Home Stay

Home Stay - our home by the Mekong

As we entered our last week of language training following placement week it became apparent that we had all completely forgotten any Khmer in the one week off from Dara. This was very disappointing for him (and us) and sadly really just reiterated the need for daily study and practice-hatt-practice. Learning a new language is just bloody hard work. I'm getting completely useless at goodbyes so the last class was a bit sad, but after the post-placement week dip all was restored by our Home Stay experience.

The philosophy of Home Stay is that all VSO-ers spend a day and night in a village with a family to understand how rural Cambodians live and also fail to make ourselves understood or to understand any khmer after our 24 lessons. It is a really valuable opportunity to see how the majority of the country live, a  very rural existence.

Louise & I were placed together off the main village road in a cul-de-sac by the Mekong river in a great wooden house. We arrived at 9am and became the neighbour's entertainment for the next 24 hours. There was a lot of sitting and drinking tea (which was so weak I initially thought was river water!) and eating home grown mangoes (which were utterly delicious). There was also a new fruit experience (la moat in khmer) no english name as yet. It was a plum shaped with a green skin and a pink flesh with a singular saw shaped pip, a cinnamon pear type fruit - super sweet - dee-licious. Waitrose need to get out here and start importing it for my UK return.

Whilst sitting on a bamboo shelf outside of our house, watching the world go by, I managed to rip an enormous hole in my shorts, right bum cheek. At that very same moment the male youth of the village all descended and it was quite a military operation to get back to the house with my dignity in tact.

We were fed bai (rice) and fish for an 11am lunch with more fruit as they had worked out Lou had discovered the joy of tree ripened mango. Then the Mother of the house sent us straight to bed for a siesta, no negotiation was possible. It was also chance for me to fashion a modesty garment out of my sarong. NEVER travel without a sarong. Katie had questioned the need for one when packing and I was glad to have an opportunity to demonstrate their usefulness.

Washing in the Mekong

Post siesta we went for a wander around the village and checked out other people's home stay families. Calleb and Neil were with a teacher who had a white board ready for english-khmer communications and oddly enough in preparation for them Condom was written up in both english and khmer. One of Pete's family was a seamstress and we were called over to her work shop whilst all out for a mid-afternoon stroll. Not only was I able to have my shorts patched up there but we all purchased yoga trousers, mine are burnt orange - perfect.

Neil & Pete going native
 After a wander to the market and a coca cola we went back to the river for further sitting.

This is apparently just like Cork, according to Lou although without the turkeys

The sitting turned into watching man of house fishing, woman washing clothes, adults and children swimming, washing of children, watering the cattle and filling up of a dubious looking pit that we never established its function but I'm guessing sewage is in there somewhere.

Bucket shower and then more bai for dinner and then a frustrating hour of being talked to and not understanding anything or alternatively trying out your khmer to blank faces of incomprehension. Followed by an hour of khmer TV (whilst it was bombarding my moths & light loving beetles) and an 8 30 pm bedtime.

Bed was a mat on the bamboo flooring and what the floor loses in comfort it more than gains in coolness, it was a great air-con system, the coolest night I have had here since arrival. The night was an 'interesting' one with multiple mosquito bites, unidentified sounds, high winds and the cockerel doing its thing from 4 am. The Mother put her mat right next to ours to stop us I'm sure from slipping out in the night. We had a lie in until 6 am, Pete was up at 5 am feeding the cows.

A girl's beauty routine doesn't stop just because she is on home stay

Then there was some more sitting and being laughed at by the neighbours.

The Bamboo floor - AC

River-side view

Family dog chillaxing - we became part of his pack which was very welcoming

Then super noodles for breakfast.

The middle daughter of the family - she was actually quite smily but obviously this is her sultry photo face

 More sitting and hanging out with the family.

Lovely smily neighbour - didn't understand a word of what she said but I think it was all good!

 Then 9 am pick up back to Kampong Cham.

Louise AKA The Stig

24 hours of sitting, eating, drinking, chatting and watching the Mekong flow by is enough to restore any soul. The pace of life perfectly suits the environment, I am still struggling with the concept of the same pace for acute medicine!

Pete wanted to get Lou and Katie's Moto skills up to a standard appropriate for crazy Cambodian roads so he hired a couple of bikes. Katie and Neil bowed out with excuses of lack of sleep and wanting to wait for formal training. So this is how I found myself post home stay on a waste land on the outskirts of KC with Pete teaching Lou how to ride. Due to Lou's sudden addition to the Cambodian February in-take (1 week warning pre-departure) she had not had her pre-departure motorbike training. But in 30 minutes Pete's excellent teaching and Lou's natural ability and tenaciousness meant that we were all on the way to Wat Hancheay 20 kms away. Pete had suggested Wat Nocor which is only 2 kms away but this was promptly dismissed by Lou because "we've been there before"!

It was a perfect moto day, overcast with a breeze and not too hot. Within 1 km of leaving KC we encountered a wedding that was blocking the entire road. The women were all shooing us back whilst the men were all egging us on. So this is why I found myself, riding pillion, driving through a wedding reception marque. Pete kicking the chairs out the way to make a path and me pushing them further back so Lou with all 30 minutes of experience could follow through the narrow path created behind us, stunned guest staring on. I thought I'd entered a James Bond film!

Wat Hancheay

Wat Hancheay sits by the Mekong with sandy beaches and old and new pagodas. We sat on the banks and chatted to the local shop owner who was very impressed by our khmer, unlike Dara or our home stay families. Which I think has more to do with expectation than competence. So we can buy a bus ticket, food and drink, say what our name is and where we come from and where we will be working but as for after dinner conversation - not so good.

The journey home was equally eventful with a mortally wounded chicken, and near misses (cat, dog, child) and an unexpected speed bump. By this time I had addressed my trust and control issues and was completely relaxed into my role as pillion rider. So when 2 seconds before we made contact with said speed bump Pete shouted "speed-bump!" I hadn't the reaction times to adjust and found myself thrown into the air. No part of my body had contact with the bike and for what felt like 10 seconds I was suspended in space like a cartoon character. Pete knew I was in trouble when after 1 hour of adamantly refusing to hold on to him I practically bear hugged him on re-contact with the bike.

The ubiquitous face mask

One more week of in-country training in Phnom Penh then I can start out on the road I'm here to travel. I just hope that no chickens get killed on the way and that any obstacles along the way wont leave me suspended in mid-air desperately peddling away like the road runner.....