COUNTRY: Cambodia
PROGRAM: UniBreak Groups
PROJECT: Nursing
WRITTEN BY: Willow Durrington
On Wednesday the 8th of January, 15 assorted nursing, midwifery, paramedic and health science students and three university lectures met at Brisbane International Airport to set off on a four week Cambodian health care placement (and an adventure). Our departure from Australia went off without a hitch - minus a couple of nervous travelers and some shady characters who were both drug and bomb tested. After two planes and a quick stopover in Singapore, we finally arrived in Siem Reap, Cambodia on the 9th of January, tired and not so fresh faced.
We were met at the airport by Billy, Davy and Siphuong and were escorted to lunch where we had our first (delicious) taste of Cambodian Cuisine at the Nearly Khmer restaurant. After lunch we took some time to settle into our home for the next four weeks, the Jasmine Lodge. In the afternoon, sleepy but excited, we set off to Pub Street to explore our temporary home. Our exploration involved attempting to maneuvre our way between cars, tuk tuk's and bicycles while gawking at the number of people squished onto mopeds and motorbikes, as well as receiving a massage by some fish in order to relax our tired feet (although to some people it was not a relaxing experience)!
After a much needed sleep we set out Friday morning to undertake Child Protection and Responsible Volunteering Training. It opened our eyes to the ways in which children could be exploited in a society where child protection laws are minimal. The day was instrumental to our upcoming clinical placement in Siem Reap health clinics as we explored the role of volunteers and project organisations in helping to improve child protection as well as receiving some tips on how to avoid falling prey to certain scams whilst enjoying our free time is Siem Reap.
After our training day we set off to our welcome dinner at the Amazon Angkor, where we met with Billy, Davy and Siphuong (our translators were unable to make this dinner as they were all studying). Dinner was a buffet of exquisite Cambodian cuisine including a make-your-own soup station and freshly cooked pancakes, as well as some entertainment by traditional Cambodian musicians and dancers. After dinner our group split up with some people off to have a taste of Cambodian nightlife at the night markets and others heading home to sleep, or indulge in a massage. The massages were our first taste of "Khmer Time", waiting nearly an hour for a massage when we were told 15 minutes. Those of us who received a massage also learned how hard it is to follow instructions when you don't speak the same language, although it helped us appreciate our upcoming language lesson the following morning.
We welcomed Saturday morning with many mispronounced phrases and lots of laughs, except for Rowena and Gabbie who seemed to pick up Khmer like they were born here. So after exchanging many Soo-a Sd-ay's (Hello) and Sok sabai te's (How are you) we set off for a visit to the Angkor Hospital for Children. Once there we watched some educational videos about the set up and development of the hospital and saw many beautifully designed handicrafts which many people purchased as a donation to the hospital. After lunch it was time to head out to the small village of Sampov Lourn in Kralanh in the Cambodian countryside.
We set off by van, braving the road works and multiple tuk tuk's and mopeds loaded with things ranging from big barrels of hay, to pigs... there were some pretty interesting sites. Whilst on our way we stopped to take a ride on some ox carts, it was very fun with some people nearly falling out. Lindy was almost left behind as she (very smartly) went to the bathroom before the bumpy ride and had to run to catch up, much to the amusement of ourselves and the people in the village. Once back in the van and resting our sore behinds we headed on to watch the sunset over the temples at Phnom Kralanh.
Once the sun had set and we were satisfied with our photographs we continued on to our homestays in Kralanh village. Upon arrival we were shown to the bathroom outhouse and showers as well as our beds, complete with mosquito nets. Before indulging in a home cooked meal the girls changed into our sarongs and the boys into their shorts so that we were able to experience a traditional Cambodian shower - which consisted of scooping and pouring water which had been collected in pots and warmed in the days sun. Until bed we spent our time religiously reapplying DEET to keep the Mosquitos at bay and playing card games to pass the time.
Sunday morning saw many sleepy and sore faces - evidence that we weren't used to sleeping on the floor. After breakfast we piled into the bus to head back to Siem Reap. Once home most of the group chose to go shopping and indulge in some massages which helped to relieve our aches and pains. In the late afternoon Vince braved the Cambodian roads and went off on a bicycle exploration, he enjoyed his ride despite a few near misses.
Lisa met up with her mother and explored some of Siem Reap's night markets and saw a Lady Boy show while Sam and Hayden set out on their own to find some food. The rest of us attended a Le Tigre de Papier cooking class. On a whole the food was delicious and we all found it to be a fantastic experience. Monday served as a preparation day for our week ahead, with our clinical placements due to start this week we visited the three clinics we would be rotating through (Ang Chagn, Svay Chek and Krabei Riel) and met the staff we would be working with. Hayden unfortunately was our first casualty on the trip and had to stay home in bed on Monday due to a stomach bug. We were all eagerly awaiting the coming day and our clinical placements.
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