Sweet enough

After a funny few weeks of nothing much happening in my district due to rice harvesting and training from the Ministry of Education anywhere but Phnom Srok, I had started to spend less and less time there. Whenever I arrived home it seemed that I hadn’t been missed and most of my colleagues were not around anyway. Meetings and training we had planned for January and February were cancelled and postponed again and again which was becoming increasingly frustrating.

One afternoon I arrived at the office to find it empty but for Daney. Seeing my disappointment she suggested we head to Tropieng Tmar reservoir together to da-laing (hang out!) and so that’s exactly what we did. There have been countless similar occasions when there has been no work to do and/or no-one around to do it with and to begin with I would experience serious guilt pangs when I’d nip off home early or head to the reservoir instead of doing nothing at the office. Now, I feel free of that guilt and have discovered that usually such occasions do my mental health the world of good and often lead to very productive afternoons or at the very least, more knowledge and understanding of culture, relationships and what life is like for Khmer people. I have come to realise that this knowledge is crucial to the success of my relationships here and also adds richness to my life as I continue to enjoy new experiences here.
We had a fantastic chat at the lake in a mixture of simple English and Simple Khmer, and we both discussed our futures. Daney has applied for a job with a Cambodian NGO for which she timidly asked for a reference as she thought I might be mad with her! Far from feeling cross, I am over the moon that she feels confident enough and has the capacity to do so. She was a very quiet and shy general dog’s body at the office when I arrived in Phnom Srok back in November 2007 but now is a confident, capable and very motivated young lady who has become a district trainer for many training courses and has delivered workshops to teachers and school directors! I had hinted that Mr Sophan should consider grooming her for a management role in the DOE, particularly as he will retire in a couple of years, and this resulted in her being promoted to an Assistant position (rather than admin!). I will obviously be sad for Phnom Srok if she leaves as she has been involved in all the recent developments so far and could really continue to take the district forward, however I am so proud of her for taking an opportunity with another NGO!
She also talked about marriage (she is 25 and most Khmer women are married by this age), assured me that her family would allow her to marry for love rather than a business deal as most marriages seem to be, but that she wasn’t interested yet as she wanted to study and work first. We also talked about how we would stay in touch when I return to England in 8 months time which reminded me how quickly the time left is going to go (it’s already March for goodness sake!!). It also brought it home that this month was probably the most crucial as April and May are full of public holidays, soon after which the schools close for the 3 month holiday, then open again in October when I will be saying my goodbyes!
We took a different route home, down a back road I’d never used before behind Tropieng Tmar village. It was absolutely beautiful and more so because it was my favourite time of day when the light is really low, warm and soft. We passed the backs of wooden houses, saw the various animal enclosures, and passed numerous cows and water buffalo wandering home, gorgeous yellow hay stacks which looked like they were inviting me to jump into them and children collecting plastic bottles of palm juice. We collected a big bucket of palm sugar from one house for Daney’s mother and then with a friend we picked up on the way, started hunting for palm juice to drink! We found some and drank from the dirty plastic bottles dodging bits of wood and drowned fly corpses to taste the wonderfully sweet juice straight from the palm trees – delicious! I’m not sure who it rightfully belonged to, but it felt like it didn’t really matter much. If left to ferment the juice turns alcoholic which provides quite a different experience altogether and one I have sampled on occasions (in moderation of course!) but much preferred the sweet fresh version.

Kate does Kampuchea

It was a great honour to have My Mate Kate come and visit me this month. The last time I saw Kate was also the last time I saw Gok Wan in Brighton! Oh long ago it seems! I met her at the airport in Siem Reap and after being somewhat distracted by a mischievous taxi driver throwing a cockroach at unsuspecting members of the public; we enjoyed our reunion with red wine and LOTS of talking back at our hotel. We spent a wonderful few days by the pool, chatting, swimming, chatting some more, catching up on the events in both our lives over the last 16 months, eating great food, sipping wine and yep, chatting even more. It was fantastic to have her around and we enjoyed many of the delights Siam Reap had to offer including dips in the pool, nice meals out, a very happy pizza and an interesting experience with flesh eating fish!
The highlight for me, other than catching up with Kate and what’s happened in Eastenders over the last 18 months, was the boat trip to Battambang. We were told the journey was between 5 and 8 hours, so hoping for nearer the 5 hour mark we bought our tickets with great excitement at experiencing a day on the Tonle Sap. I had heard that the trip was worth doing from other volunteers and tourists’ recommendations and thought what better way for Kate to experience rural Cambodia than a lazy water cruise, a route straight past the floating villages and a meander past fishermen and traditional Khmer houses. In total the journey took closer to 10 hours! But apart from the last hour and a half (when mild dehydration and severe bum ache had kicked in!) it was well worth it! And we saw all of the above and much more! The inhabitants of the floating villages are just ingenious at living simply but resourcefully and we were awestruck by the intricate fishing devices we saw in action. As we wondered how many Khmers can actually swim and whether there are many accidental drowning, we were equally amazed at the number of swollen dog corpses which floated past us!

