Life in Kampong Cham

Hello All,

on our way to Kampong Cham

Thought I would take a break from studying the Khmer language to post some pictures and tell you about my "never a dull moment" life in Kampong Cham.

all dressed up at the bus depot

Getting fresh mangos at the bus stop on way to Kampong Cham

Getting our luggage from bus depot to hotel

 Learning Khmer certainly has its challenges for me as I struggle with the k'nong, chang, p'tai. m'day, and kar y a lai type words, but truly I think my head is going to explode with all the new words going into my brain.  Unfortunately to make room for my already stuffed brain, I am losing other functions.  I have become accident prone. I made an impression with the fellow volunteers at 5:30 in the morning when I slipped on the wet-from-the-leaky-shower floor, landed backwards on the toilet, hit the toilet bowl which hit the wall then exploded spewing water all over.  It sure woke ME up!

This is after we turned the water off!

I have managed to get out for morning runs while the weather is...well cool isn't the right word...perhaps less hot!  Running along the Mekong is quite pleasant, past women in pyjamas doing "jazz-aerobics" complete with music blasting into the streets.  Otherwise it is a quiet time of the day.

Sunrise on the Mekong River

Fishing boat heading out early

Other than that, the food continues to be great, especially the fruit and veggies.  Tamarind had become my new favourite snack food and fresh coconut juice my new favourite drink. 

m-m-m-m steamed dumplings

cooking fish with a big pot of rice

more fish

I know it doesn't look appetizing but this is nummy sweet-sour  tamarind

Yesterday, our only day off school, a group of us cycled across a bamboo bridge to an island in the Mekong River.  Cycling around the island was along dirt roads lined with trees filled with all sorts of fruit, kids running up to the road to say ``hello`` and very friendly people.

Our Dutch contingent in her glory on a bike

Pony and cart crossing the bamboo bridge

Your truly and Ellen

Happy people saying hello

Jack fruit (interesting taste)

plai chake ( bananas) 

On our way home form cycling we stopped for some sugar cane juice.  Ellen is squeezing the sugar canes which is not as easy as it looks!

Sugar cane juice

Seem to be managing the heat and humidity however I am dreading April which is supposed to be hellish hot.  I really cannot imagine it getting hotter.  I think I`m in trouble. But probably nothing that a little coconut juice wouldn't help.

Hope you are all well!  See you next time.

Lots of hugs,
Andrea

Having fun in Phnom Penh

Hello All,

Just a few photos to keep you interested.  I keep forgetting to take pictures when we're doing something that is really interesting, like when we went to this amazingly hot and steamy, busy, delicious noodle restaurant which looked like it could be somewhat less than sanitary but so worth the risk. It seems the traffic continues to be a marvel considering the potential for disaster, yet the chaos does function.

This is me with fellow volunteer in a tuktuk to VSO office in the morning.

This is the view out the back of the tuktuk.

Look closely at the direction each of the vehicles is going...on coming motorcycles whilst one is turning, people sitting on the back side-saddle, not to mention there are cyclists and cars to look out for.  SUV's always have right-of-way as they tend to just drive over anything that gets in front of them.

Saw this at the market this morning.  Looks familiar!
I will have to send you a picture of all the fantastic fruits and vegetables that are in the market daily.  Some I can't say as I recognize.

A little peace and tranquillity in the midst of it all.

Saturday morning in Phnom Penh.









The VSO training sessions have been very good and interesting.  The session on "child protection" touched on some interesting topics.  One was volunteer tourism which is not very effective at finding solutions.  Another was the short-term volunteers in orphanages which is traumatic for children already suffering from abandonment.  Apparently tourists also go to orphanages, which in itself is disturbing, but the money they bring in rarely reaches the children. Besides our sessions, we got a chance to learn some bits about our placement goals and I was very excited after my meeting with the Education Program Manager who outlined my work in Sisophon.

Tomorrow we head off by bus, the local non-tourist variety, for Kampong Cham to start our Khmer language training.  Kampong Cham is a smaller city on the Mekong which is supposed to be lovely.  We each get our own bikes and I get training on riding a motorcycle.  Yikes, riding in all this mess on a motorcycle...they come at each other head on!  Luckily I will be riding mostly in Sisophon and hopefully without all the traffic of Phnom Penh. (I hear they drive faster in the provinces though!)

I'll try to remember to take some pictures of the really good stuff at some point.  Street food is great, rice and banana wrapped in banana leaf and cooked on a fire, m-m-m-m good.  Speaking of food, must away to test out more delights.

Oh yes, yesterday we had a torrential down pour.  It would be the day I decided to walk to the VSO office.  The sky opened up.  However, it isn't bad in the warmth of Cambodian
.
Hope you are all well.  Catch you next time.

Lots of love and thoughts,
Andrea

Arriving by Dragon...

Hello Everyone,

Life just is so exciting.  Finally after the fiasco before I left with my flight from Kelowna being cancelled due to fog,then an all night ride to Vancouver with a total stranger, I finally got off the ground 2 days later than scheduled.  Sitting in the middle seat for my 13 hour flight was very, very, uncomfortable but I was fortunate to have the company of two lovely gentlemen, a Sikh from Malaysia who was so kind., and a Vietnamese Canadian who was a refugee 30 years ago.  It really was fascinating learning about their stories and heart-warming to see how excited these 2 men in their 50's were about going home to see their mothers. The last 2 1/2 hours was on Dragon Air which had a beautiful dragon painted on the aircraft. Fitting for the Year of the Dragon don't you think.

