The alliteration of the club title just appealed to me. Who knows – maybe another fad could be starting?After the first couple of days here in Phnom Penh, I can report that I am thrilled to be here. It is a vibrant and exciting big city with amenities galore. I have not checked out the bar scene, nor do I expect to for quite some time. I am trying to get acclimated to my jet lag condition and dehydration does not help. However, I expect this condition to pass in a relatively short time; the length of which I cannot predict.
It is Sunday night and as a result of my condition, I am composing this note in the wee hours of the morning, about 1 AM. I took a nap this afternoon and thought that I had slept through the night because when I awoke it I could see daylight. I decided to just lie about for a while since my first meeting wasn’t until 9:30. When I woke again, it was dark and my watch read 7:00 pm. Very confusing but not necessarily a problem. I find that I can do very well on a few hours of sleep at different times of the day. When I begin to put in more time I know that sleep rhythms will sort themselves out. Great work of engineering, the human body.
I am constantly comparing this experience with that of Puerto in Palawan. It isn’t really fair since I didn’t get to Palawan until almost two months after my arrival in the Philippines. But so far Phnom Penh compares very favorably. I am not drained from the heat since it is the cool time of the year. The transportation is very easy and accommodating. Motos (little carriages that are drawn by small motorcycles) and traditional pedicabs are everywhere. I have not taken any motorcycle (similar to cabs, but really a motorcycle) conveyances yet because I am not anxious to drag my helmet along. I am still impressed with my helmet and I expect that when I do begin carrying it, my transition to “Paco” will be more forthcoming. So far it is still “Richard”. I suspect it is because I show somehow that this is my name and is preferable. I am not sure when, if ever, I will start bicycling. I am not ordinarily a fearful person, but the traffic is clearly intimidating. It flows at different speeds, is generally of large number at least on the main boulevards, and moves with apparently complete disregard for other objects whether they are pedestrians, cars, motorcycles or bikes. Directions are relative since traffic flows in both ways literally with the traffic traveling on the correct side of the road having the right of way – I think. So, until I work up the nerve, I will either avoid bicycling or stay only on side streets with less traffic. I haven’t seen any elephants, berserk or not.
Tomorrow (today, because of the crossover of time) I will begin to meet with various personnel from the VSO office and discuss some cultural issues, hunting for a flat (apartment, I know you know that), and some other details. Later in the week I will be meeting with reps from UNESCO, DAC (Disability Action Council) and probably most importantly, members of the Ministry of Education with whom I will be working. I will still have another week to get grounded before doing any serious work but the agenda for that has not been given to me yet.
I have a lead on an apartment that is currently being rented by a girl (lady) who is leaving shortly. It is rumored to be a very nice, large and comfortable flat. I will contact her this week about possibly subletting it. The rumor is also that the landlord is going to raise the rent but unless it is exorbitant I think we will be able to work something out. VSO does provide a rent subsidy of $250/month. The comparison between Palawan and here continues to be significantly different. While the amenities are certainly grater and the cash flow better here, my memories of Palawan and the Philippines are so positive that it will take a long time before Cambodia becomes my Asian idyll. In the meanwhile, I will just have to enjoy being in a foreign land and testing its Shangri-like features.
As I walk along the streets of Phnom Penh or ride the slow moving “Tuk-tuk” (the moto, mentioned earlier), it is hard to fathom that only a few years ago, this entire city was evacuated by the Khmer Rouge and the inhabitants were relocated in “cooperatives”. Hitler called them camps in his day; concentration, in order to be more focused. The entire history of that time here in Cambodia is mind-boggling. There just were not any good guys anywhere. Everyone; French, American, Khmer, Vietnamese, Thai, Chinese, Russian either actively joined in screwing the other guy or looked the other way, or both. After the dead were counted and/or presumed to be – the country began its long haul back into the sunlight and despite drought, complete loss of personal ownership of property, and basically a rebirth using someone else’s currency, the country is actually beginning to see daylight. I had a long talk yesterday with a nurse management adviser who is going home in a few weeks. She extended beyond her 18 months because she had to finish a book that she and her Khmer nurses had written about I-V feeding. It sounds like a manual and was the product of the nurses’ desire to have something concrete to follow when they do a particular procedure. Prior there had not been anything. We also talked about the incredible malnutrition that exists in her work area in the north. I think I will make some detours to visit and see what they are doing there.
Yesterday, I almost literally ran into a Peace Corps guy on the street today as I was searching for an Internet store. He was walking toward me and he looked like a guy I had met the night before with a bunch of VSO’ers at a bar. He, of course, wasn’t the guy I thought, but he did turn out to be a PC’er. We shared some stories about the “Old Corps”(can you believe this turn of events?) and today’s Peace Corps. We exchanged phone numbers – I now am modern and have my own phone number. Next week I have to register with the American Embassy so that they know they can rescue me in case of any trouble or if Canada refuses to accept me as one of their own. This fellow, “Ren”, is in education and is in one of the provinces I am responsible for. Angkor Wat, the famous temple, is in Battanbang Province and he is as well.
Well, that’s it from the Wandering exile. Say a prayer to God, Allah, Buddha or whomever for me. The Druids are working overtime.
