Serendipity...

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As always, a lot happens in one week during my time in Cambodia....

Firstly, it seems that I may have finally killed off the tummy bug........I’ve taken enough medication over the last 3 weeks to kill 10 bugs, so I am optimistic that I’ve seen the last of it.....I did appreciate the weight loss though (4 kgs).

Apart from being sick and needing time off school last week, it was a great week. I always love going to school, but it was extra special to teach in nice classrooms last week, that were clean, fresh, and brighter.....the kids seemed to have bigger smiles than ever also...........hmmm, or was that in anticipation of our trip to the zoo on Friday. Perhaps, both !!!

Thursday was an interesting day at school. Lalin, the junior students’ teacher was sick in the morning, and so I took the lesson with my senior students without Lida as my translator, as she looked after the younger kids for the first lessons, and then we swapped and I had the juniors etc. Thankfully Lalin was able to come in the afternoon and school returned to normal. I’d decided to give the seniors homework over the weekend, based on our trip to the zoo, so I spent the lesson teaching them the English names of the animals we would see, and lot of words to describe them – ie furry, scaly, scary, hairy, yada yada yada. The homework was writing 5 sentences, in English, about what they saw at the zoo etc. I was grateful that I had my laptop with me and I could show them the animals etc, to back up the English words I was using. I’m also really fortunate to have a very bright student in my senior class, that is very quick to pick things up, so between us and my English/Khmer dictionary, we had a great lesson. It was fantastic on Friday at the zoo, when the guide was explaining things in Khmer, and the students were turning to me and giving me the English translation – woohoo....

So, our trip to the zoo........we’d long anticipated the excursion (well, so it seems), and the day lived up to the expectations. Sadly 3 of our students couldn’t come – one because he had a public school exam that day; his sister, because their mum wouldn’t let her go without him; and another student whose mother was afraid to let him travel on a bus. I’m so disappointed, as I’d wanted it to be a great experience for everyone, and I’m trying to think of ways to ensure these kids don’t feel left out.

The rest of the day went without a hitch........the monk will be pleased that I delivered on my promise to get everyone home safely. Some of the kids had never been on a bus, let alone 40kms out of town, so it was a pretty excited bunch of kids walking up to the bus – the bus couldn’t actually drive down to the school as the streets and lane are too narrow, so we had to walk out through the slum area, past the street-food vendors, past the hospital, and the motos and tuk tuks – I felt like Maria from Sound Of Music with a gaggle of smiley/happy kids following in their uniforms.....and, No, I didn’t break into “do, rei, me”. Sadly, one or two of the kids suffered with a bit of motion sickness on the bus trip, but were quickly over that when we got to the zoo. The kids all cheered sooooooooooo loudly when we reached the gates and were all “oohs” and “aaghhhs”......it was fantastic – even the bus driver giggled at their happiness. I hired 4 guides and we broke into groups and headed off to see the animals....I learnt so much about the park on this trip and so enjoyed it much more than the first time I went. The park is set up for animals that have been rescued from situations where they are mistreated in captivity. I’d heard that many of the staff are ex poachers, which is a great turnaround. The guide the other day was telling me that many of the animals are short-term residents, as they rehabilitate them, and release them to their natural habitat if and when they can. This is great news.......I’m not generally a fan of zoos, but visitors like us help to maintain the park by visiting and paying our entry fees etc.

Out of all of the animals, the most popular with the students were the Gibbons – they were loved by everyone because they’re such cheeky, playful and entertaining creatures ..... the tigers had everyone under their spell, and the crocodiles – the boys loved them. I’ll include some photos of the animals, but as always, I want to protect the privacy of the kids, so won’t load lots of their photos onto a public forum.

They have some great “huts” at the park, so after we’d spent a couple of hours animal watching, we grabbed one of the huts and had lunch. It was such a happy time and kids were talking, talking, talking about everything they’d seen, and mimicking the noises that the Gibbons and Cranes make...I wonder if I can post a video I took of the Gibbons and their singing?? After lunch, about half of the kids and teachers had a siesta on the mats or in the hammocks, and the rest of us took more photos.......all up, about 360 photos were taken that day on my cameras – I will have great memories for a long time to come and share many of them via this blog, facebook or printed on my walls at home. Mid afternoon we headed back to PP, lots of happy but tired faces, and I bet their families have heard many stories over and over and over during the long weekend.

