So, there is about 4 weeks left until I finish my placement and leave Cambodia, 6 weeks until I arrive on British soil once more. I CAN'T WAIT!It's a funny time as I really begin the count down. On the one hand I am really excited... and on the other I'm quite low. I've been busy winding things down, updating my CV, browsing jobs in the UK, buying gifts and souvenirs and generally getting ready

My birthday swung round AGAIN this month - the third birthday I have suffered in Cambodia! Ha ha! The last two birthdays have really been ones to remember, both mainly involving boats and beer! So this year, as I turned 31, I decided to do something a little more refined and booked myself into a wonderful spa in Siam Reap.The day started in Phnom Srok where I met Daney and Vuthang for a

It was an absolute pleasure to return home to Phnom Srok after another long stint out of the district and I had certainly been missed! My landlord was almost jumping for joy when I pulled up on my moto (either he was trying to distract his baby son from crying or he was relieved I was back to pay my electricity bill!). Actually I've made some progress with the baby son, who I've known since birth

It helps, now and then, to step backand take the long view.The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,it is beyond our vision.We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction ofthe magnificent enterprise that is God's work.Nothing we do is complete,which is another way of sayingthat the kingdom always lies beyond us.No statement says all that could be said.No prayer fully expresses our faith.No

With Cory only having a few weeks left in the country we decided to see Siam Reap together for one last time. We've both seen the main circuit of the most impressive and famous Angkorian temples a good few times so this time decided to explore a little further afield. We took a tuk tuk, Vuthang's brother Vutha, and travelled north of Siam Reap to Banteay Srei and Kbal Spean. It was great to

Life has become exceedingly quiet in Phnom Srok due to rice planting and transplanting season kicking off, schools slowing down in preparation for the long holidays and Grade 9 and Grade 12 exams which take the attention of my DOE colleagues. Not one to sit around doing nothing for too long, I have managed to muster up some things to do in this quiet period.A little while a go all the education

Following the feelings of success experienced by Deirdre and myself last month, we decided to repeat the Sanitation Project at another Cluster of Primary schools in Phnom Srok District. This cluster was Srah Chik, one I'm a lot more familiar with in general due to the close proximity of the schools to my office and the fact that the model school (Chey Oudom) is a part of this cluster. It was Srah

I just blinked and before I knew it May had become July! What happened to June! This has happened a few times but I've usually managed to squeeze a blog entry or two into each month. Part of my problem is the fact that the modern technology I have had at my fingertips is collapsing around me!Laptop (had a virus I was ignoring and has finally bitten the bullet and turned itself off. In effect

Holidays well and truly over, the first week back at work was jam packed with travelling back and forth, meetings and a really bad cold!The focus of the week's work was a meeting at Tropieng Tmar cluster core school followed by a Student Council Activity day all relating to a sanitation project dreamed up by Deidre (a Peace Corps Volunteer) and I. The idea was born a good few months ago when a

Thanks to the King's birthday lasting 3 days and as additional public holiday in respect of Royal Ploughing Day (which marks the start of the rice planting season), no sooner had I returned to work than I had the delights of another week off! It is such a hard life here! Not being one to miss an opportunity to travel, I persuaded Cory to join me on a road trip to visit Ratanakiri, the 'Wild East'

Our adventures together in Laos and Cambodia gave us many many new experiences and we really managed to cram in a lot over the three weeks. For example, our travels included the following...Number of days on holiday 24Number of hotels/guesthouses 7Number of beds slept in 11Different modes of transport 8Number of people to share one moto 3Number of people to share one boat built for 100 3Number of

(Dad's words, not mine!) I can't remember the exact context of the conversation we were having but Dad came out with this reference to himself and Colette, I nearly wet myself laughing and thought it was the perfect title of this blog entry.The adventures in Laos have been amazing to say the least. The country has many similarities to Cambodia but also many differences. I loved being out of

So Dad and Colette arrived at Siam Reap airport where I greeted them and used my excellent (ahem!) Khmer skills to get them and their luggage safely to our wonderfully air-conditioned guesthouse - bliss! After a general catch up on life I didn't want to get them too used to the comfort there though so the very next day I whipped them off to Phnom Srok.We spent 2 hot, noisy nights in Phnom Srok

Following a visit from Rachael, conversations about the model school Chey Oudom which has been developing in Phnom Srok and enthusiasm to work together, Rachael and I have collaborated on begetting the idea of a Community Open Day at the school in order to raise the profile of the school amongst the community and increase the community involvement. It was also to celebrate the fact that Chey

A lot of the work I have done so far as a VSO volunteer has been alone, or with my VA and Khmer colleagues at the DOE in Phnom Srok. This has been due to circumstance and convenience rather than choice on the whole. There are increasing numbers of barangs around in Sisaphon: English teachers, American Peace Corps volunteers, not to mention the increasing numbers of VSO volunteers around. It's

The last time I visited this part of the world I experienced a near-death experience - no word of a lie. When I re-tell the story to friends or random strangers on the bus, I take care not to exaggerate the story of desperation, pain and loss of dignity I lived through - not that I am known for exaggerating the facts at all, see the Road Trip blog entry posted around this time last year - but the

Ok, huge apologies for the distinct lack of blog updates of late. My laptop and consequently all three of my memory sticks are riddled with viruses which has prevented me from uploading the most recent log entries and photos. Bare with me, there are at least 4 on the way!

It is amazing how much people get done if they do not worry about who gets the credit.- Swahili proverbWe are most effective as a team when we compliment each other without embarrassment and disagree without fear.- UnknownA team is more than a collection of people. It is a process of give and take.- Barbara Glacel & Emile Robert Jr.A group becomes a team when each member is sure enough of himself

Another effort I made in my period of reconnecting to the district was to fulfil my long standing promise to cook spaghetti bolognase for all the staff at the District Office of Education. I think I had confirmed the promise at my last attempt of cooking “English” (ahem!) food for a small group of Khmer friends. I had boasted that I was much better at cooking Italian and promptly contracted

My heart melted this week when I visited Chey Oudom Primary School and was greeted with a gaggle of kids shouting “Hello Anna!” and waving as I drove through the gates on my moto. I continued to melt when one little girl ran up to me near the director’s office calling me “Om Anna”. (Om is a word used to call a respected Aunty or Uncle in Khmer.) The little girl is Mr Sophan’s grand daughter,

After a funny few weeks of nothing much happening in my district due to rice harvesting and training from the Ministry of Education anywhere but Phnom Srok, I had started to spend less and less time there. Whenever I arrived home it seemed that I hadn’t been missed and most of my colleagues were not around anyway. Meetings and training we had planned for January and February were cancelled and

It was a great honour to have My Mate Kate come and visit me this month. The last time I saw Kate was also the last time I saw Gok Wan in Brighton! Oh long ago it seems! I met her at the airport in Siem Reap and after being somewhat distracted by a mischievous taxi driver throwing a cockroach at unsuspecting members of the public; we enjoyed our reunion with red wine and LOTS of talking back at