We shared the boat with a lot other tourist with the same idea as us. Some sat on the roof for the whole 10 hours, burning to a crisp while others, namely us, manoeuvred away from the engine fumes to secure great viewing seats to watch the world go by. The boat would’ve got no where near passing any kind of health and safety standard but Kate was game and I’ve got used to living a bit on the edge!

So, next stop was Battambang where we sampled the delights of another swimming pool and did a moto tour around the countryside with my good friends Tony and Poe. It was a fantastic day out starting off with a trip on the bamboo train, bumping into some other VSO volunteers on a day trip but finishing with a speedy ride home in order to put Kate to bed nursing a dodgy tummy and consequently missing the incredible flights of the bats at dusk from their cave home in the mountain! Next morning, and one disappointing breakfast later, we were on our way again, travelling north to Phnom Srok where Kate enjoyed the privacy of a roof top terrace (ha – sounds grander than it is!) to sunbathe on to her heart’s content while others went to work! And thankfully (well, sort of), we hadn’t missed out on Cambodian bats!

While I had been holidaying with Kate and left my home empty, 2 small bats had decided to move into my bathroom. They were the right side of the mosquito netting on the windows which meant that they didn’t look like they’d be much bother. However, somehow one of the bats got himself on the wrong side of the netting and dragged himself across the tiled floor towards our comfy DVD viewing area. It was a huge shock to be so close to this creature, as my cries and screams made obvious at the time! And as I sought shelter in another room, scaring Kate out of her wits in the process, the bat just up and disappeared. We hunted for it, timidly, but couldn’t find it anywhere until it magically turned up again on the bathroom mat. Kate was feeling braver than me so she took charge in trapping the bat under a complicated system of baskets (you can’t be too careful!) and setting it free again outside! Phew! Freedom for the bat and a quiet night for me!

When it was time to bid Kate farewell it actually felt just as surreal as when we had first met at the airport. It made me very reflective on what life will be like back in the UK when I return in November. Kate talked of her job and the current financial climate back at home and reminded me of how demanding, busy and often stressful life was like in London. It is exciting to think of coming home and now that we’re into a new year it feels like the count down has well and truly started, but sometimes I wonder whether the culture shock of returning will be greater than when I first arrived in Cambodia.

It was weird to say goodbye after getting used to having a good friend around. It’s amazing how I have got used to talking slower to friends and colleagues for whom English is a second language but how quickly I was able to slip back into easy conversation styles with Kate. It was also really refreshing to have her around as she knows me so well and I don’t have to explain myself all the time – a breath of fresh air! I will never forget her face as I packed her into the front seat of a pick-up truck on the main road to Siem Reap. I had explained in Khmer, to whom I thought was the driver, where Kate needed to be dropped off and that my friend didn’t speak any Khmer. I was assured that they knew where they were going and felt confident Kate would be in safe hands. Kate on the other hand didn’t look so confident and the las thing I saw was her mouthing the words “I’m scared” as the pick-up took off with a jolt!

Our goodbye turned out to only be a warm up though as we were able to meet in Siem Reap again before Kate’s return home. It was fantastic to touch base another time before her departure and we even managed to repeat the flesh eating fish experience together! My feet have never felt happier!

Building Bridges

A few months ago we visited an annual school development meeting in a particularly poor area of the district. It was in the days when I had no translator so communication was limited and my understanding of what was actually spoken about in the meeting was next to zero. I did however manage to pick up the fact that there was a problem with children from a small village accessing their school because there was no bridge crossing the river which was growing every year due to erosion of the banks in the wet season. I asked to take a look at the problem and we drove out to the river. Children were crossing the river on a boat every day to come to school but it soon transpired that they had to pay for the privilege, a fare that poorer families couldn’t afford, resulting in long absences and even dropout.

