It has not rained since November and the roads have turned to dust, rivers and ponds are drying up and its altogether fairly depressing really. I think I arrived in the country when Cambodia was at its most beautiful. Everything was lush and the landscape was bright green with flooded rice fields. Now, the rice has been harvested and in my district many of the rice fields have been burnt so the landscape has a scorched, wasted look about it. Every movement, be it from cow, moto, feet or car, creates a cloud of dust in its wake which covers absolutely everything!
Everthing looks dull brown because of the layer of dust covering it. I often return home from work thinking I have developed a lovely golden brown tan during the day only to find that it washes off in the shower! And even after my shower, the towel I dry myself with appears covered in dust! I never feel clean!
The novelty of moving far away from home, friends and family is most definitely wearing off. I have stopped 'ohh-ing' and 'ahh-ing' and 'wow-ing' at everyting I see and do now as I develop the realisation of the fact that I'm staying here for another 2 years. It is now home. Everything that was initially so different from my experiences in the UK is becoming the norm. I am noticing the beautiful Cambodian smiles and beautiful Cambodian countryside less and less and I now notice the rubbish everywhere, the dirt everywhere, the unhappiness and the poverty.
Can you tell I've had a crap week?
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