So now it's two years in Cambodia!
on So Now It's Cambodia (Cambodia), 15/Oct/2011 10:53, 34 days ago
Alison surveys the river scene in Phnom Penh from the FCC where we went for breakfast to celebrate.The restaurant at the FCCThe colonial fans at the FCC! (the roof used to be occupied by bats!)A traditional boat on the river - seen from our breakfast table at the FCCIt’s exactly two years since our plane landed at Phnom Penh airport in the morning of 15th. October, after a long flight from Heathrow. It felt like a night flight even though we left in the morning, as they’d turn the lights down and by the time we arrived in Cambodia we’d missed a night as we’d jumped forward 7 hours (currently only 6 hours until the clocks change again).To our relief we were met by the two main Cambodian staff from the VSO Programme Office in Phnom Penh, who helped us through our form signing and into a mini bus to take us to the office which was to be our home base for the next two months. They were remarkably calm, which helped us settle down and think it was going to be alright– we were in safe hands.We have learnt that these two gentlemen are not only stalwarts of VSO but also, appearing calm in difficult situations is a national characteristic (no Basil Fawltys here!!!– except the English!!), so even if it was all going wrong we probably wouldn’t have noticed the difference! So, apart from two visits of two weeks each – the first being to attend my mother’s funeral – we have lived as “ex-pats” in Cambodia for exactly two years now.We have commented many times that it doesn’t seem possible, yet it’s also impossible to imagine not knowing Cambodia! Never a day goes by without us saying: “I wasn’t expecting that”! or similar expressions. Alison’s phrase this morning was that "after two years in the “Kingdom of Wonder”, we’re still wondering what’s going on"!! It can be very bewildering sometimes, as almost every routine or custom we’ve learnt over many years is different here in some way.Those ways may be small but there’s a constant challenge to our accepted ways of thinking and doing things. Now we live in Phnom Penh we see the haphazard driving on a daily basis and raise our hands to brace ourselves on almost every tuk tuk ride as we seem to be heading for a collision or a moto with several people might get squashed by a big four wheel drive car. Fortunately, most of the time, they get away with it but there are so many near misses - as we see it. But this is one of the big differences: they don’t bat an eye lid and just carry on!The route to our local supermarket involves negotiating a big busy road, to make it easier, some of the tuk tuks go the wrong way along the dual carriageway to be on the same side as the shop! This can be nerve-wracking but it seems to work even if I think they’re about to take out a load of motos coming straight towards us!! On one occasion, there was obviously too much traffic so we obviously couldn’t do it. In addition, there were 5 policemen on motor bikes waiting at the junction! No problem (common expression here:ot panya hain Khmer), my tuk tuk just went up on the pavement and wiggled his way through while the police rammed each others wheels from behind just for laughs– they took absolutely no notice of the tuk tuk!You might say we should be used to it by now and to some extent we are, but it’s just an example of the many ways things are different here. It’s a pretty lawless society which can make it quite relaxed but it also causes lots of problems for Cambodian society. We originally came to help Cambodia as a developing country through Alison sharing here great experience as a nurse. Those days have (officially) finished now but the VSO connection continues and we often socialise with people from VSO though sadly (for us) some of our friends have now returned home. We’re about to have new tenants in the apartment upstairs and she is just starting work in the VSO Programmeoffice, so I don’t think we’ll ever really “leave” VSO!Alison has settled in to her new job now and is getting really positive feed back but she found it very hard adjusting to the new ways of working which are quite western, in being high pressure, working long hours, rush the lunch culture etc. I’ve found some piano teaching in the Sronos Music School which is a small specialist school near here. It’s not very much but it’s good experience though a bit frustrating when I arrive to find the pupils don’t come and forget to phone….I only have adults at the moment and they are interesting to work with  -a Japanese, an American and a Khmer.Since living in Phnom Penh we have enjoyed the luxury of having many restaurants to choose from, being able to walk the streets without being attacked by dogs (!) and having so many shops and good supermarkets to choose from. Tuk tuks are a big part of our lifestyle– it’s nice when you walk out of a shop and they’ve waited for you and just drive up to take you home!We’ve even been to some classical music concerts since coming here. We’ve “discovered” two really nice air conditioned theatres. One – “The