This isnt just about anger or running, this blog is to document the last days I am spending in Cambodia so that when I lose my faculties I can remember how it felt.
So many people dont quite understand what we do here. Which is fair enough because sometimes I don't. To help I thought that I might outline a day in the life here. Bear in mind we pretty much work 7 days a week, never really switching off, mostly for $0. Strangely the $0 seems to make us work harder.
I wont mention organisation names so that I can be a bit more open about what we work on.
So day starts at 6 15 when alarm goes off. I would love to regale you with stories of me leaping out of bed welcoming the new day with the enthusiasm of a puppy with a new bone, but actually it involved a lot of muttering and some quick finding of the snooze button!
Finally get up at 6 30 and pack for the day. Straight to the gym (lesson learnt - don't think otherwise your brain will find reasons not to) and by 7 am I am sweating like Pavarotti in a sauna. Outside the temp is 34 degrees, but luckily for us the air con is on so temp is down to a cool 28!
Manage to spend an hour doing the run (run 3 minutes, walk 3 minutes x 4, plus warm up and cool down) and the weights and finally stretching.
Come 8 15 I am knackered and hungry. Grab a pineapple juice and make my way to first appointment of the day (whilst Shiona retires to a cafe where they are giving out free cakes for the day!). After walking about 2 miles I get to the office and straight to work.
I am currently helping them with their IT (Google drives, fixing issues, websites and any other niggles), their policies (finance and IT policies) with a side dose of looking at the financial reporting requirement. 2 hours later and I walk the 2 miles back into town and meet Shiona.
Back for lunch (a bowl of cereal) before off a tuktuk ride out to another organisation.
Here I am working on website, team management coaching and also executive coaching. That sounds really posh but its basically working with the current country director to help him plan and focus on the strategic aspects of the organsiation, rather than him changing lightbulbs!
It is easy to forget that without the privilege of good basic education, building higher management tasks and functions is very difficult. We take for granted how we are taught and allowed to think in the UK. Here they learn by rote and individual thinking is discouraged. So you end up with people highly qualified but need help to develop the skills of application.
Finished at 3 30 and back to hotel. Watch rubbish TV for an hour, then go for dinner. Back from dinner around 6 then straight back on with work.
Answer some emails about the free training I am running (and have yet to write!), send some following up work from today and then get stuck into working on the accounts of another organisation.
Now 11 30 and have time to write this. Then will close the computer down and tomorrow it will all start again.
There are lots of interesting things to discuss and highlight including the differences in working practices, attitudes etc that go hand in hand. But they are for another day.
So not very funny, sweary or ranty today but an honest overview of what we actually do in Cambodia.
Does it help? Who knows.
Will it carry on when we leave? Who knows.
We can only try to help those that need help now using the knowledge and skills we have.
All I do know is that we have met people who have enhanced our lives and we hope that we offer that to some people we meet.
Observation of the day...
Walking / driving through Siem Reap watching the world go by is greatly enhanced by mid 90's Britpop. It was almost that Shed 7 was writing for those water buffalos.
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