In the past the area, which is prone to flooding in the rainy season, had concrete bridges built prior to the Khmer Rouge regime. During the civil war years the bridges had been destroyed and never rebuilt meaning that a whole community became reliant on the boat transport to stop from becoming completely cut off. We discussed alternatives such as the boat being free for school children but were met with obstacles at every suggestion. I immediately started thinking of all the NGOs who might be able to help fund the construction of a bridge to allow the children to come to school. This has almost become a habit now; when money is needed, who can we ask? And this time I stopped myself and decided to hand the problem over to my colleagues. There must be something we can do without going begging to a foreign organisation!! I mean, lets encourage some self-sufficiency here! Some sustainable problem solving! I politely pointed out that perhaps this was a problem for the district governor and that it was our responsibility to inform him of the fact that many children were not able to access their basic right to school because of an expensive boat toll over a small stretch of river missing a bridge! My DOE colleague promised to request a meeting with the governor and there we left the matter.

Over the past few months I have inquired about the problem until finally this month I was told a bridge had been built by the community! Whoppeee!!! Basically, a meeting took place between my colleagues and the governor, the governor sent a letter to the community and the community put money together to build a bridge a little way up the river from the school. It cost them around $200 for the bamboo and demands a toll from motos and tractors but not from school children! Great!! We were there at the wrong time of day to see it being used by school children and I hope to be able to go back another time in the near future. Let’s hope it lasts!

It was interesting to learn a bit more about the area when it was under the control of the Khmer Rouge and also to see the remains of the ancient road which runs through the district linking the temple at Banteay Chhmarr with Angkor Wat. I was also told that there are international funds available from some donor to restore the road and to improve the banks of the river to prevent it flooding in the rainy season which will have plus and minus effects. I have learnt that I usually find out this sort of information from the random informal and spontaneous visits we make which encourages me to do so more. My diary of carefully planned weeks and months are becoming more and more rough and ready for last minute changes which suits the pace and culture of this country so much more.

Tea and Biscuits

For some schools in Phnom Srok the messages of the ETL (Effective Teaching and Learning) training, Resources workshops and Child Friendly School Policy are still a long way off. Some schools have missed the bus, so to speak, for a plethora of different reasons. Some missed the training, some core cluster schools are better than others at passing on knowledge, understanding and resources to their satellite schools and some have simply been overlooked. It is impossible to reach all the teachers and school directors in one hit so it came as no surprise to visit a nearby school and find it in exactly the same state as it was a year ago. Progress can be incredibly slow! We visited this school the other week and despite our strained smiles at the teachers who were clearly petrified of our presence, it was easy to see the disappointment on my colleagues faces. My counterpart called a meeting with all the staff from the school immediately after visiting each bare classroom. I was concerned he was going to read the riot act so beforehand I managed to have a brief conversation with him about the fact that the school director was the only one who had attended any of the recent training and that is was a big job for him to spread the ‘good news’ alone, particularly without the support of his core school director. My words did not fall on deaf ears and at the meeting my colleague did not reprimand the staff of the school, but rather encouraged them. Phew! He also suggested that they visit Chey Oudom Primary school (the developing model school) for inspiration and motivation!

After the meeting we were invited to stay at the school for a drink and a snack. Now in the UK this would typically mean a cup of tea and a few digestive biscuits. Not here! We watched some teachers build a small fire directly outside the director’s office and proceed to heat up some pre-cooked rat and snake. Yes... RAT and SNAKE! It took a while to get going and by the time it was ready a huge crowd of school children had gathered to watch me watching the whole process of heating the snacks up! The rat tasted remarkably good although I could only manage a small amount of thigh meat as the fact that it was a real whole RAT, staring at me from dead black eyes was some what off putting! The snake was salty and a bit fish-like, lots of bones and quite chewy. I managed more snake than rat and washed it all down with a small amount of beer! What a treat – and at only 10am! I wonder how this would go down in England?!

Another interesting thing about the school was the fact that it had ramps for wheelchairs as well as the usual steps up to the classrooms. I asked whether they had any disabled children enrolled in the school. Most schools do but the disabled children are typically absent so I was a pleased to learn that the 2 disabled boys in Grade 6 were both at school that day but mortally embarrassed when they were called out of class to parade in front of me! I actually wanted the ground to swallow me so I was relieved when the 2 boys in question seemed completely non-plussed by the whole performance. I chatted to them for a while in my basic Khmer and asked them name, age, the usual. When I asked what they wanted to be when they were older there was a completely blank expression on both faces. It occurred to me that neither of them (both were in Grade 6 but 16 years old) had ever probably thought about their future and perhaps neither had ever been asked that question before. After a minute’s thought, the heart breaking response was to reach a higher grade!
I am continually impressed by the hospitality shown to me at the schools I visit. It is amusing to say the least, to be sat in the directors’ office when he pulls a grilled snake from his briefcase for everyone to snack on. It is also an honour that these people are so willing to share what they have. A plastic tub of some strange moonshine was pulled out from somewhere and we joined some of the staff for lunch. It is a big deal to have a barang visit their school and I only hope I am giving of myself as much as I am receiving these rich experiences from them.