Chendla” – put on a brilliant and entertaining production of Moliere’s “The Miser”, which was a French production but with a Cambodian cast.There have also been two good orchestral concerts in the last week which are the first we’ve been to since leaving England two years ago! The first was at the “Chaktamuk Theatre” by the river, which is another lovely building with air con and a massive bar across the front! This featured theABC orchestra which is basically a "scratch" orchestra connected to the ASEAN summit meetings. It wasn’t absolute top quality but it was good and started with the “Prometheus Overture” by Beethoven and ended with his dance like 7th. symphony.The highlight though was the violin concerto by Mendelssohn, which was played by a brilliant young man called Ryo Goto. He’s Japanese-American and has just gained a physics degree at Harvard! At a mere 23, he played a virtuoso encore which displayed just about every “unplayable” technique on the violin – maybe it was Paganini – it was breathtaking and he’s surely a name to watch out for.All this is very rare in Cambodia. The Khmer Rouge days left indelible scars on the country and its people– most intellectuals, artists, doctors, teachers etc. were killed or left the country and since it ended in 1979 few have received proper training as we know it back home. Yes, it’s starting to change but people who received rudimentary medical training are still leading some of the rural hospitals and the arts scene which was decimated, is beginning to come back to life – so should we support Khmer traditional arts or introduce and develop western traditions???The clapping at last week’s concert was interrupted by the young lady who’d been told to speak to the royalty (who were guests of honour!) when the music stopped – and did just that! (wouldn’t have gone well at the proms!!) - hierarchy “rules” here!! At this week’s concert we were treated to the Württemberg Chamber Orchestra who were first rate – wonderful string sound and expressive conductor (Ruben Gazarian). The concert finished with local Cambodian musicians joining the orchestra and a Cambodian flautist playing a Stamitz flute concerto, conducted by her teacher, a local German musician who runs an art foundation which helped organise the event. She did very well since she has only learnt classical music in the last few years. It was a drop in the superb standard of the concert but on the other hand it was a good experience for the local musicians - I suppose they have to “develop” somehow….The flooding in Cambodia and across Thailand has been the biggest issue recently and we have escaped lightly in the city– so far!! The water level is very high in the main river – The Bassac/Mekong. The years old annual tradition of the water festival (which we rowed in in our first year here) has been cancelled this year so as to direct funds (and presumably attention) to other parts of the country where many homes are flooded and hundreds people have died. I expect they are bearing in mind the tragedy on the bridge last year and they will hold a memorial service instead. Even tourist mecca Siem Reap has been under water for some time now– including for visits to the temples at Angkor Wat! Volunteers where we used to live have had to contend with flooded roads and houses – so maybe we left at the right time!!!Man fishing in the river in Phnom Penh The murky (disgusting!) water - very close to the promenade in Phnom Penhhttp://edition.cnn.com/2011/10/12/world/asia/asias-wet-and-wild-summer-explained/index.htmlI had a problem with this link just now but it has worked before:http://news.yahoo.com/cambodia-cancels-festival-flood-death-toll-rises-163239627.htmlA young Cambodian family check out the river level on a Sunday afternoon in Phnom PenhFinally, we went for a meal this week at a delightful little Italian restaurant which is just around the corner (not an Italian in sight, of course!). We were meeting two other VSO volunteer friends. Alison was delighted (overjoyed!!) when we arrived to find the Hospital Director from Mongkul Borei sitting there with his wife and family! It was a coincidence and the first time they had met since leaving at the beginning of July. It was good to catch up and the first time we had met his family. He keeps saying he wants his daughter to have piano lessons and he continues to do remarkable work at the hospital.There are few like him in the country and we would like to see his skill, insight and integrity put to even greater use nationally than they are at the moment. He is cause for hope for Cambodia - if he gets listened to!!So, life goes on as we enter our third year! We still make tea the English way, we still check“funny noises” from rubbish bins in case it’s a snake (had to do that on our first night in Cambodia!), we’re learning to live with air con (!) and (in spite of the constant drilling from the building site over the road!) I’m finally making good progress with writing and scoring my musical, so that maybe - one day - it will get performed so you “dear reader” can see and hear it too!