The Grocers Company

The VSO Office in London has found another charitable trust to contribute to the costs of my placement in Cambodia. The Grocers Company is kindly providing sponsorship for three VSO volunteers who are working in different countries, one of which is me! I will be keeping in touch with the Grocers Company while I am out here and I may be asked to give a presentation when I return to England.

Communications at work

On the plus side, the CODEC office has got three computers (albeit all old and two with viruses and no virus protection) and a printer. On the minus side there is no telephone, photocopier, fax, internet, e-mail or postal service, and there’s the additional problem of power cuts from time to time!! Needless to say, office life is very different here than in England and is much quieter, slower and less efficient. In UK terms, it would not cost much to get the necessary office technology in place which would help CODEC to progress and become more effective. Unfortunately, as all of CODEC’s income comes from donors who sponsor specific projects, there is no funding to install or maintain new technology. The staff and I find ways of coping, e.g. individuals sometimes use their personal mobile phones for work, I bring my own laptop in, letters are dropped off on the way home or sent by taxi to Phnom Penh, documents are copied at the photocopy shop in town, etc. Sometimes, though, when I think of the office at home with its daily piles of post and multitudinous e-mails, I am quite thankful that everything is so backward here!

Motorbiking

Jumping on to my motorbike now comes as naturally as getting in to my car back home. Every day, Tha rides pillion as we do the return journey to the CODEC office twice. At weekends, Rachel, Bram and I sometimes go further afield to explore the province. Apart from the main “highway”, the roads are mainly sandy and/or stony and full of ruts and pot holes. As there has been no rain for the last two months, the roads are very dry and dusty, which means that I have to ride through deep dry sand – tricky. I am not looking forward to the wet season, when the roads will become slippery and I hope that Tha will drive for me until I gain confidence. Getting the bikes cleaned at the car wash is the best bargain in town – US 25c for an extremely thorough wash and buff, involving 5 different people and lasting 30 minutes! Like the locals, I keep my bike inside the house when I’m not riding it (although as I lock my front gate I’m not sure that this is completely necessary!).

Arachnophobia

Before I came to Cambodia, I didn’t think I had too many concerns about creepy crawlies, but you should see the size of some of the spiders!!! Nearby is a town popularly known as ‘Spider Town’, where giant spiders are a great delicacy. Yuk! Some people, like this man, have spiders as pets (yes, it really is crawling into his mouth, although I think in his case it is to try to get the attention of tourists!!). Kompong Thom specialises in harvesting and roasting juicy crickets, which you can buy by the kilo in the market! Local people attract crickets at night with violet-coloured strip lights, and catch them in large sheets of plastic. Needless to say, I haven’t been tempted to try any of these indulgences yet!

Celebrations

7th January 2006 marked the 27th anniversary of the end of the Pol Pot time, and Kompong Thom came to life with a big outdoor show of dancing and singing. There were lots of side stalls, with local versions of roulette and throwing darts at balloons – great fun! On the same night, Rachel, Bram and I were also invited to party held for the staff to celebrate the re-opening of a restaurant. During the restaurant's building works, we had become its best customers while it was in its temporary pavement location. We were the only non-staff members at the party and we were, as ever, the centre of attention. We were taught how to dance Khmer-style, which mainly seems to involve wrist and finger movements. Rachel and Bram are dancing here with “our” waiter, Kimbo, who has become an informal language teacher, as he helps us to practise our Khmer several evenings a week while we are eating our fried rice!

Good health, happiness and success (New Year Khmer / Buddhist wish)

On New Years Day, I was invited by some of my CoDeC colleagues to a New Year’s celebration in Kompong Thom, which was combined with the opening ceremony for a new church. Hundreds of people attended, which was surprising as 95% of the Cambodian population is Buddhist. There seemed to be a bit of confusion between New Year and Christmas traditions, as there were lots of young people dressed up as Santa Claus!! There were some fabulous dancing displays, the first I’ve seen in Cambodia, and all the better for not being put on for tourists. As usual, I was treated like royalty and asked to sit at the front, so that I got the best view. The huge church building, funded by the French, was ceremonially opened by the cutting of a ribbon, and we then all trooped in and sat through a very long Presbyterian service, complete with hymns and communion. Afterwards we had lunch, and I was then invited back to one of my colleagues houses. A good start to the new year, and I am now beginning to feel more integrated into the community.