Happy Merry Christma and Chol Chnam Tmei!

Christmas felt even more irrelevant this year than last year! Unlike the UK there is no build up to the festive season here in Cambodia: no buying presents, no sending cards, no Christmas parties, no “jingle bells” in all the shops you walk into since September, no school play and no de-icing the car windscreen before work! It is hot, dusty and work as usual! It’s been really refreshing to be in a different culture and climate for over a year now and observing the festival times and celebrations in Cambodia has been wonderful and has also made me appreciate my own culture more in terms of what is important, what actually means something and what is just inherited from traditions from the past.

Christmas Eve was spent motoring down to Onno in Bavel district with Corine as the sun was setting and falling asleep in front of Lord of the Rings with a gin and tonic! Perfect! Christmas morning four of us then motored on to Phnom Preuk, 2 ½ hours through beautiful Cambodian countryside, over very dusty and pot holed roads to arrive at John and Chris’ festive home! It had a very familiar family Christmassy feel to it and our hosts made sure we ate very well! A relaxed Christmas of mixed western culture and interesting sharing of traditions. Us Brits explained to the Dutch what a Christmas cracker was (although their origin remains a mystery to us all – that’s the crackers not the Dutch!) and the token American provided egg-nog for us all! I developed a very British head cold in true ‘end-of-term’ style which sent me to bed after a couple of games of Werewolf and after a family breakfast on Boxing Day we took to the dust ridden streets once more and the 4 hour journey back to Sisaphon!

Of course I missed the Maton touch on the whole thing but Ruth assured me that even though all the siblings were together with mum this year (minus me of course), everyone in Harrow would be having an utterly boring time without me! She reminded me how anti-climatic Christmas always was and that she would send photos to prove it! When I spoke to a good friend about my sisters’ promises I was told that, ‘Love’ is definitely letting someone you care about who is half way round the bloody planet volunteering in a tropical, corrupted 3rd world nation for 2 years know that they didn’t miss an unforgettable family Christmas together! I think my sister must love me a lot! But that wasn’t the end of Christmas! I enjoyed opening several parcels from the UK and another huge Christmassy dinner (this time with a streak of Australian festive tradition) in Poipet with Elise and some new friends!

And as if that wasn’t enough, the new year was seen in from Pam’s garden in Sisaphon with many friends from the province and beyond. A hat themed party (I wonder whose idea that was...!), fireworks, champagne, dancing, karaoke, sparklers, random improvised representational modern dance routines and vegetable curry! I had stupidly volunteered to be responsible for the music on the which meant we got a good portion of Abba hits but because of my distinctly lacking ability to forward plan and make up some playlists also meant that I was juggling 4 ipods all night! It was great fun and felt really good to have a proper dance in between setting the next song up. I’ve made no resolutions for the new year although 2009 will require some decisions to be made about the next chapter of life post-VSO! Still 10 months to think about that yet and lots to do in the mean time!

Happy New Year x

Mahob Anglais

That means English Food.

I have been endlessly spoilt by my Khmer friends, colleagues and at times perfect strangers, feeding me delicious Khmer food during the last 14 months. Actually, not all of it has been that delicious and I have sometimes found myself making excuses for not gobbling down bowls full of cow intestines, or knawing on chicken’s feet, or swallowing fish egg sacks, or eating fermented fish paste (Khmer cheese!) not to mention the MSG induced semi-comas I have occasionally found myself in! So I thought it was about time I got my own back, erm, I mean returned the favour to a few choice friends in Phnom Srok with a taste of good traditional English homecooking!

