Slightly demented thoughts of the PinkFish...

22/10/07
Now, me mam has always said that conversations in our family inevitably wind up on the subject of poo. I don’t know how it happens, it just does. Well now I have a solid, legitimate reason to talk poo! On Saturday I had my first Khmer language lesson from Hor, my translator. The lesson was going well (I am learning how to book my own taxis!) – then Hor clued me in on this important nugget of information regarding poo. Over here the age you are and of the person you are talking to dictates what term you should use when talking to the person. For example children = kone, younger than you = own, same age = bong, older =....well you get the idea, eh?
So for the past 6 months I have been going around quite happily using these terms willy-nilly. “Sua-s’dey bong, orkoon cha’ran bong”.
However, I have now learnt that when a female calls a man bong, it can be seen as a term of endearment, such as you would call a spouse. Oo – and indeed – er, missus!
Which leads me to poo. Poo is the term normally reserved for the male that is significantly older than you. Hor tells me however that when talking to males it is usually safer to use poo. So it’s all poo and no bong from now on. That is unless he’s a teacher, in which case I must call him lok-crew, not poo or bong… are you still with me?!

28/10/07
Things are definitely hotting up now at work in the RTC. I spent all of yesterday morning there; discussing with the trainers activity plans and filling them in on information I had been gathering from the Ministry of Health. In a most unlikely workbased fashion, I found myself offering to teach English every weekday afternoon from 4.30-5.30 and every Saturday morning 7-10am to support practical skills training to the trainers. Oh god – I’m going to be knackered! Still, I was real chuffed to see them so positive, so if they can commit – hell, so can I!
The big (and probably not that surprising) news is that I’ve already offered to extend my placement here until the end of 2009 – an extra 7 months on top of my 2 years. This is because we are currently in the process of submitting a proposal for a 2 year project to support preceptorship (or mentoring as we know it in the UK) here in the 5 northeast provinces of Cambodia. It’s a very exciting project and one that will continue to fund my placement in the RTC as well as another VSO volunteer post. If it all goes through as planned (please all, keep those fingers and toes crossed!) then the funding for my post will continue until the end of December 2009. Obviously it doesn’t have to be me to continue in the post, but seriously, I’d be completely bonkers not to! So it’s wait and see time now. The proposal has been sent, and should be reviewed by the donor in the next month or so. I will be waiting eagerly to see what happens.
The extra good news is that if I extend my placement VSO will pay for me to take a trip back home, so I will aim to come back to the UK for a few weeks and catch up with all of you.

On Friday I was very lucky to be able to participate in a cultural festival. I think I explained a bit about the Pchum Ben festival before – this Friday was the final end to Pchum Ben. In Pchum Ben offerings are taken to the spirits of dead ancestors to avoid incurring their wrath for the oncoming year. Friday night saw several of the pagodas in town bidding farewell to these spirits until next year. Bamboo boat frames are built and adorned with flowers, incense, food etc as offerings to the spirits. Some of the hollow bamboo poles are filled with paraffin oil and ignited and the boat is released into the river, taking the spirits with them. I’ve never seen Stung Treng so alive and full of people! Like Dublin on a Friday night – people were crammed along the riverbank laughing, playing, eating, letting off fireworks and generally having a great time.

30/10/07
Jeez it's right cold here today! I've had a jumper on all day and had hankering to eat soup and have a hot water bottle sent over.... It's grey, breezy and there's a steady drizzle of rain. Sound familiar?!
Ok, so it's still 24 degrees C - but here that's COLD!!!!!

Sorry Claire and Clairelle - Mount Kinabalu not, as previously stated, only a few thou feet. That would be rather small wouldn't it?! What I mean to say is its 4,095 metres (13,435 ft)... still, not to much of a jaunt eh?? hehehe - don't worry mum. We will get good guide and not get ourselves lost!

Right! It has apparently been far too long since I updated this page, out of sheer unadulterated laziness on my part. I'm sorry guys but you all have been playing second fiddle to work and Harry Potter (on the final book now and damn is it good! If it wasn't for the handcuff chaining me to the computer I'd still be reading.) 
 

