One of the outcomes from going back to the UK was the acquisition of gifts for the Cambodian community. Some of these were to reciprocate kindness & generosity, some were special requests from home and some were to overcome the logistical nightmare of the Cambodian postal system.
From the Barang community;
Peter had requested PG Tips (as many as I could carry!) - that's brand loyalty for you.
Andre wanted a photographic magazine in which one of his photos had been published. (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=248747928514880&set=a.139655496090791.26531.100001390258071&type=1&theater)
Geordie's brother had a lens for his SLR camera which logistically would not desirable to send to Cambodia by post. The plan was to send it to my parent's house and add it to my ruck sack (7kg going home 22kg coming back!), unfortunately I forgot that G & I had arranged this (alcohol may have been involved) and hence my excitement on receiving a parcel rapidly dissolved into disappointment when I went to collect it from the post office. Geordie also got Mars bars - despite them being available in the miserable chinese shop for $1 - because he had previously given me a hard time for not getting my parents to bring out a huge Tesco shop of confectionary for the whole of BTB.
Janice had no requests but had previously bemoaned that she had never received any post at her P.O Box - I did point out to her that as only 2 people know the address this might be a contributing factor to the lack of post. So Janice's gift (or A* as I shall now call her - see future blog) was a parcel and letter to her BTB P.O Box.
Kristy's gift to me when she went back to Australia at Christmas was a Violet Crumble so I returned her kindness with mini eggs & 'lollies' as the aussies call them. A girl can not live on Nutella & chicken coated peanuts alone.
Katie (selfless & unassuming as ever) asked for nothing but got cheese - vacuumed packed, sealed in freezer bags and then secured in tupperware containers - lovingly carried in my hand luggage. She misses cheese more than I do. And of course crackers!
The Cambodians were less food orientated, after all they have rice - all culinary corners are already covered.
Rady wanted the English File intermediate work book & CD-ROM, after reading an email he sent me whilst I was in the UK I could see it would be money well spent. When I gave it to him I thought it was the wrong book as he had absolutely no response. My family (minus my mother) are olympic gold medalists in present appreciation - Sonia is by far the best. It turns out that Rady (like my Mother) is more of a slow burner when it comes to present appreciation. He kept the book all neat in its packaging for a whole day and only after much haranguing from me, unwrapped it - he didn't want to spoil its newness. When he discovered that the CD allowed him to register for free on-line learning resources he let out a stifled exclamation of joy - "The people at Oxford University Press are just so kind!"
Vibol - my trusty VA and best boy - got a book on Idioms. His english is excellent, he has a great sense of humour with a limitless supply of jokes, so I figured that as I have an uncontrollable compulsion to speak in idioms (only since working with people who have english as a second language) that this book would be the most useful gift for him. I think he would have preferred it if in the inscription I had written 'to my best-man' instead of 'boy' but as we have already established, I am too old to be his Bong-S'rey (big sister) so he can't have it both ways.
Sivhour - with the longest, shiniest, gorgeous hair got accessories from Clare's. Her response rivaled Rady's with a photo of them and wall post on Facebook as a show of gratitude.
Soyeth - my Khmer teacher - got hand cream as when ever she is holding my hands telling me how much she pities me, she then comments on how soft and smooth my hands are. I keep trying to tell her it is because I haven't done a proper days work in my life (and for god sake DONT pity me!) Perhaps the Clarins will be able to help reverse the evidence of her lifetime of hard work. I'm not sure the same can be said for my pitifulness.
Bonsak however wins in his response. Before I went home he had cheekily asked what I was going to bring him back as a gift then? I asked him if there was anything he wanted & he requested a football. He supports Arsenal, when I told him I support Liverpool he mocked me - my response was at least I had been to Liverpool - unkind but if you read on you will see that he gets his own back.
On my return to work, barely through the door, Bonsak cheekily asked where is his gift was then? I explained to him that in my country it is rude to ask where your present is and we generally wait to be given things. His response - perfect in every sense - was "In your country is it rude to ask for help as well?" - touche.
It got me thinking about a VSO video I watched during my pre-departure training. A volunteer is talking about how she responds when her partner organization staff ask her where is the money, the resources, the per diems, the gifts that they want NGOs to provide them. Her reply was "I'm your gift - my knowledge, my skills, my time - that's my gift to you."
