Promenade avec le Hash sur le petit pont de bois ...
Thursday, September 30
Tuesday, September 28
NEW CONTACT DETAILS
Just in case you would need it ...
Mobile phone number:
+855 (0) 12 76 99 01 (it seems however that SMS don’t get through overseas …)
Address:
Alexandra Aubertin – Pharmaciens Sans Frontières – BP 849 – Phnom Penh – Cambodia
I am also still reachable on MSN Messenger : alexandra_aubertin@hotmail.com
Mobile phone number:
+855 (0) 12 76 99 01 (it seems however that SMS don’t get through overseas …)
Address:
Alexandra Aubertin – Pharmaciens Sans Frontières – BP 849 – Phnom Penh – Cambodia
I am also still reachable on MSN Messenger : alexandra_aubertin@hotmail.com
LUNDI 27 Septembre:
Ce soir, six heures et demi, la nuit déjà tombée, je m’apprête à quitter les bureaux-logement de PSF pour mon premier cours de Capoeira, également première sortie seule en scooter dans la ciculation suprenante (déroutante ?) de Phnom Penh. Juste devant la porte, j´aperçois un petit garçon de quelques années nu comme un vers, qui déambule tout doucement accompagné de quelques autres enfants. Ils tiennent avec attention à bout de bras des lanternes fraîchement fabriquées à l’aide de bouteilles d’eau minérale opaques. Ils les ont fendues régulièrement de haut en bas tous les centimètres et légèrement applaties pour écarter les lanières de plastique. Un petit air d’Hallowen Khmer. Je me dépêche pour arriver à l’heure à mon cours …
(ma chère Claire, voici quelques textes que j’ai écrit en pensant à toi …je continuerai grâce à toi !)
(ma chère Claire, voici quelques textes que j’ai écrit en pensant à toi …je continuerai grâce à toi !)
DIMANCHE 26 Septembre:
Cet après-midi, je suis allée visiter avec quatre de mes « collèguocataires » un temple hindou pré-angkorien à une heure de route de Phnom Penh. Le chemin du retour, comme la plupart des chemins de province au Cambodge, est bordé de rizières. Le soleil commence à descendre dans le ciel bleu, la chaleur tombe progressivement et les travailleurs retournent travailler dans les champs. Entre deux rizières, il y a une toute petite fille qui marche sur une digue avec les bras étendus : elle est concentrée telle une funambule. Ses cheveux coupés au carré sont cachés sous un petit bonnet de coton joliement crocheté. Elle est loin, nous roulons vite, mais je peux l’imaginer …
SAMEDI 25 Septembre:
H3 : The Hash House Harriers. C’est un groupe composé majoritairement d’étrangers, beaucoup d’autraliens, et qui organise des marches et des courses à pied en campagne tous les week-ends. Je me joins à eux. On part sur la route du Vietnam, à une petite demi-heure de Phnom Penh. La ballade commence les pieds dans l’eau, il a tellement plu la nuit dernière (nous sommes en pleine mousson …) Et puis nous traversons des hameaux faits de maisons tout en bois sur pilotis, parsemées au milieu d’une dense végétation, il y a beaucoup.de bananiers. Une douce lumière traverse le feuillage pour venir éclairer les visages qui se regroupent à notre passage sur le bord des chemins. Et puis de tout côté, le chant des grenouilles vient donner une dimension supplémentaire à cet endroit magique. Puis ce petit pont de bois qui traverse la rivière couverte de nénuphars … Je reviendrai.
Latest News from PP !
Finally, finally … a long time went by since last time I posted some news in my Blog … I got lots of feedbacks from many of you who are reading it on a regular basis: it always makes me very happy! I hope I can keep you interested until the end of my trip: One more year to go! ;-)
The first 3 weeks in Cambodia were pretty hectic, but from now on things are going on the right track and I’ll be able to give you some news more often.
So what happened?
