These are our brilliant house staff at the VSO house in Kampong cham: Supal on left is a fantastic cook, Sokheng on right is a brilliant teacher, and I don't know the name of the lassie in the middle!
Monday, November 26, 2007
Fluent in Khmer....not!
Emily from Holland and Collette from Cork with a monk who couldn't understand their Khmer so spoke to them in English!
Getting Down to Serious Business……..
It’s been a few weeks since I’ve added to my blog spot but let me explain: after the last addition, I’ve continued with my Khmer lessons, and, if I might say so myself, doing quite well. I am able to make introductions, ask for most things in shops and take my leave in an acceptable fashion. This has been useful when it came to the serious business of going to visit my placements where I will be working in my capacity as a Health Management Advisor.
I will be working in the region of Banteay Meanchey which is in the north west of Cambodia next to the border with Thailand. I will be working in two hospitals. The challenges of both placements will be very different, and will draw on lots of my management skills. I will be rotating through the hospitals initially, on a monthly basis, with another VSO volunteer, Mary, who is acting in the capacity of Nurse Advisor. Mary is from Kenya and will add to the interesting multi-cultural problem solving appraoch in the hospitals.
Because we have two placements that are removed from each other, Mary and I will share two houses, one in each village. Oh the joys of two home ownership! We already have established the contracts for renting the houses, and there is plenty of room for visitors in both.
This week, I and my six VSO colleagues who are in the same cohort, are back in Phnom Penh for more in country training. I know it may seem a bit long before we get on the job, but I’d rather learn about some cultural norms in the comfort of a learning set than by sticking my size sixes in big time! There is a big festival on this week with nearly two million people flocking into the City…..I’m getting out on Friday morning to the coast! Can’t bear the thought of all those people! I’ll let you know what I think on my return.
I’ve received a plea for more photos from Louise in Leeds. It takes ages to upload them onto the internet and that is one reason why I haven’t got many on the site. That plus the fact I actually don’t take many photos……but they will follow, I promise! Keep the e-mails coming; they really help to keep the spirits up.
Please note, anything I have written in the submission does not represent the formal views of VSO.
I will be working in the region of Banteay Meanchey which is in the north west of Cambodia next to the border with Thailand. I will be working in two hospitals. The challenges of both placements will be very different, and will draw on lots of my management skills. I will be rotating through the hospitals initially, on a monthly basis, with another VSO volunteer, Mary, who is acting in the capacity of Nurse Advisor. Mary is from Kenya and will add to the interesting multi-cultural problem solving appraoch in the hospitals.
Because we have two placements that are removed from each other, Mary and I will share two houses, one in each village. Oh the joys of two home ownership! We already have established the contracts for renting the houses, and there is plenty of room for visitors in both.
This week, I and my six VSO colleagues who are in the same cohort, are back in Phnom Penh for more in country training. I know it may seem a bit long before we get on the job, but I’d rather learn about some cultural norms in the comfort of a learning set than by sticking my size sixes in big time! There is a big festival on this week with nearly two million people flocking into the City…..I’m getting out on Friday morning to the coast! Can’t bear the thought of all those people! I’ll let you know what I think on my return.
I’ve received a plea for more photos from Louise in Leeds. It takes ages to upload them onto the internet and that is one reason why I haven’t got many on the site. That plus the fact I actually don’t take many photos……but they will follow, I promise! Keep the e-mails coming; they really help to keep the spirits up.
Please note, anything I have written in the submission does not represent the formal views of VSO.
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Dara makes our brains ache......
This Dara our Khmer teacher who keeps us at it at a furious pace. He is however a very skilled teacher and my Khmer is better after 5 lessons than my french was after 5 years......! Lessons are based on spoken word as writing Khmer is probably way beyond only the most bright berang ( white person or french person). It will look great on my CV when I return and very useful too! The others in the photo are Delia, Eric and Tim.
Monday, November 5, 2007
Mekong Sunday, Don’t Stand under the Coconut trees, Kiki the dog, the frog in my shoes and other tales……..
First things first, apologies to any of you who thought my blog would be an intelligent expose of Khmer culture and society. Far from….. my blog is to communicate the day to day and mundane to any one who is remotely interested. My philosophising and reflections are confined to my written journal, and therefore for my eyes only!
4 November 2007 – Mekong Sunday
Its 12 noon as I write and my second Sunday here in Kampuchea (Khmer for Cambodia), and whilst I have already established a daily routine, in which comfort can be derived from my own sense of order and control, I am keen not to loose my heightened awareness of daily events and happenings here to the blindness of routine.
This morning the small group of rookie VSO volunteers, of which I am one, is doing homework. After 3 days of intensive Khmer lessons with a great Khmer teacher, we are all doing our Sunday homework. It is a long time since any of us studied a language so intensely…….in fact, I never studied a language intensely like this before. Needless to say the Sunday homework brings memories of cramming homework in before Monday flooding back……! The dread of Monday morning is however absent, for now anyway.
