A drink after work with the girls!

A couple of times I have gone for a drink after work with my English students. We go to a stall in the market and drink teukraluks, which are milkshakes made with bananas, mangoes, jackfruit and other seasonal fruit blended with condensed milk and crushed ice. Delicious, although rather sickly in large quantities. Of the three girls in the picture with me, only one, Kaknika in the middle, is currently an employee of CODEC. Leakhena in the pyjamas worked briefly for us, and is now waiting to go to America to join her American-Cambodian husband whom she met on the internet. Supnile on the right is the cousin of CODEC's accountant. Most of the CODEC staff are too busy out in the field to come to the office for English lessons every day, so I am currently teaching more non-staff than staff! I don't mind, as they are a pleasure to teach!

Miscellaneous photos

I'm writing this blog from Siem Reap, where the internet connections are excellent, so while I'm able to I am taking the opportunity to upload a few photos. First, here's one of me in Skuon, aka Spiderville, posing for the camera with a particularly juicy roast spider.

Next comes a picture of a wistful looking boy at a temple wearing an old pair of adult pants with a bit of string round the waist to keep them up!

Then there's a pic of me (looking rather fat) next to an emaciated tribal man from Mondulkiri province. He has holes in his ears with cork-type things through them.

Finally, here's a dyslexic sign to the toilet. Rather reminiscent of Fawlty Towers!

What bird flu?

The threat of bird flu is steadily being ignored here. Nearly every family keeps free-range chickens while many keep ducks as well. Here are two of several regular visitors to my garden. Apart from being scrawny, these chickens seem to be perfectly healthy. My CoDeC colleagues run "animal raising" workshops and provide lots of tips to poor villagers about keeping chickens, but there's scarcely a mention of bird flu. I keep trying to tell them....

Home improvements

I have made a lot of changes to my home since I moved in. In my living room, I have had cushion covers and curtains made, and have bought material for table cloths and silk wall hangings. I have bought lamps so that I don't have to use the horrible strip lights, and a comfy chair for lounging in to watch TV. My latest luxury is a DVD player, which I also use to play music.
Outside, I have bought lots of big pots of plants, and I now have a large umbrella for sitting under in the heat of the day and in the evening. I have fixed fairy lights under the canopy and there's a detachable ceiling fan for keeping cool. The place feels much more mine now!

The only "barang" in town

Rachel and Bram have gone to live in Siem Reap, meaning that I am now the only Westerner left in Kampong Thom. This is really bad news for me, as I can't socialise or communicate with local Khmer friends and colleagues in the same way as I can with fellow barangs. My plan is to try to get away to Siem Reap or Phnom Penh most weekends, and to fill my weekday evenings with getting fitter(there's a daily Aerobics Oz style programme on the telly!) and studying Khmer. This photo was taken at Bram's birthday meal in my garden. The bottle of wine is an exotic luxury!