Introductory schedule: the first six weeks

Many people back home are beginning to ask "So, what EXACTLY are you doing until you start work on 28 November (other than going for bike rides and drinking G&T on the balcony!)?"

Below is the schedule arranged by the VSO office, just to give an idea:

14 Oct Arrive in Phnom Penh from London
15 Oct Briefings at VSO Office, inc. talk on traffic awareness(!)
16 Oct Cyclo tour around Phnom Penh
17 Oct Briefings at VSO Office about VSO programmes and personal finance
18 Oct Briefings at VSO Office, inc health, accommodation, cultural norms
19 Oct Move from Phnom Penh to Kompong Cham
20 Oct Welcome from 2 other volunteers; language training 1.30-5.30
21 Oct Briefing on gender issues; language training 1.30-5.30
22 Oct Language training 1.30-5.30
23 Oct Free
24 Oct Briefing on inclusion; language training 1.30-5.30
25 Oct Language training 1.30-5.30
26 Oct Language training 1.30-5.30
27 Oct Language training 1.30-5.30
28 Oct Talk by monk and visit to pagoda; language training 1.30-5.30
29 Oct Language training 1.30-5.30
30 Oct Free
31 Oct One to one meeting with programme manager; language training 1.30-5.30
1 Nov Briefing on monitoring and evaluation; language training 1.30-5.30
2 Nov Language training 1.30-5.30
3 Nov Move from Kompong Cham to Phnom Penh; briefing on livelihoods programmes; motor bike orientation
4 Nov Briefings at VSO Office, inc HIV/AIDS, politics, welcome party
5 Nov Briefing at VSO Office, inc volunteers life, motor bike training
6 Nov Free
7 Nov Employer workshop
8 Nov Go to Kompong Thom for placement visit
9 Nov Independence Day; House hunting in Kompong Thom
10 Nov Placement visit
11 Nov Return to Kompong Cham
12 Nov Motor bike practice trip
13 Nov Off
14 Nov Language training 8.00-12.00; feedback on placement visit
15 Nov Public Holiday – Water Festival: Go to Phnom Penh
16 Nov Travel back to Kampong Cham
17 Nov Language training 8.00-12.00
18 Nov Language training 8.00-12.00
19 Nov Language training 8.00-12.00
20 Nov Free
21 Nov Language training 8.00-12.00; briefing on corruption
22 Nov Language training 8.00-12.00; briefing on life of volunteers
23 Nov Language training 8.00-12.00
24 Nov Language training 8.00-12.00; de-briefing by VSO country director
25 Nov Free
26 Nov Move to Kompong Thom
27 Nov Free
28 Nov Start work!!!!

Luxury living in Kampong Cham

After four initial days in Phnom Penh, my fellow volunteers and I moved to the quieter town of Kampong Cham, where a large modern house has been rented for us while we are starting to learn the Khmer language.

The first impression is that the house is pretty luxurious, but it is quite poorly constructed, and things keep breaking! However, it is a wonderful roomy place to live in.

I share a large room with Jo, a fellow management advisor for the fisheries, and we have our own bathroom. The best place is the huge balcony, where we spend most of our free time. There are even electric sockets on the balcony, so that we can use our laptops out there.

We have a cook, a security guard and cleaners - we are certainly not roughing it!!! Our food is excellent. Breakfast usually consists of pancakes or French bread and fruit, and lunch and dinner are rice and then several different vegetable or meat dishes.

There are enough bicycles for us all to use, so that we can get out and about easily. Everything is in easy walking distance from our house, but nobody in Cambodia walks at all!

We have been split into two groups for our language training. I am in the afternoon group, along with two English volunteers and four Filipinos. It is interesting to learn a new language with others who do not speak English very fluently! The garage has been converted into a classroom, and we have a fantastic teacher, Dara, who is helping us to make very fast progress. Dara was recently interviewed by the BBC (on a five minute programme called Witness), when he talked about his experiences in the Killing Fields.

The other VSO Volunteers

There are 13 volunteers in my intake: four Filipino, one Finnish and eight English. The Europeans, in particular, have become like a family. Our ages range from early 30s to 60-odd. All are working for VSO's "Livelihoods" and "Health" programmes.

Front row from the left: John, Marcia, Ali (yes, another one!), me, Bram
Back: Kaarina, Rob, Rachel

We don't go out that much in the evenings, so we've organised an entertainments schedule - quizzes, bingo, karaoke, etc - and drink a lot of beer and gin & tonic on the balcony!!

We have also met a number of other volunteers who have been out here longer than us, and they have been able to give the rest of us lots of useful information about living and working in Cambodia.

Keeping in contact

I have a mobile phone, and it's really cheap to text from here. From the UK you can contact me on 00855 92967066. I haven't got many UK friends' mobile numbers with me, so if you want me to text you, let me know your number!

My e-mail address is alisonincambodia@yahoo.co.uk . I have to go to internet cafes (see photo) to receive and send my e-mails, where I'm also able to make cheap international calls via the internet. Haven't used my web-camera (lovely present from the PCT - thank you) in an internet cafe yet, but no doubt in time I will! Cambodia is 7 hours ahead of GMT. Internet cafes are closed between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. here, which means I can't phone home between 2 p.m. and 11 p.m. GMT time.

Post can be sent to the VSO office in Phnom Penh, and it will get to me up to a week later. The postal address is:
VSO Cambodia
PO Box 912
Phnom Penh
Cambodia

It's always great to receive news from home, so please keep in touch!

And so my adventure begins..........

I’ve been here a week, but it seems like ages. Cambodia is beginning to feel like home now.

Everything has gone smoothly so far. The VSO Programme Office has been fantastic. We were met at the airport, had all our visas sorted out for us, and then whisked off to our guesthouse, where we were each given lots of information and money to pay for meals. We spent four full days in Phnom Penh, and were given various information sessions on VSO things, life in Cambodia, health and security, dealing with traffic, culture, etc, etc. We also had a full day on a cyclo tour (see photo), going around Phnom Penh and seeing some of the everyday sights. It's a hot and busy city, and although it has its charms I'm glad that I shall be spending most of my time in the quieter provinces.

The weather is hot and muggy, but I am starting to get used to it. Several cold showers a day and lots of cold drinks help! We have also had some torrential rain recently, which turns the roads into muddy, slippery puddles. It will apparently be getting cooler after the end of October, when the dry season commences.