Sundays are also marginally quieter than the rest of the week, but not by much. The cockerels start at 4 am as usual, the music blares from the Wots and the weddings from early on, and the ever present mottos (motor cycles of various size) start up, and many people going about their usual business.
The other great thing about this morning is the weather: overcast, bit of drizzle, and temperatures dropping to the mid- 20’s (in new money). It’s very comfortable.
And onto the other short stories:
Don’t stand under the coconut trees!
Having lived in Ireland and England all my life, I never actually appreciated the hazards posed by a coconut. Our little compound has a nice yard, with several coconut trees on the periphery…….very pleasant. The washing line is located under the trees, and whilst I was pinning out my washing, our teacher kindly explained that falling coconuts (they fall from a great height) occasionally result in severe injury or death from time to time. So no more chilling under the coconut trees and hanging the washing out is now a speedy exercise.
Kiki the dog: Kiki is the little brown guard dog that is a sweetie but takes her job of warning us of any bike that might come near….which is many. Kiki has taken a bit of a liking to me because I slip her scraps now and again. She’s got my number in terms of missing Poppy, and that I’m a soft touch. Reports of Poppy for those who know her is that she is doing well, and has settled in her gang of dogs walking in Roundhay Park, Leeds every day. She is not however, too keen on the frequent bathes Dee is inflicting on her. So, Kiki is my surrogate for Poppy for a short while.
The frog in my shoe: Some of us will remember a children’s TV programme with a frog called Kiki……answers on an email please. I don’t think this frog has a name. As part of our in country health advice we are advised to check our shoes before we put them on in-case something took refuge in them. Let me explain, when entering the house and most Khmer buildings, including temples and shrines, shoes are removed and left at the door. This morning as I was putting my running shoes on, I stuck my hand in my shoe and yelped as it met the soft body of a small frog! Now, the reason why this is a good lesson is obvious. I was reminded of the need to check my shoes all the time, and lucky for me, there was nothing more than a small cute frog in my shoe today. Getting used to unusual things such as Geckos on the bedroom ceiling and frogs in my shoes is a bit of a challenge.
I’m going to close here. If you want to know something about Kampuchea (Cambodia) you can put in a special request via email. Otherwise, I’ll just keep on telling you what I think is of interest on the banks of the Mekong River, including the mundane.
4 November 2007 – Mekong Sunday
Its 12 noon as I write and my second Sunday here in Kampuchea (Khmer for Cambodia), and whilst I have already established a daily routine, in which comfort can be derived from my own sense of order and control, I am keen not to loose my heightened awareness of daily events and happenings here to the blindness of routine.
This morning the small group of rookie VSO volunteers, of which I am one, is doing homework. After 3 days of intensive Khmer lessons with a great Khmer teacher, we are all doing our Sunday homework. It is a long time since any of us studied a language so intensely…….in fact, I never studied a language intensely like this before. Needless to say the Sunday homework brings memories of cramming homework in before Monday flooding back……! The dread of Monday morning is however absent, for now anyway.
Sundays are also marginally quieter than the rest of the week, but not by much. The cockerels start at 4 am as usual, the music blares from the Wots and the weddings from early on, and the ever present mottos (motor cycles of various size) start up, and many people going about their usual business.
The other great thing about this morning is the weather: overcast, bit of drizzle, and temperatures dropping to the mid- 20’s (in new money). It’s very comfortable.
And onto the other short stories:
Don’t stand under the coconut trees!
Having lived in Ireland and England all my life, I never actually appreciated the hazards posed by a coconut. Our little compound has a nice yard, with several coconut trees on the periphery…….very pleasant. The washing line is located under the trees, and whilst I was pinning out my washing, our teacher kindly explained that falling coconuts (they fall from a great height) occasionally result in severe injury or death from time to time. So no more chilling under the coconut trees and hanging the washing out is now a speedy exercise.
Kiki the dog: Kiki is the little brown guard dog that is a sweetie but takes her job of warning us of any bike that might come near….which is many. Kiki has taken a bit of a liking to me because I slip her scraps now and again. She’s got my number in terms of missing Poppy, and that I’m a soft touch. Reports of Poppy for those who know her is that she is doing well, and has settled in her gang of dogs walking in Roundhay Park, Leeds every day. She is not however, too keen on the frequent bathes Dee is inflicting on her. So, Kiki is my surrogate for Poppy for a short while.
