Khmer Khristmas Wishes.

Monday, 5^th January 2009. VSO Programme Office, Phnom Penh.

It’s been a long time since my last update for a number of reasons, most of which stem from the fact I’m still laid up with dengue. 7 weeks and counting. So, not only have I been drained of all energy to the point where talking seems like too much effort (those of you who know my motor-mouth can tell this means it’s serious) but I’ve also been doing nothing worth reporting. My days have been taken up with sleeping, watching mindless DVDs or CNN (equally mindless) and comparing symptoms with volunteers stuck in the office/sick bay with various infections, broken bones or malaria.

After finally getting more or less back to health 3 and a half weeks after the initial onset of dengue, I went back to work in Kampong Speu for a week. The house was covered with a good centimetre thick layer of dirt but lingering disease and a good ounce of laziness meant I didn’t do too much about this in the short breaks from a busy week at work. I’ve already gotten into the Khmer way of cleaning – why clean it if it’s not in immediate use? If you don’t walk on, eat off or sleep on a particular surface on a daily basis, it can stand to have a bit of a covering of red dust.


As expected, being back in K. Speu was full of small joys like reading ទឹកកក (teuk kawk) and knowing that it meant I could buy ice for my cooler box, bigger successes like finishing the first draft of the CBET 2009 annual plan with activities that match objectives and indicators that match activities, and, obviously, major frustrations. Most of the latter revolved around my incompetent line-manager and his selfish attitude to knowledge. If he doesn’t share what he knows or what he’s told from head office with junior members of staff then it means every decision, from the planning of budgets to the use of paper clips, has to go via him. I suspect he’s going to be the cause of many major gripes in the future so I’m saving all my niggles for a detailed rant later.

So, feeling a little tired, I was looking forward to a restful weekend in another province with such luxuries as internet and running water. However, by Sunday night I was back in bed with the same excruciating headache and deathly fatigue as I’d had a few weeks earlier at the start of the dengue. I managed another day of work in the PP office but by the end of the day was resigned to the fact that it really was too early to go back to work and that I’m just not fit enough for full time work yet. Facing a lonely, depressing Christmas in the programme office lit only by dingy, flickering fluorescent lights and greeted only by the rats in the kitchen, I took up Claire’s offer of being looked after in her house in the quite riverside town of Kampot, near the coast.

The Christmas spirit never really arrived (unless I was sleeping and missed it which is entirely possible) but garlic bread for Christmas dinner was a worthy treat and some Santa hats appeared from somewhere. Even the repetitive Khmer karaoke music was switched for Jingle Bells for a couple of days. Unfortunately, the sad looking pot-palm draped with scraggy tinsel and a few fairy lights didn’t exactly live up to memories of Christmas trees at home but it was appreciated all the same.

A few days later, after much lazing in hammocks and many episodes of The L Word and Skins (thanks Sarah!), Claire, Meghan and I set off to Sihanoukville for New Year’s Eve to meet up with some other volunteers from around the country. Having been told by the doctor that I have liver damage and alcohol is out of the question for 2 - 3 months except for “one glass of wine on Christmas and one glass of wine of New Year’s Eve”, I wasn’t particularly looking forward to a sober night among a big group of volunteers who are not exactly known for their good behaviour or restraint! As it turned out, I had one of the best New Year’s I’ve ever had even if I was in bed shortly after midnight with only half a gin and tonic to my name. Even the rain didn’t spoil the beach party and, if anything, only made it more fun because everyone was so wet and dirty anyway that going in the sea seemed like the only sensible thing to do!

The two next days were spent lounging in satellite chairs (ubiquitous in Cambodia and far more comfortable than your average deck chair) and now I’m back in Phnom Penh for yet another doctor’s appointment. So, the waiting, resting and film-watching continues. So far toady I’ve slept through Quantum of Solace, turned off Wanted after 15 minutes and am currently ignoring Lions and Lambs. I did read an interesting article about indigenous rights in North East Cambodia though so maybe my brain won’t go to fluff too quickly and now I’m about to have a good English fry-up cooked for me by Richard who’s doing a marvellous job of nursing me and Bas (malaria-fied) although he does keep refusing to put on a proper blue dress and pinafore.