· Rubber soled shoes should be worn at all times in the office to prevent electric shocks from unearthed, dodgy wiring. Seriously. It took several shocks and a numb arm to learn this lesson.
·Your Khmer colleagues will often mysteriously disappear from the office without a word. You later learn this was to go to an important meeting no one thought of inviting you to. Again.
· It is possible for someone’s job to appear to be cutting and gluing. The occasional bit of writing is sometimes involved, along with reorganising photographs.
·Rats break photocopy machines and then die inside them until someone starts to wonder what the smell is. This also shows how often the machine is used...
· Your boss will randomly enter the office, stating that no matter how much you like the current office set up he thinks it is most important that you have your own desk with your own drawer.
· You will only be informed of meetings you are supposed to attend either five minutes before, half way through or several days later when someone asks why you weren’t there.
·The above mentioned very important meetings will always be on days your translator is unavailable.
·Every meeting will involved several hours (not a joke) of speeches where officials repeat the same thing as each other, then read a speech from the PM saying the exact same.
·Pate (sandwiches involving an unidentifiable slab of processed meat) and bottled water are usually the only reason people turn up. When not provided general resentment ensues.
·One of the office computers will be so riddled with virus’s it can no longer save documents, the other one will not be able to type in Khmer any longer. One of these will always be in the computer repair shop (someone’s garage).
· Lack of the correct tools or materials will never stop a Khmer person. Where there is a will there is always a way.
·The statistics charts on the walls will be at least two years behind.
·No-one knows where anyone else is, what they’re doing or when they’ll be back. This counts for you too even though you write your weekly agenda on a board in the office and get in translated.
Thursday, 1 July 2010
Thursday, 24 June 2010
The Temples of Angkor
After being in Cambodia for ten months I felt it was about time for me to visit the biggest tourist attraction here, the ancient Angkorian Temples in Siem Reap. Two of my friends, Sophie and Steph, decided to visit me so I knew this was the perfect opportunity for me to see them for myself.
I had heard many things about the area and seen lots of pictures; however, it did not stop me from being amazed by the scale, magnificence and scope of the Temples. Building started in around 900BC and the site was still occupied until the 14th Century, with the religious focus changing gradually from Hinduism brought from India to Buddhism brought from China.
The Temple complex is on a scale difficult to describe, with the entire region covering miles and miles of rolling hills, flat plains, lakes and jungle. In most cases the Temples have in fact been reclaimed by the jungle, with many having trees growing over, on top or off the crumbling stone structures. This is famously shown in the ‘Tomb Raider’ movie with Angelina Jolie (incidentally, whilst filming in Cambodia she adopted her first child, a local Cambodian).
The architecture is amazing and the attention to detail is breathtaking, with every stone carved by hand with beautiful images. A visit to the Museum in Siem Reap is a must to try and understand the history of the place. Our brilliant tuk-tuk driver Ken took us all around and even to some temples off the beaten track which was great. What it is difficult to describe is the intense heat of place, I seriously don’t think I’ve ever been so hot! I have to admit, when it got too much a lot of ‘culture absorption’ stops were needed (this basically consists of us sitting in the shade in a temple, drinking water and trying to stop sweating profusely...nice!).
The town of Siem Reap is also a pleasant place, with lots going on for tourists and many restaurants and bars which were a nice change from the provincial Cambodia I am used to!
The Temples of Angkor are definitely worth a visit if you’re ever in SE Asia, I cannot recommend them highly enough. It is difficult to try and describe them and no matter how many pictures you see it does not capture the feeling of actually walking around these ancient wonders.
The next big holiday stop was one which was far less full of culture, but equally as enjoyable-the beach! The white sand, blue sea and cocktails were just what was needed after a week of Temple bagging. Other than the odd monsoon (helpfully at 12am...just as we were about to leave the bar which meant we got stuck there until 5:30am. Honest!) the weather was beautiful and we had a very enjoyable trip.
So now it is back to work and I have lots to be getting on with in my final months here in Cambodia. I am hopefully off to a Battambang at the end of July and I’m quite excited as I haven’t been there yet and have heard that it is lovely and has a Bamboo Train, which sounds like fun.