The zoo was a great way to lead into the long weekend (King’s birthday).........and a few days out of PP and down by the ocean (Bay of Thailand, I think). Sara (Belgian volunteer) and Melanie (French volunteer) and I, went to Sihanoukville, which is around 5 hours south of PP. It reminds me of Noosa when I was young, ok, really young, when it was yet to be completely discovered and hadn’t yet become all glitz and glass........and expensive. Sihanoukville is on its way to being very polished, with some very flash resorts being built, but there are currently plenty of really gorgeous guest houses & bungalows along the beach, that don’t cost an arm and a leg. You can get rooms with a fan and cold water from as low as US$6. I booked a room at a nice place maybe 50 metres from the beach that cost me US$15 a night, with air-con and hot water. It had a great restaurant, free wifi, and was a really pleasant place to stay...apart from the air-con not working on the first night, but a room change sorted that out.

The closest beach to our accommodation, is Serendipity. This beach is lined with bars and restaurants, and you cannot walk 15 paces without someone begging you to eat at their restaurant, have a drink etc........and then there are the hawkers, selling bangles, sunglasses, pedicures, massages, fruit, lobster etc etc. They truly drive you nuts because you’re trying to have a conversation with your friends and you’re interrupted every 30 seconds. Some of the hawkers were friendly and I got to know them over the few days we were there, despite not buying anything...but they were great to chat to and politer that some others we encountered. I wish though, that people would stop teaching these people to say “G’day mate” when you say you’re from Australia. Seriously, I don’t know anyone at home that says that...

Apart from the hawkers, the only other thing that bothered me, was the large number of old men that were obviously only there to pick up prostitutes.......the men were grey, fat, had wrinkles on top of wrinkles, and were sliming all over girls young enough to be their granddaughters, or great granddaughters. Surely these involvements can’t be satisfying........it’s not like the girls want to be with these guys for the fun of it, it’s just for the money........it really disturbs me, and Sara was even more vocal about her repulsion, than I was...

On Saturday afternoon we went for a really long walk to a beach south of ours, that had very few hawkers, and we loved it. I took some awesome photos of the sun setting over the water, and will gladly share plenty of those in this blog. We also met a nice young German guy as we were about to catch a tuk tuk back to the guest house, and he ended up joining us for dinner –he was an interesting young guy and we all enjoyed his company. Dinner was at one of the local bars/restaurants right on the beach – ie our papasan chairs were on the sand.....and we had the US$3 bbq........I had the seafood one which included fish, prawns, calamari, garlic bread, salad and chips....it was fantastic.

Sunday we went on an island hopping day-trip – US$15, which covered breakfast, lunch, snorkelling, water, soft drinks etc......it was great value, and the islands were beautiful, and it was fantastic to spend time swimming and chilling out. We met another nice German couple, and Sara and Mel had dinner with them last night (I needed some quiet time after a long week).....actually, there were a lot of really nice people on the boat, and I met another couple that have been up here volunteering, so it was great to share stories etc.

Sunday (today as I write), the girls went on a day trip to another island/national park, as they were staying an extra night and have time to do so, and I went for a long walk around Sihanoukville and chatted to some locals. I then found a nice quiet beach with no hawkers, so it was lovely just to chill out and watch the water roll in.....I could spend a week or two at Sihanoukville and love every minute. Sadly after lunch I had to jump on the bus and travel 5 hours back to PP and the hustle and bustle that comes with this town. I love it, but it was fantastic to get away from the noise and insanity for a few days.

