sound positive and still enjoying your adventure which is great. How did the visit to the zoo go? Or haven't you been yet? And what about getting new eyeliner tattoos or have you put that on hold for later? It's great that you can often get a little pamper with mani and pedis which must make you feel more human. And why not for the price you're paying?! Caught up with Pam from BCL which was lovely. Hope she can get home tomorrow with all this Qantas business going on. Come to think of it, hope it's all sorted by the time we're ready to take off on 30 Nov and for you too if you're flying them. It was so embarrassing hearing Julie Gillard and her slow talking ways being interviewed. We're in Wales at the moment and doing some nice walks as the weather has been better. Do the Cambodians get into Halloween? It's a big thing over here which is strange considering how religious they all are. Bill is dying to get some fireworks which is legal but we might wait for early Nov when it's Guy Faulks night. Must away. Keep looking after yourself and keep having fun. Sylvi xo