I packed my stuff in Pondicherry early August (first went on a short holidays with my visitors Marie and Caro) then to Delhi, so I lived “in a suitcase” for 6 weeks, which was starting to be really annoying ... It feels so good when you finally get a place on your own! Unpacking my luggage into a cupboard was delightful … ;-)
Some friends (… of a friend of a friend from India) very kindly lodged me upon my arrival in Phnom Penh. A huge thanks to Minh and Jerome (and Jeanne) for their warm welcome!
I spent most of my time during the two first weeks wandering around, meeting people and looking for a job … I went to a few parties (housewarming, farewell, …) and a few interviews …
I finally got the opportunity to choose between 3 jobs: one in Stung Treng (1 day by boat from Phnom Penh) as project management advisor in a local NGO working in the Environment sector, one in Battambang (the second city of Cambodia, 5 hours by car from Phnom Penh) in another local NGO focusing on the development of the Khmer culture among the village children of the area and a third which is the one I chose:
It is with Pharmaciens Sans Frontières on a program doing education and consultations on Sexually Transmitted Diseases among the sex workers of Phnom Penh. Prostitution is very developed in Cambodia and lots of poor girls fall into this trap without any knowledge of the health risks incurred.
I have two projects to run during the coming 2,5 months: the first one is to review and rationalize the data management process from the clinics where the data about consultations and education sessions are collected, to the sponsors to whom the project indicators must be reported. The second one is to create a satisfaction survey questionnaire for the sex workers who benefit from the services of PSF. I am very pleased with this job, the team is really nice and professional and it gives me an experience in an international NGO.
I live now for a week in the house shared by the french staff and their partners (we are 6 in total). I have a spacious, quiet and bright bedroom, which is a difficult thing to find in Phnom Penh. So my mood who was doing some yoyo since my departure from Pondicherry is now up and stable!
I hope to hear from you soon, I always enjoy reading your mails and comments on the Chatterbox of my Blog …
XOXOX
The first 3 weeks in Cambodia were pretty hectic, but from now on things are going on the right track and I’ll be able to give you some news more often.
So what happened?
I packed my stuff in Pondicherry early August (first went on a short holidays with my visitors Marie and Caro) then to Delhi, so I lived “in a suitcase” for 6 weeks, which was starting to be really annoying ... It feels so good when you finally get a place on your own! Unpacking my luggage into a cupboard was delightful … ;-)
Some friends (… of a friend of a friend from India) very kindly lodged me upon my arrival in Phnom Penh. A huge thanks to Minh and Jerome (and Jeanne) for their warm welcome!
I spent most of my time during the two first weeks wandering around, meeting people and looking for a job … I went to a few parties (housewarming, farewell, …) and a few interviews …
I finally got the opportunity to choose between 3 jobs: one in Stung Treng (1 day by boat from Phnom Penh) as project management advisor in a local NGO working in the Environment sector, one in Battambang (the second city of Cambodia, 5 hours by car from Phnom Penh) in another local NGO focusing on the development of the Khmer culture among the village children of the area and a third which is the one I chose:
It is with Pharmaciens Sans Frontières on a program doing education and consultations on Sexually Transmitted Diseases among the sex workers of Phnom Penh. Prostitution is very developed in Cambodia and lots of poor girls fall into this trap without any knowledge of the health risks incurred.
I have two projects to run during the coming 2,5 months: the first one is to review and rationalize the data management process from the clinics where the data about consultations and education sessions are collected, to the sponsors to whom the project indicators must be reported. The second one is to create a satisfaction survey questionnaire for the sex workers who benefit from the services of PSF. I am very pleased with this job, the team is really nice and professional and it gives me an experience in an international NGO.
I live now for a week in the house shared by the french staff and their partners (we are 6 in total). I have a spacious, quiet and bright bedroom, which is a difficult thing to find in Phnom Penh. So my mood who was doing some yoyo since my departure from Pondicherry is now up and stable!
I hope to hear from you soon, I always enjoy reading your mails and comments on the Chatterbox of my Blog …
XOXOX
Saturday, September 25
Wednesday, September 8
Une flaque: un sourire ...
