The true Phnom Penh

The true Phnom Penh happens away from the riverfront, crammed onto plastic stools, slurping noodle soup and getting dusty by the roadside. It’s teaching barefoot and jumping around the red ants, or shouting over the excessive rain. It’s pleading with an HIV positive mother to get her child tested, and being there when the results come back negative. It’s visiting a public school and having to pay the Khmer teachers for each Library kid, so they can “do well” in their classes. It’s being able to buy a roof for a family who couldn’t even sleep before when it rained. It’s trying to convince children that Justin Bieber isn’t a 51 year old impersonating a 16 year old, like they all saw on the Internet (apparently Cambodians don’t get satire so try telling them it’s not true and they won’t believe you). It’s following “Fire Love” (the soap opera) and waking up to “I am sorry” (a very popular Khmer song) blasting out of your Cambodian mobile. It’s reading Khmer translations of stories such as The Little Mermaid, which are either totally wrong or just plain “trippy”, full of monsters with bleeding eye sockets and snakes for hair. It’s being pushed so far out of your comfort zone that you completely forget you once had one. It’s feeling like a C List celebrity (even B List at times). And it’s feeling so completely shit about yourself and what you take for granted back home.

I’ve just said goodbye to my Cambodian “home”, which has been the Narin Guesthouse for the last seven weeks. I will strangely miss the Narin guys, who watch TV all day, get drunk all night and occasionally bring you a cup of tea or a pancake, or drive you somewhere (if they aren’t too pissed to do so). It’s become such a relaxed and homely environment. I’ve also had to say goodbye to the people I’ve met here, some of which have left before me. I’ve met some truly inspiring people who have had a profound effect on me and I’m so grateful to have shared this experience with them.

On Friday we had a surprise party for all the kids at The Library. I think I was the one most surprised that day though. When we turned up everyone came out to meet the Tuk Tuk and stood cheering, clapping and throwing confetti over me. I was bombarded with so many presents from children who have so little themselves. I’ve never had a reception like it. The party was so much fun. On Thursday we went to the market and cooked a huge curry with some of the mums from the community to eat on the Friday. When it came to say goodbye I was so choked up by some of the things the children said to me. They don’t normally have volunteers stay long term there and it was incredibly hard to say goodbye to the children, and later to Channa as well.

Last night I came full circle and had my last meal in the Bodhi Tree (where I had my first meal in Cambodia). I couldn’t believe the difference. On my first day I had lunch there, which I hardly touched, and I was so stressed I could hardly talk. I thought I didn’t like Phnom Penh or Cambodia (although I’d just landed). Last night was so relaxed and calm and I was so, so sad to be leaving a place I have fallen in love with. I kick myself at the times I hated it or felt frustrated or home sick, but now I realize that’s all part of the experience. It’s been unforgettable.

There have been many times when the difference in culture has seemed great. For example, being looked at in disgust and having my hand ripped away from my mouth by a male friend for biting my nails, or taking off my shoes in a night club. Or just not understanding the ‘Cambodian logic’ of running things and how they teach. And there have been many times when I’ve I felt like the whole world around me was on drugs. For example, last Sunday night. I started to sip my beer just a little quicker when we watched the “entertainment” at the fair. It was a big stage and a big audience, me being the only white face for miles. The competition for the boys was simple: 1. Close your eyes, 2. Spin around in circles, 3. Point in the direction shouted, i,e, “Left” or “Right”. The whole audience, including Channa and Dalin, were in fits of laughter. In the end I started to laugh too, not because I thought the game was funny but because everyone was having such a good time. I might not understand or relate to everything that happens in Cambodia and although I’ve learnt a lot, there are some things that coming from a western perspective I just cannot get. But Cambodia is such a loveable country with such a gentle society that you can’t help but fall in love with it. Even after the heartache and torment it’s picking itself up and it’s still smiling. And laughter is the best medicine.

Phnom Penh:

A selection of photographs from Phnom Penh spilt across two photo albums…

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=511964&id=554625160&l=e932ebfd3a (200 photos)

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=569881&id=554625160&l=280d453536 (45 photos)