Southeast Asia...week 1

Day 1 1.1.18 Monday At Home

The last several days have been mixed...during the day we organize, plan, and pack, making arrangements for the whole trip, planning our work in the Cambodian Orphanage, the Street Kids feeding program, teaching English and thinking about life/English teaching in the Monastery. Each activity distracts from completing the other areas needing attention, leaving us feeling scattered while trying to prepare and engage in Christmas and New Years Cheer/activities. At nite is a different experience for me... I sleep to get rid of tiredness and then wake to ruminate about thinking we should not go because of age and condition/incapacity and thinking about what could happen to us (robbery or not liking what we are suppose to do), not being adequately prepared with ideas and materials, not wanting to be so far from home for such a long time, and anything else negative. Worried about how to safely carry and manage the money and credit cards. To remember and relieve the struggles is why I started writing the log this early. 

Day 2 1.2.18 Tuesday Paying Ahead

We had prepared to pay our Vietnam and Mongolian expenses today. However, we know how and how much to wire to Footprint in Vietnam. but we have not had regular contact and information from Evaneous, Chris Smith the manager of our tour with the Mongolian Secret History company, also referred to as Evaneous. At the GSC Orientation we must present a 15 minute program about teaching; our ideas are two fold- 1. Brainstorm the supplies needed in a first aid kit and where to get them 2. Quick response to maladies ...things one should do in the first 30 seconds of a health crisis... cuts, bite, burns, broken bone, unconscious, not breathing, hit, accident listing in 30 seconds by the group. Paid for the Vietnam tour this am with a wire from our bank. We got a note from our Mongolia tour person and will talk with him Wednesday eve. We worked out this am and I swam after business things pre noon. Marnie shopped and I read in the afternoon. We were given tickets for the UW v IU basketball game tonite - we are eating early to attend. We arranged the means of confirming our flight reservations and checking in thru our ticket booker. 

Day 3 1.3.18 Wednesday repacking and organizing materials

We have reorganized our period to teach in Cambodian training- present several ideas, 30 seconds to respond to a malady, first Aid kits of the orphanage, school attached to the feeding program like in Grahamstown ZA, basic math, and English and concepts of early education. Went to the gym and mall walk before 8am and done by 10. Going to shop for meds and other items to take with us. We have tee shirts, waist packs, calculators, flag pins, soccer balls, footballs, inflator/pump, games, chalk, washable markers, pencils, dodge balls, toothbrushes/paste and some meds packed. 

Day 4 1.4.18 Thursday  Muddle thru

Below zero again with 3 inches of snow. In am I am very apprehensive and scared about going on the trip and working in Cambodia. I feel unhealthy, too weak, not being able to keep my weight program going and unprepared. During the day and as we sort out all the issues to prepare and pay I feel  more positive. Did circuits and walked in the am and swam and visited a friend in the afternoon. Patty Rue, our house sitter, and her husband arrived so we could review the issues and have dinner together. Finally got the finances prepared and now for confirmation of payment for Vietnam Footprint tour during February.

Day 5 1.5.18 Friday confirmed flight to Phnom Penh 

Marnie and I discussed our fearful feelings and apprehension. Payment for Vietnam was confirmed so most of the loose ends are closed...just packing. Confirm flights and do check in. Walked, worked out, and swam. Checking with airline and getting boarding passes. Washed the pilot in the aft and looked for things to take for acquaintances. Patty has moved in and we are in the process of reviewing the home closing for the weekend as she will go home after taking us to the bus.

Day 6 1.6.18 Saturday WE FLY...and fly

Up at 4am, -9 degrees and to the 5:45, driven by Patty Rue. Very poor sleep and anxious but we shall mellow out and make the most of the day..14+6 hours on a plane. Bus was on time and got us to terminal #5 where we checked in and thru TSA by 9am. So far no frustration and now we wait until 11:30 to load. 7.5 hrs-1/2 way thru the first ride we have been in the dark for sleeping and tv watching... we flew over Yellowknife to northern Alaska and across the Bering Straights into  Siberia - we watched the snow covered mountainous landscape and the ice flows from the back windows of the plane. Spent much time reading the “short history of the world”. We crossed the Bering straights, passed over western Russia,  down the Sea of Okhotsk, over North Korean and into Seoul on time  14 + hours. After less than 2 hrs layover we were flying over the Pacific and east of Taiwan, and on to Phnom Penh. We paid 24$$s for pushers and carriers. 29 hours since we left home, exhausted but quite happy as the entire trip went off without a hitch. Even got our 4 bags at the end without a problem and thru customs and immigration with no problems..think the assisted travel really helps.