Arriving in Phnom Penh was without a hitch and the immigration seemed quite unconcerned about the fact that my visa had a different passport number on it.  The rest was smooth sailing as I was greeted by a VSO staff member who was expert at negotiating the chaotic traffic complete with motos coming from every direction. After sleeping most of Sunday, I feel more or less in sync with the time zone.  The bonus is the wonderful hot sunny weather.  It is such a treat to walk around in sandals and short sleeves all the time.  I have to say that I love it so far.

We had our first training session today but I started yesterday with a new cell phone.  Who would ever have imagined that I would put my radiation phobia behind me, at least temporarily!  So, I am now learning all the ins and outs of the world of cell phoning.  It was pretty cheap, $20 for phone and $5 worth of credit costing 3 cents a text, 10 cents overseas.  Watch out all you folks with cell phones...once I get your numbers...

Well, I will try to get some picture up and more information by the weekend.  I must get some sleep.  Food is great, people delightful, and I'm loving the idea that I will be here for 2 years.  Just remind me of that when the monsoons hit okay?  See you in my next blog.

Lots of love and thoughts,
Andrea

HERE I GO....

Well folks, looks like I'm actually going to do this. The days are clicking by and my moods shift from excitement to panic with all the shades of emotions in between. As I'm weeding through all my belongings preparing for my two years away, I feel like I'm on an archaeological dig. I've found some interesting things...like my mortgage release document amongst sewing odds and ends in the closet... lots of notes, photos, and mementos, from various stages in my life...but most notably, I found myself staring back at me. What a life!.

The big question is, am I any smarter? I'd like to think that experience teaches you things so leaving for 2 years to Cambodia is definitely going to be huge. It seems my life has been a series of new beginnings. Yup, Terry Nuyten, I'm off to reinvent myself yet again. I truly feel like I am off into thin air without the slightest idea what the landing will be like, or where my journey will take me. Isn't that exciting, just totally letting go of everything you know to experience a different land, culture, and value system? Guess we'll see how smart I have become won't we!!

Well, I've finished my series of vaccines, my plane ticket and a list of instructions upon arrival in Phnom Penh are in hand, and I have many, many last minute details to address. I have spent most of the last few weeks getting up to speed (imagine a tortoise if you will) on how to use a laptop, learning about and buying an ereader, AND, I must say, feeling totally inept with technology. I still need to get a cell phone when I arrive in Cambodia...how the heck will I remember how to negotiate around all these different devices. (Okay Kymberley, I can hear you laughing as your aunt is working at shedding her Luddite status.) I have managed to figure out how to access my Downton Abbey episodes though, as some things really are a priority.

I am so touched by all the interest from people I have heard from or talked to and I feel so lucky to know such truly wonderful beings. I did want to remind everyone about the Cuso International fundraiser and my farewell event on Saturday, January 21st at Studio B from 6pm to 9pm. I'm hoping you will be there so I have a chance to thank you for your support and say my goodbyes. There will be entertainment (no, I'm not singing or dancing) by the Intunistics, some munchies, and a few draw prizes for those who have made or will have made a donation. If you can't make it( : ( sob, sob!) drop a line or post to my blog if you get a chance.

The next blog you receive will be from Cambodia in a few weeks. Of course, I will have to figure out how to do all of this again, as well as get the pictures from my camera to my blog. Hope you are patient and tolerant.

Lots of love and thoughts to all of you. I hope to hear about your lives and get news from you because you are going to keep in touch with me...right?

See you on my next blog,

Andrea

Getting ready

Who would have thought?  Here I am setting up a blog for yet another self-imposed challenge...2 years in Cambodia.  This darn computer!  See where "google" can get you.  It all started with an internet search on "humanitarian volunteering" which led me to Cuso International where there was a placement in Cusco, Peru.  Okay, so that isn't anywhere near Cambodia right?  Well, I did apply, the job had been filled, and one day I got an email saying I had been short-listed for a placement in Banteay Meanchey, Cambodia.   Deciding to accept the placement was an exercise in my newly acquired philosophy of embracing what comes my way.  I can assure you that it was a lot more difficult than it sounds.  Me, letting go, and going with the flow?  Well,  let's just say that I'm trying it out. 

I've now got my motorcycle license (a requirement for the placement), can say about 6 phrases in Khmer, have completed my training, and am stepping into the community awareness and fundraising stage.  Life is just so unpredictable.  One minute you're just checking things out on the computer and the next you're wondering how you'll survive the monsoons, flooding, humidity, dengue fever, and chaos on the roads as an inexperienced "biker"! Oh ya...and snakes, tarantulas (sorry Jesse but they eat them there), and who knows what else!   Rabies and Japanese Encephalitis vaccines, and Malaria prophalaxis...hhmm.  Sure sounds like quite the experience don't you think?  You will just have to stay tuned to find out how things are going. 

I'm hoping you will follow me on this journey.  Two years is a long, long, long time and without a doubt I will have ups and downs.  From previous experience, I know how much staying in touch means.  Hearing from friends, family, and my community back home will always be a highlight.  I look forward to hearing from you and getting your news.  Please don't be shy! 

...and stay tuned!!!

Just thought I would add a link to my fundraising site...just in case.  

http://my.e2rm.com/personalPage.aspx?registrationID=1318857&langPref=en-CA