Mozzeenet

Middle of the week - hump day (Wednesday).

First Excel workshop happening tomorrow. Everything prepared. It’s hard to gauge if it’s at the right level. If it’s too complex, I’ll cut some of it out and then modify it for the other 3 workshops.

Not having had a lot of Excel experience, I have learnt a lot in writing the course which is a bonus. I now know how to add formulas and a few other tricks. Very useful. The same goes for PowerPoint.

There have been a few unexpected and expected events this week among our friends. It was a tough week for Ana as her grandmother passed away. She decided to go back for the funeral so left on Sunday morning with mixed feelings.

We went out on Saturday night before she left. It was a patchy night - one of those when you go from place to place but can’t seem to settle in. Had a good pizza at FCC for dinner and went home in the early hours.

I didn’t envy Ana the next day, travelling from Phnom Penh to Bangkok then Sydney and Casino, bit of an epic journey after getting little sleep.

The “expected” event was Mark’s departure today to Vietnam. He has been having difficulties with his work most of the time he has been here, no support and poor treatment on top of a extremely challending role looking after 200 street kids in a transitional centre is not a fun situation.

He talked to our in-country managers and his host organisation and told them he would go to Vietnam for a week. If they can’t come up with some satisfactory resolutions in the week, he will not come back.

We’ll miss him if he doesn’t. It’s a shame it had to come to this point before anything could be done.

We went out for a farewell drink with him on Monday night to a bar overlooking the river.

Sunday night was another corn-eating night, it’s a great way to learn some more of the language.

Speaking of language, we have stopped our current lessons as we feel that we have got the most out of them as we can now. They have focussed on the Khmer alphabet and the sounds which has been very helpful but from here, we think it is better to concentrate on increasing our vocab and conversation skills.

I am going to inquire at a language school in the next street. I’d like to do a lesson once a week to keep progressing. I think I would enjoy some formal training.

Went to yoga on Monday morning and walking this morning. Impressed with myself. It’s all thanks to Sonia though - she is a bundle of energy, very proactive.

The cat has a nasty chunk out of her back - we think from one of the feral, stray cats around. I was very sad when I saw it because it’s a huge, open wound, felt so sorry for her. She’s so small. I hope it heals quickly. We’ll hear this high-pitched yowling, run out and have to rescue her from these monster felines.

Ruth e xx
Miss Phnomer in Cambodia