Day 7    1.8.18 Monday Orientation starts 

We are staying at the Golden Gate Hotel for orientation. Up at 7 for walk around the block and 8 AM breakfast. It is amazing how much commerce is compacted into 4 linear  blocks. The electric wiring is amazing (worse than LaPaz). $1 equals 4000 real, 1000 R = $.25. We went to the National Museum in the late morning and I started to feel woozy- tired, jippy tummy, over heated, and weak-so I got a ride back to our room. After barfing, cooling down and having a movement I spent 3.5 hrs sleeping til a social hour and driving to dinner. I ate very little stable food, soup and chicken. I received a ride back to the hotel after dinner and got comfortable. We are feeling out of place but reading and writing.

Day 8 1.9.18 Tuesday For more orientation

Awake at 3am as too much sleep in aft and evening 2ndary to not feeling well - Poor internet so not much entertainment, but stayed up and prepared for the day and early morning walk then walked the block twice. Breakfast at 6:30 but only had 1 cup of coffee, but much good, solid food. We then had a language lesson for an hour. Next we went to Kings Palace and Wat Phnom. Then a nice lunch and lots of talk about forensic cases with 3 of the students. Only ate cashews and 2 glasses of lemon juice and soda.  Next we went to PCU university for lecture/presentation by Mr. Cham about the oppressive development of Cambodia and his leadership institute at the university - great inspirational presentation. We then went to see the workout and swim facilities at Hawarmith hotel with Rick and Maxine. We came back to mellow and they stayed to eat.

Day 9 1.10.18 Wednesday moving to work site day

Awake at 3 and thinking about our presentation today- ideas at 3am. We will work in two areas: education and first aid. Education includes early education  developmental material collected by Marnie (colors, numbers, calculators, pencils, alphabet, Uno card games, memory games) and I collected physical activities materials (5 soccer balls 10 footballs and dodgeballs, backpacks, shirts, waist packs, etc). The second education area is to attach a school option to the street children and feeding program  like Grahmstown, (township with 80% unemployment)- kids who weren’t ever in schools were placed by skill (15 yr old in 1st grade), all meals provided, weekend packs with family food goes home, family placement in housing and pay rent if losing house jeopardized the kids education. Second area- first aid and self care-1.  First aid materials for complete 1st aid kits at feeding center and the orphanage, and 2. Self care & 1st aid in 30 seconds..bitten, on fire, list, etc. made presentation and then others did the same. We had lunch at VCDO and then drove to the Killing Fields for a tour. Then we drove to a celebration we did not understand called “My Cambodia”. Then we drove back to VCDO in ungodly terrible traffic and it took 2 hours for the return trip which took 45 minutes out. Meeting for tomorrow with Chamroeun, manager of Center. I discovered I left my glasses in the other van, they did not warn us of a change in vehicles for the last part of our trip. 

Day 10 1.11.18 Thursday First day of work

VCDO..Volunteers for Children and Development Organization, Manager Mr. Mao Chammy, wise young man. Up at 4:30 after poor sleep with 76 rating on CPAP, but was able to go back to sleep and ended at 7 with a 96. We had toast and coffee for breakfast and the tuk tuk came for us at 8:30 for a 45 minute ride to the street feeding program. After a short orientation, Marnie worked in the open kitchen distributing as much rice/chicken/broth as children of all ages wanted. At the site the children also were given showers, their hair was washed and they were given clean clothes as needed. The remainder of the time there they played marbles, soccer kicking, running etc. When morning school let out some children came for food in school uniforms (unlike the early street kids - we think). I spent time kicking the ball and providing contact comfort on my lap for 2 kids - a girl of 4 and a boy of 18 months- for 2 hours, til they burned out. At noon we returned to VCDO for lunch and rest (we initially thot we wouldn’t need it, but the heat and activity laid us low). I am not eating yet and trying to recover from jippy tummy– Diarrhea and vomiting. At 1:30 we went to the orphanage (Sacrifice Families and Orphans Development Association) for orientation provided by an English speaking 30 yr old lady who had lived in the orphanage from age 10 til she married. Great person. After touring the facility of 52 kids, 16 girls only, Marnie hung out with the girls while I kicked a small ball with a Down’s syndrome kid and a 3-4 yr old. After they burned out I attended and assisted in a math class - taught by an Univ accounting student to 10-12 kids. The kids are in schools in the morning and get more classes at the orphanage in the afternoon. Most kids older than 5 have some English speaking facility. A  14 year old girl without discretion has not been allowed to be away from the orphanage without supervision. Tomorrow I will begin to assess the first aid kit needs of each facility. The traffic is horrific, cars mixed with thousands of motor scooters driven by all ages from high school on up with as many as 4 passengers, interspersed with Tuk Tuks with few road lines, no one honoring lite signals winding to the nearest small opening allowing a small advance toward the goal, creating massive auto plugs for delays. Interestingly, we saw no accidents (probably due to slow motion) and we made it to our destination, however, slowly. Thousands upon thousands of scooters...main transportation for working people. 89/99 with 7 hrs Miniair score. The girl in the picture was my interpreter for Friday.