The rains are yet to really start, we are getting the odd shower but nothing on the scale I’ve been expecting here so I feel as though I am almost waiting for it to break. On the up side the weather has seriously cooled off now, with jumpers, jeans and socks needed during the day and blankets and quilts and night which feels great!
I had heard many things about the area and seen lots of pictures; however, it did not stop me from being amazed by the scale, magnificence and scope of the Temples. Building started in around 900BC and the site was still occupied until the 14th Century, with the religious focus changing gradually from Hinduism brought from India to Buddhism brought from China.
The Temple complex is on a scale difficult to describe, with the entire region covering miles and miles of rolling hills, flat plains, lakes and jungle. In most cases the Temples have in fact been reclaimed by the jungle, with many having trees growing over, on top or off the crumbling stone structures. This is famously shown in the ‘Tomb Raider’ movie with Angelina Jolie (incidentally, whilst filming in Cambodia she adopted her first child, a local Cambodian).
The architecture is amazing and the attention to detail is breathtaking, with every stone carved by hand with beautiful images. A visit to the Museum in Siem Reap is a must to try and understand the history of the place. Our brilliant tuk-tuk driver Ken took us all around and even to some temples off the beaten track which was great. What it is difficult to describe is the intense heat of place, I seriously don’t think I’ve ever been so hot! I have to admit, when it got too much a lot of ‘culture absorption’ stops were needed (this basically consists of us sitting in the shade in a temple, drinking water and trying to stop sweating profusely...nice!).
The town of Siem Reap is also a pleasant place, with lots going on for tourists and many restaurants and bars which were a nice change from the provincial Cambodia I am used to!
The Temples of Angkor are definitely worth a visit if you’re ever in SE Asia, I cannot recommend them highly enough. It is difficult to try and describe them and no matter how many pictures you see it does not capture the feeling of actually walking around these ancient wonders.
The next big holiday stop was one which was far less full of culture, but equally as enjoyable-the beach! The white sand, blue sea and cocktails were just what was needed after a week of Temple bagging. Other than the odd monsoon (helpfully at 12am...just as we were about to leave the bar which meant we got stuck there until 5:30am. Honest!) the weather was beautiful and we had a very enjoyable trip.
So now it is back to work and I have lots to be getting on with in my final months here in Cambodia. I am hopefully off to a Battambang at the end of July and I’m quite excited as I haven’t been there yet and have heard that it is lovely and has a Bamboo Train, which sounds like fun.
The rains are yet to really start, we are getting the odd shower but nothing on the scale I’ve been expecting here so I feel as though I am almost waiting for it to break. On the up side the weather has seriously cooled off now, with jumpers, jeans and socks needed during the day and blankets and quilts and night which feels great!
Thursday, 3 June 2010
Month 10
So I have just entered the tenth month I have been in Cambodia and eight month of working here and I have been looking back a little in order to look forward and plan my last four months.
When I first arrived in Cambodia I was faced with culture shock, home sickness and the dawning realisation of what I had let myself in for. On top of that there was the heat and humidity along with feeling massively out of my depths, having never travelled or been to Asia.
Now I can’t imagine not having lived here.
I have had the opportunity to work in such a different and interesting environment, with people who really want to make a difference and change Cambodia. What makes this great is that these people are Cambodians. There is a great sense of ownership here with many Cambodians working at the ground roots to improve the system. However, it cannot be overlooked that there are serious issues in Cambodia which are working against the process of development and those seeking change and improvement.
This issue of corruption in high government levels seeps all the way down to the grass roots and affects every person living and working in Cambodia. Until this is resolved, development in Cambodia is seriously limited by the integral system of corruption currently in operation. This system breeds dissention, discontent and causes a huge divide between the have and have-nots. Mostly, those with money and power are those most willing to use others wrongly, behave in a corrupt manner and take from those who need it more. It is a strange situation but one which is not uncommon in post conflict developing countries.
