CCH donation and art!

On Thursday, after teaching at the International School I headed over to CCH to go with the staff to buy a electric bike for the children. Penny the woman who I met initally at the Lighthouse had left me with a large amount of money to donate in gifts and the bike was something the orphanage had chosen. This is because some of the children go to school in the centre of Phnom Penh and if you look at my map(!) you will see that CCH is quite a way out to the west of the city. Using an electric bike it only takes half an hour to get to the centre, otherwise it would be hours on foot and impossible! So, 4 of us went from CCH in the CCH car back in to town to a row of shops specialising in these bikes. One older orphan (what is the politically correct name - disadvantaged child(?)), one staff member and me and Brian (my ex-TEFL teacher/friend). The shop which CCH knows and gets a good price from is run by a chinese woman. Crazily Brian speaks chinese having lived there for a while and so was able to soften her up to get a good deal.

There was a good deal of standing around, looking like we were not interested.... for about an hour. We tried to get all sorts of freebies (a lock, a helmet etc) but she would not budge. She had apparently already discounted the bike from $480 to $390 so that was it. Eventually she melted and gave in - Her final price $385. A whole further £2.50 discount for an hour of "work". I think I would have prefered to have paid the $390 and saved an hour standing in baking heat on the side of a dusty road but where would be the fun in that?! The other vendors on the street were grossly over priced in comparison.

Here are some photos of the intense negotiations (!) and also the bike leaving the shop once purchased and the bike back at CCH after its first ride across town!

Tomorrow I am going to buy some normal bikes for the children at a mere $30 its not a lot of money so we may end up getting 5-10 bikes. That should be interesting.

This morning at the international school we did Kandinsky (well I like to be informative in my education). Based on Composition X (here is a picture of the original in case you are culturally uneducated) and here is the pictures done by the kids. We painted the card black (you cannot get black card in Cambo) and then cut out and stuck on shapes. It took from 8.30am til 11.15am - Easy!

The original ... and my lovely children's work on display.... well they kind of got the concept

These are last weeks Van Gogh copies and the original!!

This afternoon I continued the gift buying for CCH. I think the woman in the stationery shop almost died when I announced I wanted 200 books. They were also very amused by the amount of educational posters I got. But, nothing was as funny to them as me getting on a motorbike with the goods to go home balancing them with the help of my driver.

The kids at the orphange are very excited about the prospect of a photography course - The plan, if they are good, is to have an exhibition to raise funds. If anyone has any old digital cameras to donate please let me know so they can be included in the package being prepared to come from the UK- I think Alex and Lucy at OC are arranging the shipment soon!

King's mother's birthday

Yesterday one of my children at school asked me if there was a day off because of the King's mother's bithday. I know the Cambodians are keen on the old bank holiday but I thought this was sure to be one that most people did not take seriously. I was wrong! The school was shut today which means I have just had my first day's paid holiday since finishing at OC!

I went for a wander to the Wat that you can see from our balcony - The Wat I thought was no longer open but instead formed part of a Wat factory - making all sorts of concrete decorations for temples. I thought that the shed like structures that surround the Wat were part of the factory. In fact they turned out to be peopl's houses. I wandered through the backstreets and weaved in and out of people sleeping, varnishing tables, eating etc! The houses went right up to the walls of the Wat which I haven't seen before. The Wat itself was a bit of a state. The people were nice and friendly though.... A complete crammed/shanty town at the end of my street and I had no idea! I also went to a second Wat further down the road - Not as interesting. A moto ride across town, some shopping and that was it for the day.



Happy birthday Queen. (official photograph)



(On a similar note there is a reception here for her Maj Queen Elizabeth's birthday here on Thursday hosted by the British Embassy. I was not invited despite a number of people I know having invites. Upon requesting one I was told there was no space. Huh. Don't they know who I am?! - Instead I will go to a Q&A session on street children and AIDS - Far better in any event.)

A trip to the temples

Poncho necessary due to rain - Nice look, might catch on (oh and ...Angkor Wat in distance!)

This weekend I flew to Siem Reap, home of the Angkor temples and the world famous Angkor Wat. I had been to the temple complex before last year but fancied another look. The flight was a bit of luxury as it meant avoiding a hard 5 hour bus journey. The bus is about $5, the flight about $100 (one way) and so there was a considerable loss of money by fliying but considerably less pain and trauma.

On Saturday, a tuk tuk took me to the main 4 temples I had seen before plus Brantrei Srei, a temple on the outskirts of the "tenple zone" that I had not been to before. Suffice to say the layout and the temples themselves had not change in the year since my last visit. They all looked the same(!) My catch phrase of "rocks and wood and 1000s of Korean tourists" probably doesn't do this [almost] wonder of the world justice.... It is very beautiful/historically important etc but personally I preferred my trip to the Happy Ranch on Sunday.

