Better days

Another week swims past in this river of life. The flow went one way and I went the other. I was sick, well, violently sick, just getting over it in fact. In my delirium I sat and wondered what could I write about. Be it a story about me and my motorbike/scooter/moto? Give flavour to the many lost in translation stories I have posted on facebook of which I have many to do. Although I suppose I have many stories because that's what life is. A collection of stories and chapters until the big book closes and we call it life. I know this current volume would be called 'Cambodia' and this past week would be entitled 'Sickness'.

It started with me eating some food from the market which is a normal tendency for a cheapskate like me. They didn't have any of the super scrumptious stuff so I went for one of the lesser chosen ones. Pork and some unknown vegetable. It tasted a bit weird whilst eating but, of course, you eat it anyway. Next day was a Friday and I complained about feeling funny. Come Saturday all hell broke loose. I'll spare you the details but I saw the back of one door. A lot. Obviously I slept a lot to try to recover. This led to me passing out and waking up in the darkness. So to try to fall back asleep I went to go and get some water. This meant creeping past my roommates room. I came back to my room and tried to go to sleep. Although I couldn't thanks to a load of children outside my flat screaming and playing in the street, at what must have been midnight or beyond. I was furious at the parents for being so neglectful to their children at this hour. I couldn't sleep so i decided to read a bit to calm the mind and wait for the children to go back inside. About half an hour later they were shepherded back into their respective pens. Peace and quiet, I could finally sleep. I just decided to check the time before I went back to sleep and make a mental note to tell anyone about this children who were outside playing at .... half past seven pm. My roommate wasn't even home yet! I'm putting it down to sickness that I didn't check one of my many electrical devices for the time.

This got me thinking when else have I been sick and been stupid. Although this time it wasn't my fault as such. To set the scene, in Asia they tend to overhire staff so that people have jobs, pharmacies tend to be one of these places. I went into a pharmacy to get some medicine for a runny tummy. Pharmacies in Cambodia tend to hire pretty girls for some reason. I manage to wrangle the owner's attention and call her over. The owner was an old plump lady.  No-one else was now being served by any of the pretty calls working there so they all came over to listen to what was my ailment much to my annoyance. There they stood, watching, listening. There I stood with my runny tummy. So I, with my best Hugh Grant impression quietly said 'I...uh,...umm....ate...some...uh...bad....food.' Hoping this lady would clue into the situation. She clued in alright just not how I expected. She paused, focused and like a tiger before a meal, licked her lips and loudly replied 'Diarrhea?' I turned a shade of beetroot, she feasted off of my embarrassment, got her fill and then some. I rapidly paid ( I hasten to add, I've never been quicker with correct change. Not before or since.)  and left the shop in a haze of embarrassment.

Anyway enjoy those, I'm finally better with some antibiotics from the doctor. The only problem is my right foot a la Christy brown; so I still can't play football, 6 months and counting. Hopefully it's better soon.

Song of the day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKVrVAA7E7I

New year, new blog

I've made the decision to come back to England because I've been enjoying teaching so much, I know it's what I want to do in life. In the process of applying for university I said I write a blog and have my own style of writing, whatever that is. However knowing I said this I feel it is necessary for me to at least try to pick it back up again. Hopefully in the coming months I will be able to write a little bit more frequently about life out here.

Since it's been over half a year since I wrote a blog. I'd like to say why. Mainly it's because I haven't had the inspiration nor the interest to write about life out here. Although since my recent trip back to England for Christmas, it became glaringly obvious how much I had assimilated into life in Cambodia. Things that are normal for me, just aren't normal for others.  I would like to try and write about those things no matter how long or short. Although this blog will mainly be about my teaching over the past couple of months.

Phnom Penh's consistently long dusty days that drift lazily by; me drifting with them. My only anchors being work and volunteering. My work starts as it always does in the cool mornings at 7.30 and finishes at the peak of the heat at 12. This, of course, runs from Monday to Friday. It's never a fight for me to get out of bed in the morning. The only fight I deal with on a regular basis is the one of chiselling children into  being perfect sculptures with all those perfect human imperfections. Half way through the year I have been pleased with how my sculpting has gone.

I was first enticed by the job because when it was first offered, apart from it being part time, was that the children really do become mirrors of yourself. This thought interested me and it pushed me towards accepting the job. Having now had 6 months on the job I can honestly say that they have. To show that I have 3 stories.

1. One day, I saw a student arriving at school. I quickly ran into the classroom and made all the children play dead. This went well and everyone played it to a tee. The student came in and after a while everyone started laughing. Now I didn't think much of it until a month and a half later. I quickly nipped out to get something from the office and returned to all of my children pulling the same prank on me. Couldn't believe it! Cheeky wotsits.

2.I was sat enjoying my breakfast (rice and pork) one morning when a student came up to me. He saw my food. Took a bit of pork. At this moment, may I just say I was sat gobsmacked in the fact that this student had had the gall to take some food and then jokingly put it back. But then he didn't put it back, he ate it with the smuggest smile i'd ever seen. He then left. Not one word had passed in this interaction. I couldn't say anything out of pure dumbfoundedness. Boundary pushing cheeky wotsits these children are.

3. For Christmas, my brother bought me a lovely pen set. I told the children to keep their 'dirty mitts off of them because they'll break them.' This past week I left them out in the classroom for break time, not too bothered as the children would more than likely leave them alone. At snack time a bit later on, I came out to check on them and a child came up to me and said 'Your pen broke.' I was perturbed to say the least. My reply came sharply 'Who did it? I knew I should have put them away!' The student then went on to say 'only joking!' Then off she scampered confidently.

So not only are my students boundary pushing and cheeky wotsits. They're lying boundary pushing cheeky wotsits that I love dearly and will miss upon my return to England next year.

Link of the day : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksJ6QP8BYn0