The frog in my shoe: Some of us will remember a children’s TV programme with a frog called Kiki……answers on an email please. I don’t think this frog has a name. As part of our in country health advice we are advised to check our shoes before we put them on in-case something took refuge in them. Let me explain, when entering the house and most Khmer buildings, including temples and shrines, shoes are removed and left at the door. This morning as I was putting my running shoes on, I stuck my hand in my shoe and yelped as it met the soft body of a small frog! Now, the reason why this is a good lesson is obvious. I was reminded of the need to check my shoes all the time, and lucky for me, there was nothing more than a small cute frog in my shoe today. Getting used to unusual things such as Geckos on the bedroom ceiling and frogs in my shoes is a bit of a challenge.
I’m going to close here. If you want to know something about Kampuchea (Cambodia) you can put in a special request via email. Otherwise, I’ll just keep on telling you what I think is of interest on the banks of the Mekong River, including the mundane.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
The first week
The views expressed in this blog are my personal views and not those of any organisation or individual.
31.10.07 Halloween in Cambodia.
One week on in Cambodia, and time has both flown and stood still at the same time: flown in that it does not seem like one week since I survived the traumatic journey between Manchester and London Heathrow terminal 3…..getting through Bangkok and Phnom Penh was easy in comparison; and moved slowly in that I have already adjusted to life in Cambodia. PP is a compact but busy city, and you can get just about everything you may need with a few exceptions like a decent mountain bike…..I feel a trip to Bangkok coming on! I also found a great swimming pool and gym (no air conditioning) to get the exercise fix….but why there is a sauna and steam room I have no idea.
Early observations are that the Khmer people are gentle in their ways, never raising there voices except in normal day to day conversational levels, which are generally higher than we use in normal conversation at home. Also, they appear to be coping with rapid development and modernisation. I am sure I will have more observations to make as time goes on.
Getting used to the chaos of traffic, that comes towards you in all directions when trying to cross the road or cycle……Phnom Penh is unbelievable, and at times I just closed my eyes and went with the flow of the wheels. Riding around the city in a cyclo (like a rickshaw except you are pushed in front of the bike) made for an interesting day out, especially when meeting articulated lorries head on….but some how they always or nearly always manage to miss you!
However, the traffic on the road between PP and Kampong Cham was light, the journey therefore not too hard on the nerves. Now we are up in Kampong Cham for most of the coming 4 weeks or so, learning Khmer and having the opportunity to stay with a Khmer family over night.
1st November 2007 Kampong Cham
The day starts with a 6.20 am run along the Mekong River, as the sun is slowly rising and the small boats go about their business. There is a massive bridge spanning the river that was donated by the Japanese government. This is the time to go out to avoid the traffic and the heat, oh and the dogs!
Our first teaching session in the Khmer language took place this morning…….it went well considering Khmer is not constructed like more European languages, apart from the occasional word….. a hangover from colonial days! And now to let loose on the poor local Khmers in the markets and shops to practice.
Photos will be posted when I have worked out how to down load onto this blog! come on, give me chance......this is new IT territory for me!
31.10.07 Halloween in Cambodia.
One week on in Cambodia, and time has both flown and stood still at the same time: flown in that it does not seem like one week since I survived the traumatic journey between Manchester and London Heathrow terminal 3…..getting through Bangkok and Phnom Penh was easy in comparison; and moved slowly in that I have already adjusted to life in Cambodia. PP is a compact but busy city, and you can get just about everything you may need with a few exceptions like a decent mountain bike…..I feel a trip to Bangkok coming on! I also found a great swimming pool and gym (no air conditioning) to get the exercise fix….but why there is a sauna and steam room I have no idea.
Early observations are that the Khmer people are gentle in their ways, never raising there voices except in normal day to day conversational levels, which are generally higher than we use in normal conversation at home. Also, they appear to be coping with rapid development and modernisation. I am sure I will have more observations to make as time goes on.
Getting used to the chaos of traffic, that comes towards you in all directions when trying to cross the road or cycle……Phnom Penh is unbelievable, and at times I just closed my eyes and went with the flow of the wheels. Riding around the city in a cyclo (like a rickshaw except you are pushed in front of the bike) made for an interesting day out, especially when meeting articulated lorries head on….but some how they always or nearly always manage to miss you!
However, the traffic on the road between PP and Kampong Cham was light, the journey therefore not too hard on the nerves. Now we are up in Kampong Cham for most of the coming 4 weeks or so, learning Khmer and having the opportunity to stay with a Khmer family over night.
1st November 2007 Kampong Cham
The day starts with a 6.20 am run along the Mekong River, as the sun is slowly rising and the small boats go about their business. There is a massive bridge spanning the river that was donated by the Japanese government. This is the time to go out to avoid the traffic and the heat, oh and the dogs!
Our first teaching session in the Khmer language took place this morning…….it went well considering Khmer is not constructed like more European languages, apart from the occasional word….. a hangover from colonial days! And now to let loose on the poor local Khmers in the markets and shops to practice.
Photos will be posted when I have worked out how to down load onto this blog! come on, give me chance......this is new IT territory for me!
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