I had started this update weeks ago with... "Hahahaha - another cat has just wandered into my house, its hard to say who was more terrified, my cat or my dog! Judging by the scratches it's the cat, who has just clawed his way up to sit on my shoulders as I write this! Smidge wins the award for top scaredy-cat! Honestly - pair of daft buggers! Can't imagine where they get that from??

But I think I may need to scrap the info I had written so far to give a condensed version of what's been happening in Stinkland. For those nearest and dearest, I will send on some letters with more detailed accounts but I don't want this page getting to clogged up - you'll all have pressure sores from sitting reading otherwise!

The holiday in Malaysia was amazing - such a beautiful place and I definitely want to go back there and climb Mount Kinabalu. Hopefully I can persuade Claire and Clairellè to go as well! Are you reading this guys? It only a few thousand feet! it'll be grand!

From the trip there are three main things that were the most memorable; the orang-utans, the boat trip and the mud volcano. The orang-utans seemed simply to love being on show and played up to their "audience" like any good actor. I have included some of the best shots of the lanky-armed furry dudes.

With the little time we had, we only managed to take an afternoon boat trip, 2 hours down a large Amazon-like river armed with our cameras, ready to spot pygmy elephants, flat-faced cats, monkeys and birds. With dark clouds looming overhead, however, we were not surprised when thunder rumbled across the sky, lightening streaked down and someone turned on the power shower to maximum! Did we turn back when our guide, Bart ("the names Bart: Bart Simpson") asked? Did we heck! No sir, we were hardnuts and wanted the whole experience!

What proceeded was THE most hysterical boat ride I have ever been on, and probably will ever likely to experience again. There really are no words to describe how wet it was and while we didn't spot any pygmy elephants, we still saw the Proboscis monkeys doing what they do best. And when Bart started singing Metallica songs in the pouring rain, I just thought to myself: hear we are, in the middle of a river in a tropical rainstorm, soaking wet and listening to our Malaysian guide yelling out Metallica tunes - this has got to be a once in a lifetime experience!

The mud volcano was also something else! Looking like a bubbling pond of melted chocolate (albeit with some green algae floating on top) but smelling of rotten eggs, we climbed hesitantly in. Far from being like warm, smooth melted chocolate, it was more the consistency of thick, lumpy custard (nobody talked to it while they were making it eh mum!!"don't go lumpy, don't go lumpy...arrgh!). And while the swim in the mud was highly entertaining, it was nothing compared to the 30 minute walk we then had to make down to the beach to wash the stuff off, looking like hairless yeti's as we traipsed through the jungle. Still brings a smile to my face now thinking of it. I haven't any photos of that yet, but when I do I will paste some.

That brings me back to lovely Cambodia and the wondrous place that is Stinky Trong. I was so pleased to get back, even though I had enjoyed a brill holiday. It was the first time I had really seen Cambodia from the air and it was simply stunning. From the air I could really appreciate the full extent of the rainy season. The landscape below stretched out like a giant crochet quilt, huge expanses of water only broken up with tiny patches of land. Like a snake in the grass, the chocolately brown (notice the chocolate theme here?!) Mekong wound its way lazily through green paddy fields.

The early morning trip back to Stink also captivated me as we passed an unbroken horizon of paddy fields with lofty palm trees stretching up from the earth. The early morning mist winding its way through the trees until it became so thick it devoured the horizon in shades of grey.

Yes I have to say, I was feeling at one with the world.............. that is until I looked at the road ahead, saw the driver was overtaking a lorry, only to find an oncoming car was zooming right for us. Holy ?*@!.... that scuppered the mellow mood as my heart lurched dramatically into my throat and my fingernails imbedded themselves into the seat of the car!

Still, here I am. Alive to work another day! And work is now the main focus of the day - yes, it has replaced many an evening at Ts enjoying a BeerLao. Now I am concerned with English lessons, teaching training courses, preparing a new VSO placement among other things like an RTC information leaflet. Life is good.
If only I could say the same about my Khmer?