What an amazing week!!

Saturday afternoon  - thank goodness for this pool.  A swim was most welcome after the sticky streets of Phnom Penh.  After getting lot serval times this week I had an orientation morning.walking around the area.  BKK1 is a nice neighbourhood..  Probably the most westernised part of Phnom Penh,, but more local than touristy.  So amongst the Khmer street cafes you can get a decent baguette.  Dejuener a ”Comme de Maison” c'est magnifique.  Je mange une soupe de tomate et le jiuice d'orange et ananas.  Tres bien.  You here a lots of French spoken here - just hope they don't read my terrible attempt! 

Week 1 has been amazing.

On Monday I was collected from my apartment by the Assistant Country Director Bill at 7am for  a day trip to Prey Veng Province.  This area is in south-east Cambodia towards the Vietnam border.  It’s an agricultural area in the Mekong Delta.  Rice paddies are abundant, however at this time of the year they are barren.  They plant in the wet season which starts end May/June.  Its strange to see dry rice fields  - my perception was that they were always green like those gorgeous rice terraces in Indonesia.

I travelled with a few people from the office, and some other consultants.  Michael is a retired Aussie businessman doing some voluntary consulting with CARE.  Earling is a Norwegian living in Laos who is a security consultant to CARE.  Then there is the German movie star!!  Don’t know who he is – but he has those movie star looks and a strange Deutche/US accent!  Apparently he is very very famous in Germany but its lost on us and the Cambodian villagers!.  He’s am Ambassador for CARE Germany and is here being filmed for some promos. 

The journey tales around 2.5 hours and includes a Mekong River ferry crossing.  The ferry is full of every mode of transport – buses, trucks, SUVs, cars, the ubiquitous motorbikes, bicycles, even a horse and cart.  There are no other westerners around here and its buzzing with activity.

CAREs office is in Prabang Trabek.  From this office CARE manages rural farming and village health programs.  Acute watery diohreha is a big problem (that’s code for cholera – which we don’t say around here as it upsets the government!!).  After a briefing from the staff we visit a local health centre and sit in on an information session for the local village women.  They are learning about personal hygiene and how to keep their water clean and treat dohreahe  No-one here has toilets and they don’t dig latrines.  (I am told toile discussions are inescapable on field trips with NGOs!  The women listen intently, sitting on the floor on the veranda of the centre as .children crawl around.  The women range in age from around 15 – 40 and many wear pyjamas!  Yes – its nice to hang around in your PJs all day – however here its not driven by sloth or leisure.  This is one of the poorest areas of Cambodia.  In the dry season its quite dry and farmers will only get one crop  and when there is no rain food shortage is a problem.

CARE is also working with farmers to improve their skills and give them more options.  Pond fish farming can be done in a small area.  They just dig a pond and populate it with fingerlings.  Once grown the fish earn a good price and it also introduces more protein into the diet improving overall health.  Another small scale farming option are chicken and duck pens.  Usually the chooks run loose  - CARE teaches to fence them in and feed them to produce healthier birds.  The farmers we met were very proud of their work.  Their whole family participated in the visit – along with most of the village. Perhaps they wanted to see the German movie star!!  My favourite were the pigs – they were a lot happier than the terrible steel pens used by our industrialised pig farms in the west..

Its an inspiring day seeing this great work first hand.  After the long drive home I grab a tuk tuk and meet AM & Tim and some of their friends at Metro Restaurant for dinner.  We are very excited to see each other – its been 2 years.   They can’t quiet believe what I’ve done on my first day in Cambodia!  Prey Veng Province is well and truly off the tourist trail!  Dinner is yummy Asian fusion washed down with a Sauv Blanc.  Bit of a contrast to the day I’ve had. 

Tuesday was my first office day.  Stav, the Country Director, collects me in a car at 7.45am.  Work starts at 8am.  It’s a short drive to the office.  CARE is on the crn of my St, St 63 and Mao Tse Tung Boulevard.
..  We are briefed, shown around the office and introduced to everyone.  About 80% of the staff are local.  Everyone is very welcoming.  My best is on eth 2^nd floor amongst the programs team and near the comms unit.  Seyda who runs the Program Information and Communications Unit will be one of my main contacts here.  Now my workstation at Optus is not the tidiest – but its neat & tidy compared to this!  The whole office is very cramped with desks everywhere and boxes of files wherever one can stash them.  My desk is somewhat protected in a corner, and I do have good light.  However the desk and chair are really low!  After a quick recce I discover they are all the same!  I am a bit taller than the average Khmer!  This won’t be good for my new hip – so I use my laptop care a booster seat!!   I spend the morning getting everything set up.  Chris and I have lunch in the western café next door.  A nice Chicken Caesar. Lunch is 12 – 1.30pm.  Everyone sticks to these times here – quote different for me – a real lunch! The afternoon is spent reviewing existing communication materials

After work ( we finish at 5pm – what luxury!) Stav takes Earling, Chris and I to the rooftop bar at the Bouganvillier Hotel.  It has a cruisey Indochine  feel and a nice view of the TS river.  The sun sets around 6.30 and at 7 our driver takes us home.  I’m exhausted, but grab a tuk tuk to Lucky Supermarket to stock up.  Shopping takes ages as I inspect all the intriguing produce.  There is a great selection of imported and Cambodian produce.  Nice wine section too – I didn’t expect that.  Cheese, bread, fruit, bran flakes, yoghurt and milk means I will be able to make breakfast at home.  The WA Sauv Blanc and durian ice cream are treats.  What should be a 5 min ride home takes 50 minutes!! My tuk tuk driver has no idea!!!  Its frustrating at first and then a little frightening.  Eventually we get home.  Had a baguette with cheese and watched some TV – its looked like Cambodian  X Factor.  Slept very well