Language lessons

Saturday 15th September

Four other volunteers and I have been getting up for a 7.30 breakfast and then cycling to our language lessons in the University buildings round the corner. Now when I say university, what I mean is large concrete building of small rooms with a canteen comprising of a hammock and plastic chairs gathered around a large cool box outside in the shade.

Our teacher is Mr. Khamdy and he has filled our brains and our books with absolutely loads of Khmer vocabulary, phrases and sentences. I can now say what my name is, where I come from, where I live and what my job is. I can also (in theory) ask a tuk tuk driver to take me to the petrol station, hospital; market and internet shop as well as ask how much 2 bottles of beer is. All very helpful stuff. It is a relatively simple language to learn as it has few words compared to the English language and the verb stays the same whether you’re speaking in past, present or future tense! Nouns do not have a gender either like they do in French or German for example. Every little helps.

The test comes when we practice on unsuspecting members of the Khmer public during our break times and realise that what we have been practicing for hours is in fact completely mispronounced. We have over 20 days of language training in all so I’m hoping to pick it up by then...!

To market, to market to buy a fat pig

Friday 14th September

I had experienced the Cambodian markets in Phnom Pehn so was fully aware of the sights and sounds and smells! that would await me on today’s visit to Kompong Cham’s main market. After our morning language lesson, a group of us mounted our bicycles and headed to the market. Some of the group were hoping to find the infamous cooked spiders to sample while I was quite happy to get some photos and was definitely drawing the line at consuming arachnids! We had seen platters of cooked spiders during our bus journey to Kompong Cham on Wednesday but resisted the urge to buy and try! We failed in finding any cooked insects for sale – the closest we came across was barbequed frogs.

The market stalls are all very close together and the smell and number of flies would suggest it is not too hygienic. Women literally sit on their stall, swatting flies that dare to land on their goods. They sell a whole range of fruit and vegetables that I have never seen before and bits of meat that I do not recognise. It is quite normal to see a huge bowl of large live fish flapping about which is then unceremoniously beheaded, usually with a less than sharp cleaver (sometimes it takes a number of attempts) and often de-scaled whilst still wriggling.

There are also lively bowls of small crabs, the shells of which are ripped from the rest of the body in order to kill them in front of your eyes. The market is certainly not an experience for the squeamish!

We are lucky enough to have a Khmer lady cook for us every breakfast and lunch time (what a treat!). She is also very obliging at helping us practice our ever expanding Khmer vocabulary. She buys the food from the market in the morning – a fact not far from my thoughts while we wandered around the place earlier.

In the evening we found yet another Western establishment on the Mekong River to eat and have a few beers. The place is called The Mekong Crossing and run by an American named Joe and his Cambodian wife. It is really nice to experience these small Western luxuries while we can so I had a burger and chips!

For the first time since my arrival in Cambodia (where the air is hot and humid ALL THE TIME!'), I experienced being a bit chilly! We were sat in Jo's place by the river and I actually had goosebumps on my arms from the chill in the air. I have to say, my arm was still clammy from the sweat that had not dried off (and never does!) but there were definitely goosebumps! Maybe I needed to bring that cardi' after all!

Horror and Heaven

Sunday 9th September

This morning I visited the Genocide Museum (Toul Sleng) in Phnom Pehn with my new Dutch friends Corine and Sabine. We had had a rather deep discussion with ‘the group’ last night about whether to go or not or whether it was best to go sooner or later. We decided to brave it. Toul Sleng used to be a high school but was turned into a secret prison during the Khmer Rouge regime only about 30 years ago. Absolutely thousands of people were interrogated, tortured and murdered there in the worst conditions imaginable and it has been turned into a horrifying educational site. It really has an eerie feeling about it and was very harrowing indeed. Again, words can’t really describe it and I took no photos at all. I think the images there will be ingrained on my memory for a long time. It was fascinating though and it shocked and amazed me (even though I have read lots about it already) what human beings can do to each other. Horrible!

To clear my mind of the graphic horror of the museum I went to have a traditional massage this afternoon. Now when I hear the word massage I imagine tranquil music, aromatherapy, sweet smelling oils and gentle soothing motions releasing and easing tension. Well, not Cambodian massage. We paid $3 for an hour of an intense work out! And that was just the masseur! We kept fully clothed and the masseur literally pummelled my whole body black and blue. He used his fingers, hands, elbows, knees and feet to push by force all the knots and tension out of my limbs and back. It was quite honestly acrobatic. I think I may be slightly heavier than the average Cambodian female so some of the lifts (yes lifts) may not have been strictly traditional but saying all that and despite the odd painful elbow in the calf muscles, I did thoroughly enjoy it and left feeling like I’d had 8 hours sleep and at least 2 inches taller. Heaven!

And then we went out for dinner in a tuk tuk...

Whistle Stop Tour (by Cyclo)

Saturday 8th September


Unfortunately for me and anyone reading this entry, my camera battery decided to die this morning so there is very little pictorial evidence that his day actually happened so you’ll have to take my word(s) for it! VSO are very kind to us all and helpfully arranged a Cyclo tour for all 17 of us to get our bearings of Phnom Pehn.

Cyclos are bicycles with two front wheels and a seat for the passenger, driven by a Khmer man. We paid $5 for the whole day and we were taken around the place in convoy, stopping off at a number of landmarks. The trick is to choose your driver carefully and make sure you recognise him when you are ready to get in again. I managed to find a driver with both eyes and whose feet touched the peddles, a luxury that was not shared by all!

