Sua Stey! Daynye soc sabay de?
So first off i realise there were far too many exclamation marks in my first post, which made me sound like some sort of over-excited white guy off alone in asia, which i am. Obviously im still excited, but i will try to tone this down.
I've been in my new accomodation in the volunteer house for a day and a half now, and the culture shock has been pretty big, but I deinitely feel like im settling in now. Its a much more real experience then I was anticipating! The volunteer house is basically a homestay scenario, all run completely by locals, and the house is right in the middle of Phnom Penh's least well off area. I don't want to come across all 'Gap Yah' but it feel like you are living their lives, although I know there must be many in much worse situations - we don't have aircon, but we do have a fan in each room, the food is a basic diet of rice/noodles and some meat, and the electricity/water/charging is all pretty erratic!
The first night was tough, it was just so hot, but the people here are really friendly, there's plenty to see and do, and you are kept busy in the evenings! All in all not bad at all, but definitely takes a bit of taking used to. The toughest part to deal with is the relentless heat and humidity, which just saps your energy, but its a reassurance to know even the aussies and americans are really struggling too.
S today has been a day of culture, our orientation. We had a history lesson and learnt some basic phrases (as you can see), then headed into town. We went to a sweltering Russian market where the Cambodians were buying their winter coats, the Genocide museum, and then had a look at some of the bigger palaces/temples, although only a brief look-in. Tomorrow I see my placement for the first time - its called the 'Happy school', so needless to say i have pretty high hopes.
I'm afraid I can't get any pictures up at the moment! I'll have a look soon and see if I can get them on via a computer. Anyway, it's food time now, so bye to all!