Hier en début d´après-midi, je me dirige vers le centre-ville en amazone à l'arrière de la moto de Minh (mon colocataire) lorsque nous sommes pris par une averse torrentielle. Forcés de s´arrêter, nous nous retrouvons comme beaucoup d'autres gens à l´abri du préau d´une station essence. Je décide d´attendre la fin de la pluie à l´intérieur de la boutique. Assise sur un tabouret le long de la baie vitrée, j´aperçois une dizaine d'enfants torse nu jouer dans les flaques d'eau fraîchement formées. Les voilà qui courent et se jettent en glissant comme des fous dans les flaques d'eau qui recouvrent déjà le bord du boulevard. Ils se marrent ! Ils ont l'air de si bien s'amuser ! Un sourire de bonheur partagé se dessine sur mes lèvres ...
--- signé L'@Xe-@LeX (dédicacé à Al'1) ---
--- signé L'@Xe-@LeX (dédicacé à Al'1) ---
SAFELY ARRIVED IN CAMBODIA
Step #1 accomplished ! I left India after having spent 10 great and relaxing days with my friend Josephine in Delhi and having seen one of the most beautiful thing on earth: The Taj Mahal. I was expecting something astonishing: it was even greater. I LOVE IT ! It is so worth being seen at least once in one's life.
I took the train at 6AM last Tuesday direction Agra, spent the morning visiting the Taj and the afternoon the Fort with a couple of french students I met in the train. Late afternoon I took the bus to Jaipur (5h30 journey) and arrived late at night in one of the most touristic city of India. The cyclo-rickshaw took me for a long drive through the city, through dark and deserted streets where we were followed by some other guys on bicycle. I got very scared, would have given much to arrive safely at the hotel. Actually gave him much when I arrived, so happy to be there. The following day, I joing a guided tour through the city as there are so many places to visit in Jaipur, but the Pink City of India quite disappointed me due to the state of decay of its buildings.
I arrived on Sunday the 5th September in Phom Penh, the capital where about 2 millions khmers live among the 11 millions that constitute the country.
The weather is very hot, almost the same as in India, around 35 degrees ... and the rain is falling intensively nearly daily as we are in the peak season of the moonsoon.
(It was pretty impressive by the way to see from the plane the thousands of hectares of land flooded around Phnom Penh !).
Despite the cold I caught in Delhi (43 degrees outside + freezing air/co in the hotel ...) I already started to look for a volunteer position in an NGO. I hope finding one within a week to start as soon as possible !
Thanks to a friend from Auroville, I am staying now in an appartment with 3 flatmates: one french guy, one other from vietnamese origin and one bangladeshi girl who is currently in mission out of the city for a few weeks.
As soon as I know where I will be based, I'll be looking for another place to live (this one being temporary), also a shared location as I find it cordial.
I am going to Battambang on Thursday (4 hours drive North from Phnom Penh) for an interview with a french NGO (Enfants Réfugiés du Monde): it is a small and quiet city where I would to work.
All right for now ! I am going to work on my applications again while enjoying a "corn and kidney beans" flavored yoghurt ... ;-)
I took the train at 6AM last Tuesday direction Agra, spent the morning visiting the Taj and the afternoon the Fort with a couple of french students I met in the train. Late afternoon I took the bus to Jaipur (5h30 journey) and arrived late at night in one of the most touristic city of India. The cyclo-rickshaw took me for a long drive through the city, through dark and deserted streets where we were followed by some other guys on bicycle. I got very scared, would have given much to arrive safely at the hotel. Actually gave him much when I arrived, so happy to be there. The following day, I joing a guided tour through the city as there are so many places to visit in Jaipur, but the Pink City of India quite disappointed me due to the state of decay of its buildings.
I arrived on Sunday the 5th September in Phom Penh, the capital where about 2 millions khmers live among the 11 millions that constitute the country.
The weather is very hot, almost the same as in India, around 35 degrees ... and the rain is falling intensively nearly daily as we are in the peak season of the moonsoon.
