Settling In

It’s St. Patrick’s Day morning. I haven’t checked it out yet but I don’t think there’s a parade scheduled for today anywhere in Cambodia! Having a wee bit o’ Irish in me I think I’ll find a quiet corner and toast St. Pat with one Guiness, if I can find it.

I arrived on Thursday in Phnom Penh at 7:30pm from Bangkok. That was the fourth flight of 26 hours of flying & connecting via Cincinnati, New York City (JFK) and Bangkok. Let me tell you, that was a loonnnnggggg flight to Bangkok – some 17 hours airborne. But, believe it or not, it wasn’t that bad. I saw five movies that I had wanted to catch up on, had three fine meals, excellent service, etc. Our flight took us directly over the top of the world, crossing the North Pole and cutting diagonally across Europe and Asia. We even flew directly over Kabul, Afghanistan. What a trip.

I was greeted at the airport by Pisit, an administrator for VSO, who delivered my special visa. We drove straight to my flat, which is on a somewhat bustling street corner in the downtown area of Phnom Penh. It’s Cambodia’s capitol and largest city with over 2.5 million. The next biggest city is 155,000 – it is a very rural country.

Yesterday I awoke pretty refreshed considering the length of the flights. Although I crossed 11 time zones I am surprised at the speed of my adjustment. I do have a few tricks about handling jetlag that seem to work very well. Both nights here I’ve had very restful, complete nights sleeping.

Khmers (Cambodian people) tend to go to bed early and rise equally as early. I think they like to get a lot done in the coolness of the morning and then coast during the really hot times of the day in the afternoon. Right now the street is buzzing at 7:45am and has been doing such since about 6am. Fine with me because I do like to rise early. Amazing how this bustling street down below will still to practically no noise by 9pm.

I went by my office yesterday to collect some personal things I had left here during my holiday time in January. I was also given my official transportation – a bicycle. This will be my primary mode of transport to and from the office and around town to do my things. Most transport here is two-wheeled, either bicycle or motorbike (the Khmer family car).

Traffic is thick and very confusing to the Western eye, in fact it’s downright terrifying until you understand what is going on. Then with a deep breath you just hop right in and realize that even with few stoplights or stop signs, it all works. It is a sea of humanity that has an easy flow to it where people all seem to work together. Cars, trucks, buses, motos, tuk-tuks, bikes, pedestrians, cyclos – you name it. There’s space for everyone, but you have to keep moving, varying your speed to accommodate what is happening all around you. A good metaphor for a well-lived, connected life, I think.