A Daily Routine of a VSO Volunteer- Cambodia!

6.30am- Good morning! (Aroun Sou Sdey)!

So I usually wake up around 6.30 (if I’m good and don’t sleep through my alarms) and immediately check how many times I’ve been bitten in the night - despite having a sprayed net up! I have around 35 on my body right now which is quite annoying/worrying considering there’s been a Dengue Fever outbreak.

6.45-7.00am- The next 15 minutes or so I usually spend pacing outside because I need the toilet and someone’s in there showering. We share our toilet and shower between 6 people (myself, Sanmort, Will, Vishn and wills host family. Hannah is very lucky and has a flushing normal toilet but on the contrary, her shower doesn’t work so she has to bucket wash.

7.00-7.15am

Once the toilet is finally free, I can go in and do my morning bits! This usually includes, toilet, quick shower, shove my hair up for the day and wash my face.

I found this face wash whilst out here (although I now wish I brought mine along) and it’s pretty good! It was the only one in the shop that didn‘t have bleach or face whitener in it as the Khmer love to have a pale face.

I also use my moisturiser which I did bring from home! This has been a lifesaver here. Also, I have the best sandal tan line.

To wash down your dirties in the toilet (don’t worry it was clean for the photo) you have to use this bucket of mozzie water and push two or three scoops down until it’s disappeared. You also need to wash your feet 24/7 as they are filthy all the time.

7.15-7.30am

Hannah comes out for a smoke once she’s woken up and we have a little chat every morning (and all the time for the rest of the day and evening)!

I also brush my teeth outside with filtered water. It’s a lot effort for something as simple as brushing your teeth and spitting on the dirt is not the prettiest sight in the morning!

7.30-7.40am

Once Sanmort is downstairs, I go up and get changed. It’s a lot easier when she’s not in the room otherwise I really struggle to get changed discreetly.

After changing, I use all of the normal products and a tonne of Deet to freshen myself up, ready for a sweaty day.

I don’t usually put any make up on, but if I do, it’s mascara and eyebrows. The only perk of having Ehlers Danlos syndrome is that my brain produces lots and lots of collagen, meaning my skin is usually smooth and spot free- although I have been getting a couple due to the sweat.

7.40-8.00am

A lot of the other volunteers come round for breakfast, however, I usually can’t bring myself to eat rice at this time in the morning. Today, they also had leftover pumpkin pudding wrapped in banana leafs. I usually get a free, iced coffee instead of breakfast as that fuels me more for the day.

8am- 9.30am

Once getting to the office, the Entrepreneurship team sit in our corner and start talking about what we need to plan for today’s session. I’m sub-team leader this week which I’m really excited for as I feel like I have quite good leadership skills.

Today we decided to create posters for the “5 P’s” and link it with games for the “5 P’s“ and “SWOT”.

I’ll explain more when we get to CLC and start our session!

9.30-10.30am

Ed and I sat down to write out or Activity reports, concept notes and cash request forms. These are needed when working with VSO and we have to do these for every single session we do. We’re behind on a few so this morning was used to catch up on a few things. We’ve found that our sub-group is very efficient and can plan and organise sessions really quickly which always puts us ahead of the game.

11.30-1pm

For lunch, Robyn, Charlotte, Ed and myself went for lunch at the best lunch place in community- the baguette stall.

The mystery meat is spare so it’s mostly baguette but it’s all we have.

1-2pm

At this time we’re on a Tuk Tuk to CLC which takes roughly around 30-40 minutes. It’s a peaceful and breezy journey, which we love as there’s no electricity/fans in the classrooms so it’s nice to cool off.

2-4pm

When we arrived at CLC we chilled for a little bit and then proceeded to walk over to the pagoda to find the music students and collect them for class.

Our lesson this week was to explain the 5 P’s. This took roughly half an hour with interaction from the small class. We then started to plan their business‘ (they want to be a successful band in their community. The students came up and successfully analysed and planned a business where they performed at weddings and funerals. This seemed like an achievable goal for the class! Sessions are the best and worst times as its boiling and we could literally melt into the concrete!

4-4.30

My angel counterpart Sanmort knew I was feeling a bit low today and sad. When I came back, she surprised hugged me from behind and gave me some plain sugar crackers (which made me so happy as I’m such a fussy eater with snacks)! It really cheered me up and made me feel a lot better knowing I had someone like her who cared for me. Such a little thing can go a long way here. Knowing that she lives near in this province and most likely struggles with money (I know she sends the allowance home) and she spent money on some sugar crackers for me was the sweetest thing.

4.30-5.30

We finished the day with our provincial co-ordinator giving us a session about our references and everything we have to complete (paper work wise) before the end of the cycle. Not looking forward to it.

5.45- 6.00pm

When Hannah, Will and I arrive home, we say hello (sou sdey) to our families and then sit with a can of sprite and chat about the day/ life in general. It’s a nice downtime and we lie on the wooden bed with a fan blowing some nice cool breeze on us. If we’re exhausted, we usually nap as it’s quite a big ”bed” but today I really wanted to go to sleep early so I didn’t nap today.

6.00-6.45pm

As usual, we had rice and veg for dinner. I’m adapting to the food quite a lot but I’m mostly eating for fuel now and not for taste!

7.00-7.15

At this time I usually have my proper shower; I was accompanied by a huge cockroach and daddy longlegs and I didn’t even mind.

7.30- I force myself to shut the lid.

Ignore the sweaty face but tonight was very exciting as after 2 excruciating months of staring at my Pringles from across my bedroom, I finally decided I deserved to open them tonight. They were CHIANNGGG!

For the rest of the night we just chill downstairs with our counterparts or go to bed and rest up for the next day!

It’s 8pm now and I’m going to stay downstairs for a little bit and then head to bed for an early night.

Goodnight!

Rea Trei Sou Sdey!