Day 11 1.12.18 Friday Full day at work.. First aid Supplies

We started out at 7:30 wondering if we could work the full 8 hours with no ac and rest... but we shall see. I have eaten two consecutive meals and feel  gastrointestinally alive. We got yogurt and jam from the nearby shop to go with our toast and terrible instant coffee. We talked with the top dog this am- Mr. Mao Chamroeun, last name first, so Chamron, volunteer facility manager. Talked with founder and manager of Les Restaurants Des Enfants (LRDE) about funding for health. Went to the feeding center and inventoried the first aid supplies- lots of medicine but limited 1st aid. Went in a TukTuk to see the baby center where hundreds of mothers come in daily or weekly to get formula for their babies and a clean-up shower. Some mothers try to sell the formula for drugs, so the center opens each can, writes name and date on the bottom, and requires return of empty cans to get the next supply of formula. That way babies are tracked and secured if necessary. Then we rode to a very poor area where small make-shift huts are suspended over the open river-sewer, and the houses flood with the monsoons- narrow walkways, no windows/doors, kids everywhere, debris left behind from flooding, old lady tending many kids, scooters riding the walkways, disruption! Back at the center we observed the shower procedure for street kids, had talks with children, and watched as a hundred kids took donated 25# bags of rice home to their families. Much of the center’s funding comes from Malta and Italy, but they still need money (1860$ for the entire year) for weekly medical team visits - trying to raise this $ on Facebook. At noon we Tuk tuk’d to the orphanage for lunch. We took 1st aid inventory and then I was  told to teach English class and then math class with no heads up - played counting games and age games very poorly. Next time we shall make multiplication tables for memory - they use them without learning them. Marnie inventoried the girl’s sanitary needs and skin problems among boys. Then she attended math class as well. Played kick ball. Back at the volunteer center we rested, read and had dinner (we have an excellent cook and the manager, Chammy). Walked the street a bit and slept thru the nite after eating 4 consecutive meals without jippy tommy or diarrhea -hooray. 

Day 12 1.13.18 Saturday first aid shopping & organization

Lunch and dinner - rice, rice and more rice with some sauces and chicken in broth (chopped in 2x2 pieces - bones/skin to be nibbled and spit out the bones). Fresh fruit which is peelable for dessert. Only bottled water or soda to sooth the stomach. This morning we had a late start and went to a health appliance and then a pharmacy store for 2 hours to build two 1st aid Kits - 1 each for the feeding center and the orphanage, as my inventory showed medicine but few supplies to treat mild and long term injuries. After haggling about $150 + 8 for the Tuk Tuk we had nearly all the supplies needed for the First Aid list we brought with us. We organized the supplies and will distribute them on Monday am/pm. Nap time and then posttime. Marnie did a load of laundry in the wonderful top-loading machine then hung it to dry. Went for a long walk and saw an outdoor vehicle body shop and a Chinese construction site from which we were told to leave, talked with a group of men in a coffee shop about age, work, and retirement, watched construction of the interior of a store, tried to talk with people on the street. Thot we would love to lay low today, but it was boring and we needed stimulation, more than 1st aid can bring.

Southeast Asia - cambodia - second week

Day 13 1.14.18 Sunday Rest and walk day