Three Quarters

I love this photo

It's almost been 3 months since we arrived in Cambodia.

Wow?

It's probably for this reason that I'm finding it more and more difficult to blog about something new and exciting...due to the fact that everything 'new and exciting' is now just events that occur in my day-to-day life. It's no longer a short holiday or expedition - these months in Phnom Penh will mark an entire period of my life.

So what have been my three 'happy moments' from the past week?

1. I FELL IN LOVE...with the $5 muesli from the supermarket. Okay, so it's definitely a weekly investment - but so very, very worth it. Combined with honey-lemon yoghurt and fresh banana - it's one of the major attractions for eating breakfast.
2. I HAD A PURPLE PAMPERING...in the form of a pedicure! For...wait for it...50cents! Everything that is cheap is always amazing, and this beautifies me to the max. Not that I wasn't beautified to the max before, of course.
3. PARTYING ON A SUNDAY...at Vy's birthday! We had an amazing time at a restaurant first (in which we bonded with the previously kinda-awkward guys in the office...through drinking of course) and then moved onto a bar complete with pool...and finally clubbing at Heart of Darkness. It was supersuper funfunfun, and I'm so glad Vy invited us.

Okay I have just realised something terrible has occurred - I have had yet to tell you about Vy!!! She is our coordinator here in PP, and one of the coolest, most lovely of all the Khmer people. You can always tell her anything if it is troubling you, or just funny things that have happened to you that day. But the best way to think of Vy is by her smile, which you rarely see her without. We couldn't get by in Cambodia without Vy!

This morning we went to meet with the top-of-the-top people from Village Earth, to talk about the volunteer program. When we were leaving, they thanked us for what we are doing with such heart, such sincerity, that I couldn't help tearing up a little bit. The fact that it is already three quarters of the way through is already beginning to hit me. As now that this time in Cambodia is becoming defined as a significant period to me, it is also about to end.

Alas - it is not over yet! Much more to come...so stay tuned readers, for we are about to enter the last month with determination and gusto. Let's do it.

Lots of love,

Ms Clark - revolutionary teacher of the future

Revelations? Well, Somewhat

Today was a day for revelations. Well, bit of an overstatement. But I don't lie - I did have somewhat of a revelation. And here it is:

Teaching the kids here is like that part in Friends where Phoebe tries to teach Joey French.



The point of me telling you this? Surprisingly it's not to suggest that my teaching has caused kids to speak to the same level that Joey speaks "French", though that's what this is implying. It's more to just show how difficult it can be.

Then again, when they realise that your name is actually Juliet as opposed to Julian after almost 10 weeks of daily classes, then maybe you have made a small impact. (Ahhhhh this has just reminded me - the kids have also taking to switching round the vowels of our names, so Juliet comes out as Jet Li Oo, almost making me a famous Kung Fu master, and William becomes Wam Li Ear. Just a fun fact)

Sadly enough 10 weeks marks two thirds of my time into my Cambodia stay. 5 more weeks and I'll be saying "Lia howie!" (or "...hia lowie," even).

Do you know what I reckon this most recent 'monthiversary' begs? That's right. Another list. For now it's time to soak up the rest of my short life here in Cambodia. This adds a checklist that I need to fulfill before my departure, and that hopefully I will be able to update before it's time to leave!

To Do List:

1. Having Khmer-style  BBQ (been saying we'd do it for ages, but never did)
2. Dressing up as Khmer Princesses (yes, for 10 dollars, you get the most dolled up look of your life in a mere 2 hours. Funky, no?)
3. Getting through the entire alphabet in class (we're on W - so close!)
4. Going to the shooting range (courtesy of Will)
5. Having crab in Kep (a province with another BABC project that we are visiting next month)
6. Having Khmer-style dessert (looks delicious)

Okay so it's a pretty short list, and most of it involves food, but in my opinion that shows how much I feel like I've already done since I've been here - and that really is a great deal. 

If anyone was curious, the impact of the floods has almost cleared out of the Phnom Penh towns and villages that it has been affecting, although it is still a danger to many of the outer provinces. Today I took a picture outside Youth School to demonstrate how the area has changed in a week.

Last week

This week

Though the water is almost gone, the area continues to be ripe for disease and these floods have had quite a disastrous affect on some of the housing. 

So I guess I wasn't lying about the revelation thing before - because here's another. It's amazing how my concerns have changed since I've been enveloped in such a different world to any that I have ever known.

