ST at the end of June

Wednesday

My week started by going straight back into another Hospital to do supervision of preceptors. This time in my home hospital in Stung Treng together with Channa, his first time we were officially doing something outside the RTC.
It felt ok, due to my previous experience in Ratanakiri. Together with also a new clinical instructor Mr. Vann, we struggled through two and a half days of observation and talking.

observing preceptor with student

Struggled because, the preceptors here were far less prepared and motivated to give a good performance.

checking Respiration rate

I think I nagged them a bit and wanted to repeat their performance when it was really bad. So I talked a lot to them, repeated myself constantly and I hope it was helpful.

tald to preceptor afterwards with Mr. Vann and Channa

Otherwise it was great to be so close to the other volunteers like Delia and Helen who work opposite the hospital in the PHD (provincial health department) and to be at the other side of town where more things are going on, eg. there is the market and shops and so on.

Delia and Sambath at work with a patient

Today I was even a vet, giving “Stinki” , Kathy’s cat who is now at Delia’s, an i.m.- injection for not getting pregnant. She was a very brave cat and I love her already.

Otherwise not much is going on, housework, reports to write, catching mice…

great light

Thursday
Actually it hasn’t rained for the last three days. Everybody is longing for it. It is very hot and sticky at the moment. I am sure then when it comes, then properly.

This morning I had breakfast with Helen and Delia and Queeni, who visits Delia from Kratie and is also a nutrition advisor. We met at the Vietnamese noodle place and it was as always very tasty.

Then Delia and me went to the hospital again. She wanted me to check a Blood sugar measurement machine. It didn’t work. Needs replacement unfortunately. There are two of those machines, both broken. The whole hospital is now without. It is unbelievable. Patients need to have a proper blood test now to know how their blood sugar is. It’s pretty bad. When I compare to the UK how many Blood sugars we take and so easily without thinking about where to get supply from and who repairs the machine. There are lots of hidden diabetes patients here. Even I can see that.
And we actually don’t know who will pay for replacement…

Then I went to the RTC and unfortunately Hor didn’t feel well and went home. He felt very sleepy and had a headache. I hope he hasn’t got Dengue fever…

In my lunch break I got a little surprise, because in my bathroom sink was a Scorpio sitting. I panicked a bit and then called Delia. She calmed me down and we were thinking how we could kill it. I was nearly going to crush it with the other end of my floor brush, but I just couldn’t do it. So she asked if my landlady wasn’t around. I went out to see and there she was. I must have looked a bit out of order, because she came running. When she saw it she laughed at me, got a piece of wood from outside and killed it for me. Then she took it with her. I was relieved.

nasty little thing

When I arrived at the RTC a bit earlier then usual, some students were there, talking to me. Because of the English classes they know me now and also from the visits at their accommodation. Two in particular are very interested in me and always talk to me. One is a very shy boy, I should know his name by now but am to embarrassed to ask again. The girl, her name is Sareth, always smiles at me and is very curious about me. Last night, when I had just my washing finished and also cooking, I was quit sweaty and was just about to throw my vegetable waste over the riverbank. Everybody does that, the cows will have it later when they stroll along. So I looked a bit not so good. And then those student nurses where on their bicycles, standing there on the road waiting for somebody. It was coincidence that it was her as well and she started of course a chat.
So today she asked me if she could come and visit me in my house. I thought that was a lovely idea. So on Saturday at 12.00 and they would like to eat English food. What shall I cook? Maybe spaghetti, maybe beans on toast? Got a holy tin from PP for special moments. Or maybe potatoes and veg and meat? Well, I decide later.

So after Sareth asked me for my contact details, everybody else wanted them. I only gave it to 4 other girls and the boy. They said they all want to come and visit me. So I better be prepared for that. I thought I’ll make a party one day and invite them all.

In the afternoon I was fairly proud of myself because I found out how to do a slide show with window power point. All by myself I prepared a presentation via slide show. I think would have never found out like that, but here is enough time.

And Mr. Vann told me that I am bossy. We laughed it off.

Did I tell you already about the fire? There was a fire in town near the market today. At least 5 houses burned down. I went to see it after work and it was shocking.

Those families lost everything, and insurance or something equal doesn’t exist. The gossip is that in the restaurant at lunchtime was only one pregnant woman cooking and in the pan was too much oil and it caught somehow fire. Because she was the only one, she couldn’t get help soon enough and the fire spread very quickly. Next to it was a private clinic of the hospital director, burned also down and some shops. Terrible.

5 houses missing after the fire

In the evening I enjoyed brown rice, which I brought from PP with mixed veg and sauce. I watched a DVD – Charles Wilson’s war- which I somehow liked because of the actors ( Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts) and then I got a long SMS from Sareth. Which sounded like this: hi what are you doing? Are you going to have holiday this year? Are you doing anything this weekend? Tomorrow you go to a party. Do you like Khmer music? Do you like Khmer food? When do you get up? Where do you normally go for holiday? What do you eat tonight? When do you go to bed, I hope you sleep very well. From me sareth.