However, I have discussed the above issue before a few times in my blog and for all the bad things happening in Cambodia, there are also some good. A change of government does not look likely any time soon so therefore it is necessary to work with what is available and try to increase government awareness of the issues in Cambodia.
During my time here so far most of my job has been relationship building with local communities. I am the first VSO volunteer here who has been working in community involvement and have had to spend a considerable amount of time meeting the communities I’m working with and explaining how I am here to support them and how VSO works. A major barrier here is previous NGO involvement. Many Cambodians just see NGO’s as being able to provide funding but VSO is actively against this and instead we volunteers provide our skills and experience. So explaining this was my first major hurdle.
The second aspect of my work so far has been to consult with the communities to establish what it is that they actually need. This need analysis has been vital so as to effectively calculate where my efforts are best placed and so the community can get what is most needed.
So armed with these relationships and need assessments I have established that to increase community involvement with schools a relationship needs to be built and sustained. To do this I am planning on running a series of workshops throughout September with the community, schools and local NGO’s on the importance of continued involvement in the school, the role of the community and different aspects of this, such as student councils and school support committees. There will also be an opportunity for other NGO’s to come along and speak with the community on a range of important topics such as malaria, health care, nutrition, family planning and medicinal herb gardens.
I am really hoping these workshops are a success and I feel that this will have a lasting effect on the community. These sessions will be sustainable as they can be followed up by other local NGO’s and the school and community members.
So this is what I will be working on for the four months until my return home in October. Well, if the rains don’t prevent me that is!
When I first arrived in Cambodia I was faced with culture shock, home sickness and the dawning realisation of what I had let myself in for. On top of that there was the heat and humidity along with feeling massively out of my depths, having never travelled or been to Asia.
Now I can’t imagine not having lived here.
I have had the opportunity to work in such a different and interesting environment, with people who really want to make a difference and change Cambodia. What makes this great is that these people are Cambodians. There is a great sense of ownership here with many Cambodians working at the ground roots to improve the system. However, it cannot be overlooked that there are serious issues in Cambodia which are working against the process of development and those seeking change and improvement.
This issue of corruption in high government levels seeps all the way down to the grass roots and affects every person living and working in Cambodia. Until this is resolved, development in Cambodia is seriously limited by the integral system of corruption currently in operation. This system breeds dissention, discontent and causes a huge divide between the have and have-nots. Mostly, those with money and power are those most willing to use others wrongly, behave in a corrupt manner and take from those who need it more. It is a strange situation but one which is not uncommon in post conflict developing countries.
However, I have discussed the above issue before a few times in my blog and for all the bad things happening in Cambodia, there are also some good. A change of government does not look likely any time soon so therefore it is necessary to work with what is available and try to increase government awareness of the issues in Cambodia.
During my time here so far most of my job has been relationship building with local communities. I am the first VSO volunteer here who has been working in community involvement and have had to spend a considerable amount of time meeting the communities I’m working with and explaining how I am here to support them and how VSO works. A major barrier here is previous NGO involvement. Many Cambodians just see NGO’s as being able to provide funding but VSO is actively against this and instead we volunteers provide our skills and experience. So explaining this was my first major hurdle.
The second aspect of my work so far has been to consult with the communities to establish what it is that they actually need. This need analysis has been vital so as to effectively calculate where my efforts are best placed and so the community can get what is most needed.
So armed with these relationships and need assessments I have established that to increase community involvement with schools a relationship needs to be built and sustained. To do this I am planning on running a series of workshops throughout September with the community, schools and local NGO’s on the importance of continued involvement in the school, the role of the community and different aspects of this, such as student councils and school support committees. There will also be an opportunity for other NGO’s to come along and speak with the community on a range of important topics such as malaria, health care, nutrition, family planning and medicinal herb gardens.
I am really hoping these workshops are a success and I feel that this will have a lasting effect on the community. These sessions will be sustainable as they can be followed up by other local NGO’s and the school and community members.
So this is what I will be working on for the four months until my return home in October. Well, if the rains don’t prevent me that is!
