(Pls note am not trying to flatter; I really do think you are rather fine and dandy).
Two whole weeks now that we have been in Kampuchea - and I think it's time we reviewed the time so far, as to help you catch up on some of the great events that I have just happened to miss out.
Day 1: Our first sight of Cambodia. Basically, we arrived and found our beds - pretty eventful. But truthfully, quite bizarre. We would be spending the next 4 months here after all.
Day 5: Our first day without any supervision (an important day, to say the least). It's strange what we chose to do today - the world of raging drinking/clubbing/partying open to us. We visited the Tuol Sleng Museum, which documents some of the horrors of the Khmer Rouge. Extremely interesting, and of course, horrifying.
 |
| Tuol Sleng; the high school-turned prison throughout the Khmer Rouge, now a museum dedicated to revealing the terrible history |
Day 8: Our first teaching day. It seems such a long time ago that we were almost completely blind, wading through the murky swamp of teaching English to Cambodian students (although if I'm honest, it's still pretty damn muddy). There's no better way to say it - teaching is an odd experience, especially after just coming out of high school. Naturally, we all appreciate our old teachers much more since that first day of being rather awkward turtle.
 |
| It's surprisingly difficult; going from saying WHAT you like to WHY you actually like it. |
Day 10: Our first night "out on the town" - led by our trusty guide, Alex Malet, another volunteer here at BABSEA. She's 22 and has a degree in Chemistry, though she wants to study even further - Medicine (eek!). I'm sure she'll thank me for divulging all that information about herself here. She took us to a really nice restaurant bar where we all chomped on chips and garlic bread, and slurped the yummiest cocktails, only 1.50 USD each - wowee! We also had a small (I'll admit it) drunken burst of wanting to all dye our hair bizarre colours. Fortunately we all woke up with the same colour we'd had the day earlier - as the hair dye costs 13 USD each. Nice.
 |
| Alex + Tien |
 |
| Nick + Max |
 |
| Will + I |
Day 13: The first time Will and I held a lesson with colouring. It was amazing. The anticipation to get the colours, the hushed wonder, the silence!!!
 |
| I accidentally used flash when taking this photo - causing them to all look up simultaneously after I'd taken it. |
Oh, and of course, that was the same day Will sang Gold. Check the vid.
Today is Day 15, so I suppose I told a white lie earlier - we are actually just past the 2 week mark, and surprised at how quickly it is all going. We definitely still have a lot more to relish.
The following are some statistical facts of our wonderful trip so far.
FOOD
- Awesome Cambodian meal: once
- Instant noodles (probably a lot)
- Poptarts...multiple times
- Rice pudding (yay!)
- Spaghetti bolognaise
- Chicken pasta
- Pomelo salad
- Chili con carne
- Stir fry x a million
- Rice x a billion
Bananas eaten weekly = 48
Loaves of bread consumed weekly = 5
Bags of rice = many
Times we've caved and got fast-food/take-out = 6
TRANSPORT
Number of times a tuk-tuk/moto driver will offer us a ride daily = 17
Number of times crossing a very very very busy road daily = 6
GIRL'S ROOM
Number of times the wooden slats have fallen out of the bottom of Tien's bed = around 37?
Number of times Erica has fallen out of her bunkbed = 3
Number of times we've frozen to death under a freezing cold shower = at least 12 times each
Number of times the girls have been lucky enough to have a hot shower = once or twice each
Number of times Ida's been in the bathroom and there hasn't been any toilet roll = countless
BOY'S ROOM
Number of times a day Will makes fun of "Baby" with his more...unique lyrics = at least 3
Number of times we've seen Nick walking round in just a towel = a least once each
Number of times we've walked into the guys room and then left immediately due to the overwhelming smell = pretty much every time we go in there
So there you have it. I hope I have covered the last two weeks sufficiently, and that you enjoy this collection of the Cambodia experience thus far.
Much love,
Juliet; Statistical Reviewer Extraordinaire.
No comments:
Post a Comment