I just hope that all the others who have my number now will not bombard me in the same way. So I answered that I will try to answer all her questions on Saturday when she comes around.

Louisa’s b-dparty was great.

Queenie, Delia, Evic, Louisa, Helen and me

I had my first lessons in khmei dance and Louisa cooked very nice food.

lovely cake!

Also there was a Karaoke machine! And everybody who knows me knows also, that I Love Karaoke. I also brought some balloons and we did “balloon dance”

Helen and Chantra having balloon conversation

and now everybody down, down

yes, no touching allowed

and now clap your hand above your heads

and “statue dance”.

and freeze!

That means if the music

khmei dancing

stopps, everybody has to freeze.

sooo long.

And we had a real birthday-cake brought from Kratie by Queenni and yummy self made chocolate and coconut ice-cream, made by Helen. Hor and Tiri were there, Hor is better

freeze!

, Channa my VA

my sweet Channa

and Chantra, who lives downstairs with his mum. Also the VSO crew Louisa, Evic, Delia, Queeni and me.

Queenie and Evic

funny how I dance

Holly is in PP this weekend. We partied until midnight. It was great. Finally a real Paaaady.

"dancing queen..."

On Saturday morning, I met first Delia for breakfast at the market at 8 am. We had those tasty cold noodles with chilli. Then we went and had our toenails painted, as it is common here.

fancy turquise toe nails?

It was done by a Cambodian girl whose business it is and she just went to Vietnam to have eyebrows and lip liner tattooed.
At 9 I met with Tiri to get some smarter clothes for work. It was difficult to find something in my size, but then I found a blouse in size 42 which just about fitted. I also got a great view at the market and discovered the clothes section which I hadn’t before. Also I got a cool blue T-shirt which Tiri said, I could also wear atwork.

Then I went shopping in preparation for the student girls from the RTC, who wanted to be at my house by 12 noon. When I arrived at my house at 10:45, there they were sitting already! Sareth, Parim and Shry mom. So they came in and asked me, if they could help me with the cooking.
First we chatted a bit and I gave them some of the magazines, Carmen sent me. More and Closer. They really liked them and looked at everything very close and wanted explanation.
I decided on Spaghetti with Tomato sauce, so I explained first that it is an European dish, coming from Italy. They never heard of Italy.
Unfortunately I couldn’t get real spagetti, so I used some Khmei flat egg noodles.
For the sauce, I somehow had in my head to make the sauce smooth - I need to grate the tomatoes through a sieve. So I first boiled the tomatoes as seen at Sheila’s, then peeled them and rubbed them through a sieve into the wok. Together with onions and garlic, s&p, it simmered a bit and then we added fresh basil, which I love here.
We ate on the balcony and when I asked if they wanted some chilli sauce, they all put lots of it onto their portions. They found the dish delicious.
I didn’t know for how long they wanted to stay, but then they wanted to watch a DVD. I asked what kind of film they like, love storys or something like that? No, action films. I borrowed some DVD’s from Delia and had only “Get smart” and “Tropic Thunder”. So we watched first “Get smart” until it stopped working and then “Tropic Thunder”. Yeah, and then they disappeared after 4pm.
They were very nice and I hope we can come together another time. I really would like to teach them some more English or just I don’t know, be there for them.

In the evening I got an invitation from Delia to come along and have something to eat.
There were also Queenie, Louisa and Evic. We had Gin and Tonic! Wow, that was a great treat. The bottle came from Delias mum, when she visited her last year. It was a great chill out dinner and Delia and me had quit a good chat.

Today, Sunday

I really wanted to sleep long today. But at 5:30 the rooster woke me up, then some people started hacking some wood and then somebody else was making noise from the street. Because my bedroom has only a thin wooden wall I can hear literally everything. I stayed in bed and read until 9. Then I got up and I didn’t have any water from the taps nor from the shower or toilet. Great. My landlady wasn’t there but a bloke helped me to figure out the water pump at the house.
Then I made a lampshade for the kitchen from the cans we had last night.

lampshade extraordinare

I started doing little bowls and stuff with it, just cut them and staple together. The waste we make with those cans, I can’t stand.
I’ll make more lampshades next time.

Otherwise I’ll go to the hospital in the afternoon and hang around for a bit there I thought, that they get used to me. Maybe next time, they’ll ask me to do something with or for them…

And then Internet- café and blogging! Takes always quite a time until all pictures are uploaded and so on.

Tomorrow I try to finish my proposal for a French aid organisation who wants to support Cambodia with $ 40.000. Cross fingers that we get the money!
I really want to try to get a new building for student accommodation.
Nevertheless, I still count on your support and maybe that you consider some fund raising ?

Antji and John, got your parcel. The mosquito repellent is perfect! The chocolate was half eaten by mice and very melted…. Thank you so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am still nameless, please give me a name!

written by

katja-horsch on June 28, 2009 from Phnom Penh, Cambodia

from the travel blog: ST end of June

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