Oh, speaking of buses, we had to be at the bus station by 6.45am on Saturday morning....we arrived and there were people everywhere, and loads of buses....found ours and our very cheerful (NOT) bus hostess....she almost grimaced at the sight of the non-Khmers....anyway, I got to my seat to find out it was already taken....to which Miss Cheerful, grabbed my ticket, stormed off the bus, came back a few minutes later and told me to get off the bus as my seat was double-booked. She prompted treated me every crappier after that – like it was my fault that her bus company allocated the seat twice !!! She refused point blank to talk to me, which I didn’t like but because I was still feeling a tad sick with tummy bug, I was wondering if it was a sign that I should stay home. Sara though, would have nothing of it and confronted old Happy-Boots and told her in no uncertain terms that I was travelling with my friends.... The bus driver and another employee came up and asked what was going on, so I told them, and they in turn told her to let me on and at that point I was thinking I probably needed a Kevlar vest to protect me from the knives I could feel being pushed into my back, if only by thought and desire. When I asked her where I should sit, she turned her back on me and ignored me.....gotta love the customer service.....so I chose a seat and got a similarly frosty welcome from the person I sat beside, and then Miss Grumble Bum spoke to her in Khmer and it got even frostier. Again I say, I didn’t double book the seat, they did. About an hour into the trip, the person in my seat, and her friends, got off the bus, and my frosty neighbour that had been eating, drinking, pill-popping, then burping and farting along the way, promptly indicated that I should move to my correct seat. She didn’t have to ask me twice !!! The rest of the journey was trouble free, and I chose a different bus company to come home with and will strongly recommend them to everyone in future – same price US$5 for a five-hour trip – but much better buses and friendly staff.

Apart from that, I got an email from my friends Jim & Veronica the other day, and they’re up here at the moment, so plan to catch up with them Tuesday or Wednesday.........and am looking forward to seeing them. It was amusing today when Jim called and I took a few seconds to recognise that someone was speaking to me in English with an Aussie accent.........most of my phone calls at present are from Cambodians or Europeans, and my ear has tuned into them...and the Aussie accent sounded almost “foreign”.

Oh, almost forget, we had a volunteers monthly dinner on Friday night and it was good to catch up with everyone.........it’s amazing how quickly the volunteers come and go, and it seems there’s always a new person sitting there with the dazed, deer-in-the-headlight look on their face, and the rest of us catching up on all the latest news of what we’ve been up to. Was great to catch up with Martin (French Canadian) one last time before he heads home – he’s such a good natured person. One of the English volunteers that worked darn hard at my school at the dirty weekend, was also leaving, and it was great to be able to catch up with her one last time. It feels like you’re always welcoming or farewelling someone – just the nature of the environment we’re in. We also farewelled Davina (Pom) and Sharon (Aussie), and that’s a shame because they’re both really amazing girls, and I’m pleased I met them.....Sharon in particular has put in place some amazing processes in the hospital she was working at and these will have such a huge positive impact for everyone involved – truly awesome work Sharon !!!

Ok, enough, time to maybe get some sleep so that I’m fresh for my gorgeous kids tomorrow. Oh, I only have 3 weeks left in Phnom Penh..........and so many public holidays, that I now have such a short period of time to be with them. I love them to bits and will be sad to say farewell, but will leave knowing that I’ve made a positive impact on so many of their lives, and will never say I wish I’d done more, because I’m truly happy with my efforts and I’ve seen growth in so many of the kids...I’m so glad I came here.

Hugs from Cambodia.....oh, and for your amusement, one of the locals at Sihanoukville said that they were all feeling the change of weather “now that it’s winter and so cold” – it was 33 degrees today!!!!

Rob

PS. I was just reflecting on the weekend and the name of the beach I was staying at -Serendipity... Turned out to be a very appropriate name, and I indeed found something I wasn’t expecting. I realised over the weekend, that I’d lost a part of the excitement of being here, and wasn’t feeling as happy as I had been.....being sick had really drained and stressed me, and I wasn’t experiencing the peace that I had been earlier. Over the weekend, the tummy bug was easing up and by being by the ocean, swimming in the beautiful water, lazing in the sun and just relaxing, I was brought back to a peaceful and happy spot, and I’m SO glad that I decided to go away for the weekend. I feel content and really happy again, and once again feel that the “real” Robyn is back. I love this place !!!

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Comments

[Sylvi]

Looks fantastic
So glad that you're over your tummy bug and were able to enjoy a lovely week-end at such a beautiful beach location. The photos are amazing. Such beauty. Also happy to hear how much the kids enjoyed the zoo. They will remember it and you all their life. It may even encourage some of them to work in that field. Love your fancy toes - beautiful colours and great design, very tropical. Keep having fun and staying safe. Sylvi xo