Tuesday, 18 May 2010
The Kings Birthday
Another month, another public holiday... So this time it was for King Sihamoni’s birthday and we have had three days off in total around a weekend.
A group of us decided to head to Phnom Penh for the weekend as it is easy to get to and there was a lot going on to keep us occupied.
On Thursday night there was a free concert given by the American band Dengue Fever in the Vietnamese Friendship Park, sponsored by the US Embassy to celebrate 60 years of involvement in Cambodia (yes, I’m sure there is irony here). Dengue Fever are based in LA and formed after having several trips to Cambodia and discovering 60s and 70s Cambodian music, which I have to admit, is actually quite great! So they set about reviving it and managed to recruit an amazing Cambodian singer to the band and now enjoy worldwide success. In fact, one of the girls I was with had actually already seen them at a festival in the UK.
The one thing which was obvious at the concert was the clear cultural differences between Cambodians and us Barangs. The Cambodians didn’t move during the concert, in fact, most of them didn’t even smile. Yet here were us foreigners cheering, clapping, dancing and singing along. I do not envy any band playing to a Cambodian audience, talk about a tough crowd!
I do feel that I and the group I was with are probably famous on the Cambodian social networking site as it seemed that everyone was taking photos and videos of us. We weren’t the only ones either, once glance around and you could spot many pockets of dancing Barangs causing a stir in the otherwise mostly Cambodian crowd.
The band themselves were great, particularly the lead singer who had an amazing and original voice. I have included a video link here to youtube if you would like to check them out and if they ever come to a venue near you I would definitely recommend that you go!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQYOGkCk2DA
On Friday night we went to a modern dance performance which also included a section by Epic Arts, which is an organisation based in Kampot. They work with children with disabilities helping to support their social development and education, in a country which barely recognises disability. The four young men involved in the piece were amazing, two were in wheelchairs and the other two are deaf. Their performance was brilliant, one of the best modern dance pieces I have seen and it was easily as good as the professionals who followed them.
The main piece was by Belle Chumvan Sodhachivy who is a modern Cambodian choreographer who uses the traditional Khmer Apsara dancing in her modern dance pieces. It was very beautiful and the choreographer herself was an amazing dancer. The themes explored in the piece ranged from playfulness to quite dark group dances. Again, if she ever comes to a venue near you I would definitely recommend going.
http://khmerbird.com/entertainment/contemporary-dancer-belle-chumvan-sodhachivy.html
The weekend was very enjoyable and a definite break from the jungle. However, I was more than happy to head back to Mondulkiri as it is incredibly hot in Cambodia at the moment with high temperatures and humidity causing discomfort and sleep loss in the city! In the mountains the temperature is so much cooler, hitting 30c max during the day and dropping down to low 20c’s at night meaning it is a far nicer climate to live in. In Mondulkiri the rains have also started which make a welcome break to the intense sun.
I’m also looking forward to checking up on several projects I have been working on and am beginning to plan the holiday clubs I am planning on running during the rainy season holiday.
A group of us decided to head to Phnom Penh for the weekend as it is easy to get to and there was a lot going on to keep us occupied.
On Thursday night there was a free concert given by the American band Dengue Fever in the Vietnamese Friendship Park, sponsored by the US Embassy to celebrate 60 years of involvement in Cambodia (yes, I’m sure there is irony here). Dengue Fever are based in LA and formed after having several trips to Cambodia and discovering 60s and 70s Cambodian music, which I have to admit, is actually quite great! So they set about reviving it and managed to recruit an amazing Cambodian singer to the band and now enjoy worldwide success. In fact, one of the girls I was with had actually already seen them at a festival in the UK.
The one thing which was obvious at the concert was the clear cultural differences between Cambodians and us Barangs. The Cambodians didn’t move during the concert, in fact, most of them didn’t even smile. Yet here were us foreigners cheering, clapping, dancing and singing along. I do not envy any band playing to a Cambodian audience, talk about a tough crowd!
I do feel that I and the group I was with are probably famous on the Cambodian social networking site as it seemed that everyone was taking photos and videos of us. We weren’t the only ones either, once glance around and you could spot many pockets of dancing Barangs causing a stir in the otherwise mostly Cambodian crowd.
