After doing my daily floor washing job I've come to the conclusion that vacuum cleaners protect users from seeing how dirty their home is. When I use my mop and bucket I see the dirty water going down the drain and it lets me know I can't afford to miss a day. I'm not embarrassed because I know I keep my home clean, but I am reminded of the amount of dirt in the air. With a vacuum cleaner I doubt if anyone checks to see how much dirt goes into it each time it's used.
I had a good Indian meal (cooked by Pakistanis) with Son Soubert and Vuth. It's nice to have adult conversation. Soubert's ticked off that a dear old lady hasn't received official recognition from the government. She's in her 80s and was a court dancer in her youth. Now she goes to Soubert's children's home and teaches dancing. She's got no teeth, and looks quite old, until she gets on the dance floor where she becomes a kid again - and very flirtatious with the men. In Japan she'd be classed as a national treasure but here - nothing. Soubert was given an award by the French government but nothing from here. She had 16 children! Not that long ago her home burnt down and she lost everything, including all her memorabilia as a court dancer. It's sad.
A few years ago, a member of one of the Canadian dental groups coming to Cambodia, was so impressed with Soubert's life that he went back to Canada determined to have him recognised. Soubert ended up with a Doctorate from Lethbridge University. Members of the dental group, and local friends, raised over $15,000 which paid for the erection of a building at one of the children's homes. It's been used on a regular basis by volunteer groups who go to work in the area.
I should have done some grocery shopping this afternoon but I decided it was too hot for a walk - I'll go in the morning when it's a bit cooler. Instead, I typed some of my African notes. Everyone should keep a diary; it's amazing how much they remind us about past events. Today I typed about austerity measures at the school and toilet training. The principal, and those dealing with ordering food for the students, were siphoning off money so the students' meals were very poor. Breakfast was a cup of tea and a piece of dry bread. Lunch and dinner involved rice and a soupy "meat" dish with a 1" square of meat. How on earth they expected to reduce that, and still call it a meat dish, was beyond me. I was put in charge of training the school prefects to teach the students how to use the toilets. The basic principle was to tell them to "squat low" and not to use sticks and stones. Unfortunately, the austerity measures also hit the toilet roll department. I've no idea what the prefects did. There was no way I was going into a cubicle to check a student's squatting habit.
It reminded me of the War years in my English school. The teacher kept the toilet roll. We had to ask to go to the toilet, declaring if we wanted a number 1 or number 2. For a number 2 we were issued two squares of paper. The worst part was the fact that we lost points for our class team and this meant being beaten up by the bullies after school. I've had a chance to discuss our schooling with friends when I've been in England and generally we were divided into two groups - those who did sports loved school, others (like me) who did not like sports hated school. We talk so much about bullying nowadays but it was part of education in my childhood days. On our first day at grammar school, at the age of 11, we boys had to walk down a long drive which was lined with students from year two upwards. They all had running shoes in their hand and they whacked us as we went up the drive. What a lovely welcome!
Just before dark I saw three sparrows perched on a wire outside my window. Two of them sat stoically whilst one of them bobbed up and down. One of the stoics finally flew off, leaving one sitting quietly while the other continued bobbing. I decided it was a romantic liaison. He failed - the other one flew off.
No English class today; tomorrow Phearak, Srun and I will play cards.