Happy Ranch is a horse farm just on the outskirts of town. I rode a hose called "Macho" and happily walked, trotted and cantered around the Cambodian countryside taking in the beautiful vibrant green paddy fields, the water buffallo, the children shouting "hello, hello, hello" coming out pof their wooden houses to say hello and swimming in flooded fields, toothless farmers, wooden ploughs, a burial ground where bodies are buried for up to 2 years before they are dug up (ugh!) to be cremated on the correct date in the low-tech (basically a concrete platform with an opening for wood to burn) crematorium next door, roads of red mud clay and roads that had turned to small rivers because of the recent start of the rainy season. There was also a cow that had gone mad and would buck and charge at the horses - Probably a case of BSE...I should stop eating Cambodian beef. Also part of the ride took us to a .... (go on guess!...) yes a temple! Wat Atvea.

We went very fast and managed to do a 3 hour ride in 2 hours - a lot of cantering which was great expecially in the wet rice fields. Not so great is the pain that my backside and thighs are currently feeling from the experience.

Here are some temple photos, sadly no horse pictures as camera/rain/potentially bucking horse do not mix. The above horse picture is an "artists impression" of what it was like today from the Happy Ranch website!

I do not know why this child was on his bike in a massive rain water lake/puddle - He waved but I assumed he was not drowning..?!

At the Bayon the rocks are carved into faces so more interesting than just stones!

The Rough Guide says Bantrey Srei will amaze even the most temple fatigued visitor. Yes, it is a different colour and has nice carvings so I guess a 5/5 for temple interest!

Below is Ta Prom where Tomb Raider was filmed... very atmospheric with the jungle taking over the temple on one level but on another level too many Koreans making "V" signs and posing with aforementioned jungle....

.... If you can't beat 'em (and believe me you will not win against 1000 Koreans (and their tour guides/umbrellas/matching T shirts/hats ) on a temple mission) - So I just had to join in with the rock/wood pose .....

New school and new teacher!

I am now a proper teacher in my own very nice air conditioned class room. I have a class of 15 students at the moment including the head teachers 2 sons (no pressure there then). Lessons begin at 8am and I have to be in the school at 7.30am. The advantage of an early start is however that I finish teaching at 11.30am although I do generally hang about to finish off projects, decorate the room and harass the kids into being quiet when they eat their lunch. This week we have created a great display on safety tips, done an experiement on the water cycle and tomorrow will be attempting to copy a Van Gogh as well as more formal stuff.



They have to pray before lunch and the prayers can be very funny - "Dear God, help the poor people, help us to be sensible, thank you for the shade so we are not in the hot, thank you for giving us cake - Amen"!



The kids are in second grade. In the US I think that means that they would usually be 7 or 8. My ages range from 7 to 12... but this is Cambodia so anything goes. The chidlren created "summer school" teams - I now have the "Horned Unicorns", "Flying Dragons", "Lucky Pokemon" and the "Ghost Soldiers". Very creative!

On friday I teach art all morning - Today, Van Gogh - They liked the bit about him cutting off his own ear best. Some of the pictures were quite good but some less so! I will post some pictures of their delightful art next week.

For now here is a picture of my classroom - luxury air con and fan - Its a bit different to the orpahanges.






From August I go full time - That will be exhausting as by 11.30am I have a headache and am ready to sleep. Luckily I only have one or two difficult children and even those ones can be controlled. Nothing like teaching in the UK I suspect!

Last teaching day at Lighthouse

Top class (and me)

Middle class

ABC - Beginner class

After school at my paid employment(!) I finished at the Lighthouse orphanage today. I bought a massive Khmer cake to school and the kids scoffed it up - A khmer cake is disgusting but looks amazing. Generally sponge with a layer of fat icing. Fondant almost but not tasty! The decoration is spectacular though... I will go back and see the children in July. This place has really opened my eyes to the pros and cons of "tourist orphanages" in Cambodia.

Pictures from Lighthouse

Me and my "ABC" class (beginners)

Monday - Cambodia's middle class and the poorest people in PP: A day of extreme contrasts

Today was a day of contrasts- I began my new job in the morning at the international school. I teach 2nd grade children but they range in age up to 12 years old. There are 10-15 in my class – a perfect number. Only 3 girls though. They seem like good children although clearly have their naughty moments! I now have my grade 2 science book and English book to get started on as homework.