The band themselves were great, particularly the lead singer who had an amazing and original voice. I have included a video link here to youtube if you would like to check them out and if they ever come to a venue near you I would definitely recommend that you go!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQYOGkCk2DA
On Friday night we went to a modern dance performance which also included a section by Epic Arts, which is an organisation based in Kampot. They work with children with disabilities helping to support their social development and education, in a country which barely recognises disability. The four young men involved in the piece were amazing, two were in wheelchairs and the other two are deaf. Their performance was brilliant, one of the best modern dance pieces I have seen and it was easily as good as the professionals who followed them.
The main piece was by Belle Chumvan Sodhachivy who is a modern Cambodian choreographer who uses the traditional Khmer Apsara dancing in her modern dance pieces. It was very beautiful and the choreographer herself was an amazing dancer. The themes explored in the piece ranged from playfulness to quite dark group dances. Again, if she ever comes to a venue near you I would definitely recommend going.
http://khmerbird.com/entertainment/contemporary-dancer-belle-chumvan-sodhachivy.html
The weekend was very enjoyable and a definite break from the jungle. However, I was more than happy to head back to Mondulkiri as it is incredibly hot in Cambodia at the moment with high temperatures and humidity causing discomfort and sleep loss in the city! In the mountains the temperature is so much cooler, hitting 30c max during the day and dropping down to low 20c’s at night meaning it is a far nicer climate to live in. In Mondulkiri the rains have also started which make a welcome break to the intense sun.
I’m also looking forward to checking up on several projects I have been working on and am beginning to plan the holiday clubs I am planning on running during the rainy season holiday.
Wednesday, 5 May 2010
The Mango Rains
Last week saw the beginning of the ‘mango rains’ which means that it doesn’t rain everyday but when it does rain, it pours (and storms). They are so named as we are nearing the end of the mango season, which I will sorely miss. It has just come into avocado season too, which has been marvellous and I have had many VSO’s begging me to bring them a supply when I come to Phnom Penh.
However, this is now day two without any rain but as Chak just reliably informed me, the next time it rains that will be it. The beginning of the rainy season. This means constant rain for days, severely limiting travel and work and general madness caused by being continuously cold/wet and the noise of the rain pummelling the tin roofs.
As you can see from my above description, I am a little apprehensive about the start of the rains. The land here at the moment is parched beyond recognition, with river beds lying empty and waterfalls dry. I cannot wait to see again, Cambodia as it was when I first arrived, a lush green country with rice paddies as far as the eye could see and roaring waterfalls. However, practically, I am not looking forward to the boredom and frustration it is likely to cause (I have been reliably told by other people in Mondulkiri). In the rest of Cambodia during the rainy season it rains for perhaps a couple of hours a day maximum. In the mountainous region of Mondulkiri I have heard that it regularly rains non-stop for a week. I just can’t even begin to imagine what this will be like (apart from wet...) and I think it will certainly be an experience.
So in preparation I have changed my motorbike tyres to mud ones and will be purchasing a high quality poncho next time I’m in Phnom Penh. I may even get some wellies!
Perhaps Cambodia isn’t too far from England then, only, here it only rains for 5 months rather than 12!
However, this is now day two without any rain but as Chak just reliably informed me, the next time it rains that will be it. The beginning of the rainy season. This means constant rain for days, severely limiting travel and work and general madness caused by being continuously cold/wet and the noise of the rain pummelling the tin roofs.
As you can see from my above description, I am a little apprehensive about the start of the rains. The land here at the moment is parched beyond recognition, with river beds lying empty and waterfalls dry. I cannot wait to see again, Cambodia as it was when I first arrived, a lush green country with rice paddies as far as the eye could see and roaring waterfalls. However, practically, I am not looking forward to the boredom and frustration it is likely to cause (I have been reliably told by other people in Mondulkiri). In the rest of Cambodia during the rainy season it rains for perhaps a couple of hours a day maximum. In the mountainous region of Mondulkiri I have heard that it regularly rains non-stop for a week. I just can’t even begin to imagine what this will be like (apart from wet...) and I think it will certainly be an experience.