Much love to all,

Juliet

Floods

A normal day. I wake up at 7am, just in time to get dressed, have breakfast (muesli, banana + honey yoghurt), wash my face and brush my teeth before it's time to leave. Then it's the regular tuk-tuk ride to Lakeside, to drop off Max and Victor, and then forward to Youth School for Will and I. Once we arrived, the topics for the morning classes would be the letter "V" and "Days of the week."

Ah, but someone had other plans.

I should probably have mentioned this previously, but yesterday was approximately one of the lengthiest rainstorms of my existence - when we woke it was raining, when we slept it was raining - with not even a sense of a pause in between. I suppose we didn't really consider the effect this would have, that by this morning, the whole of the area around Lakeside was completely flooded, the people's houses and all. Due to the controversial filling of the lake that is currently happening at Boeung Kak (at which lie the Youth School and Lakeside schools), the after-effects of a day of rainfall have been catastrophic.

One of the houses nearby Youth School

As Will said, the water they are replacing with sand in the lake has to go somewhere. And where has it gone? Into the houses of the residents nearby - the ones living on so little a day, the ones who could never afford to repair the damage done. They just have to wait for the water to go down.

The pathway up to Lakeside School

Due to the floods, both schools were locked and so all four of us - Will, Max, Victor and I - were at a bit of a loss what to do. Of course, the kids always save us. Hanging around outside waiting for their lesson that would never happen, I was immediately brought a "seo pulng"(book) and asked to "an" (read) out the words so they could repeat them. So we spent awhile identifying the difference between an ostrich and an owl. After some intense grueling of this, I'm pretty sure that they still didn't understand, probably thinking that both just meant "bird". Oh well, I tried.

We were also treated to many presents - this time, from the natural world. Yes, flowers in our hair and bracelets made out of leaves and grass, we were treated like royalty. Although at one point they did try and (quite forcefully) drag us into the volleyball-court-turned-lake that lay only 5 or 6 metres from the classroom entrance.

I should clarify that this area is usually dirt and mud.

It's all the cliched phrases and promises arriving at an absolute climax, a complete truth. That we really do take our world for granted. Our indulgences for granted. Our life for granted. And that when you are really there, in the midst of it all - that's when you know what it's really like.

More blogging later.

Juliet

PS: I found a really good blog that updates regularly on the situation at Boeung Kak Lake. To read more about the pumping, CLICK HERE.

Traffic, Teaching, Ten

Traffic...Jam

Just got out of a 2 hr 30 min traffic jam.

Wanted to blog just to remind myself that I survived this.

Even with Max slowly clapping to the sound of the nearby beeps of cars and tuk tuks reversing into each other; even with Will eating his way towards insanity with the despair that we may not perhaps ever have a square meal again (literally: at one point I'm pretty sure he took a chunk out of my leg) and even with Victor - his signature move of "sleeping" taken to a new level as he curled up in a foetus-like form. Even with all this, I still survived.

The road to insanity...moves excruciatingly slowly

Teaching...with a Twist

Now that I'm posting-away, I might as well divulge a few more juicy tidbits about this week past.

Last week was the end of September, and moving into October, we got new kids again. I'm not sure if you remember me posting about this (see Happiness, Slacking, Khmer post for more details) but the school system in Cambodia means that every month the kids switch between morning and afternoon, so in other words - or the twist is - that we get new students.

However it wasn't all a big surprise - mainly because we received many familiar faces back into our classes, who we had been teaching back in August. One of the sad things about the end of the month was that the assistant teacher at Youth School was leaving to study at university. All the luck in the world to Sorpeak, who has been an excellent translator over the past 2 months!

Sorpeak's last day!

Ten...%? Approx.

Tientsin (or 10cent, if we are using her official-teacher name) recently gave me an idea that if you write three things about your day that made you happy, it will increase your happiness by 10%. Well maybe not those exact figures, but it seemed like a pretty good idea to me. So here are my three things for the day:

1. Seeing the familiar faces of the kids from last month - the same smiles under new haircuts and slightly more maturity.
2. Getting to visit Rudi Boa with Victor and Max, and speaking to so many kids that I lost my voice!
3. Seeing some of the most awesome street aerobics (up close!) that Phnom Penh has had yet to offer me.

I even have some video evidence of the aerobics mentioned. Hope it tickles your fancy.

This weekend Will, Alex, Max and I are off to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam! Anticipate a blog on this...it's going to be one hell of a holiday.

Juliet