(It was pretty impressive by the way to see from the plane the thousands of hectares of land flooded around Phnom Penh !).
Despite the cold I caught in Delhi (43 degrees outside + freezing air/co in the hotel ...) I already started to look for a volunteer position in an NGO. I hope finding one within a week to start as soon as possible !
Thanks to a friend from Auroville, I am staying now in an appartment with 3 flatmates: one french guy, one other from vietnamese origin and one bangladeshi girl who is currently in mission out of the city for a few weeks.
As soon as I know where I will be based, I'll be looking for another place to live (this one being temporary), also a shared location as I find it cordial.
I am going to Battambang on Thursday (4 hours drive North from Phnom Penh) for an interview with a french NGO (Enfants Réfugiés du Monde): it is a small and quiet city where I would to work.
All right for now ! I am going to work on my applications again while enjoying a "corn and kidney beans" flavored yoghurt ... ;-)
Cambodia - A Few Facts to Remember ...
1969 to 1975 – The second Indo-Chinese war, combined with civil war in Cambodia between the military-led government and supporters of the Prince Sihanouk, who was deposed in 1970 by a Western-backed military coup led by General Lon Nol, costs 700,000 lives. A third of the population flees pockets of fighting.
1975 to 1979 – The Khmer Rouge control what they call The People's Republic of Democratic Kampuchea. Intellectuals are massacred, technology and infrastructure is destroyed, books are burned and there are no medical supplies. The country is turned into a massive social experiment which costs an estimated 1.5 million lives.
1979 to 1989 – Cambodia is governed by a repressive, Vietnamese-backed government, led by Hun Sen (current Prime Minister). Throughout the period, civil war has been waged across Cambodia between the government and Khmer Rouge forces.
The majority of the population lives in rural areas and survives by farming rice and rubber, plus subsidiary crops of beans, vegetables, fruit and tobacco. But with literally millions of landmines still scattered across the countryside, vast areas inaccessible for food production, years without any development of the country's agriculture and a lack of anything but the most basic equipment, Cambodia struggles to provide enough food to support its population.
70% of Phnom Penh's population comprises former farmers who have lost their land – either to landmines or to other Cambodians.
Large numbers of Cambodians – 163,000, (1.4% of the population) – work for the state; earning about $20-30 a month. Many have to take second or third jobs to make ends meet, and there are widespread problems of corruption at all levels of government.
The population is a young one; years of civil war (and the Khmer Rouge) took their toll on the country's older male population. 43% of the population is under 15 years old (Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport), and just over 1 in 4 families in Cambodia (25.7%) is headed by a woman.
The average life expectancy is 53.
1975 to 1979 – The Khmer Rouge control what they call The People's Republic of Democratic Kampuchea. Intellectuals are massacred, technology and infrastructure is destroyed, books are burned and there are no medical supplies. The country is turned into a massive social experiment which costs an estimated 1.5 million lives.
1979 to 1989 – Cambodia is governed by a repressive, Vietnamese-backed government, led by Hun Sen (current Prime Minister). Throughout the period, civil war has been waged across Cambodia between the government and Khmer Rouge forces.
The majority of the population lives in rural areas and survives by farming rice and rubber, plus subsidiary crops of beans, vegetables, fruit and tobacco. But with literally millions of landmines still scattered across the countryside, vast areas inaccessible for food production, years without any development of the country's agriculture and a lack of anything but the most basic equipment, Cambodia struggles to provide enough food to support its population.
70% of Phnom Penh's population comprises former farmers who have lost their land – either to landmines or to other Cambodians.
Large numbers of Cambodians – 163,000, (1.4% of the population) – work for the state; earning about $20-30 a month. Many have to take second or third jobs to make ends meet, and there are widespread problems of corruption at all levels of government.
The population is a young one; years of civil war (and the Khmer Rouge) took their toll on the country's older male population. 43% of the population is under 15 years old (Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport), and just over 1 in 4 families in Cambodia (25.7%) is headed by a woman.
The average life expectancy is 53.
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