I think Bonsak preferred his football and arsenal water bottle.
From the Barang community;
Peter had requested PG Tips (as many as I could carry!) - that's brand loyalty for you.
Andre wanted a photographic magazine in which one of his photos had been published. (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=248747928514880&set=a.139655496090791.26531.100001390258071&type=1&theater)
Geordie's brother had a lens for his SLR camera which logistically would not desirable to send to Cambodia by post. The plan was to send it to my parent's house and add it to my ruck sack (7kg going home 22kg coming back!), unfortunately I forgot that G & I had arranged this (alcohol may have been involved) and hence my excitement on receiving a parcel rapidly dissolved into disappointment when I went to collect it from the post office. Geordie also got Mars bars - despite them being available in the miserable chinese shop for $1 - because he had previously given me a hard time for not getting my parents to bring out a huge Tesco shop of confectionary for the whole of BTB.
Janice had no requests but had previously bemoaned that she had never received any post at her P.O Box - I did point out to her that as only 2 people know the address this might be a contributing factor to the lack of post. So Janice's gift (or A* as I shall now call her - see future blog) was a parcel and letter to her BTB P.O Box.
Kristy's gift to me when she went back to Australia at Christmas was a Violet Crumble so I returned her kindness with mini eggs & 'lollies' as the aussies call them. A girl can not live on Nutella & chicken coated peanuts alone.
Katie (selfless & unassuming as ever) asked for nothing but got cheese - vacuumed packed, sealed in freezer bags and then secured in tupperware containers - lovingly carried in my hand luggage. She misses cheese more than I do. And of course crackers!
The Cambodians were less food orientated, after all they have rice - all culinary corners are already covered.
Rady wanted the English File intermediate work book & CD-ROM, after reading an email he sent me whilst I was in the UK I could see it would be money well spent. When I gave it to him I thought it was the wrong book as he had absolutely no response. My family (minus my mother) are olympic gold medalists in present appreciation - Sonia is by far the best. It turns out that Rady (like my Mother) is more of a slow burner when it comes to present appreciation. He kept the book all neat in its packaging for a whole day and only after much haranguing from me, unwrapped it - he didn't want to spoil its newness. When he discovered that the CD allowed him to register for free on-line learning resources he let out a stifled exclamation of joy - "The people at Oxford University Press are just so kind!"
Vibol - my trusty VA and best boy - got a book on Idioms. His english is excellent, he has a great sense of humour with a limitless supply of jokes, so I figured that as I have an uncontrollable compulsion to speak in idioms (only since working with people who have english as a second language) that this book would be the most useful gift for him. I think he would have preferred it if in the inscription I had written 'to my best-man' instead of 'boy' but as we have already established, I am too old to be his Bong-S'rey (big sister) so he can't have it both ways.
Sivhour - with the longest, shiniest, gorgeous hair got accessories from Clare's. Her response rivaled Rady's with a photo of them and wall post on Facebook as a show of gratitude.
Soyeth - my Khmer teacher - got hand cream as when ever she is holding my hands telling me how much she pities me, she then comments on how soft and smooth my hands are. I keep trying to tell her it is because I haven't done a proper days work in my life (and for god sake DONT pity me!) Perhaps the Clarins will be able to help reverse the evidence of her lifetime of hard work. I'm not sure the same can be said for my pitifulness.
Bonsak however wins in his response. Before I went home he had cheekily asked what I was going to bring him back as a gift then? I asked him if there was anything he wanted & he requested a football. He supports Arsenal, when I told him I support Liverpool he mocked me - my response was at least I had been to Liverpool - unkind but if you read on you will see that he gets his own back.
On my return to work, barely through the door, Bonsak cheekily asked where is his gift was then? I explained to him that in my country it is rude to ask where your present is and we generally wait to be given things. His response - perfect in every sense - was "In your country is it rude to ask for help as well?" - touche.
It got me thinking about a VSO video I watched during my pre-departure training. A volunteer is talking about how she responds when her partner organization staff ask her where is the money, the resources, the per diems, the gifts that they want NGOs to provide them. Her reply was "I'm your gift - my knowledge, my skills, my time - that's my gift to you."
I think Bonsak preferred his football and arsenal water bottle.
No comments:
Post a Comment