Home Alone!

Hi Everyone

It's late but as I'm away from Samraong for 3 days this week, visiting yet more remote villages, I felt it would be good to be in touch with you all. Geoff left for UK yesterday for 3 wks, to support his Mum as she adjusts to life at home after a long spell in hospital following a fracture to her ankle. She has a good care package in place but hopefully Geoff will be able to provide great company, some trips out and enable Peter and Avril to have a break. He's looking forward to seeing Nic too and might even manage a trip to Winos!


He left here a day early as the road to Siem Reap is flooded - the taxis are transferring their passengers to a tractor and trailer to take them across about a 4oo mtre stretch of water and then another taxi completes the trip to SR. It has almost doubled the journey time. We caught the end of the storm which hit the Phillipines and had torrential rain, no sun and cooler temps for 3 days. It felt strange but it was great to sleep without a fan. Many of the dirt roads around Samraong have been 'cut'-they have deep gullies full of water, there are large holes on either side of wooden bridges where the rain has washed the road away, and there are cars and trucks stuck or keeled over in what look like rivers of mud. The locals take it all in their stride. Nobody seems to get upset or angry and farmers make a bit of extra money towing vehichles out. We had to abandon a field trip last week as our land cruiser ended up nose down in a hole, just before a bridge over a river. We were all fine - somehow, wading through mud in merrell sandals in the heat feels no hardship. We had blocked the road, so children going to school on their bikes had great fun deciding what to do. It was a team effort - school uniforms off and carried high on one arm whilst they swam across the river, somehow managing to hold on to their bikes. Then uniforms on again, big smiles and lots of laughter, and they were back on their way to school.

Life here is full of simple but heart warming experiences like this.Last weekend we went about 20kms north of here to O'Smach, a remote and quiet border crossing into Thailand, the place I'd been on a motorbike with Bona and her 2 young friends during the Pchum Bhen holiday. We offered to pay the taxi fare but because we were taking 4 staff, Hing, my programme manager , said it was a team building experience, we should take the organisation's truck, and that CHHRA would pay for the petrol! In spite of awful road conditions - we had to be towed out of a gulley at one point -we had music and laughter, a trip to the Thai market where fruit, handbags and toiletries seemed even cheaper than they are here and then the biggest treat for the staff, a visit to the casino on the Cambodian side of the border, full of Thais as gambling is illegal in Thailand.They are young 20 somethings. Their eyes were out on stalks as they'd never been into a 'posh' hotel before or seen slot machines and gambling tables.They stuck close to Geoff - they looked like chicks following the 'mother' hen! All a bit bizarre but then this is Cambodia!

I worked last Saturday, which is unusual, at Malteser, a German International NGO. It was an inspiring day as I was asked to observe and give feedback to a 'natural' trainer, a young chap from Myamar who led a workshop for staff on facilitation skills.I came away with lots of ideas for our staff training. My next session is on malaria which I don't know a lot about yet, except that its pretty common here and can be lethal. The Dengue fever training, my first, went surprisingly well, in spite of the interpreter going off sick at the last minute.The staff are like sponges, so keen to soak up whatever is on offer, that it is a pleasure to work with them. They treat me, but particularly Geoff ,with great respect and are proud to have a native English speaker as their teacher - they call him, lecrue -my teacher!

All this is such a far cry from your sophisticated world of theatre,art, books and music. All is not lost, however, as I've recently worked out how to access I Player, so listened to my 1st Archer's omnibus on Sunday morning! It's going to be hard to resist Radio 4 but it will be great company whilst Geoff is away. It makes me feel closer to you all, particularly those of you who are Archer's addicts! Must pack my rucksack now for tomorrow's trip and get to bed. Our days still start early with the cock crowing at 5.30 so I need to be in bed for about 10.

Keep in touch -Its important that we don't become country bumpkins whilst we're out here!
Much love to you all
Carol and Geoff xx