Nuts, Bolts, Scalpels, and Test tubes

It is hard to believe that I've been here in Siem Reap for almost a week.  Last night I was sitting by the pool watching a large group of French tourists paddle around as I wait for my friend Kate to come downstairs.  Most tourists stay here for only long enough to tour the temples.  I've been at this hotel long enough for all of the staff to know me on sight, know my name, room number, and profession, and even keep track of my, and Kate's, comings and goings.  Even the girl who silently plays the xylophone here every night noticed that I was looking for Kate, and pointed to the front veranda without missing a note.

We went to the Foreign Correspondants Club (FCC) for Happy Hour and I paid $1 for a fresh coconut lime smoothie made with house-made yogourt.  Granted, the club was not operational during the War like its Phnom Penh counterpart, but all the same, it is a very swish place to sit and watch people go by.  We then walked down the street and crossed the river to eat dinner at the Bopha Hotel restaurant.  For the longest time we were the only people there and the sweet little xylophone player played for us for at least two hours.  It's very easy to have a very good holiday here.  The food and drink is delicious, fresh, and affordable, and there are always dozens of tuk tuk drivers asking you if they can drive you to your destination for a dollar or two. 

They honestly have nothing else to do.  The median age in Cambodia is around 21 or 22 years old, and they have what is effectively a nation of gentle, sweet, and generous unskilled labourers. If they are not washing dishes or driving you around, they are shooting the breeze and waiting for their chance to do so.

A couple of days ago, I spent quite some time with the science teacher mentor here trying to get our lemon battery to work.  I was so sad when I could not get it up and running.  I want to blame the lemons...or maybe the thin zinc strip....or maybe the poor connections were were making with the teeny little copper wires weren't good enough to overcome to kinetics of the system.  I'm not sure.  But Chanda did tell me that she spent quite some time last night watching lemon videos on Youtube.  I felt like a bit of an idiot because I don't usually have so many problems with the stupid lemons.  A big thank you to Russell at the Ontario Science Centre for suggesting that I cut the lemon into quarters and create four mini cells.  Now if only I could find galvanized screws ...

During my visit to the Aranh school, I had to wait out a serious torrential downpour.  I guess this is what they mean by rainy season.  My tuk tuk driver Mr. Ouhok was patiently waiting in the shelter of his tuk tuk and took me home once it was finished with no less enthusiasm and smiles than usual.  The rain was so heavy that there were puddles of water almost four inches deep and the kids were happy to take off their shoes and trudge though them, completely soaked.

Yesterday, the other Canadian teacher Kyle and I went into the high school, took all of the science supplies out of the cabinets, and laid then out on the tables.  We went through the experiments that were developed by the Singapore teachers, and made lists of the equipment we needed to buy in order to create a classroom kit for each elementary school. 

This morning, we met and walked to the Old Market area to scout out supplies like bins for the kits, stopwatches, trays for the dissection, and so on.  Diane is going to see if Chanda is available to go back with us tomorrow and pick up what we need.  She will probably be able to negotiate a better deal than we can.  Many of the supplies we need for dissection will be supplied by a local hospital.  The people at Caring for Cambodia have worked very hard to establish a strong and positive relationship with other NGOs (and there are many here) and it shows. 

Thanks for reading!

Leslie