Roads in Phnom Pehn are mad! Officially, vehicles are driven on the right hand side of the road. However, if you are driving a moto, cyclo or tuk tuk and having difficulty turning into a road, it is very normal to drive the wrong way down a road until you get the chance to filter through the on-coming traffic and cross to the correct side! This is rather hell-raising when sitting in a Cyclo seat as you can imagine.

We managed to visit Wat Phnom (a very old temple in the city where there were monkeys, an elephant wandering round, many beggars and children selling whatever they could and birds you could pay $2 to be set free from their cage). Needless to say I kept a close eye on my purse and even attempted to dissuade others from paying to free the incredibly tame birds. I’m sure they come back to the cage of their own free will when its dinner time! It was a beautiful temple to wander round but soooo hot!!

We also managed to visit two of the bigger, more well known markets; Central market and the Russian market which were fantastic experiences. I cannot describe the overwhelming attack on the senses: the colours, smells, people, food, material, and so much more! It was wonderful and I’m definitely going back with more time to buy some cooler clothing. Did I mention that it’s quite hot?

For lunch we visited the Foreign Correspondents Club overlooking the river for a coconut (again, a very luxurious western establishment) and then the Bali Cafe for the most delicious food. And then it rained! Proper rain though – not the drizzly pissy rain of England fame. It was so cool and refreshing and heavy!

In the evening we were invited to the Deputy Director’s home for a welcome party with yet more fantastic Khmer food! We have certainly been well looked after so far. I have to keep reminding myself that this is not the reality of the next 2 years though – I will not have a fan going all night in my bedroom when I’m in Phnom Sarok!

Anna Elsewhere

Friday 7th September

My first full day proved to be an interesting introduction to life in Cambodia. We were introduced to members of staff at the Programme Office, where most of us are also staying while in Phnom Pehn, and had an introductory talk and security briefing from the Programme Director.

There are 17 volunteers in this group and quite a mixture of people including couples, singles, young, old with initially one thing in common – Education. There are a few on the Youth for Development programme which VSO runs for graduates with slightly different criteria for entry. There is also a couple who appear to be VSO junkies on their 3rd VSO placement! There are also 4 from the Netherlands VSO who are fab – one of which (Corine) is also coming to Banteay Meancheay so we will be working together in the same area. Fortunately, one of the Dutch guys is about 7ft tall which is approximately twice the height of the average Khmer person much to everyone’s amusement! I must admit, it’s quite a relief not to be the one pointed and stared at although that will probably change once I’m in my placement. Everyone is fantastic and I’m pleased I’m in an easy-going group of people. I am sharing a room with Jean, a lovely lady from Newcastle who very kindly wakes me up with a cup of tea each morning (well – has done so far anyway).

Luckily for us, it happened to be the first Friday of the month which we learnt was THE night to go to Elsewhere – a western bar in Phnom Pehn. After some deliberation, a number of us decided to try it out and what a night we had! Elsewhere is situated off a very ordinary looking Khmer street. It looks like a big white house and in effect we were sat in the garden all night. But what a garden! Little paved paths lead round an outdoor pool with tables, cushions, benches and stools set amongst trees (with fans nailed to them) and a bar. It was a like a small paradise. Personally, it felt a bit weird to be in such an obviously white western place with such luxuries after just stepping off a plane to volunteer in the third world, especially as we had paid our tuk tuk driver $1 (50p) to drive us there!

However, several mojitos later and the guilt had been replaced with a dozen reasons to justify enjoying such luxury, a temptation to jump into the pool and an overwhelming need to dance! Needless to say, we had a fantastic night which went on till the small hours! We even recognised Matt Dillons’ minders at the bar!

Arrival!

Anna has arrived in Cambodia. At last the Blog Title actually refers to reality!

Flying with Thai Airwarys proved seamless after a 1 hour delay at Heathrow. I even had the pleasure of sharing airspace with a Hollywood superstar - none other than Matt Dillon of 'There's something about Mary' and 'Wild Things' fame. OK, so the photo doesnt show his face but I did make eye contact with him at the VISA cheque!

I arrived in Phnom Pehn with about 10 other VSO volunteers I collected during the journey. We were met at the airport, given an itinerary of our training over the next 7 weeks and taken to the VSO Programme Office where I'll be staying until language training commences next week.

First impressions are positive: friendly people, good food, cold beer and hot weather. We'll see what second impressions are later...

Ginger Appreciation Society

I attended my final farewell party at the weekend with my bestest friends in the whole wide world at a stunning holiday destination by the sea - my dad's house on the Isle of Wight! Luckily the sun shone all weekend and on Saturday we took the opportunity to visit the island's Extreme Water Sports festival at Sandown. Though most of us are not easily disappointed, we did consider whether 'Extreme' was the most appropriate adjective to describe what appeared to be little more than a glorified village fete! Good old Isle of Wight! However, we had an amazing time: Ruth proved to be most Extreme by having a go on the Climbing Wall, I became the unofficial champion of the well known Extreme sport - Bungee Running, Mads managed to get a picture of Chilli in yet another AMAZING HOLIDAY DESTINATION, the Red Arrows were out of this world and Sarah won a BIKE!

And as if that wasn't enough, my bestest friends in the whole wide world put on a surprise 'Ginger' party for me in the evening. We ate ginger food, wore 'Ginger Appreciation Society' badges and each friend donned a ginger wig in order to show their appreciation of ginger-ness and in doing so truely empathise with the suffering I have had to endure over the last 29 years (mosty subjected by them - my bestest friends in the whole wide world).