This is going way too fast...where's the Pause button

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Bprum bpee....seven....7 weeks !!! I cannot believe I’ve been in P.P. that long. It’s gone so fast, but I also feel like I’ve been here for so much longer. I’ve done and seen SO much. I feel so much a part of this place and no longer feel like a foreigner.....people know me in the area that I live and say hello; I can overhear a Khmer conversation and sometimes have an idea about what is being said; some of the local tuk tuk drivers no longer haggle over prices, we know what is reasonable and simply agree on it. I love it.

I guess anyone that knows me, will understand that I’ve thrown myself into this, boots and all, and you will know for sure that I’m going to struggle to leave.......and that’s definitely the case. I told my students the other day that I had just over two weeks left with them, and they expressed their sadness that I was leaving.....after my afternoon class with the seniors on Thursday, two of the girls kept saying “don’t go teacher”........to which I responded that I wasn’t leaving school yet as I had the junior class still to take.........and they said “no teacher, don’t go back to Australia”......how to break my heart !!! On Friday, a few of the senior boys were asking if I could stay for a year, or three.....I love these kids, they love me......it’s going to be tough saying farewell ???

As always, it’s been a big week in PP, and a great one. I came back refreshed after my long weekend at Sihanoukville, and minus the stomach bug that had been plaguing me for weeks, so felt pretty darn good – yea. Back to school on Tuesday and it was so great to see the kids – I actually missed them.

Tuesday at school – poor Lida was sick, so again I took the senior class by myself, and then the junior class - Lalin and I shared the responsibility for the two classes. Kahna came in the afternoon so everything returned to normal. The kids are so well behaved and responsive though, so it’s not like I imagine it would be filling in for a teacher back in Australia – here they listen to you and want to learn, so my job is a challenge, but only ever in a positive way, the toughest part is putting together a lesson that will be interesting, of value, and that will work in with the other things they learn along the way. That day I taught an easy lesson about the number of days in the month, and a poem that I learnt as a kid, to help remember how many days in each month etc – it seems to have sunk in, as I did a quiz afterwards and they got most of them correct – yea.

Have I ever told you about one of the favourite games of the students? It’s called “Slap the Board”. The kids taught me it when I first started, but the original version was just a whole lot of English words on the whiteboard, that they competed to find (and when they found them, they slapped the word on the board etc). Easy. So, I introduced the rule that they had to say the word, then spell it, then say it again. The teachers approved of the new rule. I love the game as much as the kids, and I use it for fun after hard lessons, but I mainly use it as a revision tool. Over the weeks I’ve taught the kids the many rules of plurals, apostrophes, abbreviations, syllables and homophones etc, and so I use the “Slap the Board” game regularly to test their knowledge on these subjects.....eg. I might write up a whole stack of words that have different plural endings etc, and they have to write the correct version. The other day I wrote all the months up, and they had to write the number of days in each month. It’s great fun, and sometimes I introduce a prize of a coloured pen to add to the fun and competition. On Friday, I put up a lot of words that are abbreviated and apostrophes used – eg cannot, with the answer being “can’t”.....and gave the kids the date when we covered the topic, so that they could refer back. There were many “easy, teacher” comments flying around the room when they saw what I was writing, and were able to look at their books..........so then I made them close their books!!! Nasty teacher!! When it came to writing them on the board, a few of the vocal students actually had to think and ask for help, so it was great fun repeating the “easy, teacher” comments back, and we all had a great laugh, and great fun.........but on a fantastic note, they probably remembered 14 out of the 18 I wrote up, so that’s awesome....they’re remembering my lessons.

