It's been raining quite heavily the past few nights. And Joey you owe me one! Had to get a tuk tuk in the pouring rain and walk around in the dirty, murky streets just to video skype with you at the netcafe! Ugghh! Nahh..it was nice to have that feeling of meeting up with friend face to face, only we're so far away.
Friday night was hard. Having spoken broken English all during the week, I was TGIF, but really wanting to head out for a drink and chat in English with some friends, but there was no one around! Made me really miss my fun filled weekends in Melbourne. I had already planned a manicure and hand massage at a good place I found at the night market for $4 but this lead to me wanting more. So I settled for a full body $5 massage. All of which I realised was much needed anyway. So it was kind of a blessing in disguise that I had no one around me so I could realise how tired and stressed my body was.
So I got through Fri night. Saturday, I was invited by my work colleagues to go on another field visit to a village as they were conducting training there for the women community leaders on Disaster Management. I had been to the workshop the day before, to see how the community facilitators were trained first, and then it was put into practice on Saturday. It was nice to see how all this was carried out in the community to increase women's capacity in their community.
Some things have really started to get to me, such as the land rights issue here. For example in this community, they have no access to clean water and one of the ways that they can, is to have something like a water canal built, but the community are not permitted to do so under Apsara land authority. I dont know enough about it and I'm sure there's more to it, but it is these kinds of issues that leave me sitting in anger and feeling so helpless. On Saturday night, 2 volunteer friends from Phnom Penh arrived. We had a nice Khmer dinner together and they had their fish massage. I couldn't do it. Too ticklish for me. Was really nice to chat and vent with them about their placement some of the frustrations of being here. There isnt much of a sense of urgency working here with meeting deadlines which can be frustrating, because I like to go at a fast pace at work.
Sunday, they did their temple tour while I stayed in, just trying to organise myself for the states. Went for run by riverside too. Evening was dinner and drinks on Pub St once again and then to Temple Bar to watch some Apsara dancing, although I had watched it last year already.
As for my placement, been helping a lot with editing the English for reports at the moment.
I'm wondering where to see a movie here. There are no cinemas to see one!
And I think I'm going to head to New York with 'lady...tuk tuk'?' in my sleep...
I'm sick of hearing it everytime I go down the street. It makes me not want to go out. But then again, it's so damn hard to get a taxi in Melbourne.
Oh and eating with my work colleagues has been interesting. It's been real good being exposed to the real traditional Cambodian food.
They pulled out a bag of snails the other day. No, I didn't try. Not game enough to.
