still kicking

Saturday, almost midnight

Woke up feeling absolutely dreadful today.  Went to the pharmacy and had a blood draw to check for Dengue Fever.  Fortunately it came back negative, so my ailment is just a normal upper respiratory infection instead of something far worse.  A course of antibiotics and tylenol should fix me up in a few days.



Today we had a big luncheon and party at the school.  I had received a very generous donation from a friend in the states earlier this week to cover food costs for the school, so a little bit of it was reallocated for a nice celebration of the new school house and the students for being so good.

I blogged about it over on the Angkor's site...  you can read more and see the photos here:  http://angkorstreeschool.blogspot.com/

I stayed as long as I could, but in the end it was just too hot and I felt way too shitty.  So I came home and slept the rest of the afternoon away.


I did get a chance to work on a new photo project though.  Its been a really long time since I've done anything remotely creative and this is going to take a long time to complete and refine, but I like it so far.   I walk past Teacher Sokhom's house every day and never really notice it, but today the light was perfect and really showed off the red walls of the building.  There was no way I could pass it up.

a couple of quick previews.

 Pich

 Sira

Piset

****

back to bed.   

sick

Saturday, Sept 28 2013
1:30a
couched


Sick.  sicksicksicksicksick.     fever.  sore throat.  worst headache ever.  

prolly going to die.  

or I'll be fine by tomorrow.

but i think i'm going to die.



i leave the comfort of my aircon apartment.  walk in the dampness 2 blocks to school.  3 hours spent sweating profusely in the sauna/classroom.   walk back through the dampness which has now turned to full on monsoon rain (today the "puddles" were knee high) back in to aircon.   the perfect breeding ground for death.  

back to bed.    send flowers.

and chocolate.  lots and lots of chocolate.

silly kids playing in the rain.  the wood is from the construction of the library.  

more on that later.  

school life

Its taken a while, but I've finally started a blog for the school.  For those of you who aren't on facebook, you can keep up with our progress here.   http://angkorstreeschool.blogspot.com/


We continue to have new students every day.  The room has become too crowded to teach so many at once, so we've changed school hours a bit.   Younger students have been divided between a morning session ( 8 - 10am) and an afternoon session (3 - 5pm).   Japanese lessions are from 2-3p, and the older students have class time from 5 -6pm.

***

Regular life is good.   Stressed about problems at my house back in the states, but there isnt much I can do from here.   I'd hate to have to come home to handle stuff myself there, but it may come to that.

Rainy season is definitely upon us.  The roads near my house and the school are too floody to use the moto, so I'm walking back and forth.  Its a short walk, but very wet and muddy.  

my walk to school

 the good road

 Turn right at the chicken coop

 Hard to see, but there is a small opening in the fence on the left.  Just big enough to fit through.  Unfortunately it opens into someone's well/shower/laundry spot.

 Wade through the water and try not to think about leeches and snakes.

Once I made it through the water, the path dries out a bit (to the left of the white house) from there its just another 25 feet to the school.  easy peasy.  

I'm the suckiest blogger ever....

Sunday, Sept 8 2013
Midnightish
Siem Reap, Cambodia


I've totally skipped on updates -  July I was back in Michigan for the month, and once I got back to Siem Reap, life got really busy.

I've bummed around town a bit.  Now that I have a moto, its much easier for me to get around - I don't have to wait on a driver, or try to explain where I want to go.   Its given me a bit of freedom back that I was sorely missing.   I still don't drive at night, I leave that to the professionals...  but during the day, I'm pretty independent.

I've gone down to Phnom Penh a couple of times over the past few weeks...  it takes about 6 hours by bus, but its an easy trip.   Giant Ibis is the new bus company in town.  Its about double the price of the older bus lines, but at $13 its still quite a deal.  Nice leather seats, air con, movies and wifi.  Very comfortable.    Didnt do much while in PP, just went to shop and sight see, but had a very nice time.

More recently my days have been spent at Angkor's Tree school.  Its a small, independent school behind our apartment that Ginny (our neighbor) has been teaching at.  Now that she's gone back to the States for a few months, I've taken her place.   It's not terribly difficult work, and its only two hours a day, but I'm worn out by the time I get home.   The kids are awesome though, and I'm having a great time there.

I've also taken on a part time job doing data entry for an NGO that works in one of the more rural areas.
So between my two new ventures, I havent had much time for blogging.

I'll try to do better...   soon.   ;)

 my moto - a yamaha fino - only 115cc.. but peppy enough to get through the mud and tall grass when needed.

I call him "Grigio"

 Marina feeding the pigeons in Phnom Penh

 National Museum

 Phnom Penh madness

 laundry day

 Snack shop on the route between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap.  Dried fishes and meat

Angkor's Tree School

This is the old school house.  Last week it was dismantled and a new school was built a few meters away

 Progress on the new school 

 The new building, not quite finished, but solid enough to have class in

My first "solo" day. 22 students in the first hour (the younger kids), 8 in the second hour (older kids).