I decided last week that I’ve given them lots of spelling and grammar rules over the weeks, and other practical skills like map reading, so I decided that we’d do a lot of conversational English over the next two weeks or so. It was great to have Lida or Kahna around to translate the English, so that the students had a greater understanding of what we were saying, because I was introducing English words they were unaware of. I have to say that these kids are amazing......I give them about 3 questions and 3 responses in English, in one lesson, and expect them to be able to say them to some degree by the end of class.......and they more often than not succeed. Yet, they teach me ONE Khmer word and it takes me a day to memorise it and be able to say it correctly. I’d be stuffed if they gave me six sentences to learn!! I make sure that the teachers give them loads of positive feedback on my behalf, because I think they’re amazing. I asked them after the first conversational English lesson, to practice the sentences with each other during break times, and I hear them do it often.........they also take great delight in coming up to me and saying “What is your name?” “Can you spell it for me please?” “Where are you from?” “I don’t know where that is, can you give me directions please?”....they’re SOOOOO gorgeous.

I mentioned one of the students in a previous blog that I want to support through her studies going forward. I still haven’t work this out, but plan to meet the director of the organisation before I go, to see how to go about it (I need to do it quite confidentially, as I do not want to upset or hurt the feelings of any of the other students). I also mentioned that I’d bought her a folder and written loads of grammar and spelling rules in it, along with dozens of English phrases. Well, she’s gone from speaking NO English, to being able to have basic conversations with me, and I feel that she has shown the greatest advancement in the English language, in all the students, since I’ve been here. Honestly, she makes me so happy with her efforts that I sometimes have to stop myself from getting teary. I love the confidence I’m seeing in her......she’s a truly an amazing kid. She’s one of the students that I sometimes ask to help explain things for me, and she can do it now....in the early days, she would hide under her fringe, shrug her shoulders, and indicate that she couldn’t speak English.......she also never let me hug her, now we do it regularly. I love her to bits.........but the reality is, I love them all, they are amazing.

I just picked up a stack of photos that I had printed of the day we went to the zoo. I printed photos of all the kids, so that they can each take a photo home of their trip (will get more printed if we need them, as it’s really cheap here). I can’t wait to take them to school....the photos of the animals will go up on the wall as a reminder of the great day we shared.

Ok, onto the rest of the week.......my friends, Jim and Veronica, were up this way with a couple of their friends, and it was great to catch up with them all on Wednesday night......also a bit surreal to see them here....but I really enjoyed their company for the evening. It’s really hard to explain effectively, but having 4 Aussies here, made me realise just how much I’ve settled into life in Cambodia, as I didn’t feel 100% Aussie when I was with them. I’ve slotted into life here, and accepted most of it, and I also hang out with mostly Europeans now, so I feel almost “international” rather than Aussie – it’s really weird. I find myself sending text messages in a mix of European/Khmer “speak”, rather than Aussie. Today I even made reference to “two dollars and a half” instead of “2-50”.......

I also moved apartments when I got back from Sihanoukville. When I had my first feedback session with Projects Abroad, I made a comment about the condition of the apartment I was living in. Mainly about the cleanliness of the paintwork in the rooms – they looked like they hadn’t been painted in 11 years, and that every volunteer that passed through, had left their mark. Well, to P.A’s credit, they listened, and now apartment 1 is being painted....and we’ve all moved. Sadly it means that I’ve lost the air-conditioned room, and private bathroom.....but I’m sure that future volunteers will appreciate my sacrifice.....they will, won’t they ?!!! I’m now in apartment 2, with a new cook (that speaks great English, woohoo) and a bunch of really nice volunteers. The apartments are all side-by-side, so we don’t have to travel any distance to get to the others (except for apartment 6 – it’s 15 mins away), so it’s all very social. My room is smaller but I have a window beside my bed, which I love, and right now have two fans blasting “cool” air on me, so it’s all pretty good, and I have the room to myself.

We all went to riverside on Friday for dinner, and then went to the night market afterwards. Sometimes you just need to get out and eat away from the apartment. A favourite location for the volunteers, is the Blue Pumpkin. They make great fruit shakes, yummy icecream , burgers, Khmer food, and it overlooks the Mekong River.......it also has free wifi, so that’s always an attraction. I try not to go there too often, as they have too many tempting icecream flavours, and I’ve had the caramel and cashew nut one twice, and on Friday discovered a possible new favourite – four spices (Star Anise, pepper, nutmeg and one that I can’t remember) – trust me, it was fantastic.

