This place is crazy beautiful, rural, 3rd word and raw. Raw being the best word I can use to describe it. The people are amazing, so happy and smily despite having what we in the west would call "nothing".
Huge problem with domestic violence, rape, untreated STD's, AIDS and TB. Very glad for my BCG vacination right now.
Been playing with the children and taught an English class tonight as the teacher didnt show up. Not quite sure how to do that in all fairnesss, so I just played games with them. Hence I now have a gaggle of little girls that follow me ever were and love to hold hands, so sweet.
Our first delivery in this brand new clinic which only opened on Monday went without a hitch despite this being the mother's 8th baby and her being very aenemic. The baby was gorgeous and was deliverd by the traditional birth attendant, who has some unusuall practices but it so lovely, I hope to learn allot from her while we are on the island.
Had a women come to see us with bacterial vaginosis, and she didn't ask for help, she just sat on the porch looking very poorly indeed. She has been treated with antibiotics, had a lie down for a bit and then wondered off back home, its all very informal. Cambodian people dont do mattresses, they pull them off the beds, so they just lie on mats on the bed, we think they think mattresses are too hot. Kids come and wonder around as well and we play with them. We have been told allot of them have never held a penil or crayon before, they love drawing and call us 'barang' which means white person.
We are sharing beds (this is the local way) and sleeping on the deck of the bungelo (dont know how else to describe it). Although this sounds a bit strange, the breez (if there is one will be welcome). Make-up is pointless as there is no mirror and it would probably just melt and slidw off your face anyway. We are fed three times a day by a lovley local lady who looks after us and we have rice, rice and more rice but I really like it. No electricity or running water which make ablutions challanges at times but actually its fine, im just really dirty. It looks like I am developing a tan but I suspect its just dirt.
The island as you can imagine is just beach sand which is great but its in everything as washing it off all the time is just a waste of water which is a very precious reaource here.
Lots of animals on the island including a pack of wild dogs covered in mange, even the chicken are infected and thread bare. Heards of wild water buffelo wander through through village and one scared the daylights out of me when we came through the trees and ended up ontop of them. Mozzies are bad but so far my citronella concoction seams to be keeping then away, although it seams anything else that is insecty and bights has had a little nibble and these usualy hurt.
Im not sure what tomorrow will bring, we will do a post natal home visit for the woman who delivered today and then we will see. One thing I have learnt that in Cambodia plans and time never run according to schedule and the best this is to take things as they come. So..... I look forward to the adventure that is tomorrow.
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