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Published: January 31st 2013
Birthday Girl
Ginny with the cards the kids made her and a hug from one of the students.I had a touch of gastro
on Monday morning so decided not to go to school. I was feeling a lot better by the evening so Ginny and I invited a new English volunteer, who had only just arrived, to Pub Street for a meal. It will be a short week for us, as Friday and the following Monday are both public holidays, giving us a four day weekend.
The reason for this is the King Father's cremation. King Sihanouk passed away on the
15th October last year, and following royal tradition, has been lying in state at the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh for the past three months. His coffin will be carried through the streets, from the Royal Palace to a funeral pyre in a nearby park,
this Friday 1st February. Over 100,000 mourners are expected to line the streets for the procession. His body will remain at the pyre for three days, so people can pay their respects. This will be followed by his cremation
on Monday 4th. This four day break is a great opportunity for us to pack up our backpacks, wave goodbye to Siem Reap for a couple of days, and see more of Cambodia. Phnom Penh will be crowded, so
Lots of Helpers!
These boys couldn't grab a paint scraper fast enough. There are always plenty of helpers for any job we start. we have decided to go in the opposite direction, and are heading to Battambang
on Friday morning, returning on Sunday.
Tuesday morning is another hot and dusty one. I think it's getter hotter here, we have definitely noticed a climb in temperature. Today is Ginny's birthday so I surprised her with a gift first thing this morning. Unfortunately, I couldn't wrap it, due to the lack of wrapping paper and sticky tape, but Ginny didn't mind.
We had a busy day at school. Ginny's class made her cards and sang 'happy birthday' even though birthdays aren't celebrated here. The kids had balloons which they don't see very often, so it was exciting for them. We both do our reading comprehension class for the first lesson, and then find other jobs to occupy our time. We are still painting the walls behind the whiteboard in each of the five classrooms. We got another done today, four down, one to go! We're also cleaning the two fans in each room of their smothering build up of dust and grime.
It's time to start thinking seriously of the mural we're going to create. On closer inspection of the wall, we found that the
Busted Bike!
How do you fit 3 people, 3 backpacks, one guitar and two cycles in a tuk tuk?
Answer - Easily! existing coat of paint was peeling rather badly in places. We scraped at the paint and it flaked off easily. Well, every painter knows that flaking paint has to be removed.... this was turning into a bigger job than we anticipated. Another shopping trip was in order for paint scrapers, so we went back to our 'rake lady' in the village. We purchased four scrapers for $3, headed back to school, and got to work.
On a more sombre note, and there's plenty of those in Cambodia, Ginny was concerned for the welfare of a dog we passed every day on our way to school. There are many neglected dogs here, the only thing that differs is the degree of neglect. This fellow has one of the worst cases of sarcoptic mange I have ever seen. He has virtually no fur and he is covered with the skin crusting typical of this disease, caused by the mites that burrow into his skin. He must be in so much pain. Ginny mentioned her concern to one of the staff here at Globalteer House, and was given the contact number of Siem Reap's only veterinarian nurse (no vet), an Australian woman
Who's the Scarecrow?
A scarecrow at Full Belly Farm. I feel like this at the end of some days.... who promised to go out and have a look at him. Ginny wasn't interested in having him treated, she wanted him put out of his misery. There is no RSPCA here to look after the welfare of animals, and he can't be treated or put down without the owners permission. He was still sitting in the dust this afternoon so obviously they aren't too concerned.
We had a lovely night out last night (Tuesday) with the staff at ABC's, and Teacher Dave. We met at a local bar/restaurant called Chilli Si Dang for drinks. Dave played his guitar and another volunteer turned up with bongo drums. It was a fun social night...and the Baileys went down well!
Wednesday was another busy school day. We finished scraping the paint from the wall and got it all washed down. We left early as there was little for us to do in the last afternoon class, and we were tired. We were invited out
tonight for a farewell dinner for two other volunteers but decided to give it a miss. Home early, restaurant takeaways for dinner and an early night were preferable.
Thursday dawned hot, sunny and dusty as usual.
Digging a Fishpond
These men are digging a pond for fish, at Full Belly Farm. Any helpers out there? They're doing 12 hour days in the heat. I woke this morning with a touch of flu and a cough which has been coming on for a few days now. We have no screens on our windows and mozzies swarm in if the rooms aren't closed up by dusk. So, I close up and spray the room to avoid the mozzies and then get sick sleeping under the fan! Though I've since been told it could be the dust.
We rode to Pub Street after our morning lessons today, to pick up our passports with their new visas, so I got myself some medication whilst there. French tablets, bought in an English Pharmacy, in Cambodia - what are my chances? We had a lovely Caesar Salad for lunch at The Sun Restaurant, as we have no intention of going out
tonight. This will be our main meal for the day. I fell onto my bed for a sleep when we got back to Globalteer House and woke late to find that Ginny had returned to school for the afternoon lessons without me. I'm surprised I slept at all, this street is so noisy during the day. Buses, gravel trucks, cars, tuk tuks, and scooters bounce and rattle along this road continuously, the noise and dust is relentless.
Tomorrow we head to Battambang for a couple of nights. We're both looking forward to getting out of the dust cloud that is Siem Reap...
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