So in preparation I have changed my motorbike tyres to mud ones and will be purchasing a high quality poncho next time I’m in Phnom Penh. I may even get some wellies!
Perhaps Cambodia isn’t too far from England then, only, here it only rains for 5 months rather than 12!
Monday, 26 April 2010
Khmer New Year 2010
No dolphins in any of my pictures!
Collecting the blessed water
Giving buddha a spring clean
Posing on Don Dhet
From 14-16th April it was Khmer New Year, which is a Buddhist celebration of the new year of the Tiger.
Although there were only 3 days public holiday, most people in government offices and schools take from 6th April off as it is their main holiday of the year. So this meant a couple of fairly boring weeks for me, however, we had heard about this ahead of time so myself and the other youth volunteers decided to use this break to head off to Laos.
We decided to head to the area known as ‘4000 Islands’ which is really close to the Cambodian border and very beautiful this time of year as the water level has dropped in The Mekong causing lots of small islands to emerge from the river. This provides some beautiful swimming spots and beaches.
For the New Year ceremony itself we headed to the local temple on Don Dhet (the main island in the complex) to see for ourselves exactly what is involved. The ceremony began in one of the small temples with the men entering with a couple of monks and chanting. Meanwhile, outside, families were setting up camp, sat in small groups with bowls of what looked like tea and fruit. When the monks were finished all the men carried out all the statues and religious artefacts (including bits of wood and stones) and placed them on a bamboo table in the main area of the pagoda. After some more praying it was a mad rush to grab the biggest and fanciest looking statue and bring it back to your families’ camp. The whole family then proceeded to wash them with the tea, scrubbing them with the fruit and leaves and rinse it all down with what looked like yellow dyed water. After the cleaning process the statues are returned to the tables and water is thrown over them all (and everyone stood around!). It took me a moment to notice but the space underneath the table was crammed full of young children capturing the liquid being poured over the religious statues. This is seen as blessed water and afterwards someone poured some over my head declaring that I had been blessed by Buddha. Happy days.
After this ceremony the main party began with many water fights ensuing and people generally celebrating. It was a lovely experience and I was really glad that I got the opportunity to witness the New Year celebrations which were taking place in Thailand, Cambodia and Laos.
On my way back from Laos I took the opportunity to spend the weekend in a town called Kratie, famous for its fresh water irrawady dolphins. These dolphins are very endangered as something has happened to the species meaning all the calves keep dying. It is unknown what has caused this, although environment is thought t be the most likely. WWF have said that they will have completely died out within 10 years so I took this rare opportunity to view them. When we got to the pool where the dolphins are most frequently seen I was surprised to be quickly ushered onto a boat and proceed to see many of these rare creatures. Naturally they were practically impossible to get a photograph of and I have many shots of just random patches of river. If you want to see them you will have to visit Kratie!
So that is the end of holidays for the moment for me, however, in May there are lots more public holidays (there isn’t a month in Cambodia without at least one!) so I hope this will give me a chance to pop to Phnom Penh to have a bit of a reality check!
Friday, 23 April 2010
Well Update!
Me with the new VSO Volunteer Ben and some of the school children from the village.
So this week I made it up to Pu Trom Cha School, where the community well is currently being dug, to check up on the progress and success! The well has been dug to a depth of 22m and it has just over a meter and a half of water at the bottom and with rainy season about to start, that level is soon to rise.
All that is left to do now is to build some kind of small wall around it to stop children/animals falling down it. Jack, at the Elephant Project, has offered to donate the bricks and concrete so that I can use the remaining money to buy a good water filter to be kept at the school so the children have access to safe water.
I am hoping the well can be finished next week and I have asked a fellow NGO worker here who is an agricultural adviser here on community gardens to come to the school and speak with the community about setting up a small vegetable garden in the school. This would then be a push off point for creating ‘breakfast clubs’ to provide a morning meal for the children which would keep them in school and help their performance in the classroom.
Charlotte
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