Saturday, Laura, Anne and I jumped on a bus to Udong, 40kms northwest of PP, and the former Royal capital from 1618 to 1866. Hmmm, I can’t picture it being a significant major city in its former life as there doesn’t appear to be much there, but I still enjoyed seeing the temple and stupas, and the beautiful surrounding countryside and lake. The bus driver dropped us at the “mountain” as promised.......only it wasn’t really the mountain, but the road that leads to the mountain, and we had a 45 min walk in blinding sunlight and 33 degree heat. Then we had to walk up the mountain, and then 20 million stairs to the temple and stupas (ok, ok, I’m exaggerating about the number of stairs, there were probably only 1 million....). But, it was worth the walk and the climb as the view was spectacular. You could see for miles and miles, and the countryside was beautiful. We were glad we went. Along the walk, every local kid in the houses and shops, and everybody that passed us on a moto, said hello......they were so unbelievably friendly. There were lots of really nice houses along the way also, yet it seemed quite rural, with loads of cows, a few horses, ducks, chickens etc, so it seemed somewhat surprising to have so many nice houses – I’m used to seeing more rustic shelters in these types of locations.

When we booked our tickets to Udong, we were not able to buy a return ticket as there is no bus station there, in which to catch a return bus from. The guy at Sorya bus company assured us that “many buses pass by, and you just have to put your arm up and wave to them – they will stop”. We were sceptical to say the least and had visions of 3 pathetic foreigners camping on the roadside because we couldn’t get one of the “many buses” to stop. We shouldn’t have worried. We bought a drink at a very fine establishment (not) on the roadside and they asked if we were catching a bus back to PP. We said yes, and they pointed us to a very fine garage (again, not) across the road, and told us to wait there and we’d see the buses when they came through. We had no sooner sat down on a ‘very fine bench’ (you get the picture !!), when a guy came up and asked if we wanted a bus to PP, as one had just arrived......it was a mini van. Anyway, as is typical, the negotiations for the ride commenced at $20 and within a couple of minutes, we reached an agreed price of $6 for the three of us, and climbed on board for an interesting ride home.

The police tried to pull the van over a few times at various checkpoints, but the driver refused to stop. It was obvious that the police could see Anne, Laura and myself, as the girls have very blond hair and stand out. Had we stopped, the driver would have been accused of some made-up infringement, and because we were on board, the fine would have been substantial as the police would know that we paid a higher price for our fare, as there is a price for locals and a higher price for foreigners, and therefore the driver had extra cash. The same thing happened when I took the kids to the zoo, I was sitting in the front jump seat, so very visible, and we were heading towards a police roadblock – initially the policeman waved us through, then realised I was foreign, and quickly changed his mind and pulled us over. The driver negotiated the fine down to $2, but I know for sure it would have started much higher. Tabea (German volunteer with the organisation that runs my school) was pulled over the other day for driving her moto through a red turn arrow –EVERYBODY does it ALL the time...but she’s foreign and was fined. The police tell you that if you don’t pay the fine, they’ll take you to the police station etc.....the thing is to accept the trip to the station, as they will nearly always back down, because they know it’s a waste of time and that they won’t get the fine they’re trying for....easier to negotiate a cheaper price. Oh, and the money doesn’t make it’s way back to the government or police force, it stays in the pocket of the person that took it. My understanding is that the police buy their positions on the police force, and are lowly paid afterwards, so these trumped up fines are how they make a “decent” income. Great system, eh??!!!
Sunday was a day of catching up on things.....I took the photos for developing, and then went in search of a tailor....the one I went to a few weeks ago did a good job on the top she made, and one dress is ok, but the second dress was awful (and that was the one I wanted the most). I met a girl at a clothes stall at the local market awhile ago, so I asked ne if she could suggest any, and she took me into the depths of the market to a girl she could recommend. With my guidebook and pictures on my laptop and others torn out of magazines, and the help of another person in the market that had some basic English, we seemed to come to an agreement on fixing the dress mentioned above, getting a new dress made and also another top.....I go back in a week. It was challenging, and also fun, but I do have to wonder if the tailor quietly cursed the girl for taking me there.

