First impressions

January 9th

Yesterday was a bit hard. I just couldn't imagine myself here for a whole year. It's really quite basic and dirty at la casa. I spend quite a lot of time scrubbing my room but still. The mattress is doubtful and I won't even get started on the mosquito net… The noise is incessant. Horns, traffic, people shouting. People started putting music really loud this morning at 5am. So I laid away there until 6.30. It's quite smelly too. You know the particular Cambodia smell. We didn't have that in our hotel room but here you have to have doors and windows open as the fans don't work well... Anyway, I should just see them as challenges.

Work today was quite interesting. In the morning Corrine and I just sat in the living room and she presented me Krousar Thmey. She knows it inside out as she's been working here for 3 years. Then in the afternoon I went to 2 street children centers. It was so great to see how they actually were. And the kids… They were just too cute. I wish I could be an educator. But unfortunately their job is reserved for Khmers, we are only allowed limited contact with them. Tomorrow we're going to follow the educators during a "visit". That's when they go in the streets to meet street children. They speak to them, they check if they have nits, cut their nails (it's a way to create a physical contact). Little by little they convince these kids to come to the centers. The sad thing is that usually only 50% of the kids who come in go back to the street where they sniff glue and don't have to learn anything. The directors of the centers where telling us about different kids, why they are here, what's their story etc. Some of the stuff was really depressing. But the kids are so behaved and you would never imagine that these little innocent faces play with knives, do drugs or steal. When they arrive at the center, they re-become the kids that they are supposed to be. Like one of the little boys starting crying when he saw us (because one of the stupid educators had told him that if he didn't behave the white volunteers would eat him…Great stuff for our reputation) He cried like a little baby eventhough in the street he was probably a tough kid.

I'm a bit anxious because I really have big shoes to fill by replacing Corrine. She was announcing to everybody as we were in the centrer that I was the girl replacing her, it was the first time they heard that she was leaving and you should have seen the look on their faces… each one of them… She's older (34), speaks Khmer fluently, knows what she's doing, does a lot of fundraising etc. They all asked me how long I was staying for and were disappointed that I would only stay a year. And that already feel like ages for me!!! Having said that, I now think that it will take such a long time to understand this job well and do it properly, that I understand why the Cambodian staff want volunteers to stay longer.

Right now I have loads of things to do like go change some travelers cheques, buy stuff I need for my room, find an internet café that works, buy a sim chip. I just don't know where to go here. I'm thinking of going to the area along the river that I know well, but it's kinda far away just to go to an internet café (the bank and the market will be closed at this time, I've just been told). And don't lknow how we're working for food, toilet paper, and other common stuff. We don't have the cook for evenings and Julie told me they usually go out to eat.

I wrote this at home and now I'm in an internet cafe. I went to a supermarket and bought myself breakfast stuff. The I went to a phone shop and ask the uy for a cambodian sim. It was really hard to understamd each other. When he finally understtod I wanted a sim chip he told me I need a cambodian ID card. I tried to explain I didn't want a contractjust pay as you go but it was impossible to make him understand me... So I guess I'll try asking the other guys again if they an give me a hand with that too. The i went walkig around. I walked to sihanouk bvd and bought some fruit. It's good cos I spotted stuff like where I could buy a fan if it justs gets too hot in my room (right now is hardly bearable and it's winter. Khmer keep complaining about how they having a particularly chilling wintyer this year. Come on people it 32 degrees!)

OK, I'll go home now. Hope sombody will be there and will offer me to have dinner with them... If not I've got fruits. And I'll go to bed early cos I so tired, each time i sit down I feel like I'm about to nod off.