I'm here!

It's been emotional.  

My first night was spent in a dizzy haze of sweat.  There is no aircon or running water for part of the day.  Picture of my bathroom below...If I'm really honest I completely freaked out when I first got here but thankfully Weeze is only in HK and picked up on wassap.  It all felt very far away from London.

What's weird is that although I'm only on day 2 I now feel so much more at ease here.  The shower isn't nearly as daunting (the cold water buckets are a welcome relief to the heat), I managed to sleep with a cover and my PJs last night and I've eaten Khmer lunch and dinner with the girls without any repercussions (it's delicious food). 

Om Malis, the house mum, brought me mini bananas and the girls are so friendly and tonnes of fun. I'm desperately trying to remember everyone's names, there are 46 girls in TT dorm. 

They all work really hard.  I was having a conversation about going to the cinema this Saturday (which proved difficult on two grounds, the first because they didn't understand the word for cinema, not ever having been to one before, and secondly because they have classes well into the evening).  I was tutoring a couple of girls at 10pm last night, one just wanted to talk in English and the other wanted me to review a grammar lesson plan she had prepared.  

I had a lovely lunch with Juliet in BT dorm (who also arrived on Wednesday).  We had arranged on email to meet on the corner of Street 111 and Street 182 at Orosay Market, all very organised we thought.  When I got there I realised how ridiculous a plan it was.  The place was packed with motos, tuk tuks, shops, street vendors and everyone's goods all over the pavement busy will shoppers.  I saw a blonde girl on the opposite side of the road and after a nervous glance we almost fell into each others arms.  

Had my first experience of monsoon last night. The sky goes really dark, the rain chucks it down and there's lots of crashing, thunder and lighting. It clears up as quickly as it arrives and only lasted 20 minutes. 

I'm off to prepare my first Cambodia Daily Discussion Group, we'll be discussing Japan's recent support of Burma.  

Inji Won

Well done to Inji Maher who won the Cupcake Competition with Crumbs Couture.  She said she never wins anything so now she has.

Harpswell Foundation is also now arranging for new fridges to be installed in both dormitories in Phnom Penh thanks to the kind contributions which we have raised and their own funding.

The Careers Skills Unit which I will now be leading over June and July for the 19 third year students will cover how to send professional emails, draft cover letters and CVs, interview preparation, interview skills and what to expect in the work place.  The "what to expect in the work place" session will include discussion on the basic principles of employment contracts, job descriptions, hours of work, sick and holiday leave, complaints, equality/discrimination and salary discussions.   

There will be national elections in Cambodia on 28 July 2013. It will be really interesting to follow what happens and how it works.

I fly Monday. How exciting. 
  

Cupcakes

Crumbs Couture is kindly offering you and a friend the opportunity to win a one day cupcake workshop at their cake parlour and kitchen at Park Royal near Westfield Shopping Centre, London. 

You will be able to learn how to bake different types of sponges, layer cakes, make the intricate fondant decorations, pipe the butter cream icing and watch orders being processed by the professionals! If you want to focus on a particular area of the cupcake business they will tailor the day to your specific requirements so far as possible.

To enter the raffle, just click on the Donate tab above and donate a minimum of £5 between now and 5pm on Wednesday 22 May 2013.
 

The day usually costs £250 per person.The winner will be selected at random, notified by email and announced on The Cambodia Project blog on 23 May 2013
All donations go towards The Harpswell Foundation and my work with them this summer

Please feel free to share this with your friends and family

It's a fantastic prize and very generous of Crumbs Couture (thank you so much guys).

 

As seen in Vogue, Glamour, TimeOut and Conde Nast Brides Magazines

Clients including Hermes, Mulberrry, Rita Ora, The Saturdays, Linklaters and Herbert Smith

www.cupcakeslondon.com

Final Countdown

Only two weeks to go!

Remy (the Leadership Resident in TT Dorm) has just finished a series of nutrition classes with the 19 Third Year students. 

 

Its been a big part of the programme this year and helps prepare the students for living on their own once they secure jobs and leave the dormitory.

Remy also mentioned this week that she's been enjoying lovely morning bicycle rides around Phnom Penh with some of the students.  You get to see different parts of the city which sounds great.      Hopefully no lycra required...eek.

Northwest Missouri State University has also been in touch.  They want to set up a project where small groups of students in Phnom Penh and Missouri make and share short videos with each other about life, food, culture and experiences of education.   The aim is to broaden both sets of students' awareness of every day life in another country, improve confidence with English speaking and have a bit of fun putting the movies together. Some of the students in Missouri will be the first in their families to have gone to university may well have similar experiences to share.  My friends Steph and Jo know all about movies and documentaries. I'll definitely be emailing them for help.  ...maybe we'll even be able to have a wrap party after the first "series".  

By the way, we've raised an enormous £4,040. It means we may even reach the original £5,000 target by the time I leave. Thank you so much everyone.