Set Menu:

Appetizer: Bread with a choice of meat pate or Marmite topping
Starter: Tomato Soup
Main Course: Shepherd’s Pie with boiled vegetables
Pudding: Trifle

Drinks: Orange Squash, Red Wine

The preparations were fun! I spent a small fortune in a western supermarket in Siam Reap on some necessities such as baked beans, gravy and orange squash! And I finally got to be head chef in my own kitchen! I got to dictate how the vegetables were chopped (there’s more than one way to chop an onion you know!). The menu sounded a lot grander (and English!) than it turned out and I was limited by the fresh food choices available to me in Phnom Srok! On the day there was no bread to be found in the district so the Crisp Breads from Siam Reap (rather more French than English) had to do, the pate was Dutch and the beef was sold out so the shepherd’s pie was made with pork which my beautiful friend Daney was happy to mince! I also found myself without a potato masher, or in fact potatoes, so again the shopping trip to Siam Reap proved to be useful as I had had the foresight to pick up some Smash equivalent while I was there!

The actual meal was a fantastic experience! It was really interesting to see how my Khmer friends reacted to a different culinary experience, using different cutlery, eating in a different order, having a whole meal served on your own plate rather than sharing from dishes in the centre of the table, and so on. The crispbreads went down a treat, the Dutch pate was a hit and naturally some loved the Marmite while some hated it! The soup course was very funny! I wolfed my soup down from the bowl while everyone else politely sipped one spoonful and then left the rest aside. “Oh no!” I thought... “They hate the soup!” I dished out mashed potato and the minced pork and veg mixture (Shepherd’s Pie, my eye!) and observed as they began to eat the soup with the main meal! It was amazing and very amusing to see such familiar food being eaten in such a Khmer style! The boiled vegetables (cauliflower) were looked at very suspiciously, politely tasted and then blatantly ignored and as I followed suit I realised that vegetables here are served in or with other foods and always with a sauce of some sort! I had to agree, they tasted awful! The pork mixture was a hit which I was really pleased about although some of my guests insisted on pouring (yes, literally pouring) salt over it which I chose not to take any offence at! And then came the trifle! Wow! Although everyone was full of mashed potato, the trifle didn’t last long at all!

The meal was enjoyed with a few bottles of red wine (French!) and basking in the apparent success of my first dinner party in Phnom Srok I explained how I am much better at cooking Italian food to which confession I was promptly asked to prove it! So, not one to turn down a challenge I have offered to cook an Italian dinner for all the staff at the District Office of Education next month! Oops! Watch this space!

Encouragement vs Boredom

It’s been a strange few weeks in Phnom Srok lately. The weather has suddenly turned a few noticeable degrees cooler and I’m taking two blankets to bed most nights and usually left longing for some socks and a cardi most mornings. It is harvesting time also which means most of my colleagues at the DOE are somewhat distracted by the fact that their fields of rice need cutting. In fact the whole district is busy with harvesting. Those that don’t own fields are busy working in their neighbours fields and it’s the main reason for the half empty classrooms I’ve visited recently as so many children need to work as well or look after their younger siblings while their parents work.

I tried my hand in one of Mr Sophan’s fields and managed to cut my little finger on a scythe and make a complete hash of my flooded patch of field. It looks so easy and there must be some system to it but it just wasn’t my day! I got sunburnt and bored! Tough work! I was much more successful at bagging the dried rice after threshing. I actually enjoyed this: partly because I had turned up to an empty office so was glad of having something remotely useful to do; partly because the late afternoon is such a beautiful time to be outside in the Cambodian countryside and party because it was highly amusing to observe passing Khmers almost falling off their bikes in shock at the sight of a female barang doing manual labour!

Encouragement has been found in the cluster core schools I have visited this month – thank God! I have been so pleased, motivated, overwhelmed and even proud of the developments I’ve witnessed in all the schools I’ve been to since the ETL training and Resources workshops of the last few months. Instead of walking into sad, bare classrooms I walk into classrooms with children’s work on display, learning posters hanging from string, clean water available for students to wash their hands, lessons being carried out without textbook dependency, children enjoying games as a learning activity. What has almost moved me to tears has been the school and cluster directors falling over themselves to show me around their school, motivated teachers who look proud rather than scared to death of the thought of us peering into their classrooms, and very happy children!

Sound perfect? Ha ha – well it’s not, it’s all still a long way off the inclusive child-friendly objectives the World Bank are dreaming of but it’s such an enormous and positive step in the right direction! To my relief the cluster schools who were given materials last month have actually used them and, more to the point, have shared them with and encouraged their satellite schools to do the same! Amazing! The newly acquired office laminator has never been so busy!

So, fuelled with very positive feelings about the progress Phnom Srok schools are making and desperate to spend some VSO money, we have made lots of exciting plans for the next few months and the infamous emotional rollercoaster is on the upward climb. Life is fantastic once more and I realise that even in the most boring of times there is never a dull moment.