Diary of my life in cambodia 2

(cont'd)

Day 7, 11 October 2012 Thursday

Menses came last night :( Arggg I know it's around this time but was hoping I could miraculously escape it this month. V troublesome considering the sanitary conditions here & I'm v particular about cleanliness when it comes to this. When I went out for breakfast this morning, I held on to my bag REALLY tight! Was frightened & traumatised by what happened ytd. So looking forward to seeing the kids having missed them ytd. They're excited to see me when I reached! There're 2 classes going on at the same time, & I took over Julie as she left sick. Playful Jimmy scared me with a rubber mouse today! & they were all amused at seeing me jump -.- Handed Ravy the dictionary I bought him, hope it'll be of use! He's a small-sized guy (shorter than I am) who looks like a big kid. Really nice, sincere, down-to-earth guy who has the brightest kindest smile, so the kids are not at all afraid of him. Showed him the pic of TMG I brought along. Kx printed photos of us 9 girls & wrote a sweet msg behind. Ravy then pointed to kl & asked if she's Cambodian, exclaiming "looks EXACTLY like one!" This made me laughed so bad cos kl is the darkest among us. He also said kx looks Thai. During my eng class today, I taught Colours & we had so much fun w them! I could see they really liked me! Even ask me to teach on sats. Was alone w the kids till 6+ cos Ravy had to leave. The sky gets dark really early here. Tml, Shawn's friend's coming but he's leaving for SG. Ate pizza for dinner & stopped by the supermarket for mineral water. Wanted Evian but it was too exp, so I bought a brandless one at $0.55 for a big bottle. Don't need to drink so good right? Bought 2 small cakes too. One for Tee & one for the nice staff at my hotel :)





Day 8, 12 October 2012 Friday

I think I'm really traumatised. I have a phobia now, like when I go out for breakfast this morning I got really fearful whenever a car or motorcycle zoom pass me. Sigh.. & I'm so drained the whole of today. No energy. Wasn't feeling too good, esp when darlin wasn't in class when I reached. Heard from her friends she lost her shoes & isn't coming, might not ever come again. I was so upset! She's my fav student! Thank god she came for evening class, I was so relieved. It'd be a pity if her parents made her quit. Continued w colours & taught the kids how to say their fav colour. So now they know basic introduction: 1) Name 2) Age 3) Fav colour. Feel kinda proud of my students :) From nothing they learnt alot this wk. Gave them some spelling & gave out clothes xy brought. Shawn's friend Cass arrived today, w her friend Justin, while Shawn went back SG. Stayed @ the center till quite late, then went to the riverside for dinner @ this German bar. Abit outta my budget (per day) but figured it's ok since they're only here till mon. They broke my abstinence! We had beer. I thought I wouldn't touch alcohol this 1 mth. Talked ALOT. From siblings to work to religion etc. Glad we could really click! Reach hotel @ 1am+, & gotta leave for center at 9am





Day 9, 13 October 2012 Saturday

Early in the morning, we went into the slumps & villages nearby the center. No students at all today, probably cos it's nearing the big festival. The slumps were really really REALLY down-in-the-mud, dirty, unsanitary, inhabitable even. A tiny room w no lights (~USD$14/mth) & filled w lotsa stuff can slp 3ppl. Rubbish of all kinds (unfinished food, wrappers etc) are just thrown casually along the road. I even saw a dead rat on the common road ppl use, w beetles & flies feeding on it's headless corpse. Talked to the village chief too. We're giving free education but the children & parents don't want them to learn. They rather go pick rubbish to earn a few cents. Mindset. Next, we went to The Killing Fields, where more than 3mil ppl were mercilessly killed in the Khmer Rouge era, esp those who're educated. A visit here can be v disconcerting cos there's thousands of skulls you can see & the mass graves they were buried in. All in all, a depressing afternoon. Went for massage w case & Justin near our hotel. Was apprehensive cos of the exp in dongfang, but this was much better. They wanted to go Dreamland. Didn't want to cos it'd be a waste of $$ since I just went last wk. But didn't wanna be a cold blanket. Not as afraid of the rides anymore!






Day 10, 14 October 2012 Sunday

I feel guilty today. Few days ago before cass & Justin came, I did some calculations. With the amt of cash I have, I can only spend USD$7/day. It's not that I can't spend more. I just wanna stick within my budget & lead.. well not so much Cambodian.. but a simpler lifestyle without any extravagance. But these 2 days I spent so much! Today is indulgence day. Cass wanted to go for another massage. I don't even wanna spend another USD$8 on one, but ended up spending USD$35 on a GOOD one. Partly cos it's hard to be a wet blanket, partly cos I needed one after backache from my slp ytd. Can't possibly wait 1.5hr for them there. Then, we went to the riverside Karma/Anjali restaurant for a good dinner. V affordable in sg terms but... That's another USD$13 gone. Heck we'll just indulge today since they're leaving tml. Tml onwards, I'll be alone by myself :(





Day 11, 15 October 2012 Monday

Cass & Justin gotta reach airport at 6.30am this morning, so we hung out at their hotel till 5am+ at their hotel. It's so great knowing them! Amazing even. How we've just met 3 days ago & the next thing we know we're chatting & laughing over beers on their balcony overlooking this area, in Phnom Penh. Cass is a v lively girl who has so much ideals about the things she could do to help. V mature & takes a firm stand for what she believes in. We're of the same age & clicked v well! Shared quite alot w them these 3 days, surprisingly, given I rarely open up. They both said that I have a strong character, from the way I behave & react towards things. I do admit I'm the kind who is 'like means like, don't like means don't like'. I can be blatant & sarcastic (jokingly) towards ppl I feel comfortable with. Then, Cass gave us a personality test & said our character quite similar. I have a feeling this might be a lifelong friendship! :) Discussed abit about the center before I went back my hotel & watched the Kony vid before I concussed at 6am+.
Didn't do much today. Stayed in the whole day other than going opp the street for dinner.


Day 12, 16 October 2012 Tuesday

Watched Hollow Man on tv when I woke up. A thriller! My initial plan was to go to the supermarket, but Ravy called me around 3.30pm asking if I want to go explore. He just came back from the province- a 6hr drive from central PP. I wanted to go to the Royal Palace but Ravy said it's closed due to the King's Father's death in Beijing ytd. National museum is out since it closes at 5pm. Headed to Wat Phnom, supposedly a tourist attraction but imo nothing much. Had dinner opp Orussey Market. Ravy said the noodles are famous & it's expensive to him but yummy. The place is really PACKED! Treated him for the meal as thanks for bringing me around, not v exp. Halfway thru, he went out for a long phone call, & when we're leaving by his motorbike, a girl on another bike asked me "Can you sit on my bike?" Ridiculous, I thought she's a motortaxi & of course said no, with a taken aback frown. And she threw her arms & legs in tantrum! "What a weirdo go to such extent to snatch customers", I thought. Turns out she's Ravy's gf! Omg I certainly don't want any trouble. I want to leave Cambodia safely ok. Ravy dropped me at the supermarket & I bought some snacks home. Never thought I'd need to count & add the cents so as to not overspend. Still gotta compare to see which one is more worth it -.- Back home, watched a touching & thought-provoking movie- Hereafter.