Following on from International Children’s Day the school had Heritage Day –eg. What makes the children proud of where they come from. Part of this day, as a special treat for the children a magician was coming to the school. At the weekend I had read a very funny article in the Phnom Penh Post about Solo, Cambodian’s premier magician. He abstains from sex and alcohol to improve his magic the article said. What asked how he prepared for shows he replied “When I used to perform regularly, I got up at midnight to meditate and I didn’t eat wildlife, drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes or have sex because all these things weaken your magical powers. After I got married, I stopped learning a lot of new magic because I couldn’t stop myself from doing all of these things. Today, before every show I rehearse the whole routine five times in front of the mirror. Nowadays, I learn new tricks from catalogues and DVDs I buy in Singapore. I am now learning a new big trick. When I’ve mastered it, I will perform on Cambodian Television Network and Bayon TV.” This man has performed for the King of Cambodia.

People’s answers in interviews are quite odd and frank here. When asked why he changed his name to Solo his answer was just simply that “I thought if I had a name like Solo it would be easier to become famous”!

For the exciting full article see: http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/200805294826/Post-Life/Sex-booze-and-exotic-meat-put-on-hold-for-magic-s-sake.html

Here is the "amazing" Solo and his car finding bird.

It made me realise just exactly how small Phnom Penh is when the children’s magician was none other than the famous sex deprived Solo. The magic show was basic and involved 2 dogs (poodles) in sparkly coats (red and pink), a dove (that apparently flys into the car after the trick?!) and various bits of rope (not necessarily used all together.... Anyway, the children liked it but I was left wondering how much the not eating of meat/no sex affected the show and whether it was really worth it.

In the afternoon I went to the CCH orphanage. Steung Meanchy is Phnom Penh’s municipal garbage dump. All the children at CCH have been rescued from this site – They are all orphans and had no adult looking after them on the dump. Today, I planned to go and see the dump for the first time. One of the older children, srey Pov, took me and Penny to the land fill site. We travelled from the orphanage to the dump by tuk tuk for about 10 minutes. The drive took us though many back streets of one roomed wooden shacks then all of a sudden we were at the edge of the dump – A vast expanse of plastic bags and rubbish lay before us.
Srey Pov, took us onto the rubbish and we began to talk over the mound of plastic towards the rubbish pickers. Clouds of black smoke filled the air from the fires. The dump certainly is a 100-acre mountain of smoking, decaying, gloopy waste.

I spent some time talking to Srey Pov to find out what her life was like at the dump before CCH. It is difficult to talk about these things when there are usually 30+ orphans wanting attention. She moved to Phnom Penh with her parents and 2 brothers from the provinces. She spent sometime on the streets of Phnom Penh before going to the dump. She lived there from the age of 5 to 10. Her mother and father died of AIDs and I think that she went to CCH when she was 12/13 years old.

I learnt that at the dump the rubbish pickers can earn 100 riel (about 5p) for 1kg of plastic or 100 riel for 2 cans. On a good day the rubbish pickers can make $3. This is more than they would make in the province which is why many come. The people were also collecting mounds of food mainly rice they had found in the rubbish. Covered in flies, foul smelling – I was so relieved to hear that they were only collecting it as pig food not to eat for themselves. I hope this is true and it doesn’t turn out to be someone’s evening meal tonight.

Srey Pov used to scour the dump every day for plastic, cans and glass. I cannot begin to imagine what it would be like to have no escape from that place. The land moves as you walk on it – as the rubbish turns to black sludge, you move with it. We were lucky it had not rained for 5 days or so. Being there in the wet must be a nightmare. People silently picked rubbish around us. Srey Pov talked to some of them to get the answers to some of the questions I had for them and her. Some people were surrounding the new dump trucks coming in to the site. Others were going through the day’s findings sorting it into piles to sell. One of the recyclers told us that once she buys the rubbish she sells it in Phnom Penh and the glass, cans and plastic then go to Vietnam. As we stood talking I looked down and aw I was practically standing on a dead rat no smaller than a cat. Its legs stuck in the air flies all over it. Truly hideous. We walked past one of the houses actually on the dump itself. An open shack, no walls, just a hammock (for the baby). Flies everywhere.

We walked further into the dump – more of the same spread for what seemed like miles. A vast area. Small steams of disgusting “water” ran around the edges of the mountains of the rubbish. A man walked across the site with a rice bag full of rubbish. Liquid was oozing out of it as the rubbish was rotting inside so badly. The people here have no idea that the fumes and the needles they are exposed to every minute of their day and night are deadly. The CCH children try to educate the people by performing role plays and educational songs on Sundays to the people at the sump and other deprived areas.

The dump is definitely a living hell. However, without sounding too much like a “do gooder” CCH is an amazing place giving hope to children like Srey Pov who is about to leave to go to Japan for 3 months to train as a hairdresser. She will come back before going again, the next time for a whole year. Eventually she would like to be a doctor. She has learnt English in 2 years. An awe inspiring young woman.

Photos to be provided – A disposable camera was used to save theft.