After lunch, five us headed to riverside for massages – my first. So much for my plan of having one weekly – sometimes it just seems like too much effort to get a tuk tuk to riverside (keeping in mind you have to barter for the tuk tuk to start with, then get hassled at riverside by other tuk tuk and moto drivers etc and book sellers). A few of us went to a place that was recommended, and for $8 I had a glorious one –hour massage.........it was SO good. I’ll go back there before I leave PP.

I desperately needed a haircut, as did one of the guys, so we went in search of hairdressers. He got a $2 haircut, roadside, that included the hair in his ears and nose!!! I eventually found a place, right on riverside, that looked very flash. Suzanne (Danish volunteer) came with me, and I paid $4 for a haircut, $4 eyelash tint etc....I feel need and tidy again – woohoo. Suzanne had her hair coloured for $25........It was a great salon, and we’ll happily recommend it to the other volunteers, as they spoke great English, the salon was professionally run, and let’s face it, the prices are great.

We’ve had a week or more of really dry weather, so there was hope that the flooding in Cambodia would recede – the Mekong is still much higher than normal and some areas are still flooded – certainly the lake near Udong seemed very high. Sadly on Saturday night we had a huge storm and it poured for 3 hours. Chammy, one of the Projects Abroad staff that lives close to the lake at the north of the city, suffered some significant flooding in the house he lives in, and had to spend the night at the apartment. He was pretty upset yesterday, as you would be, as there’s quite a bit of damage to his possessions. I offered to help clean up, but the house is still flooded....I’m guessing there’s no such thing as flood insurance here.....

That’s just about it for me.....started writing yesterday (Sunday) and it’s already half way through Monday....another great start to the week with my students. This is yet another short week in Cambodia as we have Independence Day and the Water Festival combined this week, so Wed, Thurs, Fri are public holidays. Everyone will be heading off in different directions as for many of us, this is our last weekend....we cannot believe it. I have always intended to visit Kampot, but am not sure that I’ll end up getting there. After being sick with the tummy bug, I’m feeling quite run down, so am thinking I’ll head back to Sihanoukville on Thursday for 3 nights, and just rest by the water and chill out. Many of the volunteers will be down there also, and so I will catch up with them for dinners etc, and Melanie (French) is still down there, so will catch up with her to hear about her adventures.

Bye for now from Cambodia
Rob

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Photos

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The temple and stupas on top of the mountain we were heading towards

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Lakeside house (pic taken from van, so not the best, sorry)

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Great view, from a great height...overlooking a massive Buddhist complext at base of the mountain

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Some local lads moving cement house stumps....were showing us how strong they were - they were hilarious and good fun

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I bought a whole lot of friendship bracelets from this lady, for my students. She was so grateful, and gave us all a multi-coloured bracelet each. She'd been chewing beetle nut, so her teeth were very stained...hence the lack of smile.

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Cool light shade....nothing goes to waste

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A memorial, I believe, to the people affected by the rotten Khmer Rouge.

Comments

[Sylvi]

What a trooper
I'm loving your photos and great to see one of you too. You're looking happy and healthy and you must be after such a trek in the sun and up stairs. Funny how there can be such beauty in a place as well as tragic sights like slums etc. Good that you've mentioned to the kids that you're leaving soon so they can get their head around it. Won't make it any easier but at least they won't be totally shocked on the day. It has gone fast hasn't it?! I hate the sound of all that corruption though. Would scare me silly. What would be the likelihood that you would return to Cambodia after the rest of your overseas trip? Could you get some formal teaching qualification and return to work at the same school? The monks and other teachers seem to be very impressed with you so I'm sure they'd be happy to have you back. Maybe the Project people could help you sus it out. Must away. It's 7 degrees this morning in Cheddar Gorge which is warmer then we thought it was going to be. I slept with thermals on last night. Are you sweating just reading that :) Take care, keep having fun, make the most of your last 2 weeks and stay safe. Hugs and kisses. Sylvi xo